System of a crane and an exchangeable tool

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12234129-B2
Application number	US-202418443050-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 15, 2024
Priority date	Sep 12, 2018
Publication date	Feb 25, 2025
Grant date	Feb 25, 2025

Abstract

A system comprising a crane and an exchangeable tool. The crane and the tool respectively comprise an upper tool connector with tool retainers and a lower tool connector which can be interconnected, e.g. a male and female connector, e.g. the lower tool connector of the tool being embodied as a shank provided with a shoulder and the upper tool connector as a tool clamp with a female, open-centered body. A tool suspension device comprises the upper tool connector. a travelling block member. The tool clamp has multiple mobile tool retainers adapted to—in a non-operative position—allow introduction of the shank of the tool from below into the shank receiving passage and—in an operative position—engage below the shoulder of the shank that has been introduced into the passage so as to suspend the tool. The upper tool connector may comprise a bearing allowing for swivelling of the open-centered body, and e.g. a rotational drive operative between the clamp housing and the female, open-centered body to actively drive said swivelling.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising a crane, a male-to-male adapter and multiple exchangeable tools,
wherein the crane comprises a hoist assembly, comprising one or more hoist winches and one or more hoist cables, driven by the one or more hoist winches,
the crane further comprising a tool suspension device with a travelling block member, suspended from the one or more winch driven hoist cables of the hoist assembly, the travelling block member comprising multiple cable sheaves through which the one or more hoisting cables are run so that the tool suspension device is suspended by the one or more winch driven cables in a multiple fall arrangement,
each exchangeable tool comprising at an upper side thereof a female tool counterconnector that is configured to be mated with the male-to-male adapter; the multiple exchangeable tools each have an identical female tool counterconnector allowing to suspend the exchangeable tools from the same tool suspension device;
wherein the male-to-male adapter comprises a shank with a shoulder at an upper side of the shank and a male tool connector at the lower end of the shank; the male tool connector being configured to mate with the female tool counterconnector of the exchangeable tool;
the tool suspension device further comprising a tool clamp comprising:
a) one or more mobile retainers, adapted to releasably engage the shoulder of the shank of the male-to-male adapter so as to suspend the male-to-male adapter underneath the tool suspension device; the tool clamp further comprising:
b) a clamp housing being supported pivotally by the travelling block member around a substantially horizontal connector pivot axis extending through the travelling block member below the mobile tool retainers, such as to allow a pivoting of the tool clamp around the connector pivot axis, and to absorb the load of the suspended male-to-male adapter mated with the exchangeable tool, and any load supported by the exchangeable tool; the tool clamp further comprising:
c) a female, open-centered body defining a shank receiving passage with a central vertical axis allowing introduction of the shoulder of the male-to-male adapter into the passage from below, each mobile tool retainer being mounted on the female, open-centered body, and the mobile tool retainers being distributed around the shank receiving passage, so as to each provide an operative and a non-operative position of the mobile tool retainer, the mobile tool retainers being adapted to—in a non-operative position—allow introduction of the shank of the male-to-male adapter from below into the receiving passage and—in an operative position—engage below the shoulder of the shank that has been introduced into the passage so as to suspend the male-to-male adapter mated with the exchangeable tool from the tool clamp; the tool clamp further comprising
d) a bearing mounted between the clamp housing and the female, open-centered body, said bearing supporting the female, open-centered body so as to allow for swivelling of the female, open-centered body with the tool retainers, and thereby the exchangeable tool if mated with the male-to-male adapter and if the male-to-male adapter is engaged by the tool retainers, about a vertical axis of the clamp housing relative to the clamp housing; the tool clamp further comprising:
e) a rotational drive operative between the clamp housing and the female, open-centered body and configured to selectively drive said swivelling of the female, open-centered body and of the mobile tool retainers mounted thereon, and thereby of the exchangeable tool, relative to the clamp housing about the central vertical axis of the tool clamp.

2. The system according to claim 1 , the travelling block member comprising a travelling block outer frame which defines an outer contour of the travelling block member, the travelling block outer frame comprising two traverse frame elements, which—when seen in a top view of the tool suspension device—horizontally enclose the tool clamp and also one or more cable sheaves of the travelling block member, both traverse frame elements comprising said recesses horizontally opposite one another, which are arranged such as to retain the tool clamp—when seen in a top view of the tool suspension device—substantially within an outer contour of the travelling block member.

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the travelling block member comprises one or more recesses and wherein the clamp housing comprises two horizontally aligned axle ends arranged below the mobile tool retainers and being supported pivotally by the recesses in the travelling block member to support the tool clamp pivotally with respect to the travelling block and—when seen in a top view of the tool suspension device—horizontally in between cable sheaves of the travelling block member.

4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the rotational drive of the tool clamp comprises an operable clutch allowing to switch between a coupled condition and a freewheeling condition, wherein a driving torque of a driving shaft of the rotational drive generated by the rotational drive is transmitted to the female open-centered body on which the tool retainers are mounted via the clutch, the clutch being externally switchable to couple and decouple the driving shaft to and from the female open-centered body, respectively, such that the swivelling of the female open-centered body, is driven by, and freewheels from, the rotational drive, respectively.

5. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the rotational drive comprises a differential with an operable brake, which in an inactive condition allows for, and in an active condition blocks the rotational drive to transmit a driving torque of a driving shaft of the rotational drive generated by the rotational drive to the female, open-centered body, via the differential, respectively, such that in said inactive condition and active condition the rotation of the female, open-centered body, is driven by, and freewheels from the rotational drive, respectively.

6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the mobile tool retainers are fixedly attached to a cogwheel which is engaged by one or more gears transmitting a driving torque of the rotational drive for driving the swivelling of the mobile tool retainers, wherein the cogwheel is an outwardly cogged cogwheel enclosing or being formed by the outer circumference of the female, open-centered body.

7. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the tool clamp is provided with sensors and/or imaging devices configured for determining and/or recording locations and/or positions and/or displacements and/or mechanical parameters such as strain, of parts of the tool clamp, and/or the shank, provided with a data connection to a digital monitoring system for monitoring a correct operation of the tool clamp, that is, at least, to facilitate an engagement by the tool retainers of the shank, of the exchangeable tool so as to suspend the exchangeable tool from the tool clamp.

8. The system according to claim 1 , wherein electrical power and/or data, if employed by the tool clamp, are transferred therefrom by means of wet-mate inductive connectors.

9. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the exchangeable tool is a crane hook, a Ramshorn hook, or a four-pronged hook, or a monopile upending and lifting tool, or a pile driver lifting tool, or a pile driver.

10. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the crane further comprises
a revolving structure,
a boom, pivotally mounted to the revolving structure,
a luffing assembly configured for luffing of the boom.

11. A system comprising a crane and multiple exchangeable tools, each exchangeable tool co

Assignees

• Itrec Bv

Inventors

• Hooftman Maarten Hugo
• Van Veluw Cornelis Martinus
• Vehmeijer Terence Willem August

Classifications

• F16B2/06

  external, i.e. with contracting action (F16B2/14 - F16B2/18 take precedence) · CPC title

• B66C23/88

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

• B66C23/62

  Constructional features or details (of dredgers E02F) · CPC title

• B66C23/52 Primary

  Floating cranes (floating dredgers E02F) · CPC title

• B66C1/66

  for engaging holes, recesses, or abutments on articles specially provided for facilitating handling thereof · CPC title