A spreader frame for container handling equipment comprises a hollow box-like main frame and two parallel side-by-side booms which are movable in opposite directions. A chain is mounted lengthwise of each boom and meshes with a sprocket, both of which are driven from a common shaft to move both booms synchronously. A limit switch detector automatically controls the extension of the booms to a selected station and a wedge mechanism automatically locks the booms to the main frame at this station.

A lifting frame is provided for use in lifting elongated room-size prefabricated building modules and other large, heavy and bulky elongated loads having asymmetrical or lopsided weight distributions in the direction of elongation. The lifting frame includes a pair of generally parallel, side-by-side, spaced apart elongated beams and a pair of cross-brace beams running at right angles to the elongated beams and located therebetween. The elongated beams are adapted to be releasably fastened to the upper portion of the building module or other load with the longer dimension of such beams running in the same general direction as the longer dimension of the building module or other load. The cross-brace beams are adapted to receive and laterally position the lower ends of the cables of a cable-type lifting sling. Structure is provided for releasably fastening the cross-brace beams to the elongated beams at selected ones of a series of different longitudinal locations along the elongated beams for enabling the centerline of lift to be longitudinally aligned with the center of gravity of the building module or other load with a minimum of tipping of the module or load during the lifting process. By using lifting sling cables of proper different lengths on the two sides of the lifting frame, the centerline of lift can also be brought into lateral alignment with the center of gravity for the case of a building module or load having an asymmetrical lateral weight distribution.

There is provided a loader which is well suited for lifting heavy weight blocks and which is thus particularly advantageously usable in the assembling of blocks for building a ship. The loader body includes at least one beam arranged in a horizontal plane, and a plurality of separate pulley means are directly or indirectly mounted on the loader body in such a manner that these pulley means are arranged fixedly or movable to adjust the distance therebetween, whereby even when the center of gravity of a block is not in alignment with the center of the loader, the block can be lifted easily.

In one aspect of the present invention, a lifting assembly has a frame structure with a translatable support element. The support element has a load-bearing surface and a screw-form. The screw-form is threadedly connected to a gear which is in mechanical communication with a power source, which may be an electric motor. The load-bearing surface is fixed to a shaft of the translatable support element and at least a portion of the load-bearing surface is angularly oriented with respect to the shaft. A guide with at least one end fixed to the frame structure is adapted to adjust the rotational orientation of the load-bearing surface.

A device for lifting oversized pieces of material. The device includes a spreader bar capable of attaching to a lifting vehicle. At least two cross members are attached to the spreader bar along with at least one cross-member power source. The at least one cross-member power source is connected to at least one drive mechanism which in turn is connected to at least one of the at least two cross members. A load-pick power source is attached to each of the at least two cross members and well as to at least one load-pick drive mechanism. The at least one load-pick drive mechanism is connected to each of the at least two load pick points, and the cross-member and the load-pick power sources are each electrically connected to an operating or control panel in a cab of the lifting vehicle.