Abstract
Provided is a lifting assembly for lifting a load, including an upper part and a number of independent lower parts, wherein the upper part includes a lifting beam, a suspension arrangement for suspending the lifting beam from a crane hook, and a locking assembly including an actuator arrangement realized to engage the upper part to a lower part; and wherein a lower part includes a lifting tool realized for connection to a load, and a locking interface realized to engage with the locking assembly of the upper part. A method of lifting a load using such a lifting assembly is also provided.
Claims
1. A lifting assembly for lifting a load, comprising an upper part and a number of independent lower parts, wherein: the upper part comprises a lifting beam, a suspension arrangement for suspending the lifting beam from a crane hook, and a locking assembly comprising an actuator arrangement configured to engage the upper part to a lower part; and the lower part comprises a lifting tool configured for connection to a load, and a locking interface configured to engage with the locking assembly of the upper part; wherein the locking interfaces of the plurality of lower parts are all constructed in an identical fashion; wherein the actuator arrangement comprises a number of linear actuators, and wherein the locking interface is configured to engage with the linear actuators.
2. The lifting assembly according to claim 1, wherein the actuator arrangement comprises a number of linear actuators arranged to extend horizontally in a first direction, and a number of linear actuators arranged to extend horizontally in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction.
3. The lifting assembly according to claim 1, wherein the locking assembly is mounted to the lifting beam and comprises side plates arranged to contain the actuator arrangement, further wherein the side plates comprise through-holes arranged to accommodate linear actuators of the actuator arrangement.
4. The lifting assembly according to claim 3, wherein the locking interface comprises side plates arranged to accommodate the locking assembly, further wherein the side plates comprise through-holes arranged to match the through-holes of the locking assembly and to accommodate the linear actuators.
5. The lifting assembly according to claim 1, wherein the actuator arrangement comprises a hydraulic cylinder unit, and wherein a linear actuator is a piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder unit.
6. The lifting assembly according to claim 1, wherein a lower part is configured for connection to a wind turbine nacelle unit.
7. The lifting assembly according to claim 1, wherein a lower part is configured for connection to a wind turbine rotor blade.
8. The lifting assembly according to claim 1, wherein a lower part is configured for connection to a wind turbine generator front end.
9. The lifting assembly according to claim 1, comprising a driver module arranged to drive the actuator arrangement in response to a control signal received from a remote control unit.
10. The lifting assembly according to claim 1, comprising a lateral adjustment means arranged to allow a lateral displacement of the locking assembly along the lifting beam.
11. A method of lifting a load using a lifting assembly according to claim 1, the method comprising: selecting a lower part according to the load to be lifted; engaging the locking interface of the lower part to the locking assembly of the upper part; connecting a lifting tool of the lower part to the load; attaching the suspension arrangement of the upper part to a crane hook; and raising the crane hook to lift the load.
12. The method according to claim 11, comprising a step of determining a position of the locking assembly on the lifting beam on a basis of a weight and/or dimensions of the load to be lifted.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
(1) Some of the embodiments will be described in detail, with references to the following Figures, wherein like designations denote like members, wherein:
(2) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the lifting assembly during a preparatory stage of a lifting manoeuvre;
(3) FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the lifting assembly during a preparatory stage of the lifting manoeuvre;
(4) FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the lifting assembly during a preparatory stage of a lifting manoeuvre;
(5) FIG. 4 shows a detail of the lifting assembly of FIGS. 1-3 with the actuators of the actuator arrangement in a retracted position;
(6) FIG. 5 shows a detail of the lifting assembly of FIGS. 1-3 with the actuators of the actuator arrangement in an extended position;
(7) FIG. 6 shows a simplified view of a locking assembly and locking interface in another embodiment of the lifting assembly;
(8) FIG. 7 shows a simplified view of a locking assembly and locking interface in another embodiment of the lifting assembly;
(9) FIG. 8 shows a simplified view of a locking assembly and locking interface in another embodiment of the lifting assembly;
(10) FIG. 9 shows the lifting assembly of FIGS. 1-3 during a lifting manoeuvre; and
(11) FIG. 10 shows a further embodiment of the lifting assembly during a lifting manoeuvre; and
(12) FIG. 11 shows a further embodiment of the lifting assembly during a lifting manoeuvre.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(13) In the diagrams, like numbers refer to like objects throughout. Objects in the diagrams are not necessarily drawn to scale.
(14) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the inventive lifting assembly 1 in a first preparatory stage of a lifting manoeuvre. FIGS. 2 and 3 show further preparatory stages. The diagrams show the upper part 10 of the lifting assembly 1 suspended from the hook 4 of a crane (not shown) by means of the suspension arrangement which in this case comprises a heavy-duty arrangement of cables 104 and trunnions 105. In this embodiment, the lifting beam arrangement comprises a steel beam 100 to which four trunnions 105 are mounted for connection to the cables 104 of the suspension arrangement.
(15) One of several lower parts of the lifting assembly 1 is shown in place underneath the upper part 10. In this exemplary embodiment, the lower part 11A is intended for use in lifting a nacelle unit, and comprises various load attachment means 113, 114 which will be illustrated with the aid of FIG. 8 below.
(16) The lower part 11A will be locked to the upper part 10 prior to the lifting manoeuvre. To this end, the upper part 10 is equipped with a locking assembly 101, and the lower part 11A is equipped with a locking interface 111. In this embodiment, the locking assembly 101 comprises a hydraulic cylinder unit 102 with a horizontal arrangement of several hydraulic cylinders driven by a motor 103 mounted to the lifting beam 100 of the upper part 10, and the locking interface 111 comprises a pair of vertical side plates 118, each with a corresponding arrangement of through-holes. In FIG. 1, the upper part 10 is being brought into position (as indicated by the arrow) so that the locking assembly 101 can be lowered into the locking interface 111. This can be performed by remote control, and the diagrams indicate a technician observing the procedure and issuing control commands from a handheld remote control unit.
(17) Initially, the pistons of the hydraulic unit 102 are fully retracted, so their outer ends do not protrude from side plates of the locking assembly 101. In FIG. 2, the locking assembly 101 is lowered into the locking interface 111 (as indicated by the arrow) so that the hydraulic cylinder arrangement 102 is contained between the side plates 118 of the locking interface 111.
(18) FIG. 3 shows a final stage in the locking procedure. Here, the hydraulic cylinders have been actuated so that pistons 1020 extend and protrude through the through-holes 1181 in the side plates 118 of the locking interface 111. This is shown in the enlarged detail at the right-hand side of the diagram. The step of actuating the hydraulic cylinder unit 102 can also be performed by remote control, as will be known to the skilled person. The lifting assembly 1 is now ready for use: the tool attachments of the lower part 11A can be connected to the load, and the lifting assembly 1 together with its load can be hoisted into the air by the crane. FIGS. 1-3 also indicate two tag line booms 109 extending outward from either end of the lifting beam 100. Tag wires (not shown) can be secured to the outer ends of the tag line booms 109 and used to control any sideways movement of the load during a lifting manoeuvre. The diagrams also show a linear displacement means, realized using a pair of hydraulic cylinders 107 mounted horizontally to the vertical outer faces of the lifting beam 100. These hydraulic cylinders 107 can be actuated at any stage prior to or during a lifting manoeuvre to retract or extend their pistons in order to adjust the position of the locking assembly 101 along the lifting beam 100.
(19) FIG. 4 shows a detail of the upper part 10, showing the locking assembly 101. Here, the pistons 1020 of the hydraulic cylinder unit 102 are in a fully retracted position. In this position, the outer faces of the pistons 1020 lie flush with the outer faces of the side walls 108 of the locking assembly 101. Precisely machined bushings 1080 in the side walls 108 provide support for the pistons 1020 at all times. In this embodiment, the bushings 1080 are set into larger through-holes in the side walls 108 of the locking assembly 101. The inner surfaces of the bushings 1080 can be lined with a low-friction material such as PTFE to enable a smooth motion of the pistons 1020.
(20) FIG. 5 shows a further detail of the upper part 10, showing the locking assembly 101 with the pistons 1020 of the hydraulic cylinder unit 102 in a fully extended position. In this position, the pistons 1020 protrude beyond the outer faces of the side walls 108 of the locking assembly 101 by a distance D that is sufficient to accommodate the thickness of the side plates 118 of the locking interface 111 of a lower part as described for example in FIGS. 1-3 above.
(21) FIG. 6 shows a simplified view of a locking assembly 101 and locking interface 111, looking “into” the locking interface from above, for example. The diagram shows these parts in their locked state after issuing an appropriate control command sequence to the driver 103 or motor 103 of the hydraulic unit 102. Pistons 1020 of a six-cylinder hydraulic unit 102 have been extended through matching through-holes 1080, 1180 in the side walls 108, 118 of the locking assembly 101 and locking interface 111. In this embodiment, three hydraulic cylinders on the left-hand side are arranged in line with three hydraulic cylinders on the right-hand side. To detach the locking interface 111 from the locking assembly 101, an appropriate control command sequence is sent to the driver 103, for example via remote control, to make it retract the pistons 1020 of the hydraulic cylinder unit.
(22) FIG. 7 shows a similar arrangement using a six-cylinder hydraulic unit 102, but in this case the cylinders are arranged in a staggered fashion. This allows a more compact construction of the locking assembly 101 and therefore also a more compact construction of the locking interface 111.
(23) FIG. 8 shows an alternative embodiment of the locking assembly 101, which in this case uses a worm gear arrangement to laterally extend rods 1020 through the matching through-holes 1080, 1180 in the side walls 108, 118 of the locking assembly 101 and locking interface 111 in order to lock the lifting beam to a lifting tool, and to laterally retract the rods 1020 in order to release the lifting tool from the lifting beam.
(24) FIG. 9 shows the lifting assembly of FIGS. 1-3 in use during a lifting manoeuvre. Here, the load 2 is a wind turbine nacelle unit comprising a nacelle 20, hub 21 and spinner 22. The lower part 11A has tool attachments for engaging with the hub 21. As shown in the diagram, a hub tool attachment 113 is realized to extend through a blade opening in the spinner 22, so that it can be securely fastened to the hub 21. A further tool attachment 114 is secured in some suitable way to the nacelle 20.
(25) FIG. 10 shows a further embodiment of the inventive lifting assembly 1, in this case with a lower part 11B that has lifting tool attachments 115 designed to attach to a load 2 such as a wind turbine rotor blade 23 (shown partially in the diagram). Here also, the lower part 11B has a locking interface 111 as described in FIGS. 1-8 above to engage with the locking assembly 101 of the upper part 10.
(26) FIG. 11 shows a further embodiment of the inventive lifting assembly 1, in this case with a lower part 11C that has a lifting tool attachment 116 designed to attach to a load 2 such as the generator assembly 24 of a wind turbine (the assembly 24 is shown resting on a support structure). Here also, the lower part 11C has a locking interface 111 as described in FIGS. 1-8 above to engage with the locking assembly 101 of the upper part 10. This embodiment of the inventive lifting assembly 1 can be used to lift the generator assembly 24 into place when assembling the nacelle unit of FIG. 10, for example. In this embodiment, an arrangement of two opposing hydraulic cylinder modules 107 on the upper part allows a linear displacement of the locking assembly 1001 along the lifting beam 100.
(27) Although the present embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in the form of preferred embodiments and variations thereon, it will be understood that numerous additional modifications and variations could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the embodiment of the invention. For example, although the lifting assembly has been described in the context of lifting different types of load during the installation or assembly of a wind turbine, it is clear that the lifting assembly could be used for lifting any kind of heavy load in any kind of construction project e.g. wind turbine towers, wind turbine hubs, offshore wind turbine foundations, transition pieces, tools etc.
(28) Although the invention has been illustrated and described in greater detail with reference to the preferred exemplary embodiment, the invention is not limited to the examples disclosed, and further variations can be inferred by a person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of protection of the invention.
(29) For the sake of clarity, it is to be understood that the use of “a” or “an” throughout this application does not exclude a plurality, and “comprising” does not exclude other steps or elements.
