Harnischfeger Corporation

Charles L Wadsworth

Dieter C Juergens

Disclosed is a crane wherein a trailer-like counterweight carrier has a horizontal motion transmitting connection with a platform which is swivelably mounted on a crane base and which supports the boom and the mast of the crane. Guy connections between the counterweight carrier and the top of the mast and between the mast and the boom translate forward tilting force that a lifted load imposes upon the boom into lifting force on the counterweight carrier. A lost motion connection between the counterweight carrier and the platform comprises rigid members. It allows the carrier to be lifted to a predetermined height above the ground and at that point imposes upon the crane chassis further lift force upon the counterweight carrier, so that the crane base cooperates with the counterweight in resisting forward tilting of the boom under heavy loads. The lost motion connection requires no adjustment to adapt it for different loads and different inclinations of the boom and mast.

Crane with outboard counterweight carrier

The inner end of a tower crane boom is connected to the top of its tower by two lugs fixed on the tower, each having an upwardly opening slot, and two trunnions fixed on the inner end portion of the boom, one for each lug, each rotatably seatable in the rounded bottom of the slot in its lug. The slot bottom in one lug defines a first fixed axis, midway between the front and rear sides of the tower, about which the boom swings in its range of working positions; that in the other lug defines a second fixed axis, near the front side of the tower, about which the boom swings to and from an inoperative position wherein it extends along the front side of the tower. The distance between the trunnion axes equals the distance between the fixed axes. Links confine the boom against moving to a position in which neither trunnion is seated in the slot in its lug. Each link has a pivot connection with the tower at a fixed axis defined by one lug and a pivot connection with the boom at the axis defined by the trunnion for the other lug. Preferably, lugs, trunnions and links are duplicated at opposite sides of a vertical plane of symmetry.

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Escanaba, MI, United States of America

Charles L Wadsworth