Vacuum lifting tube arrangement having extension-lockable lifting tube

A vacuum lifting tube arrangement (10), comprising:

• a support structure (20);
• a vacuum source (30);
• a lifting tool (40) configured to engage with an object (100) to be lifted;
• a flexible lifting tube (50) having a lower end (60) and a upper end (70), respectively, the lower end (60) of the flexible lifting tube (50) being attached to the lifting tool (40) and the upper end (70) of the flexible lifting tube (50) being secured to the support structure (20), a vacuum conduit (35) fluidly connecting an inner volume (65) of the flexible lifting tube (50) with the vacuum source (30), said flexible lifting tube (50) being configured to be contractible from a relaxed extended state, and extendible from a contracted state, respectively, by regulating the pressure inside the flexible lifting tube (50);
• a controllable height-regulating valve (75) configured to, in an open state of said valve, fluidly connect at least one of the inner volume (65) of the flexible lifting tube (50), and the vacuum conduit (35), to ambient air;
• an input device (90) configured to send a height control signal (S1) indicative of a target height of the lifting tool (40), a control unit (130) configured to receive the height control signal (S1) indicative of the target height of the lifting tool (40), and, to control a current state of the height-regulating valve (75) in proportion to the target height by sending a valve control signal (S2) to the height-regulating valve (75);
• the vacuum lifting tube arrangement further comprising:
• a rotatable reel (120) secured to a lower portion (13) or an upper portion (15) of the vacuum lifting tube arrangement (10);
• a wire or cord (80) having a first end (83) and a second end (85), the first end (83) being secured to the upper portion (15) or the lower portion (13) of the vacuum lifting tube arrangement (10), the second end (85) being secured to the rotatable reel (120);
• an actuator (110) configured to receive an actuation control signal (S3), and to, upon actuation, engage with the rotatable reel (120), thereby preventing the rotatable reel (120) from rotating in a direction releasing cord or wire (80) from the rotatable reel (120),
• wherein the control unit (130) is further configured to, essentially at the same time, deactivate the vacuum source (30) by sending a deactivation control signal (S4) to the vacuum source (30), and to prevent the rotatable reel (120) from rotating in a direction releasing cord or wire (80) from the rotatable reel (120) by sending the actuation control signal (S3) to the actuator (110).