Gantry crane with elevating operator cab

A gantry crane comprising:

• first and second side support frames spaced by at least one beam;
• a load lifting mechanism operable to support a load between said first and second side support frames;
• and
• an operator cab comprising a door to provide access into an interior of the operator cab, a latch that automatically prevents the door from opening when the operator cab is moved vertically from the lower most position, and controls for moving the load lifting mechanism, wherein the operator cab is selectively moveable either horizontally or vertically in an operational plane defined by the first side support frame.

A gantry crane comprising:

• a first side support frame having two vertical legs connected by an upper side beam and a lower side beam, the lower side beam having a downwardly-extending portion defining a lowermost position;
• a second side support frame having two vertical legs connected to at least one side beam;
• at least one beam spacing the first and second side support frames;
• a load lifting mechanism operable to support a load between said first and second side support frames;
• and
• an operator cab that is vertically moveable generally between the lower side beam and upper side beam of the first side support frame and horizontally movable generally between the two vertical legs of the first side support frame.

A gantry crane comprising:

• a first and second support frames, each said support frame including a pair of vertical legs;
• at least one beam extending between the first and second support frames, the one beam and the first and second support frames defining an operating area there between;
• a load lifting mechanism operable to support a load between said first and second support frames;
• and
• an operator cab including controls for moving the load lifting mechanism, wherein the operator cab is horizontally and vertically movable in a plane defined tangent to the operating area by two of the vertical legs.

A gantry crane comprising:

• a frame including multiple vertical legs, the frame defining an operating area between said multiple vertical legs;
• a load lifting mechanism operable to support a load from the frame;
• an operator cab adapted to move relative to the frame and outside of the operating area, the operator cab including controls for moving the load lifting mechanism;
• means for vertically moving the operator cab relative to the frame;
• and
• means for horizontally moving the operator cab relative to the frame.

A gantry crane comprising:

• first and second side support frames spaced by at least one beam;
• a load lifting mechanism operable to support a load between said first and second side support frames, the load lifting mechanism and the first and second side support frames defining an operating area there between;
• an operator cab that is selectively moveable either horizontally or vertically in an operational plane defined by the first side support frame tangent to the operating area;
• and
• wherein the first side support frame includes at least two vertical support rails, and wherein a carriage beam connected to the operator cab is guided vertically along the rails.

A gantry crane comprising:

• first and second side support frames spaced by at least one beam;
• a load lifting mechanism operable to support a load between said first and second side support frames;
• and
• an operator cab that is selectively moveable either horizontally or vertically in an operational plane defined by the first side support frame, wherein the operator cab comprises a door to provide access into an interior of the operator cab, and a latch that automatically prevents the door from opening when the operator cab is moved vertically from a lower-most position.