Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim
214 words
An appliance hoist, comprising (a) an elongated frame mountable to a vertical support, (b) said frame being formed with a vertical guideway, (c) a carriage mounted to said frame for movement along said guideway, (d) constant force spring means connected to said frame and to said carriage and urging said carriage normally upwards, (e) lock means operatively associated with said carriage and said frame for locking said carriage in a selected position along said guideway, and, (f) connector means mounted to said carriage for detachably engaging said appliance whereby said appliance may be reciprocated along said guideway upon disengagement of said lock means, (g) said spring means including a spool rotatably mounted to said frame and a prestressed normally coiled spring strip connected at one end to said spool and at the other end to said carriage, said strip being tightly wound in face-to-face convolutions when in a relaxed condition and being characterized by a natural tendency to recoil about said spool at a constant force when the other end is pulled straight from said spool, the straightened portion of said strip storing the recoiling force of said strip, the recoiling force of said spring being a function of the configuration of the strip between the coiled portion thereof and the straight portion thereof.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
214 words
An appliance hoist, comprising (a) an elongated frame mountable to a vertical support, (b) said frame being formed with a vertical guideway, (c) a carriage mounted to said frame for movement along said guideway, (d) constant force spring means connected to said frame and to said carriage and urging said carriage normally upwards, (e) lock means operatively associated with said carriage and said frame for locking said carriage in a selected position along said guideway, and, (f) connector means mounted to said carriage for detachably engaging said appliance whereby said appliance may be reciprocated along said guideway upon disengagement of said lock means, (g) said spring means including a spool rotatably mounted to said frame and a prestressed normally coiled spring strip connected at one end to said spool and at the other end to said carriage, said strip being tightly wound in face-to-face convolutions when in a relaxed condition and being characterized by a natural tendency to recoil about said spool at a constant force when the other end is pulled straight from said spool, the straightened portion of said strip storing the recoiling force of said strip, the recoiling force of said spring being a function of the configuration of the strip between the coiled portion thereof and the straight portion thereof.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
58 words
An appliance hoist according to claim 1 wherein said lock means includes a movable lever handle mounted to said carriage and formed with a pin at one end thereof, said frame being formed with at least one hole adjacent said pin when said carriage is in a lowered position and adapted to receive said pin in locking engagement.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
30 words
An appliance hoist according to claim 1 wherein said frame includes a track along said guideway and said carriage includes at least one roller mounted for movement along said track.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
69 words
An appliance hoist according to claim 1 wherein said frame is in the form of a hollow housing including a pair of spaced parallel channels extending vertically with respect to said frame, said housing being formed with a vertical slot between said channels to define said guideway, said carriage including rollers movable along said channels and said connector means being mounted to said carriage for movement along said slot.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
148 words
An appliance hoist according to claim 4 wherein said housing is formed with a plurality of vertically spaced holes in the front thereof adjacent said slot to form one part of said lock means and a movable lever mechanism mounted to said carriage and extending through said slot, a pin mounted to one end of said lever mechanism in position to engage one of said holes according to the position of said carriage and forming another part of said lock means, said lever mechanism including a link pivotally mounted at one end to the lower portion of said carriage about a first horizontal axis extended to the front of said hoist and a lever handle pivotally connected about a second axis parallel to said first axis at a medial point to the other end of said link, said pin being mounted to one end of said lever handle.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
An appliance hoist according to claim 5 wherein said pin is formed with an enlarged head portion.