阅读说明：本技术 建筑和/或材料处理机械及用于引导和移动工作头的方法 (Construction and/or material handling machine and method for guiding and moving a working head ) 是由 罗伯特·布拉曼博格 马丁·科格尔 于 2020-04-02 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及用于引导和移动特别是3D打印头的工作头的方法和建筑或材料处理机械,其中,至少三台旋转塔式起重机利用它们的吊臂相互固定,其中,根据本发明的一方面,承载工作头的引导梁被固定在两台旋转塔式起重机的至少两个吊运车上,并且通过沿两台旋转塔式起重机的两个吊臂移动吊运车来设置和移动工作头的工作位置。(The invention relates to a method and a construction or material handling machine for guiding and moving a working head, in particular a 3D printing head, wherein at least three rotating tower cranes are fixed to each other with their booms, wherein according to one aspect of the invention a guide beam carrying the working head is fixed to at least two trolleys of two rotating tower cranes and the working position of the working head is set and moved by moving the trolleys along the two booms of the two rotating tower cranes.)

1. Method for guiding and moving a working head (2), in particular a 3D printing head,

characterized in that at least three rotating tower cranes (4) are fixed to each other with their booms (6) such that the guide beam (14) carrying the working head (2) is fixed to at least two trolleys (15) of two rotating tower cranes (4), and

the working position of the working head (2) is set and moved by moving the trolley (15) along the two booms (6) of the two rotating tower cranes (4).

2. Method for guiding and moving a working head (2), in particular a 3D printing head,

characterized in that at least three rotating tower cranes (4) are fixed to each other with their booms (6) such that a cable system (20) comprising adjustable control cables (21) and (22) is fixed to the at least three rotating tower cranes (4), and

setting and moving the working position of the working head (2) by adjusting the cable system (20) relative to the three rotating tower cranes (4) fixed to each other.

3. A construction and/or material handling machine for building structures and/or manipulating work pieces, comprising a working head (2) movably mounted on a supporting frame structure (3),

characterized in that the supporting frame structure (3) is formed by at least three rotating tower cranes (4), the rotating tower cranes (4) each comprising a vertical tower (5) and at least one boom (6) which is carried by the tower (5) and can rotate about a vertical rotary mechanism axis relative to the tower (5) or together with the tower, wherein the rotating tower cranes (4) are fixed to each other with their booms (6) and form a polygonal supporting frame.

4. Construction and/or material handling machine according to the preceding claim, wherein the rotary tower cranes (4) are each designed as a mobile crane comprising a chassis (7) with a running gear (8) that can be moved over the ground and a rotary platform (10) that is mounted on the chassis (7) so as to be rotatable about a vertical rotary mechanism axis and on which the tower (5) of the rotary tower crane (4) is mounted.

5. Construction and/or material handling machine according to the preceding claim, wherein the travelling mechanism (8) has a travelling drive and/or the tower (5) is mounted tiltable about a horizontal tower rotation axis relative to the rotary platform (10) and/or the tower (5) and the boom (6) are foldable together.

6. The building and/or material handling machine according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the rotary tower cranes (4) each comprise a height adjustable, in particular telescopic, tower (5) which can be adjusted in height, in particular telescopic, by means of a length adjustment drive.

7. The building and/or material handling machine according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the booms (6) of at least two rotating tower cranes (4) are designed to be length adjustable, in particular telescopic.

8. Construction and/or material handling machine according to any of the preceding claims, wherein for fixing the rotating tower cranes (4) to each other, a quick coupling (13) is provided for locking the suspended boom ends in a form-locking manner and/or for holding them in a force-locking manner on adjacent parts of the respectively adjacent rotating tower crane (4).

9. Construction and/or material handling machine according to the preceding claim, wherein the quick coupler (13) comprises coupling halves that can be engaged in a form-fitting manner, said coupling halves being mutually fixable by means of a movable locking element.

10. The building and/or material handling machine (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein one coupling half of the quick coupler (13) is provided at the end of each boom (6) and the other coupling half is provided on the tower (5) or on the boom (6) of the respective adjacent tower.

11. Construction and/or material handling machine according to any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the quick coupling (13) is designed to be switchable between two coupling modes, wherein in a first coupling mode the suspended boom end is rigidly fixed on the adjacent rotating tower crane (4) and in a second coupling mode the suspended boom end is held on the adjacent rotating tower crane (4) with limited elastic movement and/or with clearance.

12. The construction and/or material handling machine according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said working head (2) is suspended on a cross beam (14) mounted in a longitudinally movable manner on the two booms (6) of two rotating tower cranes (4).

13. Construction and/or material handling machine (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said cross beam (14) is fixed to the trolley (15) of two rotating tower cranes (4), said trolley (15) being movable longitudinally along the booms (6) of said two rotating tower cranes (4) by means of a trolley drive.

14. The building and/or material handling machine (1) according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the cross beam (14) is designed to be length-changeable, in particular telescopic.

15. The construction and/or material handling machine (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said working head (2) is suspended on a cross beam carriage (16) which is longitudinally movable along said cross beam (14) by a carriage drive.

16. The construction and/or material handling machine (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said working head (2) is suspended in a height-adjustable manner on said cross-beam carriage (16).

17. The building and/or material handling machine (1) according to any of the two preceding claims, wherein the traverse 14 protrudes beyond at least one of the booms (6) and forms a movement path for the traverse carriage (16) which extends inside and outside a polygon braced by the boom (6).

18. The construction and/or material handling machine according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said rotating tower cranes (4) each comprise climbing means (19) for climbing tower sections into and out of the tower (5) of each of said rotating tower cranes (4).

19. The construction and/or material handling machine according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the working head (2) is suspended from the rotating tower crane (4) fixed to each other by a cable system (20) comprising at least three control cables (21, 22), wherein a cable winch is provided for adjusting the control cables (21, 22) relative to the rotating tower crane (4) and/or relative to the working head (2).

20. Construction and/or material handling machine according to the preceding claim, wherein two articulation points for articulating two control cables (21, 22) and spaced apart from each other in height are provided on each tower (5) of the rotary tower crane (4), respectively, so that the two control cables (21, 22) on the respective tower (5) extend in a common vertical plane in a manner offset in height relative to each other with respect to the working head (2).

21. Construction and/or material handling machine according to the preceding claim, wherein said two articulation points are arranged at the upper and lower end of the tower (5) so that one control cable (21) pulls the working head (2) upwards and the other control cable (22) pulls the working head (2) downwards.

22. Construction and/or material handling machine according to any of the two preceding claims, wherein the control cables (21, 22) on the tower (5) are deflected by cable pulleys (23) at the articulation points on the tower and are guided to the cable winches arranged in the region of the foundation and/or on the rotary platforms of the respective rotary tower cranes (4).

23. The building and/or material handling machine according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the tower (5) and the boom (6) of each rotary tower crane (4) are only held on their rotary platform (10) and/or are designed without ground bracing anchored to the ground.

24. Construction and/or material handling machine according to any of claims 3 to 22, wherein the tower (5) is removable from the chassis (7) and/or the rotary platform (10) of the respective rotary tower crane (4), wherein a construction anchor (50) for fixing and holding the tower (5) is provided on the already built construction part in case of removal of the rotary platform and/or removal of the chassis.

25. The construction and/or material handling machine according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a top plate (30) spanning the working area of the working head (2) is fixed to the boom arm (6) of the rotary tower crane (4) forming the polygonal support frame, wherein the top plate (30) is preferably fixed to the upper chord of the boom arm (6).

26. Construction and/or material handling machine according to the preceding claim, wherein the ceiling (30) is designed to be adjustable between an extended position and a retracted position, preferably retractable and extendable by a ceiling drive.

27. Construction and/or material handling machine according to the preceding claim, wherein the top plate (30) is designed to be rollable in the manner of a awning and comprises a winding roller rotatably mounted on at least one boom (6) of a rotating tower crane (4), and/or is designed as a folding top plate having sliding guides on two opposite booms of the rotating tower crane (4) for sliding the folding top plate thereon.

28. The building and/or material handling machine according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the side walls (31) are fixed to at least two towers (5) of two adjacent rotating tower cranes (4).

29. Construction and/or material handling machine according to the preceding claim, wherein the side wall (31) is designed to be rolled up in awning fashion and has a winding roller which is rotatably mounted on a boom (6) connecting the two towers (5) or on one of the two towers (5), and/or is designed as a folding wall (31) which has sliding guides on the boom (6) connecting the two towers (5) or two sliding guides for moving the folding wall on the two towers (5).

30. The construction and/or material handling machine according to any of the preceding claims, wherein electronic control means (26) are provided for controlling a travel drive, in particular a trolley drive and/or a transverse carriage drive and/or a height adjustment drive and/or a cable winch drive, for moving said working head (2) relative to said support frame structure (3).

31. Construction and/or material handling machine according to the preceding claim, wherein the control device (26) comprises a central control unit (28) which communicates with a local control unit (27) which is provided on the rotating tower crane (4) and is designed to control the travel drives provided on the rotating tower crane (4), wherein the central control unit (28) specifies the local control unit (27) with set points for travel drive adjustment.

32. The construction and/or material handling machine according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the electronic control device (26) has a communication interface for connection with a BIM server storing planning data and/or CAD data and/or status data relating to the structure to be built and is designed to generate and/or adjust control commands for controlling the travel drive for adjusting the working head (2) from the planning data and/or CAD data and/or status data received from the BIM server.

33. Construction and/or material handling machine according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the electronic control means (26) comprise a communication interface for connecting with a central server for providing and/or downloading different program packages, wherein the central server has access to an internal machine data database storing different machine data sets, wherein the electronic control means (26) are designed to control the local control unit (27) by means of program packages received and/or downloaded from the central server.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a construction and/or material handling machine for building structures and/or manipulating workpieces, having a working head movably mounted on a supporting frame structure. The invention also relates to a method for guiding and moving a working head, in particular in the form of a 3D printing head.

Background

More recently, attempts have been made to build larger building structures, such as bridges, whole houses or other buildings, by additive manufacturing processes. The working head for releasing the building material is moved back and forth several times, for example, along the building wall to be built, in order to apply the layer by layer. Such devices are commonly referred to collectively as 3D printers, the working head of which may be a material release head such as a concrete spray head. Depending on the material from which the building structure is constructed, these can also be other working heads such as foam or multicomponent spray heads, for example when the building wall to be insulated is to be manufactured using a sandwich process consisting of a foam core and wall plaster to be applied thereon.

To date, 3D printers have been used primarily on a substantially smaller scale, particularly in industrial production conducted in a workshop. In order to be able to move the 3D print head precisely in 3D space, for example in order to be able to produce relief-like contours, truss robots are often used, which can achieve very high precision over a relatively large working area. Document US 8029710B 2, for example, shows such a truss robot. In smaller applications, articulated arm robots are often used to guide 3D print heads.

In order to adapt such articulated arm robots to construction sites, it has been proposed to transfer them onto tracked vehicles (see US 2018/0345533 a 1). Due to the limited range, such articulated arm robots, even if movable on a construction site by a crawler type traveling mechanism, are difficult to use for constructing larger works such as multi-story houses, at least not to achieve the desired accuracy. If the boom-like articulated arm is lengthened accordingly, twisting and thus positioning inaccuracies occur, since the articulated arm cannot be dimensioned arbitrarily large in order to prevent the crawler chassis from tipping over.

In order to be able to guide the working head over a sufficiently large travel range and to be able to be used, for example, for multi-storey houses, document CN 109129819 a proposes fixing a truss-like support structure for the working head on the building outer wall of the building itself to be built. The support column is fixed to the facade as a lifting support. By means of the spindle drive, the truss columns can be moved vertically on support columns fixed on the facade side, which truss columns support two longitudinal guide rails above the building, on which a cross beam carrying the working head can be moved. By moving the support columns on the facade the support structure can be grown together with the building, but this movement is costly and requires a time consuming retrofitting process.

However, said methods have the disadvantage in practice that they do not satisfy the different requirements equally satisfactorily, i.e. a very large range and still a high positioning accuracy, and that they can be built up quickly and simply despite the fact that the area of the construction site is often inaccessible. This is more applicable to the need to adapt the construction or material handling machine to different building sizes and to move it quickly from one building to be constructed to another. Since the additive manufacturing process is typically only used to produce a specific part of a building, there is typically only a short and fast to complete job for the respective 3D printer, which requires that the machine can be transported quickly from one building site to the next.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved construction and/or material handling machine of the stated type and an improved method for guiding and moving a working head, which avoid the disadvantages of the prior art and further develop the prior art in an advantageous manner. In particular, a device and a method for moving a working head in a precisely positioned manner over a wide working area should be provided, which can be easily adapted to different building sizes and can be moved quickly from one building site to another.

According to the invention, said object is achieved by a method according to claims 1 and 2 and a construction and/or material handling machine according to claim 3. Preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

It has therefore been proposed to move and position the workheads by means of a plurality of rotating tower cranes, which per se at first seems not to be very effective for the purpose of high positioning accuracy. However, to address this drawback, multiple rotating tower cranes are used in a special manner. According to the invention, at least three rotating tower cranes are fixed to each other with their booms. According to a first aspect, the guide beam carrying the working head can be fixed to at least two trolleys on a rotating tower crane, which are thus mutually stable, so that the working position of the working head can be set by moving the trolleys along the two booms.

Since the rotating tower cranes are fixed to each other with their booms, the horizontal booms form a gantry-like support structure which makes it possible to stabilize the rotating tower cranes to each other. A further stabilization is achieved by the movable articulation of the transverse member on the at least two booms, so that a sufficiently high positioning accuracy is achieved.

Here, in particular, the rotary tower crane can be built such that the booms extend in sequence from one tower to the other and/or together form a closed polygon. In particular, the boom may define a polygon corresponding to the number of cranes, i.e. a triangle in case of three rotating tower cranes, a quadrangle in case of four rotating tower cranes, etc.

In a further development of the invention, in particular four rotating tower cranes can be fixed to each other with their booms such that the booms can define a rectangle, in particular a square. Advantageously, the rotating tower cranes are arranged such that at least two booms of two rotating tower cranes extend parallel to each other. The transverse beam can be mounted movably on two parallel extending booms in a simple manner, in particular rigidly fixed directly to the trolley of the boom, so that the transverse beam can be moved precisely along a double-rail guide formed by the two parallel booms.

In principle, however, it is also possible to use two not exactly parallel aligned booms or a slightly V-shaped spread boom as a rail guide for the boom, for example when using a telescopic boom.

As is common per se for rotary tower cranes, the boom can be rotated about a vertical rotary mechanism axis relative to the tower or together with the tower carrying the boom, respectively, wherein the rotation of the tower and/or the rotation of the boom relative to the tower can be effected by means of a corresponding rotary mechanism drive, for example an electric motor for driving a pinion which meshes with a gear ring. Due to the rotatability of the boom arms, the boom arms can be positioned in a simple manner to match each other when building up the support structure of the working head.

In a further development of the invention, the booms are each fixed with their front end to the respective next rotary tower crane, wherein the fixing of the boom tip or front end on the tower of the next crane and/or on its boom, respectively, preferably takes place in the vicinity of the tower.

In order to be able to quickly connect and quickly disconnect the fixtures of the rotating tower cranes to one another, in an advantageous development of the invention, a quick coupling or coupler can be provided between the rotating tower cranes, which quick coupling or coupler can lock the front end of the respective boom on the respective next crane, in particular on its tower and/or its boom, respectively, in a form-locking and/or force-locking manner.

In particular, such a mechanical quick coupling or coupler can have a movable locking element and a mutually matching form-locking contour on the end of the boom and a mutually cooperating connection on the next crane. For example, a locking head can be provided on the tower and/or the boom and/or the part of the jib of the respective rotary tower crane adjacent to the tower, to which locking head a further crane can be docked, in particular connected with a form-fit, with its end of the boom. For example, a coupling shoe (Kupplungsschuh) may be mounted on the tower and/or the boom and/or the counterweight arm of the crane, into which coupling shoe the boom tip of another crane may be suitably retracted.

A movable locking element (e.g. a telescopic locking bolt or a wedge-shaped clamping bolt) can ensure a secure and/or jamming of the shape-locking and/or force-locking of the boom end on the counterpart of the other crane.

For example, the locking element may be a hook-shaped rotary bolt and/or comprise a locking bolt which is movable in a translatory manner.

Advantageously, the quick coupling can be switched between a locked state of rigid locking and a retaining state of damping and/or yielding, respectively, which do not allow any relative movement. For example, the respective quick coupler may comprise two coupling halves which can be moved close to each other, wherein at least one coupling half is fixed on the relevant connection, i.e. to the overhanging end of the boom of the adjacent crane and/or to a counterpart, in particular the tower thereof, for example by means of a spring element or other flexible and/or movable element. In the damped and/or resilient coupling mode, the individual boom can be moved within a limited range, although still articulated on the tower or adjacent structural part of the next crane. In this movable mode, the entire support frame structure (i.e. the rotary tower crane) may be moved together, wherein a certain degree of compensating movement is allowed, for example when the support frame structure comprising the rotary tower crane is moved from one building part to an adjacent building part.

In order to prevent the flexibility of the respective quick coupler to achieve the highest positioning accuracy in the working mode of the working head, the flexible element (e.g. the spring) is prevented, for example, by extending the locking member.

The quick coupling can be designed in particular to be statically loaded in the locked state of the rigid locking in order to minimize bending of the interconnected booms. If the boom arms to be connected to each other have an upper chord and a lower chord extending in the longitudinal direction in a known manner, the quick coupling can lock together the upper and lower chords of both boom arms to be connected. The upper chord of one boom may be locked to the upper chord of the other boom and the lower chord of one boom may be locked to the lower chord of the other boom, thereby providing an overall stable, statically-loaded connection between the booms.

Alternatively or additionally, the quick coupler may also comprise an additional stiffening element which connects and stiffens a part of one boom to a part of the other boom, in particular to be slipped over, in the manner of a stiffening sleeve. Such a stiffening element can, for example, connect and stiffen the upper chord of one boom to the upper chord of the other boom in the manner of a rail or a sleeve or a bandage. Similarly, a stiffening element may be provided for one or each lower chord.

In order to be able to move the working head not only longitudinally along the rotary tower crane boom, in a modified example of the invention a movable carriage carrying the working head may be mounted on the longitudinally movable cross beam. The transverse carriage can be moved along the transverse beam by means of a transverse drive in order to be able to move the working head in the transverse direction to different desired working positions.

The height or depth adjustment of the working head can be carried out in different ways. In particular, in order to be able to perform or adjust a fine height movement of the working head, the working head support can be mounted in a height-adjustable manner relative to the cross beam, in particular in a height-movable manner relative to the transverse carriage. The head support can be articulated on the transverse carriage, for example, by means of a vertically extending, telescopic support. Alternatively or additionally, the vertically extending head support can also be moved in the vertical direction on the transverse carriage, for example by means of a rack and pinion drive or other suitable adjustment drive.

Alternatively or additionally, the height movement of the working head can also be produced by a height adjustment on a part of the rotary tower crane, in particular by a tower designed to be height-adjustable, to which the crane boom is fixed. In particular, it is possible to provide towers which are designed as telescopic, wherein each of a plurality of rotating tower cranes may advantageously comprise such a height-adjustable, in particular telescopic tower, in order to be able to move the booms which are fixed to one another or the horizontal support structure formed by them upwards or downwards by synchronously adjusting the tower height.

As an alternative or in addition to this telescopic property of the crane tower, the crane tower may also be lengthened by climbing in or otherwise installing additional tower sections, or shortened by climbing out or removing corresponding tower sections. For this purpose, the respective rotary tower crane can advantageously have a climbing device which enables a simple and rapid climbing-in of the tower section. For this purpose, a climbing guide may be provided which may hold the tower section relative to another tower section or the tower foundation while allowing a displacement of the tower section in the longitudinal direction relative to the climbing member, which may be done, for example, by means of a hydraulic cylinder. That is, the climbing element can bridge the gap or free space created and the next tower section or foundation during the displacement of the held tower section, so that a new tower section can be pushed in from one side and then connected to the tower section held by the climbing element. Such climbing devices for rotating tower cranes are known per se, so that reference can be made in this respect, for example, to document WO 2015/135645 a 1.

If the respective rotary tower crane has reached its maximum height, for example by telescoping it outwards or by inserting a respective tower segment, the tower of the crane can be detached from its rotary platform and/or its chassis and anchored to the already built building facade by means of building anchors, in order to be able to continue to grow together with the building in this way. For example, a tower portion below the climbing device may first be anchored to the facade with one or more building anchors so that another tower section may be crawled in. By moving or mounting additional building anchors to the building portion or tower portion located further above, the tower can continue to grow section by section while it is secured to the building portion. A similar approach can be taken for a telescopic tower, which can be anchored alternately to its coupling and its telescopic joint.

By moving the building anchor neatly, the arrangement of the rotary tower cranes that form the work head support structure can be grown not only vertically with the building, but also jointly in the horizontal direction if a nested building is to be built with the parts of the building horizontally offset from each other.

Alternatively or additionally, the horizontal expansion or displacement of the support structure can also be performed by fixing an additional rotary tower crane at the already built building (e.g. on the already built building platform), wherein the tower of the new crane can also be fixed to the respective building part by means of the building anchor. The boom of the new crane can be connected to the boom or tower of another already installed crane to expand the support structure horizontally.

Here, it may be helpful to assist in assembling the crane, which may be designed in the form of an additional boom on the crane as part of the support structure in the crane. Such auxiliary cranes integrated into the support structure or separate auxiliary cranes may also be used for supplying building materials and/or tools and/or other materials to building sites of increasing height.

In order that the movement of the working head along the above-mentioned cross beam is not restricted to the polygonal region braced by the mutually connected boom arms, in an advantageous refinement of the invention the cross beam can project beyond at least one of the boom arms and form a path of movement for the cross beam carriage carrying the working head, which path of movement extends inside and outside the polygon braced by the boom arms. The work head is thereby moved, so to speak, outside the support frame structure in order to be able to work outside a triangle, quadrangle or polygon spanned by the crane boom, and also to be able to build a building section outside said braced polygon.

Advantageously, the boom can be designed to protrude at both its ends beyond the respective crane boom, in order to be able to work on opposite sides outside the polygon braced by the boom.

The protruding portion of the beam may be formed by a rigid gate (Anschnitt) of the beam. Alternatively, the protruding portion may also be a telescopic portion of the cross beam.

In order to be able to work in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the transverse beam beyond the polygon braced by the boom, said transverse carriage, which is movable along the transverse beam, may also carry a transverse beam or beam extending in such a way that it can be substantially perpendicular or transverse to the first said transverse beam, wherein the working head can be movably mounted on said transverse beam by means of a carriage or similar hanger. If the cross beam has been moved along the crane boom from which it is suspended very close to the tower carrying the boom, said cross beam may protrude beyond the connecting line between the two towers, so that the working head may also be moved in this direction beyond the polygon braced by the crane boom.

In order not to introduce any tilting moment or excessive tilting moment into the cross beam via said cross beam, the cross beam can carry two oppositely movable working heads, or one working head and one ballast, which can be moved oppositely with respect to it, in order to balance the hinge point of the cross beam on the cross beam.

Instead of or in addition to such a cross-bar suspended on the cross-bar, it is also possible to suspend more than two working heads on two separate, non-interconnected cross-bars, wherein the two cross-bars can advantageously extend perpendicularly or transversely to each other. In this case, the cross members may be arranged at different heights in order not to collide with each other.

For example, if four rotating tower cranes are connected with their booms in a spanning rectangular manner, two cross beams can be respectively suspended on two opposite booms or trolleys arranged there, so that the cross beams cross each other or form a cross when viewed from above. In this case, one of the cross members can be suspended higher than the other cross member, so that it can be moved away above the other cross member. This can be achieved, for example, by installing height spacers between the cross-beams and the respective trolleys. Alternatively or additionally, it is also possible to arrange the booms in pairs at different heights.

In order to be able to move the supporting frame structure formed by the rotary tower crane for the working head quickly from one work site to another or within the same construction site, at least one of the rotary tower cranes can be designed as a mobile crane, the tower of which is arranged on a rotary platform which can be mounted rotatably about a vertical axis on a chassis which comprises a running gear and advantageously has its own running drive for automatic propulsion. Such a drive may comprise, for example, an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or an electric motor.

Advantageously, on said superstructure or on a rotating platform articulated to the tower, ballast weights for absorbing the tilting moment can be provided, which can rotate together with the rotating platform and balance the crane in a manner independent of its rotational position.

As an alternative or in addition to such ballast on the rotary platform, the rotary tower crane may also comprise a balance arm which extends on the tower in the opposite direction to the boom and which may carry ballast.

Advantageously, the tower can be articulated on said rotating platform in such a way as to be tiltable or tiltable about a horizontal axis, so as to be movable from a vertical working position to a horizontal transport position. For this purpose, a pitch drive, for example with a hydraulic cylinder, can be arranged between the rotating platform and the tower in order to be able to erect and lay down the tower about a horizontal axis of rotation.

Such a mobile crane can have a chassis of different design. For example, a multi-axle wheel chassis can be provided, wherein one or more wheel axles can be driven by the chassis drive. In this case, the at least one axis can advantageously be deflectable. However, the chassis may also comprise a crawler chassis instead of or in addition to the wheel axles, so that the mobile crane can be moved by driving the chassis chain. Such crawler tracks are particularly advantageous in construction sites which are difficult to access, in order to be able to move the rotating tower crane safely even on deep, muddy ground or in areas with greater bumps or gradients.

The polygonal work head support frame structure braced by the boom of the rotating tower crane can be used not only for placing and moving the work head, but also for covering the working space of the work head. In particular, the boom can carry an expandable top plate, which can span a polygonal interior space braced by the boom, wherein such a top plate can cover said interior space completely or partially. Such stretchable roof panels may, for example, have a flat fabric and/or film structure and/or a hybrid roof structure including a flat film and/or fabric material and a load-bearing frame.

Such an extendable roof may advantageously be designed to be telescopic inwards and outwards in order to be able to reduce the large area of the roof in case of stronger wind loads. For example, the rollable and unrollable roof can be provided in the form of a sunshade or a roller blind, wherein a winding roller can be provided on one of the arms or between the two arms in order to be able to roll up and unroll the roof material.

Alternatively or additionally, a folding top plate can also be provided, which can have spaced-apart hinge points on two opposite booms, which can each be mounted slidably there by means of a slide, so that the top plate can be folded to one side in a fan-fold manner.

Advantageously, such a top plate may be hinged to the upper side of the boom, e.g. supported and/or movably mounted on the upper chord of the boom.

In order to protect the working area of the working head also from lateral influences of wind, rain, etc., instead of or in addition to the top plate, at least one side wall may also be fixed to the rotating tower crane forming the working head support frame structure, covering at least part of the side surface between at least two towers. In particular, the boom and/or the adjacent tower, respectively, may carry extendable side walls, which may at least partly span the inner space between the two towers and the boom connecting the towers and may extend substantially vertically.

Such stretchable sidewalls may, for example, have a flat fabric and/or film structure and/or a hybrid roof structure including a flat film and/or fabric material and a load-bearing frame.

Advantageously, such a protective wall can be designed to be inwardly and outwardly telescopic, so that the area exposed to the wind can be reduced in the case of stronger wind loads. For example, a protective wall that can be rolled in and out can be provided in the form of a sunshade or a roller blind, wherein the winding roller can be arranged horizontally on one of the booms or vertically on one of the towers, in order to be able to roll up and unwind the side wall material.

Alternatively or additionally, folding walls in the form of curtains or blinds can also be provided, which can have hinge points spaced apart from one another on the boom or on two adjacent towers, which hinge points can in each case be mounted slidably by means of sliders there, so that the side walls can be folded in a fan-like manner upwards towards the boom or towards a side of the tower here.

In order not to stretch unnecessarily large support frame structures, in an advantageous development of the invention the boom of the rotary tower crane can also be designed to be telescopic and/or length-adjustable, for example by adding or removing boom parts. In particular, tolerances or errors in the spacing between adjacent towers can also be compensated for by the telescopic boom design.

If a house with a larger footprint is being built, the boom can be lengthened, while for a house with a smaller footprint, the boom can be retracted and the tower pushed together. Advantageously, adaptation to different plan shapes can also be achieved simply by means of a boom of variable length. For example, when building a square house, all booms can be set to the same length, whereas when building a slim, narrow house, both booms can be set to be longer and both booms to be shorter.

According to another aspect of the invention, the mutually fixed rotating tower crane can also be used for adjusting the working head and/or the load cable robot by means of cables. In particular, a cable system comprising at least three control cables can be fixed to at least three rotating tower cranes which are fixed to each other by their booms, in particular to the tower and/or the boom. Here, a cable winch can be provided for adjusting the cable system relative to the mutually fixed rotary tower crane and/or relative to the working head, and can be controlled by an electronic control device for moving the working head.

By means of the cable winch paying out or taking in the cable, the cable system can be adjusted relative to the support structure defined by the mutually fixed rotary tower cranes, so that the working head can be moved. If desired, the cable system may also be adjustable relative to the work head, for example by means of a cable winch, such as a winch (Spillwindde), provided on the work head. The working head can optionally be moved in a vertical direction and/or in a horizontal direction by paying out and retracting the cables in coordination with each other (e.g., in synchronization with each other or in opposite directions to each other).

Here, the cable system advantageously comprises a high strength fiber cable which may be made of or at least have high strength synthetic fibers such as aramid fibers (HMPA), aramid/carbon fiber blends, high modulus polyethylene fibers (HMPE) or poly (p-phenylene-2, 6-benzobisoxazole) fibers (PBO). The use of such high-strength fiber cables not only reduces the weight of the cable system itself, but also the structural weight of the loaded components and moving masses, which on the one hand leads to an increased load-bearing capacity of the application and, on the other hand, above all, even with a smaller number of axles, can more easily be adapted to the axle loads allowed for road transport. Meanwhile, the positioning precision of the working head can be improved due to the low elongation of the fiber component. Furthermore, the fiber cable is less susceptible to wind-induced lateral vibration and therefore the working head can be positioned more accurately in weather conditions where outdoor weather is not always perfect.

For its function as a supporting structural component, the hinge points for the control cables of the cable robot can be provided on the tower of the rotary tower crane, for example by cable pulleys in the upper part of the tower and/or by cable winches which can be mounted in the upper part of the tower. Advantageously, the multiple articulation points of the multiple control cables can also be mounted on the tower of the rotating tower crane, for example in the form of cable pulleys offset from one another in height, via which the control cables are deflected to a cable winch at the bottom region of the tower. Thus, the tower of the crane may form a support column for the cable system. Alternatively or additionally, the hinge point for the cable system may also be mounted on the boom of the crane.

Whether the working head is moved by the above-described beam structure with a beam movably mounted on the boom or by the cable system, in a modified example of the invention it is advantageously possible to provide a superordinate controller which mutually coordinates and/or matches the respective drives of the tower crane and/or the cable winch of the cable system.

In principle, the control device which moves the working head in the desired manner and for this purpose actuates the cable winch for adjusting the cable of the cable system can be designed in different ways, wherein advantageously the control device is designed electronically and can comprise in particular a microprocessor which can process a control program stored in a memory device. The control device can automatically or semi-automatically follow a predetermined path of travel of the working head, for example a linear, horizontal or ascending or descending curve movement, which can be specified, for example, according to the BIM model. Alternatively or additionally, the control device may also be responsive to input commands of the machine operator and convert the input commands (e.g. tilting or moving the joystick in a given direction) into corresponding rotary movements of the cable winch by the control device into corresponding adjustment movements of the working head.

The control device can have a modular construction, in particular a local control device on each mobile unit (which comprises a support column with at least one cable winch or is designed as a crane), which controls the at least one cable winch and/or monitors the payload and the tilting moment acting on the respective unit and, if necessary, shuts down the installation if there is a movement or load threat that could jeopardize the stability.

In order to mutually adjust and coordinate the cable movements on the different support columns or at least one crane, the control device may also comprise a superordinate control unit which can be electronically designed in the above-described manner and may comprise a microprocessor, a program memory and other components, wherein said superordinate control unit may communicate with a local control device to control and operate the individual cable winches in a mutually coordinated manner by means of said local control unit in order to achieve mutually coordinated cable movements in a desired manner.

In this case, the superordinate control unit may be formed by one of the local control devices, which local control device forms, as it were, a master unit which monitors and/or controls the other local control devices. However, as an alternative to such a modular control architecture, a central control device directly controlling the cable winches on the various units may also be used.

Drawings

The invention will be explained in more detail below on the basis of preferred exemplary embodiments and the associated drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a construction and/or material handling machine with a working head in the form of a concrete spray head, which is movably mounted on a support frame structure formed by four rotating tower cranes with booms fixed to each other.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the construction or material handling machine of fig. 1 and a control and configuration device implemented in the cloud for controlling and/or configuring four rotating tower cranes.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a support frame structure formed by four rotary tower cranes for a working head similar to fig. 1 and 2, wherein the rotary tower cranes are each provided with climbing devices in order to be able to adapt the height of the support frame structure to different buildings and their building heights in a greater range.

Fig. 4 shows a top view of a support frame structure formed by four rotating tower cranes, similar to the previous figures, wherein the rotating tower cranes are each provided with a double boom system with telescopic boom segments.

Fig. 5 shows a side view of one of the rotating tower cranes of fig. 5 to illustrate the dual boom system and the boom's pitch performance.

Fig. 6 shows a top view of the support frame structure of fig. 4 formed by four rotating tower cranes, wherein the partial views a, b and c illustrate the adjustment of the support frame structure by extending and retracting the boom.

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a support frame structure similar to FIG. 1 formed by four mutually fixed rotary tower cranes, wherein the work head can be adjusted relative to the support frame structure by a cable system comprising a control cable connected to the tower of the rotary tower crane.

Fig. 8 shows a top view of a support frame structure formed by three rotating tower cranes with mutually fixed booms, wherein a work head, likewise of a design according to fig. 7, is hinged by means of a cable system to the tower of the rotating tower crane and can be adjusted by means of an adjusting control cable.

Fig. 9 shows a perspective view similar to fig. 3 of a support frame structure formed by four rotating tower cranes, wherein the towers of the four rotating tower cranes are removed from the chassis of the rotating tower cranes and held in the erected face of the built building section by building anchors.

Detailed Description

As shown, a construction and/or material handling machine (Bau-und/oder materials schlags-maschene) 1 comprises a working head 2, which is movably or adjustably suspended from a supporting frame structure 3 and can be moved in all three dimensions, as will be described below.

The working head 2 may here be designed differently and/or be equipped with different work tools, for example in the form of material release heads such as concrete spray heads or other manufacturing tools and/or in the form of work holders such as clamshell buckets and/or other treatment tools, for example for treating different materials such as sand, gravel or bricks. If the working head 2 comprises a material release head, the machine can work like a 3D printer, wherein in principle different materials or construction materials, such as concrete, can be released by the material release head, but also alternative construction materials, such as clay and/or lime mixtures and/or plastics, such as synthetic foam.

As shown in fig. 1, the support frame structure 3 is formed by a plurality of rotary tower cranes 4 and fixed to each other, each rotary tower crane 4 comprising a tower 5 and a boom 6 carried by the tower 5.

In particular, the boom 6 of the rotating tower crane 4 can form a closed loop (in the manner of a polygonal loop), which can be understood as not being circular but polygonal. Each rotating tower crane 4 can be directed with its boom 6 to the next rotating tower crane, respectively, so that the boom 6 extends from one rotating tower crane to the other in turn.

Each rotary tower crane 4 may itself be a self-contained and fully functional rotary tower crane in which, for example, the boom 6 may be rotated about a vertical rotary mechanism axis. Depending on whether the rotary tower crane 4 is a lower rotary crane or an upper rotary crane, the boom 6 can be rotated relative to the tower 5 or together with the tower 5 about a vertical rotary mechanism axis, wherein suitable rotary mechanism drives can be provided for this purpose.

In particular, each rotary tower crane 4 may be designed as a mobile crane, which may be designed as a mobile crane, in order to be moved from one building site to another, but may also be moved only at one building site itself.

In particular, such a mobile crane may comprise an undercarriage (Unterwagen)7, which undercarriage 7 may be supported on the ground and moved over the ground by means of a chassis (Fahrwerk)8, for example in the form of a crawler or wheel chassis. The respective travel drive drives at least one travel mechanism axle or track chain.

In the working position, as shown in fig. 1, the chassis 7 may be supported on the ground by ground supports 9 to increase the roll stability. If necessary, additionally or alternatively, the tower 5 and/or the boom 6 may also be supported on the ground.

The rotary platform 10 can be arranged on said chassis 7 and rotate relative to the chassis 7 about a vertical swivel mechanism axis. As shown in fig. 1, ballast 11 for balancing the boom 6 and/or for pulling loads on the rotating tower crane 4 may be provided on said rotating platform 10.

Advantageously, the respective boom 6 can be braced against the ballast 11 or the rotary platform 10 by means of bracing members 12.

In order to be able to move the rotary tower crane 4 in a simple manner from one building site to another, the individual towers 5 can advantageously be designed to be variable in length, in particular telescopic, wherein the length adjustment drive can for example comprise one or more hydraulic cylinders accommodated in the tower or cable drive.

Advantageously, the boom 6 can be pitched up and down relative to the tower 5, in particular it can also be folded onto the tower 5 to achieve a compact transport configuration, wherein here a corresponding pitch drive for pitching the boom 6 relative to the tower 5 can be provided, which pitch drive can for example comprise an adjuster for the bracing member 12.

Advantageously, the boom 6 can also be adjustable in length, in particular telescopic, wherein a corresponding adjustment drive, for example comprising one or more hydraulic cylinders or cable drives, can be provided here.

The tower 5 can be rotated or tilted down together with the boom 6 from a vertical working position to a horizontal transport position, for which purpose the tower is articulated with said rotary platform 5 to be rotatable about a horizontal tower rotation axis. The tower pitch drive may for example comprise a hydraulic cylinder between the rotating platform 10 and the tower 5.

As shown in fig. 1, the rotating tower cranes 4 are fixed to one another with their booms 6, wherein each boom 6 can be fixed with its suspended end to the tower 5 of the respective next rotating tower crane 4. The fixing can be carried out on the tower 5 itself or on an adjacent section of the boom 6 or on a possibly present balancing arm or possibly a possibly present tower tip.

In order to fix the boom 6 to the adjacent tower of the next crane, respectively, a quick coupling 13 is advantageously provided, which can lock the suspended end of the boom 6 to the adjacent rotating tower crane 4 in a form-locked and/or force-locked manner. As already explained in more detail above, such a quick coupling 13 may comprise retractable and extendable or rotatable locking elements.

Advantageously, the quick coupling 13 can be switched between a locking state, which is rigidly locked, not allowing any relative movement, and a damped and/or yielding retention state. For example, the respective quick coupler 13 may comprise two coupling halves which are movable together, at least one of which is fixed to the relevant connection, i.e. to the suspended end of the boom and/or to the corresponding part of the adjacent crane, in particular the tower 5 thereof, for example by means of spring elements or other elastic and/or movable elements. In said damped and/or flexible coupling mode, the movement of the respective boom 6 is limited, although it is still articulated on the tower or adjacent structural part of the next crane. In this movable mode, the entire support frame structure (i.e. the rotary tower crane 4) can be moved together, wherein, for example, when the support frame structure comprising the rotary tower crane is moved from one building part to an adjacent building part, a certain compensating movement can be achieved.

In order to prevent the flexibility of the quick coupling 13, so as to achieve the highest positioning accuracy in the working mode of the working head 2, the flexible element (for example, the spring) is prevented, for example, by extending the locking member.

In the rigidly locked state, the quick coupling 13 can be designed in particular to be statically loaded in order to minimize bending of the interconnected boom arms. If the boom to be connected to each other has an upper chord and a lower chord extending in the longitudinal direction in a known manner, the quick coupling 13 can lock together the upper and lower chords of both boom arms 6 to be connected. The upper chord of one boom 6 can be locked to the upper chord of the other boom 6 and the lower chord of one boom 6 can be locked to the lower chord of the other boom 6, thereby providing an overall stable, statically-loaded connection between the booms 6. Alternatively or additionally, the quick coupler 13 may also comprise an additional stiffening element which connects, in the manner of a stiffening sleeve, a portion of one boom 6 to a portion of the other boom 6, in particular, is sleeved on top. Such a stiffening element can, for example, connect and stiffen the upper chord of one boom 6 with the upper chord of the other boom 6 in the manner of a rail or a sleeve or bandage. Similarly, a stiffening element may be provided for one or each lower chord.

For coupling the boom 6 or engaging the quick coupler 13, it is advantageous that the length of the boom 6 can be changed, in particular telescopic, as this allows the overhanging end to be extended for engaging the coupling halves. Alternatively or additionally, the pitching of the boom 6 can also be used to engage the quick coupler 13. Alternatively or additionally, it is also possible to use a rotary motion, i.e. to rotate the boom 10 around a vertical rotary mechanism axis, in order to engage the quick coupler 13.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the working head 2 can be suspended from a horizontal cross beam 14, which is movably mounted on two preferably parallel booms 6. To this end, said cross-beam 14 may comprise, at its ends, a slider or trolley shape movable along the respective boom 6A bearing element.

In particular, however, a trolley 15 movably arranged on the boom 6 can also be used for suspending the beam 14 and for moving the beam 14. In normal crane operation, the hoisting cable with the load hook suspended or fixed thereon can be lowered and raised by means of the trolley 15, wherein the load hook can also be used to suspend the cross beam 14 on the respective trolley 15, if necessary. Advantageously, however, the cross-beam 14 can also be movably fixed to the trolley 15 in a rigid manner or only to a very limited extent.

The trolley 15 can be moved longitudinally along the respective boom 6 by means of a suitable trolley drive, for example a cable drive.

As shown, the beam 14 can be designed to be variable in length, in particular telescopic, in order to be able to compensate for parallelism errors or slight misalignments of the boom 6 when the beam 14 is moved along the boom 6 carrying it and reaches boom sections of different spacing.

The working head 2 may be mounted on the cross beam 14 in a laterally movable manner, i.e. in a movable manner in the lateral direction of the cross beam 14. For this purpose, the crossbar carriage 16 can be moved longitudinally on the crossbar 14 by means of a suitable carriage drive.

Furthermore, the working head 2 is advantageously adjustable in height relative to the cross beam 14. For example, a vertically extending head support 17 of variable length and/or movable in height can be provided on the traverse carriage 16, which can be adjusted in height or changed in length accordingly by means of a height adjustment drive.

If the working head 2 is a material release head, such as a concrete spray head, the material to be released may be supplied to the working head 2 from a supply source 18 (e.g. from a concrete mixer or from a concrete pump) (see fig. 1).

As an alternative or in addition to the described height adjustability of the working head 2 relative to the transverse beam 14, a height adjustment can also be achieved by adjusting the tower height if the tower 5 of the rotary tower crane 4 can be adjusted in height (in particular telescoped) in the manner described.

Advantageously, such a height adjustment of the tower 5 can be used for a rough height adjustment, for example when the next floor of the building is to be built. The working position of the working head 2 can then be finely adjusted in height by adjusting the working head 2 relative to the cross beam 14.

As fig. 3 shows, the height adjustment of the tower 5 of the rotary tower crane 4 can be effected to a greater extent by means of a climbing device 19 which can cause an additional tower segment (turmstick) to climb into the tower 5 and vice versa, when the height is to be lowered, can cause the tower segment to climb out of the tower 5. Such climbing devices 19 may comprise climbing frames which are movable along the respective tower 5 for climbing in and/or out a tower section, wherein guide rails are provided for longitudinally movably supporting the climbing frames relative to the tower or the tower 5 relative to the climbing frames 20. The climbing frame 20 may be arranged at the bottom of the tower 5, but may also be arranged at a higher part of the tower 5. In order to be able to push the already existing tower 5 further upwards for the purpose of climbing in a new segment, a lifting device, for example comprising a hydraulic cylinder, may be provided in order to be able to lift or lower a tower section that is movable relative to the climbing frame, depending on whether additional tower sections are to be climbed in or out.

By climbing additional tower sections into the tower 5 of the rotating tower crane 4, these tower sections can be grown together with the building to be built and almost any height of the building can be built. The rotating tower crane 4 is advantageously supported on the ground, wherein, if necessary, a cross brace can be provided toward the facade of the building.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, a rotating tower crane 4 with a double boom system can be used, wherein the connection between two adjacent cranes can be made here by two "half" booms, respectively.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, such a rotary tower crane with a double boom system may comprise two booms 6 which are hinged to a common tower 5 and which, for example, as seen on the longitudinal axis of the tower 5, can extend at an angle of 90 ° to each other, wherein, however, the angle may also differ depending on the number of rotary tower cranes 4 which are jointly tensioned to form the support frame structure 3.

As shown in fig. 4, the booms 6 of two adjacent rotating tower cranes 4 are directed towards each other such that they extend along a common straight line and abut each other with their suspended ends. The boom tips adjoining each other on the front side can then be fixed to each other in the manner described by means of the quick coupling 16.

In the case of such a rotating tower crane 4 with a double boom, the boom 6 can also be designed to be variable in length, in particular telescopic (see fig. 4 and 5).

Fig. 4 shows the movability of the working head 2 again in a plan view. On the one hand, the transverse beam 14 can be moved longitudinally along the opposite parallel boom 6 by means of a trolley 15. On the other hand, the working head 2 can be moved laterally by moving the beam carriage 16 along the beam 14. Thus, any position above the plan view of the area to be created can be accessed. The height adjustment is then achieved in the manner described above by adjusting the height of the working head 2 relative to the cross beam 14 and/or optionally by adjusting the height of the tower 5.

As shown in fig. 6, the support frame structure 3 can be adapted in a simple manner to different building sizes and plan view shapes, in particular when the length of the boom 6 can be varied. By lengthening or shortening the boom 6, the distance between the towers 5 of the rotary tower crane 4 can be adjusted relative to one another in order to build larger or smaller buildings, wherein here not only a polygonal formation of squares as shown in the partial views a, b and c of fig. 6 can be realized, but also an adjustment from square to rectangular and vice versa can be made, for example, by shortening or lengthening only two of the four booms.

In order to protect the working area of the working head 2, the support frame structure 3 may also carry a ceiling 30 (see fig. 4 and 9) spanning the working area, and/or at least one side wall 31 may be mounted to the rotary tower crane 4 (see fig. 3 and 9). Here, the top plate 30 and the side walls 31 can be designed and fixed to the boom 6 and the tower 5 in the above-described manner.

As shown in fig. 7 and 8, the working head 2 (or another additional working head) can also be suspended from and moved relative to a support frame structure 3, if necessary, by means of a cable system 20, which support frame structure 3 is here also formed by four or three rotating tower cranes 4 fixed to each other by their booms 6.

As shown in fig. 7, the cable system 20 can comprise cables running in four basic directions or in four different vertical planes, wherein advantageously two cables 21, 22 can be provided in each basic direction or in each vertical plane, which can be operated from hinge points arranged at different heights, in particular the working head 2 can be guided obliquely upward once and obliquely downward once in the respective basic direction or vertical plane (see fig. 7).

In this case, the articulation points of the cable system 20 can advantageously be arranged on the tower 5 of the rotary tower crane 4, in particular at the upper and lower end (see fig. 7). However, in order to be able to use the telescopic or height-adjustable properties of the tower 5 without having to adjust the cable control, it is also conceivable to provide the articulation points of the cable system 20 only at the telescopic tower sections. Alternatively, it is also possible to arrange at least the upper hinge point on the boom 6.

As shown in fig. 8, such a cable system 20 can also be mounted in a simple manner on a support frame structure 3 braced or formed only by three rotating tower cranes 4, wherein the rotating tower cranes 4 can here be fixed to one another in a similar manner by their booms 6 to form a rigid, stable support frame structure 3.

The hinge point may be formed by a cable pulley 23, by means of which the control cables 21 and 22 are deflected or guided to a respective cable winch, by means of which the control cables 21 and 22 on each of the rotary tower cranes 4 can be adjusted independently of one another but still in coordination with one another. As shown in fig. 7, the upper and lower hinge points may be offset in height from each other far enough so that the working head 2 may be secured or guided up and down by the respective control cables 21 and 22. However, if necessary, two control cables can also be introduced from above.

Since the control cables 21 and 22 are hinged at different heights, the working head 2 can be guided precisely in its alignment, as shown in fig. 7.

Irrespective of whether the working heads 2 are suspended by the cable system 20 or by the movable traverse 14, an electronic control device 26 for moving and/or positioning the working heads 2 can be provided, which controls the respective travel drives, in particular the trolley travel drive and/or the travel drive of the traverse carriage 16 and/or the height adjustment drive for adjusting the working heads 2 relative to the traverse 14 and/or the cable winch of the cable system 20 on each rotary turret crane 4.

Here, advantageously, a local control unit 27 can be provided on each slewing tower crane 4, which control unit can control the travel drives on the respective slewing tower crane 4, including the trolley drive and the cable winch of the cable system 20. The local control unit 27 can also be designed electronically, like the superordinate control device 26, for example with a microprocessor and a program memory in order to process one or more control routines in the form of software modules.

Advantageously, the local control unit 27 can control not only the travel drives, but also a load monitoring module which monitors the tilting moment introduced into the respective rotary tower crane 4 and compares it with the maximum tilting moment. In order to coordinate the adjustment movements on the different rotary tower cranes 4, in particular the movement of the trolley 15 and/or the telescoping of the tower 5 and/or the adjustment of the cable system 20, the control device 26 advantageously comprises a superior or central control unit 28 which can communicate with a plurality of local control devices 27. In particular, the plurality of local control units 27 can execute control commands from the central control unit 28 for the respective travel drives (in particular for the adjustment of the trolley 25 and the inward and outward telescoping of the tower) and/or feed back the movement movements detected by the sensor system to the central control unit 28 in order to mutually coordinate the adjustment of the travel drives such that the working head 2 is moved in the desired manner.

In this case, the central control unit 28 can also drive further travel drives not specifically assigned to the rotary tower crane 4, in particular the displacement of the traverse carriage 16 and the height adjustment movement of the head support 17.

The superordinate control unit 28 may here be a control device separate from all the rotating tower cranes 4, for example in the form of a central control server, but may alternatively also be formed by one of the local control units 27, in which case the local control unit 27 may be said to act as a main control unit.

As shown in fig. 2, the control device 26, in particular the superordinate control unit 28, can also be connected to a central data server 29, in particular to a so-called BIM module, wherein BIM is an abbreviation of a Building Information Model (Building Information Model) and contains a large amount of relevant Information for the Building to be built, in particular CAD data, logistics plans, status data of the built Building parts, time planning data, etc. For example, a connection to such a BIM server 29 may be provided through a cloud that may be provided with access restrictions or barriers (see fig. 2).

As shown in fig. 9, the rotary tower crane 4 forming the support structure can also be grown together with the building beyond its maximum telescopic or climbing height by anchoring the rotary tower crane 4 and its tower to the facade of the already built building part by means of building anchors 50.

If the respective rotary tower crane 4 has reached its maximum height, for example by telescoping or by inserting the respective tower segment, the tower 5 of the crane can be removed from its rotary platform and/or its chassis and anchored to the already built building facade by means of the building anchors 50. To enable further height increase, the tower portion below the climbing device may first be anchored to the facade with one or more building anchors so that another tower section may be climbed in. By moving or mounting additional building anchors to the building or tower sections located further up, the tower 5 can continue to grow section by section while it is secured to the building section.

As shown in fig. 9, the height of the ceiling 30 and/or the side walls 31 fixed to the boom 6 or one or more towers 5, which are carried by the crane in this case, can also be increased.

Here, the auxiliary assembly crane 60 may help to provide a new tower section to be climbed in. Such an auxiliary crane 60 may advantageously be designed in the form of an additional boom on one of the cranes that is part of the support structure 3. Such an auxiliary crane 60 integrated into the support structure or a separate auxiliary crane may also be used for supplying building material and/or tools and/or other materials to a building site of increasing height.