Patent ID: 7878348

Claim:
A payload lifter/manipulator, comprising: a rotatable base adapted to rest on a surface, said base being rotatable in a first plane of rotation; a support section coupled to said base and extending upward therefrom to define a mounting location above the surface; and a manipulator section pivotally coupled to said support section at said mounting location, said manipulator section having a first spreader arm and a second spreader arm coupled to one another at a joint that permits relative planar movement between said first spreader arm and said second spreader arm, said relative planar movement occurring in a second plane perpendicular to said first plane, said joint being pivotally coupled to said support section at said mounting location for independent planar movement that is one of coincident with said second plane and parallel to said second plane, each of said first spreader arm and said second spreader arm terminating at an outboard end, a rigid arm fixedly coupled to said joint and extending out therefrom to a tip wherein said rigid arm can pivot about said mounting location, a tension assembly for increasing the range of motion of said tip, said tension assembly having a first end and a second end with said first end being fixedly coupled to said tip, said tension assembly incorporating a first pivot and a second pivot therealong, said first pivot being operative to be engaged by and disengaged from said outboard end of said first spreader arm based on a position of said first spreader arm, and said second pivot being operative to be engaged by and disengaged from said outboard end of said second spreader arm based on a position of said second spreader arm, and a cable deploying/retrieving device mounted on said support section, said device including a cable coupled to said second end of said tension assembly.