Self-centering telescoping beams

Claim 2

A telescopic boom assembly for supporting a load at an outward end thereof, said boom assembly being mounted to a base at an inward end thereof and including: A. a plurality of mutually innernested, telescopically associated inward and outward boom sections; B. each inward boom section being situated in surrounding, immediately adjacent relation to an outward boom section; C. each such inward and outward boom sections being made up of: (1) a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually parallel, spaced apart upper structural members of substantial strength and mass, (2) a relatively light top web integral with and extending between said upper structural members, (3) a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually parallel, spaced apart lower structural members of substantial strength and mass, (4) a relatively light bottom web integral with and extending between said lower structural members, and (5) a pair of relatively light, generally upright side webs each integral with a separate one of each of said upper and lower structural members; D. forwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including slide pads on each inward boom section in position to slidingly support the upper structural members of an immediately adjacent outward boom section; E. rearwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including slide pads on each outward boom section in position to be slidingly supported on the upper structural members of an immediately adjacent inward boom section; F. means to move said boom sections longitudinally with respect to each other; and G. at least one of said forwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including: (1) a pot having a cylindrical outer surface, said pot being provided with a rectilinear slide pad receptacle bounded by side walls opening through said cylindrical surface, and by a bottom wall in normal relationship to the side walls, each side wall being mutually parallel to a single radial line extending outwardly from the cylindrical axis of said pot; (2) a soft, free flowing elastic material covering said bottom wall of each pot receptacle and terminating short of the top of the receptacle side walls; and (3) a slide pad of configuration to rest on said elastic material in said pot receptacle, to be in contacting relationship with all of said side walls and to terminate in a plane surface outside of said pot, said plane surface lying roughly parallel to the cylindrical axis of said pot; and H. said slide pad being made of a flexible material which wears more readily than the immediately adjacent outward boom section which it slidingly supports.

Claim 3

A telescopic boom assembly for supporting a load at an outward end thereof, said boom assembly being mounted to a base at an inward end thereof and including: A. a plurality of mutually innernested, telescopically associated inward and outward boom sections; B. each inward boom section being situated in surrounding, immediately adjacent relation to an outward boom section; C. each such inward and outward boom sections being made up of: (1) a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually parallel, spaced apart upper structural members of substantial strength and mass, (2) a relatively light top web integral with and extending between said upper structural members, (3) a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually parallel, spaced apart lower structural members of substantial strength and mass, (4) a relatively light bottom web integral with and extending between said lower structural members, and (5) a pair of relatively light, generally upright side webs each integral with a separate one of each of said upper and lower structural members; D. forwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including slide pads on each inward boom section in position to slidingly support the upper structural members of an immmediately adjacent outward boom section; E. rearwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including slide pads on each outward boom section in position to be slidingly supported on the upper structural members of an immediately adjacent inward boom section; F. means to move said boom sections longitudinally with respect to each other; and G. at least one of said rearwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including: (1) a pot having a cylindrical outer surface, said pot being provided with a rectilinear slide pad receptacle bounded by side walls opening through said cylindrical surface, and by a bottom wall in normal relationship to the side walls, each side wall being mutually parallel to a single radial line extending outwardly from the cylindrical axis of said pot; (2) a soft, free flowing elastic material covering said bottom wall of each pot receptacle and terminating short of the top of the receptacle side walls; and (3) a slide pad of configuration to rest on said elastic material in said pot receptacle, to be in contacting relationship with all of said side walls and to terminate in a plane surface outside of said pot, said plane surface lying roughly parallel to the cylindrical axis of said pot; and H. said slide pad being made of a flexible material which wears more readily than the immediately adjacent outward boom section which it slidingly supports.

Claim 4

A telescopic boom assembly for supporting a load at an outward end thereof, said boom assembly being mounted to a base at an inward end thereof and including: A. a plurality of mutually innernested, telescopically associated inward and outward boom sections; B. each inward boom section being situated in surrounding, immediately adjacent relation to an outward boom section; C. each such inward and outward boom sections being made up of: (1) a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually parallel, spaced apart upper structural members of substantial strength and mass, (2) a relatively light top web integral with and extending between said upper structural members, (3) a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually parallel, spaced apart lower structural members of substantial strength and mass, (4) a relatively light bottom web integral with and extending between said lower structural members, and (5) a pair of relatively light, generally upright side webs each integral with a separate one of each of said upper and lower structural members; D. forwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including slide pads on each inward boom section in position to slidingly support the upper structural members of an immmediately adjacent outward boom section; E. rearwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including slide pads on each outward boom section in position to be slidingly supported on the upper structural members of an immediately adjacent inward boom section; F. means to move said boom sections longitudinally with respect to each other; and G. at least one of said rearwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including: (1) a pot having a cylindrical outer surface, said pot being provided with a rectilinear slide pad receptacle bounded by side walls opening through said cylindrical surface, and by a bottom wall in normal relationship to the side walls, each side wall being mutually parallel to a single radial line extending outwardly from the cylindrical axis of said pot; (2) a soft, free flowing elastic material covering said bottom wall of each pot receptacle and terminating short of the top of the receptacle side walls; and (3) a slide pad of configuration to rest on said elastic material in said pot receptacle, to be in contacting relationship with all of said side walls and to terminate in a plane surface outside of said pot, said plane surface lying roughly parallel to the cylindrical axis of said pot; and H. said slide pad being made of a flexible material which wears more readily than the immediately adjacent outward boom section which it slidingly supports.

Claim 5

A telescopic boom assembly for supporting a load at an outward end thereof, said boom assembly being mounted to a base at an inward end thereof and including: A. a plurality of mutually innernested, telescopically associated inward and outward boom sections; B. each inward boom section being situated in surrounding, immediately adjacent relation to an outward boom section; C. each such inward and outward boom sections being made up of: (1) a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually parallel, spaced apart upper structural members of substantial strength and mass, (2) a relatively light top web integral with and extending between said upper structural members, (3) a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually parallel, spaced apart lower structural members of substantial strength and mass, (4) a relatively light bottom web integral with and extending between said lower structural members, and (5) a pair of relatively light, generally upright side webs each integral with a separate one of each of said upper and lower structural members; D. forwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including slide pads on each inward boom section in position to slidingly support the upper structural members of an immediately adjacent outward boom section; E. rearwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including slide pads on each outward boom section in position to be slidingly supported on the upper structural members of an immediately adjacent inward boom section; F. means to move said boom sections longitudinally with respect to each other; and G. at least one of each of said forwardly mounted and rearwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including: (1) a pot having a cylindrical outer surface, said pot being provided with a rectilinear slide pad receptacle bounded by side walls opening through said cylindrical surface, and by a bottom wall in normal relationship to the side walls, each side wall being mutually parallel to a single radial line extending outwardly from the cylindrical axis of said pot; (2) a soft, free flowing elastic material covering said bottom wall of each pot receptacle and terminating short of the top of the receptacle side walls; and (3) a slide pad of configuration to rest on said elastic material in said pot receptacle, to be in contacting relationship with all of said side walls and to terminate in a plane surface outside of said pot, said plane surface lying roughly parallel to the cylindrical axis of said pot; and H. said slide pad being made of a flexible material which wears more readily than the immediately adjacent outward boom section which it slidingly supports.

Claim 6

A telescopic boom assembly for supporting a load at an outward end thereof, said boom assembly being mounted to a base at an inward end thereof and including: A. a plurality of mutually innernested, telescopically associated inward and outward boom sections; B. each inward boom section being situated in surrounding, immediately adjacent relation to an outward boom section; C. each such inward and outward boom sections being made up of: (1) a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually parallel, spaced apart upper structural members of substantial strength and mass, (2) a relatively light top web integral with and extending between said upper structural members, (3) a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually parallel, spaced apart lower structural members of substantial strength and mass, (4) a relatively light bottom web integral with and extending between said lower structural members, and (5) a pair of relatively light, generally upright side webs each integral with a separate one of each of said upper and lower structural members; D. forwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including slide pads on each inward boom section in position to slidingly support the upper structural members of an immediately adjacent outward boom section; E. rearwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including slide pads on each outward boom section in position to be slidingly supported on the upper structural members of an immediately adjacent inward boom section; F. means to move said boom sections longitudinally with respect to each other; and G. at least one of each of said forwardly mounted and rearwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including: (1) a pot having a cylindrical outer surface, said pot being provided with a rectilinear slide pad receptacle bounded by side walls opening through said cylindrical surface, and by a bottom wall in normal relationship to the side walls, each side wall being mutually parallel to a single radial line extending outwardly from the cylindrical axis of said pot; (2) a soft, free flowing elastic material covering said bottom wall of each pot receptacle and terminating short of the top of the receptacle side walls; and (3) a slide pad of configuration to rest on said elastic material in said pot receptacle, to be in contacting relationship with all of said side walls and to terminate in a plane surface outside of said pot, said plane surface lying roughly parallel to the cylindrical axis of said pot; and H. said slide pad being made of a flexible material which wears more readily than the immediately adjacent outward boom section which it slidingly supports.

Claim 7

A telescopic boom assembly for supporting a load at an outward end thereof, said boom assembly being mounted to a base at an inward end thereof and including: A. a plurality of mutually innernested, telescopically associated inward and outward boom sections; B. each inward boom section being situated in surrounding, immediately adjacent relation to an outward boom section; C. each such inward and outward boom sections being made up of: (1) a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually parallel, spaced apart upper structural members of substantial strength and mass, (2) a relatively light top web integral with and extending between said upper structural members, (3) a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually parallel, spaced apart lower structural members of substantial strength and mass, (4) a relatively light bottom web integral with and extending between said lower structural members, and (5) a pair of relatively light, generally upright side webs each integral with a separate one of each of said upper and lower structural members; D. forwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including slide pads on each inward boom section in position to slidingly support the upper structural members of an immediately adjacent outward boom section; E. rearwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including slide pads on each outward boom section in position to be slidingly supported on the upper structural members of an immediately adjacent inward boom section; and F. means to move said boom sections longitudinally with respect to each other.

Claim 8

A telescopic boom assembly for supporting a load at an outward end thereof, said boom assembly being mounted to a base at an inward end thereof and including: A. a plurality of mutually innernested, telescopically associated inward and outward boom sections; B. each inward boom section being situated in surrounding, immediately adjacent relation to an outward boom section; C. each such inward and outward boom sections being made up of: (1) a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually parallel, spaced apart upper structural members of substantial strength and mass, (2) a relatively light top web integral with and extending between said upper structural members, (3) a pair of longitudinally extending, mutually parallel, spaced apart lower structural members of substantial strength and mass, (4) a relatively light bottom web integral with and extending between said lower structural members, and (5) a pair of relatively light, generally upright side webs each integral with a separate one of each of said upper and lower structural members; D. forwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including slide pads on each inward boom section in position to slidingly support the upper structural members of an immediately adjacent outward boom section; E. rearwardly mounted slide pad assemblies including slide pads on each outward boom section in position to be slidingly supported on the upper structural members of an immediately adjacent inward boom section; and F. means to move said boom sections longitudinally with respect to each other.

Claim 9

The boom assembly of claim 1 wherein: G. each of said inward and outward boom section upper structural members is of uniform cross sectional configuration over its entire innernestable slide pad contacting length and the cross sectional shape of each one of each pair of such structural members is a mirror image of the other of such pair; and H. each of said upper structural members of said outward boom sections are partially defined by an elongated outwardly and upwardly diverging plane bearing surface situated to be in weight bearing and sliding relation to one of said forwardly mounted slide pad assemblies.

Claim 10

The boom assembly of claim 5 wherein: J. each of said forwardly mounted slide pad assemblies are mounted in one of the side webs of the immediately adjacent inward boom section to position its slide pad in sliding, load bearing relation to one of the upwardly diverging plane bearing surfaces of said upper structural members of said outward boom section.

Claim 11

The boom assembly of claim 5 wherein: I. each of said upper structural members of said inward boom sections are partially defined by an elongated, inwardly and upwardly diverging plane bearing surface situated to be in weight bearing and sliding relation to one of said rearwardly mounted slide pad assemblies.