Pipe grapple

Claim 1

A MOBILE DEVICE FOR HANDLING CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES, COMPRISING GRAPPLING MEANS INCLUDING FIRST AND SECOND SUBSTANTIALLY SEMI-CIRCULAR STRAPS HAVING THEIR CONCAVE SURFACES IN OPPOSED FACE-TO-FACE RELATIONSHIP, A PIVOTAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE FIRST ENDS OF EACH STRAP, A LATCH FOR REMOVABLY SECURING SECOND ENDS OF THE STRAPS TOGETHER, EACH OF SAID STRAPS BEING SPLIT LATERALLY INTERMEDIATE ITS LENGTH AND FORMING A GAP THEREIN, FIRST AND SECOND ADJACENT ENDS DEFINING EACH OF SAID GAPS, A TOGGLE PIVOTALLY MOUNTED TO EACH OF SAID FIRST ENDS OF A HORIZONTAL AXIS, A LINKAGE ARM PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID TOGGLE AND TO SAID SECOND END, A PAIR OF TENSION ELEMENTS CONNECTED TO OPPOSITE ENDS OF EACH OF SAID TOGGLES, AND MEANS SIMULTANEOUSLY TO SHORTEN ONE AND LENGTHEN THE OTHER TENSION ELEMENT WHEREBY SAID TOGGLE AND LINKAGE ARMS WILL VARY THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID ADJACENT ENDS AND WHEREBY THE GRAPPLING MEANS AND A PIPE HELD THEREBY CAN BE TURNED ABOUT THE HORIZONTAL AXES OF THE TOGGLES.