[0001] This invention relates to a combination of a lifting hook for lifting a load, for
example a plate-shaped material and a handle for handling the lifting hook.
[0002] Such combinations are well known in the art.
US 5,727,834, for example, describes a lifting hook to which a handle is attached. The lifting
hook comprises a top loop and a U shaped lower part which is welded to the top loop.
The upper part is provided for attaching the lifting hook to the transport device
for example the cable of a crane, a winch or the like. Various kinds of loads may
be suspended to the lower U-shaped part by means of ropes or cables. The handle comprises
a generally U-shaped strap with a hand grip connected to it. The strap is attached
to a pair of bolts each of which engages a sleeve welded on the hand grip. Each bolt
has a threaded end receiving a nut thus clamping the strap to the sleeves to hold
the hand grip in place on the back of the hook. A spring operated, pivoting latch
is mounted on the front of the hook to prevent exit of for example ropes or cables
suspended from the hook and a trigger is mounted on the hand grip with means interconnecting
the trigger and the latch such that the latch is pulled open by operating the trigger.
The strength of the connection between the hand grip and the hook is however limited
by the combination of the strap and sleeve. Furthermore, the lifting hook is not directly
carrying the load, but the load is rather carried by means of ropes or cables suspended
to the lifting hook.
[0003] US 3,782,772 describes a combination of a lifting hook and a handle wherein the lifting hook has
a broad flat shank with a lifting eye in its upper end and a lifting surface for suspending
cables at its lower end. Projecting from and welded to the back of the of the shank
is an elongated handle, which provides leverage for forcing the point of the hook
to engage a tensioned binding situated on the top of a bound package and for disengaging
the hook from the binding. The lifting surface is hardened and polished to avoid damage
to the binding material. A retaining nose projects from the shank into close proximity
with the point of the hook, to prevent accidental disengagement of the hook from the
binding when lifting tension is relaxed. The handle here is not meant for handling
the lifting or controlling the displacement of the hook, but rather for applying thrust
to the point of the hook.
[0004] The inventors have identified a need for a handle which is suitable for handling
a lifting hook, in particular a handle which may be used for controlling the movement
of the lifting hook, in a system where the lifting hook is directly carrying and supporting
the load.
[0005] The present invention seeks to provide such a combination of a lifting hook and a
handle.
[0006] Thereto, the present invention provides a combination of a lifting hook for lifting
a load, for example a plate-shaped material, and a handle for handling the lifting
hook, wherein the lifting hook comprises a lower part which provides a support surface
for directly bearing the load, and an upper part provided for connection with bearing
means for bearing the lifting hook, wherein the handle comprises a sleeve in which
at least part of the upper part of the lifting hook is received, and wherein a hand
grip is mounted on an outer surface of the sleeve for manually handling the handle
and wherein the hand grip projects with respect to the sleeve.
[0007] The combination of the lifting hook and handle of the present invention as described
above is typically used and suitable for the direct carrying and manipulation of heavy
stacks of plate-shaped materials, for example heavy stacks of steel plates. Thereby
usually a hook is mounted to each of the four corners of the stack of plates, in a
way where the lower part of the hook is received below the stack of plates and the
remainder of the hook extends along the upright edge of the stack. Such lifting hooks
are difficult to handle because of their intrinsic weight, because of the weight of
the load they are supporting and because of the balance that should be kept when a
plurality of lifting hooks are mounted to the load to be carried, to avoid moving
of the load with respect to the lifting hook.
[0008] Because the handle conceived as a sleeve in which at least part of the upper part
of the lifting hook is received, the handle may be mounted to the lifting hook without
involving the need to use accessory fixation techniques or tools, for example welding,
screwing or bolting. Mounting of the handle to the lifting hook may therefore be done
without affecting the mechanical properties of the lifting hook. This is seen as a
major improvement, because maneuverability of the hook may be improved at minimum
risk to affecting its mechanical properties. Lifting hooks of the nature discussed
above, have to fulfill certain mechanical requirements imposed by safety regulations,
they are subjected to an approval protocol and tests before being put into use, their
mechanical structure and properties may not be altered for safety considerations.
The combination of the present invention thus makes it possible to improve the safe
maneuverability of the lifting hood without affecting the intrinsic properties and
mechanical properties of the hook.
[0009] The presence of the handle facilitates manipulation of the lifting hook and greatly
improves safety, in particular in the course of loading a load onto or unloading a
load from the lifting hook. The handle, with the sleeve extending over at least part
of the upper part of the lifting hook, the inner surface of the sleeve being shaped
to fit around at least part of the upper part of the lifting hook, and the hand grip
of the handle mounted on the outer surface of the handle to project with respect to
the sleeve, is easily operable by hand. The force exerted by the operator on the hand
grip may be able to move the lifting hook in a desired direction. With the hand grip
of the handle pointing away from the lifting hook, the risk that the hands of the
operator get caught between the lifting hook and the load, or between the upper part
of the lifting hook and the bearing means during manipulation, is greatly reduced.
[0010] In use, typically the lifting hook is gripped by an operator and drawn over an edge
of the stack of plates in such a way that the stack rests on top of the lower part
of the handle, and part of the handle extends along an upper side of the stack. Typically
four such hooks are mounted to a stack of steel plates, in particular one to each
edge of the stack. The upper part of each lifting hook is suspended to a crane, a
winch or the like, by means of bearing means for example cables or ropes. Mounting
of a hook to an edge of a plate by direct grasping of the part of the hook that is
drawn over the stack of plates, as is done with prior art lifting hooks, involves
the risk that the operator's hand or arm may be crushed between the lifting hook and
the load it is supporting or between the upper part of the lifting hook and the cables
or ropes, causing severe injuries and possibly lasting disabilities. In the combination
of the present invention, the presence of the handle which projects from the hook
overcomes this problem since it allows the operator to handle the lifting hook, and
to minimise the risk to direct contact with the hook and the load it is supporting.
Moving of the lifting hook in the desired direction may be achieved by exerting a
force on the hand grip of the handle which projects from the sleeve and thus from
handle. In particular with the hand grip projecting from the sleeve, away from the
load carried by the lifting hook, the risk that the operator's hand gets caught between
the lifting hook and the load it is supporting or between the upper part of the lifting
hook and the bearing means may seriously be reduced.
[0011] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the handle for handling the
lifting hook is removably mounted on the lifting hook. The removable mounting of the
handle provides the possibility of using the handle not only with new lifting hooks
but also with existing lifting hooks, without the need for structural modifications
of the existing lifting hooks. The removable mounting permits to combine the handle
with a lifting hook only when needed and to remove it when no longer needed or broken.
Thus, the number of handles needed for example for a logistics firm may be greatly
reduced. Because in practice the dimensions and shape of lifting hooks in logistics
and more in particular in shipping are highly standardized, it is expected that the
removably mounted handles may be easily combined with the currently existing lifting
hooks.
[0012] The upper part of the lifting hook preferably comprises an end part which is conically
tapering. The presence of a conically tapering end part permits limiting the movement
of the handle over the upper part of the lifting hook within certain limits, so that
the risk that a handle would slip off the hook may be limited. A risk to slipping
may exist for instance in a case where the upper part of the hook is at a sharp angle
with respect to a direction parallel to the direction of the lower part of the lifting
hook. The conically tapering end part may even fix the position of the handle.
[0013] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the handle may comprise positioning
means to fix the position of the handle on the upper part of the lifting hook. The
presence of such positioning means assists in minimising the ability of the handle
to move over the hook and thereby improves the safety of the lifting hook, in particular
in situations where the upper part may be at an angle or parallel to the direction
of the lower part of the lifting hook. With such positioning means present, a position
may be chosen which on the one hand allows the operator to exert an optimal force
on the hand grip and on the other hand permits to reduce the risk to the occurrence
of injuries resulting from his hands or arms getting engaged between the lifting hook
and the load it is supporting or between the upper part of the lifting hook and the
bearing means.
[0014] Preferably the upper part is conically tapering from a top part towards the lower
part, and the end part of the upper part is thickened. The presence of a conically
tapering upper part either alone or in combination with a thickened end part of the
upper part may have the advantage that the possibility of the handle to move over
the upper part of the lifting hook is strongly limited, thereby reducing the risk
that the handle may slip off the hook. This technical feature may even permit to fix
the position of the handle.
[0015] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sleeve comprises a segment
which extends in longitudinal direction of the sleeve and is removable from the sleeve,
to provide an access opening through which the handle may be moved. Preferably, the
segment may be reversibly dismounted and mounted to the sleeve. According to a further
preferred embodiment, the sleeve is substantially rectangular, with one of the sides
being dismountable or removable. Such a handle may easily be combined with different
configurations of the lifting hook, simply by dismounting the dismountable segment
or side, placing the sleeve over the lifting hook and mounting and fastening the dismountable
segment or side back to the sleeve. Typical lifting hooks used in the shipping of
for example stacks of steel plates are substantially rectangular in shape. Therefore
the shape of the preferred sleeve matches the shape of the lifting hook. The manufacturing
of such a sleeve is considered to be rather simple and may be done by bending a length
of plate of a suitable material in a rectangular U-shape, providing a length of material
for closing the rectangular U-shape and providing the means for dismountably mounting
the closing part onto the rectangular U-shape, for example by drilling holes in both
part and connecting the part by means of bolts to form the sleeve. The hand grip could
for example by welded on the outer surface of the sleeve in order to form the handle.
Other fastening techniques may however be used as well.
[0016] The handle may be made of a wide variety of materials known to the skilled person,
but preferably it is made of steel, as steel has the strength and endurance necessary
for the use of the handle in manipulating heavy loads, while at the same time being
relatively easy to shape. Steel handles may be used in a wide variety of climatic
conditions, without seriously adversely affecting its strength and endurance. With
steel here, is meant any kind of steel or steel alloy, found suitable by the skilled
person.
[0017] Other details and advantages of the combination of a lifting hook for lifting a load
and a handle for handling the lifting hook according to the invention will become
apparent from the enclosed figures and description of preferred embodiments of the
invention.
Figure 1 shows a view in perspective of the combination of a lifting hook for lifting
a load and a handle for handling the lifting hook according to the invention.
Figure 2 shows a view in perspective of a handle for handling a lifting hook to form
a combination a according to the invention.
[0018] Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding
structure throughout the views, and referring to Figure 1, there is shown a first
embodiment of the combination of a lifting hook 1 and a handle 2.
[0019] Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the combination of a lifting hook 1 for
lifting a load, for example a plate-shaped material and a handle 2 for handling the
lifting hook. Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the handle 2, the lifting hook 1 not
being shown.
[0020] The lifting hook shown in figure 1 comprises a lower part 3, which provides and/or
may function as a support surface for the handle 2. The lower part 3 thus permits
a direct carrying of the load by the lifting hook. The lifting hook further comprises
an upper part 4 which permits connection of the handle to load bearing means, for
example a cable, a rope or a chain which in turn is suspended to a crane or winch
or similar.
[0021] The lifting hook 1 may be made from any material found suitable by the skilled person
for use in the shipment of heavy loads, for example a steel alloy. The material is
preferably chosen such that it complies with the safety regulations that regulate
transport tools in the shipment industry. The lifting hook 1 will usually be made
from a rod of solid material, but any other type of material considered suitable by
the skilled person may be used as well.
[0022] The lifting hook 1 is usually provided as an object that is made in one piece, having
a lower part 3 and an upper part 4, which are connected to each other by an intermediate
part 8. The upper part 4 and the lower part 3 could run substantially parallel or
could extend with respect to each other at an angle. Usually, the lifting hook, including
the lower part 3, the upper part 4 and the intermediate part 8 are made in one part.
The lifting hook may however be made of a plurality of separate parts which are connected
to each other for example by welding, provided legislation permits so.
[0023] The load of plate-shaped material is carried and supported by the lower part 3 of
the lifting hook 1, the shape of which is usually such that it allows an easy support
and easy carrying of the plate-shaped material. For example the load carrying part
of the lower part 3 may have a flat, rectangular support surface 7. The upper part
4 is provided for connection with load bearing means, for example a cable or rope.
The upper part 4 of the lifting hook 1 comes in several variations, for example the
end part of the upper part 4 may be conically tapering, in particular the upper part
4 may be conically tapering from a top part towards the lower part 3 or the reverse,
where the end part of the upper part 4 may be thickened. An upper part 4 presenting
such shapes is capable of minimising the risk that the handle 2 may slip off the hook
or it may function to fix the position of the handle on the lifting hook. However
other forms of the upper part 4 may be suitably used as well. Upper part 4 is connected
to lower part 3 by an intermediate part 8.
[0024] The handle 2 will usually comprise a sleeve 5 in which at least part of the upper
part 4 of the lifting hook 1 is received. The handle may be made from any material
found suitable by the skilled person, but preferably, the handle 2 is made from steel
or a steel alloy, known to perform well in heavy duty applications. The handle may
take any shape, but preferably the handle is shaped to fit to the shape of the lifting
hook. Often the handle will have a rectangular shape in order to match the shape of
the lifting hooks, which often have a rectangular shape as well, and in order to simplify
the production process.
[0025] The sleeve 5 of the handle of this invention may be in one piece. Preferably however
it is made in at least two parts which are connected to each other, to permit easy
mounting and dismounting of the handle from the lifting hook. Thereby, the parts may
be removably connectible to permit a repeated mounting and dismounting of the handle
to the lifting hook. In a preferred embodiment, shown in the Figures 1 and 2, the
sleeve is tubular and comprises a segment 9 which extends in longitudinal direction
of the sleeve and which is removable from the sleeve. By removing the longitudinal
segment 9, an access opening is created through which the handle may be moved. Preferably,
the segment 9 may be reversibly dismounted and mounted to the sleeve 10 to permit
re-use of the handle. The handle shown in figure 2 has a substantially rectangular
shape, with one of the sides being dismountably mounted. As shown in the Figures,
holes are drilled in the top part of the rectangular U-shaped part and matching holes
are drilled in the dismountably mounted side, the sleeve 5 here being formed by mounting
the two parts together and connecting them by means of bolts. Holes may be drilled
at different heights of the U-shaped part in order to receive lifting hooks of different
thickness and shape. However any other way of connecting the removable segment 9 to
the remainder of the sleeve 10 may be used as well.
[0026] A hand grip 6 is mounted on an outer surface of the sleeve 5, which permits manual
handling the handle 2. The hand grip 6 may be mounted to the sleeve 5 using different
techniques known to the skilled person, depending on the kind of materials used. Preferably,
the hand grip 6 is welded on the sleeve 5 of the handle 2. The hand grip 6 allows
the operator to manually handle the handle 2 and in this way move the lifting hook
1. The hand grip 6 and sleeve 5 may be made of different materials, but preferably
they are made of the same material.
[0027] The dimensions of the sleeve 2 of the handle may vary within some ranges, but are
preferably such that the possibility for the handle to move within the sleeve is limited,
for safety reasons. The inner surface of the sleeve 5 preferably extends adjacent
to the outer surface of the lifting hook 1. To provide optimum fit, the sleeve preferably
has a shape which is similar to that of the intermediate part 8 of the lifting hook.
[0028] In practical use, the handle 2 for handling a lifting hook 1 shown in Figure 2 may
be combined with a lifting hook in the following way. The handle 2 comprises a sleeve
5 and a hand grip 6 mounted on the outer surface of the sleeve 5. The sleeve 5 comprises
a dismountable top side and a U-shaped part 10. Matching holes are present in the
dismountable top side and the U-shaped part 10 and bolts connect both parts via the
matching holes. The dismountable top side of the sleeve 5 comprising the hand grip
6 is dismounted by loosening the bolts, used for mounting the top side of the sleeve
on the U-shaped part 10. Thereafter, the U-shaped part 10 is positioned to cover at
least part of the upper part 4 of the lifting hook 1 and the dismountable segment
or side 9 of the sleeve 5 is placed on U-shaped part 10 so as to enclose at least
part of the upper part 4 of the lifting hook 1 such that the holes present in the
U-shaped part 10 match the holes present in the dismountable top side. The dismountable
side or segment 9 is mounted on the U-shaped part 10 by fastening the bolts. The operator
may then safely move the lifting hook 1 by grasping the hand grip 6 of the handle
2 and exerting a force on the hand grip 6 to move the lifting hook 1.
1. A combination of a lifting hook (1) for lifting a load, for example a plate-shaped
material, and a handle (2) for handling the lifting hook, wherein the lifting hook
(1) comprises a lower part (3) which provides a support surface for directly bearing
of the load and an upper part (4) provided for connection with bearing means for the
lifting hook, wherein the handle (2) comprises a sleeve (5) in which at least part
of the upper part (4) of the lifting hook (1) is received, and wherein a hand grip
(6) is mounted on an outer surface of the sleeve (5) for manually handling the handle
(2), wherein the handgrip projects from the handle.
2. The combination according to claim 1, characterized in that the handle (2) is removably mounted on the lifting hook (1).
3. The combination according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the upper part (4) of the lifting hook (1) comprises an end part which is conically
tapering.
4. The combination according to claim 1, characterized in that the handle (2) comprises means to fix the position of the handle (2) on the upper
part (4) of the lifting hook (1).
5. The combination according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the upper part (4) is conically tapering from a top part towards the lower part (3),
and in that the end part of the upper part (4) is thickened.
6. The combination according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sleeve (5)
comprises a segment (9) which extends in longitudinal direction of the sleeve (5)
and is removably mounted to the sleeve, to provide an access opening for receiving
at least part of an intermediate part (8) of the handle connecting the upper part
(4) and lower part (3) of the handle (1).
7. The combination of any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that the sleeve (5) is substantially rectangular, with one of the sides (9) being removably
mountable.
8. The combination according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the hand grip (6) is welded on the handle (2).
9. The combination according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the handle (2) is made of steel.