Ceiling mounted lift
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A ceiling mounted lift, comprising:
- a support frame housing a double fabric panel drive assembly with first and second panels disposed on separate rollers, the panels cooperating to raise and lower a lifting platen;
wherein a flat surface of the first panel and a flat surface of the second panel each define substantially parallel planes that are not co-planar when the lifting platen is lowered; and
a stabilizer having a first arm and a second arm, such stabilizer disposed between the support frame and the lifting platen, and disposed between the first and second panels such that operational motion of the stabilizer is in a plane that is substantially parallel to the planes defined by the flat surfaces of the first and second panels when the lifting platen is raised or lowered, to prohibit motion in all but one plane.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A ceiling mounted lift (200), of the type having a support frame (210) housing a drive mechanism (240) that operates to raise and lower a lifting platen (22) using a fabric drive roller (244), has a stabilizer (230), and is small enough to fit between standard ceiling joists. Preferred stabilizers have free movement in substantially only one plane and such arrangement is aided by the use of a bearing and hardened washers. Lifts according to the present invention can safely have a travel distance of up to 50 feet, and can manage payloads up to 1000 pounds.
-
Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A ceiling mounted lift, comprising:
-
a support frame housing a double fabric panel drive assembly with first and second panels disposed on separate rollers, the panels cooperating to raise and lower a lifting platen; wherein a flat surface of the first panel and a flat surface of the second panel each define substantially parallel planes that are not co-planar when the lifting platen is lowered; and a stabilizer having a first arm and a second arm, such stabilizer disposed between the support frame and the lifting platen, and disposed between the first and second panels such that operational motion of the stabilizer is in a plane that is substantially parallel to the planes defined by the flat surfaces of the first and second panels when the lifting platen is raised or lowered, to prohibit motion in all but one plane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A ceiling mounted lift, comprising:
-
a support frame having a length and a width; the frame housing a double fabric panel drive assembly with first and second panels each having first and second opposing faces oriented parallel to the length of the support frame, but disposed in different planes, the panels cooperating to raise and/or lower a lifting platen to prohibit motion in all but one plane; using a fabric drive roller; and the support frame housing sized and dimensioned to stow substantially above a ceiling surface. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
-
-
17. An installed ceiling mounted lift, comprising;
-
a support frame housing a drive mechanism that operates to raise and lower a lifting platen using different first and second fabric rollers having first and second fabric panels, respectively, each of the panels having parallel but non-coplanar, flat surfaces sufficiently wide to prohibit motion in all but one plane; and a ceiling panel held to the lift by a spring loaded bolt. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
-
-
20. An improved ceiling mounted lift having a horizontal cross-section having a length and a width, and a double fabric panel drive assembly that supports a lifting platen, wherein the improvement comprises;
-
the lift is sized and dimensioned to stow substantially above a ceiling surface and between joists spaced 16 inches on center; and the panel drive assembly includes first and second panels with parallel but non-coplanar, flat surfaces to prohibit motion of the lifting platen in all but one plane.
-
-
21. A ceiling mounted lift having;
-
a double fabric panel drive assembly, with a first panel having a width that defines a first plane and a flat surface across its width, and a second panel having a width that defines a second plane and a flat surface across its width, the first and second planes being parallel but not co-planar; a stabilizer disposed in a third different plane; and the width of the panels and orientation of the planes sufficient to prevent motion in all but one plane. - View Dependent Claims (22)
-
Specification