Abstract:
A bridge crane or gantry crane is provided for transferring standard cargo holders, especially ISO containers and swap bodies, between roads and railways. The crane includes a crane trolley that can be moved along a crane carrier in the direction of travel of the crane trolley, and on which a rigid mast is guided that extends in a raising and lowering direction. The mast can be moved in the raising and lowering direction using at least one lifting gear and cables, the lifting gear being disposed on the crane trolley. A load accepting means for standard cargo holders is rigidly fastened to the lower end of the mast. At least two cables are provided which are in contact with opposite ends of a double arm that is mounted on the load accepting means about a substantially horizontal swivel pin.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a bridge crane or gantry crane for the handling of standardized cargo holders, especially for the handling of ISO containers and swap bodies between roads and railways. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A cargo handling device for goods containers, especially containers in railway traffic, is disclosed in German application laid open DE 27 52 212 A1. In one embodiment depicted there, the cargo handling device includes a gantry crane with a crane trolley, from which a telescoping mast is hung. The mast has three telescopic segments. The upper end of the uppermost telescopic segment is rigidly fastened to the crane trolley, while at the lower end of the lowermost telescopic segment is rigidly hung a C-shaped frame. This C-shaped frame, with upper horizontal arms and lower horizontal arms, is provided so as to be able to move the load suspension means hanging from the lower horizontal arm sideways underneath an overhead line of a railroad section. In order to move the C-shaped frame and the load suspension means in the raising and lowering direction, cables with drums are arranged on the crane trolley, from which a total of four cables run to cable rollers disposed on the top of the horizontal arms. 
     A bridge crane for the stacking of containers, especially ISO containers, is disclosed in European patent EP 1 365 984 B1, which moves containers into and/or out from a storage area inside a container terminal. The bridge crane has a crane girder, which spans the width of an essentially cubical storage area. On the crane girder, a crane trolley can travel along its lengthwise direction in the width direction of the storage area. The crane girder can travel on running gears in the direction of travel of the crane and thus transversely to the crane trolley on the crane girder, and also in the lengthwise direction of the storage area. In order to handle the containers, a mast is disposed on the crane trolley, being guided and able to be raised or lowered in the vertical direction. The mast is fashioned as a box girder, and lifting gears are arranged on the crane trolley for the raising and lowering movement of the mast. At the lower end of the mast, pointing in the direction of the containers being handled, a load suspension means for containers, especially a so-called spreader, is hung by a pivot. The load suspension means is connected by cables to the lifting gears on the crane trolley. The mast is not driven directly in the raising and lowering direction, but only indirectly by the cables engaging with the load suspension means. The use of a rigid mast between the crab and the load suspension means brings the advantage that the container can be handled with little swaying motion, unlike the load suspension means that are also used and hung solely from cables. 
     Furthermore, a gantry crane for the handling of containers and swap bodies between railway and road is disclosed in European patent EP 0 796 813 B1. In keeping with the usual design of a gantry crane, a crane trolley is provided that can travel on a crane girder in its lengthwise direction, on which are fastened two hydraulic piston-cylinder units, one behind the other when looking in the direction of travel of the gantry crane, and at a spacing from each other. The piston-cylinder units are each vertically oriented and include a lift cylinder and a piston rod moved therein. The lift cylinders are rigidly fastened to the crane trolley and the piston rods starting from the crane trolley can extend downward in the lowering direction and be retracted in corresponding manner in the lifting direction. A hanger frame is fastened to the ends of the piston rods that are opposite the crane trolley by means of oblong hole connections, and a load suspension means in the form of a spreader frame is hung from this. The connection of the hanger frame by oblong hole connections to the piston rods was chosen to equalize differences in the synchronized movement of the piston-cylinder units and any slanted position of the container. Furthermore, the hanger arm and the load suspension means disposed therein are offset to the side by at least 500 mm in relation to the lengthwise axis of the two piston-cylinder units so that containers or swap bodies can also be set down by the gantry crane on a railroad car or picked up from it and at the same time an overhead guide wire can run underneath due to the sideways offset arrangement of the load suspension means on the piston rod. 
     Moreover, another crane layout for handling of containers in railway traffic disclosed in German patent laid open DE 29 11 938 B2. This crane layout is also designed as a gantry crane, having a crane trolley with a mast guided on it and able to travel in the lifting and lowering direction. At the lower end of this mast is firmly disposed a jib that projects sideways in relation to the lengthwise direction of the mast, on which a load suspension means for the container is hung by means of a rotary connection with a vertical axis of rotation. The mast can be raised and lowered by a cable mechanism, whose cable is attached to the mast in the region of the lower third of the mast. In addition to the rotary connection on the load suspension means, the crane trolley has a rotation device with a circular running track, on which a rotary frame can travel by running wheels about a vertical axis. The mast is hung eccentrically from the rotary frame, and so it can likewise rotate along with the cable mechanism. Thanks to these double rotation capabilities in the area of the load suspension means and the crane trolley, when swinging the container in and out underneath a guide wire of an overhead line, the container should not lose its parallel orientation to a railroad car being loaded or unloaded. 
     Furthermore, the German utility model DE 200 13 245 U1 discloses a mechanism for the handling of containers, which is configured as a half-gantry crane. Here as well there is a mast suspended from a crane trolley and able to travel vertically in the raising and lowering direction. At the lower end of the mast, a connection arm is disposed, projecting horizontally and to the side, on which a load suspension means for containers or cargo units is hung, in order to be able to set down and pick up containers sideways on a railroad car underneath a guide wire of an overhead line. Here as well, the mast is joined to the crane trolley by a rotary device. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides an improved bridge crane or gantry crane with a rigid outrigger for the handling of standard cargo holders, especially ISO containers and swap bodies, such as between a railway and a road. 
     According to one form of the invention, a bridge crane or gantry crane for the handling of standard cargo holders, especially for the handling of ISO containers and swap bodies between roads and railways, includes a crab or crane trolley which can be moved along a crane girder in the direction of travel of the crane trolley, on which a rigid mast is guided that extends in a raising and lowering direction, which can be moved in the raising and lowering direction using at least one lifting gear and cables. The lifting gear is disposed on the crane trolley, and a load suspension device for standard cargo holders is rigidly fastened to the lower end of the mast. The cables from the at least one lifting gear engage with the load suspension device, and the at least two cables engage at opposite ends of a double arm, which is fastened to the load suspension device about an essentially horizontal pivot axis. This accomplishes a direct flow of force between cables and load suspension device with an equalizing of cable length, and the mast may serve solely for guiding purposes. Optionally, the rigid mast is a single-piece mast and not a telescoping one. 
     In order to prevent cables from transferring twist to the mast through the rigid attachment of the load suspension device to the mast, for example, on account of unsynchronized movement, at least one cable may engage with the load suspension device via a cable length-adjusting element. 
     Optionally, the load suspension device includes a hanger frame and a spreader frame hung from it, the hanger frame being rigidly secured to the lower end of the mast, and the cables engaging with the hanger frame. 
     In one embodiment, the spreader frame and the hanger frame each have a rectangular cross section, they extend by their lengthwise dimension in the direction of travel of the crane, and the lower ends of a total of four cables are fastened in the region of the corners of the hanger frame. This facilitates length adjustment of the cables, while at the same time firmly attaching the cables to the hanger frame. In this embodiment, the front two cables and the rear two cables in the direction of travel of the crane are secured to the opposite ends of a double arm, which is mounted on the hanger frame able to pivot at its middle about a pivot axis running in the direction of travel of the crane. 
     In order to facilitate the handling of standard cargo holders, especially for the handling of ISO containers and swap bodies, such as between road and railway and underneath a guide wire of an electrified railroad section, the load suspension device may be disposed with a sideways or lateral offset from the mast. With the load suspension device hung rigidly from the mast, an especially stable guidance of the load suspension device may be achieved, even though the load suspension device may extend or project out to the side relative to the mast. 
     In another aspect, the load suspension device is disposed with a sideways offset from the mast in the range of about 500 mm to 1500 mm. 
     An especially stable supporting of the mast in the region of the crane trolley may be achieved when the crane girder includes a first girder and a second girder, on which crane trolley rails are disposed, on which the crane trolley can travel in the direction of travel of the crane trolley, and the first girder and the second girder are spaced apart from each other in the direction of travel of the crane, running perpendicular to the direction of travel of the crane trolley. 
     In yet another aspect, the possible uses of the bridge crane and gantry crane may be expanded when the mast is enabled to turn about a vertical pivot axis relative to the crane trolley. 
     These and other objects, advantages and features of this invention will become apparent upon review of the following specification in conjunction with the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front elevation of a handling facility with a gantry crane in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a side elevation of the handling facility of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged portion of the front elevation of  FIG. 1 , taken from the region of a load suspension device, 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged portion, shown partly in section, and taken from  FIG. 1  in the region of a rotary connection; and 
         FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the load suspension device of  FIG. 3 , in which the mast has been omitted for clarity. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       FIG. 1  shows a view of a handling facility  1  for standard cargo holders  2 , such as ISO containers and swap bodies, between a road and a railway. The handling facility  1  includes a railway handling zone  3 , a road handling zone  4 , and a bridge or gantry crane  5  which, in the illustrated embodiment is, configured as a gantry crane. 
     The railway handling zone  3  includes a first track section  3   a  and, running parallel with this at a spacing, a second track section  3   b . Between the first and second track sections  3   a  and  3   b , each running straight in the railway handling zone, are a plurality of railway poles  3   c  disposed in usual fashion, each carrying a guide wire  3   d  above the first and second track sections  3   a ,  3   b . Railroad cars  6  can move along the first and second track sections  3   a  and  3   b  for loading and unloading of the standard cargo holders  2 . 
     The road handling zone  4  is disposed to border the second track section  3   b  at the side. In the illustrated embodiment, this road handling zone  4  includes support racks  4   a  on which standard cargo holders  2  that are unloaded from the railroad cars  6  can be set down for interim storage. Then the standard cargo holders  2  can be loaded further onto trucks (not shown) from the cargo holders  2 . 
     The railway handling zone  3  and the road handling zone  4  are each situated in the range of the bridge or gantry crane  5 , which spans these two handling zones  3  and  4 . 
     This bridge or gantry crane  5  includes a crane girder  8  which can travel on rails  7  in the direction of travel F of the crane  5  ( FIG. 2 ) along the first and second track sections  3   a ,  3   b . A crane crab or trolley  9  can travel on the crane girder  8 , transversely to the direction of travel F of the crane girder  8 , in the direction of travel K of the crane trolley  9 . From the crane trolley  9  is hung a mast  10 , which can be raised and lowered vertically and relatively to the crane trolley  9 , in order to pick up and set down standard cargo holders  2  by means of a load suspension device  11  secured to its lower end  10   a . The load suspension device  11  is divided into a hanger frame  11   a , which is firmly secured to the lower end  10   a  of the mast  10 , and a spreader frame  11   b , which is hung by chains  11   c  from the hanger frame  11   a . The hanger frame  11   a  projects sideways in relation to the mast  10 . The rigid mast  10  here is preferably a single piece and not telescopic. This rigid mast  10  thus affords an especially stable guidance of the load suspension device. 
     The crane girder  8  is supported at its opposite ends by right and left vertical supports  12   l  and  12   r , looking as viewed in the direction of travel K of the crane  5 . As a whole, the bridge or gantry crane  5  is generally U-shaped and open at the bottom (i.e., an inverted ‘U’), when viewed in the direction of travel F of the crane  5 . The vertical supports  12   l  and  12   r  receive the crane girder  8  at their upper ends, at its opposite end regions, and at their lower ends they can travel by crane running gears  13  on the rails  7  in the direction of travel F of the crane  5 . 
     The crane trolley  9  includes a rectangular base frame  9   a , at the four corners of which are disposed crane trolley running gears  14 , which travel on crane trolley rails  15  disposed on the crane girder  12 . In the base frame  9   a  of the crane trolley  9 , in the middle area, there is an opening through which a rotary pipe  16  is led. The rotary pipe  16  is supported at its upper end  16   a  on the base frame  9   a  of the crane trolley  9  by a rotary connection  16   b , and can turn about a vertical pivot axis D by the rotary connection  16   a . The mast  10  runs inside the rotary pipe  16  and is guided there. 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 2 , the crane girder  8  is fashioned as a double girder with a first girder  8   a  and a second girder  8   b , which are arranged on the same height level and at a distance behind each other, when viewed in the direction of crane travel F. Accordingly, the left vertical support  121  and the right vertical support  12   r  are also fashioned as double supports looking in the direction of travel F of the crane  5 , being joined to each other in the region of their lower end by a base girder  12   a  in U-shaped manner. 
       FIG. 2  also shows that the first girder  8   a  and the second girder  8   b  each have a triangular cross section. This triangular cross section has the form of an equilateral triangle, the angle in the region of the vertex  8   c  being around 30 degrees. The crane trolley rail  15  on which the crane trolley  9  can travel in the direction of travel K of the crane trolley  9  is secured each time in the region of the vertices  8   c  of the first girder  8   a  and the second girder  8   b.    
     To drive the rotary pipe  16 , a toothed collar  16   d  is provided around its outside, which engages with an electric motorized rotary drive  16   e , which is supported on the base frame  9   a , as best shown in  FIG. 2 . In order to move the mast  10  in the raising and lowering direction H, a rectangular lifting frame  17  is rigidly fastened to a lower end  16   c  of the rotary pipe  11 . A lifting gear  18  for the mast  10  is arranged on the lifting frame  17  of the crane trolley  9 . The lifting gear  18  has a first cable drum  18   a  and a second cable drum, mounted coaxially to each other on a shared gearing  18   b , which is actuated by a drive motor  18   c . A first cable  19   a  and a second cable  19   b  run off from the first cable drum  18   a . A third cable  19   c  and a fourth cable  19   d  run off from the second cable drum. Accordingly, there are four cables present  19   a ,  19   b ,  19   c ,  19   d , which either run off directly from the first cable drum  18   a  or second cable drum vertically downward or are led horizontally to the opposite side of the mast  10 , where they are deflected 90 degrees vertically downward by a deflection roller  20  with a horizontal axis of rotation. The ends of the cables  19   a ,  19   b ,  19   c ,  19   d  are connected to the hanger frame  11   a.    
     A container-type holder  21  is fastened on the outside of the second girder  8   b , in which the controls and the electrical or electronic power pack for the bridge or gantry crane  5  is arranged ( FIG. 2 ). 
     The hanger frame  11   a  has an essentially rectangular cross section when viewed from above ( FIG. 5 ). The four cables  19   a ,  19   b ,  19   c ,  19   d  are attached to the respective corners of the hanger frame  11   a  ( FIG. 3 ). The spreader frame  11   b  is typically hung by chains  11   c  from the hanger frame  11   a.    
     It is also evident with reference to  FIG. 3  that the hanger frame  11   a , which is firmly joined to the lower end  10   a  of the mast  10 , is fashioned in the style of a jib and juts out sideways in relation to the axis of rotation D of the mast  10 , and thus also projects sideways beyond the contour of the mast  10 . In relation to the center line M running through the middle of the points of suspension of the chains  11   c  for the spreader frame  11   b —when viewed in the lengthwise direction of the standard cargo holder  2 —the hanger frame  11   a  is displaced sideways by the offset V from the axis of rotation D, running in the lengthwise direction of the mast  10 . The side offset V may be in the range of 800 mm to 1500 mm, for example. In the illustrated embodiment, it is around 1000 mm, since the guide wire  3   d  has been attached with a displacement in the range of the permitted tolerance inward toward the railway pole  3   c . But the guide wire  3   d  still remains here easily reachable by the current collectors of a train. 
     The articulation of the first cable  19   a  and the second cable  19   b  to the hanger frame  11   a  is also evident with reference to  FIG. 3 . This connection can pivot about a horizontally running pivot axis S by means of a double arm  22 . The arrangement of the first and second cables  19   a ,  19   b  across the double arm  22  on the hanger frame  11   a  has the benefit that differences in synchronized running of the cables  19   a ,  19   b ,  19   c ,  19   d , as they are wound up and paid out, can be equalized in this way and do not lead to twisting in the hanger frame  11   a  or the lifting frame  17 . A second double arm  22  is provided for the third and fourth cables  19   c  and  19   d  at the opposite end of the hanger frame  11   a . The pivot axes S of the first double arm and the second double arm  22  are coaxially oriented. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the mast  10  is guided by lower guide elements  23   a  in the region of the lower end  16   c  of the rotary pipe  16  and by upper guide elements  23   b  in the region of the upper end  16   b  of the rotary pipe  16 . The lower and upper guide elements  23   a  and  23   b  are configured as guide rollers, which guide the mast  10  on four sides and opposite each other. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , in which the mast is omitted for clarity, a connection element is shown in the form of a flange with screw holes on the hanger frame  11   a  in the middle. Accordingly, the lower end  10   a  of the mast  10  is also provided with an encircling flange so that the hanger frame  11   a  can be screwed rigidly to the lower end  10   a  of the mast  10 . Due to the shape of the connection element  24 , one can see that the mast  10  has a slightly oblong hexagonal cross section. 
     In order to absorb the forces arising from the sideways unloaded suspension of the spreader frame  11   b  on the hanger frame  11   a , the hanger frame next to the lower end  10   a  of the mast  10  is formed as a massive platelike or reinforced boxlike structure, being essentially rectangular when seen in top view while, starting from the connection element  24 , the width of the hanger frame  11   a  decreases in linear manner outward, in accordance with the strain. In the region of the ends of the hanger frame  11   a , two rectangular and boxlike hanger arms  11   d  are arranged so that the hanger frame  11  in top view has a somewhat U-shaped or forklike appearance. The hanger arms  11   d  extend at right angles from the hanger frame  11   a  and at their ends and underside are situated the attachment points for the chains  11   c  to hang the spreader frame  11   b.    
     It will be appreciated that, due to the special configuration of the hanger frame  11   a  with its sideways protruding hanger arms  11   d , it is possible to hang the spreader frame  11   b  with the chains  11   c  displaced sideways by an offset V between the central lengthwise direction L of the spreader frame  11   c  and the pivot axis D ( FIG. 5 ). 
     The two double arms  22  are fastened to the hanger frame  11   a  so that they can tilt upward about a pivot axis S at their middle ( FIG. 5 ). The extensions of the pivot axes S intersect the pivot axis D of the mast. At the respective opposite ends of the double arms  22  are attached the first cable  19   a , the second cable  19   b , the third cable  19   c  and the fourth cable  19   d . Thus, the lift forces of the lifting gear  18  are guided centrally into the hanger frame  11   a  in relation to the pivot axis D. Moreover, it is evident that the double arms  22  run basically parallel to the hanger arms  11   d  and thus the lift forces of the lifting gear  18  act directly in the region of the chains  11   c  that carry the spreader frame  11   b . Thus, the lift forces are guided almost directly by the hanger arms  11   d  into the first to fourth cables  19   a  to  19   d , with the exception of the sideways protrusion. Seen in relation to the lengthwise direction L of the spreader frame  11   b , the double arms  22  and the hanger arms  11   d  are basically at the same height. 
     Although the above description pertains to a bridge or gantry crane  5 , it will be appreciated that it is also possible to configure the bridge or gantry crane as a bridge crane with elevated or spandrel-braced rails or as a half-gantry crane, for example. 
     Changes and modifications to the specifically described embodiments may be carried out without departing from the principles of the present invention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims as interpreted according to the principles of patent law including the doctrine of equivalents.