Material-handling apparatus

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION WITH A MOTOR VEHICLE HAVING A LOAD BED, MECHANISM FOR HANDLING CONCRETE BLOCKS AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING: A PEDESTAL ELEMENT HAVING MEANS RIGIDLY ATTACHING SAME TO THE VEHICLE, SAID ELEMENT RISING FROM SAID BED AS A HOLLOW COLUMN HAVING A TERMINAL TOP END, AND SAID BED HAVING AN OPENING THEREIN IN VERTICAL REGISTER WITH THE LOWER END OF SAID ELEMENT; AN UPRIGHT SPINDLE ELEMENT JOURNALED IN THE PEDESTAL ELEMENT TO TURN ABOUT THE AXIS OF SAID COLUMN AND HAVING A LOWER END BELOW THE BED AND AN UPPER END ABOVE THE TOP END OF THE COLUMN; A NORMALLY HORIZONTALLY POSITIONED BOOM OF FIXED LENGTH HAVING ONE END PROXIMATE TO AND ITS OTHER END REMOTE FROM THE UPPER END OF THE SPINDLE ELEMENT, SAID PROXIMATE END INCLUDING LEVER ARM PORTIONS LENGTHWISE THEREOF AND RIGID THEREWITH AND EXTENDING RESPECTIVELY TO OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE SPINDLE ELEMENT; PIVOT MEANS CONNECTING SAID PROXIMATE END OF THE BOOM TO THE UPPER END OF THE SPINDLE ELEMENT ON AN AXIS TRANSVERSE TO THE LENGTH OF THE BOOM AND INTERMEDIATE SAID LEVER ARM PORTIONS; ANCHOR MEANS ON THE SPINDLE ELEMENT INTERMEDIATE THE BOOM AND THE TOP END OF THE PEDESTAL ELEMENT AND INCLUDING A PAIR OF MOTOR MOUNTS IN DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED RELATION AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE SPINDLE ELEMENT TO LIE RESPECTIVELY GENERALLY BELOW THE LEVER ARM PORTIONS; A PAIR OF SELECTIVELY EXPANSIBLE AND CONTRACTIBLE FLUID MOTORS CONNECTED RESPECTIVELY BETWEEN THE MOUNTS AND THE RESPECTIVE LEVER ARM PORTIONS; CONTROLLABLE FLUID PRESSURE MEANS CONNECTED TO AND FOR SELECTIVELY EXPANDING ONE MOTOR WHILE CONTRACTING THE OTHER TO TILT THE BOOM UP AND DOWN ABOUT SAID PIVOT MEANS; FIRST POWER MEANS CONNECTED TO THE LOWER END OF THE SPINDLE ELEMENT BENEATH THE BED FOR TURNING THE SPINDLE ELEMENT AND BOOM ABOUT THE AXIS OF THE SPINDLE ELEMENT; A CARRIAGE CARRIED BY AND FOR MOVEMENT SELECTIVELY BACK AND FORTH LENGTHWISE OF THE BOOM THROUGH A RANGE OF POSITIONS INCLUDING ONE TERMINAL POSITION CLOSELY ADJACENT TO THE SPINDLE AND ANOTHER TERMINAL POSITION AT THE REMOTE END OF THE BOOM; SECOND POWER MEANS FOR MOVING THE CARRIAGE; A LOADHANDLING FORK VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLY CARRIED BY THE CARRIAGE AT ANY OF SAID CARRIAGE POSITIONS; THIRD POWER MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE FORK; AND FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD CONTROL MEANS INDEPENDENT OF EACH OTHER AND OF SAID CONTROLLABLE MEANS AND OPERATIVELY SINGLY AND IN COMBINATION WITH SAID CONTROLLABLE MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY OPERATING THE CONTROLLABLE MEANS AND THE FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD POWER MEANS, RESPECTIVELY TO SECURE VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF BOOM TILTING, SPINDLE TURNING, CARRIAGE MOVEMENT AND FORK ADJUSTMENT.