Patent Publication Number: US-10781603-B1

Title: Mast raising assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
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     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
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     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM 
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     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The disclosure relates to mast raising device and more particularly pertains to a new mast raising device for raising and lowering a mast with a hand crank. 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     The prior art relates to mast raising device. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a base that is securable to a horizontal support surface. A tube is insertable into the base such that the tube is vertically oriented. A winch is coupled to the tube and a pair of lower pulleys is each rotatably coupled to the tube. A mast is pivotally coupled to the tube. The mast is positionable in a raised position and a folded position. A plurality of upper pulleys is each of the upper pulleys is rotatably coupled to the mast. A cable extends between the winch, the lower pulleys and the upper pulleys. The cable urges the mast into the raised position when the winch is rotated in a raising direction. Additionally, the cable urges the mast into the folded position when the winch is rotated in a lowering direction. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a mast raising assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a right side view of an embodiment of the disclosure showing a mast moving between a raised position and a folded position. 
         FIG. 3  is a left side view of an embodiment of the disclosure showing a mast in a folded position. 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure showing a mast in a folded position. 
         FIG. 5  is a detail view taken from circle  5  of  FIG. 3  of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of winch and a tube of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross sectional view taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 4  of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 7  thereof, a new mast raising device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 7 , the mast raising assembly  10  generally comprises a base  12  that is securable to a horizontal support surface  14 . The horizontal support surface  14  may be a concrete pad, the ground or other similar horizontal support surface  14 . The base  12  comprises a plate  16  and a receiver  18  extending through the plate  16 . The plate  16  lies on the horizontal support surface  14  having the receiver  18  extending downwardly into the horizontal support surface  14 . In this way the plate  16  is inhibited from moving on the horizontal support surface  14 . 
     A tube  20  is provided and the tube  20  is insertable into the receiver  18  such that the tube  20  is vertically oriented. The tube  20  has an outer wall  22  and a distal end  24  with respect to the plate  16 . The outer wall  22  has a cut out  26  extending into an interior of the tube  20  and the cut out  26  extends from the distal end  24  toward the receiver  18 . A winch  28  is removably coupled to the tube  20 , and the winch  28  includes a handle  30  and a cable wheel  32 . The handle  30  is in mechanical communication with the cable wheel  32  such that the handle  30  rotates the cable wheel  32  when the handle  30  is rotated. Additionally, the winch  28  is offset with respect to the cut out  26  in the tube  20 . The winch  28  may be a hand operated winch of any conventional design. The winch  28  may be retained on the tube  20  with a pair of U-bolts or other releasable fastener. 
     A pair of lower pulleys  34  is provided and each of the lower pulleys  34  is rotatably coupled to the tube  20 . Each of the lower pulleys  34  is positioned on opposite sides of the outer wall  22  of the tube  20  with respect to each other. A mast  36  is provided and the mast  36  is pivotally coupled to the tube  20 . The mast  36  is positionable in a raised position having the mast  36  being vertically oriented. Additionally, the mast  36  is positionable in a folded position having the mast  36  being oriented perpendicular to the tube  20 . 
     The mast  36  has a first end  38  and a second end  40 . The mast  36  is pivotally coupled to the distal end  24  of the tube  20  at a pivot point  42  that is located closer to the first end  38  than the second end  40 . The mast  36  enters the cut out  26  in the tube  20  when the mast  36  is positioned in the raised position. Additionally, the first end  38  of the mast  36  is positioned in the tube  20  when the mast  36  is positioned in the raised position. The mast  36  may have a length of at least 50.0 feet. 
     A pulley mount  43  is removably coupled to the mast  36  and the pulley mount  43  is positionable adjacent to the first end  38  of the mast  36 . The pulley mount  43  has a first lateral wall  44  and a second lateral wall  46 . Each of the first lateral wall  44  and the second lateral wall  46  has an opening  48  extending therethrough. A plurality of upper pulleys  50  is provided and each of the upper pulleys  50  is rotatably coupled to the pulley mount  43 . Each of the upper pulleys  50  is aligned with the opening  48  in a respective one of the first lateral wall  44  and the second lateral wall  46 . The pulley mount  43  may be retained on the mast  36  with U-bolts or other releasable fastener. 
     A cable  52  is provided and the cable  52  extends between the winch  28 , the lower pulleys  34  and the upper pulleys  50 . The cable  52  urges the mast  36  into the raised position when the winch  28  is rotated in a raising direction. Conversely, the cable  52  urges the mast  36  into the folded position when the winch  28  is rotated in a lowering direction. The cable  52  may be a steel cable, a rope cable or any other cable that has a weight capacity of at least 500.0 pounds. 
     The cable  52  has a first end  54  and a second end  56 . The first end  54  of the cable  52  is coupled to the cable wheel  32  of the winch  28  and the second end  56  of the cable  52  is coupled to the tube  20 . The cable  52  is shortened when the winch  28  is rotated in the raising direction thereby urging the first end  38  of the mast  36  into the cut out  26  of the tube  20 . The cable  52  is lengthened when the winch  28  is rotated in the lowering direction thereby facilitating the mast  36  to be lowered into the folded position. The cable  52  extends through the opening  48  in each of the first lateral wall  44  and the second lateral wall  46  of the pulley mount  43 . 
     In use, the base  12  is mounted at a selected location and the tube  20  is inserted into the receiver  18 . The winch  28  is coupled to the tube  20  and the pulley mount  43  is coupled to the mast  36  at a point that is adjacent to the first end  38  of the mast  36 . An antenna, a lamp or any other object that is intended to be elevated is coupled to the second end  40  of the mast  36 . Additionally, the cable  52  is routed between the winch  28  and the pulley mount  43 . The winch  28  is rotated in the raising direction to urge the mast  36  into the raised position. In this way the antenna, lamp or other object can be elevated without the need for a lift truck or other powered equipment. The winch  28  is rotated in the lowering direction to urge the mast  36  into the folded position. In this way the antenna, lamp or other object can be accessed by a person standing on the ground. Each of the winch  28  and the pulley mount  43  are removable from the tube  20  and the mast  36  when the mast  36  has been raised into the raised position to present a more clean appearance. 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.