Crane and method for climbing a structure with a rotary tower crane

Abstract

The invention relates to cranes such as rotary tower cranes, comprising a tower (2), which supports a boom (5) that can be rotated about an upright axis of rotation, from which a lifting cable extends for lifting loads, and comprising a climbing device (10) for climbing a structure and / or co-climbing on a growing structure (9), wherein the climbing device has a support frame (11, 12) with securing means (13) for securing to the structure and a sliding guide for shifting the tower in the tower longitudinal direction, as well as a lifting device (20) for raising the tower relative to the support frame. The invention also relates to a method for climbing a structure with a crane of this type, in which the tower (2) is held completely on the structure (9) without its own ground support and is shifted in the tower longitudinal direction or for erecting and / or equipping a structure such as a wind turbine tower, and also to an adapter piece for securing a support frame for securing a crane to a turbine tower. According to the invention, the crane is held on the structure at least temporarily only by said one supporting frame (11, 12) and is shifted with respect to the structure by the lifting gear (20).

Description

[0001] 1961 -25 T / wb / she / sw

[0002] Liebherr-Werk Biberach GmbH

[0003] Crane and method for climbing a structure with a tower crane

[0004] The present invention relates to cranes such as tower cranes, with a tower supporting a jib rotatable about an upright axis of rotation, from which a hoist rope extends for lifting loads, and with a climbing device for ascending a structure and / or climbing along a growing structure, wherein the climbing device comprises a support frame having fastening means for attachment to the structure and a sliding guide for moving the tower in the longitudinal direction, as well as a lifting device for raising the tower relative to the support frame. The invention further relates to a method for ascending a structure with such a crane, in which the tower is held completely against the structure without its own ground support and moved in the longitudinal direction, or for erecting and / or equipping a structure such as a wind turbine tower, and furthermore to an adapter for attaching a support frame for attaching a crane to a turbine tower.

[0005] When constructing tall buildings, cranes such as tower cranes are regularly used, which essentially grow along with the building, bracing themselves against it as they go. Various approaches are employed, and correspondingly, differently designed climbing systems are used. On the one hand, climbing systems are used that allow additional tower sections to be gradually "climbed" into the tower, so that the tower can grow in height piece by piece, or conversely, after the building is completed, be shortened and dismantled piece by piece. Such climbing systems are known, for example, from German patent applications DE 20 2005 009 236 U1 and DE 20 2014 003 465 U1. With this approach, the tower can brace itself against the ground, with the tower only being anchored to the building to prevent it from toppling over or buckling.

[0006] On the other hand, there are also climbing systems that move the tower upwards along the structure and themselves climb the growing building piece by piece by alternately moving the tower a short distance and then repositioning the supporting frame. This approach is often used in so-called interior climbing, where the tower is positioned and anchored, for example, in an elevator shaft or inside the tower of a wind turbine. Typically, the tower is supported on the structure at two separate guide levels via clamping frames spaced relatively far apart, 8 meters or more apart, so that the loads from the crane are distributed across two levels and not concentrated at a single point within the structure.Once the structure has grown sufficiently high, a third clamping frame can be anchored further up, and the tower can then be moved upwards to be anchored to this third frame as well as the previously uppermost clamping frame. This approach, where the tower is no longer directly supported by the ground but rather by the structure itself, has the advantage that the crane tower does not require the full height of the building; a much taller structure can be erected or worked on with a relatively short tower.

[0007] For very tall structures, such as the towers of wind turbines, which, unlike skyscrapers or residential towers, don't require complex interior layouts with apartment divisions, mobile crawler cranes are now commonly used to assemble the actual wind turbine—the nacelle and the rotor blades attached to it—at the top of the tower. This is a complex but time-limited, one-off job, and therefore fits the operating profile of a mobile crane. However, with the ever-increasing hub heights of modern wind turbines, even large mobile cranes with crawler tracks and derrick booms are reaching their limits in terms of lifting height and load capacity, and correspondingly larger mobile crawler cranes become exorbitantly expensive.

[0008] Current wind turbines typically have hub heights of around 150m, but hub heights are expected to increase further in the near future, likely reaching 200m and then 230 to 250m, with the aim of achieving turbine outputs of up to 10kW. This will make the components of the actual wind turbine, namely nacelle, rotor, generator, etc., that need to be lifted to the top of the tower even heavier.

[0009] In addition to the technical requirements for cranes, the costs associated with increasingly tall wind turbines also rise sharply. For example, sufficiently large crawler cranes can cost tens of millions of euros to purchase. Besides this purchase price, the logistics costs for assembling and disassembling the crane and transporting it to the construction site are of paramount importance. For the aforementioned crawler cranes, logistics costs can reach several hundred thousand euros due to the enormous ballast weights and the massive components that need to be transported, making transport difficult and assembly complex.

[0010] To significantly reduce these exorbitant logistics costs, a fundamental approach is to use a tower crane, attached to the structure itself, for the erection and / or equipping of wind turbine towers or similarly tall structures. This eliminates the enormous ballast weights of ground-based crawler cranes and their difficult road transport, leading to a significant reduction in logistics costs. However, to avoid negating this advantage through the complex assembly of the tower crane on the structure under construction, it is necessary to design the tower crane and its attachment to the tower in such a way as to achieve simple assembly while maintaining sufficient stability to mount the heavy equipment and system components on the uppermost section of the tower without requiring lengthy and difficult assembly processes.

[0011] For example, document EP 27 15 113 B1 proposes the use of two cranes with different lifting capacities for erecting a wind turbine. A lighter crane is used to erect the wind turbine tower and is anchored to the growing tower with a support frame. The support frame is moved along the tower using a climbing device and anchored with new anchor points at each stage. A stronger or heavier tower crane is then pulled up the erected wind turbine tower and anchored there to lift heavy structural components such as the nacelle.

[0012] EP 40 06 265 A1 proposes, for climbing a tower with a crane, to provide a series of anchor points on the tower into which adjustable anchors of the tower's climbing device can be attached, in order to gradually raise the climbing device together with the crane tower up the building tower by changing the anchor points and moving the fastening anchors.

[0013] EP 40 95 086 proposes a tower crane whose tower is divided into two separate telescopic sections and can be anchored to the building under construction by means of three support frames. One support frame is located between the two telescopic sections, and the other two support frames are positioned at opposite ends of the two telescopic sections. This allows one of the three support frames to be detached from the building while the other two anchor the tower to the building. One of the two telescopic sections can then be extended or retracted before the detached support frame is re-anchored to the building and another support frame is detached. NL 20 19 462 A1 proposes that, during the construction of a tower-like structure, a track-like sliding guide be gradually attached to it, along which a crane with a sliding guide can be moved progressively upwards.

[0014] Further climbing equipment for climbing structures with a crane is shown in documents WO 2020 / 234435 A1 and EP 33 56 280 A1.

[0015] The climbing systems known from the prior art can be improved in several respects. For example, climbing systems that use the building as a crane base and push the tower upwards on the building typically require a predetermined building height to adequately support the crane tower. This means that in the initial construction phase, when the building has not yet reached this required height, a different crane often has to be used to erect the lowest part of the building. At the same time, crane assembly becomes relatively complex if the building needs a certain minimum height to accommodate the crane, as the crane, or its upper components such as the boom, then have to be installed at a considerable height.

[0016] On the other hand, such climbing devices, which can push the crane tower upwards on the building, often require a relatively large number of components and the repositioning of the support frames is relatively complex, making the crane climbing logistically challenging and requiring all necessary components to be readily available.

[0017] Furthermore, the climbing speed is currently limited, or the crane's operating times are often interrupted, for example when the climbing traverse has to be moved several times to move the tower upwards piece by piece.

[0018] In contrast, the present invention is based on the objective of creating an improved tower crane and an improved method for climbing or equipping a structure with a tower crane of the aforementioned type, avoiding the disadvantages of the prior art and advantageously developing the latter further. Preferably, an improved climbing device for a tower crane is to be created that enables continuous climbing operation at high climbing speeds and without prolonged interruptions in crane operation, requiring minimal personnel, reducing the assembly effort for mounting the crane on the structure, and enabling its use even on very low structures.In particular, the aim is to achieve simple assembly of a tower crane on tall, slender structures and a drastic reduction in logistics costs for the construction of very tall structures that support heavy equipment such as wind turbines on their tops, without compromising the stability and precision required for the assembly process.

[0019] According to the invention, the aforementioned problem is solved by a tower crane according to claim 1 and a method according to claim 17. Preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0020] It is therefore proposed that during assembly, the crane be fixed to the aforementioned support frame with an upper tower section, and that the tower and / or crane be fully assembled while the upper tower section is held against the support frame. The crane would then be continuously pushed upwards along the support frame over essentially its entire height until a lower tower section reaches the support frame. This continuous upward movement over the entire height of the tower not only allows for efficient assembly but also avoids dynamic loads caused by stop-and-go movements. Continuous upward movement in one continuous motion also reduces wear and tear on the materials.

[0021] According to the invention, the crane is held at least temporarily on the structure only by the single support frame mentioned above and is moved relative to the structure by the hoisting mechanism. According to one aspect of the invention, the hoisting mechanism can comprise a hoisting frame encompassing the tower and a hoisting cable system that is articulated to the hoisting frame on different sides of the tower and provides a lifting path for the hoisting frame that extends below the support frame over substantially the entire height of the tower, so that the tower can be continuously moved by the hoisting frame and the hoisting cable system over substantially its entire height through the support frame or along the support frame.

[0022] By using this type of lifting cable system on different sides of the tower and a lifting frame encompassing the tower, not only the tower itself but also individual tower sections can be moved upwards in a balanced manner, or downwards during dismantling. At the same time, the lifting cable system allows for precise movement of the tower and high lifting speeds over greater heights.

[0023] The aforementioned hoisting system can include a hoist cable that can be reeved multiple times onto the hoisting frame and routed to the various sides of the tower via these multiple reeving points. In particular, the hoisting system can be routed to all sides of the tower. If a tower with a rectangular cross-section is used, the hoisting system can be provided on all four sides of the tower.

[0024] In a further development of the invention, the aforementioned multiple reeving of the lifting cable can, on the one hand, have deflection pulleys evenly distributed around the circumference of the lifting frame, and on the other hand, deflection pulleys evenly distributed around the circumference of the supporting frame on the building side or an auxiliary frame that can be supported thereon, between which the lifting cable is guided back and forth in a meandering manner.

[0025] The aforementioned lifting frame is advantageously displaceable relative to the tower along its longitudinal axis, with a holding device being provided for fixing the lifting frame to a specific or desired section of the tower, so that the lifting frame can be moved along the tower when the holding device is released and can support the tower when the holding device is locked. In particular, the aforementioned lifting frame can be fixed to different tower sections by the holding device, so that the lifting frame can be used either for raising and lowering individual tower sections to different assembly heights on the one hand, and for raising and lowering the entire assembled tower on the other.

[0026] For example, individual tower sections can be attached to the support frame by closing the holding device and then mounted upwards onto a tower section already attached to, or mounted on, the support frame. Once the tower section is mounted, the lifting frame lowers to pick up the next tower section.

[0027] Advantageously, a tower section can be pulled or pushed out of the lifting frame once the holding device is released. This significantly simplifies the assembly process, as, for example, a tower section waiting on the ground can be approached from above in an upright position by the lifting frame, allowing the tower section to be threaded into the lifting frame and then secured by closing the holding device.

[0028] Simultaneously, the movable lifting frame along the tower allows the hoist to be used to raise the crane beyond the height adjustment range of a single support frame by attaching a second support frame to the structure above the first. Once the crane and its tower have been raised relative to the first support frame, the crane, and in particular its tower, can be temporarily secured to both support frames using an auxiliary support device – with its tower base attached to the lower support frame and its upper section to the upper support frame.

[0029] Due to the movable nature of the lifting frame / hoisting mechanism, the hoisting mechanism can then be moved upwards along the tower to the upper support frame and fixed / mounted to it, so that the same hoisting mechanism can again be used to continuously push the crane upwards again over essentially its entire tower height relative to the second support frame.

[0030] The aforementioned holding device, by means of which the lifting frame can be fixed to a tower section, can be designed in various ways, for example, by including positive locking means. For instance, the holding device can include transversely extendable and retractable locking bolts that can engage with the contours of a tower section. Alternatively, the holding device can include a lug that can engage automatically.

[0031] Alternatively or additionally, the holding device can also include friction-fit holding means, for example friction-fit clamping jaws that can be pressed against the longitudinal straps of a turret section.

[0032] A hoist drive for raising and lowering the hoist rope can advantageously include a hoist winch, which can be mounted inside the tower. Alternatively, such a hoist drive can also be mounted on the building structure, for example, on the support frame that is attached to the structure. As an alternative to mounting on the building structure, the hoist drive can also be positioned on the ground, for example, in the immediate vicinity of the building.

[0033] As mentioned previously, it is possible to raise the tower using two support frames. Each frame can independently hold the tower and its supporting boom against the structure while simultaneously shifting it relative to the building. This allows only one of the two support frames to be attached to the structure at any given time, or for one to be detached at a time. While one support frame is fully functional, holding the crane against the structure and shifting it relative to the building, the other support frame can be detached and reattached elsewhere for use in the next shifting phase.Since each support frame is sufficiently stable and designed to bear all forces and moments on its own, the entire tower crane can be held on the building by just a single support frame even during operation with lifting operations of loads, without the need for additional bracing to the building and the need to install it.

[0034] For example, the climbing device can also include two or more support frames, each designed to hold the tower and the boom mounted on it on the structure and to guide it slidably on its own, thereby transferring all forces and moments acting on the tower into the structure, so that one of the two support frames can be detached from the structure at any given time.

[0035] By concentrating all shear forces in combination with the crane's climbing function, the climbing process can be significantly accelerated and, due to reduced personnel requirements, carried out more safely and economically. In particular, the independent, self-contained functionality of each support frame allows the climbing mechanism, and thus the crane, to be mounted and commissioned on the structure with only one support frame, even at very low building heights. This considerably simplifies assembly, as it can be carried out at minimal height, significantly reducing assembly costs and greatly increasing safety. Simultaneously, integrating the complete holding, climbing, and adjustment of the tower into each of the two support frames allows for simple handling with fewer parts, as only two support frames are needed to enable the crane to climb and anchor itself to the structure.

[0036] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, a sliding guide can be provided on each support frame, comprising two guide planes spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the tower, each containing sliding guide elements for slidably guiding the tower. These sliding guide elements absorb lateral forces transverse to the longitudinal direction of the tower and / or prevent lateral movements of the tower transverse to the tower's longitudinal axis. The tower can be guided in the sliding guide planes transverse to the tower's longitudinal axis with essentially no play, while movements of the tower in the direction of the tower's longitudinal axis are permitted. In particular, the tower is fixed in all directions transverse to the tower's longitudinal axis by the sliding guide planes, so that the tower remains movable only in one direction, namely the longitudinal direction.

[0037] The aforementioned sliding guide elements can have guide rollers and / or sliding pieces that roll on the longitudinal chords of the tower or the tower wall, and which can be arranged on several sides of the tower. If the tower is advantageously designed as a truss structure, which is built from several longitudinal chords and cross braces reinforcing the longitudinal chords, the sliding guide elements can roll or slide along the longitudinal chords.

[0038] Advantageously, each longitudinal belt of the tower can be assigned at least one sliding guide element in the form of a roller or a sliding piece in each of the two guide planes, whereby each belt can be encompassed sector by sector by the at least one sliding guide element or guided from different sides.

[0039] In contrast to the state of the art, the two guide levels can be arranged relatively close to each other, for example at a distance of only 2 m to 5 m, so that on the one hand the loads are introduced in a very concentrated manner, but on the other hand bending moments can be carried away without overloading the tower structure.

[0040] The two guide levels, or the sliding guide elements arranged within them, are rigidly positioned relative to each other. The support frame can, for example, be a stable steel beam construction or be made of fiber-reinforced plastic beams that rigidly connect the two guide levels and form a rigid enclosure or profile within the guide levels, to which the sliding guide elements are mounted.

[0041] Via the two aforementioned guide levels of the support frame, the respective support frame alone can absorb all bending moments and shear forces acting on the tower, or rather, all bending moments and shear forces acting on the tower are introduced into the respective support frame only via the two aforementioned guide levels and then introduced into the structure via the fastening means of the support frame.

[0042] The fastening devices for the support frames can be of various designs, in particular including positive-locking anchors that can rigidly anchor the support frame to the structure at several points. Advantageously, the fastening devices are designed to be detachable or equipped with detachable coupling devices to allow the support frame to be easily anchored to and detached from the structure if it needs to be repositioned.

[0043] Advantageously, the aforementioned coupling means can comprise pin couplings or connections that hold the respective support frame to the structure, with such pin connections preferably being arranged distributed across two superimposed planes. Preferably, several coupling means or pin connections are arranged spaced apart from one another in at least one plane or in each of the two planes. However, it may generally be sufficient to provide two spaced-apart couplings in one plane and one further coupling in the second plane.

[0044] Surprisingly, with a sufficiently stable support frame, even a large, massive tower crane can be held and fixed to a tall, slender structure for operation by just a single support frame, whereby the single support frame can firmly hold the tower root or base of the tower crane to the structure, so that the tower crane can extend upwards from the single support frame with essentially its entire length or height, or stand freely, without the need for further cross bracing to the structure being erected.

[0045] Preferably, during the erection and / or fitting of the uppermost part of the structure, the boom can be rotated about an upright axis of rotation relative to the rigidly mounted tower and rocked up and down about the aforementioned rocking axis in order to control the working area of ​​the load hook in the desired manner and, for example, to be able to precisely position equipment parts to be mounted, such as rotor blades.

[0046] In a further development of the invention, the boom of the tower crane can also be designed to be telescopic. The change in length of the boom, which may be extended, allows for a more refined positioning of the reach of the load hook and thus of the positioning of the equipment component to be mounted.

[0047] Surprisingly, despite the tower crane being secured by only one support frame that rigidly holds the base section of the tower to the central section of the structure, very high construction heights can be achieved or equipment components can be mounted in very high positions, for example, the parts of wind turbines at rotor heights of 200m or more.

[0048] For example, during operation, the tower crane can be mounted on plant towers with heights well over 150m, or, for example, 200 to 250m, using only a single support frame. Advantageously, the support frame can be mounted at approximately 40% to 50% of the maximum height of the structure being erected. For a plant tower of, say, 200m, the support frame can be mounted at a height of approximately 90m, allowing the tower crane to stand freely upwards to a height of, for example, 110m without any further cross bracing. Alternatively, instead of climbing the tower as described above, the tower crane can also be mounted on the structure using only the aforementioned single support frame, in which case additional lifting equipment such as auxiliary cranes can be used.In particular, the tower of the tower crane can first be mounted to the support frame with an upper tower section and then, with the support frame attached to the building, pushed upwards relative to the support frame until the base section of the tower reaches the support frame and essentially its entire height is positioned above the support frame. In this intended working position, the tower can then be locked or fixed to the support frame. The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings. The drawings show:

[0049] Fig. 1: a side view of a crane according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, which is mounted on the tower of a wind turbine by means of a support frame and mounts a rotor blade of the wind turbine,

[0050] Fig. 2: a partially enlarged side view of the crane from Fig. 1, showing the support frame mounted at the base of the tower as well as an additional auxiliary support on the upper section of the crane tower,

[0051] Fig. 3: a perspective view of the support frame mounted on the structure, here on the tower of the wind turbine, showing the mounting points of the support frame on the structure,

[0052] Fig. 4: a side view of the support frame from Fig. 1, wherein an additional device in the form of an auxiliary crane is arranged on the support frame,

[0053] Fig. 5: a perspective view of the support frame on the structure similar to Fig. 3, wherein a detachable support frame part is mounted on the fixed support frame part, which forms a sliding guide for the tower of the crane and has deflection means for the lifting cable of the lifting frame,

[0054] Fig. 6: a perspective view of the support frame with the attached sliding guide part in which a tower section is received, showing the lifting frame encompassing the tower,

[0055] Fig. 7: a side view of the crane from the preceding figures during the lifting process, by which the assembled crane is continuously pushed upwards on the support frame by means of the lifting frame and the lifting cable system; Fig. 8: a representation of the lifting frame encompassing the tower and the lifting cable system sheared onto it, with partial view (a) showing the lifting cable system sheared onto the lifting frame and partial view (b) showing the hoist drive on the tower.

[0056] Fig. 9: a side view of the crane during the assembly process, wherein an upper tower section is already mounted on the support frame and an additional tower section is raised into the assembly position by means of the lifting rope and the lifting frame, wherein the partial view (a) shows the additional tower section still at ground level and the partial view (b) shows the tower section raised upwards,

[0057] Fig. 10: a side view of the crane in a position pushed upwards relative to the lower first support frame, in which an additional second support frame is attached to the structure at the upper end section of the tower, but the tower is still held solely by the lower support frame and the hoist and lifting frame articulated to it.

[0058] Fig. 11: a side view of the crane similar to Fig. 10, wherein the crane is held by means of an auxiliary holding device on the upper and lower support frame in order to be able to detach a detachable support frame section on which the hoist is provided,

[0059] Fig. 12: a side view of the crane similar to Figures 10 and 11, wherein the detachable support frame section has been detached from the lower support frame and has already been moved a short distance upwards along the tower, with partial view (a) showing upward movement by means of the hoist 20 and its hoisting cable 21 and partial view (b) showing upward movement of the detachable support frame section by means of the crane's hoist. Fig. 13: a sequence of the initial assembly steps for climbing the structure with the crane, wherein initially the support frame is mounted on the structure and further steps are shown until the uppermost tower section is attached to the support frame.

[0060] Fig. 14: a further sequence of assembly steps showing the assembly of the upper crane including boom on the upper tower section,

[0061] Fig. 15: a further sequence of assembly steps in which further tower sections are attached using the lifting frame and the lifting ropes and the tower is assembled, and after the tower has been assembled the entire crane is lifted upwards over essentially the entire tower height relative to the support frame,

[0062] Fig. 16: a further sequence of climbing steps by means of which the crane is mounted on a second upper support frame beyond the adjustment range of the first support frame and the hoisting mechanism including hoisting rope and hoist frame is moved from the lower support frame to the upper support frame, and

[0063] Fig. 17: a side view of the crane and the hoist cable system, with partial view (a) showing a positioning of the hoist drive on the ground and partial view (b) showing a positioning of the hoist drive on the support frame.

[0064] As the figures show, the tower crane, in a manner known per se, comprises an elongated, slender tower 2, which can be designed as a truss structure. For example, the tower 2 can comprise several longitudinal chords 3 connected to one another by a plurality of transverse struts 4, so that the longitudinal chords 3 and the transverse struts 4 together form a truss-like grid structure, cf. Figure 10.

[0065] The tower 2 carries a boom 5 which can be rotated about an upright axis of rotation 6 by means of a slewing mechanism, wherein the tower crane 1 is designed in particular as a so-called top-slewing crane, so that the boom 5 can be rotated relative to the tower 2.

[0066] The boom 5 can extend horizontally, but the boom 5 can also be designed to be tiltable or tilted up and down by a tilting mechanism in order to be moved into different, more or less steep tilting positions or into a horizontal boom position.

[0067] A lifting cable 7 runs from the boom 5, which can be pulled in and lowered by a hoist, and a load lifting device such as a load hook 8 can be attached to the lifting cable 7 in order to be able to lift loads.

[0068] The lifting rope 7 can, for example, run from the boom tip, or from a trolley which can be moved along the boom 5 by a trolley drive, so that the hollow point of the lifting rope 7 can be adjusted along the boom 5.

[0069] As the figures show, the tower crane 1 is mounted on the structure 9 to be erected, so that all forces and moments acting on the tower crane 1, such as its own weight, the lifting load and resulting bending moments, as well as wind loads and the like, are transferred to and carried away by the structure 9. In particular, the tower 2 is not directly supported on the ground itself, but is attached exclusively to the structure 9 to be erected.

[0070] A climbing device 10 is provided for mounting and attaching the tower crane 1 to the structure 9, by means of which the tower 2 can be held on the structure 9 and moved relative to it in the longitudinal direction of the tower, i.e. in an upright direction, and by means of which the tower crane 1 can climb up and down the structure 9.

[0071] The aforementioned climbing device 10 comprises at least one, or for greater building heights, two or more support frames 11, 12, each of which can independently support the crane. Each support frame 11, 12 can be independently fully functional to support the tower crane 1 on the building 9 and adjust it relative to it. Accordingly, the tower crane 1 can be supported and adjusted relative to the building 9, at least temporarily, by only one of the support frames 11, 12, while the other support frame 11, 12 can be temporarily inactive and moved to a different position.

[0072] As shown in Figures 2 to 5, each of the support frames 11, 12 can have a rigid structure, in particular in the form of a frame or support structure, in order to hold the tower 2 of the tower crane stably on the structure 9.

[0073] Each of the support frames 11, 12 has fastening means 13 for attaching the support frame 11, 12 to the structure 9, and on the other hand a sliding guide 14 for slidingly guiding and holding the tower 2 in different sliding positions or height positions.

[0074] The aforementioned fastening devices 13 can, for example, be in the form of structural anchors that can be firmly anchored to the structure 9. Alternatively or additionally, other form-fitting fastening devices, such as expansion clamps or wrap-around clamps, can also be provided as fastening devices 13. These are form-fitting to the structure to be erected and can be clamped or held against it by friction. For example, in the case of a slender wind turbine tower, a wrap-around clamp encircling the tower can be provided as a fastening device.

[0075] Preferably, several fastening means 13 are arranged at intervals on each support frame 11, 12 in order to anchor the support frame 11, 12 at several intervals, for example in the manner of a triple or multiple connection to the structure 9, see Fig. 2 and Fig. 4.

[0076] The sliding guide 14 of the respective support frame 11, 12 advantageously comprises two spaced-apart, in particular superimposed, guide planes 15, 16 in each of which sliding guide means 17 are provided, which on the one hand prevent transverse movements of the tower 2 relative to the support frame 11, 12 and introduce transverse forces from the tower 2 into the support frame 11, 12, but on the other hand allow movement of the tower 2 in the longitudinal direction of the tower in accordance with the arrow 18, cf. Fig. 6, so that the tower 2 can be moved relative to the support frame 11, 12 in the longitudinal direction of the tower.

[0077] The aforementioned sliding guide elements 17 can, for example, comprise guide rollers that can roll on the longitudinal flanges 3 of the tower 2. Alternatively or additionally, sliding guide blocks can also be provided as sliding guide elements 17, on which the aforementioned longitudinal flanges 3 can slide or glide. The aforementioned sliding guide elements 17 can be shaped to fit the longitudinal flanges 3, for example, forming a hollow cylindrical shell contour as a guide bed for the longitudinal flanges 3.

[0078] The sliding guide means 17 in each guide level 15, 16 engage on different sides of the tower 2 to prevent movements of the tower 2 in all directions transverse to the tower's longitudinal axis.

[0079] The two guide levels 15, 16 of the respective support frame 11, 12 can be arranged one above the other with a distance from each other of, for example, one meter to seven meters or two meters to five meters or three meters to five meters.

[0080] To rigidly guide and hold the tower 2, the support frame 11, 12 can have a contour that encloses the tower 2 on at least three sides, in particular on the side facing away from the structure 9 and the two adjacent side surfaces. Preferably, however, the support frame 11, 12 can also have a ring contour or sleeve contour that encompasses the tower 2 on all four sides, in particular a closed ring contour or sleeve contour. In any case, the support frame 11, 12 has a ring-shaped contoured tower receiving opening, open at the top and bottom, through which the tower 2 can pass. To allow the tower 2 to be adjusted in the longitudinal direction relative to the support frame 11, 12, a lifting mechanism 20 is provided, which is articulated on one side to the currently active support frame 11, 12, i.e., the one anchored to the structure 9 and holding the tower, and on the other side to the tower 2.

[0081] The lifting mechanism 20 comprises a lifting frame 23 encompassing the tower 2 (see Fig. 6) and a lifting cable 21, which is articulated to the lifting frame 23 on various sides of the tower 2 and provides a lifting path for the lifting frame 23 that extends below the support frame 11, 12 over essentially the entire tower height 2H of the tower 2, so that the tower 2 can be continuously pushed through the support frame 11, 12 by the lifting frame 23 and the lifting cable 21 over essentially its entire tower height 2H (see Figures 7 and 8).

[0082] Advantageously, the lifting cable 21 can have a lifting cable 24 which is reeved multiple times onto the lifting frame 23 and is guided via the multiple reeving to the different sides of the tower 2, in particular to all four sides of the tower 2, cf. Figure 8.

[0083] The multiple reeving of the lifting cable 24 on the lifting frame 23 can advantageously include deflection pulleys 25 distributed evenly around the circumference of the lifting frame 23, as well as deflection pulleys 26 distributed evenly around the circumference of the support frame 11, 12 or an auxiliary frame supported thereon, between which the lifting cable 24 is guided back and forth in a meandering manner, cf. Fig. 8.

[0084] As Figures 12 and 16 illustrate, the lifting frame 23 is displaceable relative to the tower 2 along its longitudinal axis, with a holding device 26 being provided for fixing the lifting frame 23 to various sections of the tower 2, so that the lifting frame 23 can be used either for raising and lowering individual tower sections to different mounting positions (see Figure 15) or for raising and lowering the entire assembled tower 2 (see Figures 7 and 15). The holding device 26 can, for example, include positive locking means for selectively locking individual tower sections and the entire tower 2 at its base.

[0085] As shown in Fig. 8, the lifting cable of the rope assembly 21 can advantageously run onto a winch mounted on the tower 2 as a hoist drive 22, in order to be hauled in and lowered, whereby the tower 2 can be moved upwards relative to the support frame 11, 12 or, conversely, lowered downwards, cf. Fig. 7.

[0086] Alternatively or additionally, a hoist winch can also be provided on the support frame 11, 12 as a hoist drive 22 in order to be able to lift the tower 2 from the respective support frame 11, 12, cf. Fig. 17.

[0087] Alternatively or additionally, the hoist drive 22 can also be located externally from the crane, e.g. on the structure 9 or on the ground, see also Fig. 17.

[0088] By actuating the hoist 20, the tower 2 can then be moved upwards relative to the aforementioned first support frame 11, cf. Fig. 7, whereby the aforementioned first support frame 11 alone holds and also moves the tower 2. The hoist cable system 21 is designed such that the tower 2 can be moved continuously upwards along its entire length in one movement, cf. Figure 15, step 8 there.

[0089] If the structure has increased in height or its height exceeds the first displacement path (see Figs. 9 to 11 and 16), a second support frame 12 can be mounted transversely to the tower's longitudinal axis onto the tower 2 and anchored to the structure 9 (see Fig. 3). The installation of the second support frame 12 also includes connecting the hoist 20; that is, the hoist 21 is articulated on one side to the tower 2 and on the other side to the hoist drive 22 on the second support frame 12.

[0090] This allows tower 2 to be moved further upwards relative to the second support frame 12 in a further process step, cf. Figs. 11 and 12, whereby during this second movement phase and / or during any crane operation that takes place, tower 2 can be held on the structure 9 exclusively by the second support frame 12. If necessary, however, additional bracing on the structure is also possible, cf. figures

[0091] 1 and 2.

[0092] For moving the crane 1 onto a second or further support frame 12, the sliding guide 14 can be formed on a detachable support frame section 11 S, which is detachably and rigidly connected to a support frame section 11 F, 12F attached to the structure 9 and is movable along the tower 2, so that the support frame section 11 S with the sliding guide 14 is detachable from a first support frame 11, movable along the tower 2 to a second support frame 12 and can be attached to said second support frame 12, cf. Figure 12, while the tower 2 is held by means of an auxiliary holding device 27 on the two support frame sections of the first and second support frames 11, 12 attached to the structure 9, cf.Figures 11 and 12, wherein the tower 2 can again be fixed to the support frame section 11 S with the sliding guide 14 and, after releasing the auxiliary holding device 27, is again held solely by a support frame 12 as soon as the support frame section 11 S is mounted on the upper fixed frame part 12F, see Fig. 16.

[0093] The lifting cable 21 can remain articulated to the detachable support frame section 11 S, so that the lifting cable 21 and the lifting frame 23 articulated to it, together with the detachable support frame section 11 S, can be moved from the first support frame 11 to the second support frame 12, see Fig. 12.

[0094] The first support frame 11, which becomes inactive in this process, can at least initially remain attached to the structure 9. For example, the tower 2 can simply be pushed or pulled upwards out of the first support frame 11, see Fig. 16.

[0095] If the travel distance of the second support frame 12 is exhausted, the aforementioned first support frame 11 can be repositioned or a new support frame can be used and mounted transversely to the tower's longitudinal axis above the second support frame 12.

[0096] 2 are mounted and anchored to the structure 9, whereby the lifting mechanism 20 can then be remounted or the lifting mechanism 20 of the aforementioned first support frame 11 can be mounted to the next support frame by moving the support frame section 11 S along the tower 2 in order to enable another upward movement step.

[0097] Once the tower 2 has been moved into the desired working position, the movement of the tower 2 on the support frame 11 or 12 can be blocked, for example by locking, braking or blocking the aforementioned hoist 20.

[0098] Alternatively or additionally, a separate locking device can be provided that locks the tower 2 in a predetermined displacement position relative to the support frame 11, 12, for example by frictional braking or, preferably, by positive locking. For example, such a locking device can comprise a lug that includes a pivotable or sliding bolt, which preferably can fall or move into a locking position automatically and / or spring-loaded. Such a separate locking device can relieve the load on the hoist 20 during crane operation.

[0099] Surprisingly, with a sufficiently stable design of a support frame 11, 12, even a large, massive tower crane 1 can be held and fixed for operation on a tall, slender structure 9 by only a single support frame 11, 12, whereby the single support frame 11, 12 can firmly hold the tower root or the tower base of the tower 2 of the tower crane to the structure 9, so that the tower crane 1 can extend upwards from the single support frame 11, 12 with essentially its entire tower length or height, or can stand freely without the need for further cross bracing to the structure 9 to be erected.

[0100] Advantageously, by cleverly selecting the pivot point of the support frame, a comparatively much larger structure 9 can be erected using a relatively smaller tower crane 1. For example, the support frame can be attached to structure 9 at a point in the middle third of the structure's target height, so that during construction of the uppermost section or when installing components such as wind turbines, nacelles, etc., the lower third of structure 9 remains crane-free, and no tower 2 extends along the lower section of the structure. The tower crane 1 then only needs to bridge or operate the upper half or upper third of the structure's height with its lifting capacity.

[0101] Preferably, the upper third or upper half of the structure 9 to be bridged by the tower crane 1, i.e., the height difference between the assembly point of the support frame 11, 12 and the top of the structure 9, can be bridged partly by the tower 2 and partly by the jib 5. For this purpose, the jib 5 can advantageously be designed as a luffing jib 5 and be tilted about a horizontal luffing axis into a more or less steep inclined position, so that the jib 5 extends further upwards from the top of the tower 2.

[0102] Preferably, for example, the tower 2 can have a length or height that bridges approximately 50% to 90% or 60% to 85% of the aforementioned height difference, while the remaining 10% to 50% or 15% to 40% is then bridged by the luffing boom 5, see Fig. 1.

[0103] Preferably, the boom 5 can be rotated about an upright pivot axis 6 relative to the rigidly mounted tower 2 during the erection and / or fitting of the uppermost part of the structure and can be rocked up and down about the aforementioned rocking axis in order to control the working range of the load hook in the desired manner and, for example, to be able to precisely position equipment parts to be mounted, such as rotor blades, cf. Fig. 1.

[0104] In a further development of the invention, the boom 5 of the tower crane 1 can also be designed to be telescopic. The change in length of the boom 5, which may be luffed, allows for a more refined positioning of the reach of the load hook and thus of the positioning of the equipment component to be mounted.

[0105] Surprisingly, despite the tower crane 1 being secured by only one support frame 11, 12, which rigidly holds the base section of the tower 2 to the central section of the structure 9, very high construction heights can be achieved or equipment parts can be mounted in very high positions, for example the parts of wind turbines at rotor heights of 200m or more.

[0106] For example, the tower crane 1 can be mounted on plant towers with heights well over 150 m or, for example, 200 to 250 m using only a single support frame 11, 12, whereby the support frame 11, 12 can advantageously be mounted at approximately 40% to 50% of the maximum height of the structure 9 to be erected. For a plant tower of, for example, 200 m, the support frame 11, 12 can be mounted at a height of approximately 90 m, so that the tower crane 1 can then stand freely upwards to a height of, for example, 110 m without any further cross bracing to the tower 2.

Claims

1961 -25 T / wb / sw / nsc Liebherr-Werk Biberach GmbH Crane and methods for climbing a structure with a crane Claims 1. A crane with a tower (2) supporting a boom (5) rotatable about an upright pivot axis (6), from which a hoist rope (7) extends for lifting a load, and with a climbing device (10) for climbing a structure and / or climbing along a structure under construction (9), wherein the climbing device (10) comprises a support frame (11, 12) having fastening means (13) for attachment to the structure (9) and a sliding guide for moving the tower (2) in the longitudinal direction of the tower, and a hoisting mechanism (20) for lifting the tower relative to the support frame (11, 12), characterized in that the hoisting mechanism (20) comprises a hoisting frame (23) encompassing the tower (2) and a hoisting cable (21) which is articulated to the hoisting frame (23) on different sides of the tower (2) and provides a lifting path for the hoisting frame (23) which extends below the support frame (11, 12) extends over essentially the entire tower height (2H) of the tower (2),so that the tower (2) can be continuously pushed through the support frame (11, 12) by the lifting frame (23) and the lifting cable (21) over its essentially entire tower height (2H).

2. Crane according to the preceding claim, wherein the lifting rope system (21) has a lifting rope (24) which is reeved multiple times on the lifting frame (23) and is guided via the multiple reeving to the different sides of the tower (2), in particular to all four sides of the tower (2).

3. Crane according to the preceding claim, wherein the multiple reeving of the lifting rope (24) on the lifting frame (23) has deflection pulleys (25) distributed evenly around the circumference of the lifting frame (23) and deflection pulleys (26) arranged evenly around the circumference of the support frame (11, 12) or an auxiliary frame that can be supported thereon, between which the lifting rope (24) is guided back and forth in a meandering manner.

4. Crane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the lifting frame (23) is displaceable relative to the tower (2) along its longitudinal axis and a holding device (26) is provided for fixing the lifting frame (23) to different sections of the tower (2), so that the lifting frame (23) can be used selectively for raising and lowering individual tower sections into different height assembly positions and for raising and lowering the entire assembled tower (2).

5. Crane according to the preceding claim, wherein the holding device (26) has positive locking means for locking either individual tower sections or the entire tower (2) at its tower base.

6. Crane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the hoist (20) has a hoist drive (22) for actuating the rope (21) inside the tower (2), in particular in an uppermost tower section.

7. Crane according to one of claims 1-5, wherein the hoist (20) has a hoist drive (22) for actuating the rope (21) on the structure (9) or on the ground.

8. Crane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the climbing device (10) comprises two support frames (11, 12), each designed to hold the tower (2) and the boom (5) mounted thereon on the structure (9) and to guide it slidably on its own, thereby transferring all forces and moments acting on the tower (2) into the structure (9), such that one of the two support frames (11, 12) can be detached from the structure (9).

9. Crane according to the preceding claim, wherein a sliding guide (14) is provided on at least one or each of the support frames (11, 12) which has two guide planes (15, 16) spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the tower, in each of which sliding guide means are provided for slidably guiding the tower (2), wherein all bending moments and transverse forces acting on the tower (2) and acting transversely to the longitudinal direction of the tower can be introduced into the support frame (11, 12) via the said two guide planes (15, 16) and can be introduced into the structure (9) via the fastening means (13) of the support frame (11, 12).

10. Crane according to the preceding claim, wherein the sliding guide means (17) in each of the two guide planes (15, 16) guide the tower (2) without play and / or prevent lateral movements of the tower (2) in all directions extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the tower relative to the support frame (11, 12), so that the tower (2) can be moved relative to the support frame (11, 12) exclusively in the direction of the longitudinal direction of the tower.

11. Crane according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the sliding guide (14) is formed on a detachable support frame section (11S) which is detachably and rigidly connectable to a support frame section (11F, 12F) attached to the structure (9) and is movable along the tower (2), such that the support frame section (11S) with the sliding guide (14) is detachable from a first support frame (11), movable along the tower (2) to a second support frame (12) and attachable to said second support frame (12), while the tower (2) is attached to the two support frame sections of the first and second by means of an auxiliary holding device (27) to the structure (9). The support frame (11, 12) is held, wherein the tower (2) can again be fixed to the support frame section with the sliding guide (14) and, after releasing the auxiliary holding device (27), is again held solely by a support frame (12).

12. Crane according to the preceding claim, wherein the lifting cable (21 ) is articulated to the detachable support frame section (11 S) such that the lifting cable (21 ) and the lifting frame (23) articulated thereto together with the detachable support frame section (11 S) can be moved from the first support frame (11 ) to the second support frame (12).

13. Crane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the / each support frame (11 , 12) has a pivoting element for pivoting the hoist and for transferring all vertical loads acting on the tower (2) and / or all loads acting in the longitudinal direction of the tower, including weight forces and load forces, so that each support frame (11 , 12) in its active state absorbs all transverse forces, longitudinal forces and bending moments acting on the tower and introduces them into the structure (9).

14. Crane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the / each support frame (11 , 12) is designed to allow the tower (2) to be pulled out of the support frame in the longitudinal direction of the tower.

15. Crane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein in the operation of the crane (1) when lifting loads the tower (2) is held only by a support frame (11 , 12) and attached to the structure (9), wherein the tower (2) is held by the said only one support frame (11 , 12) at a tower base area and extends upwards from the support frame (11 , 12) freely without cross bracing to the structure (9) and carries the rotatable boom (5), so that all loads and bending moments are introduced via the tower base area into the only one support frame (11 , 12).

16. Crane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the boom (5) is designed as a luffing boom and can be tilted relative to the tower (2) about a horizontal luffing axis into an inclined position at an acute angle to the vertical, wherein the crane (1 ) is adapted to the structure (9) to be erected in such a way that the height difference between the support frame (11) mounted on the structure (9), which holds the crane (1 ) during the erection and / or loading of the uppermost part of the structure (9), and the uppermost part of the structure is bridged partly by the tower (2) and partly by the luffing boom (5), wherein preferably 60% to 90% of the said height difference corresponds to the height of the tower (2) and 10% to 40% of the said height difference is bridged by the luffing boom (5).

17. Method for climbing a structure (9) with a crane (1 ) by means of a climbing device (10) which has a support frame (11 , 12) which can be attached to the structure (9) and which slidably guides the tower (2) of the crane (1 ), characterized in that the crane (1 ) is held at least temporarily only by the aforementioned support frame (11 , 12) on the structure (9) and is thereby moved relative to the structure (9) by a lifting device (20).

18. Method according to the preceding claim, wherein the crane (1 ) is mounted on the said support frame (11 ) including the assembly of a boom (5) on the tower (2) and the crane (1 ) with its fully assembled tower (2) is continuously pushed through the support frame (11) over substantially its entire length by means of a lifting frame (23) which is held height-adjustable by a lifting cable (21 ) on different sides of the tower (2) and the fully assembled crane (1 ) is thus continuously lifted over substantially the entire tower height on the structure (9).

19. Method according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein during the assembly of the crane (1) a topmost tower section of the tower (2) is fixed to the support frame (11) and remains fixed to it throughout the entire assembly of the tower (2) and / or the crane (1), wherein by means of the lifting frame (23) and the lifting rope (21) a further tower section is gradually lifted and assembled to form the tower (2).

20. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein two support frames (11 , 12) alternately hold the tower (2) of the crane (1 ) on the structure (9) alone and the tower (2) is moved relative to it by the lifting device.

21. Method according to the preceding claim, wherein, after exhausting the travel distance of the tower (2) on a lower of the two support frames (11), the tower (2) is temporarily fixed to one or both support frames (11, 12) by means of an auxiliary holding device (27), and the lifting device (20) including its lifting cable (21) and its lifting frame (23) is moved from the lower support frame (11) along the tower (2) upwards to the second support frame (12) and mounted there on the second support frame (12).

22. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the tower (2) is held by only one of the support frames (11 , 12) during the operation of the crane (1 ) when lifting loads.

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