Overhead load-handling apparatus

Claim 1

A LOAD-HANDLING APPARATUS FOR LIFTING GROUPS OF CYLINDRICAL OBJECTS WHEREIN THE OBJECTS OF EACH GROUP ARE OF THE SAME DIAMETER BUT THE OBJECTS OF DIFFERENT GROUPS MAY BE OF DIFFERENT DIAMETERS AND WHEREIN THE OBJECTS OF EACH GROUP ARE ARRANGED WITH THEIR AXES VERTICALLY DISPOSED AND WHEREIN EACH GROUP COMPRISES AT LEAST TWO JUXTAPOSED ROWS OF OBJECTS WHEREIN THE BIGHTS FORMED BY THE OBJECTS OF EACH ROW ARE OCCUPIED BY OBJECTS OF AN ADJACENT ROW, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A SUPPORTING STRUCTURE TO BE LIFTED, A PLURALITY OF DOWNWARDLY DIRECTED LOAD-ENGAGING DEVICES EACH FOR ENGAGING AND LIFTING A DIFFERENT ONE OF SAID OBJECTS, SAID LOAD-ENGAGING DEVICES BEING ARRANGED ON SAID SUPPORTING STRUCTURE IN AT LEAST TWO PARALLEL BANKS WHEREIN EACH BANK CONTAINS A PLURALITY OF SAID LOAD-ENGAGING DEVICES, THE LOAD-ENGAGING DEVICES OF EACH BANK BEING UNIFORMLY SPACED RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER, POWER MEANS FOR SHIFTING THE LOAD-ENGAGING DEVICES OF EACH BANK RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER SO THAT THE CENTER DISTANCES BETWEEN THE DEVICES OF EACH BANK CORRESPOND TO THE CENTER DISTANCES BETWEEN THE OBJECTS OF THE GROUP OF OBJECTS TO BE PICKED UP BY SUCH BANK, POWER MEANS FOR RELATIVELY SHIFTING SAID BANKS PARALLEL TO ONE ANOTHER TO POSITIONS WHERE THE LOAD-ENGAGING DEVICES OF ONE BANK ARE IN STAGGERED RELATION TO THE LOAD-ENGAGING DEVICES OF THE ADJACENT BANK AND IN SYMMETRICAL RELATIONSHIP THERETO, AND POWER MEANS FOR SHIFTING THE BANKS RELATIVELY TOWARD AND AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER SO THAT THE LATERAL SPACING OF THE BANKS IS THE SAME AS THE LATERAL SPACING OF THE ROWS OF CYLINDRICAL OBJECTS TO BE PICKED UP WHEREBY TO FACILITATE DISPOSING SAID APPARATUS ABOVE SAID GROUP OF CYLINDRICAL OBJECTS WITH THE LOAD-ENGAGING DEVICES IN REGISTER VERTICALLY WITH CORRESPONDING OBJECTS, WHEREAFTER SAID LOAD-ENGAGING DEVICES MAY BE LOWERED INTO LIFTING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID OBJECTS TO ENABLE PICKING UP OF SAID GROUP.