Patents Assigned to Crane Co.
  • Publication number: 20140232809
    Abstract: An optical device projecting one or more synthetically magnified images that has been laser marked with one or more static two dimensional (2D) images is provided. The static 2D image(s) laser marked on or within this device and the synthetically magnified image(s) projected by this device help determine the authenticity of a document (e.g., passport data page) or product that employs it. Several embodiments of the inventive device also offer increased resistance to tampering or alteration and wear.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 2, 2014
    Publication date: August 21, 2014
    Applicants: VISUAL PHYSICS, LLC, CRANE AB, CRANE & CO., INC.
    Inventors: Samuel M. Cape, Jonathan D. Gosnell, Kaj Markkus Helminen, Gregory R. Jordan, Scott K. Palm, Giles D. Prett, Timothy W. Schneider, Anthony J. Zucchero
  • Publication number: 20140209552
    Abstract: Provided are a raisable-lowerable member capable of shortening a time required for assembling and disassembling of a crane, and a crane comprising the raisable-lowerable member. The raisable-lowerable member comprises: a boom attachable to an upper slewing body of the crane turnably about a boom-pivot-turn-axis in a raising-lowering direction; and a mast to be driven so as to be turned about a mast pivot-turn-axis parallel to the boom-pivot-turn-axis. The boom includes a boom body, a boom foot joined to a basal end of the boom body and adapted to be attached to the upper slewing body turnably about the boom-pivot-turn-axis, and a mast mounting portion joined to the basal end of the boom body. The mast has a basal end which includes a mast foot to be attached to the mast mounting portion turnably about the mast pivot-turn-axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 24, 2014
    Publication date: July 31, 2014
    Applicant: Kobelco Cranes Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroyuki OTSUKA
  • Publication number: 20140175040
    Abstract: A lower spreader of a construction machinery has a width smaller than a width of the front leg member; and a plurality of lower sheaves at the lower spreader includes at least; a first lower sheave at which the derricking rope let out from the derricking drum is first wound; a second lower sheave, disposed on a side where a fixed end of the derricking rope at which the derricking rope is fastened is located, at which the derricking rope is wound last; and a third lower sheave, disposed between the first lower sheave and the second lower sheave or at a position adjacent to either the first lower sheave or the second lower sheave, at which the derricking rope, running from an upper sheave among the plurality of upper sheaves at the upper spreader is wound so as to run toward another upper sheave at the upper spreader.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2013
    Publication date: June 26, 2014
    Applicant: Hitachi Sumitomo Heavy Industries Construction Crane Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazunori YAMAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20140175039
    Abstract: A construction machinery body includes: a main frame; a gantry that is derrickably linked to the main frame, and includes a front leg member and a rear leg member that is linked to the front leg member at a front end side; a connecting member that is disposed between one end portion and another end portion of the front leg member in the gantry, and includes a connecting portion and a rope attaching portion; and a coupling member that links the connecting portion of the front leg member to the main frame in a state where the gantry is retracted.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2013
    Publication date: June 26, 2014
    Applicant: Hitachi Sumitomo Heavy Industries Construction Crane Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazunori YAMAMOTO
  • Patent number: 8755121
    Abstract: An optical device projecting one or more synthetically magnified images that has been laser marked with one or more static two dimensional (2D) images is provided. The static 2D image(s) laser marked on or within this device and the synthetically magnified image(s) projected by this device help determine the authenticity of a document (e.g., passport data page) or product that employs it. Several embodiments of the inventive device also offer increased resistance to tampering or alteration and wear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2014
    Assignees: Crane & Co., Inc., Crane AB, Visual Physics, LLC
    Inventors: Samuel M. Cape, Jonathan D. Gosnell, Kaj Markkus Helminen, Gregory R. Jordan, Scott K. Palm, Giles D. Prett, Timothy W. Schneider, Anthony J. Zucchero
  • Publication number: 20140130486
    Abstract: Provided is a hydraulic drive apparatus for working machine capable of preventing an excessive pressure drop on a meter-in side and moving a load in a lowering direction at a stable speed requiring no counter balance valve, including a hydraulic pump, a first hydraulic actuator lowering a first load, an operating device, a first hydraulic circuit including meter-in and meter-out flow passages, a control valve, a meter-in-flow-rate controller, a meter-out-flow-rate controller making a meter-out flow rate not lower than a meter-in flow rate, a second hydraulic actuator, a second hydraulic circuit between the first hydraulic circuit and a tank and for the second hydraulic actuator, a back pressure valve between the second hydraulic circuit and the tank, a regeneration line leading a part of hydraulic fluid from between the second hydraulic circuit and the back pressure valve to the meter-in flow passage, and a check valve in the regeneration line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2013
    Publication date: May 15, 2014
    Applicants: KOBELCO CRANES CO., LTD., KABUSHIKI KAISHA KOBE SEIKO SHO (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
    Inventors: Naoki Sugano, Naoto Hori, Takaharu Michida
  • Publication number: 20140130488
    Abstract: Provided is a hydraulic drive apparatus for working machine capable of preventing an excessive pressure reduction on a meter-in side and moving a load in a lowering direction at a stable speed requiring no counter balance valve. The apparatus includes a hydraulic pump, a hydraulic actuator for lowering the load, an operating device, a hydraulic circuit including a meter-in flow passage, a meter-out flow passage and a regeneration flow passage, a control valve, a meter-in-flow-rate controller for controlling a meter-in flow rate, a meter-out-flow-rate controller for controlling a meter-out flow rate to one not lower than the meter-in flow rate, a back pressure generator located downstream of the regeneration flow passage in the meter-out flow passage, and a meter-out-flow-rate limiter. The meter-out-flow-rate limiter minimizes a flow passage area of the meter-out orifice when a pressure in the meter-in flow passage falls to or below a permissible pressure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2013
    Publication date: May 15, 2014
    Applicants: KOBELCO CRANES CO., LTD., KABUSHIKI KAISHA KOBE SEIKO SHO (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
    Inventors: Naoki SUGANO, Naoto HORI, Takaharu MICHIDA
  • Publication number: 20140083806
    Abstract: A winch braking device includes: a brake; a brake pedal; a reaction force-imparting element that imparts a reaction force to the brake pedal; a rotation link that rotates by interlocking with the foot operation at the brake pedal; a brake valve linked to the rotation link, that applies a secondary pressure to the brake in response to the foot operation at the brake pedal; and a tension spring, with one end thereof attached to the vehicle body at a predetermined position and another end thereof attached to the rotation link, that applies a force to the brake pedal along a direction opposite a direction of the foot operation. As the foot operation is performed at the brake pedal, the tension spring extends and a shortest distance between a rotational center of the rotation link and a central axis of the tension spring becomes smaller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2013
    Publication date: March 27, 2014
    Applicant: Hitachi Sumitomo Heavy Industries Construction Crane Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tadashi MIYAZAKI
  • Publication number: 20140083964
    Abstract: Provided is a crane which comprises a luffing jib including a lower jib and an upper jib coupled to the lower jib in such a manner as to be separable from the lower jib, the lower jib is attached to a head of a boom to have a laid-down posture at a position between the boom and a strut when the upper jib is separated from the lower jib, when the boom is lowered and laid down to allow the head of the boom to come into contact with a ground and when the strut is lowered and laid down to allow a distal end of the strut to come into contact with the ground, and the lower jib has a length which causes no interference with the strut when the lower jib has the laid-down posture at the position between the boom and the strut.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2013
    Publication date: March 27, 2014
    Applicant: Kobelco Cranes Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hitoshi KUROTSU, Teppei Maedo, Eiji Miya, Keiko Inada
  • Patent number: 8601799
    Abstract: Disclosed is a construction machine which comprises: a command changing regulation section; a loading device for imposing, on an engine, a load for raising an exhaust temperature of the engine up to a value at which particulate matter accumulated in a filter is burnt; and an instruction section for instructing the loading device to perform an operation for loading the engine. The instruction section prohibits the loading device from changing a loading level on the engine, during a period where a manipulation-state detection section detects a presence of a manipulation of a manipulation section. The command changing regulation section is set to a changing permission mode for permitting a value of a command which is to be assigned to an actuator control valve, to be changed according to changing a value of a command to be output from a manipulation device, during a period where the loading level is constant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2013
    Assignee: Kobelco Cranes Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomohiko Asakage, Takaharu Michida, Katsuki Yamagata, Kenji Onuki, Shintaro Sasai
  • Patent number: 8600652
    Abstract: A crane operation evaluation device for evaluating an operation status of an operator of a crane performing a crane work by using drive power of an engine. The crane operation evaluation device includes: a display device provided at a position of the crane that is visible to the operator and serving to display predetermined data; a detector for detecting a state of a given part of the crane; and a data control unit that, after a stopping operation of the engine, derives a first fuel consumption index for analyzing a fuel consumption efficiency of the crane work performed between the most recent start of the engine and the stop of the engine by the stopping operation and a first work index for analyzing content of such crane work, on the basis of detection data of the detector, and causes the display device to display the derived first fuel consumption index and first work index.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2013
    Assignee: Kobelco Cranes Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Motohiko Mizutani
  • Publication number: 20130311051
    Abstract: A control device for a hydraulic winch includes: a hydraulic source; a variable-displacement hydraulic motor; a winch operation member; an accelerator operation quantity detection unit; an engine control unit; a rotation speed detection unit; a line pull detection unit; a condition decision unit; and a motor displacement control unit, wherein: once the condition decision unit decides that the fuel-efficient, high-speed operation condition has been established, the engine control unit sets an upper limit to the engine rotation speed at a predetermined rotation speed, lower than the maximum rotation speed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 14, 2013
    Publication date: November 21, 2013
    Applicant: Hitachi Sumitomo Heavy Industries Construction Crane Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Koji TORII
  • Patent number: 8548652
    Abstract: A brake monitoring system is described for use on aircraft having carbon brakes. The system displays the number of times the brakes have been applied in a preselected counting interval such as during each takeoff and landing cycle. By raising the pilot's awareness of the number of times the brakes have been applied, a more efficient brake use is encouraged in view of the knowledge that carbon brake wear is substantially a function of the number of applications rather than the total energy that is converted thereby. Additionally, the monitoring system provides an indication of the temperature of the brakes which encourages the pilot to maintain a minimum temperature therein beyond which wear is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Hydro-Aire, Inc., subsidiary of Crane Co.
    Inventors: Garrett H. DeVlieg, John Gowan
  • Patent number: 8528755
    Abstract: Provided is a mobile crane capable of adjusting a counterweight height with no use of a costly hydraulic cylinder. The mobile crane comprises a lower propelling body, a upper slewing body, a boom pivotably attached to the upper slewing body, a mast which is at the rear of the boom and adapted to be raised and lowered so as to raise and lower the boom, a counterweight which is at the rear of the upper slewing body and hung from the mast through a guy line, and a counterweight-lifting cylinder attached to the counterweight so as to be extended to vertically push up the counterweight with respect to a ground surface. The counterweight-lifting cylinder has a cylinder body, a piston partitioning an internal space of the cylinder body into an upper head-side cylinder chamber and a lower rod-side cylinder chamber, and a rod extending from the piston downwardly beyond an lower end of the cylinder body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: Kobelco Cranes Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hitoshi Kurotsu
  • Patent number: 8522541
    Abstract: Second-gear blocking switching valves 101 to 104 are provided in pipe lines providing communication between remote control valves 22, 24 and pilot operation portions of valve sections of second-gear spools of control valves. A switching selection means 105 switches the second-gear blocking switching valves 101 to 104. Proportional pressure reduction valves 111 to 114 change secondary pressure to be outputted in accordance with secondary pressure of the remote control valves. Secondary pressure changing switching valves 116 to 119 are provided in pipe lines providing communication between the remote control valves and pilot operation portions of valve sections of first-gear spools of the control valves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: Kobelco Cranes Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Katsuki Yamagata
  • Patent number: 8511490
    Abstract: A slewing stop control apparatus and method, capable of executing, while performing the control of determining the target slewing velocity based on a remaining slewing angle from the actual slewing motion position up to the slewing stop angular position, an automatic control of re-slewing the slewing structure having been stopped before the slewing stop angular position. The apparatus executes slewing angular velocity control for deciding the slewing braking start timing to stop the stewing structure at a slewing stop angular position in accordance with a predetermined slewing deceleration and the subsequent target slewing angular velocity, based on the remaining slewing angle of the slewing structure. When the slewing structure stops before the slewing stop angular position due to disturbance despite the foregoing control, the target slewing angular velocity is corrected to be increased for generating slewing torque to restart the slewing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2013
    Assignees: Kobe Steel, Ltd., Kobelco Cranes Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroaki Kawai, Akira Tsutsui, Koichi Shimomura
  • Patent number: 8505292
    Abstract: Provided is a braking control apparatus for a slewing type working machine capable of giving a braking operation easily intuitively grasped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignees: Kobe Steel, Ltd., Kobelco Cranes Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Tsutsui, Hiroaki Kawai, Takahiro Kobayashi, Koichi Shimomura
  • Publication number: 20130152575
    Abstract: Provided is a hydraulic driving apparatus for a working machine, preventing an excessive decrease in pressure on a meter-in side and moving a load at a stable speed in a lowering direction. The apparatus comprises: a hydraulic pump; a hydraulic actuator; a manipulation device; a working hydraulic circuit including a meter-in flow passage and a meter-out flow passage; a control valve for changing a state of supply of hydraulic fluid to drive the hydraulic actuator at a speed designated by the manipulation device; a meter-in flow adjuster and a meter-out flow adjuster adapted to adjust a meter-in flow rate and meter-in flow rate respectively to respective value corresponding to the speed designated by the manipulation device; and a relief valve. The meter-in and meter-out flow adjusters have respective flow adjustment characteristics such that the meter-in flow rate is greater than the meter-out flow rate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2012
    Publication date: June 20, 2013
    Applicants: Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel, Ltd.), Kobelco Cranes Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kobelco Cranes Co., Ltd., Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)
  • Patent number: 8457846
    Abstract: A seat actuation control system includes at least one seat having a plurality of seat devices and a plurality of control modules interconnected over a communication bus. Each module is associated with a corresponding seat control device and is configured to control its corresponding seat device. Each module includes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor and storing program instructions therein which include receiving a status packet from each of the other control modules over the communication bus, processing the status packet for updating the overall system status, and actuating the seat device based on the overall system status. The program instructions further include determining status of the corresponding seat device, generating a status packet including the status information, and broadcasting the status packet to the other modules over the communication bus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2013
    Assignee: Crane Co.
    Inventors: Brian Fischer, Ary Geuvdjelian, Pan Kwok, Nicholas Flores
  • Publication number: 20130131891
    Abstract: A wheel speed transducer including a magnetic device associated with a wheel and a sensor device associated with the axle of the wheel provides data indicative of the velocity of the wheel. A processor located at the axle receives the wheel speed data and processes it to perform antiskid control functions. The velocity data is stored in a data concentrator also associated with the axle. A tire pressure sensor, a brake temperature sensor and a brake torque sensor, each associated with the wheel, send data to the processor at the axle, for storage in the data concentrator. A transmitting antenna associated with the axle and in communication with the data concentrator transmits stored data to a receiving antenna associated with the wheel. A data port at the wheel and in communication with the receiving antenna provides an interface to an external device for receiving the data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2013
    Publication date: May 23, 2013
    Applicant: HYDRO-AIRE, INC., A SUBSIDIARY OF CRANE CO.
    Inventor: Hydro-Aire, Inc. a subsidiary of Crane Co.