Theatre scenery hoisting mechanism

US4606527A · kind A · utility

Assignees

• Alexander Ziller · US
• Helmut Grosser · US
• Richard E. Nicholson · US
• Vince Silveri · US

Inventors

• Alexander Ziller · Wesel, DE
• Helmut Grosser · Maisach, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 21, 1984
• Grant date: Aug 19, 1986
• Expiry date: Dec 21, 2004

Classification

• Technology area (CPC A): Human Necessities
• CPC primary: A63J1/028
• WIPO field: Furniture, games
• WIPO sector: Other fields

Abstract

For raising and lowering theatre scenery there is a horizontal track in the fly loft of the theatre, and several carriages, slidable along the track, are shiftable to any desired positions along the track, positions being chosen in accordance with possibly uneven or non-uniform weight distribution in the scenery to be handled. A series of cables, one for each carriage, runs from a common winding drum to one end of the track and then to an anchorage at the opposite end of the track. Each cable runs over two pulleys of its own individual carriage, and forms a downwardly extending loop between these two pulleys. A pulley block rides on each loop. All the pulley blocks are ordinarily connected to a scenery batten, from which the scenery is hung, but when specially required, individual pulley blocks may be used separately. Under no-load or minimum load conditions, the carriages may be easily moved along the track to place them in desired position, simply by manually pulling downwardly on one or the other of the two sections or reaches of the cable coming down from the carriage pulleys to the pulley block, the blocks having been lowered, of course, to a convenient working height close to…