A crane apparatus with an integrated assembly for overcoming each dead position between primary and secondary parts of its operational arm includes a bearing framework attached to a chassis and is furnished with at least two telescopic supporting legs that are vertically arranged, and a bearing mast that is connected with the bearing framework, and an operational arm is attached in a pivot point and pivotable around a horizontal axis. The operational arm includes a primary part and a secondary part that are pivotally connected with each other. The secondary part is pivotal around the horizontal axis connected with the primary part of the operational arm via a dead position overcoming assembly that includes a rotational driving subsystem as well as a mechanism that is attached to part of a hydraulic cylinder for pivoting relative to the secondary part of the operational arm.

A crane drive method is provided for selecting and applying a preferential load curve adapted to a work configuration of a crane having a mast supporting a luffing jib including at least one jib structural element. The method includes an inclination measurement step implementing a measurement of an actual inclination of the jib structural element with respect to a reference axis in the work configuration, a selection step implementing an automated selection of the preferential load curve according to the actual inclination of the jib structural element, the preferential load curve selected from among a plurality of load curves stored in a memory and calculated beforehand for several inclinations of the jib structural element, and a drive step implementing an application of the preferential load curve for maneuvers of lifting and moving a load along the luffing jib in the work configuration of the crane.

A vehicle crane, such as a mobile crane or a crawler crane, includes a main boom, a main boom extension, and an adapter that is located between the main boom and the main boom extension and which has a first connection plane and a second connection plane. The adapter is configured to be movable such that the first connection plane can be moved relative to the second connection plane, where the adapter is designed in the manner of a double lever in order to provide a vehicle crane that has improved load-bearing capacity and simplified set-up.

A vehicle crane, such as a mobile crane or a crawler crane, includes a main boom, a main boom extension, and an adapter that is located between the main boom and the main boom extension and which has a first connection plane and a second connection plane. The adapter is configured to be movable such that the first connection plane can be moved relative to the second connection plane, where the adapter is designed in the manner of a double lever in order to provide a vehicle crane that has improved load-bearing capacity and simplified set-up.

A hydraulic rotary drive includes a first rotary drive element and at least two annular pistons connected to the first rotary drive element in a rotationally fixed manner and configured to be axially movable on the first rotary drive element between two end positions. Each annular piston has two annular spur serrations directed away from one another. The hydraulic rotary drive includes a second rotary drive element with ring type serrations that are complementary to the spur serrations of the annular pistons. The hydraulic rotary drive includes a control unit that is configured to control supply of hydraulic fluid to the annular pistons to cause a reciprocating movement of the annular pistons on a shaft in accordance with an operating signal. The hydraulic rotary drive includes a sensor arrangement communicatively coupled to the control unit and arranged to detect the positions of the annular pistons along respective sliding paths.

A hydraulic rotary drive includes a first rotary drive element and at least two annular pistons connected to the first rotary drive element in a rotationally fixed manner and configured to be axially movable on the first rotary drive element between two end positions. Each annular piston has two annular spur serrations directed away from one another. The hydraulic rotary drive includes a second rotary drive element with ring type serrations that are complementary to the spur serrations of the annular pistons. The hydraulic rotary drive includes a control unit that is configured to control supply of hydraulic fluid to the annular pistons to cause a reciprocating movement of the annular pistons on a shaft in accordance with an operating signal. The hydraulic rotary drive includes a sensor arrangement communicatively coupled to the control unit and arranged to detect the positions of the annular pistons along respective sliding paths.

A self-erecting crane includes a mast supporting a foldable jib having jib elements articulated together, configurable between a transport configuration and a work configuration. The crane also includes a motor-driven folding/unfolding system for performing configuration change operations implementing kinematics of folding and unfolding the jib, and a control/command system connected to the motor-driven folding/unfolding system to drive it. One or several inclinometer(s) are mounted on one or several jib element(s) to measure actual inclinations of the jib element(s) with respect to a reference axis. The control/command system is configured to drive the motor-driven folding/unfolding system according to the actual inclinations of the jib element(s) during the kinematics of folding and unfolding the jib.

A self-erecting crane includes a mast supporting a foldable jib having jib elements articulated together, configurable between a transport configuration and a work configuration. The crane also includes a motor-driven folding/unfolding system for performing configuration change operations implementing kinematics of folding and unfolding the jib, and a control/command system connected to the motor-driven folding/unfolding system to drive it. One or several inclinometer(s) are mounted on one or several jib element(s) to measure actual inclinations of the jib element(s) with respect to a reference axis. The control/command system is configured to drive the motor-driven folding/unfolding system according to the actual inclinations of the jib element(s) during the kinematics of folding and unfolding the jib.

A hydraulic crane comprising: —a rotatable column (7); —a crane boom system (10) comprising two or more liftable and lowerable crane booms (11, 13); and —an electronic control device (25), which is configured to prevent an execution of crane boom movements that would make the lifting moment of the crane exceed the maximum allowed lifting moment of the crane, and to continuously establish position information as to the prevailing position of the load suspension point (P) of the crane boom system. When the lifting moment of the crane has reached a limit value at a given level below the maximum allowed lifting moment, the electronic control device is configured to prevent the execution of any combination of crane boom movements that would increase the horizontal distance between the load suspension point and said vertical axis of rotation and at the same time allow the execution of any combination of crane boom movements that keeps said horizontal distance unchanged or reduces said horizontal distance.

An Enhanced Lift Assist Device is described. The device allows a user to lift and manipulate large, heavy or bulky items by applying force to the item as opposed to traditional control methods such as buttons. This force based system provides ease of movement of the item, making it appear much lighter than it actually is. The Enhanced Lift Assist Device also includes an adjustable base that allows for change of orientation of the device that may include leveling or self-leveling functionality, allowing the device to be operated in non-traditional environments that require leveling or operational adjustments for proper functioning.