AU595517B2

AU595517B2 - Vertical lift crane having a universal clamp

Info

Publication number: AU595517B2
Application number: AU59774/86A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Trevor Sidney Bourn; Peter Cousins
Original assignee: C P ENGINEERING Pty Ltd TRADIN
Current assignee: Cp Engineering Pty Ltd (trading As Cp Engineering)
Priority date: 1985-07-05
Filing date: 1986-07-04
Publication date: 1990-04-05
Anticipated expiration: 2006-07-04
Also published as: AU5977486A

Description

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 19162-62 A4MP-FTE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL.)

MFOR OFFICE USE: Application Number: 591 NI Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: P r 1 io- itl'- Published: PRelatt t': Class Int. Class L P~ SAMP TOVA!JJ OP

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MAI, OFFICER% cOfltajns tile 4 9 Lin I J t~ u n d e l r 49~ndL~C(Jrrect for Ncftiv*(%Applicant: Address of Applicant: :0.

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Actual Inventor: S...0

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Address for Service: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT -H IEXAGON -ENGINEERNG--PTY. -L'PD. jj- .l A g~Q -)'LLj

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,F.sher.--Street,. Salisbury,. State- of South Australi', Commonwealth of Australia Peter COUSINS and Trevor Sidiiay BOURN

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-tz~i 4 ca-i of R.K. MADDERN ASSOCIATES, 345 King William Ireet, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000.

Complete Specification for the invention entitled: "VERTICAL LIFT CRANE HAVING A Q2!'IVERSAL CLAMP" The following statement Is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing It known to 3=x us.

-2- *01 0* a 0* This invention relates to a crane and a methcd for lifting and lowering articles. In particular, although not limited to this application, this invention relates to a special purpose crane for raising and lowering weir and lock barriers, having a specially adapted clamp.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Most large rivers, and in particular the River Murray, have flood control weirs and locks positioned along slower moving reaches of the river. These weirs and locks are positioned so as to maintain adequate river depth throughout most of the year, and are designed to be readily removed upon flooding of the river to thereby allow free flow of the flood waters.

Conventional weirs and locks comprise a main barrier a extending across the river and in order to allow movement of boats through the barrier a conventional double gated look is provided within the main barrier. In order to easily 20" disassemble the main barrier it is constructed from a series of vertical piers which are set well into the river bed, and the vertical piers are adapted to retain a series of horizontal beams, known as stop logs. The stop logs are positioned within the vertical piers by locating each end of a stop log within a 25* respective channel of the vertical piers and by placing a 00 series of stop logs, one on top of the other, within the vertical piers, a barrier is thereby formed. Other components associated with the construction of such barriers are walkways, bridge sections, needle beams and boule panels.

.30 In the event of a flood the main barrier must be removed to allow free flow of the river. In the past this removal work has been performed by a conventional single fixed boom, cabletype crane, which drives out over the barrier bridge and picks out each of the stop logs individually. It has also been proposed to make

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0 I I r 3 use of a double articulated boom type crane to remove the stop logs. In addition other components such as walkways, needle beams and boule panels are also removed. The use of a double articulating type crane for such a lifting operation requires a very high level of operator skill in order to synchronise the movements of three articulating joints on the crane. In addition the varying shapes of the articles which are being lifted require different shaped gripping devices. In the past, in order to cater for the varying lifting requirements, several interchangeable grippincr devices have been used. However change over of the gripping devices has proved time consuming and awkward.

It is an object of this invention to provide a crane which is specially adapted to the disassembling and reassembling of IS river barriers.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a crane which allows for quicker dismantling and reassembling of such river barriers, and which will require a much reduced level of operator skill in comparison to a conventional double 20 articulating boom type crane.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a clamp capable of handling all the elements of a river barrier, without the need for interchange of gripping devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 5 Briefly, in this invention, a crane for lifting and lowering articles comprises a drive vehicle, a lineal boom assembly comprising a boom arranged to linearly retract and extend along the boom's longitudinal axis having at one end a lifting means to engage the article for lifting and lowering of the article, boom actuation means to cause the boom to extend and retract, attachment means having a first end pivotally connected to the drive vehicle, and the second end pivotally connected to the lineal boom assembly, and further actuation means operatively connected to the attachment means to move th lineal boom assembly from a substantially horizontal position over the drive vehicle, to a substantially vertical position where an article may be lifted or lowered by retraction or yScTRi'q extension of the boom.

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-4- Preferably, the lifting means to engage the article to be lifted comprises a clamp having a main body having four cylindrical bores which have parallel longitudinal axes, slide bars which locate slidably within said main body cylindrical bores, a pair of slide bar arms, each being connected to a pair of slide bars so as to extend downwardly therefrom, a pair of gripping members having a pair of gripping surfaces connected to each slide bar arm, the said hydraulic actuation means further comprising a pair of hydraulic rams, each said hydraulic ram being operatively connected between each slide bar arm and the main body, whereupon actuation of both of said hydraulic rams will cause the gripping pads to corae together.

Preferably, the clamp comprises a pair of clamp gripping members for performing varying lifting ope-t&tions which are pivotally connected to each said slide bar arm, wherein each gripping member comprises a pair of gripping surfaces which are mutually perpendicular, and a further pair of hydraulic rams, each hydraulic ram being connected between the gripping member d the slide bar arm, whereupon actuation of either of the hydraulic rams will pivot the grippiz'g member into one of two positions.

The present invention provides an improved crane for disassembling and assembling weirs and locks, and provides an improved method of disassembling and assembling weirs and 9.25: locks, by the aid of which the abovementioned disadvantages of ~95*5previously known apparatus and methods are circumvented.

The foremost advantages of the invention are that the lineal movement boom can be readily positioned so as to provide a lifting action that will easily and quickly lift or lower components associated with the aforementioned weirs or locks.

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According to a modification of the invention, the crane is provided with a clamp that is easily positioned over and engaged with the articles being lifted. In a further modification of the invention the clamp is provided with movable clamp gripping members which allow the clamp to grasp and lift a variety of articles having varying shapes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, a preferred embodiment will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying representations wherein: FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the crane, FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the crane, FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the clamp, showing the gripping members in position for lifting a stop log, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the clamp showing the pair of 20 hydraulic rams and two pairs of slide bars, and FIG. 5 shows a schematic representation of a conventional double articulating boom type crane showing the crane arm performing a vertical lift.

o. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 9.

In this embodiment, a crane 10 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a drive vehicle 12 having a main body chassis 13, an operator cabin 14, a diesel motor (not drawn) with associated hydraulic pumps and hydraulic controls, a bogie platform having rail engaging wheels 16, the wheels having associated ee* trction drive units and brakes. The main body chassis is rotatably mounted to the bogie via turntable 17 and is able to rotate fully through 360'. FIG. 1 shows an attachment means having a first pivot means 21 pivotally connecting the first end ~I iijj~ S-6of the attachment means to the drive vehicle, and a second pivot means 22 pivotally connecting the second end of the attachment means to the lineal movement boom assembly Movement of the attachment means 20 with respect to the drive vehicle 12 is achieved via hydraulic ram 23, and movement of the lineal movement boom assembly 25 relative to the attachment means 20 is achieved by a hydraulic ram 24.

The lineal movement boom assembly 25 comprises a support tube 26 and a boom 27 in combination with a boom actuation means comprising a hydraulic ram (not shown). The hydraulic ram is coupled to the lower end of the support tube 28 via a rotation means. The rotation means (not shown) comprises a ring gear and is mounted to the lower end of the support tube 28 via a bearing means. A drive motor engages the ring gear, thereby allowing rotation of the boom 27, and in this embodiment, the boom has a 340' range of rotation. The actuation means is fixed to the ring gear, and the boom 27 is slidably engageable with an aperture in the centre of the ring gear. The boom 27 is manufactured from box-section material, 0, and has a square cross-section. The ring gear is provided with surfaces which engage the square cross-section to enable rotation of the boom, while still allowing for lineal movement of the boom.

The lower end of the support tube 28 is pivotally connected to the attachment means 20 via a pivot 29, The rotation of the support tube 26 and boom 27 about the pivot 29 is controlled by a hydraulic ram 29a. Movement about the pivot 29 would be in a vertical plane which was transverse to the longitudinal axis of the attachment means 20, and in this embodiment 15' of movement either side of the perpendicular is provided.

The lifting means comprises a clamp 30 which is pivotally connected to the end of the boom 27. Detail of the clamp 30 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The clamp comprises a main body 32 in which is located four slide bar bearing tubes 33, and a pair of hydraulic rams 34. The slide bar bearing tubes 33 are positioned in the I hw nFG.3ad4 h lm opie anbd 2i i l _u 7 main body 32 such that their longitudinal axes are parallel, and have cylindrical bores which are line with nylon bushes 35. A slide bar 36 is slidably located within each of the slide bar bearing tubes 33 and two of the slide bars 36 are each connected to a slide bar arm 38, which are located on each side of the main body 32. Each of the hydraulic rams 34 is connected to the main body and to a respective slide bar arm 38.

Activation of the hydraulic rams 34 cause the slide bar arms 38 to move into or away from the main body.

Gripping members 39 and 40 are pivotally connected to each of the respective slide bar arms 38. Each of the gripping members comprises gripping .surfaces 41 and 42, which are mutually perpendicular to one another, and 15 are positioned via hydraulic rams 44,, The main body 32 is provided with a clamp attachment pivot tube 48 0 s for pivotally securing the clamp to the lower end of the boom 27. In order to effect rotation about this S pivot a hydraulic ram is connected between the end of 20 the boom 27 and a hydraulic ram attachment tube 49.

The hydraulic ram provides 900 of rotation of the clamp The operation of removing stop logs and other articles associated with weirs and locks is performed by positioning the drive vehicle 12 and the lineal movement boom assembly 25 over the component to be lifted, engaging the clamp 30 about the component to be lifted, and then raising the boom 27 under the action Gas* of the actuation means coupled between the support tube 26 and the boom 27. In the case of stop logs a truly vertical lift is required, otherwise jamming of the stop logs will readily occur within the vertical columns. FIG.

shows the positions and angles between the booms of a double articulating boom type crane, whicl is performing a vertical lift. It can be se-n from this diagram that to perform a vertical lift the three angles A, B and C will require constant adjustment. This type of lifting operation requires a very high level of operator skill, i I C-Y-L- -i-I_:il__ll~ 8 it can be seen readily from the above description and diagrams that this high level of operator skill is not required with the invention as described herein.

The crane 10 is also provided with a movable counterweight 46, which is positioned to adjust the balance of the crane 10 during the various lifting operations. For instance, when the crane is performing a lifting operation the ccanterweight is extended from the rear of the drive vehicle, and while the crane is performing a pushing down operation, which compacts the stop logs downwardly, the counterweight is positioned over the drive vehicle. To further improve the safe operation of the crane, the bogie platform is provided with a series of releasable attachment nmLans, which 5l comprise a series of hydraulically operated clamps which attach to the rails for securing the drive vehicle .o thereto (not shown in the drawings). These clamps prevent the drive vehicle 12 from uncontrolled movement along the rails, and restrain the rail engaging wheels 20 from leaving the track surface during a lifting or lowering operation.

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Claims

1. A crane for lifting and lowering articles comprising: a drive vehicle, a lineal boom assembly comprising a boom arranged to linearly retract and extend along the boom's longitudinal axis having at one end a lifting means to engage the article for lifting and lowering of the article, boom actuation means to cause the boom to extend and retract, attachment means having a first end Divotally connected to the drive vehicle, and the second end pivotally connected to the lineal boom assembly, and further actuation means operatively connected to the attachment means to move the lineal boom assembly from a substantially horizontal position over the drive vehicle, to a substantially vertical position one side of the drive 1*5 vehicle with the lifting means at vhe lower end of the lineal boom when in the substantially vertical position where an article may be lifted or lowered by retraction of extension of the boom.

2. A crane according to claim 1 wherein the attachment means has a first actuating means to effect pivotal movement of the attachment means with respect to the drive vehicle and second actuating means to effect pivotal movement of the lineal boom assembly with respect to the attachment means.

3. A crane according to claim 2 where the range of movement of the lineal boom assembly is from a reclined horizontal position substantially over the drive vehicle, to a substantially vertical position, in front of the drive vehicle.

4. A crane according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the lineal boom assembly is further provided with rotation means to cause the boom to revolve about its longitudinal axis.

A crane according to claim 4 wherein the lineal boom assembly further comprises a support tube which the boom retracts into and the rotation means comprises a ring gear 10 rotatably coupled to the support tube via bearing means, said ring gear having an aperture of a non-circular shape, within which the boom, which also has a cross-section corresponding to said aperture, locates, and a drive means engaging the ring gear to cause rotation of the boom.

6. A crane according to claim 5 wherein the boom is provided with a square cross-section, and the ring gear aperture comprises surfaces, for engagement around the boom, such that the said surfaces slidably engage the boom, and the said surfaces act against the boom to provide rotation of the boom about its longitudinal axis when the ring gear is driven.

7. A crane according to claim 4, claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the range of rotation of the boom about its longitudinal axis is 340'.

8. A crane according to any of the preceding claims wherein a further pivot connection means is provided between 20; the lineal boom assembly and the attachment means, and associated hydraulic rams are provided such that the lineal boom assembly may be rotated in a vertical plane that is substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of the attachment means.

9. A crane according to claim 8 wherein the range of rotation of the lineal boom assembly is 15' on both sides of 4 the perpendicular.

10. A crane according to any of the preceding claims wherein the lifting means comprises a clamp having a pair of opposed clamping surfaces.

11. A crane accor.ing to claim 10 wherein the clamp is provided with hydraulic actuation means for actuation of the pair of opposed clamping zurfaces for engagement of the clamp on the article being raised or lowered. I i I I i, i _~1 11

12. A crane according to claim 11 wherein the clamp further comprises a main body having four cylindrical bores which have parallel longitudinal axes, slide bars wh.ch locate slidably within said main body cylindrical bores, a pair of slide bar arms, each being connected to a pair of slide bars and downwardly extending therefrom, a pair of gripping members having a pair of gripping pad surfaces connected to each slide bar arm, the said hydraulic actuation means further comprising a pair of hydraulic rams, each said hydraulic ram being operatively connected between each slide bar arm and the main body, whereupon activation of both of the said hydraulic rams will cause the gripping members to come together. .99 20 S

13. A crane according to claim 12 wherein the clamp further comprises a pair of gripping members which are pivotally connected to each said slide bar arm, wherein each gripping member comprises a pair of gripping surfaces which are mutually perpendicular, and a further pair of hydraulic rams, each hydraulic ram being conne'-ted between the gripping member and the slide bar arm, whereupon activation of either of the hydraulic rams will pivot the gripping member into one of two positions.

14. A crane according to any of claims 10 to 13 *25: respectively wherein the clamp is pivotally connected to the boom and is providea with an associated hydraulic ram such that the clamp may be rotated in a plane which contains the longitudinal axis of the boom.

15. A crane according to claim 14 wherein the range of rotation of the clamp is 90' from the horizontal plane.

16. A crane according to any of the preceding claims wherein the drive vehicle is provided with a movable counterweight, thereby maintaining fore and aft balance of the drive vehicle when performing various lifting, lowering, or pushing operations. o/ 1 12

17. A crane according to any of the preceding claims wherein the drive vehicle is provided with a plurality of rpil engaging wheels.

18. A crane according to claim 17 wherein the drive vehicle is provided with means for releasable attachment to the rails for securing the drive veh.cle thereto.

19. A crane according to claim 17 or claim 18 wherein the drive vehicle further comprises a main body having operator cabin, diesel motor, at least one hydraulic pump and associated hydraulic controls, and a bogie platform with said rail engaging wheels, the bogie platform being pivotally connected below the main body.

A crane according to claim 19 wherein the bogie further comprises a traction drive unit, brakes and hydraulic means for rotating the main body about the bogie platform pivot. i

21. A cra::, cccording to claim 20 wherein the range of rotation of the main body is 360'.

22. A cr ,ie substantially as hereinbefore described with 6125 reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Dated this 14th day of November, 1989 0 C.P. ENGINEERING PTY. LTD. By their Patent Attorneys, R.K. MADDERN ASSOCIATE S 4-