US Patent 7429035 Equipment handling apparatus

An equipment handling apparatus is described. The equipment handling apparatus includes a base and a mast coupled to the base, an equipment head coupled to and translatable along the mast, and a mounting device rotatably coupled to the equipment head. In this regard, the mast is aligned along a first axis, and the equipment head includes a rotatable head shaft defining a second axis that is non-parallel to the first axis. The mounting device includes a second shaft independently rotatable about a third axis non-parallel to the second axis. The equipment handling apparatus provides for translating the equipment head, rotating the head shaft, and for rotating the second shaft independent of the head shaft.