Apparatus for delivery of material to floors of a building under construction
United States Patent Land Apr. 8, 1975 [5 APPARATUS FOR DELIVERY OF 2,432,182 12/1947 Turner 214/515 MATE L o FL RS OF A B ILDING 2,811,240 10/1957 Fenton 214/164 A g gg U 3.473.679 10/1969 WeicheL... 214/515 3.520.427 7/1970 Ofien 214/164 A [76] Inventor: John W. Land, Route 1, Box 211B,  
  De Soto, Tex. 75115 Primary Examiner-Robert J. Spar Assistant E.\&#39;aminer-Lawrence J. Oresky [22} Filed 1973 Attorney. Agent. or Firm-Clegg. Cantrell &amp; Crisman [21] Appl. No.: 353,703  
  [57] ABSTRACT [52] {1.8. CI. 214/621; 187/2; 2|2/DIG Disclosed is equipment useful for delivering materials 214 1 1 93; 214 1 4 R to elevated floors of a building under construction. [51] Int. Cl. 865g 47/02 which equipment includes a ram adapte to be lifted 58 Field of Search 187/2, 6; 212/010. 1; y a conslrwion crane. the frame having bars for 214/95 R, 620, 309, 621, 310. 16.4 A, 16.4 gaging a building floor to position the frame against R, 16.14 F, [6.] DB 510.515 the side of the building. Also included in the equipment is a cargo box which fits on the frame but is dis- [56] References Cit d placeable from it both at ground level and on the floor UNITED Of a KOgCthEl With a load sheet WhlCll filS re- 703.990 7 1902 Burton 214/515 movably the floor of the cargo 1.317,!76 l0/l9l9 Claus 214/164 A 1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures APPARATUS FOR DELIVERY OF MATERIAL TO FLOORS OF A BUILDING UNDER CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to apparatus for delivering materials, such as construction materials to the floors of a building under construction, particularly high-rise buildings.  
  When a multi-story building is erected, the frame is customarily put up first, the floor decks are then installed, after which much of the internal equipment such as heating, air conditioning, and lighting parti tions, etc. is installed on each floor, and the curtain walls are then placed in position. This procedure is followed in general outline whether the building is of steel frame construction or of the reinforced concrete type. In tall multi-story buildings, some of the later stages of construction are performed on lower stories of the building simultaneously with the completion of the earlier stages of construction on the higher stories.  
  It has become a popular practice recently to employ a building-mounted crane for use during the erection of the framework of the building, and to use that crane after the building is topped out as a device for hoisting follow-up construction materials to the various floors of the building. The Chicago crane is an illustration of such a buildingmounted crane. There is an immense variety in the size, shape and weight of construction material which must be delivered to each floor of a building under construction after the basic framework and flooring has been erected. Such material includes floor tile, partitioning. wall board, ceiling tile, light fixtures, electrical conduit, plumbing fixtures, and a host of other items needed to bring the building to finished condition. It is also necessary to deliver various kinds of tools and construction equipment to the unfinished floors of a building, including air handling units, welding machines, space heaters and the like. The wide variety of construction material and equipment which must be lifted to the floors of a building under construction has meant that, as a practical matter, methods have been improvised at the job sites for using the building crane to lift such material. The improvisations have included cargo nets, pallets, tied bundles, and the like. These methods are generally unsatisfactory in that they are not always safe, involve inordinate amounts of roustabout labor, and consume large amounts of crane operating time to perform. Another method which is sometimes employed is to erect an outside elevator next to the frame of the building. Such elevators require a large equipment investment, have a high installation and disinstallation cost, have a limited capacity, and fail to take advantage of the presence on the build ing frame of a crane with large lifting capacity.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention there is provided apparatus which greatly improves the process of delivering materials to the floors of a building under construction. A frame is provided having lifting rings or Other lifting means thereon for cooperation with the hook of a building crane. The frame is generally rectangular in shape in its preferred form, and may be conveniently constructed of angle iron of appropriate size. The frame has a supporting deck, which in the preferred form is provided with antifriction means such as rollers, and/or rails. The frame is also equipped with posts or walls or other restraining means so that objects placed on it can slide off of it only in one direction, i.e., the loading side. The frame is further equipped with building floor engaging means which aid in positioning the frame against the side of the building floor with the deck of the frame at approximately the same level as the building floor. In the preferred form the positioning means includes a pair of bars, one horizontal and one vertical at each edge of the loading side of the frame.  
  The frame can be used alone for the transport of heavy equipment, such as air handlers, to the upper floors of a building. The roller bed on the deck of the frame assists in the loading and unloading of such heavy equipment.  
  However, the invention also contemplates the provision ofa cargo box designed especially to work with the frame just described. The cargo box is preferably opentopped with a commodious floor on which construction material can be placed, and side walls, for preventing the construction material from falling out of the box as it is being lifted on the frame. The box is proportioned to fit on the deck of the frame and to cover substantially all of its area. The floor of the cargo box is desirably provided with the anti-friction means, preferably in the form of a roller bed. One side wall of the cargo box is preferably arranged so that it can be readily removed for purposes described below.  
  In addition, the invention contemplates the provision ofa load sheet of substantially the same size as the floor of the cargo box. The load sheet, when in use with the cargo box, is located on its floor.  
  The equipment of the invention is used by rigging the frame to be lifted by the building crane. The cargo box with the load sheet therein is loaded with construction material or equipment and is then placed upon the frame. Next, the frame with the cargo box thereon is lifted to the desired floor of the building under construction by the crane, and is positioned next to that floor with the aid of the positioning means of the frame. The cargo box is then pulled off of the frame onto the building floor and moved to a location on the floor where the material and equipment is needed. At this point, the load sheet is secured, for example. with a rope, to a stationary point such as a building column, and the cargo box is pulled from under the load sheet, thus depositing the load sheet on the building floor where it can readily be unloaded or left stock piled until needed. The empty cargo box is returned to the frame, and the frame and cargo box are lowered to the ground for another load.  
  The objects of the present invention are to provide equipment for delivering materials to the floors of a building under construction, which equipment reduces the manual labor involved, increases the efficiency of crane utilization, increases the safety of the opeation, and which is simple and durable in construction.  
  The manner in which the foregoing objects are accomplished in the invention may be better understood by consideration of the detailed description which follows together with the accompanying drawings.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a fragmentary side elevational view of a building under construction, showing a preferred embodiment of the invention used for delivering materials to the floors of the building;  
  3 FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cargo box employed in accordance with the invention. and  
  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a lifting frame employed in accordance with a preferred form of the invention.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. I the equipment of the invention is shown in use on a building under construction. The building frame is designated generally as it includes a vertical column 11 and floors I2. 13, and 14. A Chicago crane&#34; is diagrammatically indicated at I5. installed on the top of the building I0. The apparatus of the invention is designated generally as 16. and it is shown in FIG. I as positioned by crane 15 next to building floor 13. From FIG. I it can be seen that the equipment includes a frame 17 and a cargo box I8, both of which are discussed in more detail hereinbelow in connection with the other figures.  
  Also shown on FIG. I on floor 12 is a second cargo box 18a. a load sheet I9 which forms part of the equipment of the preferred embodiment of the invention. and exemplary construction material 20 which is positioned on load sheet I9.  
  The frame 17 may best be understood by considering FIGS. I and 3 together. From those figures it can be seen that frame 17 is a generally rectangular structure constructed of heavy angle iron or channel iron. preferably welded together. The frame includes side members 21 and 22, as well as a front beam 23 and a back beam 24. Within the rectangle defined by these beams there are placed a number of cross beams 25. Cross beams 25, taken together, establish a load supporting deck on the frame. In the preferred embodiment of the invention. the load supporting deck is equipped with two types of anti-friction means. The first of these is a series of roller beds 26. The second is a pair of rails 27 which may conveniently be in the form of shallow channel irons laid across and attached to cross beams 25. If desired, one or the other sets of anti-friction means may be omitted from the load supporting deck. and one or the other sets may be made detachable or removable from the deck. Furthermore. it should be noted that other arrangements of the roller beds 26 than that shown in FIG. 3 may be employed if desired. The anti-friction rails 27 are of primary utility in accordance with the invention when a cargo box 18 of the kind shown in FIGS. I and 2 is employed with frames I7, while the roller beds 26 are of primary utility when the frame 17 is used alone for handling heavy equipment such as air handling units.  
  Frame 17 is provided with lifting means in the form of lifting eyes 28 attached to side beams 21 and 22. As can be seen from FIG. 1, a simple cable yoke 29 is employed to connect the lifting means 28 to the cable 30 of the crane 15. If desired, a conventional spreader may be used in connection with cable yoke 29, to insure that the yoke does not decrease the head room&#34; above the deck of the frame unduly. so that large packages may be accommodated on the frame. Other forms of lifting means than those illustrated in the drawings may be employed if desired.  
  Frame 17 is also provided with restraining means which serve to act as barriers to movement of objects on the deck of the frame in every direction except a chosen direction, namely. toward and away from the front of the frame (the front being established by beam 23). In the frame of FIGS. I and 3 these restraining means include a back rail 31 supported on posts 32. as well as side flanges 33, and bars 34. the latter two acting to restrain sideward movement of objects on the deck. It should also be noted that lifting rings 28 act as barriers to the sideward movement.  
  Frame I7 is equipped with building floor engaging means designated generally as 35 in FIGS. I and 3. The building floor engaging means serve to assist the operator of crane 15 in guiding the frame I7 to the desired position adjacent a building floor such I3 and in steadying the frame against the building floor in the desired position, in particular. by providing means which are juxtaposed to the side of building floor 13 so that overturning moments in the clockwise direction as FIG. I is drawn are resisted. Building floor engaging means 35 preferably include a generally horizontal bar 36 mounted on the frame so that when it rests on the top of a building floor, as is shown in FIG. I, the deck of the frame 17 is approximately at the same level as the top of the building floor 13. The building floor engaging means 35 also preferably include a vertical bar 37 which engages the side of the building floor in the manner shown in FIG. I and acts to resist overturning moments on the frame. The preferred location of the building floor engaging means of the frame is at the two front corners thereof, as can be seen from FIG. 3, but it should be realized that other arrangements may be employed if desired.  
  Since the bars 37 of the building engaging means 35 extend downwardly from the deck of the frame 17, it is desirable to equip the frame with legs 38 and 39 which are proportioned so that the deck of the frame is approximately level when the frame is positioned on the ground. (This arrangement makes it desirable to provide at ground level a low ramp or platform to facilitate moving objects up onto the deck of frame 17.)  
  The cargo box 18 employed in accordance with some aspects of the invention can best be understood by considering FIGS. I and 2 together. From those figures. it can be seen that it is a sturdy opentopped box constructed from angle or channel iron and heavy lumber. and has a floor 40, rear wall 41 and side wall 42. Cargo box 18 is also provided with a removable front wall 43, which may conveniently be in the form of boards which slidably and removably fit into channels 44 of vertical corner posts 45. The cargo box has a floor 40 which, in the preferred embodiment, is provided with antifriction means in the form of roller beds 47. A draw ring 48 is provided at the front of the cargo box and a similar ring may be provided at the back of the box to facilitate handling it. The cargo box 18 is desirably mounted on casters 49 and 50 at its corners. Casters 50 are preferably of the swivel type so that the box can be easily steered when being rolled about. Casters 49 and 50 are also positioned on the cargo box so that when it is rolled onto the deck of frame 17 the casters roll along rails 27. The cargo box is dimensioned so that when it is located on frame 17 it occupies substantially all of the deck space of the frame.  
  FIGS. 1 and 2 also illustrate the load sheet I9 employed in accordance with certain aspects of the invention. In FIG. I load sheet 19 appears on floor 12, with construction material packages 20 located on it. In FIG. 2 load sheet 19 is shown in dotted lines above cargo box 18 and dotted arrows 51 are included on FIG. 2 to indicate that the load sheet, in use, is positioned for part of the time on the anti-friction means 47 on the floor 40 of the cargo box. From FIG. 2 it can also be seen that load sheet 19 is proportioned to fit on, and cover, substantially the entire floor 40 of the cargo box. Load sheet 19 is relatively thin and is rectangular in shape. it may be constructed of any strong material adaptable to that configuration, such as sheet steel or heavy plywood. At the front end, and also at the back end if desired, there is provided a draw ring 52 on the load sheet.  
  With the foregoing description of the equipment of the invention in hand, a description of its mode of use can now be given. Consider first a situation where it is desired to move a bulky piece of equipment such as an air handling unit to an upper story of a building under construction. The frame 17 is connected to the cable 30 of crane substantially in the manner shown in FIG. 1, or as discussed above, with the use ofa spreader in the connection system. The air unit is pushed onto frame 17 at ground level and is positioned on roller beds 26 of the deck of the frame. The frame 17 is then lifted to the desired floor by the crane l5 and is guided into a position substantially shown like that in FIG. 1. A line is attached to the air unit, and it is pulled off roller bed 26 onto the building floor, and from there is manhandled to the desired location on the building floor. In the meantime frame 17 is lifted and swung free of the building by crane l5 and is lowered to the ground for reloading. In this employment of the invention, no use is made of the cargo box 18 or load sheet 19.  
  Consider next a situation where it is desired to lift to a particular floor ofa building under construction some relatively small packages of building materials, such as cartons of floor tile or the like. In this instance a load sheet 19 is first positioned on the floor of a cargo box 18. The cargo box is then loaded and wheeled onto frame 17, and if desired, lashed or latched to the frame to eliminate the chance that it will roll forwardly off the frame in the course of being lifted. The frame 17 with the cargo box thereon is then lifted to the desired floor of the building, and with the aid of the building floor engaging means 35, positioned against the floor as is shown in FIG. 1. With the frame held in that position by crane 15, the cargo box is pulled off of the frame and onto the building floor. Since the bed of the cargo frame and the building floor are at substantially the same level, this operation can be performed with little difficulty. The frame can then be lowered to the ground, or, if desired, held at the building floor to await return of the cargo box. Cargo box 18 is next wheeled to the desired location on the building floor, and its removable front is detached. Next. a line is tied to ring 52 of the load sheet 19 inside the cargo box, and the line is secured to some point on the building, such as to a column. The cargo box 18 is then pulled from under the load sheet 19 and the load sheet 19 with its load of tile cartons is deposited on the building floor. The cargo box 18 can then be returned to the frame and lowered to the ground to be reused with another load sheet. The load sheet containing the material cartons can be returned to ground at a convenient time after the cartons have been removed from it. In FIG. 1 there is shown on floor 12 of the building 10 a load sheet 19, with cartons 20 on it, from beneath which a cargo box 18, has just been pulled, in the manner just described. One important advantage of the equipment of the present invention is that it eliminates necessity for the operator of crane 15 to attempt to swing a load from his crane inboard of the building. This operation is difficult to perform efficiently, consumes inordinate amounts of time, and is dangerous to those involved in it. By contrast, the frame of the present invention can easily be placed against the desired building floor quickly, and with little danger to those guiding it. Another advantage of the present invention is that the wheeled cargo box 18 provides a very convenient means for moving material about on the floor of the building under construction, thus saving much labor.  
 What is claimed is:  
 1. Apparatus for delivery materials to any desired floor of a building under construction comprising:  
 a. a frame having lifting means adapted for connection to the cable of a lifting crane whereby said frame is lifted by said cable to said desired floor;  
 b. a supporting deck on said frame having first antifriction rollers thereon and rails thereon, the longitudinal axes of said first rollers being substantially at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of said rails;  
 c. means including vertical and horizontal bars on said frame for positioning the frame against the side of said desired floor;  
 d. a cargo box proportioned to fit on said deck of said frame, said cargo box being equipped with wheels cooperating with said rails of said deck for facilitating displacement of said box onto and off of said deck;  
 e. fixed restraining means attached to said deck adjacent the corners of said deck for limiting movement of said box in every direction except in a chosen direction parallel to said rails;  
 f. said cargo box having a floor having second antifriction rollers thereon, the longitudinal axes of said second anti-friction rollers being parallel to the longitudinal axes of said first anti-friction rollers&#39;,  
 g. a planar load supporting means proportioned to removably fit within said box;  
 h. said cargo box further having a removable side wall, said removable side wall constituting the side of said box to be positioned adjacent said desired floor, whereby said load sheet is restrained from movement in said chosen direction when said removable side wall is connected to said box, and whereby said planar load supporting surface can he slid horizontally into and out of said box when said removable side wall is removed from said box, whereby a load placed on said planar load supporting means may be unloaded from said box in said chosen direction after said box is removed from said frame in said chosen direction.