This invention relates to lifting loads, more generally to handling loads.

Health and safety at work legislation and regulations place limits on the loads that can be lifted, In any event, the manual lifting of heavy loads can be injurious, hazardous and inefficient. On the other hand, lifting equipment is expensive to purchase, run and maintain and not always easy to access places to or from which items need to be lifted.

The deployment, erection and dismantling of temporary fencing, e.g. for crowd control, building sites and so forth, which comprises bases and panels having tubular frames surrounding stout wire mesh. The bases are generally elongate blocks of concrete, or oblong steel plates, with holes or respectively spigots to receive the frames. Concrete blocks can weigh 34 Kg, or so, as can panels.

The present invention provides a system particularly adapted to handle such items, aspects of the system being, however, useful more generally in handling loads too heavy to lift single handedly, comfortably or safely without mechanical assistance.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a load/lifter combination comprising a rolling arrangement; a lever arrangement comprising a handle and a load-engaging arrangement; • the lever arrangement being mounted on the rolling arrangement which forms a fulcrum intermediate the handle and the load-engaging arrangement; the load-engaging arrangement being locatable over the load and being lowerabie into engagement with the load and connectable for lifting the

load and disconnectable therefrom for releasing the load, all by control from the handle; the load being lifted by downward pressure on the handle.

The load-engaging arrangement may comprise a pivoted arm having limited freedom to pivot about an axis parallel to the fulcrum axis and directed from an end of the lever arrangement opposite the handle back towards the fulcrum, and being adapted to engage the load at a position on the load closer to the fulcrum than the centre of gravity of the load whereby the load is supported cantilever fashion.

The load may have a recess and the load-engaging arrangement have a projection adapted to fit in the recess, being connectable for lifting the load by the projection tilting relatively to the recess and jamming therein under the weight of the load - this jamming being effected as a result of the off-CG cantilever- fashion support.

This cantilever-fashion support can also be used in a second aspect of the invention in which instead of the rolling arrangement, the pivoted arm is provided intermediate the ends of a simple carrying bar for two-man lifting when greater elevation is required than can be provided by a ground-engaging arrangement and when for example the ground-engaging arrangement could not gain access e.g. for stacking and unstacking of a delivery truck.

The recess and projection configuration may prevent rotation of the load relative to the lifter, and may be non-circular.

The rolling arrangement may comprise a wheel - a single wheel, as on a wheelbarrow, will suffice, but a pair of wheels on a common axle may be used if greater stability is required.

The lever arrangement may comprise a first member comprising the handle, and a second member carrying the load-carrying arrangement and fixed to the first member on a yoke for the rolling arrangement. The first and second members may be relatively inclined, the second member being angled so as to form a shallow "V" with the first mounted atop the yoke. The first and second members may be braced, as by a tie member between them.

A handlebar arrangement may be comprised on the handle.

The load may have side-by-side bores forming the recess and the lifter may then have side-by-side projections corresponding to the bores. Such bores are typically found in support blocks for temporary fencing panels, and, as mentioned, the invention is particularly adapted for dealing with same.

The panels are held together by metal couplers which engage side posts of the panels. Not only do the bases and the panels have to be carried from a delivery truck to the point o deployment, but also these couplers. According to a further aspect of the invention the load can be a container, which may contain a supply of the couplers which would be too heavy for comfortable or safe manual carrying, the combination in this instance being the container and lifter. The container has attached tubes simulating the bores of the blocks, the combination constituting, effectively, a wheelbarrow.

The combination may have the lever arrangement provided with a hook at the end remote from the handle cooperating with a catch on the container whereby the container may, when the load-engaging arrangement is not connected to the container, be tipped by engaging the hook and catch and pulling down on the handle to raise the hook and catch via the fulcrum. The container may have a pram end for tipping purposes.

The system also comprises a panel carrier which, according to another aspect of the invention, comprises a rolling arrangement; a frame on the rolling arrangement; said frame having an upstanding panel locator and a panel base supporting platform; and • securing means securing the panel to the panel locater.

The rolling arrangement may comprise a wheel which, as before, may comprise side-by-side wheels for better stability if required. The carrier may be adapted for carrying mesh fencing panels by the supporting platform comprising a panel support groove and the securing means comprising a mesh-engaging clip on the upstanding panel locater.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides an alternative base for holding panels for temporary fencing comprising a circular disk with panel locating holes, and a handling member comprising a handle having a hub in a bearing and projections engageable in said holes whereby the base can be lifted on to its rim and wheeled.

The base may comprise a tyre and be of concrete, or may comprise a moulding for containing a flowable filling (ballast) such as sand or water, or a set, flowable filling such as concrete.

Such a base, whilst being easy to manipulate with the handle, is less liable to damage when dropped, as not infrequently happens, and even if a concrete core is broken it can still be contained within the tyre or casing.

Encompassed within the general concept of the system are various alternatives and modifications as will be hereinafter explained. The system, the various

aspects of the invention and the alternatives and modifications referred to will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-

Figure 1 is a plan view of a conventional fencing support block forming the load in certain aspects of the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the block illustrated in Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the block of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a view of a lifter in combination with a block as illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3;

Figure 5 is a view of the combination of Figure 5, with the block lifted by the lifter;

Figure 6 is a view of another lifter with a block;

Figure 7 is a view of the lifter of Figure 6, lifting the block;

Figure 8 is a view of a fencing panel on a panel carrier according to the invention;

Figure 9 is a side elevation of the panel carrier shown in Figure 8;

Figure 10 is an end elevation of the panel carrier shown in Figure 8;

Figure 11 is a plan view of a base block for supporting fencing panels according to another aspect of the invention;

Figure 12 is a cross-section through the block of Figure 1 1 ;

Figure 13 is an elevation of a handling member for the block of Figures H and 12;

Figure 14 is a view on the arrow 14 of Figure 13;

Figure 15 is a view of the handling member of Figures 13 and 14 engaging the block of Figures 1 1 and 12;

Figure 16 is a view of the handling member of Figures 13 and 14 handling the block of Figures 1 1 and 12 as a wheel;

Figure 17 is a section through a first engagement device of a variant of the system illustrated in Figures 1 to 16;

Figure 18 is a section through a second engagement device of a variant of the system illustrated in Figures 1 to 16;

Figure 19 is an elevation of a third engagement device of a variant of the system illustrated in Figures 1 to 16;

Figure 20 is a side elevation of a conventional fence support base as illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 and a variant of a lifter for a system as otherwise illustrated in Figures 1 to 16;

Figure 21 is a view of a "wheelbarrow" adaptation of the lifter of Figures 4 and 5; and

Figure 22 is a side view of the adaptation of Figure 21, tipping.

The drawings generally illustrate a conventional temporary fencing system with a novel handling system therefor. The basic fencing system comprises the support block 1 1 illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 and the panel 81 seen in full in Figure 8 and vestigially in Figures 1, 3, 1 1 and 12. As will be apparent, the novel handling system is particularly adapted to handling such a fencing system (even prescribing a novel modification thereto for improved handling) but is of more general application.

The block 11 illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 is usually made of concrete or is sometimes moulded in a rubber or plastics form. Occasionally, a metal plate is substituted. In any event, the problem is one of weight, a concrete block weighing some 34 Kg. It should be emphasised that the handling problem is not necessarily to be solved by weight reduction measures - the weight is a desirable feature of the block 1 1 for the purpose of imparting stability to the erected fence.

In any event, the block 11 has bores 12 adapted to receive spigots 82 of the frame 83 of the mesh fencing panels 81. In the block 1 1 illustrated there are four such bores 12, two, 12A, of them, being located near an end of the oblong plan block 1 1, the other two, 12B, near the middle. The spacing of the bores 12 is dictated by the system, but is typically 93 mm the block 1 1 being, typically, 500 mm long.

Such a block 1 1 forms the load of a load/lifter combination according to the invention and as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. The lifter 41 there illustrated comprises a rolling arrangement 42, in the form of a single, tyred wheel, as on a conventional wheelbarrow, and a lever arrangement 43 comprising a handle 44, with a handlebar 45, and a load-engaging arrangement 46.

The lever arrangement 43 is mounted by a yoke 47 on the wheel 42, which forms a fulcrum intermediate the handle 44 and the load-engaging arrangement 46.

The load-engaging arrangement 46 is locatable over the load, as seen in Figure 4 by wheeling the lifter up to the block 11, and lowerabie into engagement with the block 1 1, and connectable to the block 1 1 for lifting it, Figure 5, and disconnectable for releasing the load, all by control of the lifter from the handle 44.

As is seen particularly from Figure 5, the load is lifted by downward pressure on the handle 44. Such downward pressure is an effective and efficient use of a combination of force and body weight, facilitating single handed manipulation of heavy weights without risk of strain injury or fatigue.

The load-engaging arrangement 46 comprises a pivoted arm 47 having limited freedom to pivot about an axis 47a parallel to the fulcrum axis and directed from the end 43 a of the lever arrangement 43 opposite the handle 44 back towards the fulcrum and being adapted to engage the block 1 1 by its endwise - located bores 12 A, that is to say at a position closer to the fulcrum than the centre of gravity of the block 1 1 (which is roughly at the position of the bores 12B) whereby the block 11 is supported cantilever- fashion, as is clearly seen in Figure 5.

The limited range of pivoting of the arm 47 about its pivot 47a is clearly seen from a comparison of Figure 4 with Figure 5.

The arm 47 at its end 47b remote from the pivot 47a has side-by-side projections 48 corresponding to the bores 12 A and adapted to fit inside them, with some play. Engagement for lifting the block 11 is effected simply by tilting the projections 48 by pulling back on the handle 44. The weight of the block 11 , hanging cantilever- fashion

from the projections 48 ensures good engagement. Easy release is effected, when the block 11 is moved on the lifter to its desired position, by the reverse action.

The fact that there are two projections engaging in two bores prevents the block 11 yawing about a vertical or near vertical access when lifted - the double bore - double projection arrangement is effectively a non-circular arrangement - if there is but a single bore or recess receiving a single projection, prevention of yawing is simply effected by making the bore and projection non-circular. The block 11 needs, of course, two bores because it has to receive spigots of two fencing panels.

As mentioned, the rolling arrangement 42 comprises a single wheel. A double wheel or other arrangement could be used, of course, but a single wheel permits easy manoeuvring and also tilting, effective control being maintained without great effort by the wide handlebar arrangement 45.

The single wheel is, as mentioned, akin to a wheelbarrow, and indeed the lifter illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 can be used to lift other loads, such for example as a box containing the clips that hold the panels together, provided the load has or is provided with bores or equivalent to receive the projections 48. Figures 21 and 22 illustrate a wheelbarrow-like arrangement including a container 21 1 having attached tubes 212 simulating the bores 12 of the block 11.

The lifter is provided with a hook 213, and the container 211 has a pram end 214 and a catch 215 which can be engaged by the hook and lifted for tipping the container 211, as seen in Figure 22.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate a two-man block lifter 61 using the same cantilever-jamming engagement technique as the wheeled higher of Figures 4 and 5, the block-engaging arrangement 46 thereof being mounted depending from a bar 62. This

simple component of the system is effective for lifting blocks for stacking e.g. on delivery trucks.

Figures 8, 9 and 10 show another element of the system for handling fencing, this comprising a panel carrier 80 for carrying the panels 81. The panel carrier 80 comprises a rolling arrangement 84 - this, in this instance, being identical with the rolling arrangement 42 of Figures 6 and 7 - a frame 85 on the rolling arrangement 84, the frame 85 having an upstanding panel locater 86 and a panel base supporting platform 87, the panel 81 being supported against the locater 86 when supported on the base supports platform 87, and securing means in the form of a clip 88 engaging the mesh of the panel 81.

The base supporting platform 87 comprises a panel support groove. In use, the carrier 80 is wheeled up to the panel 81 and presented, platform 87 facing the panel. The panel 81 is then tilted about one end until the support groove can be manipulated into place below the lower frame member of the panel 81, the clip 88 being then locked into place. The panel 81 is now effectively a part of a wheeled vehicle which can simply be moved around to wherever the panel 81 is needed. Dismantling of the panel is effected simply by the reverse procedure.

Figures 1 1 to 16 illustrate an alternative form of block 111 which can be used in place of that illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 - the standard block to date. This new form of block 11 1 eliminates the need for the lifter 12 of Figures 5 and 6. It comprises simply a circular disc with panel locating holes 1 12 exactly like the bores 12 of Figures l to 3.

The block 1 11 is of concrete and is fitted with a tyre 11 IT, but could equally well comprise a plastic moulding containing a flowable filling such as sand or water, or a set, flowable filling such as concrete. The tyre 11 IT or casing will militate

against cracking of the concrete during rough handling as by dropping off a truck and will in any event contain the cracked concrete so that the block 11 1 will usually still have a useful life.

While such a block could be lifted by the lifter of Figures 4 and 5, a simpler way is by the handling member 131 of Figures 13 and 14 which comprises simply a bar 132 with a pair of projections 133 spaced so as to engage the holes 1 12 of the block 1 11 mounted on an axle 134 journaled in the bar 132.

As shown in Figure 15, the projections 133 are set in the holes 1 12, then the bar is lifted to turn the disc on to its rim, when it can simply be wheeled to wherever is desired.

Figures 17 to 20 illustrate variants for different aspects of the system.

Figure 17 illustrates a gripping arrangement that can be used instead of the jamming projections of the devices of Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7. It comprises an expandable muff 171 between end plates 172, 173 of which top plate 172 is supported from the load- engaging arrangement and bottom plate 173 is on a core 174 which is attached by a cable 175 to the handle 44. Pulling on the cable 175 pulls the plates 172, 173 together squashing the muff 171 and expanding it laterally, much in the fashion of a plastic wall plug-

Figure 18 shows a basically similar arrangement but with a taper member 181 that expands wedge members 182 when its cable 183 is pulled from the handle 44.

Figure 19 shows an autogripping pincer device 191 that clamps on the load 11 when the arrangement is raised.

Figure 20 shows how the lifter may be fitted with a cradle 201 which can slide underneath a load 11.

In each case, the same advantages accrue as with the earlier-described arrangements, namely heavy loads are lifted more safely and without undue effort, and ■ without any manipulation except from the handle of the lifter.

An additional item of equipment that complements the various devices described above is a simple ramp that hooks on to a frame member of a truck enabling blocks to be carried or rolled easily up to and down from the platform of the truck.