Patent ID: 6119815
Filing Date: 2000-09-19
Classification: B66F

Abstract:
A safety skirt for an industrial lift apparatus having a base, a movable element separate from said base, a connecting assembly joining said movable element to said base, and a power system for actuating said connecting assembly to change the position of said movable element relative to said base, said safety skirt comprising:a skirt bottom adapted for attachment to the lift apparatus base;a skirt top adapted for attachment to the lift apparatus movable element;a plurality of sides extending between said skirt bottom and said skirt top and adapted to surround the lift apparatus connecting assembly in order to isolate industrial personnel from the area between said lift apparatus base and said lift apparatus movable element;each of said sides being formed from a plurality of pleats;each of said pleats having an upper flap and a lower flap made from a flexible nonwoven material;a plurality of hinges attached between the flaps forming each pleat, and between adjacent flaps of adjacent pleats, said hinges being made from a flexible woven web material; anda plurality of corners defined at the intersections of adjacent ones of said sides, said corners being formed by joining together adjacent pleats of said adjacent ones of said sides.