Crane and crane posture changing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11459218-B2
Application number	US-201917253232-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 12, 2019
Priority date	Jun 28, 2018
Publication date	Oct 4, 2022
Grant date	Oct 4, 2022

Abstract

A crane includes a crane main body, a boom, a jib, a boom driving unit, a jib driving unit, a manipulation unit, a drive control unit, a suspension device, a determination unit, and an operation regulating unit. The determination unit determines whether a jib boom angle condition is established or not. The operation regulating unit allows the crane to change a posture between a fall posture and a work posture according to a determination result of the determination unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A crane, comprising:
a crane main body;
a boom supported by the crane main body so as to be swingable around a horizontal first rotation axis;
a jib having a base end portion supported at a front end portion of the boom so as to be swingable around a second rotation axis parallel to the first rotation axis and a front end portion on a side opposite to the base end portion;
a boom driving unit configured to swing the boom in a rise direction and a fall direction around the first rotation axis;
a jib driving unit configured to swing the jib in the rise direction and the fall direction around the second rotation axis;
a manipulation unit configured to accept manipulation for driving the boom and the jib;
a drive control unit configured to output a drive signal for controlling the boom driving unit and the jib driving unit according to a manipulation input to the manipulation unit;
a suspension device suspended from the front end portion of the jib and configured to be connected to a suspended load;
an angle condition determination unit configured to determine whether a jib boom angle condition is established or not, the jib boom angle condition being established in a case where a jib offset angle as an angle defined by an extension of a center line of the boom and a center line of the jib when viewed from a direction parallel to the second rotation axis is larger than a threshold angle formed of an acute angle set in advance; and
an operation regulating unit configured to regulate swinging of the boom and the jib according to a mode set in advance, the operation regulating unit having an ordinary work mode and a self-erecting and falling mode, and configured to regulate, in the ordinary work mode, swinging of the boom and the jib so that the front end portion of the jib is included in a work allowable range at a work posture of the crane at which the boom rises with respect to the crane main body and the jib rises with respect to the boom, the work allowable range being set according to a weight of the suspended load, and allowing, in the self-erecting and falling mode, the front end portion of the jib to enter an outside of the work allowable range irrespective of the weight of the suspended load, as well as allowing the crane to change a posture between a fall posture, at which the boom and the jib fall forward of the work posture and the front end portion of the jib lands on the ground, and the work posture according to a determination result of the angle condition determination unit.

2. The crane according to claim 1 , wherein
the operation regulating unit is configured to allow the crane to change a posture from the work posture to the fall posture in the self-erecting and falling mode, and
when the angle condition determination unit determines that the jib boom angle condition is not established, the operation regulating unit allows swinging of the jib in the fall direction, and regulates swinging of the boom in the rise direction and the fall direction and swinging of the jib in the rise direction irrespective of the drive signal, while when the angle condition determination unit determines that the jib boom angle condition is established, the operation regulating unit allows swinging of the boom in the rise direction and the fall direction and swinging of the jib in the rise direction and the fall direction.

3. The crane according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a cab arranged in the crane main body to allow a worker who manipulates the crane to board; and
a display unit arranged in the cab to display predetermined work information, wherein
the operation regulating unit is configured to output a signal for displaying predetermined warning information on the display unit when, in the self-erecting and falling mode, the angle condition determination unit determines that the jib boom angle condition is not established.

4. The crane according to claim 1 , wherein
when, in the ordinary work mode, the angle condition determination unit determines that the jib boom angle condition is not established, the operation regulating unit regulates switching from the ordinary work mode to the self-erecting and falling mode.

5. The crane according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a jib contact state determination unit which is configured to determine whether or not a state of the jib satisfies a predetermined contact determination condition for determining whether the front end portion of the jib is normally in contact with the ground, wherein
the operation regulating unit is configured to allow, in the self-erecting and falling mode, the crane to change a posture from the fall posture to the work posture,
the operation regulating unit is configured to allow the boom to swing in the rise direction and the fall direction and the jib to swing in the rise direction and the fall direction only when the jib contact state determination unit determines that the state of the jib satisfies the contact determination condition in a case where the angle condition determination unit determines that the jib boom angle condition is not established, while in a case where the jib contact state determination unit determines that the state of the jib does not satisfy the contact determination condition, allowing the jib to swing in the fall direction, as well as regulating the swinging of the boom in the rise direction and the fall direction and the swinging of the jib in the rise direction irrespective of the drive signal, and
the operation regulating unit is configured to allow the swinging of the boom in the rise direction and the fall direction and the swinging of the jib in the rise direction and the fall direction irrespective of a determination result of the jib contact state determination unit in a case where the angle condition determination unit determines that the jib boom angle condition is established.

6. The crane according to claim 5 , further comprising:
a jib raising and lowering rope connected to the front end of the jib, and
a tension detection unit configured to detect a tension of the jib raising and lowering rope, wherein
the jib contact state determination unit is configured to determine that the contact determination condition is satisfied in a case where the tension detected by the tension detection unit is equal to or less than a threshold value tension set in advance.

7. The crane according to claim 5 , further comprising:
a cab arranged in the crane main body to allow a worker who manipulates the crane to board; and
a display unit arranged in the cab to display predetermined work information,
wherein the operation regulating unit is configured to output a signal for displaying predetermined warning information on the display unit when, in the self-erecting and falling mode, the angle condition determination unit determines that the jib boom angle condition is not established and the jib contact state determination unit determines that the contact determination condition is not established.

8. The crane according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a boom angle detection unit configured to detect a ground angle of the boom;
a jib angle detection unit configured to detect a ground angle of the jib;
an angle decision unit configured to decide the jib offset angle from the ground angle of the boom detected by the boom angle detection unit and the ground angle of the jib detected by the jib angle detection unit; and
a storage unit configured to store the threshold angle in advance and configured to output the threshold angle,
wherein the angle condition determination unit is configured to determine that the jib boom angle condition is established in a case where the jib offset angle decided by the angle d

Assignees

• Kobelco Constr Mach Co Ltd

Inventors

• Iwazawa Takahiro
• Matsui Dairo

Classifications

• B66C23/42

  with jibs of adjustable configuration, e.g. foldable · CPC title

• B66C23/82 Primary

  Luffing gear · CPC title

• B66C2700/082

  Control of the secondary movements, e.g. travelling, slewing, luffing of the jib, changing of the range · CPC title

• B66C23/88

  Safety gear (for cranes in general B66C15/00; for rope, cable, or chain winding mechanisms B66D1/54) · CPC title

• B66C23/34 Primary

  Self-erecting cranes, i.e. with hoisting gear adapted for crane erection purposes · CPC title