3683results about "Cargo handling apparatus" patented technology

The MULTIBODY AIRCRANE performs relative positioning, predictive control, and ballast control to achieve very heavy-lifting tasks on land or sea. Such tasks allow station keeping and precise transfer of very heavy payloads between ships underway. This scalable multibody system features three subcomponents: AIRSHIP, SKYCRANE and LOADFRAME. This semi-autonomous system combines aerodynamic (kinetic) and aerostatic (buoyancy force) lift with efficient power and propulsion. During low-speed flight, the Airship and Skycrane are decoupled but linked via a reelable Tether Control Line. Beneath the Skycrane, centered on its hull, a patented NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) RoboCrane (featuring a computer controlled six degrees of freedom (DoF) cabling system,) is attached, to precisely suspend and control a Loadframe, with or without payload. During subsonic forward flight, these Airship and Skycrane are coupled as a single airframe (fuselage and delta wing.)

A port storage and distribution system for facilitating the transfer and/or storage of international shipping containers between container ships and ground transport carriers wherein an overhead grid guide track structure is provide that permits overhead transfer units to selectively engage and convey containers as required between the various ships, carriers and storage area without requiring multiple transfers of containers between different handling equipment. The system provides for container scanning and is either fully automated or partially manually controlled.

A system for providing billing information of a wireless data communication service includes an Inter-Working function (IWF) for, if a data call is received, assigning an Internet protocol (IP) address to a mobile communication terminal that has sent the data call and transmitting the assigned IP address to a billing server; the billing server for, if the IP address is received, searching for billing information related to the mobile communication terminal from among stored billing information, inserting the found billing information into a ping message, and transmitting the ping message to the mobile communication terminal; and the mobile communication terminal for sending the data call, receiving the assigned IP address, performing wireless data communication using the assigned IP, transmitting a ping response message to the billing server if a ping message is received from the billing server, determining whether the ping message contains billing information, and displaying the billing information contained in the ping message if it is determined that the ping message contains billing information.

A system and process for improving container flow within a port facility, including improved equipment and software for controlling operation and flow of the equipment in the part facility. The system may include a port facility geographically arranged to separate land operations and water operations. Land operations such as over-the-road missions and rail missions may use landside access areas positioned at one end of a yard including rows of container stacks. Water missions such as loading/discharging a vessel may use waterside access areas positioned at the opposite end of the yard. Automated cranes linked with a terminal operating system may pick/drop/shuffle containers and/or refrigerated containers (“reefers”) within the container stacks. Shuttle trucks may be used to pick/drop containers at quayside access points and the waterside access areas. The shuttle trucks may utilize shared wheelpaths. Software systems may be used to implement various principles of the invention.

The present invention represents a procedure for compensating the heave movement of offshore cranes. The dynamic model of the compensation actuator (hydraulically operated winch) and the load hanging on a rope are derived. Based on this model, a path-tracking control unit is developed. To compensate the movement of the ship/watercraft caused by waves, the heave movement is defined as a time-varying disturbance and is analyzed with respect to uncoupling conditions. With a model expansion, these conditions are satisfied, and an inversion-based uncoupling control law is formulated. To stabilize the system, an observer is used for reconstructing the unknown state by means of a force measurement. Furthermore, the compensation efficiency can be improved by predicting the heave movement. There is proposed a prediction method in which no ship/watercraft models or properties are required. The simulation and measurement results validate the heave compensation method.

A self-supported riser system (100) for an Anticipated Production System (ASP) Test or a Long Duration Production (LDP) Test in a subsea petroleum production system, utilizing an ANM coupled to a wellhead and Floating Production Unit (FPU) is disclosed. The system includes a wellhead at the seabed, connected to an ANM (20) provided with a preventor (BOP of workover) (30). The preventor (30) is connected to a production riser (50) through a connection tool (40). The riser (50), mounted internally within a buoy assembly (60), is maintained under traction with the aid of a buoy assembly. The upper end of the riser (50) is provided with a Subsea Intervention Terminal (700), the Terminal being interlinked to the FPU by a flexible jumper (90) to carry the oil produced to the FPU. Two methods for installing the self-supported riser system (100) are also disclosed.

A method of transferring proppant materials, wherein the method includes providing a first pressurized container (102) containing proppant materials on a first vessel (106). The method also includes connecting the first pressurized container (102) on the first vessel (106) to a second container (102) on a second vessel (114) and transferring pneumatically, proppant materials from the first pressurized container (102) on the first vessel (106) to the second container (102) on the second vessel (114). Also, a method of transferring proppant materials, the method including removing a wellbore fluid comprising excess proppant materials from a well, and screening the excess proppant materials from the wellbore fluid. The method also includes transferring the excess proppant materials to a first pressurized container (102) and transferring pneumatically, the excess proppant materials from the first pressurized container to a second pressurized container.

Crane apparatus is equipped with a container security scanning system for scanning containers for radioactive material, such as neutron or gamma ray emissions. The crane apparatus has a crane for unloading containers from a marine vessel and placing the containers on a deck located at the portal girder level of the crane and for transferring the containers from the deck to another location. The container security scanning system comprises one or more scanning units disposed on the deck, each scanning unit having one or more scanning platforms for supporting a container such that a bottom of the container is vertically spaced from the deck. A scanning device is movable beneath the container in a space between the underside of the scanning platforms and the deck for scanning the container to detect whether radioactive material is present. Existing cranes can be retrofitted with the container security scanning system, and newly manufactured cranes can be upgraded to include such a system.

Vessels, system and methods for conveying drilling cuttings material, which, in certain aspects, include a system for conveying material from a vessel, the system having a vessel for receiving material to be conveyed, a first conduit for conveying air, a second conduit for receiving air from the first conduit and for conveying air into the vessel, a metering screw for receiving material from the vessel and for moving the material from the vessel, a discharge line for receiving the material from the metering screw, the discharge line having an exit end, pressure sensor apparatus for sensing pressure in the discharge line, and control apparatus for automatically controlling the metering screw in response to a pressure sensed by the pressure sensor apparatus.

A method and system for transporting an offshore structure such as a wind turbine generator includes a supporting frame in which the offshore structure is assembled on land in an upright configuration. The frame is used for lifting the structure onto a transport vessel, on which it is retained in the upright configuration. At its location of use, the offshore structure is transferred to a pre-prepared foundation. The foundation is provided with a frame which cooperates with the supporting frame. The supporting frame includes a plurality of legs having hydraulically controlled feet. The frame of the foundation includes an equal number of supporting formations on which the feet ultimately rest. The feet are moveable in response to the hydraulic control along a nominally vertical line of action and provide a damping arrangement for the mounting of the offshore structure.

Apparatuses, systems, and methods for the deployment of a plurality of autonomous underwater seismic vehicles (AUVs) on or near the seabed based on acoustic communications with an underwater vehicle, such as a remotely operated vehicle. In an embodiment, the underwater vehicle is lowered from a surface vessel along with a subsea station with a plurality of AUVs. The AUVs are configured to acoustically communicate with the underwater vehicle or a second surface vessel for deployment and retrieval operations. The underwater vehicle and/or second surface vessel is configured to instruct the AUVs to leave the subsea station or underwater vehicle and to travel to their intended seabed destination. The underwater vehicle and/or second surface vessel is also configured to selectively instruct the AUVs to leave the seabed and return to a seabed location and/or a subsea station for retrieval.

This invention provides a means of loading, processing and conditioning raw production gas, production of CGL, storage, transport, and delivery of pipeline quality natural gas or fractionated products to market. The CGL transport vessel utilizes a pipe based containment system to hold more densely packed constituents of natural gas held within a light hydrocarbon solvent than it is possible to attain for natural gas alone under such conditions. The containment system is supported by process systems for loading and transporting the natural gas as a liquid and unloading the CGL from the containment system and then offloading it in the gaseous state. The system can also be utilized for the selective storage and transport of NGLs to provide a total service package for the movement of natural gas and associated gas production. The mode of storage is suited for both marine and land transportation and configured in modular form to suit a particular application and/or scale of operation.

A method for developing a sub-sea hydrocarbons field includes sub-sea wells, sub-sea oil/gas separation, storing the degassed oil in a storage tank located or the seabed, liquefying natural gas aboard a vessel using liquid nitrogen aboard the vessel to obtain liquefied natural gas, transporting the liquefied natural gas to an onshore terminal, re-gasifying the liquefied natural gas, and obtaining a new batch of liquid nitrogen using energy recovered from the re-gasifying the liquefied natural gas.

A container crane includes a movable trolley and a load-carrying frame pendantly connected to the trolley and comprised of a spreader and a head block, for transfer of a container from or to a transport vehicle. Plural optical detectors are mounted on the trolley for identifying longitudinal and transversal edges of the head block or spreader and the transport vehicle. Operatively connected to the detectors is a processing device for determining a spatial position of the edges and calculating a position of longitudinal and transversal center lines of the head block or spreader and the transport vehicle and their spatial positions in relation to one another. In this way a possible offset of the center lines of the head block or spreader with regard to those of the transport vehicle in longitudinal and transversal directions as well as a rotation angle of the center lines can be determined, whereby a detected offset or rotation angle is compensated by displacing the spreader relative to the head block.