Abstract: A truck mounted crane assembly includes a turntable lock, a boom rest which interacts with the piston and cylinder device, and a swing away hoist mount. The turntable lock includes a pin which is manually retractable upon rotation of a handle from a position preventing relative rotation between a turntable and a pedestal to a position allowing such relative rotation and which can be secured in the first and second positions. The boom rest is mounted on the boom and rests on the cylinder of the piston and cylinder device when the boom is lowered to a predetermined position, thus taking much of the pressure off the piston. The boom rest is movable from a position in which it is capable of supporting the boom to a position in which it is incapable of supporting the boom and in which the boom is thus lowerable below the predetermined position. The provision of the turntable lock and boom rest obviates the need for a cradle rest for the boom.

Abstract: A suspension and steerage system is disclosed for a wheel supported vehicle. A suspension arm assembly of parallelogram configuration is pivotally attached to one side of the main frame and freely supports a wheel spindle. The piston rod of a hydraulic motor interconnects opposite wheels, and a lever structure is provided which, in response to pivotal oscillation of one wheel, axially activates the piston rod to transfer reactive forces to the opposite side of the main frame, and serves to level the plane of the main frame. The hydraulic motor can further be equallized to lock out further movement of the wheels, thereby stabilizing the vehicle in a static condition.

Abstract: Controls for an aerial lift platform apparatus which has a steerable mobile chassis, a rotatable upper works, and an extensible boom pivoted on the upper works for luffing movement. The controls are grouped to provide a first group of control members in physical proximity to each other for controlling upper works movement and a second group of control members for controlling movement of the chassis. Each of these control members is mounted for movement substantially to simulate the movement which is controlled. A third group of control members is for controlling the engine, and are in physical proximity to each other. The control members are mounted on a control console having near-horizontal and near-vertical surfaces from which the control members extend, the vehicle control member for drive and steering extending upwardly from the near-horizontal surface.

Abstract: A workman's lift platform apparatus has a vertically swingable and extensible boom with a workman's platform at the outer end. A color coding indicating the amount of boom extension is provided on the fly section of the boom, visible to the workman in the platform, and an indicator plate having corresponding color coding is provided adjacent the controls on the platform. A Bowden cable is connected to the indicator plate and the fly section, to move the indicator plate proportionately to the angle of the boom to the horizontal.

Abstract: An aerial lift platform apparatus having tracks. A rotatable upper works is mounted on a chassis, and includes a turntable, a telescopic boom having a workman's platform at its outer end, and an engine driving a hydraulic pump. The chassis has forward and rear drive wheels on each side, and two pairs of intermediate idler wheels. Each pair of idler wheels is supported by a spring biased cranked axle which is journalled in bearings, to effect joint movement of the two wheels of the pair. All wheels have pneumatic tires and a track encompasses the tires on each side.

Abstract: A vehicle has a mobile, self-propelled chassis with a platform extendable upwardly by a motor and scissors linkage. A lever is pivotally connected to the chassis and has pipe grabs on the free end; the lever is raised to deposit a pipe on rails on the platform. A vertical hydraulic motor on the platform has saddles for lifting a pipe from the rail to a higher elevation.

Abstract: An industrial crane has a chassis with a housing mounted on the chassis having a flat, horizontal deck with a central well providing access to a bearing for a rotatable upper works, the bearing being centered on the chassis. The upper works has a portion extending into the well to the bearing. The chassis is supported by four wheels, two of which are on an oscillating axle. The wheels are one size, and extend above the chassis which is between them. The upper works includes a cab, directly over the bearing, a boom support rearwardly of the cab, an engine rearwardly of the boom support, and a lifting boom journalled to the boom support rearwardly of the cab and extending forwardly over the cab. The boom is lifted by a lift cylinder rearwardly of the cab. The boom and the cab, as well as the engine, have their lateral centers in line, along the median plane of the upper works, and the upper works median plane coincides with the chassis median plane when the upper works is forward or rearward.

Abstract: For use with or without multi-axis orientation means, a solar energy collector and transfer apparatus features tandemly arranged solar energy concentrators intervened by energy absorber and transfer units in a generally planar unitized array with back reflectors to energize the side of the apparatus away from the sun. In a practical embodiment, the tandem energy concentrators are parabolically curved reflectors fore and aft of energy absorbing and transfer tubes which are disposed at the exit apertures of the reflectors or field focuses. A simplified fluid transport system is embodied in the apparatus together with efficient and economical supporting structure for the energy concentrators and associated absorber and transfer units.

Abstract: A truck mounted crane has a front end including a cab, engine and front steering wheels, with rearwardly extending frame members. A crane is carried rearwardly of the truck cab, and has a rotatable upper works including a crane cab at the front and laterally centered, a boom support rearwardly of the crane cab, and laterally centered, and a boom pivoted on the boom support and extending forwardly over the crane cab. A rear end includes a rear frame made of tubular frame members which receive the front frame members therein.

Abstract: A workman's platform comprising a wheeled base, scissors linkage having plural sets of lever arms and a deck vertically movable by the linkage. All ends of the linkage arms are longitudinally movable on the base and deck. An upper centering link is pivoted at one end to the mid-point of the deck and at the other end to the mid-point of an upper lever arm. A lower centering link is similarly connected to the deck and to a lower lever arm. The adjacent ends of the lever arms are off-set and pin-connected, the lever arms being in spaced,parallel relation when the linkage is retracted. A single vertically movable actuating element is connected to the pivot pin of the lower set of lever arms.

Abstract: A lifting boom having three telescopic sections. A hydraulic ram has the piston rod free end connected by a horizontal pin movable in guide slots at the rear of the base section. A deflection limiter is axially slidable on the piston rod, and is less high then the base section. The rear of the ram cylinder is pin connected by horizontal pins to the mid section, and has a transverse ram cylinder plate attached to it. Pull rods are connected to the deflection limiter and pass forwardly through the transverse plate, having detents at their forward ends beyond the transverse plates. A pair of chains extends from the base section forward and around sprockets at the rear of the mid section, being attached to the rear of the fly section, a further chain extending thence forwardly and around a sprocket on the front end of the ram cylinder, and thence rearwardly to an anchor on the base section; the ram sprocket has a roller portion which rolls on the fly section bottom plate to support the ram cylinder.

Abstract: A machine for sawing cant strips and the like for use in the industrial roofing trade. This machine has a strong rigidly constructed support table, feed rollers mounted on said support table for feeding the wood material to be sawed, a plurality of saw blades mounted on adjustable saw arbors in two banks, the saw blades of the first bank being at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with the table surface, and the angle of the saw blades of the second bank being at an angle of approximately 45.degree. with the table surface, but with the plane of the saw blades of the second bank being approximately 90.degree. to the plane of the saw blades of the first bank. Each of the saw arbors of each bank are adjustable so that the width of the material being cut may be varied. Two high powered drive motors are provided, one for each bank of saw blades. An additional reduced speed drive is provided for the feed rollers.

Abstract: First and second sets of panels of fiberboard or mineral board material are provided. The first set of panels are of constant thickness and rectangular in plan shape, and the other set of panels are also rectangular in plan shape but taper transversely in thickness from one longitudinal edge toward the opposite longitudinal edge. The constant thickness and tapering panels are disclosed in predetermined positions in order to form a saddle of full, half or quarter diamond-shaped plan area and with certain of the panels being trimmed and disposed in superposed relation whereby the upper surface of each quarter diamond-shaped saddle section will be planar and inclined. A pair of quarter diamond sections being used to form a saddle of one-half diamond plan shape and four quarter diamond sections being used to form a full saddle of full diamond plan shape.

Abstract: A telescopic crane boom is provided in which tubular boom sections include a thicker, flat bottom plate and a thinner channel having the free edges of its walls welded to the bottom plate at the lateral edges of the bottom plate. Wear pads for supporting an outer boom section, e.g., the fly section, are placed on the bottom plate of the adjacent inner section, e.g., the mid-section, closely adjacent to the vertical walls of the inner section, and underlying the walls of the outer section, to provide substantially columnar support for the walls of the outer section, reduced bottom plate bending forces, and reduced boom width and weight.

Abstract: A machine has a movable boom for lifting a load, and an overload sensing device mounted on the boom to sense boom deflection. The overload sensing device includes a rigid beam having one end secured to a vertical side plate of the boom only by anchors spaced widely apart, welded preferably on opposite sides of the centroid or neutral axis of the boom side plate. The beam has a free end, on which an adjustable contact plate is carried, to engage a switch adjustably carried on a mounting plate secured to the beam side plate.