Universal gantry crane

A gantry crane for travelling along rails, the said crane having a pair of legs, the base portion of the said legs being horizontally disposed, a rail engaging drive wheel unit mounted on the end portions of the horizontally disposed base portion of the said legs, a bridge girder secured at its ends to the uppermost portion of the said pair of legs, a shuttle girder mounted for travel along one vertical outwardly facing surface of the said bridge girder for outreaching the ends of the bridge girder, a load hoisting trolley mounted for travel along a vertical outwardly facing surface of the said shuttle girder remote from the said bridge girder, the said load hoisting trolley being located in a vertical plane intermediate the length of the base portion of the legs of the gantry crane, means to move the said shuttle girder and the said load hoisting trolley relative to each other and to the said bridge girder, and means to operate the said load hoisting trolley to raise and lower a load at any position of the load hoisting trolley with respect to the said shuttle girder and the said bridge girder, and means to locate and secure the gantry crane in a designated position on the rails on which the crane travels, said shuttle girder being provided with a buffer stop located midway of the length of the shuttle girder, and the said bridge girder being provided with a first pair of stops, one located at each end of the bridge girder, and with a second pair of stops located in spaced apart relationship on either side of the midpoint of the length of the bridge girder, the said second pair of stops being individually retractable and together adapted to engage with the said buffer stop on the shuttle girder to hold same in midposition relative to the length of the bridge girder, and when one or the other of the second pair of stops on the bridge girder is retracted to permit the said shuttle girder to move outwardly in one direction or the other relative to the bridge girder to the limit provided by engagement of the said buffer stop on the shuttle girder with one or the other of the said first pair of stops at the ends of the bridge girder.

A gantry crane for travelling along rails, the said crane having a pair of legs, the base portion of the said legs being horizontally disposed, a rail engaging drive wheel unit mounted on the end portions of the horizontally disposed, base portion of the said legs, a bridge girder secured at its ends to the uppermost portion of the said pair of legs, a shuttle girder mounted for travel along one vertical outwardly facing surface of the said bridge girder for outreaching the ends of the bridge girder, a load hoisting trolley mounted for travel along a vertical outwardly facing surface of the said shuttle girder remote from the said bridge girder, the said load hoisting trolley being located in a vertical plane intermediate the length of the base portion of the legs of the gantry crane, means to move the said shuttle girder and the said load hoisting trolley relative to each other and to the said bridge girder, and means to operate the said load hoisting trolley to raise and lower a load at any position of the load hoisting trolley with respect to the said shuttle girder and the said bridge girder, and means to locate and secure the gantry crane in a designated position on the rails on which the crane travels, said load hoisting trolley including a series of hoisting rope pulleys, and the means to operate the said load hoisting trolley for raising and lowering a load including a hoisting winch mounted above one end of said bridge girder, a load hoisting rope reaved about the pulleys in the load hoisting trolley and about a load carrying hook block below the trolley, one end of the said rope being reaved about a pulley at one end of the said shuttle girder and the other end of the rope being reaved about a pulley at the opposite end of the shuttle girder and about a pulley mounted on the end of the said bridge girder opposite from the said hoisting winch, both ends of said load hoisting rope being secured to the said hoisting winch for simultaneous inwinding and outwinding of the rope.

A gantry crane for travelling along rails on the deck of a ship, said crane having a pair of legs, the base portion of the said legs being horizontally disposed, a rail engaging drive wheel unit mounted on the end portions of the horizontally disposed base portion of the said legs, a bridge girder secured at its ends to the uppermost portion of the said pair of legs, a shuttle girder mounted for travel along one vertically outwardly facing surface of the said bridge girder for outreaching the ends of the bridge girder, a load hoisting trolley mounted for travel along a vertical outwardly facing surface of said shuttle girder remote from said bridge girder, said load hoisting trolley being located in a vertical plane intermediate the length of the base portion of the legs of the gantry crane, means to move said shuttle girder and said load hoisting trolley relative to each other and to said bridge girder, and means to operate said load hoisting trolley to raise and lower a load at any position of the load hoisting trolley with respect to the said shuttle girder and the said bridge girder, and means to locate and secure the gantry crane in a designated position on the rails on the deck of the ship on which the crane travels, said means to secure the gantry crane in a designated position including a pair of pedestals located immediately inwards on the deck surface on which the rails supporting the crane is laid, and a locking device on the inward facing surface of said legs of the crane engageable with securing means located on the top surface of said pedestals.

A gantry crane for travelling along rails, the said crane having a pair of legs, the base portion of the said legs being horizontally disposed, a rail engaging drive wheel unit mounted on the end portions of the horizontally disposed base portion of the said legs, a bridge girder secured at its ends to the uppermost portion of the said pair of legs, a shuttle girder mounted for travel along one vertical outwardly facing surface of the said bridge girder for outreaching the ends of the bridge girder, a load hoisting trolley mounted for travel along a vertical outwardly facing surface of the said shuttle girder remote from the said bridge girder, the said load hoisting trolley being located in a vertical plane intermediate the length of the base portion of the legs of the gantry crane, means to move the said shuttle girder and the said load hoisting trolley relative to each other and to the said bridge girder, and means to operate the said load hoisting trolley to raise and lower a load at any position of the load hoisting trolley with respect to the said shuttle girder and the said bridge girder, and means to locate and secure the gantry crane in a designated position on the rails on which the crane travels, said gantry crane being mounted on a vessel, and the means to secure the gantry crane including a locking device on the port and starboard outer facing surfaces of the after superstructure of the vessel where at least the forward portion of the superstructure has a width approximately that of the width of the hatch coamings, and the rails on which the gantry crane runs extending on either side of the said forward portion of the superstructure.