Crane and method for mounting same on a structure

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for mounting a crane (20), which comprises a tower (2) and a jib (4) supported on the tower, on a structure (9) by means of a mounting device (12) having a supporting frame (10) which can be fastened to the structure (9) and which supports the tower (2) of the crane (20), wherein a tower base (2F) of the crane (20) is fastened, with the tower (2) of the crane in an upside-down position, to the supporting frame (10) fastened to the structure (9), and, while the jib (4) mounted on the tower (2) is held by the supporting frame (10), the crane (2) is pivoted relative to the supporting frame (10) about a horizontal mounting pivot axis (14) from said upside-down position into an erect right-side-up position.

Description

[0001] 1964-25 T / wb / nsc / sw

[0002] Liebherr-Werk Biberach GmbH

[0003] Crane and methods for its assembly on a building

[0004] The present invention relates generally to the assembly of cranes on structures such as the towers of wind turbines. The invention relates, on the one hand, to a method for assembling a crane comprising a tower and a boom supported thereon, on such a structure by means of an assembly device having a support frame that can be attached to the structure and supports the crane tower. The invention further relates to the crane itself, which is provided with a tower supporting a boom rotatable about an upright boom pivot axis, from which a hoist cable for lifting a load extends, and with an assembly device for mounting the tower on a structure, wherein the assembly device comprises a support frame having fastening means for attachment to the structure and a detachable coupling for connecting the tower to the support frame.

[0005] When constructing tall buildings, tower cranes are regularly used, which essentially grow with the building and brace themselves against it. Various approaches are pursued, employing differently designed assembly and climbing equipment to support the crane not on the ground, but on the building itself. This allows the crane, with a limited tower height, to access much higher parts of the structure.

[0006] On the one hand, climbing devices are used, by means of which additional tower sections can be gradually "climbed" into the tower, allowing the tower to grow in height piece by piece, or conversely, to be shortened and dismantled piece by piece once the building is completed. Such climbing devices 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 support itself on the ground, with the tower only being anchored to the building to prevent it from toppling over or buckling. This not only requires a very tall tower, but also necessitates numerous assembly steps.

[0007] 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 both the third and the previously upper 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 need to be as tall as the building. Instead, a much taller structure can be erected or worked on with a relatively short tower. For very tall structures, such as the nacelles of wind turbines, which, unlike skyscrapers or residential towers, do not require complex interior layouts with apartment divisions, mobile crawler cranes are now commonly used to assemble the actual wind turbine component—the nacelle and the rotor blades attached to it—at the top of the tower.This is a complex but time-limited individual job, the execution of which therefore fits the operational 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, or corresponding, even 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, increasingly tall wind turbines also incur significantly rising costs. 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 such wind turbine towers or similarly tall structures. This eliminates the enormous ballast weights of ground-based crawler cranes and their difficult road transport, which alone leads to a significant reduction in logistics costs.

[0011] However, in order to avoid giving away or partially losing this advantage through the complex assembly of the tower crane on the building 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 still providing sufficient stability to mount the heavy equipment or plant components on the uppermost section of the plant tower without requiring long and difficult assembly processes.

[0012] 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.

[0013] 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.

[0014] EP 40 95 086 proposes a tower crane whose tower is divided into two separate telescopic sections and can be anchored to the building to be erected by means of three support frames, wherein one support frame is located between the two telescopic sections and the other two support frames are arranged at opposite ends of the two telescopic sections, so that one of the three support frames can be detached from the building while the other two anchor the tower to the building and one of the two telescopic sections can be extended or retracted at a time before the detached support frame is re-anchored to the building and another support frame is detached.

[0015] NL 20 19 462 A1 proposes that when erecting a tower-like structure, a track-like sliding guide should be gradually attached to it, along which a crane with a carriage guide can be moved further and further upwards.

[0016] Further climbing equipment for climbing structures with a crane is shown in documents WO 2020 / 234435 A1 and EP 33 56 280 A1.

[0017] 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.

[0018] Secondly, such climbing systems, which can push the crane tower upwards on the building, often require a relatively large number of components, and repositioning the support frames is relatively complex. This makes the crane climbing process logistically challenging, requiring all necessary components to be readily available. Furthermore, the climbing speed is currently limited, and the crane's operating time is often interrupted, for example, when the climbing beam has to be repositioned multiple times to move the tower upwards piece by piece.

[0019] In contrast, the present invention is based on the objective of creating an improved crane and an improved method for climbing or equipping a structure with a crane of the aforementioned type, avoiding the disadvantages of the prior art and advantageously developing the latter further. Preferably, improved assembly equipment and methods for a crane are to be created that enable simple, rapid assembly with minimal setup time and personnel, thereby reducing the assembly effort required to mount the crane on the structure. In particular, the aim is to achieve simple crane assembly 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 at their tops, without compromising the necessary stability and precision for the assembly process.

[0020] According to the invention, the aforementioned problem is solved by a method according to claim 1 and a crane according to claim 9. Preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0021] It is therefore proposed to provide a predefined interface on the building or structure to which the crane tower can be rigidly connected, allowing the structure to transfer the load from the interface to the ground. In particular, with wind turbines, part of the turbine tower can be used to reduce crane costs. Simultaneously, no ground space is required during the work process.

[0022] According to the invention, it is proposed that the crane, with its tower, is attached to the support frame fixed to the building structure in an upside-down position via a tower base. The crane, with its boom already mounted on the tower, is then pivoted from this upside-down position to an upright position around a horizontal pivot axis relative to the support frame. Unlike previous linear climbing movements involving the upward movement of the crane while it is already in its upside-down working position, this method involves moving the crane upwards along the building structure. The crane is first mounted upside down at the interface point, suspended from the tower base, and then pivoted around its base into the upright position. In this position, the tower head, which carries the boom, no longer hangs downwards or below the tower base, but stands upright above the base and the tower body located between the base and the tower head.

[0023] The assembly device for mounting the crane on the structure has a horizontal pivot axis for pivoting the tower from the aforementioned inverted position suspended from the support frame to the upright position standing on the support frame. This pivot axis can be located on the support frame and / or on the coupling for detachably connecting the tower to the support frame and / or on the tower itself. A pivoting device with a pivoting actuator can pivot the crane, with the boom mounted on the tower, from the aforementioned inverted position to the aforementioned upright position around the horizontal pivot axis, thereby increasing the crane's height according to the mounting height of the support frame on the structure.

[0024] This type of crane and assembly concept is characterized by very fast and simple assembly and requires no additional external auxiliary cranes. The interface between the structure and the crane system can be standardized, allowing for multiple uses. The compact dimensions of the main components—the tower and the upper crane encompassing the boom—significantly reduce logistics costs and associated emissions. Furthermore, both main components can be highly pre-assembled, considerably reducing assembly and disassembly efforts on the construction site. In addition, the lifting equipment can be assembled in confined spaces, resulting in significantly less environmental impact, for example, when constructing wind turbines in forested areas.In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the support frame and the swivel device are designed such that the crane, when swiveling from the inverted position to the upright position – and vice versa, when swiveling from the upright position to the inverted position during dismantling – can be held solely by the support frame, whereby the moment applied by the swivel device and all forces acting on the tower are transferred into the support frame. In particular, during the assembly process, including the swiveling operation between the inverted and upright positions, additional bracing such as cables between the tower and the structure, as well as additional auxiliary cranes or ground-based support devices, can be dispensed with. This considerably reduces the logistical effort, since all components required for erecting the crane can be provided on the crane itself and the support frame.

[0025] The crane can be supported by a single support frame not only during the assembly process but also during operation. This support frame can be designed to transfer all forces and moments acting on the tower into the structure, so that the crane is held solely by the support frame without any further connections between the tower and the structure. The support frame can, in particular, hold the tower at its base, so that the tower essentially rests on the support frame along its entire length or height without guy wires, or is fixed to it in a way that prevents bending and rotation.

[0026] For example, the detachable coupling for detachably attaching the turret to the aforementioned support frame can comprise two bolted connections through which the turret base can be connected to the support frame. Advantageously, a first bolted connection can define the mounting pivot axis, and a second bolted connection can be spaced apart from the first bolted connection in the longitudinal direction of the turret, wherein the aforementioned first and second bolted connections are independent of each other and can be detached and locked separately.

[0027] In particular, the supporting frame and the tower base can be designed such that, with the first bolt connection locked and the second bolt connection released, the tower can pivot by an angle of more than 145°, more than 175°, or 180° or even more relative to the supporting frame attached to the structure. Once the tower has reached its intended upright position through this pivoting motion, it can be fixed to the supporting frame in a rotationally and bending-resistant manner by locking the second bolt connection as well, i.e., by locking both the first and second bolt connections. The two bolt connections, due to their spacing from each other, block pivoting movements and can transfer all moments and forces acting on the tower into the supporting frame, which then transfers these forces and moments into the structure.

[0028] More than two bolted connections can also be provided, whereby, for example, a third and / or even a fourth bolted connection can be locked in the intended upright position of the turret to fix the turret against bending and rotation. This distributes the forces to be transmitted across several bolted connections.

[0029] The horizontal pivot axis for raising the crane can also be integrated into an interface at the base of the crane tower. Such an interface could, for example, comprise a frame-like tower base structure that surrounds the actual tower base and incorporates a pivoting mechanism. This type of mounting interface can then have detachable fasteners or a detachable coupling for attaching it to the supporting frame on the building. In other words, the detachable coupling itself does not necessarily have to define the horizontal pivot axis.

[0030] The support frame can advantageously be attached to the structure by means of several fasteners, which can be arranged in at least two superimposed planes. For example, the fasteners can have several pin connections arranged in two superimposed planes, each with a pin extending, for example, vertically, wherein at least two pin connections can be spaced apart from each other in at least one of the planes.To minimize dynamic stresses during assembly processes and simultaneously use the pivoting process to move the boom towards its intended working position, thereby reducing assembly times, a further development of the invention allows the extension to be pivoted counterclockwise relative to the tower's rotation when the tower is pivoted from its upside-down position to its upright position. In the area of ​​the boom head and / or the area of ​​the boom pivot point with which the boom is attached to the tower, a pivot axis for pivoting the boom relative to the tower can be provided, which is arranged horizontally, in particular parallel to the pivot axis about which the tower can be pivoted relative to the support frame.

[0031] By pivoting the boom in the opposite direction, the boom can be held or remain in a desired orientation despite and during the pivoting movement of the tower.

[0032] In particular, the boom can be held in an upright position during the raising and lowering of the tower during dismantling, in which the boom tip is essentially upright above the boom pivot point.

[0033] Advantageously, the aforementioned boom can be mounted in a horizontal position on the tower, which is suspended upside down from the support frame. This allows the boom to be delivered and mounted in this horizontal position, particularly on a transport vehicle such as a truck.

[0034] Before the crane is swung from its inverted position to its upright position, the boom can first be folded against the tower around the aforementioned pivot axis, so that the boom is already folded upright against the tower at the start of the slewing process. The tower then maintains this upright position due to the counter-rotating movement of the boom relative to the tower. Alternatively, it would also be possible to erect the crane without counter-rotating the boom, allowing the boom to retain the position in which it was attached to the tower. This means that when the tower is swung approximately 180°, the boom returns to a horizontal position once the crane has reached its upright working position.

[0035] In an advantageous further development of the invention, at least the crane tower can be designed to be telescopic, whereby the telescoping movements of the tower can be used in various ways for the assembly process. For example, after its delivery to the construction site, which can be done in a horizontal orientation, and its erection into an upside-down position, the tower can be extended from an initially retracted position in order to bring the upward-pointing tower base to the height of the support frame, i.e., to the assembly height at which the tower base can then be attached to the support frame for the slewing operation.

[0036] Alternatively or additionally, the tower can be extended and / or retracted to bring the downward-hanging tower head to the mounting height at which the delivered boom can be attached to the tower.

[0037] In particular, the tower, along with the attached boom, can first be telescoped in its upside-down position on the support frame, specifically to its minimum telescopic length. This allows for the smallest possible reach when slewing the crane from the upside-down position to the upside-down position, thus minimizing the lever arm for the boom mounted on the tower and keeping the torque required for the slewing operation to a minimum. Once the crane has reached its upside-down position on the support frame, the tower can be extended to raise the boom to a higher working position.Alternatively or in addition to the telescoping of the tower, the boom can also be telescoping, whereby for the assembly process the boom can advantageously be retracted, in particular to a minimum telescoping length, in order to keep the boom small and compact and thus minimize dynamic stresses.

[0038] If the crane is erected in its upright position, the boom can be extended, whereby, in a manner known per se, the boom can be extended to its maximum extent in more upright positions to achieve a maximum lifting height, while in shallower boom positions the boom can be retracted if necessary to reduce the reach of the crane and to take load limits into account.

[0039] The boom can be mounted on the tower in a way that allows it to tilt and be raised and lowered by a tilting mechanism. Alternatively, the boom can also be operated in a fixed, horizontal position, in which case a trolley can be moved along the boom by a trolley drive to adjust the reach of the hoist cable running from the trolley. Such a trolley can also be provided with a tilting boom.

[0040] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings. The drawings show:

[0041] Figs. 1 to 15: Side views of a crane during its assembly on a building, the figures showing a sequence of the various assembly steps,

[0042] Fig. 16: a side view of the support frame attached to the building, to which the crane tower can be mounted in a bend-resistant manner,

[0043] Fig. 17: a top view of the support frame from Fig. 16, Fig. 18: a side view of the crane fully assembled on a wind turbine tower in working position,

[0044] Fig. 19: a side view of the interface of the tower base mounted on the building-side support frame, which defines a horizontal pivot axis and has an actuator for pivoting the tower upwards, with the tower still shown in its downward-hanging upside-down position,

[0045] Fig. 20: a side view of the crane similar to Fig. 19, but with the tower already rotated by 90°,

[0046] Fig. 21: a side view similar to Figures 19 and 20, showing the crane in the fully swung-up, upside-down position,

[0047] Fig. 22: a side view of the interface mounted on the building-side support frame at the base of the tower, which has a horizontal pivot axis for pivoting the tower and a pivoting motor for pivoting, with the tower still shown in its downward-hanging, upside-down position, and

[0048] Fig. 23: a side view of the interface from Fig. 22 in an upward-facing position.

[0049] As the figures show, the crane 20, which can be designed as a tower crane, comprises an elongated, slender tower 2, which can be designed as a truss structure. The tower 2 can, for example, include several longitudinal chords connected by a multitude of cross braces, so that the longitudinal chords and cross braces together form a truss-like grid structure. Alternatively, the tower 2 can also be constructed of sheet metal profiles or as a single piece of hollow plastic profile, or—especially in the case of a telescopic design—from several pieces. The tower 2 supports a jib 4, which can be rotated about an upright jib pivot axis 7 by means of a slewing mechanism. The crane 20 can, in particular, be designed as a so-called top-slewing crane, so that the jib 4 can rotate relative to the tower 2.

[0050] The boom 4 can extend in a horizontal position during operation, but the boom 4 can also advantageously be designed to be tiltable or be tilted up and down around a horizontal tilting axis by a tilting mechanism in order to be able to be brought into different, more or less steep tilting positions or also into a horizontal boom position, cf. Figure 18.

[0051] A lifting cable 5 runs from the boom 4, which can be pulled in and lowered by a hoist, and a load lifting device such as a load hook can be attached to the lifting cable 5 in order to be able to lift loads.

[0052] The aforementioned lifting rope 5 can run from the boom tip or from a trolley which can be moved along the boom 4 by a trolley drive, so that the hollow point of the lifting rope 5 can be adjusted along the boom 4.

[0053] As the figures show, the crane 20 is mounted on the structure 9 to be erected, so that all forces and moments acting on the crane 20, 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.

[0054] As shown in Figure 18, the crane 20 is advantageously held in a bend-resistant and rotation-resistant manner on a support frame 10, whereby the crane 20 can be attached to the support frame 10 with the tower base 2F of the tower 2, so that the tower 2 is essentially free over its entire length or height without further bracing or connection to the structure 9 and supports the boom 4 with its tower head 2K.

[0055] As shown in Figures 16 and 17, the support frame 10 can be designed in the manner of a truss structure and attached to the building 9 by means of fasteners 15 in two superimposed planes, with several fasteners 15 being provided in each fastening plane (see Figure 17). The fasteners 15 can, for example, comprise upright pins by means of which the support frame 10 can be attached to fastening flanges or eyes on the building 9 (see Figure 17). The building-side fastening flanges or eyes can, for example, be permanently embedded in the masonry or, in the case of a steel structure of the building 9, welded and / or bolted and / or attached in another suitable manner.

[0056] The tower 2 can be mounted to the support frame 10 by means of a detachable coupling 11, wherein said coupling 11 can comprise two bolted connections 23 and 24, each of which can include horizontally oriented connecting bolts, cf. Figure 16. A first bolted connection 23 can form a pivot axis 14 for pivoting the crane 20 onto the support frame 10. The second bolted connection 24 can form a locking device 16, or a part thereof, to lock the erected crane, as shown in Figure 18, to the support frame 10 in a manner that prevents bending and rotation. As Figure 16 shows, the two bolted connections 23 and 24 can be spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the tower 2. For example, the two bolt connections 23 and 24 can be provided in the area of ​​the two fastening levels, in which the support frame 10 is attached to the structure 9 via the fastening means 15 in order to make the best possible use of the height of the support frame 10.

[0057] The aforementioned coupling 11 and its bolt connections 23 and 24 simultaneously form part of an assembly device 12, by means of which the crane 20 can be mounted on the structure 9, as shown in Figures 1 to 15.

[0058] The following procedure can be advantageously used: As shown in Figure 1, the tower 2 can first be delivered to the structure 9 in a horizontal orientation by means of a transporter 1, for example in the form of a truck, whereby the tower 2 can be telescoped in by means of its telescoping device 17.

[0059] The tower 2 can then be erected on the transporter 1, the transporter 1 being able to have a suitable swiveling device A for this purpose, for example in the form of a swivel drive comprising hydraulic cylinders.

[0060] As Figure 2 shows, the tower 2 is raised by about 90° so that it stands upright, but in fact upside down, i.e. with its tower base 2F facing upwards and its tower head 2K facing downwards on the transporter 1.

[0061] As illustrated in Figure 3, the tower 2 can then be extended by the telescoping device 17 so that the tower base 2F is positioned at the height of the support frame 10 attached to the structure 9. In this assembly position, the tower base 2F can then be mounted on the support frame 10, see Figure 4.

[0062] In particular, the first bolt connection 23 described above can be locked so that the turret 2 hangs upside down on the support frame 10, with the first bolt connection 23 defining a horizontal pivot axis 14, see Figure 16.

[0063] As Figures 19 to 23 show, the pivot axis 14 can also be a separate part of the interface provided at the tower base 2F, which can, for example, include a pivotable tower base bearing shoe that is pivotably attached to the lattice section of the tower 2 and forms its base 2F. The bearing shoe can then further have form-fitting coupling means on the support frame 10, for example, similar to the bolted connections described above, in order to be rigidly attached to the support frame 10. Advantageously, the connection between structure 9 and tower 2 takes place without additional components, and the interfaces at the tower base 2F and on the support frame 10 can be designed in such a way that no intermediate adapter pieces are required, although these would be possible in principle.

[0064] For example, the turret base 2F can have counter-rotating extendable bolts that can be inserted into the bearing eyes of the bolt connection 23 on the support frame 10 in order to be able to suspend the turret 2 in an upside-down position on the support frame 10.

[0065] As illustrated in Fig. 5, the transporter 1 can then be removed. The tower 2 hangs alone from the support frame 10.

[0066] According to Fig. 6, the boom 4 of the crane 20 can then be delivered by means of a transporter 1, for example in the form of a truck, preferably in a horizontal orientation and retracted by its telescoping device 18 to a minimum telescoping length.

[0067] The tower head 2K of the tower 2 can be moved to the appropriate mounting height for attaching the boom 4 by telescoping the tower 2, so that the boom 4 with its boom base 8 can be mounted on the tower head 2K.

[0068] Advantageously, the interface between turret 2 and boom 4 can also have machine-internal locking means, for example extendable bolt connections at the boom base 8 and / or at the turret 2, see Fig. 7.

[0069] After the boom 4 is attached to the tower 2 and, if necessary, the tower 2 has been telescoped in a short distance to raise the boom 4, the transporter 1 can be removed, see Fig. 8. The crane 20, including the tower 2 and the boom 4 mounted on it, now hangs alone from the support frame 10.

[0070] The boom 4 is pivotally mounted on the tower 2 about a horizontal boom pivot axis 21 and can be pivoted relative to the tower 2 by a boom pivoting device 22, in particular into a position folded against the tower 2, cf. Fig. 9, in which the boom 4, like the tower 2, assumes an upright position. This reduces the load on the tower and the erection kinematics, as well as on the support frame 10, for further assembly. In principle, however, it is also possible to assemble the crane 20 with the boom 4 in a horizontal starting position.

[0071] As illustrated in Fig. 10, the tower 2 can be telescoped in the downward-hanging, upside-down position, in particular to a minimum tower length, whereby the boom 4 is also moved upwards accordingly, cf. Fig. 10.

[0072] To erect the crane 20 into its working position, the tower 2 can be pivoted from its inverted position relative to the support frame 10 as shown in Fig. 10 about the horizontal assembly pivot axis 14 relative to the support frame 10, see Fig. 11. The moments and forces required for pivoting are applied by a pivoting device 13, which can advantageously be supported on one side by the tower 2 and on the other side by the support frame 10, see Fig. 16.

[0073] The pivoting device 13 can be designed in various ways, for example, by including extendable and retractable hydraulic cylinders. Fig. 16 shows one variant in which the hydraulic cylinder is positioned between the support frame and the tower 2 and acts as a pressure transmitter. Figures 19 to 21 show an alternative variant in which the force transmitter, for example, in the form of a hydraulic cylinder, is installed between the previously described bearing shoe of the interface and the tower and is subjected to tensile stress. It is also possible to use a flexible tension member, such as a rope or chain, instead of a hydraulic cylinder and to tension it, for example, via a winch and / or a hydraulic cylinder to generate the pivoting movement as shown in Figures 19 to 21.

[0074] Alternatively or additionally, a rotary motor, possibly with a gearbox, can also be provided, for example mounted on turret 2 and having a swivel drive axis coaxial to the swivel axis 14, cf. Figures 22 and 23. Alternatively or additionally, the swivel device 13 can also include a cable pull mechanism, which can, for example, comprise a pull cable suspended from the support frame 10 and the turret 2 and possibly braced via a guy wire, in order to be able to rotate the turret 2 about the swivel axis 14 relative to the support frame 10.

[0075] As illustrated in Fig. 11, it is advantageous that the boom 4 is also pivoted during the erection process, relative to the tower 2 and in the opposite direction to the rotation of the tower 2, so that the pivoting movement of the boom 4 relative to the tower 2 can compensate for the pivoting movement of the tower 2. In other words, the boom 4 can be pivoted relative to the tower 2 in such a way that the boom 4 is held in an upright position, see Fig. 11.

[0076] The pivoting device 13 for pivoting the tower 2 and the boom pivoting device 22 can be controlled by a control device 19 of the assembly device 12, so that the two pivoting movements are coordinated. As a comparison of Figures 10-12 shows, the crane 20 is pivoted from its initial upside-down position hanging on the support frame 10 by the pivoting device 13 into the upright position on or against the support frame 10, whereby the opposing pivoting movement of the boom 4 allows the latter to stand upright on the tower 2 when the upright position is reached, cf. Fig. 12.

[0077] Once the turret 2 has reached its upright top position and thus its working position, the turret 2 can be locked to the support frame 10 in a bend-proof and rotation-proof manner by closing the second bolt connection 24, cf. Fig. 16, where the dashed representation of the turret 2 is shown.

[0078] The tower 2 can be extended by means of its telescoping device 17 to reach its maximum height, see Fig. 13. To bring the crane 20 into its operating position, the boom 4 can be moved into the desired luffing position relative to the tower 2 by means of its luffing mechanism, whereby the boom 4 can remain in its retracted position to be able to lift very heavy loads, see Fig. 14.

[0079] To enable work at greater heights, the boom 4 can also be extended and, if necessary, erected at a steeper angle, see Fig. 15.

[0080] As shown in Figures 15 and 18, the crane 20 in its operational working position is supported solely on the support frame 10 and is held there in a bending-resistant, torsion-resistant and positionally stable manner, particularly in the area of ​​its tower base 2F, without the tower 2 requiring any further support or bracing on the structure 9.

[0081] To dismantle the crane again, the process can be reversed, and the assembly steps just described can be carried out in reverse order as dismantling steps, as can be seen from Figures 15-1 in reverse order.

Claims

1964-25 T / wb Liebherr-Werk Biberach GmbH Crane and methods for its assembly on a building Claims 1. Method for mounting a crane (20), comprising a tower (2) and a boom (4) supported thereon, on a structure (9) by means of a mounting device (12) having a support frame (10) that can be attached to the structure (9) and supports the tower (2) of the crane (20), characterized in that the crane (20) with its tower (2) is attached to the support frame (10) attached to the structure (9) in an upside-down position with a tower base (2F) and the crane (20) with boom (4) mounted on the tower (2) is pivoted by the support frame (10) about a horizontal mounting pivot axis (14) relative to the support frame (10) from the said upside-down position into an upright upside-down position.

2. Method according to the preceding claim, wherein the crane (20) is held solely by the support frame (10) when pivoting from the inverted position to the upright position, wherein a pivoting device (13) provides the force for pivoting the crane (20) from the inverted position to the upright position. The applied moment and all forces acting on the tower (2) are transferred into the supporting frame (10).

3. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the boom (4) is pivoted relative to the tower (2) from the upside-down position to the upside-down position such that the boom (4) compensates the pivoting movement of the tower (2) and maintains at least approximately a predetermined orientation.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the boom (4) is folded into an upright position against the tower (2) in the inverted position of the tower (2) and is pivoted in the opposite direction to the pivoting movement of the tower (2) relative to the tower (2) when the tower is pivoted from the inverted position to the upright position and is held in the said upright position.

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the boom (4) is mounted in a horizontal position on the tower head (2K) of the tower (2) which is suspended in an upside-down position on the support frame (10) and is folded into an upright boom position on the tower (2) before the tower (2) is swung up from the upside-down position to the upside-down position.

6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the boom (4) is held in a retracted boom position when pivoting the tower (2) from the upside-down position to the upside-down position and is extended into a fully extended boom position after reaching the upside-down position.

7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tower (2) is extended before being attached to the support frame (10) and / or its base (2F) is brought into a mounting position for attaching the base (2F) to the support frame (10) attached to the structure (9) by extending it, and wherein the tower (2) is attached to the support frame (10) and is telescoped with the boom (4) mounted on the tower (2) before pivoting from the upside-down position to the upside-down position and is extended with the boom (4) mounted on the tower (2) after reaching the upside-down position.

8. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the tower (2) is fixed in its upright position to the support frame (10) in a manner that prevents bending and rotation, and is held above the support frame (10) over its entire length without bracing or connection to the structure (9).

9. Crane with a tower (2) supporting a boom (4) rotatable about an upright jib pivot axis (7), from which a hoist rope (5) extends for lifting a load, and with an assembly device (12) for mounting the tower (2) on a structure (9), wherein the assembly device (12) comprises a support frame (10) having fastening means (15) for attaching it to the structure (9), and a detachable coupling (11) for connecting the tower (2) to the support frame (10), characterized in that the assembly device (12) has on the support frame (10) and / or on the coupling (11) and / or on the tower (2) a horizontal mounting pivot axis (14) for pivoting the tower (2) from an inverted position suspended on the support frame (10) to an upside-down position standing on the support frame (10), and a pivoting device (13) for pivoting the Crane (20) with boom (4) mounted on the tower (2) from the aforementioned upside-down position to the aforementioned upside-down position.

10. Crane according to the preceding claim, wherein the swivel device (13) is designed to transfer all moments and forces occurring when the crane (20) is swivelled from the said inverted position to the said upside-down position on the tower (2) into the support frame (10), and the said support frame (10) is designed to transfer all forces and moments acting on the tower (2) into the structure (9), so that the crane (20) is held on the structure (9) solely by the support frame (10).

11. Crane according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the swiveling device (13) is associated with a locking device (16) for locking the tower (2) in the swiveled up head-up position on the support frame (10) in a bend-resistant and position-resistant manner.

12. Crane according to one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the crane in its working position is supported solely on the support frame (10), which is designed to absorb all forces and moments acting on the crane during operation and to transfer them into the structure (9) via its fastening means (15).

13. Crane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the assembly device (20) has a tower base bearing shoe on which the tower (2) is pivotably mounted and can be pivoted by the pivoting device (13), wherein said tower base bearing shoe has form-fitting, releasable fastening means, preferably in the form of quick fasteners such as snap locks, for bend-resistant fastening of the tower base bearing shoe to the support frame (10).

14. Crane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the tower (2) is designed to be telescopic and the assembly device (20) has a control device (19) for controlling a telescoping device (17) for telescoping the tower (2), wherein said control device (19) is designed to extend the tower (2) for attaching the tower base (2F) to the structure (9) to extend the attached support frame (10) and / or to bring a tower base (2F) into an assembly position on the support frame (10), and is further designed to extend the tower (2) with the boom (4) attached to the support frame (10) to telescope into a hanging upside-down position and to hold it in the telescoped position when swiveling from the upside-down position to the upside-down position, and to extend it again after swiveling into the upside-down position.

15. Crane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the boom (4) is mounted on a tower head (2K) of the tower (2) about a boom pivot axis (21) which extends transversely to the longitudinal axis of the tower and transversely to the longitudinal axis of the boom, is pivotably mounted and the mounting device (12) has a control device (19) for controlling a boom pivoting device (22) for pivoting the boom (4) relative to the tower (2), wherein the said control device (19) is designed to pivot the boom (4) from the upside-down position to the upside-down position in the opposite direction to the pivoting movement of the tower (2) when pivoting the tower (2) such that the boom (2) is held in a predetermined orientation, in particular an upright position.

16. Crane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the boom (4) is designed as a luffing boom and can be luffed relative to the tower (2) about a horizontal luffing axis into an inclined position at an acute angle to the vertical, wherein the crane (20) is adapted to the structure (9) to be erected in such a way that the height difference between the support frame (10) mounted on the structure (9) and the uppermost part of the structure is bridged partly by the tower (2) and partly by the luffed boom (4), 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 luffed boom (4).

17. Crane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the boom (4) is rotatable relative to the tower (2) about the upright boom pivot axis (7) and / or the crane (20) is designed as a top-slewing crane.

18. Crane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the boom (4) is telescopically designed.

19. Crane according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the coupling (11) for detachably connecting the tower base (2F) to the support frame (10) comprises a first bolt connection (23) defining the assembly pivot axis (14), and a second bolt connection (24) spaced apart from the first bolt connection (23) in the longitudinal direction of the tower, wherein the said first and the second bolt connections (23, 24) are independent of each other and separately detachable and lockable.

20. Crane according to the preceding claim, wherein the support frame (10) and the tower base (2F) are designed such that, with the first bolt connection locked and the second bolt connection released, the tower (2) can be pivoted by a swivel angle of more than 145° or more than 175° relative to the support frame (10) attached to the structure (9), and the tower (2) can be fixed in its intended upright position to the support frame (2) in a rotationally and bending-resistant manner by locking the first and second bolt connections.

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