A commodity automobile roll-on roll-off wharf loading and unloading process layout and its operation method

Abstract

This invention discloses a layout and operation method for loading and unloading automobiles at a roll-on / roll-off (Ro-Ro) terminal. The method utilizes a forward yard exchange platform directly as the loading and unloading platform for Ro-Ro vehicles. Unmanned Ro-Ro straddle carriers carry cars back and forth between the platform and the Ro-Ro vessel. Positioning and handling trolleys position and move cars for loading and unloading within the ship's hold. A rear yard is set up behind the forward yard to store vehicles that have passed export inspection, and vehicles are transported from the rear yard to the forward yard via a connecting corridor. Large engineering machinery yards are set up at the front and / or sides of the forward yard, a large-scale automobile transport loading area is set up between the forward and rear yards, and an export vehicle inspection yard is set up at the rear of the rear yard. This rational layout significantly reduces the land occupation of the automobile yards and improves the efficiency of loading, unloading, and distribution operations, achieving an unmanned operation mode for the Ro-Ro terminal and significantly reducing operating costs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the technical field of port terminal loading and unloading process layout, specifically, it relates to a loading and unloading process layout and operation method of a roll-on / roll-off terminal for automobiles. Background Technology

[0002] With the rise of major automobile manufacturing and consumption nations, and especially with the increasing loading capacity of roll-on / roll-off (Ro-Ro) ships, the storage areas for automobiles at Ro-Ro terminals in maritime ports are growing larger. This ever-increasing storage area leads to higher operating costs for Ro-Ro terminals. To this day, the management of automobile storage areas at Ro-Ro terminals has remained largely unchanged, making it one of the most traditional and outdated ship loading and unloading processes in global maritime ports.

[0003] The key characteristic of ro-ro terminals is the temporary parking of vehicles during arrival and departure. Arrival refers to the centralized storage of vehicles in the ro-ro terminal's automated storage and retrieval area before loading onto ships. These arriving vehicles typically represent 2-3 to over a dozen manufacturers within the port's reach, with each batch consisting of a large quantity—ranging from hundreds to thousands of vehicles, all from the same brand. Departure refers to the centralized storage of vehicles (mostly imported) after unloading from ships in the ro-ro terminal's storage area. These departing vehicles cater to the 4S dealerships in major cities within the port's reach. Consumers are highly individualized, resulting in a diverse range of brands and models, but smaller batch sizes. A single 4S dealership typically imports only a few to dozens of vehicles at a time. Furthermore, the number of arriving vehicles at a typical ro-ro terminal (in China) far exceeds the number of departing vehicles. When cars are loaded onto ships at the port, they simply need to be driven one by one into the ship's hold from the automated car storage yard. When cars are being transported out of the port, 4S stores that come to pick up the cars randomly "choose" them from the automated car storage yard before leaving. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a layout and operation method for loading and unloading automobiles at a roll-on / roll-off (Ro-Ro) terminal. The invention utilizes a sea-side exchange platform in the forward yard as the direct loading and unloading platform for automobiles. Unmanned Ro-Ro straddle carriers carry automobiles back and forth between the Ro-Ro platform and the ship's hold. Positioning and handling trolleys position and move automobiles for loading and unloading within the ship's hold. A rear yard is located behind the land side of the forward yard to store vehicles that have passed exit inspection. Vehicles are transported from the rear yard to the forward yard via the upper layer of a double-layer conveyor corridor, while empty vehicle pallets are transported via the lower layer of the double-layer conveyor corridor. The connecting corridor transports goods from the front yard to the rear yard. Large engineering machinery storage areas are set up on both sides and / or directly in front of the front yard. A loading area for large port transport vehicles is set up on the land side of the front yard, and an unloading area for export vehicles is set up at the rear of the rear yard. This invention not only significantly reduces the land occupied by the vehicle storage area with its reasonable layout, but also improves the efficiency of loading and unloading ships and collection and distribution operations, realizes the unmanned operation mode of the ro-ro terminal, and greatly reduces operating costs. The technology is simple and the process is straightforward. The roof of the front and rear yards is equipped with integrated photovoltaic and energy storage facilities, making it a zero-carbon smart ro-ro terminal with great investment value.

[0005] The present invention is implemented using the following technical solutions:

[0006] This invention also proposes a three-dimensional vehicle storage facility for a roll-on / roll-off terminal, comprising:

[0007] The forward storage yard consists of multiple layers of vehicle storage and a bottom layer of vehicle pallet buffer. The multiple layers of vehicle storage are divided into a port arrival area and a port departure area in the vertical direction. Its sea side can be configured as an exit or entrance, and is equipped with lifting mechanisms and exchange platforms. Its land side can be configured as an entrance and exit, and is equipped with lifting mechanisms and exchange platforms. Its sea side interacts with roll-on / roll-off ships through several unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carriers. The hold of the roll-on / roll-off ship is equipped with multiple positioning and handling trolleys that interact with the unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carriers.

[0008] The rear storage yard, located behind the front storage yard, consists of several layers of car storage and a bottom layer of car-carrying buffer. The car storage layers are used for storing commercial vehicles at the port. The sea side is equipped with lifting mechanisms and exchange platforms as the exit, and the land side is equipped with lifting mechanisms and exchange platforms as the entrance.

[0009] The conveyor corridor connects the front and rear storage yards and is a double-layer conveyor corridor structure; the upper conveyor corridor transports cars, and the lower conveyor corridor transports empty car pallets.

[0010] The loading area for port transport vehicles is located on the landside of the forward storage yard;

[0011] Large engineering machinery storage areas are located on both sides of the front storage area and directly in front of the sea side;

[0012] The inspection yard for exported vehicles is located on the landside of the rear yard.

[0013] The proposed invention provides a multi-level vehicle storage facility for a roll-on / roll-off (Ro-Ro) terminal. For each Ro-Ro berth, a multi-level forward storage yard is constructed in front of the terminal, facilitating both cargo arrival and cargo departure. Its sea-side exchange platform serves as a Ro-Ro loading and unloading platform for import and export vehicles, while its land-side area is a cargo handling zone for imported vehicles. Behind the terminal, a large, dedicated rear storage yard is constructed, connected to the forward storage yard via a conveyor corridor. An export vehicle inspection yard is located within the rear storage yard, where export vehicles undergo pre-export inspections. Vehicles that pass inspection are collected in a single shipment. The vehicles are directly stored in the rear yard for port operations. When the ro-ro ship's schedule is approaching (generally more than 24 hours), the vehicles stored in the rear yard are transported to the port collection area of ​​the front yard via an aerial transport corridor for secondary port collection operations. The sea-side exchange platform of the front yard is the ro-ro platform for loading and unloading ships. Large engineering machinery and equipment storage areas are set up in front of the quay and / or on both sides of the front yard. The land side of the front yard is set up with a port transport vehicle loading area. When customers pick up their vehicles, the vehicles are lifted from the land side of the front yard to the exchange platform, and the driver moves the vehicles to the port transport vehicle loading area.

[0014] The aforementioned large-scale engineering machinery and equipment storage yards are located on both sides and / or directly in front of the front storage yard for the storage of large-scale engineering machinery and equipment for import and export, as well as large miscellaneous goods.

[0015] The aforementioned loading area for port transport vehicles is equipped with parking and operation areas for multiple large transport vehicles, which are parked in an orderly manner to facilitate the loading of imported automobiles for port transport.

[0016] The aforementioned export vehicle inspection yard is located at the rear of the main storage yard. It is used by automobile manufacturers to unload large transport vehicles bound for the port, where customs, port authorities, and manufacturers conduct inspections on the vehicles. Vehicles that have completed inspection are then stored in the rear storage yard.

[0017] In some embodiments of the present invention, in the front storage yard and the rear storage yard, each layer of vehicle storage and vehicle pallet buffer is provided with several longitudinal conveyor lines arranged side by side from the sea side to the land side; at both the sea side and the land side of all longitudinal conveyor lines in each layer of vehicle storage, a transverse conveyor line is arranged that intersects all longitudinal conveyor lines perpendicularly; the length of the longitudinal conveyor line is an integer multiple of the length of a vehicle pallet, and the width of the longitudinal conveyor line is greater than the width of a vehicle pallet; the length of the transverse conveyor line is an integer multiple of the width of a vehicle pallet, and the width of the transverse conveyor line is greater than the length of a vehicle pallet; an odd number of adjacent longitudinal conveyor lines form a conveyor unit, with its center line connecting to the sea side and the land side lifting mechanism at both ends, and leaving a space for a vehicle pallet at each end of the center line.

[0018] The pallets are transported longitudinally on the longitudinal conveyor line and laterally on the transverse conveyor lines at both ends of the yard, on the sea and land sides. Throughout the transport process, the pallets do not need to turn around themselves, which simplifies the transmission difficulty of the pallets and allows for quick switching of transport directions, thus improving the operational efficiency of the yard.

[0019] In some embodiments of the present invention, the upper conveyor corridor consists of multiple longitudinal conveyor corridors, transverse conveyor corridors perpendicularly intersecting and connecting to the land side of the front storage yard, and transverse conveyor corridors perpendicularly intersecting and connecting to the sea side of the rear storage yard. The multiple longitudinal conveyor corridors are erected on the same side and at the same level as the lifting mechanisms of the front and rear storage yards, and the connection between one side of the longitudinal conveyor corridor and the side of the lifting mechanism can transport vehicles in both directions. Its forward direction directly connects to the longitudinal conveyor lines in the front and rear storage yards to transport vehicles in both directions. The two transverse conveyor corridors cross the back of the lifting mechanisms on the land side of the front storage yard and the sea side of the rear storage yard, respectively, and intersect perpendicularly with the multiple longitudinal conveyor corridors. The upper and lower layers of the longitudinal conveyor corridors are connected to one side of the lifting mechanisms on the land side of the front storage yard and the sea side of the rear storage yard, and the distance between the upper and lower layers is the same height as the upper and lower bottom plates of the lifting mechanisms.

[0020] In some embodiments of the present invention, the upper and lower levels of the conveyor corridor are aerial conveyor corridors. The structure of the upper / aerial conveyor corridor allows vehicles to be quickly transported from the rear storage yard to the front storage yard along with their pallets, without any manual intervention. This increases the terminal's vehicle storage capacity while ensuring the efficiency of vehicle transport to the front of the terminal. The structure of the lower / aerial conveyor corridor ensures that empty pallets can be quickly transported from the front of the terminal back to the rear storage yard without affecting the vehicle transport operations between the front and rear storage yards.

[0021] In some embodiments of the present invention, exchange platforms are arranged on both sides of the seaside lifting mechanism of the front yard, one side being a loading platform and the other side being an unloading platform; both are used to input and output vehicles with the lifting mechanism and to input and output empty vehicle plates with the vehicle plate buffer layer; a second exchange platform is arranged longitudinally on both sides of the exchange platforms for longitudinal bidirectional transportation of vehicles or empty vehicle plates with the exchange platforms on both sides, and for exchanging loading vehicles or unloading vehicles with unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carriers.

[0022] In some embodiments of the present invention, the second exchange platform is at the same height above the ground as the exchange platform, its width is greater than or equal to the width of the vehicle platform, and its length is greater than the length of the vehicle platform.

[0023] In some embodiments of the present invention, the length, width, and height of the unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carrier all meet the requirements for straddling a normal-sized commercial vehicle, while its clamping and lifting height meets the requirements for the stern of a roll-on / roll-off ship to jump and climb slopes.

[0024] In some embodiments of the present invention, the positioning and transporting trolley enters the bottom of the commercial vehicle in the hold of a roll-on / roll-off ship, clamps and lifts the vehicle to the target position.

[0025] When the roll-on / roll-off terminal uses driverless roll-on / roll-off straddle carriers to transport vehicles between the yard and the ship, a second exchange platform is added to all exchange platforms on the sea side of the forward yard for interaction with the driverless roll-on / roll-off straddle carriers in their longitudinal direction. During loading, after the vehicle is transported laterally from the lifting mechanism to the exchange platform along with the pallet, it is transported from the exchange platform to the second exchange platform. The driverless roll-on / roll-off straddle carrier transfers the vehicle from the second exchange platform, while the empty pallet is transported from the second exchange platform to the exchange platform and then back to the pallet buffer layer. During unloading, the empty pallet is transported from the exchange platform to the second exchange platform, and the driverless roll-on / roll-off straddle carrier transfers the vehicle to the pallet. The vehicle is then transported laterally from the second exchange platform to the exchange platform along with the pallet and then from the exchange platform to the lifting mechanism.

[0026] The seaside lifting mechanism is equipped with an exchange platform on each side, one for loading operations and the other for unloading operations. Drivers or unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carriers can directly go to the other exchange platform to perform loading tasks after unloading, which can significantly improve the efficiency of seaside operations. Moreover, this architecture can clearly distinguish the loading and unloading operation paths, so that loading and unloading do not affect each other, and ensure that the lifting mechanism can raise the unloading vehicle and lower the loading vehicle in one lifting and lowering operation.

[0027] Unmanned roll-on / roll-off (Ro-Ro) straddle carriers and positioning and handling trolleys undertake the tasks of loading and unloading ships. The unmanned Ro-Ro straddle carriers lift vehicles from the loading platform on the sea side of the forward yard and drive them into the ship's hold. The positioning and handling trolleys then precisely move the vehicles to their parking positions, where ship personnel secure them. The unmanned Ro-Ro straddle carriers then move from the loading hold to the unloading hold, lifting vehicles cleared by the positioning and handling trolleys, driving them off the ship, and placing them on the unloading platform on the sea side of the forward yard. The unmanned Ro-Ro straddle carriers then move laterally to the loading platform on the sea side of the forward yard to pick up more vehicles. Empty pallets are directly returned to the pallet buffer layer via the exchange platform, ensuring unmanned operation on the sea side and improving operational efficiency.

[0028] This invention proposes a process layout and operation method for loading and unloading automobiles at a roll-on / roll-off terminal, applied to the aforementioned process layout for loading and unloading automobiles at a roll-on / roll-off terminal. The process includes port entry operations, simultaneous loading and unloading operations, and port clearance operations. The port entry operations include primary port entry operations and secondary port entry operations. A primary port entry operation includes the following steps, which are performed repeatedly:

[0029] S11, vehicles are inspected at the export vehicle inspection yard;

[0030] S12, the seaside lifting mechanism of the rear storage yard rises to dock with the target vehicle storage layer target conveying unit, and the target vehicle storage layer target conveying unit outputs empty vehicle pallets to it.

[0031] S13, the seaside lifting mechanism descends to dock with the exchange platform, and the vehicle plate is transported from the seaside exchange platform to the landside exchange platform via the vehicle plate buffer layer;

[0032] S14, The car with the RFID electronic tag affixed after inspection drives into the vehicle carrier of the exchange platform;

[0033] S15, the car is transported along the car carrier to the landside lifting mechanism, and the lifting mechanism rises to dock with the target car storage layer target transport unit;

[0034] S16, The car is transported along with the car carrier plate into the target car storage layer, target transport unit, and target storage location;

[0035] Secondary port entry operations include the following steps that are performed repeatedly:

[0036] S21, the car is transported from the target car storage layer target conveying unit in the rear yard to the seaside lifting mechanism along with the car carrier plate;

[0037] S22, the seaside lifting mechanism of the rear yard operates to the docking level with the upper conveyor corridor. The car is transported to the upper conveyor corridor along with the car carrier, and then transported by the upper conveyor corridor to the entrance and exit of the landside lifting mechanism of the target yard in front.

[0038] S23, after the target landside lifting mechanism in the forward yard operates to connect with the upper conveyor corridor, the car is transported to the target landside lifting mechanism in the forward yard along with the car carrier.

[0039] S24, the target landside lifting mechanism of the forward storage yard operates to dock with the target car storage layer target conveying unit, and the car is conveyed to the target car storage layer target conveying unit along with the car carrier plate;

[0040] S25, the empty car pallets of the target car storage layer target conveying unit in the forward yard are transported from its sea side to its car pallet buffer layer via the sea side lifting mechanism, and then from the car pallet buffer layer to the forward yard land side lifting mechanism. From the forward yard land side lifting mechanism, they are transported to the lower conveying corridor, then from the rear yard sea side lifting mechanism to the rear yard car pallet buffer layer, and finally from the rear yard land side lifting mechanism back to the target car storage layer target conveying unit.

[0041] Loading and unloading operations involve the following steps that are performed repeatedly:

[0042] S31, the target lifting mechanism of the forward yard rises to the target conveying unit of the target car storage layer at the port to retrieve a vehicle, and a vehicle is conveyed from the target conveying unit to the lifting mechanism;

[0043] S32, the landside lifting mechanism of the target storage yard rises to the target conveying unit of the port target car storage layer to take out the empty car pallet. The empty car pallet is transported to the seaside unloading platform via the lifting mechanism, landside exchange platform, landside car pallet buffer layer, seaside car pallet buffer layer.

[0044] S33, the forward yard seaside lifting mechanism carries vehicles from the target vehicle storage layer target conveyor unit to the seaside exchange platform;

[0045] S34, a ship unloading vehicle with an RFID electronic tag drives into the loading platform of the ship unloading platform, and the driver or unmanned roll-on straddle carrier leaves the ship unloading platform and transfers to the loading platform to prepare for the loading of the ship.

[0046] S35, the seaside target lifting mechanism transports the loading vehicles to the loading platform along with the vehicle loading plate, and then the unloading vehicles on the unloading platform are transported to the lifting mechanism along with the vehicle loading plate.

[0047] S36, a driver or unmanned roll-on straddle carrier drives the vehicle off the loading platform to the loading hold of the roll-on / roll-off ship.

[0048] S37, an empty pallet is transported from the pallet buffer layer to the unloading platform, and an empty pallet on the loading platform is transported to the pallet buffer layer.

[0049] S38, the driver or unmanned ro-ro straddle carrier drives into the loading hold of the ro-ro ship, puts the vehicle down in the vehicle exchange area of ​​the hold, and the positioning driver or positioning transport trolley takes the vehicle and drives it into or transports it to the designated location.

[0050] S39, a driver or unmanned ro-ro straddle carrier enters the unloading hold of the ro-ro ship from the loading hold, receives the unloading vehicle brought by the positioned driver or the positioned handling trolley in the unloading vehicle exchange area, and drives off the ro-ro ship.

[0051] Port clearance operations include the following steps that are performed repeatedly:

[0052] S41, after the person picking up the vehicle hands over the delivery note with all the formalities completed to the port staff, the staff will use a handheld scanner to scan the barcode information on the delivery note, and the computer screen will immediately display the information of the vehicle being picked up, such as the quantity and the target transport unit.

[0053] S42, after the staff confirms, they press the pick-up button, and the target vehicles in the target transport unit begin to cycle and wait at the lifting mechanism of the target vehicle storage layer target transport unit.

[0054] S43, the large transport vehicle of the person picking up the vehicle arrives at the target loading and unloading designated position in the port area on the land side of the front yard. After the port staff confirms that all parties are in place, the staff presses the lifting mechanism to pick up the vehicle.

[0055] S44, the landside lifting mechanism of the forward yard docks with the target car storage layer target conveying unit. The vehicle is transported to the lifting mechanism along with the vehicle platform. Subsequent vehicles are supplemented to the lifting mechanism port by the central conveying line or the left or right transverse conveying line of the target conveying unit to continue waiting.

[0056] S45, the lifting mechanism descends to the exchange platform and docks with it. The vehicle is transported to the exchange platform along with the vehicle carrier plate. The lifting mechanism then returns to the target vehicle storage layer target transport unit to continue retrieving the vehicle.

[0057] S46, The vehicle picker leaves the vehicle on the exchange platform to carry out the loading of a large transport vehicle;

[0058] S47, on the exchange platform, the empty vehicle board passes through the land-side vehicle board buffer layer - sea-side vehicle board buffer layer - sea-side exchange platform - sea-side lifting mechanism - target vehicle storage layer target transport unit.

[0059] Compared with existing technologies, its advantages and positive effects are:

[0060] 1. It can reduce the traditional ground storage area by about 10%. A traditional automobile storage yard can store 400 vehicles per hectare. This plan can store 10,080 automobiles. The traditional method requires 25.2 hectares of land, while this plan requires only 2.5 hectares.

[0061] 2. Facilitates inspection by customs, port authorities, and factory personnel, significantly reducing the frequency and distance of vehicle relocation in traditional land-based storage yards, transforming multiple manual relocations into zero manual relocations.

[0062] 3. By adopting unmanned roll-on / roll-off (Ro-Ro) straddle carriers and positioning and handling trolleys, the entire automobile Ro-Ro terminal will become a digital, unmanned, and green terminal.

[0063] 4. The seaside interaction area of ​​the forward storage yard is also a roll-on / roll-off platform for loading and unloading cars, enabling direct point-to-point loading and unloading of cars from the roll-on / roll-off platform to the ship's hold, thus improving the efficiency of loading and unloading operations.

[0064] 5. Improved loading and unloading efficiency significantly reduces the time roll-on / roll-off (Ro-Ro) ships spend at berths. This reduces berth costs and shortens sailing cycles for shipping companies, thereby increasing their profitability. For terminal companies, it improves berth turnover efficiency and reduces the need for new berth construction.

[0065] 6. Thanks to the adoption of three-dimensional storage yards and intelligent methods, the storage of automobiles in the yard solves the problems of difficulty in finding vehicles, difficulty in selecting vehicles, difficulty in fire early warning, difficulty in fire rescue, and difficulty in resisting severe weather.

[0066] 7. Photovoltaic power stations can be built on the roofs of both the front and rear storage yards, making the roll-on / roll-off terminal for automobiles a zero-carbon terminal.

[0067] By combining the layout and operation method of the roll-on / roll-off (Ro-Ro) terminal for automobiles proposed in this invention, and by applying digital technologies such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and 5G communication, as well as photovoltaic power generation technology, an unmanned and green Ro-Ro terminal for automobiles can be realized.

[0068] In the forward storage yard of this invention, each longitudinal conveyor line consists of multiple longitudinal bidirectional drive mechanisms. Each longitudinal bidirectional drive mechanism is used to drive a vehicle platform capable of carrying one vehicle to be transported bidirectionally in the longitudinal direction. Each longitudinal bidirectional drive mechanism at both ends of each longitudinal conveyor line is equipped with a transverse bidirectional drive mechanism, forming a transverse conveyor line at the seaside end and the landside end, so that any two longitudinal conveyor lines and the transverse conveyor lines at both ends form a planar closed-loop conveyor network.

[0069] The front yard of this automated vehicle storage facility is divided into a port arrival area and a port departure area according to the vehicle storage layers along the vertical ground direction. Each vehicle storage layer and vehicle pallet buffer layer consists of several parallel longitudinal conveyor lines, with two transverse conveyor lines vertically arranged at both ends of the parallel longitudinal conveyor lines (sea side and land side). In this invention, because each vehicle storage layer has the same composition structure, each vehicle storage layer can be divided into a port arrival area or a port departure area. The port arrival area and port departure area can be arbitrarily allocated according to the actual operational needs of the terminal. When there are many vehicles arriving at the port, most of the vehicle storage layer can be configured as a port arrival area; when there are many vehicles departing from the port, most of the vehicle storage layer can be configured as a port departure area. Port arrival and port departure are completely compatible and do not affect each other's operational progress, improving the flexibility of the storage yard and the efficiency of port arrival and departure operations.

[0070] When vehicles arrive at the port, the terminal is equipped with a port arrival area, which includes multiple vehicle storage layers. These layers can be distributed across different levels of the automated storage and retrieval yard or be several consecutive adjacent layers, hereinafter referred to as the port arrival vehicle storage layer. The target conveying unit of the port arrival vehicle storage layer conveys empty vehicle pallets to the lifting mechanism on its sea side. The lifting mechanism descends to connect with the exchange platform, and the empty vehicle pallets are conveyed to the exchange platforms on both sides. From the exchange platforms on both sides, the vehicles are conveyed to the vehicle pallet buffer layer, and then conveyed along the longitudinal conveyor line of the vehicle pallet buffer layer to the exchange platforms on both sides of the lifting mechanism on the land side. After the driver on the land side drives the vehicle onto the empty vehicle pallet, the vehicle is conveyed along with the vehicle pallet to the lifting mechanism. The lifting mechanism rises to the port arrival vehicle storage layer, and the vehicle is conveyed along with the vehicle pallet to the port arrival vehicle storage layer. Based on the four-way transmission mechanism, the vehicle is conveyed to the target longitudinal conveyor line, and then conveyed along the target longitudinal conveyor line to the target storage location.

[0071] During loading, vehicles from the target vehicle storage layer's target transport unit are transported along the vehicle-carrying pallets to the sea-side lifting mechanism via the transverse transport line on the sea side. Then, all longitudinal transport lines of the target transport unit sequentially transport one more vehicle to the sea-side transverse transport line. The lifting mechanism descends to dock with the exchange platform, and the vehicle is transported along the vehicle-carrying pallet to the exchange platform. The driver drives the vehicle off the exchange platform, or an unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carrier on the sea side transfers the vehicle away. After the vehicle leaves, the empty vehicle-carrying pallets are transported from the exchange platform to the vehicle-carrying pallet buffer layer for temporary storage. Alternatively, after being transported to the vehicle-carrying pallet buffer layer, the vehicles are transported along the longitudinal transport line to the exchange platforms on both sides of the land-side lifting mechanism. From the land-side exchange platform, the vehicles are transported to the land-side lifting mechanism, and then from the land-side lifting mechanism back to the target vehicle storage layer's target transport unit.

[0072] During unloading, the terminal is equipped with a port clearance area for vehicles, including multiple vehicle storage layers. These layers can be distributed across different levels of the automated storage and retrieval yard or consist of several consecutive adjacent layers, hereinafter referred to as the port clearance vehicle storage layers. The target conveying unit of the port clearance vehicle storage layer conveys empty vehicle pallets to the lifting mechanism on its land side. The lifting mechanism descends to dock with the exchange platform, conveying the empty vehicle pallets to the exchange platforms on both sides. From the exchange platforms on both sides, the vehicles are conveyed to the vehicle pallet buffer layer and then along the longitudinal conveyor line of the vehicle pallet buffer layer to the exchange platforms on both sides of the lifting mechanism on the sea side. The vehicles are driven onto the vehicle pallets by the driver or loaded onto the vehicle pallets by the unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carrier on the sea side. The vehicles are then conveyed along the vehicle pallets to the lifting mechanism on the sea side. The lifting mechanism rises to the port clearance vehicle storage layer and is then conveyed via the transverse conveyor line to the target longitudinal conveyor line, and finally along the target longitudinal conveyor line to the target storage location.

[0073] During port clearance, vehicles at any position in the target vehicle storage layer's target transport unit are transported via longitudinal / lateral transport lines and then via lateral / longitudinal transport lines to the lifting mechanism on the landside. The lifting mechanism descends to dock with the exchange platform, and the vehicles are transported to the exchange platform along with the vehicle carriers. The driver then drives the vehicle away from the port or loads it into a large transport vehicle to leave the port.

[0074] In some embodiments of the present invention, the longitudinal bidirectional transmission mechanism and the transverse bidirectional transmission mechanism constitute a four-way transmission mechanism; the lifting mechanism base plate and the exchange platform docked therewith are both equipped with four-way transmission mechanisms.

[0075] The longitudinal bidirectional transmission mechanism on the lifting mechanism is connected to the longitudinal conveyor line of the vehicle storage layer; in a conveying unit, the lifting mechanism is connected to the longitudinal conveyor line in the middle of the conveying unit; the vehicle plates can be bidirectionally transferred between the longitudinal conveyor line in the middle of the conveying unit and the lifting mechanism; in the conveying unit, the vehicle plates on the other longitudinal conveyor lines (excluding the middle one) are transferred to the middle longitudinal conveyor line and connected to the lifting mechanism through the lateral bidirectional transmission mechanisms at the end of their respective conveying units, and then conveyed into the lifting mechanism. The vehicle plates can be bidirectionally transferred between the longitudinal conveyor lines and the lifting mechanism in a lateral-longitudinal manner. The vehicle plates are bidirectionally transferred laterally between the lifting mechanism and the exchange platform, and bidirectionally transferred longitudinally with the vehicle plate buffer layer on the exchange platform.

[0076] In some embodiments of the present invention, the longitudinal bidirectional transmission mechanism adopts friction transmission, and the transverse bidirectional transmission mechanism in the longitudinal and transverse four-way transmission mechanism adopts lifting chain or friction transmission.

[0077] The longitudinal bidirectional transmission mechanism described in this invention is, for example, composed of multiple sets of powered bidirectional guide friction wheels. Each set of powered bidirectional guide friction wheels is driven individually by a motor, or multiple sets of powered bidirectional guide friction wheels are driven by a single motor via chain transmission. A longitudinal passive transmission guide rail is arranged at the bottom of the vehicle platform, and the transverse passive transmission guide rail is disconnected from the longitudinal passive transmission guide rail, facilitating continuous transmission of the friction wheels to the longitudinal passive transmission guide rail.

[0078] The transverse bidirectional transmission mechanism described in this invention is implemented using a lifting chain / friction transmission mechanism. The lifting chain / friction transmission mechanism refers to the mechanism by which the vehicle platform is disengaged from the longitudinal bidirectional transmission mechanism when it is transported by the longitudinal bidirectional transmission mechanism to the intersection with the transverse bidirectional transmission mechanism. The transverse chain / friction wheel set of the lifting chain / friction transmission mechanism causes the vehicle platform to be driven laterally.

[0079] In some embodiments of the present invention, two longitudinal passive transmission guide rails and two transverse passive transmission guide rails are arranged at the bottom of the vehicle platform; wherein, when the transverse bidirectional transmission mechanism adopts a lifting chain drive, the longitudinal passive transmission guide rail is matched with the longitudinal bidirectional transmission mechanism, and the transverse passive transmission guide rail is disconnected by the longitudinal passive transmission guide rail and matched with the transverse bidirectional transmission mechanism; when the transverse bidirectional transmission mechanism adopts friction drive, the longitudinal passive transmission guide rail and the transverse passive transmission guide rail at the bottom of the vehicle platform are disconnected from each other, and a friction wheel set is used in the friction drive mechanism to match it.

[0080] In some embodiments of the present invention, at least one empty space for a vehicle platform is provided in each conveying unit so that the vehicle platforms on each longitudinal conveying line in the conveying unit can be conveyed in a planar cycle.

[0081] As mentioned above, any two longitudinal conveyor lines and the transverse conveyor lines at both ends form a planar closed-loop conveyor network. In a planar closed-loop conveyor network, there is usually at least one empty space for a vehicle board in a conveyor unit. Combined with the four-way transmission mechanism, the vehicle board can reach the end of any longitudinal conveyor line on the transverse conveyor lines at both ends, and be transported to the corresponding longitudinal conveyor line through the four-way transmission mechanism, enabling the vehicle board to be transported to any position in the planar closed-loop conveyor network.

[0082] In some embodiments of the present invention, the lifting mechanism is a double-base plate structure, and the distance between the upper base plate and the lower base plate is the same as the distance between the bottommost car storage layer and the vehicle carrier plate buffer layer.

[0083] Both the upper and lower base plates are equipped with four-way transmission mechanisms. When the upper base plate connects with the bottom car storage layer, the lower base plate connects with the car carrier plate buffer layer. This allows the lifting mechanism to transfer two car carrier plates simultaneously when working between the car storage layer and the car carrier plate buffer layer, or to transfer one car carrier plate while transferring one car, thereby improving work efficiency.

[0084] In some embodiments of the present invention, a longitudinal bidirectional transmission mechanism is provided on the second exchange platform that is docked with the sea-side exchange platform.

[0085] This invention also proposes a layout for loading and unloading ship processes at an offshore automobile roll-on / roll-off terminal, including:

[0086] The offshore roll-on / roll-off terminal is built in the sea and is equipped with a lifting mechanism and an exchange platform, with the exchange platform located on both sides of the lifting mechanism;

[0087] Temporary storage yards for large-scale engineering machinery and equipment are set up on the shore of the offshore roll-on / roll-off terminal;

[0088] The high-rise automobile storage facility is located on the opposite shore of the offshore ro-ro terminal, and is realized in the forward storage yard of the above-mentioned automobile ro-ro terminal loading and unloading process layout. Multiple lifting mechanisms and exchange platforms are deployed on its sea side and land side.

[0089] A double-layered aerial transport corridor connects the offshore ro-ro terminal and the high-rise automobile storage facility. One end is directly connected to the seaside lifting mechanism of the high-rise automobile storage facility, and the other end is directly connected to the landside lifting mechanism of the offshore ro-ro terminal.

[0090] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer after reading the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0091] The accompanying drawings, as part of this invention, are provided to further illustrate the invention. The illustrative embodiments and descriptions are used to explain the invention but do not constitute an undue limitation thereof. Clearly, the drawings described below are merely some embodiments; those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0092] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the loading and unloading process layout of the roll-on / roll-off terminal for automobiles proposed in this invention.

[0093] Figure 2 This is a side view of the layout of the roll-on / roll-off terminal for loading and unloading automobiles proposed in this invention.

[0094] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the seaside structure of the forward storage yard in the loading and unloading process layout of the automobile roll-on / roll-off terminal proposed in this invention.

[0095] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the front storage yard in the loading and unloading process layout of the automobile roll-on / roll-off terminal proposed in this invention.

[0096] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the loading and unloading process layout of the offshore automobile roll-on / roll-off terminal proposed in this invention.

[0097] Attached reference numerals: 1-Front storage yard, 11-Car storage layer, 12-Car pallet buffer layer, 110-Longitudinal conveyor line, 111-Transverse conveyor line, 112-Longitudinal bidirectional transmission mechanism, 113-Transverse bidirectional transmission mechanism, 2-Rear storage yard, 3-Transmission corridor, 4-Port transport vehicle loading and unloading area, 5-Large engineering machinery storage yard, 6-Export vehicle inspection storage yard, 71-Lifting mechanism, 72-Exchange platform, 73-Second exchange platform, 8-Unmanned ro-ro straddle carrier, 91-Offshore ro-ro terminal, 92-High-rise commercial vehicle storage facility, 93-Double-layer aerial transmission corridor over water, 94-Lifting mechanism of offshore ro-ro terminal, 95-Exchange platform of offshore ro-ro terminal.

[0098] It should be noted that these accompanying drawings and textual descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way, but rather to illustrate the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art by referring to specific embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0099] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are used to illustrate the present invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0100] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting this invention.

[0101] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, 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 a connection indirectly through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0102] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, such as Figures 1 to 4 As shown, it includes the front storage yard 1, the rear storage yard 2, the conveyor corridor 3, the port transport vehicle loading and unloading area 4, the large engineering machinery storage yard 5, and the export vehicle inspection storage yard 6.

[0103] The forward storage yard 1 is divided into a port arrival area and a port discharge area in the vertical direction. For example, the forward storage yard 1 is a six-story structure, with floors 1-3 divided into a port arrival area and floors 4-6 divided into a port discharge area. Or, floors 1-4 divided into a port arrival area and floors 5-6 divided into a port discharge area. Or, floors 1, 3, and 5 divided into a port arrival area and floors 2, 4, and 6 divided into a port discharge area, etc.

[0104] The forward storage yard 1 consists of a multi-layer vehicle storage layer 11 and a vehicle pallet buffer layer 12 located below the vehicle storage layer 11. On the sea side, multiple lifting mechanisms 71 are installed as loading outlets or unloading inlets, and an exchange platform 72 is installed on both sides of each lifting mechanism 71 (one as a loading platform and the other as an unloading platform). A second exchange platform 73 is connected longitudinally to the exchange platform 72. On the land side, multiple lifting mechanisms 71 are installed as port entry and exit points, and an exchange platform 72 is installed on both sides of each lifting mechanism 71.

[0105] Both the car storage layer 11 and the car carrier plate buffer layer 12 are composed of several longitudinal conveyor lines 110. Each layer has 56 longitudinal conveyor lines 110, with one transverse conveyor line 111 at each end, and they are only perpendicularly intersected at both ends of the longitudinal conveyor lines 110. Each longitudinal conveyor line 110 stores 10 cars, and every 7 longitudinal conveyor lines 110 form a conveying unit, for a total of 8 conveying units. There are 8 lifting mechanisms 71 and 16 side exchange platforms 72 on both the sea side and the land side. An additional 16 exchange platforms 73 with longitudinal bidirectional transmission mechanisms are added on the sea side. The lifting mechanism 71 is connected to the front and rear of line 4 of each conveying unit.

[0106] Each longitudinal conveyor line 110 is equipped with multiple longitudinal bidirectional drive mechanisms 112 (e.g., 10). Each longitudinal bidirectional drive mechanism 112 can carry a vehicle platform and transport vehicles longitudinally. Within each of the longitudinal bidirectional drive mechanisms 112 at both ends of the parallel longitudinal conveyor lines, a transverse bidirectional drive mechanism 113 is installed, thus forming a transverse conveyor line 111 on both the sea and land sides of the vehicle storage layer 11. This allows any two longitudinal conveyor lines 110 and the transverse conveyor lines 111 at both ends to form a planar loop network. The longitudinal bidirectional drive mechanism 112 and the transverse bidirectional drive mechanism 113 installed at both ends of each longitudinal conveyor line 110 constitute a four-way (longitudinal and transverse) drive mechanism.

[0107] The forward yard 1 is a mixed design for port collection and distribution, which is fully compatible with port collection and distribution. At least one empty space for a car carrier is left in each conveying unit to facilitate horizontal circulation of each conveying unit, achieving the purpose of finding and picking cars.

[0108] The planar structure of the rear storage yard 2 is exactly the same as that of the front storage yard 1, except that the rear storage yard 2 has many more layers of vehicle storage layer 11 than the front storage yard 1. For example, the rear storage yard 2 has 12 layers of vehicle storage layer 11.

[0109] The connection between the front yard 1 and the rear yard 2 adopts a U-shaped aerial double-layer conveyor corridor 3. The upper conveyor corridor is used to transport vehicles from the rear yard 2 to the front yard 1, and the lower conveyor corridor is used to transport empty pallets from the front yard 1 to the rear yard 2, so as to dynamically balance the number of pallets in the front and rear yards.

[0110] The longitudinal conveyor line 110 and the transverse conveyor line 111 intersect at a vertical position to form a four-way transmission mechanism. The upper and lower base plates of the lifting mechanism 71 adopt a four-way transmission mechanism. The two side exchange platforms 72 adopt a four-way transmission mechanism. The longitudinal exchange platform 73 is equipped with a longitudinal bidirectional transmission mechanism. The transverse bidirectional transmission mechanism on the exchange platform 72 is connected to the transverse bidirectional transmission mechanism of the lifting structure 71. The longitudinal bidirectional transmission mechanism on the exchange platform 72 is connected to the longitudinal bidirectional transmission mechanism of the longitudinal exchange platform 73 and the longitudinal conveyor line 110 of the vehicle plate buffer layer 12.

[0111] Specifically, the lifting mechanism 71 has three entrances and exits. The forward entrance and exit connect to a longitudinal conveyor line 110 in the conveying unit (such as line 4, which is the center line of the conveying unit), and the two lateral entrances and exits connect to the exchange platforms 72 on both sides. The exchange platforms 72 on both sides are on the same level as the vehicle platform buffer layer 12 and are connected, so that empty vehicle platforms can directly return from the exchange platform 72 to the vehicle platform buffer layer 12.

[0112] Specifically, the lifting mechanism 71 is composed of three double-layer base plates. When it rises and falls, the upper and lower base plates can respectively connect with the No. 4 line of the car storage layer 11 conveying unit, the No. 4 line of the car platform buffer layer 12 conveying unit, and the exchange platform 72. When the upper base plate connects with the No. 4 line of the car storage layer 11 conveying unit, its lower base plate simultaneously connects with the No. 4 line of the car platform buffer layer 12 conveying unit and the exchange platform 72. The exchange platforms 72 located on the left and right sides of the lifting mechanism 71 (No. 2 and No. 3) connect laterally with the lateral bidirectional transmission mechanism of the lifting mechanism 71, and longitudinally with the longitudinal conveying lines (such as No. 3 and No. 5) of the car platform buffer layer 12.

[0113] The unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carrier 8 is responsible for exchanging loading and unloading vehicles with the loading and unloading platforms on the sea side of the forward storage yard 1. In the loading and unloading holds of the roll-on / roll-off ship, the unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carrier 8 hands over the vehicles with the positioning and handling trolley.

[0114] Based on the above layout structure, the operation process from land-based port collection to ship loading is as follows:

[0115] (1) Port collection. This refers to the operation of automobile manufacturing enterprises sending automobiles to the port by road, rail or waterway in preparation for loading and shipping.

[0116] S11, the car is inspected at the export goods vehicle inspection yard 6 and an RFID electronic tag is affixed to the windshield.

[0117] In the export vehicle inspection area 6 behind the rear storage yard 2, customs, port officials, and factory personnel inspect the types and appearances of the vehicles transported by the manufacturers to the port for loading and export. Port personnel use handheld RFID readers to scan the VIN of each vehicle, collecting complete vehicle information and automatically sending the information, including the VIN and shipping manifest, to an electronic tag affixed to the upper left corner of the windshield and the computer backend system. Export vehicles that pass inspection enter the waiting area controlled by the port.

[0118] Only vehicles that pass inspection are allowed to enter the rear storage yard 2.

[0119] 2. The lifting mechanism 71 on the sea side of the rear storage yard 2 rises, and its lower bottom plate connects with the No. 4 line of the target car storage layer 11 conveyor unit. An empty car plate enters the lower bottom plate. The lifting mechanism 71 descends by a double-plate height to connect its upper bottom plate with the No. 4 line of the target car storage layer 11 conveyor unit. Another empty car plate enters the upper bottom plate. The lifting mechanism 71 descends to connect its lower bottom plate with the exchange platform 72. The empty car plate on the lower bottom plate is transported to one side of the exchange platform 72. The lifting mechanism 71 descends again by a double-plate height to connect its upper bottom plate with the exchange platform 72. The second car plate is transported to the other side.

[0120] 3. The driver moves the vehicle to the exchange platform 72 on the land side of the rear storage yard 2. The RFID reader located on the upper left side of the exchange platform identifies the electronic tag information on the upper left corner of the vehicle's windshield (with red, yellow, and green indicator lights). After confirming that there is no error, the driver presses the green start button. The bidirectional transmission mechanism of the exchange platform 72 and the lifting mechanism 71 starts simultaneously, and the vehicle enters the lifting mechanism 72 along with the vehicle platform.

[0121] 4. The landside lifting mechanism 71 runs to the target car storage layer 11 and docks with the target conveying unit line 4. The car is then transported to the target car storage layer 11 target conveying unit along with the car carrier plate.

[0122] 5. The four-way transmission mechanism of the target car storage layer 11 conveyor unit 4 transports the car to the target parking position of the longitudinal conveyor line to the left, forward or right. At this time, the landside lifting mechanism 71 descends to the exchange platform 72 and begins to repeat the car entry action until one port collection operation is completed.

[0123] (2) Secondary collection at the port. This is the process of transporting automobiles from the rear storage yard 2 to the front storage yard 1 when the ro-ro ship's schedule is approaching (generally more than 24 hours).

[0124] 1. The cars in the target car storage layer 11 of the rear yard 2 are transported along with the car carriers to the aerial transport corridor 3 via the seaside lifting mechanism 71, and then to the entrance of the lifting mechanism 71 on the landside of the front yard 1 via the aerial transport corridor 3.

[0125] 2. The car enters the lifting mechanism 71 on the land side of the front yard 1 along with the car carrier. After the lifting mechanism 71 runs to the target car storage layer 11 target conveying unit, the lifting mechanism 71 connects with the target conveying unit line 4 in the car storage layer 11 of the front yard 1. The car is transported along with the car carrier to position 1 of the target conveying unit line 4 in the target car storage layer 11. Under the action of the longitudinal and transverse four-way transmission mechanism, the car is transported along with the car carrier to the left, forward or right to the parking position of the longitudinal conveying line 110.

[0126] 3. Empty pallets from the front yard 1 are transported to the pallet buffer layer 12 of the rear yard 2 via the lifting mechanism 71 on the sea side of the front yard 1, the pallet buffer layer 12, and the underground conveyor corridor; the number of pallets in the front yard 1 and the rear yard 2 is dynamically balanced.

[0127] (3) Loading operations, unloading operations, or simultaneous loading and unloading operations.

[0128] During loading, vehicles in the target vehicle storage layer 11 are transported row by row through the transverse bidirectional transmission mechanism 113 of the four-way transmission mechanism on the sea side to the end of the longitudinal transmission line 110 in the middle of the target vehicle storage layer 111. The vehicles, along with their pallets, enter the upper floor of the lifting mechanism 71. The lifting mechanism 71 descends to the exchange platform 72, and the vehicles, along with their pallets, are transported to the left or right exchange platform 72 on the sea side. From there, they are transported to the second exchange platform 73, which is connected to the pallet. After the vehicles are transferred away by the driver or by the unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carrier 8, the empty pallets are transported to the pallet buffer layer 12, or buffered there, or transported through the buffer layer 12 to the landside exchange platform 72, and then enter the upper and lower floors of the landside elevator 71. The lifting mechanism 71 returns the empty pallets to the target vehicle storage layer 11, the target vehicle storage layer 11. This cycle continues until the loading operation is completed.

[0129] During unloading, the landside lifting mechanism 71 of the target transport unit in the car storage layer 11 of the port area continuously transports empty car pallets two by two through the car pallet buffer layer 12 to the sea-side exchange platform 72. Drivers drive their vehicles onto the car pallets on the exchange platform 72, or the unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carriers 8 transfer them to the car pallets on the second exchange platform 73, which is connected to the exchange platform 72. The vehicles then enter the lifting mechanism 71 along with the car pallets, rising to the target transport unit in the target storage layer 11 and being transported into the target car storage layer 11. This cycle continues until the unloading operation is completed.

[0130] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, loading and unloading operations are carried out simultaneously, i.e., loading and unloading occur simultaneously. The right-side exchange platform 72 of the sea-side lifting mechanism 71 is configured as a loading platform, and the left-side exchange platform 72 of the sea-side lifting mechanism 71 is configured as an unloading platform. The sea-side lifting mechanism 71 retrieves a vehicle from the target conveying unit of the vehicle storage layer 11 in the port area and transports it to the right-side loading platform. A vehicle unloaded from the left-side unloading platform is then input into the sea-side lifting mechanism 71 and transported to the target conveying unit of the vehicle storage layer 11 in the port area. The sea-side lifting mechanism 71 then descends to the vehicle storage layer 11 in the port area. The target transport unit retrieves another loading vehicle, and the lifting mechanism 71 descends to the exchange platform 72. The vehicle is then transported along with the loading platform to the right loading platform. The left unloading platform then transports another unloading vehicle into the lifting mechanism 71 and upwards to the target transport unit in the port area vehicle storage layer 11. With the cooperation of the loading platform buffer layer 12 and the land-side lifting mechanism 71, an empty loading platform is returned to the land-side port area vehicle storage layer 11 target transport unit. Then, an empty loading platform is retrieved from the land-side port area vehicle storage layer 11 target transport unit and transported to the sea-side unloading platform. Driver-operated or unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carriers are unloaded from the left unloading platform and then driven off the right loading platform.

[0131] (4) Harbor clearance.

[0132] Customs inspection and customer vehicle pickup are both random. A vehicle leaving the port can be transported from any position in the car storage layer conveyor unit to the landside lifting mechanism 71 via any two longitudinal conveyor lines and the transverse conveyor lines at their ends. The landside lifting mechanism 71 then transports the vehicle to the exchange platform 72 on the left or right side of the landside.

[0133] As mentioned above, a photovoltaic power station can be built on the roof of the storage facility.

[0134] As described above, the longitudinal direction of this invention is perpendicular to the wharf shoreline, and the transverse direction of this invention is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction on a horizontal plane.

[0135] like Figure 5As shown, in conjunction with the aforementioned process layout of this invention, a loading and unloading process layout for offshore automobile ro-ro terminals is proposed, including:

[0136] Offshore ro-ro terminal 91, constructed in the sea, is equipped with a lifting mechanism 94 and an exchange platform 95, with the exchange platform 95 located on both sides of the lifting mechanism 94. An offshore ro-ro terminal is a type of terminal located tens or hundreds of meters from the shoreline, built on reclaimed land or by utilizing small islands in the sea. In existing technology, offshore ro-ro terminals are connected to the mainland by bridges. Offshore automobile terminals typically have their storage yards built on land. Loading and unloading operations involve drivers driving automobiles onto ships and then taking shuttle buses back to the land-based automobile storage yard to retrieve their vehicles, resulting in low efficiency and high costs.

[0137] A temporary storage yard for large construction machinery and equipment (not shown in the figure) is set up on offshore ro-ro terminal 91 and serves as a temporary storage area for large construction machinery and equipment before it is loaded onto a ship.

[0138] The high-rise automobile storage facility 92 (hereinafter referred to as the storage facility) is located on the opposite shore of the land side of the offshore ro-ro terminal 91. It is implemented with the structure of the front storage yard 1 in the automobile ro-ro terminal loading and unloading process layout given in the present invention. Multiple lifting mechanisms 94 and exchange platforms 95 are arranged on its sea side and land side.

[0139] The double-layer aerial transport corridor 93 connects the offshore ro-ro terminal 1 and the high-rise automobile storage facility 92. One layer transports loading vehicles or empty pallets, and the other layer transports unloading vehicles or empty pallets. One end is directly connected to the seaside lifting mechanism 94 of the high-rise automobile storage facility 92, and the other end is directly connected to the landside lifting mechanism 94 of the offshore ro-ro terminal 91.

[0140] Specifically, the lifting mechanisms 94 of the car storage layer conveying units on the sea side of the storage yard facility 92 and the land side of the offshore ro-ro terminal 91 are longitudinally connected by a double-layer aerial conveying corridor 93. A transverse double-layer aerial conveying corridor is erected outside the lifting mechanism 94 of each conveying unit on the sea side of the storage yard facility 92 and the land side of the lifting mechanism 94 on the land side of the offshore ro-ro terminal 91, and intersects perpendicularly with multiple longitudinal double-layer aerial conveying corridors.

[0141] The lifting mechanism 94 and the exchange platform 95 installed in the storage yard facility 92 and the offshore roll-on / roll-off terminal 91 are exactly the same as the technologies used in the aforementioned front and rear storage yard schemes, and the loading and unloading operations are roughly the same, so they will not be described in detail here.

[0142] In this invention, on the one hand, the facilities and layout of traditional roll-on / roll-off (Ro-Ro) terminals for automobiles have been radically transformed; on the other hand, digital technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and 5G communication have been applied to the layout of the added facilities and process flows. This allows each pallet or vehicle within the front / rear yard / yard facilities to select the optimal route according to several designed flow lines, making the loading and unloading process flows of this invention, such as the unmanned Ro-Ro straddle carrier docking with the exchange platform and the positioning and handling trolley process flows, smoother. Furthermore, the aforementioned digital technologies are already very mature.

[0143] It should be noted that the above description is not intended to limit the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the examples given above. Any changes, modifications, additions or substitutions made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention should also fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A layout for loading and unloading ship processes at a roll-on / roll-off terminal for automobiles, characterized in that, include: The forward storage yard consists of multiple layers of vehicle storage and a bottom layer of vehicle pallet buffer; the multiple layers of vehicle storage are divided into a port arrival area and a port departure area in the vertical direction. Its sea side can be configured as an exit or an entrance, and is equipped with lifting mechanisms and exchange platforms; its land side can be configured as an entrance and an exit, and is equipped with lifting mechanisms and exchange platforms; its sea side interacts with the roll-on / roll-off ship through several unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carriers; the roll-on / roll-off ship's cabin is equipped with multiple positioning and handling trolleys that interact with the unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carriers. The rear storage yard, located behind the front storage yard, consists of several layers of car storage and a bottom layer of car-carrying buffer. The car storage layers are used for storing commercial vehicles at the port. The sea side is equipped with lifting mechanisms and exchange platforms as the exit, and the land side is equipped with lifting mechanisms and exchange platforms as the entrance. The conveyor corridor connects the front and rear storage yards and is a double-layer conveyor corridor structure; the upper conveyor corridor transports cars, and the lower conveyor corridor transports empty car pallets. The loading area for port transport vehicles is located on the landside of the forward storage yard; Large construction machinery storage yards are located on both sides of the front storage yard and / or directly in front of the sea side; The inspection yard for exported vehicles is located on the landside of the rear yard. The upper transport corridor consists of multiple longitudinal transport corridors, transverse transport corridors that intersect vertically with the land side of the front storage yard, and transverse transport corridors that intersect vertically with the sea side of the rear storage yard. Multiple longitudinal conveyor corridors are erected on the same side and level as the lifting mechanisms of the front and rear yards, and the connection between one side of the longitudinal conveyor corridor and the other side of the lifting mechanism can transport vehicles in both directions. Its forward direction directly connects with the longitudinal conveyor lines in the front and rear yards to transport vehicles in both directions. Two transverse conveyor corridors cross the back of the lifting mechanisms on the land side of the front yard and the sea side of the rear yard, respectively, and intersect perpendicularly with multiple longitudinal conveyor corridors. The upper and lower layers of the longitudinal conveyor corridor are connected to one side of the landside lifting mechanism of the front storage yard and the seaside lifting mechanism of the rear storage yard. The distance between the upper and lower layers is the same as the height of the upper and lower bottom plates of the lifting mechanism.

2. The layout of the car roll-on / roll-off terminal loading and unloading process according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the front and rear storage yards, each vehicle storage layer and vehicle pallet buffer layer has several longitudinal conveyor lines arranged side by side from the sea side to the land side. At both the seaside and landside ends of all longitudinal conveyor lines in each car storage layer, a transverse conveyor line is laid that intersects all longitudinal conveyor lines perpendicularly. The length of the longitudinal conveyor line is an integer multiple of the length of a car platform, and the width of the longitudinal conveyor line is greater than the width of a car platform. The length of the transverse conveyor line is an integer multiple of the width of a vehicle platform, and the width of the transverse conveyor line is greater than the length of a vehicle platform. An odd number of adjacent longitudinal conveyor lines form a conveyor unit, with the two ends of its center line connected to the sea-side and land-side lifting mechanisms, and a space for a vehicle platform is left at each end of the center line.

3. The layout of the automobile roll-on / roll-off terminal loading and unloading process according to claim 1, characterized in that, The front yard seaside lifting mechanism is equipped with exchange platforms on both sides, one side being a loading platform and the other side being a unloading platform; both are used to input and output vehicles with the lifting mechanism and to input and output empty vehicle plates with the vehicle plate buffer layer. A second exchange platform is set up longitudinally on both sides of the exchange platform to transport vehicles or empty pallets in both directions longitudinally with the exchange platforms on both sides, and to exchange vehicles for loading or unloading with unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carriers.

4. The layout of the automobile roll-on / roll-off terminal loading and unloading process according to claim 3, characterized in that, The second exchange platform is at the same height as the exchange platform above the ground, its width is greater than or equal to the width of the vehicle platform, and its length is greater than the length of the vehicle platform.

5. The layout of the automobile roll-on / roll-off terminal loading and unloading process according to claim 1, characterized in that, The length, width, and height of the unmanned roll-on / roll-off straddle carrier all meet the requirements for straddling a standard-sized commercial vehicle, while its clamping and lifting height meets the requirements for the stern of a roll-on / roll-off ship to jump and climb slopes.

6. The layout of the automobile roll-on / roll-off terminal loading and unloading process according to claim 1, characterized in that, The positioning and transporting trolley crawls under the car in the hold of the roll-on / roll-off ship, clamps, lifts, and transports the car to the target location.

7. A layout for loading and unloading ship processes at an offshore automobile roll-on / roll-off terminal, characterized in that, include: The offshore roll-on / roll-off terminal is built in the sea and is equipped with a lifting mechanism and an exchange platform, with the exchange platform located on both sides of the lifting mechanism; Temporary storage yards for large construction machinery and equipment are set up next to the berths of the offshore roll-on / roll-off terminal; The high-rise automobile storage facility is located on the opposite shore of the land side of the offshore ro-ro terminal, and is realized by the forward storage yard in the loading and unloading process layout of the automobile ro-ro terminal as described in any one of claims 1-6. Multiple lifting mechanisms and exchange platforms are arranged on its sea side and land side. A double-layered aerial transport corridor connects the offshore ro-ro terminal and the high-rise automobile storage facility. One end is directly connected to the seaside lifting mechanism of the high-rise automobile storage facility, and the other end is directly connected to the landside lifting mechanism of the offshore ro-ro terminal.

8. A method for the operation of a roll-on / roll-off (Ro-Ro) terminal for loading and unloading automobiles, applied in the roll-on / roll-off terminal loading and unloading process layout as described in any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, This includes port arrival operations, simultaneous loading and unloading operations, and port clearance operations; among which, port arrival operations include primary port arrival operations and secondary port arrival operations, and primary port arrival operations include the following steps that are repeatedly performed: S11, vehicles are inspected at the export vehicle inspection yard; S12, the seaside lifting mechanism of the rear storage yard rises to dock with the target vehicle storage layer target conveying unit, and the target vehicle storage layer target conveying unit outputs empty vehicle pallets to it. S13, the seaside lifting mechanism descends to dock with the exchange platform, and the vehicle plate is transported from the seaside exchange platform to the landside exchange platform via the vehicle plate buffer layer; S14, The car with the RFID electronic tag affixed after inspection drives into the vehicle carrier of the exchange platform; S15, the car is transported along the car carrier to the landside lifting mechanism, and the lifting mechanism rises to dock with the target car storage layer target transport unit; S16, The car is transported along with the car carrier plate into the target car storage layer, target transport unit, and target storage location; Secondary port entry operations include the following steps that are performed repeatedly: S21, the car is transported from the target car storage layer target conveying unit in the rear yard to the seaside lifting mechanism along with the car carrier plate; S22, the seaside lifting mechanism of the rear yard operates to the docking level with the upper conveyor corridor. The car is transported to the upper conveyor corridor along with the car carrier, and then transported by the upper conveyor corridor to the entrance and exit of the landside lifting mechanism of the target yard in front. S23, after the target landside lifting mechanism in the forward yard operates to connect with the upper conveyor corridor, the car is transported to the target landside lifting mechanism in the forward yard along with the car carrier. S24, the target landside lifting mechanism of the forward storage yard operates to dock with the target car storage layer target conveying unit, and the car is conveyed to the target car storage layer target conveying unit along with the car carrier plate; S25, the empty car pallets of the target car storage layer target conveying unit in the forward yard are transported from its sea side to its car pallet buffer layer via the sea side lifting mechanism, and then from the car pallet buffer layer to the forward yard land side lifting mechanism. From the forward yard land side lifting mechanism, they are transported to the lower conveying corridor, then from the rear yard sea side lifting mechanism to the rear yard car pallet buffer layer, and finally from the rear yard land side lifting mechanism back to the target car storage layer target conveying unit. Loading and unloading operations involve the following steps that are performed repeatedly: S31, the target lifting mechanism of the forward yard rises to the target conveying unit of the target car storage layer at the port to retrieve a vehicle, and a vehicle is conveyed from the target conveying unit to the lifting mechanism; S32, the landside lifting mechanism of the target storage yard rises to the target conveying unit of the port target car storage layer to take out the empty car pallet. The empty car pallet is transported to the seaside unloading platform via the lifting mechanism, landside exchange platform, landside car pallet buffer layer, seaside car pallet buffer layer. S33, the forward yard seaside lifting mechanism carries vehicles from the target vehicle storage layer target conveyor unit to the seaside exchange platform; S34, a ship unloading vehicle with an RFID electronic tag drives into the loading platform of the ship unloading platform, and the driver or unmanned roll-on straddle carrier leaves the ship unloading platform and transfers to the loading platform to prepare for the loading of the ship. S35, the seaside target lifting mechanism transports the loading vehicles to the loading platform along with the vehicle loading plate, and then the unloading vehicles on the unloading platform are transported to the lifting mechanism along with the vehicle loading plate. S36, a driver or unmanned roll-on straddle carrier drives the vehicle off the loading platform to the loading hold of the roll-on / roll-off ship. S37, an empty pallet is transported from the pallet buffer layer to the unloading platform, and an empty pallet on the loading platform is transported to the pallet buffer layer. S38, the driver or unmanned ro-ro straddle carrier drives into the loading hold of the ro-ro ship, puts the vehicle down in the vehicle exchange area of ​​the hold, and the positioning driver or positioning transport trolley takes the vehicle and drives it into or transports it to the designated location. S39, a driver or unmanned ro-ro straddle carrier enters the unloading hold of the ro-ro ship from the loading hold, receives the unloading vehicle brought by the positioned driver or the positioned handling trolley in the unloading vehicle exchange area, and drives off the ro-ro ship. Port clearance operations include the following steps that are performed repeatedly: S41, after the person picking up the vehicle hands over the delivery note with all the formalities completed to the port staff, the staff will use a handheld scanner to scan the barcode information on the delivery note, and the computer screen will immediately display the information of the vehicle being picked up, such as the quantity and the target transport unit. S42, after the staff confirms, they press the pick-up button, and the target vehicles in the target transport unit begin to cycle and wait at the lifting mechanism of the target vehicle storage layer target transport unit. S43, the large transport vehicle of the person picking up the vehicle arrives at the designated location of the target loading area of ​​the landside port area of ​​the front yard. After the port staff confirms that all parties are in place, the staff presses the lifting mechanism to pick up the vehicle. S44: The landside lifting mechanism of the forward storage yard docks with the target vehicle storage layer's target conveyor unit. Vehicles are transported to the lifting mechanism along with the vehicle carrier platform. Subsequent vehicles are replenished by the central conveyor line, left or right lateral conveyor line of the target conveyor unit and continue waiting at the lifting mechanism's entrance. S45, the lifting mechanism descends to the exchange platform and docks with it. The vehicle is transported to the exchange platform along with the vehicle carrier plate. The lifting mechanism then returns to the target vehicle storage layer target transport unit to retrieve the vehicle. S46, The vehicle picker leaves the vehicle on the exchange platform to carry out the loading of a large transport vehicle; S47, on the exchange platform, the empty vehicle board passes through the land-side vehicle board buffer layer - sea-side vehicle board buffer layer - sea-side exchange platform - sea-side lifting mechanism - target vehicle storage layer target transport unit.

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