Crane support assembly

• US 10,654,693 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2015
• Issued: 05/19/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pride Bodies Ltd. (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pride Bodies Ltd. (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Furlong, Geoff
• Primary Examiner(s): Mansen, Michael R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Campos, Jr., Juan J
• Application Number:
  US14/945,637
• Publication Number:
  US 20170144870A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,643 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 23/36 mounted on road or rail vehicles; Manually-movable jib-cranes for use in workshops; Floating cranes with pneumatic or hydraulic motors B66C23/54; vehicle or ship aspects B60 - B63
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 23/62 Constructional features or details of dredgers E02F
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 23/78 Supports, e.g. outriggers, for mobile cranes

Abstract

A crane support system includes two spaced apart longitudinal members couplable with a vehicle frame. Two spaced apart groups of tubes are coupled with and extend between the longitudinal members and outboard relative to one member to define an outboard subassembly portion. A tower frame is mounted atop the outboard subassembly portion. A first brace extends angularly between the groups of tubes, the brace extending from a one of the groups forward relative to the vehicle frame toward the other group aft relative to the vehicle frame and toward the tower frame. A horizontal arm extends transversely beneath the outboard subassembly portion. A vertical support has a top end coupled with the arm and a bottom end couplable with an outrigger. A second brace extends angularly between the vertical support and the arm for transferring bending moment and/or shear from the cantilever to the outrigger via the vertical support.

Claims

1. A crane tower assembly comprising:

a crane tower frame mountable atop at least two spaced apart horizontal support subassembly members for supporting the crane tower frame outboard relative to at least one longitudinally extending member of a vehicle frame, the at least two spaced apart horizontal support subassembly members configured for coupling with the at least one longitudinally extending member of the vehicle frame;

a horizontal arm coupled with the at least two spaced apart horizontal support subassembly members outboard relative to the at least one longitudinally extending member of the vehicle frame from beneath the at least two spaced apart horizontal support subassembly members and transversely relative to the at least two spaced apart horizontal support subassembly members;

a vertical support having a top end portion coupled with the horizontal arm and a bottom end portion couplable with an outrigger assembly; and

,

a rigid brace extending angularly between the vertical support and the horizontal arm for supporting the horizontal arm and for transferring at least one of bending moment and shear acting on the horizontal arm during crane operation to the outrigger assembly via the vertical support.

2. The crane tower assembly as in claim 1, further comprising:

a bracket couplable between the bottom end portion of the vertical support and the outrigger assembly for rigidly coupling the vertical support with the outrigger assembly.

3. The crane tower assembly as in claim 2, wherein the bracket further comprises:

a vertically extending outrigger coupling portion for coupling the bracket with the outrigger assembly; and

,

a horizontally extending support portion extending perpendicularly from the outrigger coupling portion and couplable with the bottom end portion of the vertical support from beneath the bottom end portion of the vertical support.

4. The crane tower assembly as in claim 3, wherein the bracket further comprises:

at least one aperture extending through the outrigger coupling portion for alignment with at least one corresponding aperture in the outrigger assembly, the at least one aperture and the at least one corresponding aperture, when aligned, providing passage for a fastener from the outrigger coupling portion to the outrigger assembly for coupling the bracket with the outrigger assembly.

5. The crane tower assembly as in claim 1, wherein the crane tower frame further comprises:

two pairs of vertically extending corner members, each corner member having a bottom corner member end portion and a top corner member end portion, the bottom corner member end portion of each vertically extending member of each pair of vertically extending corner members is couplable with a corresponding one of the at least two spaced apart horizontal support subassembly members; and

,

at least one horizontal member extending between each top corner member end portion of the vertically extending corner member of each pair of vertically extending corner members.

6. The crane tower assembly as in claim 5, further comprising:

at least one horizontal brace extending between the at least one horizontal member of each pair of vertically extending corner members.

7. The crane tower assembly as in claim 5, further comprising:

a crane plate mounted atop and supported by the two pair of vertically extending corner members.

8. The crane tower assembly as in claim 5, wherein:

the at least one horizontal member extending between each vertically extending corner member of one pair of vertically extending corner members includes two spacer bars.

9. The crane tower assembly as in claim 5, further comprising:

a bottom plate having an opening passing therethrough for passage of the vertical support.