A method for automating the flexible operation of quay cranes at a terminal to directly pick up containers.

Abstract

This invention discloses a method for implementing flexible container pickup operations using automated quay cranes at a terminal, comprising: S1, adding a pickup marker to containers requiring pickup and setting a pickup plan; S2, filtering containers marked with the pickup marker; S3, identifying whether a container truck entering the terminal is a pickup truck; S4, the quay crane identifying container information and unloading the container; S5, confirming whether the container and the truck are the pickup targets; if both are, the task binding is successful; if neither is the pickup container and / or the pickup truck, the task binding fails, and the container truck transports the container to the landside interaction area; S6, if the task binding is successful, determining whether the pickup plan is completed. This invention reduces the utilization rate of AGVs and yards, and improves the efficiency of unloading and picking up containers at the terminal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of automated terminal technology, and in particular relates to a method for realizing flexible operation of automated terminal quay cranes to directly pick up containers. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, in automated container terminal operations, containers need to be transported from the ship to the gantry crane platform via an automated terminal unloading process, then horizontally transported by AGVs to the sea side of the automated yard, and then moved from the yard to the land side. Finally, container trucks on the land side of the yard complete the container pickup task according to the pickup requirements. This process requires horizontal transportation and yard operations, resulting in high AGV and yard utilization rates, but relatively low efficiency in both ship unloading and container pickup at the terminal, leading to a low overall container yard turnover rate at the terminal. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This invention provides a method for flexibly operating automated quay cranes to directly pick up containers, thereby reducing the utilization rate of AGVs and yards and improving the efficiency of unloading ships and picking up containers at the terminal.

[0004] To achieve the above-mentioned technical objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0005] In one aspect, the present invention provides a method for implementing flexible operation of automated terminal quay cranes to directly pick up containers, comprising:

[0006] S1, Add direct pickup mark: Set up container pickup plan and add direct pickup mark to containers that need to be picked up directly;

[0007] S2, Screening direct delivery containers: Screen direct delivery containers marked with the direct delivery mark;

[0008] S3, Gate entry identification of container truck information: When a container truck enters the terminal, the gate entry identification system identifies whether the container truck is a direct-delivery container truck. If so, the direct-delivery container truck will drive into the span of the gantry crane according to the prompt; if not, the container truck will drive into the landside interaction area or the waiting area according to the prompt.

[0009] S4, the gantry crane identifies container information and unloads containers: the gantry crane identification system identifies the information of the containers to be unloaded on the ship and unloads the containers that need to be directly picked up onto the container truck;

[0010] S5, Exit identification of container truck and container information: When the container truck carrying the container leaves the gantry crane area, the exit identification system identifies the information of the container truck and the container to confirm whether it is the direct delivery container and the direct delivery container truck. If both are true, the task binding is successful. If it is not the direct delivery container and / or not the direct delivery container truck, the task binding fails, and the container truck will transport the container to the landside interaction area.

[0011] S6. When the task is successfully bound, determine whether the container pickup plan is completed: if the number of containers picked up is less than the total number of containers to be picked up, allow the container truck to leave the gate and complete the pickup operation.

[0012] As described above, in the method for direct container retrieval by quay crane at the terminal, in step S1, the terminal information management system receives the ship chart file from the shipping company. The ship chart file includes the location, type, and size information of the container on the ship. In the terminal information management system, a direct retrieval mark ZQ is added to the container that needs to be retrieved directly.

[0013] The container pickup plan, as described above, includes the pickup method, pickup time period, pickup quantity, and pickup number.

[0014] In the above-described method for implementing direct container pickup by quay cranes at the terminal, in step S2, the fully automated container terminal intelligent management and control system receives the ship chart file with the added direct pickup flag from the terminal information management system and imports the direct pickup containers with the added direct pickup flag into the dedicated direct pickup queue.

[0015] As described above, in the method for implementing direct container pickup by a quay crane at a terminal, the container truck carries a pickup card, and the gate entry identification system identifies the pickup card and whether the container truck is a direct pickup truck.

[0016] In the above-described method for direct container retrieval by quay crane at the terminal, the container retrieval card is an IC card, which includes the container number and the associated terminal information.

[0017] As described above, the method for directly picking up containers by quay cranes at the terminal includes an OCR recognition system that identifies the container number, ISO code, door direction, and container type of the container to be unloaded.

[0018] As described above, the method for implementing direct container pickup by a quay crane at a terminal includes an OCR recognition system. The exit recognition system identifies the vehicle information of the container truck and the container number information of the container, and determines whether the container truck is a direct pickup truck and whether the container is a direct pickup container.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the advantages and positive effects of the present invention are as follows: by setting direct pickup signs for containers that need to be picked up directly and setting pickup plans for containers that need to be unloaded from ships; and by setting pickup cards on the trucks picking up containers, which contain information on whether they are picking up direct pickup containers, the trucks picking up direct pickup containers can drive directly to the corresponding positions, and the gantry cranes can unload the direct pickup containers directly onto the trucks, reducing the steps of AGV transfer. Then, the trucks picking up direct pickup containers can leave the gantry crane operation area directly without going through horizontal transport and the yard, which greatly reduces the utilization rate of AGVs and the yard, improves the efficiency of unloading ships and picking up containers at the terminal, and increases the overall turnover rate of the terminal's container yard. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for flexibly operating automated quay cranes to directly pick up containers, according to the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0022] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0023] It should be noted that in the description of this invention, the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," which indicate directional or positional relationships, are based on the directional or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. These are merely for ease of description and do not indicate or imply that the device or element must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation; therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0024] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0025] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can include direct contact between the first and second features, or contact between the first and second features through another feature between them. Furthermore, "above," "over," and "on top" of the second feature includes the first feature directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature includes the first feature directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.

[0026] The following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing various structures of the invention. To simplify the disclosure, specific examples of components and arrangements are described below. These are merely examples and are not intended to limit the invention. Furthermore, reference numerals and / or letters may be repeated in different examples; such repetition is for simplification and clarity and does not in itself indicate a relationship between the various embodiments and / or arrangements discussed. In addition, examples of various specific processes and materials are provided in this invention, but those skilled in the art will recognize the application of other processes and / or the use of other materials.

[0027] This embodiment provides a method for flexibly operating automated terminal quay cranes to directly pick up containers, including:

[0028] S1, Add Direct Pickup Mark: Set up a container pickup plan and add a direct pickup mark to containers that require direct pickup.

[0029] The Terminal Information Management System (TMS) receives ship chart files from shipping companies. These files include information such as the location, type, and dimensions of containers on board. For containers requiring direct pickup, a direct pickup flag (ZQ) is added to the TMS by adding a direct pickup field to the ship chart attribute list within the TMS.

[0030] The container pickup plan includes information such as pickup method, pickup time period, number of containers to be picked up, and pickup number. In the terminal information management system, the pickup method for each container is set as direct pickup, the pickup time period includes the start and end times of pickup, the planned number of containers to be picked up, and the pickup number.

[0031] S2, Filter Direct Delivery Containers: Filter out direct delivery containers marked with the direct delivery symbol.

[0032] The Automated Container Terminal Intelligent Management System (A-TOS) receives ship chart files with added direct-delivery tags from the terminal information management system and imports direct-delivery containers with the tags into a dedicated direct-delivery queue.

[0033] Specifically, the intelligent management and control system of the fully automated container terminal allows users to view the attributes of containers to be unloaded, filter out containers with a direct pick-up flag, and import them into a dedicated direct pick-up queue. Containers without a direct pick-up flag cannot be imported into the direct pick-up queue.

[0034] S3, Gate Entry Identification of Container Truck Information: When a container truck enters the terminal, the gate entry identification system identifies whether the container truck is a direct-delivery container truck. If so, the direct-delivery container truck will drive into the span of the gantry crane according to the prompts; if not, the container truck will drive into the landside interaction area or the waiting area according to the prompts.

[0035] The gate entry identification system includes a card reader, which is installed at the gate of the terminal. Container trucks are equipped with container pick-up cards. When a container truck enters the gate of the terminal, it needs to swipe the container pick-up card on the card reader. The container pick-up card is an IC card, which includes the container number and the associated terminal information.

[0036] The gate uses the information contained in the container pickup card to determine whether it is a direct container pickup truck. If it is, the truck will drive into the span of the gantry crane according to the prompts; if it is not, the truck will drive into the landside interaction area for operation or the waiting area for inspection according to the prompts.

[0037] S4, the gantry crane identifies container information and unloads containers: the gantry crane identification system identifies the information of containers to be unloaded on the ship and unloads the containers that need to be picked up directly onto the container trucks.

[0038] The gantry crane is equipped with an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) system, which can identify information such as container number, ISO code, door direction, and container type of the container to be unloaded, ensuring correct unloading.

[0039] Then the crane operator checks if there are any waiting container trucks under the crane. If so, the crane's main trolley places the container onto the container truck.

[0040] S5, Exit identification of container truck and container information: When a container truck carrying a container leaves the gantry crane area, the exit identification system identifies the information of the container truck and the container to confirm whether it is a direct container pickup and a direct container pickup truck. If both are true, the task binding is successful. If it is not a direct container pickup and / or not a direct container pickup truck, the task binding fails, and the container truck will transport the container to the landside interaction area.

[0041] The exit identification system includes an OCR recognition system, installed at the exit gate of the terminal. This system identifies the vehicle information of the container truck and the container number, and determines whether the container truck is a direct-delivery truck and whether the container is a direct-delivery container. If it is both a direct-delivery truck and a direct-delivery container, a message indicates successful task binding; if it is not a direct-delivery container, a message indicates the loaded container does not meet the direct-delivery requirements; if it is neither a direct-delivery truck nor a direct-delivery container, a message indicates a mismatch between the container and the direct-delivery task, requiring manual processing in the terminal's information management system before the container truck can exit the gate.

[0042] S6. When the task is successfully bound, determine whether the container pickup plan is completed: if the number of containers picked up directly is less than the total number of containers to be picked up, allow the container truck to leave the gate and complete the direct pickup operation; if the number of containers picked up directly is equal to the total number of containers to be picked up, wait for manual processing.

[0043] The gate exit identification system and the terminal information management system exchange information. If the terminal information management system receives the information that the task binding is successful, and if the number of containers picked up is less than the total number of containers to be picked up, the terminal information management system will automatically display the number of containers picked up plus 1 on the container pick-up plan interface and feed the information back to the gate exit identification system, allowing the container truck to exit the gate. The status of the container truck and the container loaded on it in the terminal information management system will change from dynamic to historical, completing the container pick-up operation.

[0044] If the number of containers picked up directly equals the total number of containers picked up, it means that the container picking plan has been completed before this point. The terminal information management system will then feed the information back to the gate identification system, temporarily disallowing the trucks picking up containers from leaving the gate, and waiting for manual inspection to determine whether to manually open the gate.

[0045] If there are still unfinished container pickup plans on board when the ship's operations are completed, the terminal information management system will cancel the remaining direct pickup flags and change them to ordinary batch pickup empty container plans.

[0046] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiment," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0047] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions claimed by the present invention.

Claims

1. An implementation method of flexible operation of an automated wharf quay crane to directly pick up a container, characterized in that, The method comprises the following steps: S1, adding a direct-picking mark: setting a picking plan and adding a direct-picking mark to a container to be directly picked up; S2, screening a direct-picking container: screening a direct-picking container marked with the direct-picking mark; S3, identifying container truck information at a gate: identifying whether a container truck is a direct-picking container truck through a gate identification system when the container truck enters a port, and if so, the direct-picking container truck drives into a span of a bridge crane according to a prompt, and if not, the container truck drives into a land-side interactive area or an inspection area according to a prompt; S4, identifying container information by a bridge crane and unloading a container: a bridge crane identification system identifies information of a container to be unloaded on a ship and unloads a direct-picking container to be directly picked up onto the direct-picking container truck; S5, identifying information of a container truck and a container at a gate: identifying information of the container truck and information of the container through a gate identification system when the container truck carrying the container drives out of the bridge crane area, and confirming whether the direct-picking container and the direct-picking container truck are correct, and if so, task binding is successful, and if not, task binding fails, and the container truck carries the container to the land-side interactive area; S6, judging whether a picking plan is completed when task binding is successful: if the number of the direct-picking containers picked up is less than the total number of containers to be picked up, the container truck is allowed to drive out of the gate and complete the direct-picking operation.

2. The implementation method of flexible operation of automatic wharf quay crane direct picking container according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the step S1, a port information management system receives a ship drawing file of a shipping company, the ship drawing file comprises position, type and size information of the container on the ship, and a direct-picking mark ZQ is added to the direct-picking container in the port information management system.

3. The implementation method of flexible operation of automatic wharf quay crane direct picking container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The picking plan comprises a picking mode, a picking time period, a picking quantity and a picking number.

4. The implementation method of flexible operation of automatic wharf quay crane direct picking container according to claim 2, characterized in that, In the step S2, an automatic container port intelligent management and control system receives the ship drawing file with the direct-picking mark added by the port information management system, and the direct-picking container with the direct-picking mark is introduced into a direct-picking special queue.

5. The implementation method of flexible operation of automatic wharf quay crane direct picking container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The container truck carries a picking card, and the gate identification system identifies the picking card to identify whether the container truck is a direct-picking container truck.

6. The implementation method of flexible operation of automatic wharf quay crane direct picking container of claim 5, characterized in that, The picking card adopts an IC card, and the IC card comprises a container number and bound yard information.

7. The implementation method of flexible operation of automatic wharf quay crane direct picking container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bridge crane identification system comprises an OCR identification system, and the bridge crane identification system identifies a container number, an ISO code, a door direction and a type of a container to be unloaded.

8. The implementation method of flexible operation of automatic wharf quay crane direct picking container according to claim 1, characterized in that, The gate identification system comprises an OCR identification system, and the gate identification system identifies vehicle information of the container truck and container number information of the container, and judges whether the container truck is a direct-picking container truck and whether the container is a direct-picking container.

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