Crane having crane boom provided with stay wire system

Abstract

A crane with a stay wire system, for example, for handling one or more wind turbine components, such as rotor blades. The crane comprises a boom with a boom leg, and the boom leg is of a latticed hollow box structure. At least one front main chord of the boom leg is formed from four steel plate members welded to each other in a rectangular or square cross-sectional arrangement. The front plate member extends inwardly from a corner joint with the outer plate member beyond a joint of the front plate member with the inner plate member to form an inwardly projecting rail portion. The outer plate member extends rearward from a corner joint with the front plate member beyond a joint of the outer plate member with the rear plate member to form a rearward projecting rail portion. The guy trolley is provided with a roller that engages the inwardly projecting rail portion and a roller that engages the rearward projecting rail portion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of cranes having a luffing crane jib provided with a guying system. Background Art

[0002] Typically, a guy wire system is provided to enable enhanced control over the movement, position, and / or orientation of the load during the lifting process.

[0003] In particular, in the field of installation and / or maintenance of wind turbines, for example offshore, there is a need to handle components "at nacelle height", including, for example, handling of rotor blades during installation of the rotor blades to the hub of the wind turbine. Current designs propose or already have nacelles with heights exceeding 100 meters, for example 120 meters or more, such as the Haliade-X 12MW wind turbine.

[0004] Cranes with guy wire systems are often used to control the position and / or orientation of wind turbine components, such as rotor blades. This is done, for example, not only during the lifting and lowering of the rotor blades, but also or only during the installation of the bottom end of the blades on the hub of the wind turbine.

[0005] Examples of cranes having a boom and provided with a guying system are given in EP1925582, EP2490975, EP2889251 and DE20201003269U.

[0006] In a commonly known design of a crane, the crane comprises:

[0007] - a base structure, which is for example suitable for installation on a vessel, for example for fastening to the hull of a vessel;

[0008] - a rotating structure rotatable on a slewing bearing about a vertical slewing axis relative to the base structure, said structure being provided with a boom connection member,

[0009] - a boom having a longitudinal axis, wherein the boom has an inner end connected to the boom connecting member so that the boom pivots up and down about a boom pivot axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the boom;

[0010] - a luffing device for pivoting the boom up and down, comprising a luffing winch and a variable length luffing system,

[0011] a lifting assembly comprising a winch and a winch-driven cable, the winch-driven lifting cable passing through a pulley assembly on the boom to a load suspension device for lifting and lowering a load, such as a wind turbine component, suspended from the lifting cable and the load suspension device,

[0012] The boom includes a boom leg, such as a single boom leg, which is implemented as a grid-like hollow box structure, such as a rectangular cross-section grid-like hollow box structure, including a pair of front main chords at the front side of the boom leg and a pair of rear main chords at the rear side of the boom leg, and the main chords are interconnected by tension members between adjacent main chords. Summary of the Invention

[0013] The object of the present invention is to integrate a guying system into a crane jib in an optimal manner, for example with regard to the stability of the guying system and / or with regard to the production and maintenance costs of the crane jib.

[0014] The present invention provides a crane according to claim 1 .

[0015] In the crane of the present invention, at least one front main chord of the boom leg is formed of four steel plate members which are welded to each other in a rectangular or square cross-sectional arrangement, wherein the four plate members are:

[0016] -front plate member;

[0017] - a rear plate member opposite to the front plate member

[0018] -Inner plate components,

[0019] - an outer plate member, which is opposite to the inner plate member,

[0020] wherein the front plate member extends inwardly from a corner joint portion with the outer plate member beyond a joint portion between the front plate member and the inner plate member to form an inwardly protruding guide rail portion having an inner end surface,

[0021] wherein the outer plate member extends rearward from a corner joint portion with the front plate member beyond a joint portion of the outer plate member with the rear plate member to form a guide rail portion protruding rearward with a rear end surface,

[0022] The cable trolley is provided with a first roller group of one or more rollers and a second roller group of one or more rollers, the first roller group engages the inner end surface of the guide rail portion protruding inward, and the second roller group engages the rear end surface of the guide rail portion protruding backward.

[0023] This design of the main chord of the crane boom leg optimally integrates the track assembly for the guy trolley with the main chord.

[0024] The crane may have a single boom leg, but in other embodiments, the crane may have two boom legs, for example, in an A-frame arrangement or an H-frame arrangement. In embodiments, each boom leg has one or more guy wire trolleys in the manner described herein. Thus, a crane boom may have four guy wire trolleys.

[0025] In a practical embodiment, the cable trolley is further provided with a third roller set of one or more rollers, which engages the front surface of the front plate member, perpendicular to the first roller set, and the cable trolley is provided with a fourth roller set of one or more rollers, which engages the outer surface of the outer plate member, perpendicular to the second roller set.

[0026] For example, at least the front plate member and the outer plate member have a thickness of at least 15 mm, such as approximately 20-30 mm.

[0027] In an embodiment, each front main chord of the boom leg is formed from four steel plate members welded to each other in a rectangular or square cross-sectional arrangement, wherein the four plate members are:

[0028] -front plate member;

[0029] - a rear plate member opposite to the front plate member

[0030] -Inner plate components,

[0031] - an outer plate member, which is opposite to the inner plate member,

[0032] wherein the front plate member extends inwardly from a corner joint portion with the outer plate member beyond a joint portion between the front plate member and the inner plate member to form an inwardly protruding guide rail portion having an inner end surface,

[0033] wherein the outer plate member extends rearward from a corner joint portion with the front plate member beyond a joint portion of the outer plate member with the rear plate member to form a guide rail portion protruding rearward with a rear end surface,

[0034] In which, the corresponding wire rope hoist is associated with the corresponding front main chord, and each wire rope hoist is provided with a first roller group of one or more rollers and a second roller group of one or more rollers, the first roller group engages the inner end surface of the inwardly protruding guide rail portion of the corresponding front main chord, and the second roller group engages the rear end surface of the rearwardly protruding guide rail portion of the corresponding front main chord.

[0035] In a practical embodiment, each cable trolley is further provided with a third roller set of one or more rollers, the third roller set engaging the front surface of the front plate member, perpendicular to the first roller set, and each cable trolley is further provided with a fourth roller set of one or more rollers, the fourth roller set engaging the outer surface of the outer plate member, perpendicular to the second roller set.

[0036] In an embodiment, the crane jib has two jib legs over at least a section of its length, each jib leg having two main chords at the front side of the jib leg, wherein at least one of the front chords, possibly both, is embodied according to the invention.

[0037] When the boom legs are parallel to one another, as in an H-frame crane boom, the track portion can extend to near the tip of the boom, over the chords. The boom can also have an A-frame boom design, in which the two boom legs are angled relative to one another. Again, here, one or two main chords at the front side of each boom leg can be implemented according to the present invention. In a lambda-design crane boom, in which the boom continues with a single distal boom section at the apex of the two boom legs, as shown, for example, in WO 2018 / 208158, the main chords of the boom legs and / or the distal boom section can be implemented according to the present invention.

[0038] It is contemplated, for example, that when performing a lifting operation, one pair of guy wires may be used primarily to control the load in the horizontal plane, such as to control the rotation of the load about the hoist cables from which the load is suspended. In one embodiment, another pair of guy wires may be used primarily to control the load in the vertical plane, such as to control the orientation of the load about a horizontal axis. Providing four guy wire systems, each with its own track assembly on a corresponding front main chord, allows the use of two pairs of guy wire systems to control the load in both the horizontal and vertical planes.

[0039] In an embodiment, the cable system further includes a cable trolley drive assembly for each cable trolley, e.g., independently for each cable trolley, the cable trolley drive assembly configured to provide controlled displacement of the cable trolley along the boom leg. For example, the cable trolley drive assembly includes a cable trolley drive winch and associated cables to provide controlled displacement of the cable trolley along the boom leg.

[0040] In another embodiment, there is no guy wire trolley drive and the trolley passively follows the movement of the load and / or the load suspension means during lifting.

[0041] In an embodiment, the load suspension device is embodied as a blade lifting tool for mounting a rotor blade to a wind turbine. Various embodiments of such blade lifting tools are known in the art.

[0042] A second aspect of the invention relates to a crane, for example, configured for handling one or more wind turbine components, for example for installing and / or maintaining an offshore wind turbine, the crane comprising:

[0043] - a base structure, which is for example suitable for installation on a vessel, for example for fastening to the hull of a vessel;

[0044] - a rotating structure, which is rotatable on a slewing bearing about a vertical slewing axis relative to the base structure, the upper structure being provided with a boom connection member,

[0045] - a boom having a longitudinal axis, wherein the boom has an inner end connected to the boom connecting member so that the boom pivots up and down about a boom pivot axis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the boom;

[0046] - a luffing device for pivoting the boom up and down, said luffing device comprising a luffing winch and a variable-length luffing system;

[0047] a lifting assembly comprising a winch and a winch drive cable, the winch drive lifting cable passing through a pulley assembly on the boom to a load suspension device for lifting and lowering a load, such as a wind turbine component, such as a rotor blade, suspended from the lifting cable and the load suspension device,

[0048] A cable system configured to control a load being lifted, the cable system comprising:

[0049] - a first and a second guy trolley, the first and the second guy trolley each being movable along the boom in a longitudinal direction of the boom,

[0050] - first and second guy wire capstans and respective first and second capstan drive guy wires,

[0051] The wire drawing system further comprises:

[0052] - first and second cable pulleys,

[0053] -beam,

[0054] wherein each guy trolley has a chassis configured to selectively releasably secure a corresponding guy pulley or beam to the chassis such that the beam is supported by both the first and second guy trolleys,

[0055] And wherein, in use of the crane and its guy wire system, the crossbeam provides spaced apart locations for first and second guy wires extending between the crossbeam and the load.

[0056] The second aspect effectively allows for dual use of the trolley, since the trolley can support either the trolley pulley or the beam when the use of such a beam is more preferable than the use of a trolley pulley. Whether the beam is used or not can depend on the situation, for example on the load to be handled, for example on the size of the rotor blade to be handled, and / or on the environment (e.g. wind loads, etc.).

[0057] In a practical embodiment, the crossbeam has a length that is greater than a crane boom, for example wherein guy wires extend from axial ends of the crossbeam.

[0058] In embodiments of the first and / or second aspects of the invention, the trolleys are each provided with a sliding support for a crossbeam between their axial ends, thereby allowing the spacing between the first and second trolleys to be varied as they move up and down the respective chords. For example, the main chords (on which the trolleys travel) may not be parallel to one another, e.g., as shown in FIG6 and FIG7 . Figure 8 As shown in .

[0059] A third aspect of the invention relates to a crane, for example, configured for handling one or more wind turbine components, for example, for installing and / or maintaining an offshore wind turbine, the crane comprising:

[0060] - a base structure, which is for example suitable for installation on a vessel, for example for fastening to the hull of a vessel;

[0061] - a rotating structure, which is rotatable on a slewing bearing about a vertical slewing axis relative to the base structure, the upper structure being provided with a boom connection member,

[0062] - a boom having a longitudinal axis, wherein the boom has an inner end connected to the boom connecting member so that the boom pivots up and down about a boom pivot axis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the boom;

[0063] - a luffing device for pivoting the boom up and down, said luffing device comprising a luffing winch and a variable-length luffing system;

[0064] a lifting assembly comprising a winch and a winch drive cable, the winch drive lifting cable passing through a pulley assembly on the boom to a load suspension device for lifting and lowering a load, such as a wind turbine component, such as a rotor blade, suspended from the lifting cable and the load suspension device,

[0065] A cable system configured to control a load being lifted, the cable system comprising:

[0066] - a first and a second guy trolley, the first and the second guy trolley each being movable along the boom in a longitudinal direction of the boom,

[0067] - first and second guy wire capstans and respective first and second capstan drive guy wires,

[0068] The guy winch is mounted on top of the crane boom.

[0069] This arrangement of the guy wire winch may provide for enhanced winding of the guy wire and / or enhanced operation of the guy wire system.

[0070] The invention also relates to a crane jib provided with a guying system configured to be installed in a crane as described herein.

[0071] The invention further relates to a vessel provided with a crane as described herein, for example, wherein the load suspension means is embodied as a blade lifting tool for mounting rotor blades to a wind turbine.

[0072] The invention further relates to a method for mounting a rotor blade to a wind turbine, such as an offshore wind turbine, wherein a crane as described herein is used. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0073] The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0074] Figure 1 Schematically shows a vessel equipped with a crane according to the invention,

[0075] Figure 2 Shown Figure 1 A portion of a crane boom provided with a guy wire trolley,

[0076] Figure 3 Shown Figure 2 Close-up of the main front chord of the crane boom, with the trolley traveling over it,

[0077] Figure 4 Shown from different angles Figure 3 Close-up,

[0078] Figure 5 Shown from different angles Figure 1 A portion of a crane boom provided with a guy wire trolley,

[0079] Figure 6a 、 Figure 6b shows a part of the boom of a crane according to the invention during handling of a rotor blade of a wind turbine using a blade lifting tool,

[0080] Figure 7 Shown Figure 6a 、 Figure 6b The crane's cable trolley,

[0081] Figure 8 Shown Figure 6a 、 Figure 6b A crane in which the cable trolley supports the crossbeam of the cable system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0082] Figure 1 A maritime vessel 1 with a hull 2 , a deck 3 and a crane 10 is schematically shown.

[0083] In this example, the vessel 1 is a jack-up vessel having jack-up legs 4 that can be extended and retracted by associated jack-up mechanisms 5. In other embodiments, the vessel can also be of a completely different design, such as a floating monohull vessel, a semi-submersible vessel, a catamaran vessel, etc.

[0084] It should be noted that the concepts of the present invention are equally applicable to land-based cranes with a lattice-shaped crane boom, for example, for wind turbine installation, for example, cranes having a wheeled base of the road vehicle type, a base with crawler travel arrangements, a base with crawler-engaging wheels, or a base assembled on-site at the location where the wind turbine is to be assembled.

[0085] In this example, the crane 10 is embodied as a so-called leg-wrap crane 10. Here, it is schematically shown that the legs extend through a support 11 of the crane 10.

[0086] The support 11 is mounted to the hull 2 of the vessel 1 or is formed integrally therewith.

[0087] The crane 10 further comprises a rotating structure 12 which is supported on the support 11 via a slewing bearing 13 so that the structure 12 can rotate relative to the support 11 about a vertical slewing axis.

[0088] The rotating structure 12 includes a boom connecting member 15 .

[0089] The crane 10 has a boom 20 with a longitudinal axis 21 .

[0090] For example, the boom 20 has a length of at least 60 meters between the inner end 22 and the tip 23 of the boom 20. In a practical embodiment, this length may exceed 100 meters, for example approximately 150 meters.

[0091] The inner end 22 is pivotally connected to the boom connection member 15 such that the boom 20 is pivotable up and down about a horizontal boom pivot axis 24 that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 21 of the boom.

[0092] It is shown here that the vessel is equipped with a boom rest 60 on which the boom 20 can rest in a horizontal resting position, for example as shown in FIG. Figure 1 shown.

[0093] A luffing arrangement for the boom 20 is provided for pivoting the boom 20 about the horizontal boom pivot axis 24. The luffing arrangement comprises one or more boom luffing winches 45 and a variable length luffing system having one or more luffing cables 46 driven by the one or more luffing winches 45.

[0094] The crane 10 has a lifting assembly having one or more main lifting winches 70 and one or more main lifting cables 71 driven by the one or more main lifting winches 70. Here, the lifting winches 70 are shown as being located on the rotating structure 12, but they may also be arranged at other locations, such as on the crane boom 20, for example near its inner end.

[0095] Other arrangements of the one or more winches are also possible, for example when the crane 20 is embodied as a tower crane and the one or more hoisting winches are located within the support of the crane, for example on a rotating platform as known in the art.

[0096] One or more cables 71 pass over a pulley assembly 72 near the tip of the boom 20 to a load suspension device 75, also known as a main lifting block. For example, a so-called blade hoisting tool can be suspended from the main lifting block 75 to transport a wind turbine rotor blade by the crane 10.

[0097] In the example shown, the boom 20 has a single boom leg which is implemented as a lattice-like hollow box structure, here a lattice-like hollow box structure of rectangular cross-section, for example Figure 2-Figure 5 The lattice-shaped hollow box structure of the crane boom 20 is basically a welded steel structure of rigid design.

[0098] The lattice-like hollow box structure includes a pair of front main chords 31, 32 at the front side of the boom leg and a pair of rear main chords 33, 34 at the rear side of the boom leg. The main chords 31, 32, 33, 34 are interconnected by tension members 35, 36, 37, 38 between adjacent main chords. The tension members 35, 36, 37, 38 generally define a lattice-like hollow box together with the main chords 31, 32, 33, 34. It should be noted that other tension members, such as, for example, may also be present in the hollow box. Figure 2 As shown, there are one or more diagonal bracing members in a plane transverse to the length of the boom.

[0099] The crane 10 is provided with a guy wire system configured to control the movement of the load connector and / or the load being hoisted, such as a wind turbine component, e.g., a rotor blade. It should be noted that the guy wire system can obviously also be used during the lowering of the load connector and / or the load, the term hoisting including both lifting and lowering.

[0100] The guying system comprises a guying trolley 80 movable along the boom leg in the longitudinal direction of the boom leg. In addition, there is a guying winch 81 and a winch drive guying wire 82 which, when the crane 10 is in use, extends from the guying trolley 80 to the load and / or the load suspension device 75.

[0101] Here, as an example, the guy trolley 80 has an undercarriage 83 configured to be guided on and travel on a corresponding front main chord 31 , with a plurality of roller sets of one or more rollers as will be described in the following example.

[0102] The chassis 83 supports one or more cable pulleys 84 through which the cable 82 passes. As shown, the one or more pulleys 84 can be arranged to rotate about an axis that is fixedly oriented relative to the chassis 83, but pivoting arrangements of the one or more cable pulleys 84 are also contemplated. For example, the one or more pulleys 84 can pivot relative to the chassis 83 about an axis that is parallel to the front main chord.

[0103] In other designs of the guying system within the context of the present invention, the guying wire is connected at its end to a trolley 80, for example, a guying wire winch is provided on the load connector 75 and / or on a lifting tool, for example, a rotor blade lifting tool, and / or on the load. The guying wire 82 is passed from its end on the trolley to a pulley on the load connector 75 and / or on a lifting tool (for example, a rotor blade lifting tool) and / or on the load, and then back to a pulley on the trolley.

[0104] Preferably, the wire system further includes a wire trolley drive assembly for each wire trolley 80, e.g., independently for each wire trolley on the crane jib 20, the wire trolley drive assembly being configured to provide controlled displacement of the wire trolley along the jib leg. For example, as is known in the art, the wire trolley drive assembly includes a wire trolley drive winch and associated cables to provide controlled displacement of the wire trolley along the jib leg.

[0105] In this example, each of the front main chords 31, 32 of the boom leg is formed from four steel plate members that are welded to each other in a rectangular or square cross-section arrangement. This will be discussed herein with reference to the front main chord 31, the other front main chord 32 having the same design.

[0106] Here, the term "front" refers to the side of the crane boom 20 at which lifting and lowering by the lifting assembly occurs, and therefore where the load connector 75 and the suspended load are present during the lifting operation, for which the guy wire system can provide enhanced control of the load connector and / or the load to be lifted.

[0107] The four steel plate members that make up the hollow front main chord 31 are:

[0108] - front plate member 31a;

[0109] - a rear plate member 31c, which is opposite to the front plate member,

[0110] - inner plate member 31d, and

[0111] - an outer plate member 31 b , which is opposite to the inner plate member.

[0112] These plate members are welded together to form the rectangular or square cross-sectional design of the front main chord 31 .

[0113] The front plate member 31a extends inwardly from a welded corner joint with the outer plate member 31b beyond a welded joint with the inner plate member 31d to form an inwardly projecting guide rail portion 31e having an inner end surface 31a1.

[0114] The outer plate member 31b extends rearward from a welded corner joint with the front plate member 31a beyond a welded joint with the rear plate member 31c to form a rearwardly projecting guide rail portion 31f having a rear end surface 31b1.

[0115] The wire trolley 80 is provided with a first roller set 93 of one or more rollers, preferably a plurality of rollers, which engage the inner end surface 31a1 of the inwardly protruding guide rail portion 31e.

[0116] The wire trolley 80 is provided with a second roller set 94 of one or more rollers, preferably a plurality of rollers, which engage the rear end face 31 b 1 of the rearwardly protruding guide rail portion 31 f.

[0117] The cable trolley is further provided with a third roller set 95 of one or more rollers, preferably a plurality of rollers, which engage the front surface of the front plate member 31a, perpendicular to the first roller set 93,

[0118] The wire trolley is provided with a fourth roller set 96 of one or more rollers, preferably a plurality of rollers, which engage the outer surface of the outer plate member 31 b , perpendicular to the second roller set 94 .

[0119] As shown, preferably, the third and fourth roller sets 95, 96 are engaged on the front main chord 31 near the end faces 31a1, 31b1 of the respective plate members.

[0120] The tension members between the front main chords 31, 32 and between each front main chord 31, 32 and the nearest rear main chord 33, 34 are offset from the protruding portions of the front and outer plate members to allow the passage of a trolley, in particular the passage of the first and second roller sets 93, 94 of the trolley.

[0121] In an alternative embodiment, there are no second and / or third sets of rollers 95, 96. Instead, for example, the first and / or second sets of rollers are equipped with grooved rollers that engage the end surface 31a1 or 31b1 to provide guidance support not only in the plane of the respective front or outer plate member, as shown here, but also in a plane perpendicular to the respective plate member. For example, the end surface 31a1 or 31b1 can be beveled to have a V-shape, and the rollers can have a corresponding shape.

[0122] The figures also show that one or more hook members 85a, b are optionally provided on the chassis 83 of the trolley 80, which engage behind the protruding section of the corresponding front plate member 31a or outer plate member 31b. These hook members 85a, 85b can be used to secure the trolley 80 when it is mounted on the front main chord.

[0123] Figure 6a and Figure 6b A part of a crane according to the invention is shown during handling of a rotor blade 100 of a wind turbine, for example an offshore wind turbine. Figure 1-Figure 5 Components discussed have the same reference numerals.

[0124] The rotor blade 100 of the wind turbine is held by a blade lifting tool 75 suspended below a crane hook 90 , with the hook 90 and tool 75 suspended from the crane jib tip of the crane jib 20 via a winch driven lifting cable 71 passing over a pulley assembly 72 .

[0125] The boom 20 has a section implemented as a lattice-like hollow box structure, which includes a pair of front main chords 31, 32 on the front side of the boom and a pair of rear main chords 33, 34 on the rear side of the boom. The main chords 31, 32, 33, 34 are interconnected by tension members between adjacent main chords.

[0126] A first guy trolley 80a runs on the chord 31 and a second guy trolley 80b runs on the chord 32. Guying wires 82a, b extend from the blade hoisting tool 75 to the respective trolleys 80a, b and from them via winding to guying winches 81a, b. These guying winches 81a, b are mounted on the top of the boom 20, but can also be mounted elsewhere, for example on the trolleys 80a, b. In another embodiment, the guying winches are present on the blade hoisting tool 75, for example the ends of the guying wires are secured to the respective trolleys 80a, b.

[0127] To control the displacement of each trolley 80a, b along the chords 31, 32, a corresponding trolley drive assembly is provided. In the depicted example, a cable 120 is connected to trolley 80a and driven by a winch (not shown) to move the trolley up and down. A cable 121 is connected to trolley 80b and driven by another winch (not shown) to move trolley 80b up and down, preferably independently of trolley 80a.

[0128] Figure 6a 、 Figure 6b Additional third and fourth guy wires 130, 131 are shown extending from the tip of the crane jib 20 downwardly to the load suspension device 75, here a blade hoisting tool. Each of these guy wires 130, 131 is driven by an associated winch, thereby allowing the device 75 and the load 100 to be controlled primarily in the vertical plane, whereas the guy wires 82a, b act primarily in the horizontal direction.

[0129] Figure 6a 、 Figure 6b The blade lifting tool 75 is shown having a frame 76 with blade holding members, such as clamping members 77a, b. The frame 76 is tiltably connected to a suspension member 79 suspended from a crane hook 90 via a horizontal axis hinge 78. A tilt actuator 79a between the frame 76 and the suspension member 79 allows the tool 75 to be tilted in a controlled manner, for example, to set the pitch of the rotor blade 100 while the blade 100 is tilted relative to the hub of the wind turbine, allowing for installation of the blade 100.

[0130] Figure 7 Shown Figure 6a 、 Figure 6b FIG. 1 is a diagram of a portion of a crane jib 20 with a second guy trolley 80b traveling on the main chord 32. Cables 121 allow the trolley 80b to be controllably moved up and down along the chord 32.

[0131] Figure 7 Trolley 80b (as well as trolley 80a) is also shown having a chassis 83b that supports a cable pulley 84b in a pivotable manner about an axis 84c parallel to the chord 32.

[0132] Each chassis 83 is configured to releasably secure a corresponding cable pulley 84b to the chassis 83 so that the cable pulley 84b can be removed.

[0133] Each chassis 83 is configured not only to support a corresponding cable pulley 84b, but also to support the crossbeam 150 of the cable system when the pulleys 84 have been removed.

[0134] Figure 8 An example of a beam 150 supported by a guy wire trolley 80a, b is depicted in FIG.

[0135] The chassis 83 has one or more support flanges 83 c, d to support the cross beam 150 .

[0136] Figure 8 The cross beam is shown supported by the first and second trolleys so as to extend in a direction transverse to the centre plane of the crane jib 20. The cross beam has axial ends.

[0137] The crossbeam 150 has a length greater than a crane boom, for example, and the guy wires 82a, b extend from axial ends of the crossbeam toward the load.

[0138] In an embodiment, the pull wires 82a, 82b extend crosswise when viewed from above.

[0139] In this example, the beam 150 is of fixed length without any telescoping sections, although the beam could be telescoping if desired, for example having telescoping beam ends.

[0140] Since in Figure 6- Figure 8 The center chords 31, 32 are not parallel and it is envisaged that the trolleys 80a, 80b may replace the associated guy pulley 84b as, for example, a replaceable part, each trolley being provided with sliding supports 80d, 80e for the cross beam 150 between its axial ends, thereby allowing the spacing between the first and second trolleys 80a, b to be varied as they move up and down along the respective chords 31, 32.

[0141] The cable 82a extends from the blade hoisting tool 75 to the cable pulley 151 on the beam 150 and further to the cable winch 81a. The cable 82b extends from the blade hoisting tool 75 to the cable pulley 152 on the beam 150 and further to the cable winch 81b.

[0142] Figure 6- Figure 8 Also for illustrating a second aspect of the invention relating to a crane, the crane being configured, for example, for handling one or more wind turbine components 100, for example for installing and / or maintaining an offshore wind turbine, the crane comprising:

[0143] - a base structure 11 , which is suitable for installation on a vessel, for example for fastening to the hull of the vessel;

[0144] - a rotating structure 12, which is rotatable relative to the base structure around a vertical rotation axis on a slewing bearing, the upper structure being provided with a boom connection member,

[0145] a boom 20 having a longitudinal axis 21 , wherein the boom has an inner end 22 connected to a boom connecting member so that the boom pivots up and down about a boom pivot axis 24 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the boom;

[0146] - a luffing device for pivoting the boom up and down, comprising a luffing winch 45 and a variable-length luffing system 46;

[0147] a lifting assembly comprising a winch 70 and a winch drive cable 71 , the winch drive lifting cable passing through a pulley assembly 72 on the boom to a load suspension device 75 for lifting a load, such as a wind turbine component, such as a rotor blade 100, suspended from the lifting cable and the load suspension device,

[0148] A cable system configured to control a load being lifted, the cable system comprising:

[0149] - a first and a second guy trolley 80a, b, each movable along the boom in the longitudinal direction of the boom,

[0150] - first and second guy wire capstans 81a, b and corresponding first and second capstan drive wires 82a, b,

[0151] The wire drawing system further comprises:

[0152] - first and second cable pulleys 84b, and

[0153] - Crossbeam 150,

[0154] wherein each guy trolley 80a, b has a chassis 83b configured to selectively releasably secure a corresponding guy pulley 84a, b or beam 150 to the chassis such that the beam is supported by both the first and second guy trolleys 80a, b,

[0155] And therein, in use of the crane and its guy wire system, the crossbeam 150 provides spaced apart locations for first and second guy wires 82a, b extending between the crossbeam 150 and a load (here, the tool 75).

Claims

1. A crane (10), for example configured for handling one or more wind turbine components, for example for installing and / or maintaining an offshore wind turbine, the crane comprising: - a base structure (11), which is suitable for installation on a vessel, for example for fastening to the hull of the vessel; - a rotating structure (12) which is rotatable relative to the base structure around a vertical rotation axis on a slewing bearing, the upper structure being provided with a boom connection member; - a boom (20) having a longitudinal axis (21), wherein the boom has an inner end (22) connected to a boom connection member so that the boom pivots up and down about a boom pivot axis (24) perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the boom; - a luffing device for pivoting the boom up and down, said luffing device comprising a luffing winch (45) and a variable length luffing system (46); a lifting assembly comprising a winch (70) and a winch drive cable (71), the winch drive lifting cable passing through a pulley assembly (72) on the boom to a load suspension device (75) for lifting and lowering a load, such as a wind turbine component, such as a rotor blade, suspended from the lifting cable and the load suspension device; The boom (20) includes a boom leg, such as a single boom leg, and the boom leg is implemented as a grid-like hollow box structure, such as a rectangular cross-section grid-like hollow box structure, and the grid-like hollow box structure includes a pair of front main chords (31, 32) at the front side of the boom leg and a pair of rear main chords (33, 34) at the rear side of the boom leg, and the main chords (31, 32, 33, 34) are interconnected by tension members (35, 36, 37, 38) between adjacent main chords. The crane further comprises: A cable system configured to control a load being lifted, the cable system comprising: o a guy trolley (80) movable along the boom leg in the longitudinal direction of the boom leg; o a guy winch (81) and a winch drive guy wire (82), which, when the crane is in use, extends from the guy trolley to the load and / or load suspension device; wherein at least one of the front main chords of the boom legs is formed from four steel plate members welded to each other in a rectangular or square cross-sectional arrangement, wherein the four plate members are: - a front plate member (31a); - a rear plate member (31c) opposite to the front plate member; - inner plate member (31d); - an outer plate member (31b) opposite to the inner plate member; wherein the front plate member (31a) extends inward from a corner joint with the outer plate member (31b) beyond a joint with the inner plate member (31d) to form an inwardly protruding guide rail portion (31e) having an inner end surface (31a1), wherein the outer plate member (31b) extends rearward from a corner joint with the front plate member (31a) beyond a joint with the rear plate member (31c) to form a guide rail portion (31f) protruding rearward with a rear end surface (31b1), The cable trolley is provided with a first roller group (93) of one or more rollers and a second roller group (94) of one or more rollers, wherein the first roller group engages the inner end surface (31a1) of the inwardly protruding guide rail portion (31e), and the second roller group engages the rear end surface (31b1) of the rearwardly protruding guide rail portion (31f).

2. The crane according to claim 1, wherein: The cable trolley is further provided with a third roller set (95) of one or more rollers, wherein the third roller set engages the front surface of the front plate member (31a) perpendicular to the first roller set (93), and wherein the cable trolley is provided with a fourth roller set (96) of one or more rollers, wherein the fourth roller set engages the outer surface of the outer plate member (31b) perpendicular to the second roller set (94).

3. The crane according to claim 1, wherein: Each of the front main chords (31, 32) of the boom legs is formed of four steel plate members (31a, 31b, 31c, 31d) welded to each other in a rectangular or square cross-sectional arrangement, wherein the four plate members are: -front plate member; - a rear plate member opposite to the front plate member; -Inner panel components; - an outer plate member, which is opposite to the inner plate member; wherein the front plate member extends inwardly from a corner joint portion with the outer plate member beyond a joint portion between the front plate member and the inner plate member to form an inwardly protruding guide rail portion having an inner end surface; wherein the outer plate member extends rearward from a corner joint portion with the front plate member beyond a joint portion between the outer plate member and the rear plate member to form a guide rail portion protruding rearward with a rear end surface, Wherein, the corresponding cable trolleys (80a, b) are associated with the corresponding front main chords (31, 32), and each cable trolley is provided with a first roller set (93) of one or more rollers and a second roller set (94) of one or more rollers, wherein the first roller set engages the inner end face of the inwardly protruding guide rail portion of the corresponding front main chord, and the second roller set engages the rear end face of the rearwardly protruding guide rail portion of the corresponding front main chord.

4. Crane according to any one or more of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The cable system further comprises a cable trolley drive assembly for each cable trolley (80a, b), e.g. independently for each cable trolley, the cable trolley drive assembly being configured to provide controlled displacement of the cable trolley along the boom leg, e.g., wherein the cable trolley drive assembly comprises a cable trolley drive winch and associated cables (120, 121) to provide controlled displacement of the cable trolley along the boom leg.

5. Crane according to any one or more of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The load suspension device is embodied as a blade lifting tool (75) for mounting a rotor blade (100) to a wind turbine.

6. A crane jib (20) provided with a guying system configured for installation in a crane (10) according to any one or more of the preceding claims, The boom (20) has a longitudinal axis (21), wherein The boom has an inner end (22) configured to be connected to a boom connection member so that the boom pivots up and down about a boom pivot axis (24) perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the boom; The boom (20) includes a boom leg, such as a single boom leg, and the boom leg is implemented as a grid-like hollow box structure, such as a rectangular cross-section grid-like hollow box structure, and the grid-like hollow box structure includes a pair of front main chords (31, 32) at the front side of the boom leg and a pair of rear main chords (33, 34) at the rear side of the boom leg, and the main chords (31, 32, 33, 34) are interconnected by tension members (35, 36, 37, 38) between adjacent main chords. The cable system is configured to control the movement of a load being lifted, the cable system comprising: o a guy trolley (80) movable along the boom leg in the longitudinal direction of the boom leg; o a guy winch (81) and a winch drive guy wire (82), which, when the crane is in use, extends from the guy trolley to the load and / or load suspension device; wherein at least one of the front main chords of the boom legs is formed from four steel plate members welded to each other in a rectangular or square cross-sectional arrangement, wherein the four plate members are: - a front plate member (31a); - a rear plate member (31c) opposite to the front plate member; - inner plate member (31d); - an outer plate member (31b) opposite to the inner plate member; wherein the front plate member (31a) extends inward from a corner joint with the outer plate member (31b) beyond a joint with the inner plate member (31d) to form an inwardly protruding guide rail portion (31e) having an inner end surface (31a1), wherein the outer plate member (31b) extends rearward from a corner joint with the front plate member (31a) beyond a joint with the rear plate member (31c) to form a guide rail portion (31f) protruding rearward with a rear end surface (31b1), The cable trolley is provided with a first roller group (93) of one or more rollers and a second roller group (94) of one or more rollers, wherein the first roller group engages the inner end surface (31a1) of the inwardly protruding guide rail portion (31e), and the second roller group engages the rear end surface (31b1) of the rearwardly protruding guide rail portion (31f).

7. A vessel (1) provided with a crane (10) according to any one or more of the preceding claims, for example wherein: The load suspension device is embodied as a blade lifting tool (75) for mounting a rotor blade (100) to a wind turbine.

8. A method for mounting a component, such as a rotor blade (100), to a wind turbine, such as an offshore wind turbine, wherein: Use of a crane according to any one or more of the preceding claims.

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