ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 25 -- United States Patent no. 12,338,112, issued on June 24.
"Mast and grapple combination" was invented by Jason Linley (Fort St John, Canada).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A mast and grapple combination includes a mast and a grapple. The mast has a first end (lower end) and a second end (upper end). A carriage travels along the mast from the first end toward the second end. The grapple is carried by the carriage. The grapple has jaws which open and close, and is mounted for rotation about a transverse axis relative to the carriage. A jaw drive mechanism controls operation of the jaws, such that the jaws are movable to an open position to receive a pile and a closed po...