Lifting gear

Abstract

The present invention relates to lifting gear, more particularly a crane, such as a rotary tower crane and / or mobile crane, having a supporting structure, a determination device for determining a load state and / or an operating state of the supporting structure, and a control unit for controlling actuators of the lifting gear depending on the determined load state and / or operating state, wherein the actuators are allocated to the supporting structure for the active bracing and / or deformation of the supporting structure in a variable manner during lifting gear operation, and the control unit is configured to temporarily and variably brace and / or deform the supporting structure by means of the actuators depending on the detected load state and / or operating state in order to relieve the load on supporting structure parts which are subject to high load.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to lifting devices, in particular cranes such as tower cranes and / or mobile cranes, comprising a supporting structure, a determining device for determining a load and / or operating state of the supporting structure, and a control device for controlling actuators of the lifting device depending on the determined load and / or operating state.

[0002] Cranes such as tower cranes, mobile cranes, or telescopic jib cranes typically have slender, elongated supporting structures, often comprising truss girders or hollow section girders. These structures are often pushed to their limits in terms of stability and load-bearing capacity to reduce their own weight and thus increase the net lifting capacity. This is frequently achieved through the use of guy wires, rods, and struts to prevent excessive deflection of the long, slender structural elements, such as the jib or tower, or even structural failure, and to ensure the required safety standards for lifting equipment. Nevertheless, depending on the load, potential issues can arise.Operating conditions lead to very high loads on the supporting structure, which often push the stability and deformability of the supporting structure to its limits if the support and tensioning elements are not significantly over-dimensioned, which would indeed meet all eventualities of the operating loads, but would undesirably affect the net load-bearing capacity and the weight for transport.

[0003] This or a similar problem affects not only the aforementioned tower cranes and mobile cranes, but also other types of cranes such as harbor or maritime cranes, derrick cranes or other lifting equipment such as rope excavators with long, slender booms.

[0004] A particular challenge for the design of the supporting structure is posed by the changing operational influences. On the one hand, not only do the loads to be supported change, but also dynamic loads from crane movements, such as the raising and lowering of the boom by a luffing drive, the rotation of the boom around a vertical axis by a slewing mechanism, the movement of a trolley along the boom by a trolley drive, the lifting of a suspended load by a hoist drive, or the extension and retraction of the boom by a telescoping drive, as well as the associated accelerations when these movements are initiated or decelerated. In addition, there are further external loads such as wind forces, vibration loads from pendulum movements of the load, or vibration loads from the abrupt setting down or lifting of loads.

[0005] To ensure sufficient safety, the aforementioned loads must be considered cumulatively, and the lifting equipment's supporting structure must be dimensioned accordingly. However, oversizing and the resulting weight disadvantage should be avoided to prevent any reduction in net lifting capacity.

[0006] Typically, such cranes and similar lifting devices have a central control unit that monitors the crane's load status and limits the actuators if overloading is imminent. This control unit uses sensors to monitor the load and its reach to prevent excessive tipping moments that could compromise the crane's stability. At very short reaches, the load capacity itself is also limited to prevent structural failure. It is also common practice to monitor load oscillations and the associated deformations of the supporting structure to provide oscillation damping when controlling the drives or actuators.

[0007] Document WO 2016 / 131753 A1 discloses a lifting device, in particular a crane according to the preamble of claim 1, with a sensor unit which enables the determination of the deformation of the boom system, so that an activatable adjustment unit can counteract the deformation.

[0008] Document DE 10 2017 126386 A1 describes a construction machine with a boom, whereby deformation of the boom is suppressed by backstops with hydraulic cylinders.

[0009] German patent application DE 100 22 600 A1 discloses a telescopic crane which, by utilizing lateral bracing, exhibits minimal lateral deformation of the boom. The tensioning device associated with the bracing is activated and the bracing is retensioned when the lateral deformation is measured accordingly.

[0010] Document WO 2009 / 135662 A1 describes a lattice boom crane with a chassis, a superstructure and a lattice boom which has improved stiffening.

[0011] However, current monitoring and countermeasures have not been sufficient to address the problem that, due to the variety of load conditions and external influences, the supporting structure of the hoist is subjected to loads reaching their limits in certain sections or parts, while other sections or parts of the supporting structure still have greater load-bearing reserves. Because the load conditions and influences change, these load differences shift, which in practice has often led to the supporting structures being over-dimensioned, at least in part, or conversely, to structural failure occurring in specific load scenarios if individual structural sections are not adequately adapted to the particular load scenario through appropriate dimensioning.

[0012] The present invention is therefore based on the objective of creating an improved lifting device of the aforementioned type that avoids the disadvantages of the prior art and advantageously develops the latter further. In particular, increased stability of the supporting structure and thus safety in crane or lifting device operation under diverse, changing load influences, and consequently a further increase in load capacity, should be achieved without sacrificing unnecessary material and weight. Preferably, a reduction in deformation and a prevention or elimination of vibrations should also be achieved in order to reliably prevent failure even under alternating loads in very lightweight and stability-prone supporting structures.

[0013] According to the invention, the aforementioned problem is solved by a lifting device according to claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0014] It is therefore proposed to actively manipulate the supporting structure using actuators and to adapt it to the changing loads and influences during operation. According to the invention, it is proposed to assign actuators to the supporting structure for actively and variably tensioning and / or deforming it during hoist operation, and to configure the control device to temporarily and variably tension and / or deform the supporting structure by means of the actuators, depending on the specific load and operating conditions that change during operation, in order to relieve highly stressed supporting structure components. The supporting structure can be actively and variably deformed and / or tensioned online during hoist operation by the assigned actuators and thus adapted to the changing loads and external influences during operation in order to prevent overloading of individual supporting structure components and to even out the loads within the supporting structure.

[0015] This approach therefore does not aim to minimize external and internal influences by using the drives classically present on a crane, as is the case, for example, with load sway damping through targeted control of the trolley travel, hoist and slewing mechanisms, or with load moment limitation achieved by restricting the movements of the hoist and trolley travel drives, but rather it provides for active manipulation of the supporting structure through variable tensioning and / or variable deformation of supporting structure elements online during crane operation according to the respective specific load and operating condition.

[0016] In particular, the control device can actuate the actuators for active, variable tensioning and / or deformation of the supporting structure online during operation, relieving loads on structural components currently under critical stress due to the specific load and operating conditions, while simultaneously increasing the load on other structural components that still have sufficient reserves. Active, real-time control of the actuators during hoist operation allows for a significantly improved distribution of the load on the supporting structure, adapted to varying loads and influences. Depending on the situation, this distribution or redistribution of loads can be controlled in different ways.

[0017] The determination device for determining the load and operating state can advantageously have an identification device for identifying a highly loaded structural component that is closest to its stability limit, or several such highly loaded structural components, and / or for identifying one or more load-bearing components that still have stability reserves, so that the control device can selectively control the actuators depending on the identified vulnerable and / or reserve-possessing structural components in order to achieve the aforementioned redistribution, i.e., to relieve the most heavily loaded or stressed structural components and / or to increase the load on structural components that still have greater reserves.

[0018] Advantageously, the aforementioned determination device can possess a computational model, which, for example, can be implemented as a software tool within an electronic computing unit. This model uses sensor-acquired and / or estimated and / or otherwise determined data concerning the load and / or operating condition of the load-bearing structure to identify the currently critically loaded and / or less loaded parts of the load-bearing structure with load-bearing reserve, based on a predetermined algorithm and / or predetermined determination rules. The aforementioned algorithm and determination rules need not be rigidly fixed in the sense of being predetermined, but can be adaptively adjusted within a learning system, as will be explained in more detail later.

[0019] In a further development of the invention, the aforementioned supporting structure of the lifting device can comprise at least one boom and optionally a tower supporting the boom. In this case, the actuators can be configured to actively tension and / or actively deform the boom and optionally also the tower, with the active tensioning or deformation of the boom or tower being variably adapted to the respective load and operating conditions. A load-handling device, for example in the form of a load hook, can extend from the boom, although depending on the machine type, other load-handling devices, such as a cable excavator grab, may also be provided.

[0020] In particular, the control device can be designed to shorten structural components subjected to tension and / or lengthen structural components subjected to compression by means of the aforementioned actuators.

[0021] For example, the supporting structure may include longitudinal chords which may be connected by crossbeams or other connecting elements, in which case the actuators may be designed to lengthen and / or shorten the said longitudinal chords of the supporting structure, depending on whether the respective longitudinal chord is subjected to tension or compression under the respective load or operating condition.

[0022] Alternatively or additionally to adjusting longitudinal chords, the actuator can also be designed to actively adjust the bracing of the supporting structure online during operation, depending on the specific load and / or operating condition, for example, to lengthen and / or shorten bracing cables and / or rods, which may be telescopically designed, and / or to lengthen and / or shorten a bracing strut that can support and / or spread the bracing tensioning device transversely to its longitudinal direction, in order to actively tension and / or deform supporting structure parts braced by the bracing and / or to variably counteract load-induced deformation online during operation.

[0023] In general, the control device can actuate the actuators in such a way that the geometry of the guying is adjusted, for example by lengthening or shortening a guy wire or changing the spread angle of a guy wire, so that, for example, the spread angle of a butterfly guy wire can be changed. Alternatively or additionally, the geometry of the guying can also be achieved by lengthening and / or shortening individual or multiple guy wire elements, for example to straighten a supporting structural element connected to it or to deform it less or more.For example, if lifting a heavy load at half the reach results in a greater deflection of a tower crane boom in the sense of a water-retaining beam, a guy wire attached further out on the boom can be lengthened and / or a guy wire attached in the middle section shortened and / or a cross brace of the guy wire extending towards the middle section can be shortened in order to counteract the aforementioned deflection of the boom by adjusting the geometry of the guy wire accordingly.

[0024] Alternatively or in addition to such an adjustment of the geometry of the guying, it may also be sufficient to change the tension of the guying, for example to increase a tensile force in one guying strand and / or to decrease the tensile force in another guying strand, without necessarily having to change the geometry.

[0025] Advantageously, the control device for manipulating the supporting structure takes into account a variety of parameters that describe the load and operating state of the hoist. These parameters can represent internal influences on the crane structure, i.e., operator-initiated movements, such as crane movements, which can be detected by the control device, for example, via sensors. Other internal influencing factors, such as the crane's setup state, can also be determined by the control device, for example, via sensors or by inputting or selecting setup state data. Furthermore, the aforementioned parameters characterizing the operating state can also include settings that can be adjusted during operation, such as the luffing angle of a boom, the spread angle of a butterfly bracing system, or the extended length of a telescopic boom.

[0026] Parameters can also characterize external influences on the lifting device, for example wind loads acting on the lifting device, which can be directly detected by the determining device using sensors, for example with regard to speed and direction, or indirectly determined, for example by detecting the strains or stresses on the supporting structure caused by the wind.

[0027] Advantageously, all or at least some of the data recorded by the sensors can be examined and / or processed online for plausibility or errors during hoist operation in a central computing unit and / or in several decentralized computing units.

[0028] Unmeasurable quantities can be estimated using other, known quantities, for example, with the aid of a system dynamic estimation model. For example, the difficult-to-measure deflection of a boom tip can be estimated by considering the boom's setup state and loading state.

[0029] The aforementioned central and / or decentralized computing units can advantageously be equipped with routines and / or rules for handling error cases such as the failure of relevant components.

[0030] Regardless of this, the aforementioned central and / or decentralized computing units can also be connected to other monitoring devices, such as a stability monitoring device, in order to limit the actions of the actuators intended to manipulate the supporting structure itself, depending on a signal.

[0031] At least one computing unit also includes a predictive device for forecasting changes in the operating state. Such a predictive device may, for example, comprise an estimation device and / or software tools such as deep learning or artificial intelligence. In particular, the aforementioned predictive device is designed to make predictions, based on past hoist operations and taking into account their boundary conditions, about how the currently determined operating and / or load state is likely to change and which actuator measures for manipulating the supporting structure are appropriate and / or permissible for such a likely change.

[0032] At least one computing unit can also be trained to distinguish between external and internal influences based on the processed data and a computational model.

[0033] The control device can provide for active manipulation of the supporting structure in the event of both an increase and a decrease in internal and external influences.

[0034] The control device can perform the actuation of the actuators for actively manipulating the support structure semi-automatically or fully automatically. Semi-automatic control of the actuators may provide the operator with suggestions for manipulating the support structure, which the operator can then execute at their own discretion. Alternatively or additionally, the control device may also have a fully automatic operating mode in which it autonomously or fully automatically controls and acts the actuators for manipulating the support structure based on specific load and operating condition data.

[0035] The present invention is explained in more detail below with reference to preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. The drawings show: Fig. 1: A side view of a lifting device in the form of a tower crane according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, wherein the actuators for manipulating the supporting structure comprise various actuators for adjusting a bracing system and the upper and lower chords of the crane boom, and the sensor system for acquiring load and operating condition data comprises several sensors on the boom and the bracing system. Fig. 2: A rear view of a lifting device in the form of a tower crane similar to Fig. 1 , where the crane is shown in a crosswind loading situation, and Fig. 3: a side view of the lifting device made of Fig. 2 , which shows a steep angle of the boom.

[0036] As the figures show, the lifting device 1 can be in the form of a crane 2, with a tower crane being shown as an example. The crane 2 can include a boom 3, which can be raised and lowered around a horizontal axis by means of a luffing mechanism, cf. Fig. 3 Regardless of the above, the boom 3 can be mounted on a tower 4, which may be telescopic and / or foldable, particularly if the crane is designed as a mobile, fast-erecting crane. The tower 4 can, for example, be mounted on a rotating superstructure 5, allowing the boom 3 and tower 4 to be rotated about a vertical axis by means of a slewing mechanism. If the tower 4 is a top-slewing crane, the boom 3 may also be rotatable about this vertical axis. The superstructure 5 can be mounted on a truck-type undercarriage, a crawler track, or the like.

[0037] The aforementioned boom 3 and / or tower 4 can be designed as a hollow profile and / or truss structure or as a hybrid form thereof. For example, the boom 3 and, if applicable, also the tower 4 can comprise longitudinal chords 6, which may be connected to one another by transverse struts 7, wherein in the case of the boom 3 the aforementioned longitudinal chords 6 are referred to as upper and lower chords, cf. Fig. 1 .

[0038] A load-bearing device 8, for example in the form of a load hook, can extend from the boom 3, whereby the hollow point can be moved along the boom 3 by a trolley 10, cf. Fig. 1The hoist cable 9 running from the trolley 10 can be drawn in and released by a hoist drive to raise and lower the load-handling device 8. Further drive devices, not shown in detail, may be provided for other crane movements, in particular a slewing drive for rotating the boom 3 about its vertical axis, a trolley drive for moving the trolley 10, and a luffing drive for raising and lowering the boom 3 (see figure). Fig. 3 , and if necessary, a telescoping drive for extending and retracting the boom and / or the tower.

[0039] An electronic control device 11 controls the aforementioned drive devices and can cooperate with, or include, a monitoring device 12 to restrict or prevent crane movements if the crane's stability is at risk. Such a monitoring device 12 can, for example, monitor the tipping moment acting on the crane 2. For this purpose, the reach and the load being lifted can be monitored, for example, by sensor-based detection of the trolley position and sensor-based determination of the hoist rope force. If necessary, other or additional monitoring sensors can also detect, for example, strains or reaction forces to perform stability monitoring.

[0040] As the figures show, the supporting structure 13 can include a bracing system 14 that can brace the boom 3 and, if applicable, also the tower 4. Such a bracing system 14 can comprise one or more bracing cables, rods, straps, chains, or, more generally, bracing tensioning devices, which can be supported by bracing struts 16 that can extend transversely to the longitudinal direction of said bracing tensioning devices 15.

[0041] For example, guy wires 15 can be articulated to the boom 3 and extend over the back of the boom 3 to a tower top or, as Fig. 1The figure shows the extension to a guy wire 16, which can be articulated to the boom pivot point or to the upper end section of the tower 4. This guy wire 16 can be articulated to the superstructure 5, for example in the ballast area, by a further guy wire 15. However, it is understood that other guidance arrangements for the guy wires are also possible, depending on the design of the hoist 1. For example, a spatial guy wire can be provided that can guy the boom 3 not only in the vertical longitudinal center plane but also transversely to it. Such a spatial guy wire can, for example, be designed as a butterfly guy wire, in which a V-shaped, splayed guy wire bracket 16 can be provided, over which two guy wires can be led to the boom 3 on the right and left, where the guy wires 15 can have a common attachment point or two spaced-apart attachment points.

[0042] To actively manipulate the supporting structure 13 online during hoist operation, in particular to be able to variably tension and / or deform it, an actuator system 17 is provided, which can comprise several actuators 18 that can be located at different sections of the supporting structure 13. How Fig. 1 As shown by example, actuators 18 can be assigned in particular to the boom 3 and the bracing 14.

[0043] For example, 3 actuators 18 can be assigned to the upper and lower chords of the boom, by means of which the upper and lower chords can be shortened and / or lengthened.

[0044] The actuators 18 assigned to the guy wire 14 can, for example, include an actuator for shortening or lengthening the boom guy wire and an actuator for shortening and lengthening the neck guy wire. Independently of this, an actuator 18 can also be provided for shortening and / or lengthening a guy wire support 16, cf. Fig. 1 .

[0045] The actuators 18 mentioned can be designed in fundamentally different ways, for example including pressure medium or hydraulic cylinder units, but electric actuators such as spindle drives can also be provided.

[0046] The aforementioned actuator 17 can be controlled and operated by the control device 11 to manipulate the support structure 13 variably, depending on the current load and operating condition of the crane 2.

[0047] To determine the aforementioned load and operating condition of the crane 2, a determination device 19 is provided, which may include sensors 20 for recording load and / or operating condition parameters. The aforementioned sensors 20 may comprise several sensors 21, which may be assigned to different sections or elements of the supporting structure 13 in order to record their load and / or deformation and / or position and / or movement and / or acceleration.

[0048] The sensors 21 mentioned above can be of fundamentally different designs, for example strain gauges or inclination sensors on the steel structure or the profile structure of the supporting structure 13 and / or force measuring elements on the guy wires 15. How Fig. 1 As shown, for example, sensors 21 can detect loads and / or deformations and / or inclinations of the upper and lower chords 6 of the boom 3. Further sensors 21 can detect tensile forces in the guy wires 15 that extend above the boom 3 and / or along the tower 4. Additional sensors 21 can be assigned to the guy wire supports 16 to detect forces and / or deformations and / or positions and / or movements prevailing there.

[0049] How Fig. 2As shown, further sensors 21 can be provided to detect external influences such as wind load, whereby such sensors 21 can, for example, have wind speed sensors on one or different sections of the supporting structure 13. Fig. 2 As shown, such a wind speed sensor can, for example, be provided at the tip of the boom 3 and at the tip of a guy wire 16. Advantageously, such a wind sensor can also detect or determine the wind direction, in particular whether and at what angle the wind is blowing perpendicular to the boom 3.

[0050] As described at the beginning, the sensor system 20 can have various other sensors to record other load and / or operating condition parameters, for example the setup state, the boom rocking position, the weight force of the load picked up on the load handling device 8, the position of the trolley 10 or other quantities relevant to the load and operating condition of the supporting structure 13.

[0051] For load and / or operating condition parameters that are difficult to measure, the determination device 19 can also include an estimation module that estimates the corresponding parameter based on the available system parameters. This estimation device can be implemented in the electronic control device 11.

[0052] As the example of Fig. 1To illustrate, the control device 11 can actively manipulate the supporting structure 13 by means of the actuators 18, depending on internal influences, in order to increase or at least ensure the stability of the supporting structure 13. For example, if a load is to be lifted by the load-handling device 8, the control device 11 can proceed as follows: All necessary or helpful parameters of the load and / or operating state are recorded via the sensors 20, and, if necessary, additional parameters are estimated by the aforementioned estimation device 22. In particular, the determination device 19 can determine the setup state of the crane via the aforementioned sensors 20 and, if necessary, the estimation device 22, especially the outrigger and / or bracing geometry, the ballasting, the tower height, the boom length, and / or other relevant setup state parameters such as permissible maximum travel speeds.Alternatively or additionally, the determining device 19 determines the angular position of the boom 3 and / or the positioning of the trolley 10 on the boom 3 and / or the resulting maximum lifting load and / or maximum lifting speed. This information can be known to or provided to the control device 11 even before the intended crane movement. The actual lifting movement is only displayed on the control device 11 by actuating a control element, for example, a joystick, whereby the lifting movement can also be part of an automatically controlled travel movement of the crane. If the lifting movement is known to or displayed to the crane control system, the actual lifting load and speed can be determined by the sensors 20, for example, by a load measuring axis and a speedometer on the hoist.At the same time, additional sensors, which can be attached to the supporting structure of crane 2, for example in the form of strain gauges and / or tilt sensors on the steel structure and / or force measuring elements on the guy wires, can be used to record the responses to the mechanical effects of the lifting movement.

[0053] The control device 11 can check and process the aforementioned data for accuracy or plausibility in the manner described above. Quantities that cannot be detected by sensors, or only with difficulty, such as the deformation of the boom tip, can be calculated and / or estimated with sufficient accuracy based on other information, such as the length and angle of the boom 3 and the guying geometry.

[0054] In addition to mechanical stresses or loads, other serviceability criteria such as deformation of the supporting structure 13 can also be detected by sensors or determined in other ways by the determining device 19.

[0055] To counteract excessive loads and / or deformations, the control device 11 can employ various actuation strategies. For example, the control device 11 can shorten tensile components and / or compressive components by actuating the corresponding actuators 18, and / or apply both strategies in combination. For example, the guy wires 15 and / or the top chord 60 of the boom 3 can be shortened by the corresponding actuators 18. Alternatively or additionally, the bottom chords 6u of the boom 3 and / or a guy wire 16, which may be hinged in a central section of the boom 3, can be lengthened by the corresponding actuators 18.

[0056] By shortening the upper chord and / or lengthening the lower chords and / or lengthening the intermediate support and / or shortening the guy wires, the deformation of the boom 3 can be actively manipulated, whereby the control device 11 can variably adjust this active manipulation depending on the load and / or operating conditions currently determined by the control device 19.

[0057] As the Figures 2 and 3 As shown, the control device 11 can also control or adjust the active manipulation of the supporting structure 13 depending on external influences such as crosswinds.

[0058] In the example of the Figures 2 and 3The sensor system 20 can directly measure wind direction via the aforementioned wind sensors 21. Alternatively or additionally, mechanical effects of the wind, such as stresses, strains, angle changes, slip or rotational forces, can also be detected by the sensor system 21, whereby redundant wind detection is possible if necessary.

[0059] The recording of external influences, such as the aforementioned crosswind, is advantageously carried out in addition to the recording or determination of the system parameters relevant to the example of the Fig. 1 are explained.

[0060] For example, consider crane 2 with a steeply angled boom 3, as shown in the Figures 2 and 3As shown, both the tower 4 and the boom 3 are deformed in the direction of the wind. To counteract such deformation, the control device 11 can actuate the actuators 15 depending on the parameters characterizing the wind load, in particular to shorten components subjected to tension, for example, parts of the bracing 14 and / or the windward lower chord 6u of the boom 3 and / or the windward corner legs or longitudinal chords 6 of the tower 4. Alternatively or additionally, the control device 11 can also cause components subjected to compression to lengthen by appropriately actuating the actuators 18, for example, parts of the bracing 14, a leeward lower chord of the boom 3 and / or leeward corner legs of the tower 4.

[0061] How in particular Fig. 2As shown, for example, a neck brace facing the wind can be shortened by means of a corresponding actuator 18. Alternatively or additionally, the lower strap 6u facing away from the wind can be lengthened by actuating the actuator 18 assigned to the lower strap 6u.

Claims

1. Lifting device, in particular crane (2) such as a slewing tower crane and / or a mobile crane, having a supporting structure (13), a determination apparatus (19) for determining a load state and / or operating state of the supporting structure (13), and also a control device (11) for controlling actuators (18) of the lifting device as a function of the determined load state and / or operating state, the actuators (18) being associated with the supporting structure (13) in order to actively tighten and / or deform the supporting structure (13) in a variable manner during operation of the lifting device, characterized in that the determination apparatus (19) comprises a prediction apparatus which is designed to predict, on the basis of recorded data relating to previous uses of the lifting device and their load and operating data, a change in the detected current load state and / or operating state, and the control device (11) is configured, by means of the actuators (18), as a function of the predicted change in the detected load state and / or operating state, to temporarily and variably tighten and / or deform the supporting structure (13) in order to relieve highly loaded parts of the supporting structure.

2. Lifting device according to the preceding claim, wherein the supporting structure (13) comprises at least one jib (3) from which a load-receiving means (8) extends, and optionally a tower (4), the actuators (18) being designed to variably tighten and / or deform the jib (3) and optionally also the tower (4) during operation of the lifting device.

3. Lifting device according to the preceding claim, wherein the actuators (18) are designed to variably lengthen and / or shorten longitudinal members (6) of the jib (3) and / or of the tower (4) during operation.

4. Lifting device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the determination apparatus (19) is configured to identify parts of the supporting structure which are subject to compressive loading during operation of the lifting device and / or parts of the supporting structure which are subject to tensile loading during operation of the lifting device, and wherein the control device (11) is configured, by means of the actuators (18), to shorten parts of the supporting structure that are subject to tensile loading during operation of the lifting device and / or to lengthen parts of the supporting structure that are subject to compressive loading during operation of the lifting device.

5. Lifting device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the determination apparatus (19) is designed to determine a wind load acting on the supporting structure (11), in particular a wind force and wind direction, the control device (11) being designed to shorten at least one section of the supporting structure arranged on the windward side and / or to lengthen at least one section of the supporting structure arranged on the leeward side, as a function of the determined wind load.

6. Lifting device according to the preceding claim, wherein the control device (11) is designed to variably lengthen, by means of the actuators (18), a lower member on the leeward side of a jib (3) and / or corner posts on the leeward side of a tower (4) as a function of the determined wind load and / or to variably shorten a lower member on the windward side of the jib (3) and / or the corner posts on the windward side of the tower (4) and / or a windward guying element (15) as a function of the determined wind load.

7. Lifting device according to either of the two preceding claims, wherein the determination apparatus comprises at least one wind-speed sensor and at least one wind-direction sensor for determining the wind load, and the control device (11) is designed to manipulate the supporting structure by means of the actuators (18) temporarily and variably as a function of the detected wind speed and direction.

8. Lifting device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the determination apparatus (19) comprises a detection system (20) for detecting deformations and / or loads of a jib (3) and / or of a tower (4) and / or of guying (14) for said jib (3) and / or said tower (4), and the control device (11) is designed to actively manipulate the supporting structure (13) by means of the actuators (18) as a function of sensor signals of said detection system (20) during operation of the lifting device.

9. Lifting device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the determination apparatus (19) comprises a detection system (20) for determining at least one load and / or operating parameter from the following group of parameters: equipment state, support geometry, ballast, tower height, jib length, angular position of the jib, trolley position, maximum possible lifting load, maximum possible lifting speed, actual lifting load, actual lifting speed, hoistcable force, and deformations of the supporting structure, the control device (11) being designed to actively manipulate the supporting structure (13) during operation of the lifting device by means of the actuators (18) as a function of the sensor signals of the detection system.

10. Lifting device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the determination apparatus (19) comprises an estimation apparatus for estimating at least one load and / or operating parameter on the basis of existing equipmentstate and / or load and / or operating data, and the control device (11) is designed to actively manipulate the supporting structure (13) by means of the actuators (18) as a function of the at least one estimated load and / or operating parameter.

11. Lifting device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the determination apparatus (19) is designed to identify parts of the supporting structure having a low reserve of load-bearing capacity and / or stability and parts of the supporting structure having a comparatively higher reserve of load-bearing capacity and / or stability, and wherein the control device (11) is designed, as a function of the identified parts of the supporting structure having low and / or comparatively higher load-bearing capacity and / or stability reserves, to actively tighten and / or deform the supporting structure (13) by means of the actuators (18) such that the load-bearing capacity and / or stability reserves of the parts of the supporting structure become more uniform and / or the parts of the supporting structure having low load-bearing capacity and / or stability reserves are relieved and / or the parts of the supporting structure having comparatively higher load-bearing capacity and / or stability reserves are loaded.

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