Patents Examined by Juan J Campos
  • Load crane main boom
    Patent number: 10889473
    Abstract: A load crane main boom of the telescopic type having cylinder-piston groups located inside the main boom tubular sections with reduced dimensions. The load crane main boom minimizes the main boom section thanks to a particular arrangement of the cylinder-piston groups. Each cylinder of each piston-cylinder group is connected to a respective boom section through at least one reinforcing rod extending perpendicular to the main boom axial direction and connected to respective section walls of the main boom. At least first and the second cylinder-piston group rods are further supported by a respective reinforcing plate, which is in turn connected to the respective boom section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: Fassi Gru S.P.A.
    Inventors: Rossano Ceresoli, Giovanni Fassi
  • Marine crane vessel and method of operation
    Patent number: 10875748
    Abstract: A marine vessel and a method of operation of such a marine vessel include a crane with a boom including a main boom section and a jib section and a variable length stay mechanism. The lattice boom is movable from a hoisting position into a parking position by a routine including operating the variable length stay mechanism allowing the jib section to fold towards the main boom section. The crane is provided with a fixation device adapted to establish fixation of the jib section relative to the main boom section in a folded position. A boom rest is mounted on the hull. The routine further includes operating the luffing assembly to position the jib member of the folded jib section, fixated to the main boom section, in the parking position onto the boom rest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: ITREC B.V.
    Inventors: Cornelis Martinus Van Veluw, Joop Roodenburg
  • Crane
    Patent number: 10870560
    Abstract: Provided is a crane capable of allowing an operator to recognize an error in work information or in a number of windings set in a safety device. A main tension of a main wire rope is calculated from a main output torque of a main winch, a sub output torque of a sub winch, a main drum winding radius of the main winch, and a sub drum winding radius of the sub winch. An estimated hanging load, which is calculated from the main tension, a sub tension of a sub wire rope and the number of windings of the wire rope set in a safety device, is compared with an actual hanging load calculated from fluctuating thrust force and boom information. Thus, the suitability of a work kind or a winding number set in the safety device is determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: TADANO LTD.
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Fukumori, Naoto Kawabuchi, Naofumi Yoshida
  • Mobile crane with ballast receiving apparatus
    Patent number: 10870561
    Abstract: The invention relates to a mobile crane having an undercarriage and a superstructure rotatable with respect to the undercarriage about an axis of rotation and having a ballast receiving apparatus arranged at the superstructure and having at least one ballasting cylinder for receiving ballast. In accordance with the invention, the position of the ballasting cylinders receiving the ballast is varied in the ballast receiving apparatus such that the ballast can be received in positions of different distances from the axis of rotation of the superstructure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: Liebherr-Werk Ehingen GmbH
    Inventors: Markus Bitz, Lars Eberhardt
  • Lifting assembly for elevating components to a wind turbine and a method for using the lifting assembly
    Patent number: 10865078
    Abstract: A lifting assembly for elevating components to a wind turbine. The lifting assembly comprises a plurality of tower segments adapted to be arranged on top of each other to form an elongated tower, and a lifting device including a support frame for supporting the tower, a securing assembly for securing the tower to the wind turbine, and a crane having a base part and a jib rotatably connected to the base part. The lifting device comprises a platform arranged vertically moveable between a lower and an upper position. The platform has a first storage area for supporting components with a weight of more than 10 tons. The crane is mounted on the platform and is configured to move the components between the platform and the wind turbine when the platform is in the upper position. The platform is provided with an opening adapted to receive the tower segments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Assignee: S&LAccess Systems AB
    Inventors: Michael Strandberg, Kenneth Lundberg
  • System for assembling/disassembling windmills
    Patent number: 10865077
    Abstract: A system for assembling/disassembling a windmill in a supporting tower, comprising a intermediate fixing structure with hydraulic supports for attachment, by pressure, to the tower; a main structure capable of being attached to the tower at various working positions by absorbing the diametral differences of the latter; two pivoting arms hinged to the main structure and capable of being positioned by hydraulic actuators; a secondary structure for hoisting tower segments, equipped with four cranes of a minor size for handling the main structure and the pivoting arms during hoisting/descent, and a counterbalancing group adjustable in height by means of capstans. The main structure and the intermediate structure include a detachable side for their withdrawal and separation from the tower during disassembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Assignee: SLING SUPPLY INTERNATIONAL, S.A.
    Inventors: Pedro Garitaonandia Aramberri, Mikel López Ruiz, Igor Rodríguez Aldea
  • Mobile crane comprising a ballast receiving device and method for ballasting a mobile crane
    Patent number: 10850951
    Abstract: The invention relates to a mobile crane having at least one ballast receiver that is vertically adjustable via one or more ballast cylinders and having a coupling for connecting the ballast cylinder or cylinders to the energy supply of the crane, wherein the energy supply can be releasably connected to the at least one ballast cylinder via at least one coupling part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: Liebherr-Werk Ehingen GmbH
    Inventor: Bernd Boos
  • Lifting device, in particular a mobile crane or a cable-operated excavator, having an apparatus for monitoring the raising and lowering procedures of a boom system and corresponding method
    Patent number: 10850953
    Abstract: The invention relates to a lifting device, in particular a mobile crane or a cable-operated excavator, having an apparatus for monitoring the raising and lowering procedures of a boom system of the lifting device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH
    Inventors: Walter Mietschnig, Manfred Schapler, Thomas Klimmer, Mathias Eder, Martin Stenech
  • Tower crane
    Patent number: 10843908
    Abstract: The invention relates to a tower crane with a crane tower and a jib mounted thereon as well as a counter-jib, wherein the length of the counter-jib is defined by the number of the counterweights received.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: LIEBHERR-WERK BIBERACH GMBH
    Inventor: Thomas Herse
  • Systems and methods for slung load stabilization
    Patent number: 10843905
    Abstract: A hoist support system includes a rail assembly having a rail along which a motor assembly is translatable by actuation of a motor of the motor assembly. The motor assembly is adapted to support a hoist and is communicatively coupled to a control system. The control system is adapted to measure motion of a slung load coupled to the hoist and to determine whether and to what extent the slung load is swinging or otherwise unstable. In response to such measurements, the control system transmits control signals to the motor of the motor assembly to change the position of the motor assembly along the rail and attenuate the motion of the slung load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: Summation Labs, LLC
    Inventors: Christopher Branden Kale, James Cornelius Maroney, Adam Joseph Sanchez
  • Luffing jib crane with a device for locking the jib in a raised configuration
    Patent number: 10836616
    Abstract: A crane includes a luffing jib and a lifting cylinder having a cylinder body and a movable rod hinged on the jib to displace the jib in lifting motion and in lowering motion, and a locking device adapted to cooperate with the lifting cylinder to mechanically lock the rod in a deployed holding position and block the jib in a raised holding configuration. The crane further includes a spacer hinged on the jib and supporting a stop, the spacer pivotable between a release position in which the spacer is shifted, allowing the movable rod to be freely displaced, and a locking position in which the spacer is folded so that the stop is capable of abutting on a bearing surface in a ball jointed connection with the cylinder body, to fixedly hold the movable rod in the deployed holding position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: Manitowoc Crane Group France
    Inventors: Sylvain Raymond, Lotfi Bouskine, Gabriel Fraisse, Sylvain Brunet, Anthony Champcenest
  • Luffing jib crane with a device for locking the jib in a raised configuration
    Patent number: 10836615
    Abstract: A crane having a luffing jib and a lifting cylinder includes a cylinder body and a movable rod hinged on the jib to raise and lower the jib, and a locking device adapted to cooperate with the lifting cylinder to mechanically lock the rod in a deployed holding position and block the jib in a raised holding configuration, and further including a spacer hinged on the jib and supporting an abutment, the spacer configured for pivoting between a release position wherein the spacer is offset, authorizing the movable rod to be displaced freely, and a locking position wherein the spacer is folded so that the abutment is able to bear on the cylinder body to fixedly maintain the movable rod in the deployed holding position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: Manitowoc Crane Group France
    Inventors: Michel Lissandre, Sylvain Raymond, Michael Mollenthiel, Florent Mourin, Alexis Thery
  • Crane
    Patent number: 10836612
    Abstract: The present invention is provided with: a manipulation unit; a winch device that operates with an actuation mode of either a high speed mode or a low speed mode, and winds in or reels out a wire rope; a selection unit for an operator to select either the high speed mode or the low speed mode; a load calculation unit calculating a suspended load; a tension calculation unit calculating the tension of the wire rope; and a control unit controlling the actuation of the winch device. If the mode selected by the selection unit is the high speed mode, the manipulation unit is manipulated from a neutral state to a non-neutral state, and the suspended load is smaller than a load threshold and the tension is smaller than a tension threshold, the control unit controls the winch device so as to operate in the high speed mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: TADANO LTD.
    Inventors: Naotaka Masuda, Kenji Urushihara, Takashi Kawano
  • Upper turning body for crane
    Patent number: 10836614
    Abstract: An upper turning body mounted on a lower body for a crane includes a turning frame mounted on the lower body to turn freely, and a boom provided to the turning frame to be raised and lowered freely. The turning frame includes a pair of attachment brackets to which a base end section of the boom is attached such that the boom is free to be raised and lowered, and a frame body to which the pair of attachment brackets are provided with an interval in a left-right direction of the upper turning body. The frame body is formed of a plurality of divided frames arranged side by side in the left-right direction of the upper turning body, adjacent divided frames of the plurality of divided frames being separably joined to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignees: KOBE STEEL, LTD., KOBELCO CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yasuto Kataoka, Takunori Yamaguchi, Hiromitsu Hamaguchi, Yasuhiro Nakashima, Yoji Hanawa, Hiroki Nakayama
  • Crane
    Patent number: 10829350
    Abstract: A crane 1, the hook (main hook 24) of which is stored on the lower end of a boom 7, and the winch (main winch 9) of which can be moved by a hydraulic motor 37, said crane being provided with a pressure sensor 55 capable of detecting the pressure of hydraulic fluid being delivered to the hydraulic motor 37, and a controller 61 capable of recognizing changes in the pressure of the hydraulic fluid on the basis of a signal from the pressure sensor 55, and also being provided with an anomaly warning means Mi capable of providing warning of anomalies pertaining to the storage of at least the hook (24), the controller 61 activating the anomaly warning means Mi when it is determined that the pressure of the hydraulic fluid when the hook has been stored is below a minimum value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: TADANO LTD.
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Fukumori, Naoto Kawabuchi, Naofumi Yoshida
  • Overhead transport vehicle
    Patent number: 10822205
    Abstract: In an overhead transport vehicle, an elevator includes shock absorbers attached to belts, and a base including a holder. The shock absorbers each include a support below the base. The base is vertically movable with respect to each of the supports with vibration isolators. The shock absorbers are connected by a link that operates to ensure similarity of respective distances between the base and the support connected to each other in each of the shock absorbers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: MURATA MACHINERY, LTD.
    Inventor: Makoto Kobayashi
  • Counterweight attachment mechanism for a crane
    Patent number: 10822212
    Abstract: A system and method for connecting a removable counterweight system to a crane including a lower assembly adapted to be connected to the counterweight system, an upper assembly adapted to be mounted to the crane, and a latch block assembly mounted to the upper assembly. The latch block assembly includes a plurality of blocks cooperating together to form a central counterbore for receiving a stud therein. The blocks are mounted within the upper assembly by at least one axle to allow for rotation of the blocks. A distal end of the stud is removably connected to the latch block assembly to attach the counterweight system to the crane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: Altec Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: William Baldwin Dodge, IV, Johnson X. Miles
  • Pipelayer machine having hoisting system with pivotable fairlead
    Patent number: 10807839
    Abstract: A machine includes a frame, ground-engaging elements coupled to the frame, and a hoisting system having a sideboom and a fairlead. The hoisting system also includes a hook pulley block and a hoisting cable extending through the fairlead and the hook pulley block and held in tension such that the hoisting cable couples pivoting of the fairlead to pivoting of the sideboom. The pivotable fairlead may be instrumented with position, cable loading, and cable feed sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: Shawn Philip Fanello, Timothy Edward Camacho
  • Counterweight device and construction machine
    Patent number: 10807840
    Abstract: A counterweight device installed in a rear end portion of a machine body frame includes amounting table having amounted counterweight, a hydraulic cylinder that raises/lowers the mounting table, a connection structure that connects the mounting table and a cylinder rod of the hydraulic cylinder, a support member that supports the hydraulic cylinder on the mounting table via an oscillating spindle, a first coupling mechanism that couples the connection structure and the rear end portion of the machine body frame to each other at a position where an upper end of the rear end portion is lower than an upper end of the connection structure, a second coupling mechanism that couples the support member and the rear end portion of the machine body frame to each other, a first operation unit that operates the first coupling mechanism, and a second operation unit that operates the second coupling mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: SUMITOMO HEAVY INDUSTRIES CONSTRUCTION CRANES CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kazunori Yamamoto
  • Bicycle derailleur having upper and lower alignment assemblies
    Patent number: 10793222
    Abstract: A rear derailleur is provided for a bicycle. The rear derailleur has an upper alignment assembly and a lower alignment assembly pivotally connected via a linkage assembly. The upper alignment assembly is pivotally attached to the bicycle along a b-knuckle mounting axis, and the upper alignment assembly includes a motor assembly to pivot the upper alignment assembly along an upper rotatable axis that is generally perpendicular to the b-knuckle mounting axis. The lower alignment assembly is pivotally attached to a pulley assembly along a p-knuckle mounting axis, and the lower alignment assembly includes a motor assembly to pivot the lower alignment assembly along a lower rotatable axis that is generally perpendicular to the p-knuckle mounting axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Inventor: Jonathan K. Harris