FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a kit for positioning bolts in through-holes of a flange connection, such as a flange connection forming an interface between a sea fastening structure and a section of a wind turbine, or a flange connection in a wind turbine tower. The present invention further relates to a method for positioning bolts in through-holes of a flange connection, using such a kit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Flange connections are often used for joining structures, such as tower sections of a wind turbine tower, to each other. Furthermore, when tower sections or complete towers for offshore wind turbines are transported to an offshore wind turbine site, this normally takes place on a seagoing vessel, such as a barge or a jack-up vessel. During such transportation, the tower sections need to be secured on the vessel, in order to prevent them from shifting during the transport. To this end, so-called 'sea fastening equipment' may be used, which connects the vertically oriented tower section or complete tower to a structure on the vessel, via flanges formed on the sea fastening equipment and the tower section, respectively.

Flange connections are normally assembled by means of a plurality of bolts extending through mating pairs of through-going holes formed in the two flanges being assembled. Nuts are applied to the bolts and tensioned using a suitable tensioning tool. Such tensioning tools are often designed to be applied to the nut from above, and therefore the bolts are normally inserted into the through-going holes from below, thereby positioning the nuts on an upper side of the flange connection.

The inserting of the bolts into the through-going holes is often performed manually, i.e. by a staff member inserting the bolts, one at a time, into the holes and securing the bolt with a nut. This is time consuming, heavy and cumbersome for the staff. As the size of wind turbines increases, so does the size of the flange connections of the tower sections as well as the bolts applied therein. Thereby the challenges regarding inserting the bolts manually become increasingly problematic.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of embodiments of the invention to provide a kit for positioning bolts in through-holes of a flange connection, which enables fast and easy positioning of a plurality of bolts.

It is a further object of embodiments of the invention to provide a kit for positioning bolts in through-holes of a flange connection, which is flexible and may be used for several purposes and/or at geographically separated locations.

It is an even further object of the invention to provide a method for positioning bolts in through-holes of a flange connection, which enables fast and easy positioning of a plurality of bolts.

According to a first aspect, the invention provides a kit for positioning bolts in through-holes of a flange connection, the kit comprising:

- a bolt supporting device configured to support a plurality of bolts, and

- a bolt elevating tool for elevating bolts supported by the bolt supporting device from an initial position, in which the bolts are positioned below the flange connection, to an elevated position, in which the bolts extend through through-holes of the flange connection, wherein the bolt supporting device and the bolt elevating tool are discrete, detachable parts, the bolt elevating tool thereby being removable with respect to the bolt supporting device. Thus, according to the first aspect, the invention provides a kit for positioning bolts in through-holes of a flange connection. In the present context the term 'flange connection' should be interpreted to mean two flanges arranged in abutment and attached to each other by means of suitable attachment means, such as bolts, in order to join two components to each other. Such flange connections are, e.g., applied when joining tower sections of a wind turbine tower to each other.

In the present context the term 'through-hole' should be interpreted to mean a hole extending entirely through an object from one side to an opposite side. Accordingly, the through-holes of the flange connection extend entirely through the flange connection, notably through both of the flanges forming the flange connection. Thereby a bolt positioned in a through-hole is allowed to extend through the flange connection.

The kit comprises a bolt supporting device and a bolt elevating tool. The bolt supporting device is configured to support a plurality of bolts. Accordingly, a plurality of bolts can be moved along with the bolt supporting device, e.g. as a batch of bolts. The bolt supporting device may, e.g., be in the form of a crate or the like, in which the bolts can be positioned. In this case the bolt supporting device may, e.g., be preloaded with the bolts and moved to the position of the flange connection with the bolts arranged therein. The bolts may be retained with respect to rotation by the bolt supporting device, or the bolts may simply be supported thereby without being retained.

The bolt elevating tool is configured to elevate bolts which are supported by the bolt supporting device from an initial position to an elevated position. In the initial position, the bolts are positioned below the flange connection, in which the top of the bolt is below the upper surface of the flange and optionally below the lower surface of the flange. In the elevated position, the bolts extend through the through-holes of the flange connection at least to an extent where the bolt can engage with a nut from the upper side of the second and preferably to an extent where the head of the bolt reaches the bottom of the flange. Accordingly, when the bolt supporting device is positioned in such a manner that the bolts are positioned below the flange connection, i.e. in the initial position, the elevating tool can elevate the bolts to the elevated position, thereby inserting the bolts into the through-holes of the flange connection. Thereby the bolts can be positioned in the through-holes without requiring individual and/or manual handling by hand of the bolts.

The bolt elevating tool may be activated manually, e.g. by means of a foot pedal, a crank, or the like. Alternatively, the elevating tool may be activated pneumatically, hydraulically, electrically, e.g. by means of a motor, or in any other suitable manner.

The bolt supporting device and the bolt elevating tool are discrete, detachable parts, i.e. the bolt supporting device and the bolt elevating tool can be separated from each other, and may, e.g., be moved independently of each other. Accordingly, the bolt elevating tool is removable with respect to the bolt supporting device. For instance, the bolt elevating tool may thereby be moved away from the bolt supporting device, e.g. to a position of another bolt supporting device. Thereby one bolt elevating tool may be used for several kits. Thereby a very flexible kit is obtained.

Furthermore, the bolts may be positioned at the bolt supporting device at a time where time consumption is not critical, and the bolt supporting device with the bolts can be positioned in the vicinity of the flange connection. The bolts may be positioned at the bolt supporting device and moved along with the bolt supporting device to this position in the vicinity of the flange connection, or the bolts may be positioned in a bolt supporting device which is already positioned in the vicinity of the flange connection. The bolt lifting tool can then be moved towards the bolt supporting device and used for elevating the bolts into the through-holes of the flange connection. This allows the bolts to be positioned in the through-holes in a fast and easy manner.

The bolt elevating tool may be configured to engage bolts supported by the bolt supporting device and to elevate the bolts by moving them relative to the bolt supporting device. According to this embodiment, the bolt elevating tool engages the bolts directly and elevates the bolts per se. The bolt elevating tool may be configured to engage and elevate two or more bolts simultaneously. For instance, the bolt elevating tool may be configured to engage all of the bolts and elevate them all simultaneously, thereby enabling very fast positioning of the bolts in the through-holes. As an alternative, the bolt elevating tool may be configured to engage some of the bolts, but not all of them, in which case the bolts can be elevated and positioned in the through- holes of the flange connection in batches. As another alternative, most of the bolts may be engaged and elevated simultaneously, leaving out only a few individual bolts, e.g. bolts which are expected to meet obstacles during elevation.

Alternatively to engaging and elevating two or more bolts simultaneously, the bolts may be engaged and elevated individually, e.g. one at a time or sequentially.

The bolt elevating tool may further comprise bolt retaining portions, being configured to prevent rotation of the bolt head during elevation or after elevation by the bolt elevating tool. According to this embodiment, when the bolts have been positioned in the through-holes of the flange connection by the bolt elevating tool, nuts can be applied to the bolts and tensioned without risking that the bolts rotate along with nuts, because the bolts are retained by means of the retaining portions. Furthermore, it is not necessary to apply any separate retaining means at least during the initial tensioning of the nuts, and therefore the bolts can readily be tensioned when they have been positioned in the through-holes.

The retaining portions may for example be in the form of protrusions formed on the movable engaging part of the bolt elevating tool, with positioning which allows a bolt head to be engaged by at least one protrusion and preferably two or more protrusions, and which prevents the bolt head from rotating when engaged with the movable engaging part of the bolt elevating tool. The retaining portions may for example be in the form of protrusions with positioning which allows a bolt head to be engaged by two or more protrusions, and which prevents the bolt head from rotating when engaged. The bolt elevating tool preferably comprises a locking feature that allows for temporarily locking the movable engaging part in an elevated / extended position, so constant activation of the elevating feature (for example pressure on a foot pedal or provision of electricity to an electrical engine elevating the movable engaging part) is not required during fixing of the elevated bolts. This is particularly advantageous when the bolt elevating tool engages multiple bolts simultaneously and the distance from the foot pedal or other activator of elevating feature to the elevated bolts becomes relatively large. Furthermore, the locking feature is highly advantageous from a safety point of view as it prevents dropping of bolts if the movable engaging part is accidentally released prematurely.

The bolt elevating tool may further comprise a deactivating mechanism for deactivating elevation of at least one of the bolts in the case that the bolt encounters an obstacle during elevation, while continuing elevation of the remaining bolts. According to this embodiment, when two or more bolts are elevated simultaneously by the elevating tool, and one of them encounters an obstacle which prevents that bolt from continuing being inserted into one of the through-holes of the flange connection, the deactivation mechanism deactivates the elevation of that bolt, but allows all of the other bolts to continue being elevated and thereby inserted into the respective through-holes. Thereby the majority of the bolts can be positioned in the through-holes in one go, and only the bolts which encounter obstacles need to be handled separately, and possibly manually. This allows the bolts to be positioned in the through-holes in a fast, easy and simple manner, and with minimum manual handling.

Obstacles for one or more bolts could, e.g., occur when through-holes formed in the two flanges being connected are not completely aligned. For instance, in the case that at least one of the components being connected via the flange connection is a tower section of a wind turbine tower, the cross section of the tower section may not be perfectly circular. This is sometimes referred to as 'ovality'. This may lead to a situation where the through-holes formed in the flanges are not completely aligned. The deactivation mechanism may, e.g., comprise a pressure sensitive sensor arranged to measure a force applied to the bolts, due to the elevating tool attempting to elevate the bolt, but the bolt being unable to move due to an obstacle. In this case, when the force exceeds a certain threshold level, the deactivation mechanism will ensure that elevation of the bolt in question is deactivated.

As an alternative, the deactivation mechanism may comprise a spring mechanism, for example by the movable engaging part being supported by a spring, and in case of an obstacle is blocking the elevation of the bolt then the spring will be gradually loaded instead of elevating the bolt.

As an alternative to engaging and elevating the bolts directly, the bolt elevating tool may be configured to engage the bolt supporting device and to elevate the bolts by elevating the bolt supporting device supporting the bolts. According to this embodiment, all of the bolts being supported by the bolt supporting device are elevated in one go by elevating the bolt supporting device, with the bolts thereon.

The flange connection may form an interface between a sea fastening structure and a section of a wind turbine tower. In the present context the term 'sea fastening structure' should be interpreted to mean a structure which is fixedly mounted on, or forms part of, a seagoing vessel, such as a barge, and which is configured to having goods, such as tower sections of wind turbine towers, attached thereto, in order to prevent the goods from shifting during sea transport. Thus, according to this embodiment, the flange connection connects a section of a wind turbine tower to such a sea fastening structure, thereby securing the tower section relative to the seagoing vessel during transport. Another aspect of this embodiment is the use of the kit according to the first aspect of the invention for forming a connection between a flange of a sea fastening structure and a flange of a section of a wind turbine tower.

When transporting tower sections, e.g. for offshore wind turbines, by means of seagoing vessels, the tower sections are loaded onto the seagoing vessel at a port, and secured to sea fastening structures before departure of the seagoing vessel. Accordingly, several tower sections may need to be secured to respective sea fastening structures on the seagoing vessel within the restricted time interval which is available for loading the tower sections onto the seagoing vessel. It is therefore an advantage that the tower sections can be connected to the sea fastening structure in a fast and easy manner, with minimum manual handling, by using a kit according to the first aspect of the invention.

Furthermore, since the bolt supporting device and the bolt elevating tool are discrete, detachable parts, as described above, bolt supporting devices with bolts may be positioned in the vicinity of, or even mounted on, the sea fastening structures, while a single or a few elevating tools may be used for sequentially elevating the bolts of the respective bolt supporting devices.

As an alternative, the flange connection may form an interface between two sections of a wind turbine tower or an interface between a section of a wind turbine tower and a transition piece. According to this embodiment, the kit according to the first aspect of the invention is used during erection of the wind turbine, i.e. when assembling two tower sections and/or when mounting a lowermost tower section on a transition piece. Another aspect of this embodiment is the use of a kit according to the first aspect of the invention for forming a connection between two sections of a wind turbine tower, between a section of a wind turbine tower and a transition piece, or a connection between a wind turbine tower and a wind turbine nacelle.

The bolt supporting device may comprise connecting means for fixating the bolt supporting device to a wall part. According to this embodiment, the bolt supporting device can be fixated relative to the wall part, by means of the connecting means, while the bolt elevating tool is movable. The wall part may advantageously form part of one of the components being connected to each other via the flange connection. Thereby the bolt supporting device will be positioned in the vicinity of the flange connection when it is fixed to the wall part. For instance, the wall part may be a wall of a sea fastening structure or of a tower section. Alternatively, the bolt supporting device may be connected to one of the flanges forming the flange connection, e.g. on a side of one of the flanges, by means of the connecting means. The bolt supporting device may comprise a plurality of bolt retaining portions, each being configured to receive a bolt head of a bolt and to prevent rotation of the bolt head. According to this embodiment, when the bolts have been positioned in the through-holes of the flange connection, nuts can be applied to the bolts and tensioned without risking that the bolts rotate along with nuts, because the bolts are retained by means of the retaining portions. Furthermore, it is not necessary to apply any separate retaining means at least during the initial tensioning of the nuts, and therefore the bolts can readily be tensioned when they have been positioned in the through-holes.

The retaining portions may for example be in the form of protrusions formed on the bolt supporting device, with positioning which allow a bolt head to be engaged by at least one protrusion and preferably two or more protrusions, and which prevent the bolt head from rotating when engaged. Protrusions may for example be walls of the supporting device or protrusions on the surface supporting the bolts.

The bolt elevating tool may be configured to elevate the bolt supporting device from a floor level to a level which positions the bolts supported by the bolt supporting device in the initial position. According to this embodiment, apart from being configured to elevate the bolts as described above, the bolt elevating tool can also be applied for moving the bolt supporting device into position in the vicinity of the flange connection before the bolts are elevated, and thereby inserted into the through-holes of the flange connection. Thus, the bolt elevating tool may pick up the bolt supporting device, possibly with bolts supported thereby, from a floor level and elevate it to a position below the flange connection, thereby ensuring that the bolts are now positioned at the initial position, from where the can be elevated, inserting them into the through-holes of the flange connection, as described above. The bolt supporting device may, e.g., be connected to a wall part, thereby fixating the bolt supporting device relative to the flange connection, after the bolt supporting device has been elevated to the initial position and before the bolts are elevated to the elevated position. In the case that the bolt elevating tool is configured to elevate the bolt supporting device, as described above, the bolt supporting device may advantageously be in the form of a crate or a rack, which can be preloaded with bolts, e.g. already at a manufacturing location. In this case, the preloaded bolt supporting device can be transported to a location where the kit is to be applied, e.g. on a seagoing vessel or at an erecting position of a wind turbine. Next, the bolt elevating tool can be used for picking up the preloaded bolt supporting device and positioning it as described above relative to the flange connection, and finally for elevating the bolts, thereby inserting them into the through-holes of the flange connection.

According to a second aspect, the invention provides a method for positioning bolts in through-holes of a flange connection, the method comprising the steps of:

- providing a bolt supporting device and a bolt elevating tool in the form of discrete, detachable parts, the bolt elevating tool thereby being removable with respect to the bolt supporting device,

- providing a plurality of bolts being supported by the bolt supporting device,

- arranging the bolt supporting device in the vicinity of a flange connection comprising a plurality of through-holes, in such a manner that the bolts being supported by the bolt supporting device are positioned in an initial position below the flange connection, and

- elevating the bolts supported by the bolt supporting device from the initial position to an elevated position, in which the bolts extend through the through-holes of the flange connection, using the bolt elevating tool.

The method according to the second aspect of the invention may advantageously be performed using a kit according to the first aspect of the invention. The person skilled in the art would therefore readily recognise that any feature described in combination with the first aspect of the invention could also be combined with the second aspect of the invention, and vice versa, and that the remarks set forth above are therefore equally applicable here.

Thus, the method according to the second aspect of the invention is a method for positioning bolts in through-holes of a flange connection. This has already been described above with reference to the first aspect of the invention.

Initially, a bolt supporting device and a bolt elevating tool are provided in the form of discrete, detachable parts. Accordingly, the bolt elevation tool is removable with respect to the bolt supporting device. The bolt supporting device and the bolt elevating tool may, e.g., form part of a kit according to the first aspect of the invention, as described above.

Furthermore, a plurality of bolts are provided, the bolts being supported by the bolt supporting device.

The bolt supporting device is arranged, i.e. positioned, in the vicinity of a flange connection comprising a plurality of through-holes. The bolt supporting device is positioned relative to the flange connection in such a manner that the bolts being supported by the bolt supporting device are positioned in an initial position below the flange connection. Thereby the bolts are ready for being elevated into the through-holes of the flange connection, in the manner described above with reference to the first aspect of the invention.

The order of the step of providing the bolts and the step of arranging the bolt supporting device in the vicinity of the flange connection may be reversed, in the sense that the bolt may be provided on the bolt supporting device either before or after the bolt supporting device is arranged in the vicinity of the flange connection. In the first case, the bolt supporting device is moved with the bolts in order to be arranged in the vicinity of the flange connection. In the latter case, the bolts are positioned on a bolt supporting device which is already arranged in the vicinity of the flange connection.

In any event, when the bolt supporting device and the plurality of bolts supported thereby have been positioned as described above, the bolts supported by the bolt supporting device are elevated from the initial position to an elevated position, using the bolt elevating tool. In the elevated position, the bolts extend through the through-holes of the flange connection. This has already been described above with reference to the first aspect of the invention.

Accordingly, the bolts are positioned in the through-holes of the flange connection in a fast and easy manner, and with minimum manual handling.

The step of elevating the bolts supported by the bolt supporting device may comprise the bolt elevating tool engaging at least one of the bolts and moving one or more bolts relative to the bolt supporting device. This has already been described above with reference to the first aspect of the invention.

The method may further comprise the step of deactivating elevation of at least one of the bolts in the case that the bolt encounters an obstacle during elevation, while continuing elevation of the remaining bolts. This has also already been described above with reference to the first aspect of the invention.

As an alternative, the step of elevating the bolts supported by the bolt supporting device may comprise the elevating tool engaging the bolt supporting device and elevating the bolt supporting device supporting the bolts. This has also already been described above with reference to the first aspect of the invention.

The method may further comprise the step of elevating the bolt supporting device from a floor level to a level which positions the bolts supported by the bolt supporting device in the initial position, using the bolt elevating tool. This has also already been described above with reference to the first aspect of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bolt elevating tool for a kit according to an embodiment of the invention,

Figs. 2 and 3 are perspective views of a part of the bolt elevating tool of Fig. 1 in two different positions, Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of a kit according to an embodiment of the invention with the bolt elevating tool in two different positions,

Fig. 6 illustrates the kit of Figs. 4 and 5 positioning a bolt in an elevated position,

Figs. 7-9 illustrate a bolt supporting device for a kit according to an embodiment of the invention with bolts supported thereon, from three different angles,

Fig. 10 illustrates a kit according to an embodiment of the invention comprising the bolt supporting device of Figs. 7-9 and the bolt elevating tool of Figs. 1-3,

Fig. 11 is a detail of the kit of Fig. 10 with the bolt elevating tool in an initial position, Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate operation of the kit of Fig. 10, and

Fig. 14 is a detail of the kit of Fig. 10 with the bolt elevating tool in an elevated position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bolt elevating tool 1 for a kit according to an embodiment of the invention. The bolt elevating tool 1 is mounted on a number of wheels 2, three of which are shown, thereby allowing the bolt elevating tool 1 to be easily moved along a surface, such as a floor or the like.

The bolt elevating tool 1 comprises a movable engaging part 3, which is configured to engage a bolt, and to move up and down, thereby moving the bolt correspondingly, in a manner which will be described in further detail below. The movement of the movable engaging part 3 is guided by a tubular member 4. As described above, the bolt elevating tool 1 according to the invention may elevate one, two or more bolts simultaneously. To enhance visibility of details, bolt elevating tool 1 engaging one bolt after another is depictures as an example of bolt elevating tools according to the invention. Bolt elevating tools elevating multiple bolts simultaneously will typically have multiple movable engaging parts arranged next to each other on the bolt elevating tool, which movable engaging parts may be operated simultaneously and connected mechanically, electrically, pneumatically, hydraulically, e.g. by means of a motor, or in any other suitable manner.

The movement of the movable engaging part 3 is activated by means of a foot pedal 5. Accordingly, when it is desired to activate movement of the movable engaging part 3, in order to elevate a bolt arranged in abutment with the movable engaging part, an operator may push the foot pedal 5 downwards by means of his or her foot, thereby causing movement of the movable engaging part 3 and elevation of the bolt. This will be described in further detail below.

A handle bar 6 allows an operator to push the bolt elevating tool 1, thereby moving it via the wheels 2. Furthermore, pushing the handle bar 6 downwards may for example causes elevation of the tubular member 4. Alternatively, this may for example be used for locking the rotation of wheels 2, locking the level of the elevation level of the tubular member 4, or elevating of the bolt supporting device of the kit.

Figs. 2 and 3 are perspective views of a part of the bolt elevating tool 1 of Fig. 1 in two different positions. More particularly, in Figs. 2 and 3 the tubular member 4, the movable engaging part 3 and the foot pedal 5 are shown, whereas the wheels and the handle bar have been left out.

In Fig. 2 the bolt elevating tool 1 is shown with the movable engaging part 3 and the foot pedal 5 in initial positions, and in Fig. 3 the bolt elevating tool 1 is shown with the movable engaging part 3 in an elevated position and the foot pedal 5 in a lowered position. The foot pedal 5 comprises an elongated member 7 which extends into an interior part of the tubular member 4, via a slit 8. In Fig. 2, the elongated member 7 is in a position where it abuts a lowermost end of the slit 8, and where a foot engaging part of the foot pedal 5 is in an uppermost position.

When it is desired to elevate a bolt (not shown) arranged in abutment with the movable engaging part 3, an operator pushes the foot engaging part of the foot pedal 5 downwards, using a foot. This causes the elongated member 7 of the foot pedal 5 to pivot about pivot point 9, thereby moving the elongated member 7 upwards along the slit 8 until it abuts an uppermost end of the slit 8. This is the position illustrated in Fig. 3. It should be observed that this allows bolts 15 to be elevated by an operator without the use of hands, and hence the operator has two free hands for fixing the elevated bolts for example by a nut.

The elongated member 7 is connected to the movable engaging part 3 inside the tubular member 4. Therefore, the upwards movement of the elongated member 7, along the slit 8, described above causes the movable engaging part 3 to move upwards to the position illustrated in Fig. 3. A bolt arranged in abutment with the movable engaging part 3 will be moved upwards in a corresponding manner.

Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of a kit 10 according to an embodiment of the invention. The kit 10 comprises the bolt elevating tool 1 illustrated in Figs. 1- 3 and a bolt supporting device 11 mounted on a wall part 12 below a flange 13 forming part of a flange connection. The wall part 12 could, e.g., form part of a sea fastening structure, a transition piece of a wind turbine or a tower section of a wind turbine. The bolt elevating tool 1 is shown with only the parts which are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In Fig. 4 the bolt elevating tool 1 is in the position illustrated in Fig. 2, and in Fig. 5 the bolt elevating tool 1 is in the position illustrated in Fig. 3. The bolt elevating tool 1 is positioned below the bolt supporting device 11, and is movable with respect to the wall part 12 and the bolt supporting device 11 mounted thereon.

The bolt supporting device 11 is provided with five recesses 14, through which the movable engaging part 3 of the bolt elevating tool 1 is allowed to pass. Bolts 15 can be positioned on the bolt supporting device 11 at positions corresponding to the recesses 14, with the heads of the bolts 15 facing the bolt supporting device 11. In Figs. 4 and 5 two such bolts 15 are shown. Since the diameter of the heads of the bolts 15 is larger than the diameter of the recesses 14, the bolts 15 are supported by the bolt supporting device 11. However, since the bolts 15 are positioned at positions corresponding to the recesses 14, it is possible to engage the bolts 15 by the movable engaging part 3 of the bolt elevating tool 1 from below.

The flange 13 is provided with a plurality of through-holes 16, each being configured to receive a bolt 15. Initially, the bolt elevating tool 1 is in the position illustrated in Fig. 4. When it is desired to elevate a bolt 15 being supported by the bolt supporting device 11, the bolt elevating tool 1 is moved to a position immediately below the bolt 15 in question. Then the foot pedal 5 of the bolt elevating tool 1 is operated in the manner described above with reference to Figs. 2 and 3, thereby causing the movable engaging part 3 to move in an upwards direction and through one of the recesses 14, i.e. to the position illustrated in Fig. 5. This, in turn, causes the bolt 15 to be elevated and inserted into the through-hole 16 positioned immediately above the bolt 15. It should be noted, that for clarity reasons, no bolt is shown being elevated in Figs. 4 and 5.

Fig. 6 illustrates the kit 10 of Figs. 4 and 5 with the bolt elevating tool 1 in the position illustrated in Fig. 5. Furthermore, in Fig. 6 the wheels 2 of the bolt elevating tool 1 are also shown, and a second flange 17, forming part of a component 18 to be joined to the wall part 12 has been arranged in abutment with the flange 13. Thereby flanges 13 and 17 form a flange connection. It can be seen from Fig. 6 that a bolt 15 arranged in engagement with the movable engaging part 3 of the bolt elevating tool 1 has been elevated to an elevated position in which the bolt 15 extends through the through-holes 16 formed in the flanges 13, 17.

Figs. 7-9 illustrate a bolt supporting device 11 for a kit according to an embodiment of the invention from three different angles. The bolt supporting device 11 is mounted on a wall part 12 below a flange 13 being provided with a plurality of through-holes 16. The bolt supporting device 11 is provided with five recesses 14, as described above with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. Five bolts 15 are supported by the bolt supporting device 11 at positions corresponding to the five recesses 14, in the manner described above with reference to Figs. 4 and 5.

Fig. 10 illustrates a kit 10 according to an embodiment of the invention comprising the bolt supporting device 11 of Figs. 7-9 and the bolt elevating tool 1 of Figs. 1-3. The bolt elevating tool 1 is positioned immediately below one of the bolts 15 being supported by the bolt supporting device 11, and with the movable engaging part 3 and the foot pedal 5 in initial positions, i.e. the bolt elevating tool 1 is in the position illustrated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 11 is a detail of the kit 10 of Fig. 10, illustrating that the movable engaging part 3 is arranged in one of the recesses 14 of the bolt supporting device 11, immediately below the head of the bolt 15 positioned at a position corresponding to the recess 14. Accordingly, elevating the movable engaging part 3 will initially move the movable engaging part 3 into abutment with the bolt 15, and subsequently elevate the bolt 15 along with the movable engaging part 3.

Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate operation of the kit 10 of Fig. 10. In Fig. 12, a first bolt 15 has already been elevated to an elevated position and inserted into one of the through-holes of the flanges 13 and 17. The first bolt 15 has been fixed by a nut (not shown) but not tightened completely yet. The bolt elevating tool 1 has been moved to a positioned immediately below the next bolt 15, and an operator 19 is ready to push the foot pedal 5 downwards, using a foot, in the manner described above with reference to Figs. 2 and 3.

In Fig. 13, the operator 19 has pushed the foot pedal 5 to the lowermost position, causing the movable engaging part 3 to be moved upwards, thereby elevating the bolt 15 positioned above the movable engaging part 3, and inserting it into one of the through-holes 16 of the flange 13, so the bolt 15 can be secured by the operator above flange 17 (not shown).

Fig. 14 is a detail of the kit 10 of Fig. 10 with the movable engaging part 3 of the bolt elevating tool in an elevated position. It can be seen that the movable engaging part 3 abuts the bolt 15, and that the bolt 15 has been elevated to a position in which the bolt 15 is inserted into the through-hole 16 of the flange 13.