Patent ID: 7744054

Claim:
A device to aid the unloading of a support element having a lower shaft and an upper shaft telescopically coupled to each other and extending in a longitudinal direction, the device comprising: an annular first body and an annular second body configured to be coaxially coupled to each other, wherein the first body and the second body are each provided with a through-hole, the through holes being adapted so that when the first body is coupled to the second body, the upper shaft can pass through the through holes and be supported by said first body, and wherein the second body is configured to be supported by the lower shaft; and an intermediate unloading wedge configured to be positioned between the first body and the second body when the first body and the second body are coupled together, the intermediate unloading wedge configured to slide in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction, wherein the sliding of the intermediate unloading wedge causes, when the support element is in a vertical position, the first body and the second body to come together or move apart in the longitudinal direction of the support element and, therefore, reduce or increase the total length of the support element; wherein the intermediate unloading wedge comprises an oblong annular body formed by two parallel side portions and two arched end portions, wherein the two parallel side portions have a top surface and a bottom surface angled with respect to each other such that the two parallel side portions form a wedge; wherein the first body and the second body each comprise an opposing face with a slope that corresponds to a slope formed by a respective one of the top surface and the bottom surface of the of the two parallel side portions, when the first body and the second body are coupled with each other and the intermediate unloading wedge is disposed between the first body and the second body.