Patent ID: 6857844

Claim:
A method of removing an associated tire tread from a storage device utilizing a lifting apparatus, said lifting apparatus comprising: a frame member; an arm assembly mounted on said frame member, said arm assembly comprising first and second spaced arms, each of said arms being selectively moveable toward and away from said frame member; and, gripping means for gripping the associated tread, said gripping means being carried on said arm assembly and being disposed substantially between said first and second spaced arms, said method characterized by the steps of: selectively moving said first and second spaced arms away from said frame member to operably position said gripping means above the associated tread; engaging the associated tread with said gripping means: vertically translating said arm assembly to displace said gripping means and the associated tread a predetermined upward distance; and, inverting the associated tread after said vertically translating step.