Fire escape – ladder – or scaffold – Having transpositioning base and erecting means
Reexamination Certificate
1998-02-17
2001-02-13
Stodola, Daniel P. (Department: 3634)
Fire escape, ladder, or scaffold
Having transpositioning base and erecting means
C182S141000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06186272
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a multipurpose apparatus for use in sandblasting, painting, repairing, and maintaining elevated structures. The invention is particularly useful for sandblasting and painting the undersides of highway bridges.
BACKGROUND
Proper maintenance of many structures requires that they be sandblasted, painted, and repaired regularly. This is particularly true of structures such as bridges, which often include elements of metal and other easily degraded materials that are subjected to harsh weather. In the case of highway bridges subjected to road chemicals, including salt applied for wintertime driving, the bridge must usually be cleaned thoroughly before repainting.
Cleaning and repainting a highway bridge often involves sand blasting of the underside of the bridge prior to painting, and the sand and debris must be recovered for environmental reasons. Sandblasting and painting the bottom of a bridge requires the provision of lifts, ladders, scaffolding or the like to allow the workmen access to the structure to be maintained.
Known devices for repair of elevated structures are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,429,764 (Park); 4,852,687 (Hittler); 5,067,504 (Coleman, lll); and U.S Pat. Nos. 5,011,710 (Harrison). Other devices for working on elevated structures, such as devices for use in picking fruit, are shown in U.S Pat. No. 3,690,092 (Ross); and U.S Pat. No. 3,356,181 (Granger).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention, a portable trailer is provided for assisting workmen in the cleaning, repairing, and painting of the underside of a highway bridge. The trailer has wheels and is sized so that it may be towed on a highway to the bridge to be maintained. The trailer includes a base supported by the wheels and an upper part that is vertically movable with respect to the base. The upper part provides a walkway for the workers and may be raised to a position adjacent the bottom of the bridge to allow workers access to the bridge structure. The workers may clean and paint the bridge from that location.
The top surface of the upper part, preferably including the walkway, is formed of a grating or grid having openings whereby sand used for the cleaning and the debris removed from the bridge will fall through the top surface and into the base part of the trailer. The base part includes hoppers for directing the sand and debris onto a conveyor that extends longitudinally along the bottom of the base part. The conveyor carries the sand and debris along the base element and deposits it outside the base element where it may easily be picked up by ordinary equipment, such as a front loader, and loaded into a truck for disposal.
The base element also includes large conduits for attachment to one or more fans for establishing a flow of air from the bridge and into the hoppers to ensure that the sand, debris, and dust are captured in the base element. The exhaust air is filtered further to remove the sand and dust to retain them in the base element. The workers, thus, are provided with far cleaner air in their work area, and sand and debris are recovered for disposal or, possibly, reclamation and reuse of the sand.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3356181 (1967-12-01), Granger
patent: 3690092 (1972-09-01), Ross et al.
patent: 4259886 (1981-04-01), Seid et al.
patent: 4429764 (1984-02-01), Park
patent: 4535894 (1985-08-01), Shell
patent: 4787179 (1988-11-01), Lewis
patent: 4852307 (1989-08-01), Goudeau
patent: 4852687 (1989-08-01), Hittler
patent: 4962828 (1990-10-01), Duncan
patent: 5011710 (1991-04-01), Harrison
patent: 5067504 (1991-11-01), Coleman, III
patent: 5381872 (1995-01-01), Peruzzi et al.
patent: 5417301 (1995-05-01), Wildner
patent: 5484035 (1996-01-01), Wildner
patent: 5485925 (1996-01-01), Miller et al.
patent: 5542495 (1996-08-01), Aulakh
patent: 5622571 (1997-04-01), Derlein
patent: 5785148 (1998-07-01), Wildner
Atsalakis George M.
Atsalakis Nicholas S.
Atsalakis Tony
Bakalis Konstantinos
Atsalis Bros. Painting
Clark & Brody
Stodola Daniel P.
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