US2337796A - Ceiling and wall jack - Google Patents

Description

CEILING AND WALL JACK Filed Nov. 22, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 INVENTORS fl. Ffiaker BY RU) Goodh as 1943- A. F. BAKER ETAL 7,

CEILING AND WALL JACK Filed Nov. 22, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS HJ LBaker ELUGoodhue Dec. 28, 1943. A. F. BAKER ETAL CEILING AND WALL JACK 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 22, 1941 R v m m s w v R rh 5 wm W I m m a o T B A mw Q AR 3 Y R B Q HUM H: Q mm m y w ww U m mw mN Patented Dec. 28, 1943 CEILING AND WALL JACK Albert F. Baker and Ralph W. Goodliue, Santa- Rosa, Baker Callf.; said Goodliue assignor to said Application November 22, 1941, Serial No. 420,070

14 Claims.

This invention relates in general to building construction equipment, and in particular the invention is directed to, and it is our principal object to provide, a jack mechanism arranged to support, elevate and maintain in position for securing to a ceiling or wall, a sheet of wall board or the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wall board jack mechanism which is arranged.

for adjustment to support different size sheets of the material, and at an angle corresponding to the angle of the surface to which the sheet is to be applied. A further object of the invention is to provide novel means to effect and control the elevation and lowering of the sheet supporting head assembly of the jack mechanism.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a floor brake on the base of the deviceysuch brake being automatically operative when the sheet supporting head assembly is in lowered position for loading, or the brake may be manually applied at any time.

A further object of the'lnvention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device, and yet one 4 and guided for vertical movement by means of guide brackets 5 secured on and depending from the base I. The bar 3 carries longitudinally spaced downwardly projecting floor-engaging shoes 6, points or the like, which, when engaged with the floor, frictionally grip the latter, preventing relative movement of the base I, The bar 3 may be lowered so as to bring the shoe 6 into floor-engaging position by means of a hand lever 'l pivoted on the base for swinging movement in a, vertical plane above but parallel to bar 3, and having an eccentric or cam element 8 on its lower end and engaging said bar, so that the latter is lowered and the brake applied by a pull on the lever. The brake will remain applied if the lever is lowered beyond dead center position 1 of the cam, Also, in the manner which will be which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose elevated position.

Figure 2 is an end view of the device in an elevated position and with the head assembly angularly adjusted.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the head assembly as partly extended.

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1. v

Figure 5 is a. cross section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view of a modified form of connection between the head assembly and vertical lift post.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, our improved jack mechanism comprises a rectangular elongated base I supported adjacent the comers by means of caster wheels 2. This base is provided with a normally inoperative floor brake which comprises a centrally and longitudinally extending bar 3 suspended at its ends by tension springs hereinafter described, the floor brake is automatically applied when the sheet-supporting head assembly i in lowered position.

A pair of rigid uprights 9 are mounted on base I in transversely spaced relation, such uprights being seated at their lower ends in a socket unit on base I centrally between its ends; these uprights being stabilized by adjustable and diagonal tie-rods II which extend from the uprights above the socket downwardly to hooked connection with eyes 12 on the base. If desired, the uprights 9 may be removable from the socket unit l0 whereby with release Of tie rods H from eyes l2 the uprights, together with connected portions of the mechanism, may be removed from the base for transportation from job to job. The uprights 9 are connected together on opposite sides by means of vertically spaced cross plates l3.

A lift post I4 is disposed between uprights 9 and projects some distance thereabove, such lift post being rectangular and elongated in cross section and the opposite edges being fitted with outwardly facing guide channels l5 which engage track or rail portions it formed on adjacent faces of uprights 9.

At its upper end the lift post It is fitted with the supporting head assembly for the sheet of wallboard or the like, said head assembly comprising a main head frame of rectangular configuration and which includes side rails I1 and connecting end rails l8. This main head frame is supported on the lift post M by means of longitudinally spaced cross members l9 between which the upper end of the lift post snugly engages and to which said upper end of the lift post is pivoted by means of an adjustable pivot and tension bolt 20. It will be seen that by virtue of the above connection between the main head frame and the lift post, said frame may be tilted laterallyin either direction, and as is clearly shown in Fig. 2. If it is desired to also provide for longitudinal tilting of the main head frame, the longitudinally spaced cross members is are not rigidly connected with the side rails l1 and cooperating friction disc units 2|, with connecting pivot bolts, are ,interposed between the ends of said cross members I! and the side rails II, as shown in Fig. 6.

In order to provide longitudinaladiustment of the head assembly the main head frame is provided at.both ends with auxiliary or extension frames which include side members 22 having a mortise and tenon slide fit with the side rails I'I, said side members being connected underneath by end members 23 beyond the ends of the main head frame. It will be seen that with longitudinal and outward sliding movement of the extension frames the effective length of thehead assembly is materially increased.

In order to accommodate sheets of material of relatively great width, the extension frames on one side are fitted on opposite sides with hinged swing arms 24 which normally lie within said frames but which may be swung up and out at right angles thereto, so that their upper surface is flush with the upper edge of the frames. The outer endof each arm has an upstanding shoulder 25 or the like to form a stop for the adjacent edge of the supported sheet.

The following mechanism is employed for the purpose of effecting and controlling the raising and lowering of the lift post H. Cushion rollers 26 frictionally engage the post I on opposite sides and for the full width-thereof at a point some distance below the upper end of uprights 9, such cushion rollers 28 being supported by shafts 21 whose ends project through and beyond supporting plates 28 mounted on the uprights.

As clearly indicated in Fig. 5, the shafts 21 are carried in horizontally movable blocks in the plates 28, whose position is adjusted by countersunk set screws in the plate. In this manner, the friction of the rollers 26 against the post may be adjusted as maybe necessary, while wear may be readily taken up as it occurs. Also, the post may thus be centered in the guides for proper cooperation therewith; At one end the shafts 21 are connected by meshing gears 29 suitably housed as at 30, while at the other end the projecting portion of the shafts, are rectangular. as indicated at 3|, for the selective reception of a ratchet wrench 32. It will be seen that with the reciprocation of wrench 32, when the same is cor- .rectly applied to one of the shaft portions, 3|,

the rollers 26 will be rotated in a direction to elevate the lift post ll.

In order to lock such lift post in elevated posi-v tion, we provide a cam brake 33 which extends of this handle the cam brake 33 is relieved from the post ll, permitting the latter to lower by gravity. In order to assure against too rapid a descent of lift post ll, a brake shoe 38, integral with arms 34, is mounted on cross shaft 36 and is normally clear of the adjacent cushionroller I 28. However, upon downward movement of handle 31 to a predetermined extent beyond the. point of release of cam brake 3, shoe 38 frictionally engages-said adjacent roller 26 and the braking action thus applied to such roller is transmitted to the lift post.

When the lift post reaches its lowermost point,

the lower end of said post engages bar 3 of the floor brake, pushing said bar down until the shoes 8 strike and frictionally engage the floor, thereby eifectively preventing shifting movement of %he base-l while the head assembly is being loaded,

In use, a sheet of wallboard or the like is placed in supported relation onthe head assembly; such assembly being adjusted by means of the extension frames or the hinged swing arms 24, or both, in order to provide relatively full support for said sheet. The stops 25 in the hinged swing arms engage the side edges of the sheet of wallboard when the head assembly is tilted laterally, as shown in Fig. 2, and prevent said sheet from sliding off its support.

After the sheet of material is placed atop the head assembly, the ratchet wrench 32 is actuated, causing lift post M to elevate to a point where the supported sheet of material engages the surface to which it is to be applied, and which may be a horizontal ceiling area or an angularly disposed area to conform to which the head assembly may be adjusted. When the sheet of material is thus disposed in place, the cam brake 33 prevents retraction of the lift post and the sheet of material may be secured to the engaged building surface. Thereafter, by manipulation of handle 31 the lift post is permitted to slide down, the device is moved to the next point of use, and another sheet of material placed on the head assembly, whereupon the method above described is repeated.

In order to prevent possible tilting of the head frame from any set position while it is being loaded, and at which time said frame is apt to be subjected to considerable jarring shocks, a telescopic holding unit 39 extends between the base and head frame on the side opposite that toward post I by its own weight, aided by acoil spring which the frame is tilted. This unit is pivotally mounted at its opposite ends by pins 40, which may be removed, so that the unit may be detached from the apparatus if its use is not required.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen thatwe have produced such a device as sub-- stantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A jack-for sheet building material, comprising a base, a lift post upstanding from the base, means mounting the post for vertical movement, releasable means operating to hold the post in an elevated position, a brake arranged to control the speed of lowering movement of said post,

said brake being operative only upon release of said holding means, and a sheet supporting head assembly mounted'on the upper end of the post.

2. A structure as in claim 1 in which said releasable holding means comprises a cam brake unit normally engaged with said post, there being a handle projecting from said unit, the handle being movable to release the cam from the post.

3. A jack for sheet building material comprising a base, spaced uprights mounted on the base, a lift post mounted between said uprights for guided vertical movement, a friction roller engaging one side of the post, manually actuated means to rotate the roller in a direction to elevate the post, releasable means to hold the post in elevated position, a normally inoperative manually actuated friction brake mounted for engagement with said roller, and a sheet supporting head assembly mounted on the upper end of the post.

4. A structure as in claim 3 in which said releasable means includes a handle; said handle being arranged, upon moving in a predetermined direction, to release said means and with continued movement to apply said brake.

5. A jack for sheet building material comprising a base, spaced uprights mounted on the base, a lift post mounted between said uprights for guided vertical movement, friction rollers engagfriction brake member mounted in rigid relation to and for movement with said cam brake, said friction brake normally being adjacent but clear of said one roller but arranged to engage the latter in, braking relation upon movement of the cam brake from the post apredetermined distance, and a sheet supporting head assembly mounted on the upper end of the post.

6. A jack for sheet building material, including a lift post, means mounting said post for vertical movement, a sheet supporting head frame, said head frame including spaced side members, adjacent but spaced cross members connecting said side members intermediate the ends of the latter, the upper end of said post snugly engaging between said cross members, and a pivot bolt connecting said upper end of the post and said cross members; there being friction disc units pivotally connected between corresponding ends of said cross members and the adjacent one of said side members.

7. A jack for sheet building material including a lift post, means mounting said post for vertical movement, and a sheet supporting head assembly mounted on the upper end of said post; said assembly comprising an elongated main head frame of rectangular form, and extension frames mounted on the main head frame at the end portions for outward sliding movement in oppo- 'site directi0ns,*the upper edges of .the main and extension frames being substantially flush; there being sheet supporting arms hinged to the sides of said extension frames for outward swinging movement in a vertical plane from a normal po- 9. A jack for sheet building material, comprising a wheel supported base, a lift post mounted on said base for vertical movement relative thereto, a sheet supporting head assembly mounted on the upper end of the post, and a normally inoperative floor brake unit mounted on the base;

the post upon lowering of the same to a down position being arranged to apply said floor brake unit.

10. A jack for sheet building material, comprising a, wheel supported base, a lift post mounted on said base for vertical movement relative thereto, a sheet supporting head assembly mount ed on the upper end of the post, and a normally inoperative floor brake unit mounted beneath the base, said unit including a depressible bar, springs resisting depression of the bar and floor engaging brake elements on the bar; the lower end of the post when in down position engaging and depressing the bar and setting the brake elements.

11. A jack for sheet building material comprising a base, a lift post upstanding from the base, means mounting the post for vertical movement, a sheet supporting head frame, means mounting said head frame on the upper end of the post for tilting adjustment in a vertical plane, and a longitudinally adjustable holding unit connected between the base and head to one side of the post.

12. A jack for sheet building material comprising a base, a lift post upstanding from the base, means mounting the post for vertical movement, a sheet supporting head frame, means mounting said head frame on the upper end of the post for tilting adjustment in a vertical plane, and a longitudinally adjustable holding unit connected between the base and head to one side of the post,

said holding unit being telescopic and including means normally preventing telescopic adjustment thereof 13. A jack for sheet building material, including a lift post, means mounting the post for vertical movement, a sheet supporting head frame, said frame including a cross member, means pivoting said cross member intermediate its ends in connection with the upper end portion of the lift post for tilting movement in a vertical plane, and other means'pivotally connecting said cross member at its ends in connection with the remainder of the head frame for tilting movement of the latter in a vertical'plane. at a right angle to said first named plane.

'14. A jack for sheet building material, including-a lift post, means mounting the post for ver- .tical movement, a sheet supporting 'head frame,

said frame including a cross member, means pivoting said cross member intermediate its ends in connection with the upper end portion of the lift post for tilting movement in a vertical plane, and othermeans pivotally connecting said crossmemher at its ends in connection with the remainder 7, :01 the head frame for tilting movement of the latter in a vertical plane ata right .angle to said -first named plane, said other means comprising friction disc units.

' ALBERT F. BAKER.

RALPH W. GOODHUE.

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