Patent ID: 9046193
Filing Date: 2015-06-02
Classification: F16L

Abstract:
1. A self-supporting, flexible support for a flexible hose used for transporting flowable bulk product from a container, the support comprising: a. a vertically extending stanchion defining a bottom end and a top end spaced vertically apart from the bottom end; b. an articulating arm forming a cantilever defining a proximal end pivotally connected to the stanchion, the articulating arm extending outwardly in a generally horizontal direction with respect to the vertically extending stanchion and terminating in a distal end, the articulating arm including a plurality of carriage members, each carriage member having a trailing end and a leading end disposed spaced apart in an axial direction from the trailing end of the carriage member, the proximal end of the articulating arm being defined by a proximal carriage member, the proximal carriage member having its trailing end pivotally connected to the stanchion, a distal carriage member being disposed by the distal end of the articulating arm, the distal carriage member having its trailing end pivotally connected to the leading end of one of a plurality of other carriage members, each of any remaining carriage members being disposed between two neighboring carriage members and having its trailing end pivotally connected to the leading end of a more proximally disposed one of the two neighboring carriage members and its leading end pivotally connected to the trailing end of a more distally disposed one of the two neighboring carriage members; c. a plurality of cradle members, each cradle member being carried by a different respective one of the carriage members, each cradle member defines a bed configured to be disposed beneath a section of the flexible hose, each of the cradle members defines a first end, each of the cradle members defines a second end spaced axially apart from the first end of the cradle member, each of the cradle members defines a pair of spaced apart side constraints extending vertically above the bed and axially between the two ends of the cradle member, each cradle member being open at each axially spaced apart end and at a top disposed vertically above the bed; and d. a plurality of clevis pins, e. wherein the bed of the cradle member carried by the proximal carriage member is disposed at a height generally at the top end of the stanchion; f. wherein the trailing end of each carriage member defines a trailing clevis and the leading end of each carriage member defines a leading clevis; and g. wherein each trailing clevis of each carriage member is configured to be received within each leading clevis of each neighboring carriage member and pivotally connected by one of the plurality of clevis pins to the leading clevis of a neighboring carriage member.