Patent ID: 8827620

Claim:
A lengthy article transferring apparatus, comprising: a lifting mast; a cord-like member; a platform: being suspended and supported by the cord-like member; being operable to be freely lifted along the lifting mast and guided and supported by the lifting mast; having an outside end portion; having a transferring device operable to be freely lifted along with the platform in a united manner, the transferring device being operable: to mount and transport a lengthy article in a manner in which a longitudinal extent of the lengthy article is extended horizontally; and to freely transfer the lengthy article between the platform and a target location for the transfer in an article transferring direction; having a base frame to which the cord-like member is connected, the base frame having sides; and having a pair of end frames extended in the article transferring direction from both sides of the base frame, each of the pair of end frames having outer end portions and being pivotally connected to the base frame to be freely fluctuated about a center of a horizontal axis intersecting the article transferring direction; a lifting driving means for lifting and driving the platform and the transferring device by winding the cord-like member; a lifted position detecting means for detecting a lifted position of the platform; and a controlling means for controlling actuation of the lifting driving means and the transferring device, the controlling means being operable: to perform a lifting operation for positioning the platform at a lifted position for transfer, at which the outside end portion of the platform is received and supported by a receiver provided at the target location for the transfer in the article transferring direction based upon information detected by the lifted position detecting means; after the lifting operation has been completed, to perform a transferring operation that actuates the transferring device when in a condition in which the outside end portion is received and supported by the receiver at the target location for the transfer; and to perform a lifted position adjustment procedure that controls actuation of the lifting driving means based upon information detected by the lifted position detecting means during performance of the transferring operation to absorb a shift in the lifted position of the platform due to a variation in load acting on the platform, which load varies as the lengthy article is transported in the article transferring direction.