Foldable suspended-ballast guide for a crane

Abstract

The invention relates to a foldable suspended-ballast guide for a crane with suspended ballast, comprising at least two lattice pieces which are pivotally connected to each other by means of at least one swivel joint, and a swivel drive for changing the swivel angle or for changing the ballast radius, wherein the suspended-ballast guide can be arranged on the crane via the first lattice piece, characterized in that the second lattice piece comprises at least one kink joint in order to kink the second lattice piece downwards or backwards in the direction of the crane to reduce the ballast radius.

Claims

1. A foldable suspended-ballast guide for a crane with suspended ballast, comprising at least two lattice pieces which are pivotally connected to each other by at least one swivel joint, and a swivel drive for changing a swivel angle or a ballast radius, wherein the suspended-ballast guide is arranged on the crane via a first lattice piece, a second lattice piece comprises at least one kink joint to kink the second lattice piece downwards or backwards in the direction of the crane to reduce the ballast radius, and at least one kink drive for adjusting a kink angle is arranged on the second lattice piece.

2. The foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 1, wherein corner posts of the second lattice piece are split and sub-elements of the corner posts of a bottom chord are connected to each other via a respective kink joint.

3. The foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 1, wherein the swivel drive acts in the region of the one or more kink joints of the second lattice piece.

4. The foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 3, wherein the swivel drive comprises two cylinders aligned parallel to each other.

5. The foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 1, wherein the first lattice piece is pivotally arranged on a crane body, and has a U-shaped or C-shaped cross-sectional profile, so that when pivoting the first lattice piece back in the direction of the crane body, a crane component at least partly penetrates into a clearance formed between legs of a profile of the first lattice piece.

6. The foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 5, wherein the crane component is an SA trestle of the crane.

7. A crane comprising at least one foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 1.

8. The foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 1, wherein the at least one kink drive is in the form of a pull cylinder whose rod movement effects a change of the kink angle of sub-elements of the second lattice piece.

9. A foldable suspended-ballast guide for a crane with suspended ballast, comprising at least two lattice pieces which are pivotally connected to each other by at least one swivel joint, and a swivel drive for changing a swivel angle or a ballast radius, wherein the suspended-ballast guide is arranged on the crane via a first lattice piece, a second lattice piece comprises at least one kink joint to kink the second lattice piece downwards or backwards in the direction of the crane to reduce the ballast radius, corner posts of the second lattice piece are split and sub-elements of the corner posts of a bottom chord are connected to each other via a respective kink joint, and the sub-elements of the second lattice piece are releasably connectable to each other by a fixing device in the region of a top chord of the second lattice piece.

10. The foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 9, wherein sections of the corner posts of the top chord are releasably connectable to each other.

11. A foldable suspended-ballast guide for a crane with suspended ballast, comprising at least two lattice pieces which are pivotally connected to each other by at least one swivel joint, and a swivel drive for changing a swivel angle or a ballast radius, wherein the suspended-ballast guide is arranged on the crane via a first lattice piece, a second lattice piece comprises at least one kink joint to kink the second lattice piece downwards or backwards in the direction of the crane to reduce the ballast radius, corner posts of the second lattice piece are split and sub-elements of the corner posts of a bottom chord are connected to each other via a respective kink joint, and a fixing device provides at least one securing bolt for bolting sections of the corner posts and a bolt extracting device.

12. The foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 11, wherein a securing lug is arranged to engage into an axial protrusion of the at least one securing bolt.

13. The foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 12, wherein a bolt receptacle bolt receptacle of the at least one securing bolt is designed as an oblong hole, such that by shifting the at least one securing bolt within the oblong hole, the securing lug can be brought out of engagement with the at least one securing bolt.

14. The foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 11, wherein at least one securing bolt per corner post is provided.

15. The foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 11, wherein a the bolt receptacle of the at least one securing bolt is designed as an oblong hole.

16. The foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 15, wherein shifting the securing bolt is effected by a kink drive.

17. The foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 16, wherein the shifting of the securing bolt is effected by pulling the sub-elements of the second lattice piece towards each other, and points of abutment against a contact area of the sub-elements are provided.

18. The foldable suspended-ballast guide according to claim 15, wherein at least one proximity sensor is placed in the region of the fixing device or the oblong hole to detect the position of the at least one securing bolt within the oblong hole.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further advantages and properties of the invention will be explained in detail below with reference to an exemplary embodiment illustrated in the Figures, in which:

(2) FIG. 1: shows a perspective detail view of the crane according to the invention with a mounted pivotable suspended-ballast guide,

(3) FIG. 2: shows a detail view, partially in section, of the second lattice piece in the region of the securing bolt,

(4) FIG. 3: shows another side view of the detail area as shown in FIG. 2,

(5) FIG. 4: shows another perspective view of the second lattice piece in the region of the kink joint,

(6) FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C: each show three schematic side views of the crane according to the invention with differently adjusted ballast radii to illustrate the mode of operation of the suspended-ballast guide according to the invention, and

(7) FIG. 6: shows a side view of the suspended-ballast guide according to the invention in a transport position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(8) The mode of operation of the foldable suspended-ballast guide according to the invention will be described with reference to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in the Figures. According to this exemplary embodiment the suspended-ballast guide is mounted on a crawler crane comprising a derrick boom. Beside the main boom, the crane comprises a derrick boom 21 which is connected to the SA trestle 20 via a guying. The assembly of the suspended-ballast guide is effected on the uppercarriage, wherein for this purpose the first lattice piece 11 of the suspended-ballast guide is pivotally articulated to the uppercarriage with its free end.

(9) A good overview of the structural design of the suspended-ballast guide is found in FIG. 1. The suspended-ballast guide according to the invention substantially consists of the two lattice pieces 11, 12 whose corner posts converge at the end. In the region of the converging corner posts, the lattice pieces are connected to each other via a total of two swivel joints 1. The free end of the second lattice piece 12 comprises two assembly points for accommodating a ballast pick-up frame 10. What likewise engages in the region of these assembly points is a guying which extends from the suspended-ballast guide to the tip of the derrick boom 21. By changing the swivel angle included by the two lattice pieces 11, 12, the distance of the ballast to the crane body hence can be adjusted.

(10) A change in angle is effected by the two swivel cylinders 3 arranged in parallel. On the cylinder side, the same are attached to the first lattice piece 11 close to the assembly point on the crane uppercarriage. The piston boss is mounted on the second lattice piece 12, in particular on the kink joints 2 provided there, the purpose of which will yet be discussed in detail below.

(11) This integral kink joint 2 is an essential part of the invention, as by the same the second lattice piece 12 can be kinked downwards or in the direction of the crane body, as required. In principle, the second lattice piece 12 consists of the two sub-elements 12a, 12b which are connected to each other via the two kink joints 2 and can be pivoted relative to each other.

(12) Concretely, the corner posts of the second lattice piece 12 each are of two-part design, wherein the sections 121, 122 of the two lower corner posts of the bottom chord are connected to each other via a kink joint 2. Due to the built-in kink joint 2, the sub-element 12b connected to the ballast pick-up frame 10 can be kinked downwards or backwards in the direction of the crane body so that despite a constant swivel angle between the first and the second lattice piece 11, 12 a further reduction of the ballast radius is achieved.

(13) Reference numeral 4 denotes a swivel cylinder and reference numeral 13 denotes a lattice piece in FIG. 1.

(14) The mode of operation and adjustability of the novel suspended-ballast guide is illustrated in FIGS. 5a-5c. FIG. 5a shows the suspended-ballast guide with fully extended swivel cylinders 3 and maximum swivel angle between the lattice pieces 11, 12, whereby the maximum ballast radius is set. The second lattice piece 12 is also not kinked. In this configuration, for example a ballast radius of about 30 m can be achieved.

(15) In FIG. 5b, the swivel cylinders 3 both are retracted completely; the swivel angle between the lattice pieces accordingly is minimal. The second lattice piece 12, however, is not yet kinked. With this setting, for example, a ballast radius of about 16 m can be set in the illustrated construction. Accordingly, the ballast radius can be varied by means of the swivel cylinders 3 over a comparatively large radius area, wherein ideally a stepless adjustment is possible.

(16) FIG. 5c likewise shows fully retracted swivel cylinders 3, but here the second lattice piece 12 additionally was kinked down by means of the integral kink joint 2 so that the ballast radius was further reduced as compared to FIG. 5b. For example, the ballast radius can again be reduced by about 3 m to 13 m by means of the kink joint 2.

(17) The mode of operation of the kink connection between the sub-elements 12a, 12b of the second lattice piece 12 will be explained below with reference to the detail representations of FIGS. 2 to 4. For kinking the sub-element 12b it is necessary to release the connection between the sections 123, 124 of the two upper corner posts, as otherwise a kinking movement would be blocked. In the radius area as shown in FIGS. 5a, 5b a loadable and secure connection between the sections 123, 124 must be guaranteed instead. The required releasable connection between the sections 123, 124 of the two upper corner posts is achieved by bolting each by means of a securing bolt 22 which not only can be extracted/inserted by a machine, but in addition is secured against an unwanted actuation by means of a securing mechanism.

(18) The upper corner posts 123, 124 of the sub-elements 12a, 12b of the lattice piece 12 include a complementary fork-finger connection which for each pair of corner posts in the upper chord can be created or released by an associated securing bolt 22. The fork/finger element in principle can arbitrarily be distributed over the sub-elements 12a, 12b, and here the fork elements are arranged on the corner posts 123 of the sub-element 12a. The securing bolts 22 for each pair of corner posts likewise are mounted on the sub-element 12a together with a controlled bolt drawing device 23. By means of the bolt extracting device, the securing bolt 22 can be shifted in an axial direction and be inserted into or pulled out of the bores of the fork-finger combination. The proximity sensors 100, 101 serve to detect the position of the securing bolt 22, wherein the proximity sensor 100 mounted closer to the fork-finger combination detects the bolt 22 in the inserted position, while the sensor 101 mounted closer to the lattice piece center detects an extracted bolt 22.

(19) A protrusion 22a of the securing bolt 22 protrudes from the bore of the fork-finger combination on the outside of the lattice piece 12. In the illustrated bolt position, a securing lug 25 mounted on the sub-element 12b radially engages into the protrusion 221 and thus mechanically blocks the bolt 22 against being pulled out by the bolt extracting device 23. Only when the securing lug 25 is brought out of engagement with the protrusion 221 of the bolt 22, the same can be extracted and the connection of the corner posts in the top chord of the lattice piece 12 can be opened.

(20) To provide for a machine-controlled release of the securing lug 25, the bore of the finger element at the corner post 124 of the sub-element 12b is configured as an oblong hole 24, which permits a certain bolt clearance and provides for a small movement of the sub-element 12b relative to the sub-element 12a also with an inserted securing bolt. By means of the kink drive 14, here in the form of a pull cylinder, which on the cylinder side is centrally mounted on a connecting rod of the top chord of the sub-element 12a and on the piston side is centrally mounted on a connecting rod of the top chord of the sub-element 12b, the sub-element 12b can be pulled a small distance in the direction of the sub-element 12a also when the bolt 22 is inserted, until the bolt 22 abuts against the wall of the oblong hole 24 and the two abutment points 26, 26′ of the fork-finger combination are pressed against each other. This small relative movement is enough to bring the securing lug 25 mounted on the sub-element 12b out of engagement with the protrusion 221 and to thereby eliminate the mechanical blockage. The bolt 22 can now be extracted.

(21) A proximity sensor 102 arranged in the region of the two abutment points 26, 26′ monitors and detects the distance of the two sub-elements 12a, 12b to each other in order to thereby detect the securing state of the bolt 22.

(22) The pull cylinder 14 not only serves to release the securing lug 25, but generally to steplessly adjust the kink angle between the sub-elements 12a, 12b of the second lattice piece 12.

(23) An essential point also is the control of the extending and retracting movements of the suspended ballast at a constant speed. In doing so, a precise actuation of all three cylinders, i.e. of both the swivel cylinders 3 and the pull cylinder 14, must be ensured. In particular, the concrete geometrical conditions of the suspended-ballast guide must be taken into account. The height of the suspended ballast plate can be kept constant while changing the ballast radius. On retraction and extension of the suspended ballast, the suspended ballast would perform a circular movement around the derrick head 211. The ballast pull cylinders 212 in the guying between derrick boom 21 and suspended-ballast guide are controlled correspondingly and can keep the ballast plate at a constant height.

(24) By using the two joints, i.e. on the one hand the swivel joint 1 and the kink joints 2, a compact transport unit comprising the two lattice pieces 11, 12 and the respective cylinders 3, 14 can be produced, which does not require an expensive disassembly of components. Instead, due to the swivelling and kinking kinematics, the transport window available in public road traffic can be utilized efficiently. In total, this considerably reduces the assembly and transport expenditure.