| CPC B66C 13/00 (2013.01) [B66C 23/62 (2013.01); B66C 23/88 (2013.01); F16B 2/06 (2013.01); B66C 23/52 (2013.01)] | 14 Claims |
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1. A system comprising a crane and an exchangeable tool, said exchangeable tool comprising a shank and, at an upper side thereof, a shoulder,
wherein the crane comprises a hoist assembly, comprising one or more hoist winches and one or more hoist cables, driven by the one or more hoist winches,
wherein the crane further comprises a tool suspension device with a travelling block member, suspended from the one or more winch driven hoist cables of the hoist assembly, the travelling block member comprising multiple cable sheaves through which the one or more hoisting cables are run so that the tool suspension device is suspended by the one or more winch driven cables in a multiple fall arrangement, wherein the cable sheaves comprise a plurality of detachable or loose cable sheaves and a plurality of fixed sheaves secured to the travelling block member, wherein selective detaching of one or more of the loose sheaves allows to vary the number of cable falls in the hoist assembly, the travelling block member further comprising one or more recesses, and
wherein the tool suspension device further comprises a tool clamp comprising:
one or more mobile tool retainers, adapted to releasably engage the shoulder of the exchangeable tool so as to suspend the exchangeable tool underneath the tool suspension device;
a clamp housing comprising two horizontally aligned axle ends arranged below the mobile tool retainers and being supported by the recesses in the travelling block member, to support the tool clamp pivotally with respect to the travelling block around a substantially horizontal connector pivot axis extending through the travelling block member below the mobile tool retainers, such as to allow a pivoting of the tool clamp around the connector pivot axis, and to absorb the load of the suspended exchangeable tool, and any load supported by the tool;
a female, open-centered body defining a shank receiving passage with a central vertical axis allowing introduction of the shoulder of the exchangeable tool into the passage from below, each mobile tool retainer being mounted on the female, open-centered body, and the mobile tool retainers being distributed around the shank receiving passage, so as to each provide an operative and a non-operative position of the mobile tool retainer, the mobile tool retainers being adapted to—in a non-operative position—allow introduction of the shank of the exchangeable tool from below into the receiving passage and—in an operative position—engage below the shoulder of the shank that has been introduced into the passage so as to suspend the exchangeable tool from the tool clamp;
a bearing mounted between the clamp housing and the female, open-centered body, said bearing supporting the female, open-centered body so as to allow for swivelling of the female, open-centered body with the tool retainers, and thereby the tool if engaged by the tool retainers, about a vertical axis of the clamp housing relative to the clamp housing; and
a rotational drive operative between the clamp housing and the female, open-centered body and configured to selectively drive said swivelling of the female, open-centered body and of the mobile tool retainers mounted thereon, and thereby of the tool, relative to the clamp housing about the central vertical axis of the tool clamp.
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