US3656631A

US3656631A - Self-lifting crane

Info

Publication number: US3656631A
Application number: US22590A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gerald B Rauch; Wade Bridges
Original assignee: Hydro Tower Co
Current assignee: Hydro Tower Co
Priority date: 1970-03-25
Filing date: 1970-03-25
Publication date: 1972-04-18
Anticipated expiration: 1989-04-18

Abstract

A self-lifting crane adapted to raise or lower itself to different levels of any building or horizontal structural members of the building said crane including a frame having four lower outriggers and four upper outriggers which can be retracted and extended by hydraulic cylinders to selectively support the crane on horizontal structural members of a building and four lift outriggers which can be retracted and extended by hydraulic cylinders to selectively support the crane on horizontal structural members of a building; said lift outriggers being mounted in a support structure which can be moved up or down by hydraulic jacks to raise or lower the crane through the use of four positive displacement pumps; said crane including in its hydraulic system trim valving to supply to any one or more of said hydraulic jacks additional fluid to maintain the level of the crane.

Description

0 Un ted States Patent [151 3,656,631 Rauch et al. [45] Apr. 18,1972

s41 SELF-LIFTING CRANE FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Inventors: Gerald B. Ranch Cypress; wade Bridges Torrance, both of Calif.

Primary Examiner-Even C. Blunk [73] Asslgnee: Hydro Tower Assistant Examiner-Merle F. Mafiei [22] Filed: Mar. 25, 1970 Attorney-Noel G. Conway [21] Appl. No.: 22,590 57 I ABSTRACT A self-lifting crane adapted to raise or lower itself to different [52] US. Cl ..2l2/57, 182/ 141, 212/64 levels f any building or horizontal structural members of the [5 l] '1 23/ building said crane including a frame having four lower outrig- [58] Field of Search ..l87/9, 212/57, 64, 182/141, gets and four upper Outriggers which can be retracted and 1 60/52 R tended by hydraulic cylindersto selectively support the crane 56 R t Cited on horizontal structural members of a building and four lift 1 e erences Outriggers which can be retracted and extended by hydraulic UNITED STATES PATENTS cylinders to selectively support the crane on horizontal structural members of a building; said l|ft Outriggers being mounted Henry "I. R in a upport structure which can be moved up o down 3,516,513 6/ 1970 Robtfnson et 141 hydraulic jacks to raise or lower the crane through the use of 3,464,169 9/1969 P0131" 212/57 four positive displacement pumps; said crane including in its 3:536'161 10/1970 Clarke "187/9 X hydraulic system trim valving to supply to any one or more of 3,207,263 9/ 1965 "212/64 X said hydraulic jacks additional fluid to maintain the level of the crane.

10 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures l l l 32 I :2

PATENTED R 18 I972 3, 656,631

SHEET 1 OF 3 v INVENTORS. Gama: 5. E40 BY MP6 .Be/pg'ss PATENTEDAPRIBHYE 3,656,681

SHEET 2 UF 3 FIGA FIGJ' r- INVENTORS. 40944 .8. 2400/ Y We: 32/0925 SELF-LIFIING CRANE This invention relates to self-lifting cranes, and more particularly to such cranes which have the capability of accomplishing the self-lifting operation solely through the use of controls in the cab of the crane.

In the construction of building, there is fabricated the skeleton of the building consisting of I beam columns and horizontal support structural members. These structural members are quite often formed in the building with the columns being spaced to 28 feet apart. And, horizontal steel I beams extend between the columns and serve to support the floor structure of the building.

In such construction, the second floor is constructed, then the third floor, and so on. In such construction, there is the necessity that there be provided some sort of a powered crane in order to lift the building materials to the top of the structure to add additional floors to the building as the construction progresses. A crane embodying the principles of the present invention is able to raise the structural members in order to construct an upper floor. And then, the crane is able to lift itself up to the level of that upper floor. Thereafter, additional structural beams and members are raised in order that the skeleton for the next higher floor can be added.

Briefly, cranes embodying the present invention will include a frame having outriggers which can be extended and retracted as desired. The frame on which these outriggers are carried is sized so that it can accommodate the normal bay of such buildings-normally 20 through 28 feet. In such case, the outriggers can be extended to a position where they engage and are supported by horizontal structural members of the building skeleton. And-when desired-the outriggers can be retracted to permit the crane and its supporting frame to be moved upwardly or downwardly in the particular bay of the building.

Additionally, cranes embodying the present invention will incorporate lifting outriggers which not only have the capability of being retracted or extended as mentioned above, but have the capability of being raised or lowered a distance somewhat greater than the normal vertical distance between horizontal structuralmembers of a building. With this combination, the crane can be walked either upwardly as the. structure is being constructed, or downwardly-after the construction has been completed.

Cranes. embodying the present invention also incorporate the ability to be rolled from one bay of the skeleton to another as desired.

Self-lifting cranes have been provided in the past; however, they have had the disadvantages of expense in manufacture; and more importantly, they are much more difficult, and therefore slow, to use than cranes embodying the present invention.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a major object of this invention to provide an improved self-lifting crane.

It is another object of this invention to provide a self-lifting crane which has the capability of being operated solely from the cab of the crane.

A further object of this invention is to provide a self-lifting crane which is susceptible to being economically produced.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a selflifting crane which is able to use a hydraulic actuating system and yet maintain the level of the crane despite unbalanced loading of the crane during the lifting operation.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a self lifting crane which can beeasily used. I

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a selflifting crane which can be constructed economically and operated with a minimum of maintenance.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a self-lifting crane which can be easily moved from one portion of the job to another.

Other and further objects of this invention will become apparent in the detailed description below in conjunction with the attached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an elevating apparatus embodying the present invention;

I FIG. 2 is an enlargedfragmentary cross sectional view of a portion of the lifting outrigger subassembly taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view of a portion of the lifting outrigger subassembly, taken along line 3-=3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the elevating apparatus disclosed in FIG. I; I

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of a lifting outrigger taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view disclosing details of the manner in which the lifting outrigger functions;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a lifting outrigger, taken along line 7-7 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view disclosing the manner in which the hydraulic cylinder is connectedto the lifting outrigger, taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of a crane embodying the present invention with the elevating apparatus supporting the crane on the horizontal structural members of a building;

FIG. 10 is a similar view of said apparatus with the crane in an intermediate position during the lifting operation;

FIG. 11 is a similar view with the crane in its position at the completion of the raising operation but before the lifting outriggers are raised relative to the crane to the retracted position of the jacks of the apparatus; and,

.FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a preferred form of a hydraulic system incorporating the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment of the elevating apparatus of the present invention will be described. For ease of illustration, as the present elevating apparatus can be used with different types of cranes, the crane has not been included in the FIGS. 1 to 8.

The frame 10 includes left upper outriggers l2 and right upper outriggers 13 which are spaced above left lower outriggers l5 and right lower outriggers 16 by distance approximately equal to the normal level between two floors of a building. As will be described in further detail below, these outriggers l2, 13, 15, and 16 have the capability of being extended to a position where they can engage. and receive support from horizontal structural members of a building being constructed, and also be retracted to a point where they do not engage such structural elements. As will be, developed further below, the outriggers l2, l3, l5, and 16 must be selectively moved between the extended and retracted position in the process of elevating or lowering the crane.

The elevating apparatus also includes left lifting outriggers l8 and right lifting outriggers 19 which can be selectively retracted and extended as in the case of the outriggers l2, I3, 15, and 16. The subassemblies for the lifting outriggers l8 and 19 have the additional feature that they are so constructed that theycan be raised and lowered relative to the frame 10 a distance slightly greater than the distance between the upper outriggers l2 and 13 and the lower outriggers l5 and 16. The function of this movement will be described further below. However, at this time it should be noted that this vertical movement of the lifting outriggers l8 and 19 is accomplished through the use of

hydraulic jacks

21 and 22 respectively.

As seen best in FIGS. 1 and 4, the frame 10 preferably includes an anchor plate 24 to which a crane of the desired type is secured to the elevating apparatus. Such crane would be located on the anchor plate 24 with the center of rotation of the crane being centered on the vertical central axis of the frame 10, which vertical axis is indicated by center line 25.

At its upper end, the frame 10 includes support structure for the left upper outriggers 12 in the fonn of a box beam support 27 while a box beam support 28 functions to give proper support to right upper outriggers 13. The upper part of the frame 0 10 also includes upper cross beams 30 with upper cross ties 31 functioning to provide rigidity to the frame 10.

As in the case of the

box beams

27 and 28, box beams support 33 and 34 respectively serve to provide support structure for the left outriggers l5 and the right lower outriggers 16. And, lower cross beams 36 serve to rigidify the frame 10.

As the

outriggers

12 and 13 must be spaced above the outriggers 15 and 16, there are provided columns 38 at the four corners of the frame 10. And, cross ties 39 function to make the frame very rigid.

Self-elevating cranes incorporating the present invention can be made more useful if they can be moved easily from one bay to another bay in the building which is being constructed. To this end, there are provided at the lower end of the frame four wheels 40 on the

supports

33 and 34. The manner in which they are use will be described further below.

As mentioned previously, the lifting

outriggers

18 and 19 must be moved in the vertical direction in order to accomplish the self-elevating function of the apparatus. Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 4, details of a preferred subassembly including the lifting outriggers 19 will be described in detail. Preferably the means for mounting the subassembly include a pair of spaced vertical tracks 42 formed by a pair of vertical l beams which are fixed to the frame 10 by means such as being welded to the outrigger supports 28 and 34. Right lifting outrigger support 44 preferably comprises a box beam receiving the lifting outriggers 19 therein. And, the support 44 carries a set of four rollers 45 each of which is rotatably mounted on the outrigger support by means of a plate 47. As can best be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rollers 45 are positioned to ride in the channel formed on either side of web 48 of the I beam 42. Further, the rollers -45 are shaped so as to be complimentary to the surface of the beams associated flange 49 in order to more effectively distribute the loads involved. That is, each of the rollers 45 is tapered toward the web 48.

As can be seen, the rollers 45 function to securely constrain the movement of the support 44 to the tracks 42. Preferably, some means is also provided in order to allow the apparatus to accommodate the forces parallel to the support 44. To this end, there is preferably provided a bent portion 50 on each of the plates 47, which portion has rotatably mounted thereon a roller 51 which rides along the web 48 of the particular track 42 to give the desired support. (See FIGS. 2 and 3 in particular.)

An important aspect of the present invention is that the

various outriggers

12, 13, l5, l6, l8, and 19 can be extended by the crane operator without leaving his cab. Referring now to FIGS. 5, 7, and 8, details of a preferred manner of accomplishing this will be described in connection with the lifting outriggers 19 and their associated outrigger support 44. As can be seen, the means for retracting and extending the outriggers 19 preferably includes a pair of double acting cylinders 57 having their cylinder ends fixed to the support 44 through the use of a bolt 58 extending through an eye member connecting the cylinders. Each of the cylinders 57 has its piston end 59 connected to an appropriately placed tab 60 which is fixed to the web of a respective outrigger 19. With this arrangement, by proper supplying of hydraulic fluid to the cylinders 57, the outriggers can be moved between the retracted position shown in FIG. 5 and an extended position such as shown in FIG. 6. The hydraulic controls and system will be described in further detail below.

It will be noted that the structure disclosed in FIG. 5 lends itself to economical construction. Not only are the structural components readily available components, e.g., cylinders, box beams, and l beams. Further, the cylinders 57 can be secured between the outriggers 19 while these components are outside the box beam 44. Then, the assembly need merely be slid into the position disclosed in FIG. 5. And, at that time, the bolt 58 is merely slid into place in order to lock the outriggers 19 in operative position.

The jacks 22 serve to raise and lower the support 44 and the outriggers 19 between the upper and lower position of the lifting outriggers. As best seen in FIGS. 6 and 9 to 11, the jacks 22 have a series of telescoping ram sections 52 in order to minimize the required length of the jack when it is in the retracted position. Also, the lowermost end of the lowermost ram section 52 is connected to the support 44 by means of clevis plates 53.

The jacks 22 are the double-acting type. That is, each jack 22 is designed such that pressurized hydraulic fluid can force the ram sections into the extended position shown in FIG. 6, and alternatively, pressurized hydraulic fluid can retract the ram sections 52 from the extended position shown in FIG. 6 to the retracted position shown in FIG. 1. The purpose of this function will be described in further detail below.

As in the case of the lifting outriggers 19, there is a subassembly for the left lifting outriggers 18 including an outrigger support 54 having rollers 55 rotatably mounted thereon and riding in vertical tracks 56. Rollers 56a (see FIG. 4) perform the same function as the rollers 51.

It can be seen that the apparatus lends itself to economical construction. All of the elements involved, (e.g., lifting outriggers 19 which are made out of I beams) are made of readily available commercial structural members.

The

outriggers

12, 13, 15, 16, and 18 and the manner in which they are extended and retracted are preferably constructed in the same manner as the outriggers 19. Therefore, such construction is not shown in detail.

As mentioned previously, the wheels 40 serve to facilitate moving the assembly from one bay of a building to another bay. It has been found that it is also desirable to have wheels on the lifting outrigger supports 44 and 54 for this same purpose. To this end, there are provided wheels 61 on the outrigger support 44, and there are similar wheels (not shown) on the underside of the outrigger support 54.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10, the mode of operation of the elevation assembly will be described in further detail. In these figures, there is illustrated a typical crane having a cab 66 with a boom 67 extending upwardly and to one side. The crane includes mechanism which will hoist and lower weights on a hook 68. The crane is arranged on the elevating apparatus so that the crane will rotate 360 around the center line 25 of the frame 10. Therefore, the boom 67 can be extended in any direction.

For purposes of illustrating the manner of operation of the apparatus, there is disclosed in FIGS. 9 to 11, structural members of a building. The illustrative building structural members comprise columns 70 which are spaced apart approximately 20 to 28 feet to form bays between the columns (see FIG. 4 also). The structural members also include horizontal structural members at the elevation of each floor of the building as those floors are to be supported by such horizontal structural members. In the drawings, these horizontal structural members include lower horizontal structural members 71, intermediate horizontal structural members 72, and upper horizontal structural members 73. Extending at a right angle to the horizontal

structural members

71, 72, and 73 are other horizontal structural members 74.

In use, the self-elevating crane lifts itself from one level in the building to the next level in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 11. Referring now to FIG. 9, the assembly is shown with the lower outriggers 16 engaging and resting upon the lower horizontal structural members 71. In such case, the outriggers 15 would also be extended as the outriggers 16; however, the outriggers 15 cannot be seen in FIGS. 9 to 11. Also, the upper outriggers l2 and 13 could be extended at this time and the resting upon and engaging the intermediate horizontal structural members 72.

The first step in the lifting operation would be to extend the lifting

outriggers

18 and 19 if the same are not already extended. Then the

jacks

21 and 22 lift the crane slightly to lift the

upper outriggers

12 and 13 and the lower outriggers 15 and 16 from the horizontal

structural members

71 and 72. The next step would be to retract the

upper outriggers

12 and 13 and the lower outriggers 15 and 16 to the retracted position shown in FIG. 10 where they can pass between adjacent horizontal

structural members

71, 72, or 73.

At that time, the

jacks

21 and 22 further extend the ram sections 52 to lift the crane through the intermediate position shown in FIG. 10 to a position slightly above the position shown in FIG. 11. At that time, the operator extends the

upper outriggers

12 and 13 and the lower outriggers 15 and 16. Then, the operator retrects the

jacks

21 and 22 to lower the crane to the position shown in FIG. 11 where the

upper outriggers

12 and 13 and the lower outriggers 15 and 16 engage and rest upon the horizontal

structural members

73 and 72 respectively.

As can be seen, the lifting operation can be accomplished even though the lower outriggers 15 and 16 were not provided. However, it is preferred that the

upper outriggers

12 and 13 and the lower outriggers 15 and 16 are provided and also are extended during the normal operation of the cranealong with the lifting

outriggers

18 and 19. By this means, the loads on the crane can be distributed most widely to the horizontal structural members of the building, e.g., horizontal

structural members

71, and 72, or 72 and 73.

As mentioned previously, the

wheels

40 and 61 are provided on the undersides of the

supports

33, 34, 44, and 54 in order to facilitate moving the crane from one bay to another. As illustrated in FIG. 10, removable rails 76 could be positioned across the lower horizontal structural members 71 (the rail on the far side cannot be seen). These rails are positioned so that they are in vertical alignment with the wheels 40 on the

supports

33 and 34. Then, the crane is lowered to a position where the wheels 40 rest upon the rails 76 and support the crane. In such case, some horizontal

structural members

72 and 73 would have to be removed in order to allow the crane to be rolled along the rails 76 to another bay.

Alternatively, the rails on which the crane is moved laterally could be placed in line with the wheels 61 on the lifting outrigger supports 44 and 54. For example, assuming in FIG. 11 that the upper horizontal structural members 73 were not in place (in which case the

upper outriggers

12 and 13 would not have anything upon which to rest), the lower outriggers 15 and 16 could support the crane while the lifting outriggers l8 and 19 are raised two or three feet. Then, rails such as the rails 76 in FIG. could be laid across the immediate horizontal structural members 72 at positions below the wheels 61. Then, the

jacks

21 and 22 could be extended to cause the wheels 61 to engage the rails; and, further downward extension of the jacks causes the crane to lift itself to a position where the wheels 40 will clear the horizontal structural members 72 during the lateral movement of the crane. Then, when the crane is in a new bay, the crane can be lowered with the lower outriggers and 16 extended to transfer the weight off of the wheels 61 and back onto the lower outriggers. Then, the rails could be removed.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a preferred form of the hydraulic system used in the present invention, will not be described. The hydraulic system includes a reservoir 80 of hydraulic fluid. A motor 8l drives four ganged positive displacement pumps P1, P2, P3, and P4 when desired through a clutch 82. The output of the pumps .Pl-P4 are fed in parallel to four main valves 83 which are ganged together and operated by a single main control 84 as illustrated. Further, each of said output lines of the pumps Pl-P4 are connected through its separate one-way check valve 85 to a common pressure relief valve 86 in return line 87. Thus, when the main valves 83 are closed, the hydraulic fluid is merely pumped back into the reservoir 80 through the pressure relief valve 86thereby avoiding the danger of ruining the motor 81, clutch 82, and/or pumps Pl-P4. However, when the main valves 83 are opened there is a supply of hydraulic fluid at the pressure which is limited by the pressure relief valve 86.

From the main valves 83, each of the output lines feeds into a separate ram four-way valve 88, which four-way valves are ganged together to be operated by a single direction control 89 as illustrated.

As mentioned above, the

jacks

21 and 22 are preferably of the type which have telescoping rams. However, as such jacks are difficult to show in cross section, and since the idea can be more easily seen with a simpler operating cylinder, there is shown in FIG. 12 jacks 91 which correspond to the jacks 21 and jacks 92 which correspond to the jacks 22. Each of the

jacks

91 and 92 has a simplified ram 93 which is equivalent to the ram sections 52 of the

jacks

21 and 22.

With the hydraulic system thus described, the direction control89 can be positioned so that pressurized hydraulic fluid from the pumps P1-P4 will extend the rams 93 while hydraulic fluid is returned to the reservoir through return line 94. Conversely, the rams 93 can be moved to the retracted position by mere rotation of the ram four-way valves 88 through direction control 89.

It is important to note that the pumps Pl-P4 are positive displacement pumps. This is because it is desired that each of the pumps P1-P4 put out the same volume of pressurized hydraulic fluid although the pressure in the

respective jacks

91 and 92 may be different because of unequal loading on the four jacks. Practically speaking, the load of the crane on each of the four jacks will never be the same. It should be noted that the check valves prevent fluid from one of the pumps Pl-P4 being diverted into the jack supplied by another of said pumps P1-P4. Therefore, there can be a higher pressure in the supply line of one jack.

Even though the four pumps P1-P4 are positive displacement pumps, there is the problem that unequal amounts of hydraulic fluid may be supplied to the

different jacks

91 and 92. Most commonly, this is caused by leakage. Because of such problem, there must be provided means to trim the system in order to keep the frame 10 in proper orientation. To this end, there is provided an additional motor 96 which drives pump 97 having its output connected back to the reservoir 80 through a pressure relief valve 98. The pressure relief valve 98 is set at a somewhat higher pressure than the pressure relief valve 86. Further, the output of the pump 97 is connected through four separate valves 99 into the four separate input lines of the four

jacks

91 and 92. With this assembly, additional hydraulic fluid can be supplied to any selected

jacks

91 and 92 by individual manipulation of a proper valve 99. As the pressure relief valve 98 is set at a higher pressure than pressure relief valve 86, additional fluid will be supplied into a selected line when a particular valve 99 is opened.

The manner in which the

various outriggers

12, 13, 15, 16, 18, and 19 will now be described. In FIG. 12, it can be seen that the output of the pump 97 is also connected to three separately operable four-

way valves

101, 102, and 103. The four-way valve 101 operates the lower outriggers 15 and 16, the valve 102 operates the upper outriggers l2 and 13, and the valve 103 operates the lifting

outriggers

18 and 19. However, as only the details of lifting outriggers 19 were disclosed above, different numbers are used for the corresponding elements in FIG. 12. More particularly, two-way cylinders 105 are schematically shown with each having its respective ram or piston 106. The cylinders 105 could operate, e.g., the outriggers 16. In order to operate the outriggers 15, an additional two cylinders would be provided and supplied with pressure through hydraulic lines 107. As those cylinders would be the same as cylinders 105, they are not shown.

As in the case of the cylinders 105, upper outrigger cylinders 108 could function through their rams 109 to extend and retract the upper outriggers 13. Further, upper outriggers 12 would be operated by cylinders (not shown) which are the same as the cylinders 108, which cylinders would receive hydraulic fluid through lines 110. And, cylinders 111 would operate the lift outriggers 18 through lines 113 to cylinders 57 (not shown in FIG. 12) to extend and retract the lifting outriggers 19.

As the crane also requires pressurized hydraulic fluid to actuate the boom 67, an additional pump 115 is driven by the motor 81 to supply such pressurized fluid.

Although only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that such is by way of illustration and numerous changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, it is our intention that the invention be limited solely by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a self-lifting crane having a frame adapted to raise or a frame;

upper outriggers mounted at the same level on said frame, each of said upper outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member adjacent the frame and an extended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such a horizontal structural member;

lifting outriggers carried on said frame, each of said lifting outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member and an extended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such horizontal structural member;

mounting means connected between said frame and said lifting outriggers mounting said lifting outriggers for movement between an upper position slightly above the level of said upper outriggers and a lower position substantially below the level of said upper outriggers; and

power means for moving said lifting outriggers between said upper and lower positions.

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said power means comprises:

means comprises:

a source of hydraulic fluid at a pressure somewhat higher than the pressure supplied by said power means; and

a separate valve connecting each of said hydraulic jacks with said higher pressure fluid, whereby additional amounts of hydraulic fluid may be selectively added to any hydraulic jack to level the frame.

4. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said upper outriggers comprise:

a left and a right outrigger subassembly, each of said subassemblies comprising: a first and a second outrigger; an outrigger support comprising a box beam connected to said frame and supporting said first and second outriggers for horizontal movement along the same path, said first and second outriggers being slidably received within said box beam; and subassembly power means connected to each of said first and second outriggers and said support for selectively moving said first and second outriggers in opposite directions from their respective retracted positions to their respective extended positions and vice versa, said subassembly power means comprising: double action cylinders connected between the box beam and the beam for moving said beam between its retracted position where the beam is substantially entirely within the box beam and its extended position where the beam projects well beyond the end of 65 the box beam. 5. In a self-lifting crane having a frame, and being adapted to raise or lower itself to different levels in a building on horizontal structural members of the building, which members are adjacent the frame:

a frame; upper outriggers mounted at the same level on said frame, each of said upper outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member adjacent the frame and an extended position where it is adapted to. engage and rest upon such a horizontal structural member;

lifting outriggers carried on said frame, each of said lifting outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member and an extended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such horizontal structural member, said lifting outriggers comprising: left and right lifting outriggers subassemblies, each of said lifting subassemblies comprising: a first and a second outrigger; an outrigger support supporting each of said first and second outrigger for horizontal movement along the same path;

mounting means connected between said frame and said lifting outriggers mounting said lifting outriggers for movement between an upper position slightly above the level of said upper outriggers and a lower position substantially below the level of said upper position said mounting means for each outrigger subassembly comprising:

at least one vertical track rigidly attached to said frame;

and wheels on said outriggers support riding in said venical track; and

6. The apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein:

said vertical track is a vertical I beam and said wheels ride in the channel on opposite sides of the web portion of the vertical 1 beam.

7. The apparatus set forth in claim 6 wherein at least two of said wheels are on each side of the vertical track, one of said last mentioned two wheels engaging and riding on the web of said I beam track, the other of said last mentioned two wheels on each side of the vertical track is engaging and riding on one of the flanges of said I beam vertical track.

8. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 including:

lower outriggers mounted at the same level on said frame,

each of said lower outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member adjacent said frame and an extended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such a horizontal structural member.

9. The apparatus set forth in claim 7 wherein:

said lower position of said lifting outriggers is slightly below the level of said lower outriggers.

10. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 including:

wheel mounted on said mounting means, said wheels depending below said support and being adapted to engage and receive support from a rail placed below said mounting means, whereby a pair of rails can be placed below the wheels on said mounting means and the weight of the crane can be transferred to said wheels by forcing said lifting outrigger supports downwardly relative to said frame.

l= IQ

Claims

1. In a self-lifting crane having a frame adapted to raise or lower itself to different levels in a building on horizontal structural members of the building, which members are adjacent the frame: a frame; upper outriggers mounted at the same level on said frame, each of said upper outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member adjacent the frame and an extended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such a horizontal structural member; lifting outriggers carried on said frame, each of said lifting outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member and an extended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such horizontal structural member; mounting means connected between said frame and said lifting outriggers moUnting said lifting outriggers for movement between an upper position slightly above the level of said upper outriggers and a lower position substantially below the level of said upper outriggers; and power means for moving said lifting outriggers between said upper and lower positions.

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said power means comprises: a plurality of hydraulic jacks having extensible rams which may force the lifting outriggers up and sown when the rams are retracted and extended; fluid pump means connected to each of said hydraulic jacks for selectively extending or retracting the rams by supplying pressurized hydraulic fluid to said rams; and trim means for selectively supplying to any one or more of said hydraulic jacks additional hydraulic fluid to level said frame.

3. The apparatus set forth in claim 2 wherein said trim means comprises: a source of hydraulic fluid at a pressure somewhat higher than the pressure supplied by said power means; and a separate valve connecting each of said hydraulic jacks with said higher pressure fluid, whereby additional amounts of hydraulic fluid may be selectively added to any hydraulic jack to level the frame.

4. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said upper outriggers comprise: a left and a right outrigger subassembly, each of said subassemblies comprising: a first and a second outrigger; an outrigger support comprising a box beam connected to said frame and supporting said first and second outriggers for horizontal movement along the same path, said first and second outriggers being slidably received within said box beam; and subassembly power means connected to each of said first and second outriggers and said support for selectively moving said first and second outriggers in opposite directions from their respective retracted positions to their respective extended positions and vice versa, said subassembly power means comprising: double action cylinders connected between the box beam and the beam for moving said beam between its retracted position where the beam is substantially entirely within the box beam and its extended position where the beam projects well beyond the end of the box beam.

5. In a self-lifting crane having a frame, and being adapted to raise or lower itself to different levels in a building on horizontal structural members of the building, which members are adjacent the frame: a frame; upper outriggers mounted at the same level on said frame, each of said upper outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member adjacent the frame and an extended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such a horizontal structural member; lifting outriggers carried on said frame, each of said lifting outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member and an extended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such horizontal structural member, said lifting outriggers comprising: left and right lifting outrigger subassemblies, each of said lifting subassemblies comprising: a first and a second outrigger; an outrigger support supporting each of said first and second outrigger for horizontal movement along the same path; mounting means connected between said frame and said lifting outriggers mounting said lifting outriggers for movement between an upper position slightly above the level of said upper outriggers and a lower position substantially below the level of said upper position said mounting means for each outrigger subassembly comprising: at least one vertical track rigidly attached to said frame; and wheels on said outrigger support riding in said vertical track; and power means for moving said lifting outriggers between said upper and lower positioNs.

6. The apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein: said vertical track is a vertical I beam and said wheels ride in the channel on opposite sides of the web portion of the vertical I beam.

8. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 including: lower outriggers mounted at the same level on said frame, each of said lower outriggers being horizontally movable between a retracted position where it is not adapted to engage and rest upon a building horizontal structural member adjacent said frame and an extended position where it is adapted to engage and rest upon such a horizontal structural member.

9. The apparatus set forth in claim 7 wherein: said lower position of said lifting outriggers is slightly below the level of said lower outriggers.

10. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 including: wheel mounted on said mounting means, said wheels depending below said support and being adapted to engage and receive support from a rail placed below said mounting means, whereby a pair of rails can be placed below the wheels on said mounting means and the weight of the crane can be transferred to said wheels by forcing said lifting outrigger supports downwardly relative to said frame.