Drywall Lift Loader

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Plasterboard/drywall is one of the most common construction materials used around the world. Approximately 28 billion square feet were sold in the US in 2021 (https://www.statista.com/statistics/219348/us-sales-of-wallboard-products/) and over 100 billion worldwide (World Drywall & Building Plaster Report 2018). Installation of drywall is a labor-intensive activity with one of the highest incidents of injury in the residential construction industry. Drywall sheets weigh between 51 lbs (½ inch×4 feet×8 feet) to 105 lbs (⅝ inch×4 feet×12 feet). The most common injuries are from being struck from falling drywall, overexertion, and falls.

In 1974 a U.S. patent for a Panel Lifting Device (3,828,942) was awarded. This device was sold and distributed in the U.S. This device assists in lifting the drywall effectively for ceiling and upper wall locations.

While the lift can address both the effectiveness and safety for drywall installation, the lift design has a significant flaw in that the drywall sheet must be lifted from the floor approximately 34 inches to be placed on the lifting tray/cradle—a very significant challenge for sole installers/do-it-yourselfers. With the expiration on U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,942, copies of this design are now being manufactured and distributed from cheaper manufacturing countries which has dropped the price significantly. The price of panel/drywall lifts is low enough now for a do-it-yourselfer to afford to purchase a lift. These lifts are now sold by construction tool retailers and provided by tool rental agencies across the U.S. The flaw remains: the primary flaw of the requirement to lift the panel onto the lift cradle.

The Drywall Lift Loader alleviates this flaw. It increases the safety and utility of common drywall lifts, especially for smaller drywall installer crews and the do-it-yourselfer. It may also increase the use of panel lifts by increasing the advantage of the use of existing panel lifts, which can result in impacting the safety issues with drywall installation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a Drywall Lift Loader that can be attached to or incorporated into a panel/drywall lift to provide the ability to lift the drywall from the floor onto the panel lift cradle.

The device resembles a human arm with the shoulder attached to the stem of a receiving panel lift, an upper arm hinged to the shoulder, a hinge (elbow) that connects to a lower arm, a hinge (wrist) connected to a hand with extended finger curved to accept the lower edge of a standing piece of drywall. In operation, a standing drywall sheet's lower edge is placed onto the extended fingers of the Drywall Lift Loader. The drywall sheet upper edge is leaning against the leaning arms of the cradle of a receiving generic panel lift. The drywall sheet is lifted upwards by raising the fingers via a winched strap connected on one end to the Drywall Lift Loader hand and another to a winch mounted on the panel lift stem. The winch strap is shortened thereby lifting the drywall panel until the engaged drywall panel is horizontally safe on the receiving cradle of the panel lift for application to walls or ceilings.

This invention is to be used as an accessory/add-on or incorporated onto the current common panel/drywall lifts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The drawings portray the invention mounted on an existing drywall lift. The invention is drawn darker than the shaded drywall lift for clarity.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the invention mounted on a panel lift. The panel lift is shown with shaded lines and the Drywall Lift Loader has darker lines.

FIG. 2 shows a front view of the Drywall Lift Loader mounted to a panel lift. The Arm is in a lowered position to accept a new piece of drywall onto the Fingers.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the Drywall Lift Loader in the loading position.

FIG. 4 shows a side view of the loader with the Arm raised and drywall lifted onto the Drywall Lift Cradle.

FIG. 5 shows a side view of the Drywall Lift Loader with the Cradle in the ceiling position, and the loader Arm raised and empty.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The Drywall Lift Loader resembles a human arm with the shoulder attached midway on the main stem of a receiving panel lift and the arm in a downward relaxed position such that the hand rests near the floor (FIG. 1). The arm is comprised of a Shoulder 6, Shoulder Joint 7, Humerus (upper arm) 8, Elbow 9, Forearm (lower arm) 10, Wrist 11 and Hand 12 with outstretched Fingers 13. The Hand 12 has an Eyebolt 14 through the palm. The Eyebolt 14 is connected to Clip 15 that connects to the end of a Strap 4. The Strap 4 connects on the other end to the Loader Winch 1 that is mounted near the top of the panel hoist Stem 18.

Shortening the Strap 4 via the Loader Winch 1 results in the Hand 12 lifting upwards. The Elbow 9 and Wrist 11 construction restrict the movement to only movement on a flat plane—similar to a human elbow joint. The Shoulder Joint 7 and Wrist 11 are similar to a human elbow joint—there is no side to side movement. The Elbow 9 and Wrist 11 joints are also restricted so that there is a minimum bend of 75 degrees. The result is that when the Strap 4 length is decreased the Arm is raised upwards on a flat plane, raising the Hand 12 in a controlled distance from the Shoulder 6.

This invention is to be attached to or part of a panel/drywall lift. The relevant panel lift components include a Cradle 16 which holds the panel/Drywall 21. The Cradle 16 is connected to a telescoping main Stem 18. The Stem 18 is composed of multiple (usually three) sleeves. Each sleeve fits inside the Stem 18 and the other subsequent sleeves. A pulley system is mounted on alternating ends of the sleeves such that shortening the pulley cable raises the sleeve end towards the upper end of the other sleeves resulting in the raising of the Cradle and the loaded Drywall 21.

Most current Drywall Lifts require the Drywall to be manually lifted and placed onto the Cradle 16. The Cradle 16 is put in a slanted position to receive the Drywall 21. The Drywall 21 is then manually lifted and placed onto the Cradle 16. A normal sheet of drywall (½ inch×4 feet×8 feet) weighs over 50 lbs and must be lifted so the lower edge is over 34 inches to be received by the Cradle 16. The Cradle is then raised either in the slanted position for wall installations, or in a horizontally flat position for ceiling installations.

Incorporation of the Drywall Lift Loader in this operation results in raising of the drywall onto the slanted Cradle of the Drywall Lift with much less physical effort and risk of injury.

The operation of the Drywall Loader is shown in FIGS. 3-5. To start (FIG. 3), the Arm is put into the lower position by lengthening the Strap 4 until the Hand 12 is near the floor. The Cradle 16 is positioned into the slanted receiving position. The Drywall 21 is then placed onto the outstretched Fingers 13 of the Hand 12. The Drywall 21 is positioned where the midpoint of the Drywall 21 is under the Fingers 13. The upper edge of the Drywall 21 is leaned against the lower edge of the Cradle 16. The Loader Winch 1 is then engaged to shorten the Strap 4 so the Hand 12 is raised, lifting the Drywall 21 vertically (See FIG. 4). The Hand 12 is raised until the Drywall 21 is loaded flat on the Cradle 16 and the lower Drywall 21 edge is higher than the Outriggers 17. The Outriggers 17 then rotate to be under the lower edge of the Drywall 21. The Loader Winch 1 is then engaged to lower the Arm until the Drywall 21 is resting on the Outriggers 17. The Arm is then lowered to the floor position. The panel lift can then be moved to the installation location for the drywall, the Cradle either raised in the slanted position for wall installation or flattened for ceiling installation j(See FIG. 5).

The Arm can also be used to assist for mounting drywall to the lower wall installation. The Arm in put into the loading position (FIG. 3). The Hand 12 is only slightly raised after the Drywall 21 is placed on the Fingers 13. The panel lift is then moved to the installation location. The upper edge of the Drywall 21 is pushed against the wall, then several screws are inserted/screwed through the Drywall 21 into the wall framing. The Hand 12 is then lowered, removed from the lower Drywall 21 edge, and the lift is moved away from that installation location.