Lifting and control means

Claim 1

A SMOOTH-OPERATING ROTATABLE-BALL-CONTAINING CONTROL DEVICE OF ADJUSTING THE POSITION OF AN OBJECT WITH RESPECT TO A BASE, SAID CONTROL DEVICE HAVING AT LEAST ONE ASSEMBLY OF ELEMENTS COMPRISING (A) A TUBULAR FIRST MEMBER OPEN AT BOTH ENDS WITH AT LEAST ONE CURVED PORTION LOCATED INTERMEDIATE A STRAIGHT VERTICALLY-ORIENTED LEG SECTION AT ONE END THEREOF AND A STRAIGHT HORIZONTALLY-ORIENTED PLUNGER-RECEIVING SECTION AT THE OTHER END THEREOF, (B) A STRAIGHT VERTICALLY-ORIENTED SECOND MEMBER HAVING A SHELL-LIKE CONFIGURATION INTO THE OPEN END OF WHICH SAID STRAIGHT LEG SECTION OF SAID FIRST MEMBER IS TELESCOPICALLY ENGAGED, ONE OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND MEMBERS BEING MOUNTED ON SAID OBJECT AND THE OTHER OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND MEMBERS BEING MOUNTED ON SAID BASE, (C) A STEM WITHIN SAID SECOND MEMBER AND HAVING A SOLID END RECEIVED TELESCOPICALLY WITHIN THE OPEN END OF THE STRAIGHT LEG SECTION OF SAID FIRST MEMBER, (D) A PLUNGER WITH A SOLID END TELESCOPING SLIDABLY WITHIN THE STRAIGHT PLUNGER-RECEIVING SECTION OF SAID FIRST MEMBER, (E) A PLURALITY OF DISCRETE SOLID BALLS IN DIRECT ABUTTING PRESSURE-CONTACT AND IN LINEAL ALIGNMENT WITHIN SAID TUBULAR FIRST MEMBER BETWEEN THE SOLID END OF SAID TELESCOPING PLUNGER AND THE SOLID END OF SAID TELESCOPING STEM, SAID BALLS BEING OF A DIAMETER JUST SUFFICIENTLY LESS THAN THE INTERNAL DIAMETER OF SAID TUBULAR FIRST MEMBER TO BE RECEIVED WITHIN SAID TUBULAR FIRST MEMBER, SAID BALLS FURTHER BEING ROTATABLE WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER WITHIN SAID TUBULAR FIRST MEMBER AS RELATIVE MOVEMENT TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE INTERNAL SURFACE OF SAID TUBULAR FIRST MEMBER AND SAID LINEAL ALIGNMENT OF SAID BALLS, (F) MEANS FOR INCREMENTALLY AND SLIDABLY ADVANCING AND RETRACTING SAID PLUNGER TELESCOPICALLY WITHIN THE STRAIGHT PLUNGERRECEIVING SECTION OF SAID FIRST MEMBER, WHEREBY ADJUSTING THE POSITION OF SAID OBJECT WITH RESPECT TO SAID BASE IS EFFECTED, AND (G) MEANS TO MAINTAIN SAID OBJECT UNIFIED WITH SAID BASE EVEN DURING ADJUSTMENT OF THE POSITION OF SAID OBJECT WITH RESPECT TO SAID BASE.