Patent ID: 8146671

Claim:
An elevator comprising: (a) a frame; (b) a body mounted to said frame, said body having an inwardly tapered interior surface, said body being configured to receive a length of pipe wherein one end said pipe has an outwardly protruding collar around its periphery; (c) first and second elongated hangers pivotally mounted to said frame; (d) a plurality of shoes mounted within said body, said shoes being poweredly positionable upward and downward within said body along a desired range of upward and downward movement along said inwardly tapered interior surface of said body and thereby positionable radially inward and outward entirely within said interior surface of said body below and around said collar of said length of pipe; (e) means for providing a desired range of powered upward and downward movement of said shoes entirely within said body; (g) means for biasing said shoes upward at the downward end of said powered range of upward and downward movement of said shoes within said body and whereby further powered downward movement of said shoes will cease and said shoes will be positioned around said pipe below said collar; and (h) whereby the weight of said pipe on said pipe collar on said shoes against biasing means will move said shoes against said periphery of said pipe under said pipe collar.