Patent ID: 8690517

Claim:
A pipe stick handling machine for transferring sticks of heavy polyolefin pipe to a fusion machine for joining to a pipeline, the handling machine comprising: a rack supporting multiple sticks of pipe and inclined to gravitationally cause the supported sticks of pipe to roll toward a downstream end of said rack; a dispenser at said downstream end of said rack for discharging one stick of pipe at a time from said rack to gravity; and a pair of spaced-apart stands, each said stand comprising: a base frame; a trolley adapted to reciprocate laterally on said base frame; a first hydraulic cylinder linked to said trolley to selectively drive said trolley in upstream and downstream directions relative to the pipe feeder; a boom adapted to reciprocate vertically on said trolley; a second hydraulic cylinder linked to said boom to selectively drive said boom upwardly and downwardly; and an assembly mounted on said boom for catching and supporting a stick of pipe in longitudinal orientation aligned on a path to the fusion machine.