AU2005309124A1

AU2005309124A1 - Full gantry crane for conveying track panels

Info

Publication number: AU2005309124A1
Application number: AU2005309124A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Manfred Brunninger; Josef Theurer
Original assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen Industrie GmbH
Current assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen Industrie GmbH
Priority date: 2004-11-22
Filing date: 2005-09-08
Publication date: 2006-06-01
Also published as: WO2006056251A9; AT501271B1; AT501271B8; AT501271A4; US20070199472A1; WO2006056251A1; CN101061276A; EA200700935A1; EP1817464A1

Description

VERIFICATION OF TRANSLATION Australian Patent Application relating to: "A gantry crane for transporting track panels" 1, Helmut P. Wind, of Drischutzgasse 10/32, A-1 110 Vienna, Austria, am the translator of the documents attached and I state that the following is a true translation to the best of my knowledge and belief. Signature of translator: Dated 1st March 2007 1 A gantry crane for transporting track panels. The invention relates to a gantry crane for transporting track panels according to the features cited in the introductory clause of claim 1. From EP 0 505 240 A 1, a gantry crane of this type for transporting track panels is already known. This gantry crane has a gantry frame which is mobile with the aid of four vertically adjustable crawler tracks. Arranged on the gantry frame are lifting tools, spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction of the frame, for gripping the track panel. In addition, vertically adjustable flanged rollers are provided by means of which the gantry crane is also mobile on a track. Also known - according to DE 2 309 930 A 1 - is a further gantry crane for laying track panels, comprising a carrying device gripping the track panel to be transported. The gantry crane has vertically and laterally adjustable crawler tracks as well as vertically adjustable lifting rams arranged at either side thereof. Several of these gantry cranes are driven onto the laid-down track panel via flanged rollers and are connected to the track panel by means of corresponding lifting tools. Subsequently, the track panel is raised by lowering the lifting rams onto the ballast bed, and the crawler track is lowered onto the ballast bed by lateral and vertical adjustment underneath the track panel. After all four lifting rams have at last been raised, the track panel is moved into the construction gap with the aid of the crawler tracks. Finally, a track maintenance machine for exchanging a track panel is known from DE 33 40 739 A 1. This track maintenance machine consists essentially of an elongated beam which, at the ends, may be selectively supported on an on-track undercarriage or a crawler track. It is the object of the invention to create a gantry crane of the kind mentioned at the beginning which possesses optimal manoeuvrability even under spatially constricted conditions.

2 According to the invention, this object is achieved with a gantry crane mentioned at the beginning in that each chassis frame is designed to be rotatable relative to the longitudinal beam by means of a vertical axis of rotation which is arranged centrally between the two crawler tracks and connects the two transverse beams to the longitudinal beam. As a result of this structurally relatively simple configuration, the mobility of the gantry crane is significantly improved, so that the picked-up track panel may be transported without problems also transversely or obliquely to the longitudinal direction of the track. In this, it is of particular advantage that the stability of the frame is not compromised in any way. The chassis frame is manoeuvrable very simply by means of variable actuation of the motive drives. The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to an embodiment represented in the drawing in which Fig. 1 shows a side view of a gantry crane, Fig. 2 shows a cross-section according to section line 11 in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 shows a schematic top view of the gantry crane. The gantry crane 1, visible in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, comprises a central longitudinal beam 5 which is connected by means of two chassis frames 24 to crawler tracks 4. Each chassis frame 24 is formed by two vertical beams 20 and two transverse beams 6 in each case, the latter extending perpendicularly or at an angle to a longitudinal direction 2 of the longitudinal beam 5. Each chassis frame 24 is designed to be rotatable relative to the longitudinal beam 5 by means of a vertical axis of rotation 25 which is arranged centrally between the two crawler tracks 4 and connects the two transverse beams 6 to the longitudinal beam 5. As can be seen in Fig. 3, a maximum angle of rotation a ± 15 0 of the chassis frame 24 with respect to the longitudinal direction 2 of the longitudinal beam 5 is possible. The axis of rotation 25 extends perpendicularly with regard to the longitudinal direction of the two transverse beams 6.

3 Fastened to the longitudinal beam 5 are power sources 7 consisting essentially of an internal combustion engine and a hydraulic pump. In addition, guide members 8, spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction of the frame, are vertically adjustably mounted on the longitudinal beam 5 and connected in each case to drives 9 for vertical adjustment. The lower end of each guide member 8 is connected to a horizontally extending beam 10 which, in turn, is connected to two lifting tools 11 spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction of the beam. Each beam 10 is supported on said guide member 8 for rotation about a vertical axis 12. The lifting tools 11 are designed in the known manner in the shape of clamps or hooks for form-fittingly gripping a rail head or a rail base of a track panel 13 to be transported. Each of the four said crawler tracks 4 consists of two undercarriage units 14,15 which are spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction of the frame or in the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal beam 5. Both undercarriage units 14,15 are connected to one another in each case by means of a chassis beam 17 mounted on the vertical beam 20 for pivoting about a horizontal axis 16 extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the frame. Each undercarriage unit 14,15, in turn, is mounted on the chassis beam 17 for pivoting about a horizontal undercarriage axis 18 extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the frame. A separate motive drive 19 is associated with each undercarriage unit 14 or 15 designed as a crawler track 4. The two horizontal undercarriage axes 18 of the two undercarriage units 14,15 are arranged spaced from one another at a distance of about 2.5 to about 3.5 meters, preferably 3 meters. As visible particularly in Fig. 2, two drives 9 are fastened to the longitudinal beam 5 for vertical adjustment of each guide member 8, respectively. Vertical adjustment drives 3 are arranged inside the two-part vertical beams 20, the latter being telescopically extendable in the vertical direction. As can be seen in the left half of Fig. 2, the lower ends of two vertical beams 20 at a time, adjustable in the vertical direction and associated in each case with a crawler track 4, are connected to one another by means of a connecting beam 21. The said chassis beam 17 is fastened to the latter for pivoting about the horizontal axis 16. The respective upper halves of the two 4 two-part vertical beams 20 are connected to a guide tube 22 displaceably mounted within the transverse beam 6. With the aid of a transverse adjustment drive 23, the guide tube 22, together with the vertical beams 20 and the associated undercarriage units 14,15, is adjustable in the longitudinal direction of the transverse beam 6. For removing a track panel 13, the gantry crane 1 is moved forward, with the aid of the crawler tracks 4, on the region of the ballast bed or the earth formation laterally adjoining the laid track, until the construction gap is reached. Subsequently, the longitudinal beam 5 together with the transverse beams 6 is lowered by means of corresponding actuation of the vertical adjustment drives 3. The drives 9 are then actuated until the lifting tools 11 come to lie immediately above the rails of the track panel 13 to be gripped. After the said lifting tools 11 have been form-fittingly engaged with the associated rail, the track panel 13 is lifted by actuation of the vertical adjustment drives 3 and the drives 9 (see Fig. 1). By actuation of the motive drives 19, the raised track panel 13 can now be transported away, during which a better adaptation to an uneven riding surface is ensured due to the special design and mounting of the crawler tracks 4. In that, the individual undercarriage units 14,15 are pivotable about both the undercarriage horizontal axis 18 and the horizontal axis 16. The expression "horizontal" refers to that situation in which the gantry crane 1 is resting on a horizontal plane.

Claims

1. A gantry crane for transporting track panels (13), including a longitudinal beam (5) comprising lifting tools (11) provided for gripping the track panel (13), the longitudinal beam (5) being mobile by means of crawler tracks (4) fastened in pairs to a chassis frame (24), wherein each chassis frame (24) is composed of two vertical beams (20), connected in each case to a crawler track (4) and comprising a vertical adjustment drive (3), and transverse beams (6) extending perpendicularly to a longitudinal direction (2) of the longitudinal beam (5), the transverse beams (6) being connected to the vertical beams (20) and transversely adjustable by drives (23), characterized in that each chassis frame (24) is designed to be rotatable relative to the longitudinal beam (5) by means of a vertical axis of rotation (25) which is arranged centrally between the two crawler tracks (4) and connects the two transverse beams (6) to the longitudinal beam (5).