System of a crane and an exchangeable tool

A system comprising a crane, a male-to-male adapter and multiple exchangeable tools,

• wherein the crane comprises a hoist assembly, comprising one or more hoist winches and one or more hoist cables, driven by the one or more hoist winches,
• the crane further comprising a tool suspension device with a travelling block member, suspended from the one or more winch driven hoist cables of the hoist assembly, the travelling block member comprising multiple cable sheaves through which the one or more hoisting cables are run so that the tool suspension device is suspended by the one or more winch driven cables in a multiple fall arrangement,
• each exchangeable tool comprising at an upper side thereof a female tool counterconnector that is configured to be mated with the male-to-male adapter;
• the multiple exchangeable tools each have an identical female tool counterconnector allowing to suspend the exchangeable tools from the same tool suspension device;
• wherein the male-to-male adapter comprises a shank with a shoulder at an upper side of the shank and a male tool connector at the lower end of the shank;
• the male tool connector being configured to mate with the female tool counterconnector of the exchangeable tool;
• the tool suspension device further comprising a tool clamp comprising:
• a) one or more mobile retainers, adapted to releasably engage the shoulder of the shank of the male-to-male adapter so as to suspend the male-to-male adapter underneath the tool suspension device;
• the tool clamp further comprising:
• b) a clamp housing being supported pivotally by the travelling block member around a substantially horizontal connector pivot axis extending through the travelling block member below the mobile tool retainers, such as to allow a pivoting of the tool clamp around the connector pivot axis, and to absorb the load of the suspended male-to-male adapter mated with the exchangeable tool, and any load supported by the exchangeable tool;
• the tool clamp further comprising:
• c) a female, open-centered body defining a shank receiving passage with a central vertical axis allowing introduction of the shoulder of the male-to-male adapter into the passage from below, each mobile tool retainer being mounted on the female, open-centered body, and the mobile tool retainers being distributed around the shank receiving passage, so as to each provide an operative and a non-operative position of the mobile tool retainer, the mobile tool retainers being adapted to—in a non-operative position—allow introduction of the shank of the male-to-male adapter from below into the receiving passage and—in an operative position—engage below the shoulder of the shank that has been introduced into the passage so as to suspend the male-to-male adapter mated with the exchangeable tool from the tool clamp;
• the tool clamp further comprising
• d) a bearing mounted between the clamp housing and the female, open-centered body, said bearing supporting the female, open-centered body so as to allow for swivelling of the female, open-centered body with the tool retainers, and thereby the exchangeable tool if mated with the male-to-male adapter and if the male-to-male adapter is engaged by the tool retainers, about a vertical axis of the clamp housing relative to the clamp housing;
• the tool clamp further comprising:
• e) a rotational drive operative between the clamp housing and the female, open-centered body and configured to selectively drive said swivelling of the female, open-centered body and of the mobile tool retainers mounted thereon, and thereby of the exchangeable tool, relative to the clamp housing about the central vertical axis of the tool clamp.