Patent ID: 7011486

Claim:
A collapsible hoist system capable of lifting an object having a significant weight, said hoist system being detachably mountable on a pickup truck having a truck frame and a cargo bed, said bed having a bed length and said bed being surrounded by two sidewalls, and a front wall, and wherein said hoist system when collapsed is capable of being completely stowed atop said two sidewalls and said front wall with no portion of said hoist system extending beyond said bed, said hoist system comprising a) a mounting frame, b) a front yoke, a rear yoke, and a yoke brace, c) a rail, and d) a pair of downriggers, e) a pair of sidewall braces, f) a front wall brace wherein said mounting frame is constructed of three metal beams including a mounting frame front member and two mounting frame side members and wherein a yoke bearing is attached to a distal end of each of said side members, wherein with said hoist system detachably mounted on said pickup truck with said truck on a level surface, said front yoke, said rear yoke, and said downriggers are each pivotally attached to a pivot axle incorporated in each of said yoke bearings, wherein said downriggers are positioned when deployed to support said object and are structured so as to be retractable under load, wherein said rear yoke is capable of being rotated about said yoke bearing independently of said front yoke, and wherein said rear yoke includes two yoke legs and a rear crossbar, wherein said rear crossbar joins said yoke legs, wherein said rear crossbar is oriented substantially horizontally, and wherein said rear crossbar is configured to mate with a rear connection point of said rail, wherein said front yoke includes a front crossbar oriented substantially horizontally, and wherein said front crossbar is configured to mate with a front connection point of said rail and wherein said front crossbar is also configured to mate with said yoke brace, wherein said rail is made up of two I-beams including a front I-beam and a rear I-beam, said rear I-beam having a cut-out portion incorporating said rear connection point, and said front I-beam including a front connection point at a proximal end of said front I-beam, wherein each of said sidewall braces is bolted at a top end thereof to said mounting frame and wherein each of said sidewall braces is welded at a bottom end thereof to a base plate, wherein said base plate is configured to rest on said bed and to be coupled by a supporting link to said truck frame, said supporting link passing through said bed, wherein said front wall brace is configured to connect to a bottom end of said yoke brace so as to provide support for said yoke brace and wherein said front wall brace is adjustably coupled to and supported by said truck frame.