Patent ID: 8763973

Claim:
A cable catching device, comprising: a crane boom; and a boom end attachment releasably deployed on the crane boom to catch at least one cable, suspended above at least part of the device in the event that the cable falls downwardly, the attachment comprising: a base operable with connectors to releasably mount on the crane boom; a post having: a lower end engaged with the base; and an upper end extending beyond the base; a yoke having at least two arms extending upwardly from the upper end of the post, each arm having an upper end laterally spaced apart from the upper end of any adjacent arm, thereby defining an upwardly open yoke mouth between the upper ends of the arms, the yoke mouth being deployed adjacent an underside of the suspended cable wherein the arms are disposed a distance from the suspended cable; and each arm having an arm roller with an outer cable contact surface, each roller being mounted for rotation about an axis oriented to be substantially transverse to an axis of the cable; and wherein the yoke includes a transverse beam joining the upper end of the post and the lower ends of the arms, the beam including a beam roller with an outer cable contact surface.