Patent ID: 8644980

Claim:
A handling system configured to provide assistance, including horizontal assistance, to an operator manually moving a payload which is flexibly suspended, comprising: a trolley adapted to assist manual movement of the payload by the operator in at least one of a horizontal plane and a vertical plane; a flexible suspension device configured to operatively attach to a trolley at a first end and to the payload at the second end; a sensing device attachable to the payload and configured to be contacted by the operator during manual movement of the payload by the operator; wherein the sensing device is configured: to sense a force input and directional information corresponding to the manual movement of the payload by the operator in contact with the sensing device; and to transmit a signal responsive to the force input and the direction information; a controller configured to receive and process the signal from the sensing device and provide input to the trolley; and wherein the trolley is adapted to assist manual movement of the payload by the operator in response to the input from the controller.