Abstract:
The invention pertains to a hoisting platform system which is usable in the construction of high rise buildings Included in the system are two I-beams which are mounted on a higher floor of the building under construction which has been finished already. The two I-beams are mounted in a cantilevered fashion with one section jutting forward from the higher floor and another section being attached to the higher floor by several post jacks on top of the I-beams and against the ceiling of the next higher floor. On the forward section there is mounted a pair of A-frames having a cross beam mounted at their tops which in turn has a winch mounted thereon. A movable transfer deck is located between the I&#39;s of the two I-beams and can be moved to a position interior of the building once a load is placed thereon. The winch can also be located on the higher floor and idler sheaves can be used on top of the cross beam. The winch is a hydraulic winch which is powered by a hydraulic pump which in turn is powered by an internal combustion engine. There a variations of the A-frames, because a pair of single support struts can be used, which are articulated relative to the two I-beams.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
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     STATEMENT REGARDING FED SPONSORED R &amp; D 
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     REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
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     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention pertains to a hoisting platform system, particularly to a hoisting platform system that is used in the construction of high rise buildings. There are various power cranes and platform hoists that are known and are useful in the construction of high rise buildings while under construction. One such crane is known as an aerial platform crane or as a platform crane. This crane is only useful to place building material on top of the rising building or in conjunction with outrigger platforms that jut out from the various concrete slabs already constructed. The load that has been picked up by the platform crane is lowered on to such a platform and the material is then moved inside of the building by hand or by various moving implements such as dollies, hand trucks etc. 
     Another type of crane is movable on the ground and can be placed at different locations. Such a crane has an extendible boom that can be swung to various locations and again operates in conjunction with the above mentioned outrigger platforms. 
     Still another hoisting crane is known as the “buck hoist” which has a static tower attached to the building with the tower having a pulley at the top over which a cable will run which in turn is attached to a cage. The cage can transport personal as well as material. The operator is located on the ground and is operating a winch which in turn will lift or lower the cage on command. 
     All of the above mentioned cranes have the disadvantage in that the operator of any of the cranes is always located remote from where the load is to be deposited on any of the concrete slabs at any height of the building. This fact involves a lot of guess work or another person to signal when exactly the descending load is in place or when the cage has reached a correct position. Another disadvantage is that the cranes are always busy and there is always a time lag between and when a particular load can be transported. Some of the cranes can only be operated under electric power which limits the load capacity. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 683,624 shows a crane assembly that operates inside a building under construction including a tower structure. A cable runs over two adjacent pulleys on top of the tower and the cable ends are attached to two hoisting platforms that operate in tandem. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,364,224 discloses a hoisting means which can be quickly and easily attached to a building window structure and can be employed for lifting articles such as storm windows up or down from an upper story. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,744 illustrates a hoisting cage that can contain various building materials to be lifted to any higher floors. The cage can be lifted by a tower crane or by a mobile crane on the ground. The cage has a ramp plate that can be lowered onto the concrete slab so that the load can be rolled out of cage and onto the concrete slab. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,099 discloses equipment that is useful for delivering materials to elevated floors of a building under construction. The equipment includes a frame adapted to be lifted by a construction crane having an overhead cable. The frame has bars for engaging a building floor to position the frame against the side of the building. The bottom of the frame or cage has a plurality of rollers that are instrumental in helping the load to be moved from the frame to the concrete slab. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,356 illustrates a platform hoist that is guided in two parallel and vertical support beams. The platform can be guided by wheels in slotted support beams. The wheels allow to load to be rolled into the building and onto the concrete slab once a predetermined height of a floor is reached. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the invention is to simplify the delivering of the building materials in a high rise building under construction. This is accomplished by supporting two I-beams in parallelism to each other on a concrete slab of a building. A moving platform can move into the building with a load thereon or out of the building to receive a new load. The winch and the power supply for the winch to operate a hoisting cable is located on the same floor where the I-beams and the moving platform is located. In this manner, the winch cable can be lowered to the ground to pick up a new load while the just delivered load can be unloaded inside the building. This will shorten the waiting period of other loads to be lifted considerably. It is also possible to service lower floors provided other I-beams are located as outriggers on the lower floors. This is possible because once the moving platform has moved inside the building, there is no obstruction between the I-beams to hinder further operations. All of the necessary equipment and the various elements of the hoisting platform can easily be assembled and disassembled and moved to a different location. The hoisting power is preferably derived from a hydraulic power supply because of its superior energy force although electric power can be used too. The power supply is generated in the same location where the winch is located such as a diesel engine driving a hydraulic pump or an electric generator. Another advantage of the above described hoisting platform is that the operator is in close proximity to where the loads are to be deposited, whereby the operator has direct eye contact with the activities at their most critical moments. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 Is a perspective view of the hoisting platform installed; 
     FIG. 2 Is a perspective view of a different installation shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 Is a perspective view of still a different installation of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 shows a power cylinder for an adjustable frame; 
     FIG. 5 shows a different power arrangement; 
     FIG. 6 shows a different way of mounting the movable platform; 
     FIG. 7 shows a different way of supporting the movable platform; 
     FIG. 8 shows a way of adjusting the width of the deck; 
     FIG. 9 places the power supply on a different floor; 
     FIG. 10 is a side view of the hoisting platform. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Turning now to FIG. 1 which shows a perspective view of the hoisting platform including two I-beams  1  and  2  which are placed on a concrete slab F and are jutting forward in a cantilever fashion. The forward ends are connected to each other by a beam  3  (either an I-beam or a block beam) so that they cannot spread apart, although other arrangements can be made as will be shown below. The two I-beams  1  and  2  are supported on the floor F by several post jacks  5  which are placed against the ceiling C and are under pressure there against. It is helpful to add the beams  11  and  12  under the ceiling C and between the post jacks  5  so as to obtain an equal pressure distribution. The forward ends of the I-beams  1  and  2 , the ends which are cantilevered over the concrete slab receive an A frame  4 . The forward supports of the A frame are designated as  4   a  and the rearward supports are designated as  4   b . This results in two forward struts  4   a  and two rearward struts  4   b  which can be of any configurations such as I-beams, block beams or L-shaped struts. The top of the A of the A frame carries a connecting beam  6  which will be described below in more detail. The connecting beam  6  carries or supports a winch  13  which preferably is of a hydraulic type because such a hydraulic winch delivers more power although other types may be used as will be described below. The power for the winch  13  is derived from a hydraulic pump  10  which is driven by an internal combustion engine  9  which can be a diesel or a gasoline engine. Between the two I-beams  1  and  2  there is located a transfer deck  7  which is supported by the two I-beams  1  and  2  by rollers  8  which will run in the inside I of the two I-beams  1  and  2 . This way, any load that is placed on top of the transfer deck  7  can now easily be transported into the building and the load can be unloaded therefrom. This transfer can also be undertaken by using a power arrangement such as the piston  7   a  attached to one or both I beams and the piston rod  7   b  that is attached to the transfer deck  7  (shown in FIG.  2 ). The advantage of this is that the cable  14  with its hook  15  can now be lowered again through the vacated space between the two I-beams  1  and  2  and prepare to pick up another load to thereby gain valuable time between loads. 
     Turning now to FIG. 2 wherein the same reference characters have been used to identify the same elements that were identified in FIG.  1 . This FIG. 2 again is a perspective view of the hoisting platform. In this embodiment, the two I-beams  1  and  2  have been reinforced or strengthened by two additional block beams  16  and  17 . The Two I-beams  1  and  2  are connected to the block beams  16  and  17  by way of connecting blocks  100  (only one is shown). Also, the two block beams  16  and  17  receive their own post jacks  27  which are pressed against the ceiling C or through the intermediary top beams  29 . Also, the I-beams  1  and  2  have their own post jacks  5  as was described with reference to FIG.  1 . The post jacks  5  are pressed against the ceiling C or through the intermediary top beams  5 , again as shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 2 also shows an installation of a hoisting platform on a lower floor F. The two I-beam are shown as  1   a  and  2   a  with the post jacks  5   a  installed against the lower ceiling C. Also, there is shown the transfer deck  7   a  and an inner support beam  18   a  which is mounted on the bottom of the I-beams  1  and  2  by way of holes and bolts  18   b . The same support beam is shown at  18  on the upper floor. 
     Turning now to the construction of the A-frame  4  which consists of the forward beams  4   a  and the rear beams  4   b  which are connected at their top by way of the top connecting beam  6  (FIG. 1) which in this embodiment consists of at least four block beams  20  which are connected to each other by way of holes  22  and pins  21 . The holes  22  and pins  21  are essential so that lateral adjustments on the beams  20  can be undertaken. Each of the pair of the A-frame beams  4   a  and  4   b  are supported on the lower I-beam by way of knuckle joints  4   c , which articulate each of the A-frame beams to the I-beams  1  and  2 . Each of the A-frame beams  4   a  and  4   b  Have a height adjustment by way of the pistons  30 . Also, there is further incremental height adjustment at the top of the A-frame beams  4   a  and  4   b  by way of screw threads shown at  23 . The top of the A-frame beams  4   a  and  4   b  is adjustably supported in the plane of the ceiling C by way of pistons  32  and piston rods  31  extending therefrom to cooperate with a sliding joint  25 . The sliding joint  25  changes its position on each of the rearward A-frame beams  4   b  as the A-frame moves up or down or out or in. Once the right position has been found, the sliding joints  25  can be arrested in a certain position by way of the holes  24  and the pins  26 . Also the A-frame  4  can be moved in and out relative to the building slab F/C by way of the piston rods  31  which are each operated by the pistons  32 . Each of the pistons  32  are either attached to the bottom of the ceiling C or to the upper beam  29  which is pressed against the ceiling C because of the pressure caused by the post jacks  27  or  5 . 
     The height of the forward front beams  4   a  and the rear beams  4   b  can also be adjusted in two ways. One way is shown at  23  by using screw threaded rods  23  at the top of the beams  4   a  and  4   b  and the other way is shown at the bottom of the beams  4   a  and  4   b  by way of piston rods  30 . In the structure shown in FIG. 1 there is shown a front support beam  3  which has been omitted in FIG.  2 . Instead a bottom support beam  18  has been attached below the two I-beams  1  and  2  and right in front of the concrete slab F/C. The presence of the holes  18   a  allows for a lateral adjustment of the beam  18  relative to the two I-beams  1  and  2 . The same arrangement can be seen at the installation of a lower hoisting platform with the lateral support beam at  18   b  and the holes  18   c  for the bolts. 
     Also FIG. 2 shows a cylinder  17   a  which is connected to the transfer deck  7  by way of the piston rod  7   b . This arrangement eliminates the use of manual power to move the transfer deck  7  from a load receiving position on the cantilevered I-beams  1  and  2  to the unloading position in the interior of the building. A mere push of a button accomplishes this task. 
     In the installation in FIG. 2, it can now be seen that the loading time between loads has greatly been accelerated in a very simple and efficient manner. When a load has been deposited on the upper transfer deck  7  and it has not been quite unloaded, a new load can be deposited on the lower transfer deck  7   a  already without any interference from the upper transfer deck  7  which has simply vacated the spacing between the two I-beams  1  and  2 . 
     FIG. 3 shows still another installation of the support for the winch  13  which is located on the top beam  20 . The same reference characters that were used in FIGS. 1 and 2 are again applied to the same elements. In this structure of FIG. 3, the A frame has been replaced by two single upstanding support beams  31  and  32 . The support braces  20   a  and  20   b  have added because the top supporting beams  20  are installed in a cantilevered fashion whereby the braces  20   a  and  20   b  lend extra support to the structure. The upstanding support beams are somewhat inclined from the vertical and are adjustable relative to the vertical plane of the building as is shown by the arrows A and B. The adjustments are accomplished by the pistons  39  (left) and  42  (right) by way of their piston rods  40  (left) and  42  (right). The piston rods  40  and  42  are each articulated to each of the upstanding beams  31  and  32  by way of the sliding joints  35  (left) and  36  (right). Once a correct adjustment position has been found for each of the sliding joints  35  and  36 , a pin  37  (left) and  38  (right) can each be inserted into each of the sliding joints to arrest the same relative to the support beams  31  and  32 , respectively. Again, a height adjustment of the upstanding beams  31  and  32  is possible through the use of threaded rods  44  (left) and  46  (right) which are received in threaded sleeves  43  and  45 , respectively at the top of the upstanding support beams  31  and  32 . Also at the bottom of the upstanding support beams  31  and  32  there is a further possible height adjustment by way of the piston rods  47  (left) and  48  (right). The upstanding support beams  31  and  32  are articulated to the two I-beams  1  and  2  by way of the knuckle joints  33  (left) and  34  (right). The above described structure allows for a very quick and accurate adjustment of the winch  13  on top of the two upstanding beams  31  and  32  relative to the opening or available space between the two I-beams  1  and  2  or more accurate centering of the cable  14  with its hook  15  between the two I-beams  31  and  32 . 
     Turning now to FIG. 4, there is shown an adjustable power cylinder that can be used in various instances where a multiple way of adjusting different elements is desired such as was discussed with reference to FIGS. 1-3. FIG. 4 shows a general adjustable power cylinder or adjustable support strut having an outer sleeve  50 . The sleeve  50  has a piston cylinder  52  supported therein which has a piston rod  53  operating therein to extend in or out. The piston rod  53  also has an eyelet  54  at its outer end which may be attached to any element that needs any incremental adjustment. The inner end of the piston  52  also has an eyelet that my be adjustably attached to any position within the sleeve  51  by way of bores  58  and a pin (not shown) inserted therein. The other end of the outer sleeve  51  has a sliding sleeve  59  therein which may be adjustable relative to the outer sleeve  51  by way of the holes  55  receiving an arresting pin (not shown). The sleeve  59  which is received within the sleeve  51  has a threaded rod  56  therein which is adjustable by way of its threads relative to the inner sleeve  59 . The threaded rod  56  has another eyelet formed at its outer end to be attached to any element in the structure of the overall hoisting platform, as was previously discussed. 
     Turning now to FIG. 5 which shows a different power to load arrangement. In this respect, this FIG. 5 shows the relocation of the power implements. The same reference characters are being used to identify the same elements as were used in previous Figs. The support beam  20  on top of the A-frame  4  has now supported thereon idler sheaves  59  and  59   a  over which the both cables  14  and  14   a  will be guided. The twin winch  60  and  60   a , which is to operate the cables  14  and  14   a  with the hook  15  thereon, is now located on the same floor F where the transfer deck  7  is located. This arrangement may simplify the above noted installation in that the weight of the hydraulic winch or any other type is being transferred to a more accessible location where the internal combustion engine is driving the hydraulic pump or the electric generator. The use of a twin winch has the advantage that lighter loads can be handled at the same time or successively involving lower floors. The winch  13  on top of the support beams  20  is idle in this arrangement but can be put into service at any time when the demand so dictates. It is merely a matter of connecting the various power lines or hoses. 
     FIG. 6 shows a different installation wherein the building on which the hoisting platform is installed offers a different type of variation in its general layout. In this case, the building structure has been modified to present a built-up curb or a riser R which is in line with the front of the concrete slab F/C. This installation presents an obstacle to the previously presented Figs. in that the previously installed I-beams  1  and  2  or the adjacent block beams  16  and  17  must be raised by the distance of the thickness of the curb or the riser R to compensate for this difference. In this instance, the post jacks  27  extend through the I-beams  1  and  2  or through the block beams  16  and  17 , which ever the case may be, to an extent to form a foot support  61  equal of the thickness to make up for the rise of the curb or riser R. The remainder of this operation remains the same as was discussed with respect to FIGS. 1-3. also shown in FIG. 6 is a different support for the top beams  20  which are supported in a cantilevered fashion in a direction oriented toward the building. This is accomplished by the braces  20   b  mounted between the support beams and the movable struts  4   a . The advantage of this arrangement is that a load can be deposited on the next higher floor without having to change the basic arrangement. This arrangement is possible because first of all, the supporting struts  4   a  can be moved to any position toward the building because the cylinders  31  with their respective piston rods  32  can move the supporting struts  4   a  to different vertical positions including over the next higher floor F. Also, the fact that the supporting struts  4   a  have at their bottom ends the installed the power pistons  30 , the supporting struts  4   a  can be moved to a higher position to reach a greater height over the next higher floor to deposit a load thereon. 
     In FIG. 7 there is shown a different version of supporting both the front ends of the I-beams  1  and  2  in that both the supporting struts  74  and  75  may be rotated to an entire different supporting position. Again, the same reference characters are applied to the same elements as were identified in FIGS. 1-6. To this end, the supporting struts  74  and  75  are supported on the I-beams  1  and  2  by way of knuckle joints  78  (left) and  79  (right) so as to be rotatable about their respective joints  78  and  79  to be able to make contact with the outer edge of the floor F below from where the hoisting platform is operating now. The rotated support struts are identified by the numerals  74   a  and  75   a , respectively. This simple arrangement will simplify the operation of the overall system. The top of the supporting struts  74  and  75  are still adjustable relative to the distance between the upper concrete slab F by way of the pistons  70  (left) and  72  (right) and their respective piston rods  71  (left) and  73  (right). Both of the sliding joints  76  (left) and  77  (right) are linked to the respective support struts  74  and  75  so as to be able to move the support struts  74  an  75  out from the concrete slab F/C or closer to it. Again, the supporting struts  74   a  and  75   a  can be adjusted in their lengths by using the pistons  82  (left) and  83  (right) in the support struts  74   a  and  75   a , respectively, and through the piston rods  84  (left) and  85  (right). As previously described, the supporting struts  74  and  75  can be rotated (Arrow B) by more than 180° around the knuckle joints  78  and  79 , respectively, to a lower position wherein the rods  74   a  and  75   a  are now supporting the hoisting platform from a support from below. Once in this position, the support struts  74   a  and  75   a  are now supported on the lower floor by way of the clamping elements  80  (left) and  81  (right). 
     FIG. 8 shows a way of laterally adjusting the width or the space between the main supporting beams of the inventive structure. Again, the same reference characters have been applied to identify the same elements that were identified in the previous Figs. In this FIG. 8, the distance between the I-beams  1  an  2  can be adjusted by way of the lateral support beam  18  which can be moved to different adjustment bores  18   a  as is dictated by the distance. At the same time, there can be a front lateral support beam  18  which also can be adjusted by lateral adjustment holes  86 . The various adjustments can be seen by the arrow C. At the same time, the top beam  20  needs to be adjusted with the adjustment made to the bottom I-beams which can easily be undertaken by the pins  87  which will fit into holes in the square tubing  20  as is dictated by the required distance between the I-beams  1  and  2  and, of course the distance between the forward struts  4   a  of the overall structure. Still referring to FIG. 8, it is clear when the lateral adjustments or the space between the two I-beams  1  and  2  is changed that a different width transfer deck  7  will have to used because the width of the transfer deck cannot be changed due to structural reasons. 
     FIG. 9 schematically shows the previous discussed structural arrangement and therefore, the same reference characters are again applied to the same elements. A difference in this illustration is that the power unit  90  is located on a different floor than where the transfer deck  7  is located. It was mentioned above, that the power unit  90  consists of an internal combustion engine and a driven hydraulic pump or an electric generator attached thereto. This particular unit does not have to be on the same floor where the loading or unloading operations take place. It could well be on a floor above or below the operations floor. The generated power would simply be supplied by the electric power cable  91  or by the hydraulic power or air power hoses  91   a . This particular arrangement again contributes to the overall versatility of the hoisting platform. For example, if the present hoisting platform is operating on a given floor and the future projection is that the hoisting platform has to operate on the next upper floor, the power generating unit  90  does not have to be moved and can be left on the present floor which results in saving of time and effort. 
     FIG. 10 shows a side elevation view of the hoisting platform installed on a fifth floor, for example. Again the same reference characters have bee applied to the same elements that were discussed in previous Figs. In this Fig. the hydraulic winch  13  is located on top of the beam  20  on top of the A-frame  4 . FIG. 5 described the instance where the winch  13  is located on the floor F but the cable  14  is trained over the idler sheaves  59 . The cable  14  is attached to a load  97  by way of the hook  15 . Also, the walkway of the I-beams is protected by a chain or similar arrangement which chain  96  is attached to stanchions  95 .