A method for repositioning containers in an automated container terminal based on a policy algorithm

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method for turning over containers at an automated container terminal based on a policy algorithm, comprising the following steps: S1, defining the yard structure; S2, setting the container turning-over plan; S3, configuring the policy of the plan; S4, calculating the turning-over position; S5, executing the turning-over operation instruction; S6, calculating the re-turning position; S7, executing the re-turning operation instruction. The present invention realizes the automatic turning over of containers in the yard, maximizes the assignment of reasonable turning-over positions, and reduces the probability of secondary turning over.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technology of container turning in an automated container terminal, and more specifically, to a method for turning containers in an automated container terminal based on a policy algorithm. Background Art

[0002] Under the background of increasingly fierce port competition and continuously climbing throughput of container terminals, optimizing operation processes, improving operation efficiency, and reducing operation costs have become important ways for container terminals to enhance service levels and core competitiveness.

[0003] Container turning operations mainly occur during the processes of container loading onto ships, container picking, and container moving. Conditions such as port and ship changes, customs cancellation, container damage, unreasonable port collection plans, and restrictions on reducing stowage for improving utilization rate, and appropriate mixing in some cases are the main reasons for container turning during loading. Uncertainty in the order of arrival of trailers for container picking, appropriate mixing of discharged containers for improving utilization rate, picking containers by specified container numbers, and the requirement of first-in-first-out for container release strategies are the main reasons for container turning during container picking operations. Designated container number moving such as customs inspection operations, weighing operations, repair and washing operations, typhoon prevention leveling and lashing, and temporary yard sorting will all cause container turning during moving operations. Considering the influence of the above operation conditions, containers cannot be operated completely in the planned order during the container out operation link. When the lower-layer containers need to be taken out first, the upper-layer containers need to be turned over at this time. The selection of the turning position needs to consider various parameter strategies, mainly including basic parameters, position parameters within a bay, parameters for across-bay turning, empty container parameters, basic parameters of loaded containers, imported loaded containers, exported / transited loaded containers, re-turning rules, etc. For various parameter strategies, the program will automatically calculate the turning cost to achieve the optimal assignment of the turning position. If the turning position is unreasonable, the system will automatically generate a re-turning instruction for re-turning operations. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Aiming at the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for turning containers in an automated container terminal based on a policy algorithm, which realizes the automatic turning of containers in the yard, maximizes the reasonable assignment of turning positions, and reduces the probability of secondary turning.

[0005] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] A method for turning containers in an automated container terminal based on a policy algorithm includes the following steps:

[0007] S1. Define the yard structure;

[0008] S2. Set the container turning plan;

[0009] S3. Configure the strategies of the plan;

[0010] S4. Calculation of the container turning position;

[0011] S5. Execute the container turning operation instruction;

[0012] S6. Calculation of the return turning position;

[0013] S7. Execute the return turning operation instruction.

[0014] Preferably, the step S1 further includes:

[0015] Define the yard structure of the container terminal, including bay information, row information, tier information, and lane information; and

[0016] After the ship loading / unloading and container receiving / delivery operations of the TOS system, the containers will have corresponding storage information matching the yard structure information.

[0017] Preferably, the step S2 further includes:

[0018] Define corresponding container turning and return turning schemes for different yard areas or machine types. The TOS system selects a scheme with a high matching degree according to the current machine situation and yard situation and executes its strategy.

[0019] Preferably, the step S3 further includes:

[0020] Configure the strategy of the scheme for different machines and yard areas, including basic parameters, in-bay position parameters, across-bay tipping parameters, empty container parameters, full container basic parameters, imported full containers, exported / transited full containers, and return turning rules.

[0021] Preferably, the calculation steps of the step S4 are as follows:

[0022] S41. Select the executed scheme according to the operation machine type and yard type. All the pressed containers in this instruction, that is, the set of containers to be turned over {A, B, C, D...}, are turned over one by one starting from the topmost container;

[0023] S42. Calculate the candidate positions in the same bay or adjacent bays where a turned-out container can be placed, and find the placement position with low cost from the candidate container positions according to the corresponding strategy;

[0024] S43. Calculate the placement position of the next turned-out container based on the placement position of the previous turned-out container;

[0025] S44. After all the turned-out containers have found their positions, generate tipping instructions using their respective positions. If there is a turned-out container that has not found a placement position, the current tipping fails. The TOS system rolls back without generating any modification operations and issues a tipping failure notice. At this time, no operation instructions for the automated machine will be generated automatically.

[0026] Preferably, the calculation in step S6 is as follows:

[0027] S61. According to the set range of back-flipping, including the range of regular storage yard, special storage yard, and machine operation range, the yard is sorted regularly;

[0028] S62. According to the set container selection strategy, including violating the stacking pattern, being too high, violating the layer difference, and obstructing the container-out strategy, find the containers that need to be back-shifted. For the bays with instructions inside, they are not involved in the sorting;

[0029] S63. Use the container-flipping rule to find a slot for each container that needs to be back-shifted;

[0030] S64. Generate a back-shift instruction according to the position of each back-shifted container.

[0031] The container-flipping method for an automated container terminal based on a policy algorithm provided by the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0032] 1) By applying the container-flipping rule and combining it with the automated terminal operation machines, the automatic container flipping in the yard is realized, maximizing the assignment of reasonable container-flipping positions and reducing the probability of secondary container flipping;

[0033] 2) By applying the container-flipping rule and combining it with the automated terminal operation machines, the automatic container back-placement in the yard is realized, solving the problems of unreasonable container stacking caused by temporary container flipping, which do not conform to safety specifications and stacking specifications. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1 is a schematic flow chart of the container-flipping method of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of on-site container stacking. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0036] In order to better understand the above technical solutions of the present invention, the technical solutions of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the drawings and embodiments.

[0037] Combined with Figure 1 shown, the container-flipping method for an automated container terminal based on a policy algorithm provided by the present invention includes the following steps:

[0038] S1. Define the yard structure; define the yard structure situation of the container terminal, including bay information, row information, layer information, lane information, etc.; and after the loading and unloading of ships and the receipt and delivery of containers in the TOS system (terminal operating system), the containers will have corresponding stacking information matching the yard structure information.

[0039] S2. Set the container flipping plan; define corresponding container flipping and re-flipping plans for different yard areas or machine types. The TOS system selects the plan with the highest matching degree based on the current machine situation and yard situation and executes its strategy.

[0040] S3. Configure the strategy of the plan; configure the strategy of the plan for different machines and yard areas, including basic parameters, Ben location parameters, cross-Ben tipping parameters, empty container parameters, full container basic parameters, imported full containers, exported / transferred full containers, re-flipping rules.

[0041] S4. Calculate the container flipping position; after the container out instruction of the TOS system is generated, as Figure 2 shown, there is a stacked container 2 on instruction 1 and the container cannot be exchanged, the TOS system will perform the container flipping operation. The specific calculation steps are as follows:

[0042] S41. Select the plan to be executed according to the operation machine type and yard type. All the stacked containers of this instruction are the set of containers to be flipped away {A, B, C, D...}, and the containers are flipped away one by one starting from the topmost container;

[0043] S42. Calculate the candidate positions of the Ben or adjacent Bens where a flipped-out container can be placed, and find the best placement position with the lowest cost from the candidate container positions according to the corresponding strategy;

[0044] S43. Based on the placement position of the previous flipped-out container, calculate the best placement position of the next flipped-out container;

[0045] S44. After all the flipped-out containers find the best positions, generate tipping instructions using their respective best positions. If there is a flipped-out container that cannot find a placement position, the current tipping fails. The TOS system rolls back without generating any modification operations and issues a tipping failure notice. At this time, no operation instructions for the automated machine will be generated automatically.

[0046] S5. Execute the container flipping operation instruction; after receiving the instruction, the automated machine will execute the instruction and automatically grab and place the container to the destination position.

[0047] S6. Calculate the re-flipping position; perform detection in combination with the re-flipping rules. If the re-flipping logic is met, an automated machine re-flipping instruction will be generated automatically. The machine will automatically re-flip the container to the destination position according to the starting position and ending position of the instruction. The specific calculation steps are as follows:

[0048] S61. Regularly organize the yard according to the set re-flipping range, including the regular yard range, special yard range, and machine operation range;

[0049] S62. According to the set container selection strategy, including violating the stacking pattern, being too high, violating the layer difference, and hindering the container out strategy, find the containers that need to be re-shifted. For the Bens with instructions in the Ben, they are not involved in the organization;

[0050] S63. Use the container flipping rule to find the best container position for each container that needs to be moved back.

[0051] S64. Generate a moving-back instruction according to the position of each container to be moved back.

[0052] S7. Execute the container flipping operation instruction; after receiving the instruction, the automated machine will execute the instruction and automatically grab and place the container at the destination position.

[0053] The container flipping method for an automated container terminal based on a policy algorithm of the present invention is applied to a certain terminal. The designed annual throughput of this terminal is 4.8 million TEUs, with a total of 4 standard container berths and 12 multi-purpose container barge berths, and the total shoreline length is 984 m. The standard container berths are equipped with 16 single trolley quay cranes, and the barge berths are equipped with 2 light quay cranes and 9 portal cranes. The yard is equipped with 40 ARMGs and 9 empty container ARMGs, adopting a horizontal yard layout mode, and the horizontal transportation is completed by automated guided vehicles (IGVs). A dedicated operation exchange area inside and outside the port is set up to complete the interactive operation of container trucks inside and outside the port.

[0054] Those of ordinary skill in the art in this technical field should recognize that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, rather than to limit the present invention. As long as within the scope of the essential spirit of the present invention, changes and modifications to the above embodiments will fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for repositioning containers in an automated container terminal based on a policy algorithm, characterized in that, Including the following steps: S1. Define the yard structure, including: Define the yard structure of the container terminal, including bay information, row information, tier information, and lane information; and After the ship loading / unloading and container receiving / delivery operations in the TOS system, the containers will have corresponding storage information matching the yard structure information; S2. Set the repositioning plan, including: Define corresponding repositioning and back-repositioning plans for different yard areas or machine types. The TOS system selects a plan with a high matching degree according to the current machine and yard conditions and executes its strategy; S3. Configure the strategy of the plan, including: Configure the strategy of the plan for different machines and yard areas, including basic parameters, in-bay position parameters, across-bay tipping parameters, empty container parameters, full container basic parameters, imported full containers, exported / transshipped full containers, and back-repositioning rules; S4. Calculate the repositioning position. The calculation steps are as follows: S41. Select the plan to be executed according to the operation machine type and yard type. All the pressed containers in this instruction, i.e., the set of containers to be repositioned {A, B, C, D...}, are removed one by one starting from the topmost container; S42. Calculate the candidate positions in the current bay or adjacent bays where a repositioned container can be placed, and find the placement position with the lowest cost from the candidate container positions according to the corresponding strategy; S43. Based on the placement position of the previous repositioned container, calculate the placement position of the next repositioned container; S44. After all the repositioned containers have found their positions, generate tipping instructions using their respective positions. If there is a repositioned container that cannot find a placement position, the current tipping fails. The TOS system rolls back without generating any modification operations and issues a tipping failure notice. At this time, no operation instructions for the automated machine will be generated automatically; S5. Execute the repositioning operation instruction; S6. Calculate the back-repositioning position; S7. Execute the back-repositioning operation instruction.

2. The method for repositioning containers in an automated container terminal based on a policy algorithm according to claim 1, wherein The calculation steps of step S6 are as follows: S61. Regularly organize the yard according to the set back-repositioning range, including the regular yard range, special yard range, and machine operation range; S62. Find the containers that need to be back-shifted according to the set container selection strategy, including violating the stacking pattern, being too high, violating the tier difference, and obstructing the container removal strategy. The bays with instructions in the bay are not involved in the organization; S63. Use the repositioning rules to find a container position for each container that needs to be back-shifted; S64. Generate back-shift instructions according to the positions of each back-shifted container.

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