Patent ID: 8016536

Claim:
An apparatus for moving a tubular member, comprising: a support structure configured to be positioned adjacent a pipe rack; a carrier that is moveably coupled between an elevated position and a lowered position to the support structure and that has a varying amount of angular rotation when raised and lowered; a carriage moveably coupled to the carrier; a trough extending longitudinally over the support structure and moveably coupled to the carriage, the trough configured to receive a tubular member; a lift arm coupled between the support structure and the carrier and operable to move the carrier and carriage relative to the support structure, thereby also moving the tubular member received in the trough; an actuator having a first end coupled to the support structure and a retractable cylinder at a second end; a linkage including a rocker bar coupled between the lift arm and the retractable cylinder of the actuator, wherein the linkage is operable to transfer operational force of the actuator to the lift arm to raise and lower the carrier, carriage and trough relative to the support structure; wherein the rocker bar and the lift arm are coupled so that, as the cylinder is extended or retracted at a constant speed, the lift arm has a non-linear decrease in the angle of rotation when the carrier is adjacent to the lowered position relative to a non-linear increase in the angle of rotation when the carrier is adjacent to the elevated position; a plurality of indexers each coupled to the support structure and operable to urge the tubular member toward the trough; and a plurality of pick up arms each slidingly engaged with a corresponding one of the plurality of indexers and operable to retrieve the tubular member from the pipe rack by tilting relative to the support structure.