Patent ID: 8562050

Claim:
A self-aligning and engaging concrete cylinder and mold lifting tool comprising: a tube having a proximal end, a distal end, a through-bore from the proximal end to the distal end, and a length, wherein the through-bore includes an inner diameter; a longitudinal rod having a proximal end, a distal end, a length, and an outer diameter, wherein the outer diameter is smaller than the inner diameter of the through-bore of the tube such that the longitudinal rod freely traverses within the through-bore of the tube, wherein the length of the longitudinal rod is greater than the length of the tube; a handle connected to the distal end of the longitudinal rod such that contact of the handle with the distal end of the tube stops to traversal of the longitudinal rod through the through-bore of the tube; a plurality of arms, wherein each arm of the plurality of arms has a distal end and a proximal end, wherein the proximal end includes a lifting lug capable of engagement of a lower surface of a lip of a concrete cylinder mold, wherein the distal end is pivotally connected juxtaposition the proximal end of the tube; and a plurality of extension members, wherein each extension member includes a distal end and a proximal end, wherein the proximal end of each extension member is pivotally connected juxtaposition the proximal end of the longitudinal rod, wherein the distal end of the each extension member is pivotally connected juxtaposition the proximal end of the each arm of the plurality of arms, wherein the each extension member is capable of radially extending or retracting the lifting lug of the each arm along a radial path as a portion of the longitudinal rod traverses through the through-bore of the tube from the proximal end of the tube towards the distal end of the tube, wherein the lifting lugs of the plurality of arms are capable of being radially extended or retracted simultaneously between a first radial position and a second radial position along the radial path as the longitudinal rod traverses through the through-bore of the tube with a single movement of the handle, wherein the longitudinal rod, the tube, and the handle are perpendicularly oriented relative to the radial path of the lifting lug.