GANTRY CANE

• US 20110180506A1
• Filed: 09/08/2009
• Published: 07/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hans Kunz, GmbH
• Original Assignee: Hans Kunz, GmbH
• Inventors: Lerchenmuller, Peter
• Application Number:
  US13/121,720
• Publication Number:
  US 20110180506A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 212/276
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 9/16 with means for maintaining alignment between wheels and track

Abstract

On a gantry crane having a carriage which is used to displace the gantry crane along a straight track formed by parallel rails (1) and which includes a plurality of carriage groups (11), which each have at least two wheels (12) mounted rotatably on a subframe (16) and spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the respective rail (1) and of which at least two, preferably all, are connected rotatably about a vertical axis (23) to an end carriage (10) of the gantry crane, at least one measuring device (26) is present for at least one carriage group (11) connected rotatably about the vertical axis (23) to the associated end carriage (10). The measuring device can detect a track position of at least one of the wheels (12) of the carriage group (11) with respect to the rail (1) on which it rolls and can output a track position value (a) that corresponds to the respective track position. An actuator (28) acting between the carriage group (11) and the associated end carriage (10) is controlled by a regulating device (48, 49), to which the track position value (a) output by the measuring device (26) is fed. The carriage group (11) can be subjected by the actuator (28) to a torque (m) about the vertical axis (23) that is determined by the control.

Claims

1. A gantry crane comprising a carriage serving to displace the gantry crane along a straight track formed by parallel rails (1), a plurality of carriage groups (11), each of the carriage groups (11) comprises at least two wheels (12) supported rotationally by a subframe (16) and spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction of a respective one of the rails (1), and with at least two of the carriage groups being connected to at least one end carriage (10) of the gantry crane, rotational about a vertical respective axis (23), with for at least one of the carriage groups (11) connected to the respective end carriage (10) and rotational about the respective vertical axis (23), at least one measurement device (26) is provided, the at least one measurement device is adapted to detect a track position of at least one of the wheels (12) of the carriage group (11) in reference to the rail (1) on which it rolls, and is adapted to output a track position value (a) corresponding to a respective track position, an actuator (28) is provided acting between the carriage group (11) and the respective end carriage (10), which is controlled via a control device (48, 49), which receives the track position value (a) output by the measurement device (26), and is adapted to impinge the carriage group (11) with a torque (m) about the vertical axis (23) that is determined by said control.

2. A gantry crane according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the measurement devices (26) is provided for each of the two drive directions of the gantry crane to detect the track position of the wheel (12) of the carriage group (11), positioned in front of the vertical axis (23), about which the carriage group (11) is rotational, in reference to a respective drive direction of the gantry crane.

3. A gantry crane according to claim 1, wherein the torque (m) impinged by the actuator (28) upon the carriage group (11) is set to a value 0 by the control device (48, 49) for a central range (a₁-a₂) of the track position of the wheel (12) detected by the measurement device (26).

4. A gantry crane according to claim 3, wherein the torque (m) impinged by the actuator (28) upon the carriage group (11) is set to a constant, predetermined amount (m_x, m_y), for the track position of the wheel (12) which is located at one side outside the central range (a₁-a₂), with a rotational direction of the torque (m) being different depending on a side at which the track position has left the central range (a₁-a₂).

5. A gantry crane according to claim 1, wherein the actuator (28) is a piston-cylinder unit acting between the carriage group (11) and the respective end carriage (10).

6. A gantry crane according to claim 1, wherein the measurement device (26) comprises a part (35), supported rotationally at the subframe (16) at which the wheel (12) to be detected is rotationally supported, and cooperates at least with one rail flank (27).

7. A gantry crane according to claim 6, wherein the measurement device comprises a brace (35) cooperating with both of the rail flanks (27), which is rotationally supported at rocker arms (37, 38) that are in turn supported rotationally at the subframes (16).

8. A gantry crane according to claim 1, wherein each of the carriage groups (11) comprises two or more of the subframe (16) with at least two of the wheels (12) each, spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the respective rail (1) and supported rotationally at the subframe (16), and the respective carriage group (11) in its entirety is connected to the end carriage (10), rotational about the single vertical axis (23).

9. A gantry crane according to claim 1, wherein the carriage groups (11) are each arranged directly below the respective legs (2-5) of the gantry crane.