Patent Grant
11192764
The present disclosure relates to accessories for aerial work platforms.
An aerial work platform is a mechanical device used to provide temporary access for people or equipment to inaccessible areas, usually at height. Aerial work platforms are generally used for temporary, flexible access purposes such as maintenance and construction work, such as painting and the like.
One type of aerial work platform is known as a boom lift (sometimes referred to as a “cherry picker”). A boom lift includes a mobile base unit with a boom extending therefrom. The boom may have any number of sections as desired. The sections may be articulating or telescoping.
A basket is attached to the end of the boom. In a typical boom lift, a mounting bracket is attached to the end of the boom. A vertical member extends vertically downwardly from the mounting bracket. Horizontal members (such as forks) extend horizontally from the vertical member. The basket is attached, such as by being bolted, onto a distal end of the horizontal members.
The basket includes guard rails and a control panel for controlling functions such as raising and lowering the basket, rotating the basket, driving and steering the mobile base unit, and the like.
The basket also includes a floor. The floor typically is made from an expanded metal grate. The use of an expanded metal grate helps reduce weight. However, if liquids (such as paint or the like), powders, or other solids (such as fasteners, tools, or the like) were spilled or dropped in the basket, then the liquids, powders, and solids smaller than gaps between grate members will fall onto the ground or the floor.
Disclosed embodiments include pan assemblies for aerial work platforms, methods of attaching a pan assembly to an aerial work platform, and methods of fabricating a pan assembly for an aerial work platform.
In an illustrative embodiment given by way of non-limiting example, a non-limiting, illustrative pan assembly for an aerial work platform includes a pan configured to be disposed about a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform. A plurality of attachment mechanisms are disposed about an exterior of the pan, the plurality of attachment mechanisms being configured to removably attach the pan to a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform. A tensioning system is disposed within an interior of the pan, the tensioning system being configured to cooperate with the plurality of attachment mechanisms to hold the pan onto a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform.
In another illustrative embodiment given by way of non-limiting example, a non-limiting, illustrative method of attaching a pan assembly to an aerial work platform includes: disposing a pan about a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform; removably attaching the pan to a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform with a plurality of attachment mechanisms disposed about an exterior of the pan; and engaging a tensioning system disposed within an interior of the pan to cooperate with the plurality of attachment mechanisms to hold the pan onto a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform.
In another illustrative embodiment given by way of non-limiting example, a non-limiting, illustrative method of fabricating a pan assembly for an aerial work platform includes: forming a pan configured to be disposed about a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform; disposing a plurality of attachment mechanisms about an exterior of the pan, the plurality of attachment mechanisms being configured to removably attach the pan to a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform; and disposing a tensioning system within an interior of the pan, the tensioning system being configured to cooperate with the plurality of attachment mechanisms to hold the pan onto a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform.
The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations, inclusions, and/or omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is NOT intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects, features, and advantages of the devices and/or processes and/or other subject matter described herein will become apparent in the text (e.g., claims and/or detailed description) and/or drawings of the present disclosure.
Illustrative embodiments are illustrated in referenced figures of the drawings. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosed herein are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.
The use of the same symbols in different drawings typically indicates similar or identical items unless context dictates otherwise.
Given by way of non-limiting overview and referring to
Still by way of overview, in various embodiments the pan assembly 10 is configured for use with an aerial work platform 12 such as a boom lift (also referred to as a “cherry picker”). As is known, the aerial work platform 12 may be used for temporary, flexible access purposes such as maintenance and construction work. As such, workers in the basket 18 may perform tasks such as, without limitation, painting, cleaning, inspection, preventive maintenance, installation, removal, repairs, and the like. Therefore, workers may be engaged in tasks that entail use of liquids, powders, fasteners, and/or tools. If liquids (such as paint, cleaning agents, or the like), powders, or other solids (such as fasteners, tools, or the like) were spilled or dropped in the basket, then the liquids, powders, and solids smaller than gaps between grate members will collect in the pan 14 instead of falling onto the ground or the floor. Moreover, during performance of preventive maintenance procedures or repairs, an amount of liquids (that remains within or does not exceed weight restrictions or stability restrictions) may be drained aloft from equipment and may be collected aloft in the pan 14 for later, and controlled, disposal when the basket 18 has been returned to ground level. Also, if desired, during performance of preventive maintenance procedures or repairs, any amount of liquids as desired may be drained aloft from equipment and may drain through a drainage port (described below) and to a collection facility via a hose or the like.
Details will be set forth below by way of illustrative examples and not of limitation.
Referring additionally to
In various embodiments the pan 14 is made of flexible material, such as without limitation cotton and/or vinyl. In applications in which consumables and materials used in the basket 18 do not include liquids, the pan 14 may be made of cotton and may be fabricated by a process such as sewing. In some embodiments the pan 14 may be made entirely of vinyl and may be fabricated by a process such as radiofrequency welding. Regardless of whether the pan 14 is made of cotton or vinyl, in some other embodiments the pan 14 may include one or more vinyl windows 15. In such embodiments, the vinyl window 15 is made of clear vinyl that permits a worker to look through the window 15, thereby helping increase visibility when the pan assembly 10 is attached to the basket 18.
Embodiments of the pan 14 are sized to capture that which is in the basket 18. In various embodiments and given by way of illustration only and not of limitation, the pan 14 may be sized to hold as much as about 30 gallons or so of liquid. However, it will be appreciated that the pan 14 may be sized to hold any volume as desired for a particular application (within weight restrictions and stability restrictions) and within operating limitations of material from which the pan 14 is made.
Referring additionally to
Referring additionally to
In various embodiments, the strap 36A has a length that is longer than the length of the strap 36B. As shown in
Referring additionally to
Referring additionally to
Referring additionally to
Now that various embodiments of the pan assembly 10 have been described, illustrative methods of their attachment to an aerial work platform and their fabrication will be described by way of nonlimiting examples.
In various embodiments, illustrative methods are provided for attaching the pan assembly 10 to an aerial work platform. In an illustrative method of attaching a pan assembly to an aerial work platform, a pan is disposed about a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform. The pan is removably attached to a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform with attachment mechanisms disposed about an exterior of the pan. A tensioning system disposed within an interior of the pan is engaged to cooperate with the attachment mechanisms to hold the pan onto a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform.
In various embodiments, illustrative methods are provided for fabricating the pan assembly 10. In an illustrative method of fabricating a pan assembly, a pan configured to be disposed about a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform is formed. Attachment mechanisms are disposed about an exterior of the pan, the attachment mechanisms being configured to removably attach the pan to a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform. A tensioning system is disposed within an interior of the pan, the tensioning system being configured to cooperate with the attachment mechanisms to hold the pan onto a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform.
In some embodiments, forming the pan configured to be disposed about a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform may include defining an accommodation section configured to accommodate structure that attaches a boom of an aerial work platform to a basket of an aerial work platform.
In some embodiments, forming the pan configured to be disposed about a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform may include defining at least one vinyl window in the pan.
In some embodiments, disposing attachment mechanisms about an exterior of the pan may include: attaching a first strap to a hook configured to engage a lower portion of a basket of an aerial work platform; receivably engaging the first strap with a cam buckle; and attaching a second strap to the cam buckle and to an exterior of the pan.
In some embodiments, disposing a tensioning system within an interior of the pan may include: disposing a matrix of a plurality of rows of third straps along a major axis of the pan and a plurality of columns of fourth straps along a minor axis of the pan; attaching the third and fourth straps at their ends to the pan and to the second straps; and attaching the plurality of third straps to the plurality of fourth straps at locations where the plurality of third straps intersect the plurality of fourth straps.
In some embodiments, attaching the third and fourth straps at their ends to the pan and to the second straps may include sewing the third and fourth straps at their ends to the second straps.
In some embodiments, attaching the plurality of third straps to the plurality of fourth straps at locations where the plurality of third straps intersect the plurality of fourth straps may include sewing the plurality of third straps to the plurality of fourth straps at locations where the plurality of third straps intersect the plurality of fourth straps.
In some embodiments, a drainage port may be defined in the pan. In some embodiments defining a drainage port in the pan may include threadably receiving on a tube a fitting such as a cap and/or a hose adapter fitting that includes a valve.
From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Furthermore, where an alternative is disclosed for a particular embodiment, this alternative may also apply to other embodiments even if not specifically stated.
One skilled in the art will recognize that the herein described components (e.g., operations), devices, objects, and the discussion accompanying them are used as examples for the sake of conceptual clarity and that various configuration modifications are contemplated. Consequently, as used herein, the specific exemplars set forth and the accompanying discussion are intended to be representative of their more general classes. In general, use of any specific exemplar is intended to be representative of its class, and the non-inclusion of specific components (e.g., operations), devices, and objects should not be taken limiting.
With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations are not expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.
The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures may be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or “operably coupled,” to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being “operably couplable,” to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically mateable and/or physically interacting components, and/or wirelessly interactable, and/or wirelessly interacting components, and/or logically interacting, and/or logically interactable components.
While particular aspects of the present subject matter described herein have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from the subject matter described herein and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to claims containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that typically a disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms unless context dictates otherwise. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art will appreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed in any order. Also, although various operational flows are presented in a sequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may be performed in other orders than those which are illustrated, or may be performed concurrently. Examples of such alternate orderings may include overlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental, preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or other variant orderings, unless context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, terms like “responsive to,” “related to,” or other past-tense adjectives are generally not intended to exclude such variants, unless context dictates otherwise.
While a number of illustrative embodiments and aspects have been illustrated and discussed above, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications, permutations, additions, and sub-combinations thereof. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims and claims hereafter introduced are interpreted to include all such modifications, permutations, additions, and sub-combinations as are within their true spirit and scope.
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