Patent ID: 6257272
Filing Date: 2001-07-10
Classification: B60P,Y10T

Abstract:
A tower apparatus, comprising:a body having first and second ends, and first and second opposite sides,a base frame having first and second ends,first and second pairs of legs in spaced-apart relation, each pair of legs being pivotable relative to the body and relative to the base frame, a leg of each pair being disposed on each of the first and second sides of said body,at least one brace extending diagonally between upper portions of the first pair of legs and lower portions of the second pair of legs, said at least one brace comprising upper and lower sections connected by a one-way knee hinge to articulate only generally upwardly and to resist downward articulation to prevent lowering of the tower body,actuator means operable to act in a first direction on one of the pairs of legs to move the legs to pivot generally downwardly, while the other pair of legs are urged generally downwardly by force exerted by their pivotal connections with the body and the base frame, andsaid actuator means being operable in a second opposite direction to move the first pair of legs to pivot generally upwardly to generally vertical orientations and to move said brace sections from their articulated relatively bent positions to their aligned positions wherein they are self-locking with their end portions in abutting relation to prevent downward movement of the tank tower.