Hoisting chains

Claim 1

AN ELONGATED SUSPENSION MEANS COMPRISING IN COMBINATION AN ARTICULATED CHAIN COMPRISING A SERIES OF RIGID OPEN-ENDED TUBULAR LINKS PIVOTALLY INTERCONNETED IN ALIGNMENT WITH ONE ANOTHER BY MEANS OF UNIVERSAL-JOINT CONNECTIONS WHICH PERMIT EACH LINK TO PIVOT THROUGH A LIMITED ANGLE RELATIVELY TO THE ADJACENT LINK ABOUT TWO TRANSVERSE PIVOTAL AXES, AND A NUMBER OF FLEXIBLE SERVICE LEADS EXTENDING THROUGH THE ALIGNED INTERIORS OF THE TUBULAR LINKS FROM END TO END OF THE CHAIN, EACH LINK OF THE CHAIN COMPRISING A SHORT OPEN-ENDED LENGTH OF RIGID TUBE WHICH IS FORMED AT EACH END WITH TWO AXIALLY-PROTRUDING TAPERING NOSE PORTION EXTENDING AS CONTINUATIONS OF ITS SIDE WALL ON DIAMETRICALLY-OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF, THE PROTRUDING NOSE PORTIONS AT EACH END BEING SEPARATED BY CORRESPONDING RE-ENTRANT BAYS FORMED IN INTERVENING DIAMETRICALLY-OPPOSITE PARTS OF THE SIDE WALL, AND THE TWO PAIRS OF NOSE PORTIONS AT THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF EACH LINK BEING ANGULARLY DISPLACED BY 90* WITH RESPECT TO ONE ANOTHER AROUND THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE LINK, AND ADJACENT ENDS OF ADJACENT LINKS BEING COUPLED TOGETHER WITH THE NOSES OF ONE PROTRUDING INTO THE RE-ENTRANT BAYS OF THE OTHER BY MEANS OF A GIMBAL RING TO WHICH THE OPPOSITELY-DIRECTED NOSES OF THE TWO LINKS ARE PIVOTED ABOUT TRANSVERSE AXES AT RIGHT ANGLES TO ONE ANOTHER.