Full-automatic container grabbing and releasing operation method for port

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of container operation, and discloses a port full-automatic container grabbing and releasing operation method which comprises the steps that an unmanned container truck is driven into a storage yard lane, and the container truck arrives at a preset parking position; according to a comparison result of automatic operation instruction analysis and operation environment perception, starting corresponding automatic operation; according to the current position of the port crane cart and the position information of the target container, an automatic driving plan of the crane cart is automatically calculated, and the crane cart is automatically rectified in the automatic walking process; the RTG trolley is moved to the position over the target container according to the received container number and position information of the target container; and the lifting appliance is aligned with the target container, so that the lifting appliance can smoothly grab the target container or correctly stack the containers on the lifting appliance onto the target container. Full-automatic container grabbing and releasing operation at a port can be achieved, unmanned operation is achieved, and the operation efficiency of the port is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of container operation, and in particular to a fully automatic method for grabbing and releasing containers at a port. Background Art

[0002] In the prior art, with the continuous development of global economic trade, the container operation in ports is becoming more and more busy. The container operation in traditional ports mostly adopts the manual operation machine mode to pick up and release the container. However, the above manual operation mode has a relatively low work efficiency and cannot meet the actual operation requirements of quickly picking up and releasing the container.

[0003] Therefore, how to provide a fully automatic method for grabbing and releasing containers at ports to achieve fast and fully automatic grabbing and releasing of containers and improve work efficiency has become a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a fully automatic method for grabbing and releasing containers at a port, so as to realize fast and fully automatic grabbing and releasing of containers and improve work efficiency.

[0005] To this end, the embodiment of the present invention discloses a fully automatic port container grabbing and releasing operation method, including: step S100, an unmanned container truck drives into a storage yard lane, and voice-assisted navigation is performed on the moving container truck through a scanning and positioning system, so that the container truck arrives at a preset parking position;

[0006] Step S200, starting the corresponding automated operation according to the comparison result between the automated operation instruction analysis and the operation environment perception;

[0007] Step S300, automatically calculating the automatic driving plan of the crane trolley according to the current position of the port crane trolley and the position information of the target container, and the crane trolley automatically corrects the deviation during the automatic driving;

[0008] Step S400, according to the received target container number and location information, the RTG trolley is moved to the top of the target container, and the spreader is restored to the initial state and stable state of vertical downward;

[0009] Step S500, aligning the spreader with the target container so that the spreader can smoothly grab the target container or correctly stack the containers on the spreader onto the target container.

[0010] The present invention is further configured that step S500 specifically includes:

[0011] Step S501, image recognition of corner fittings / lock holes on the four corners of the target container, and calculation of the plane coordinates of the center points of the four corner fittings / lock holes;

[0012] Step S502, determining the plane coordinates of the center point and the heading angle of the target container according to the plane coordinates of the center points of the four corner pieces / lock holes;

[0013] Step S503: the center point of the spreader is aligned with the center point of the target container, and the heading angles of the two are the same.

[0014] The present invention is further configured such that, in the step S503, the heading angle of the sling is measured and obtained by an inertial measurement unit IMU device installed on the sling.

[0015] The present invention is further configured to, before step S100, further include:

[0016] The laser radar scans the containers in the yard from two directions, integrates the camera and encoder on the trolley, estimates the posture of the spreader and reconstructs the 3D yard through the SLAM algorithm, and combines the TOS command to accurately obtain the position of the target container.

[0017] The present invention is further configured to, before step S100, further include:

[0018] Based on the images taken by the camera installed on the side of the gantry crane, the vehicle features of the unmanned container truck are identified and the movement of the unmanned container truck is monitored.

[0019] The present invention is further configured such that the vehicle characteristics of the unmanned container truck include the vehicle head, the load and type, the trailer, and whether the load has a rotary lock.

[0020] The present invention is further configured such that a positioning module is installed on the crane trolley.

[0021] The present invention is further configured such that the positioning module is a Beidou antenna and / or an inertial navigation.

[0022] The present invention is further configured to, before step S501, further include:

[0023] The height of the spreader is detected in real time by a laser scanning sensor and the three-dimensional point cloud data formed by real-time scanning of a laser radar, and the relative spatial position of the spreader and the container in the envelope space of the travel route is detected in real time to determine the appropriate safe height of the spreader;

[0024] When the spreader is lowered to a preset distance from the top surface of the target container, a corner piece / keyhole image recognition program of the target container is started.

[0025] The present invention is further configured such that the preset spacing is 20 cm, 50 cm or 100 cm.

[0026] The present invention is further configured such that the operation conditions in step S200 include the operation scene, container sorting / in / out in the yard, and the target container number of the operation.

[0027] The present invention is further configured to include, in step S100:

[0028] The onboard visual fusion system of the container truck can accurately detect lane lines and obstacles. At the same time, the positioning, prediction, planning and control PnC functions of the autonomous driving system can be used to realize the autonomous driving of container trucks in the port park.

[0029] The horizontal position of the internal and external container trucks is detected through 3D LiDAR, ensuring that each 3D LiDAR data scan detects the position of the container truck head.

[0030] The present invention has the following beneficial effects: the embodiment of the present invention discloses a method for fully automatic container grabbing and placing operation in a port, in which an unmanned container truck enters the yard lane, and performs voice-assisted navigation on the moving container truck through a scanning and positioning system, so that the container truck arrives at a preset parking position; the corresponding automated operation is started according to the comparison result of the automated operation instruction analysis and the operating environment perception; the automatic driving plan of the crane truck is automatically calculated according to the current position of the port crane truck and the position information of the target container, and the crane truck performs automatic deviation correction during automatic walking; according to the received target container number and its position information, the RTG trolley is moved to the top of the target container, and the spreader is restored to the initial state and stable state of vertical downward; the spreader is aligned with the target container, so that the spreader can smoothly grab the target container or correctly stack the container on the spreader onto the target container. Compared with the prior art, the present invention can realize fully automatic container grabbing and placing operation in a port, realize unmanned operation, and improve the operation efficiency of the port. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] In order to more clearly illustrate the specific implementation methods of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the specific implementation methods or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some implementation methods of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0032] Figure 1 It is a flow chart of a fully automatic method for grabbing and releasing containers at a port disclosed in this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0034] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, it can also be the internal connection of two components, it can be a wireless connection, or it can be a wired connection. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0035] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0036] In addition, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0037] The embodiment of the present invention discloses a fully automatic method for picking up and releasing containers at a port, such as Figure 1 As shown, including:

[0038] In step S100, the unmanned container truck enters the yard lane, and voice-assisted navigation is performed on the moving container truck through the scanning and positioning system to enable the container truck to arrive at the preset parking position. In this embodiment, the unmanned hydrogen container truck accurately enters the yard lane through end-to-end multi-modal autonomous driving technologies such as global navigation, lane line recognition, obstacle avoidance, and path planning.

[0039] Step S200, based on the comparison results of the analysis of the automated operation instructions and the perception of the operating environment, the corresponding automated operation is started; in this embodiment, after receiving the terminal operating system TOS operation instruction, the business instruction is parsed and the operating environment is perceived at the same time. If someone is found to have intruded into the operating area at this time, the intruder will be warned and expelled through automatic voice broadcast, and reported to the RCMS and RCOS systems. After there are no safety hazards in the operating area, the current operation task is compared with the operating conditions perceived by the system, such as the operating scene, yard container sorting, loading and unloading, and whether the target container number of the operation matches. When the operation instruction matches the system perception comparison result, the corresponding automated operation is started.

[0040] Step S300, automatically calculate the automatic driving plan of the crane trolley according to the current position of the port crane trolley and the position information of the target container, and the crane trolley performs automatic deviation correction during automatic travel; in this embodiment, when the automated operation starts, according to the target container number and its position information on the unmanned hydrogen container truck received from the TOS, the multi-Beidou antenna and inertial navigation and other high-precision positioning modules installed on the trolley are used to accurately detect the current position and posture of the trolley as well as the position and posture during the movement, and automatically calculate the automatic travel plan of the trolley according to the current position of the trolley and the position information of the target container, and automatically drive the trolley, and in the process of automatic travel, the trolley automatically corrects the deviation to realize the automatic correction of the deviation between the wheel center line and the site lane line.

[0041] Step S400, according to the received target container number and position information, the RTG trolley is moved to the top of the target container, and the spreader is restored to the initial vertical downward state and stable state; in this embodiment, according to the target container number and position information received from TOS, the current position of the trolley is accurately detected by using the Beidou single antenna installed on the trolley and the absolute encoder is integrated, and according to the current position of the trolley and the target position information, based on the full-state feedback anti-sway control algorithm of the RTG trolley-spreader system, the trolley automatic movement plan (acceleration curve) is automatically calculated, and the trolley is moved to the target position as quickly and accurately as possible, that is, directly above the target container, and when the trolley reaches the target position, the spreader is basically stopped from swinging and restored to the initial vertical downward state and stable state.

[0042] Step S500, align the spreader with the target container so that the spreader can smoothly grab the target container or correctly stack the container on the spreader onto the target container. In this embodiment, in order to prevent the spreader below the trolley from colliding with the container on the moving path during the movement of the trolley, i.e., a bowling event, it is necessary to use the laser scanning sensor installed in the anti-bowling system to detect the height of the spreader in real time, and the three-dimensional point cloud data formed by the real-time scanning of the laser radar to perform real-time detection of the spatial relative position of the spreader and the container in the envelope space of the travel route, determine the appropriate safety height of the spreader, and avoid bowling events with the containers on the travel path.

[0043] After the trolley moves to the target position, it detects and controls the lifting of the spreader to the appropriate height (such as 50cm, 20cm between the spreader and the top surface of the container, etc.) in real time according to the height information of the target container, and then starts the target container corner piece / keyhole image recognition and detection and grab and release box control tasks.

[0044] It should be noted that the embodiment of the present invention discloses a method for fully automatic container grabbing and placing operation in a port. An unmanned container truck enters the yard lane, and voice-assisted navigation is performed on the moving container truck through a scanning and positioning system, so that the container truck arrives at a preset parking position; the corresponding automated operation is started according to the comparison result of the automated operation instruction analysis and the operating environment perception; the automatic driving plan of the crane truck is automatically calculated according to the current position of the port crane truck and the position information of the target container, and the crane truck performs automatic deviation correction during automatic walking; according to the received target container number and its position information, the RTG trolley is moved to the top of the target container, and the spreader is restored to the initial state and stable state of vertical downward; the spreader is aligned with the target container, so that the spreader can smoothly grab the target container or correctly stack the container on the spreader onto the target container. Compared with the prior art, the present invention can realize fully automatic container grabbing and placing operation in a port, realize unmanned operation, and improve the operation efficiency of the port.

[0045] In an optional embodiment, step S500 specifically includes:

[0046] Step S501, image recognition of corner fittings / lock holes on the four corners of the target container, and calculation of the plane coordinates of the center points of the four corner fittings / lock holes;

[0047] Step S502, determining the plane coordinates of the center point and the heading angle of the target container according to the plane coordinates of the center points of the four corner pieces / lock holes;

[0048] Step S503: The center point of the spreader is aligned with the center point of the target container, and the heading angles of the two are the same.

[0049] In step S503, the heading angle of the spreader is measured by an inertial measurement unit (IMU) device installed on the spreader. In this embodiment, when the spreader moves to the vicinity of the target container, the spreader decelerates and enters the dynamic stacking stage. The absolute position of the spreader with a container and its relative position to the target container are obtained by fusion of the single-point laser, the spreader camera and the IMU.

[0050] In the specific implementation process, when the spreader is lowered to a height of 100cm / 50cm and equal distance from the top surface of the target container, the target container corner fittings / keyhole image recognition and detection algorithm program is started to accurately identify the corner fittings / keyhole objects on the four corners of the target container, and accurately calculate the plane coordinates of the center points of the four corner fittings / keyholes (x and y coordinates in the world coordinate system). And based on the plane coordinates of the center points of the four corner fittings / keyholes detected, the plane coordinates of the center point of the target container and the posture of the target container (mainly the heading angle, that is, the angle between the line connecting the center points of the two corner fittings / keyholes on the same side of the length direction of the container and the x-axis) are calculated.

[0051] For example, in order for the spreader to successfully lock and grab the target container or correctly stack the container on the spreader on the target container, the spreader needs to be aligned with the target container, that is, the positions of the four sliding locks of the spreader are aligned with the four lock holes of the target container, or the coordinates of the center point of the spreader and the center point of the target container are aligned (within the allowable error range of 2cm) and the postures (heading angles) of the two are the same (or within the allowable error range). Therefore, it is necessary to detect the plane position and attitude angle (heading angle) information of the spreader itself in real time.

[0052] For example, the attitude angle (heading angle) information of the sling can be obtained by measuring the inertial measurement unit (IMU) device installed on the sling. At the same time, the point cloud data can also be obtained by real-time scanning using a lidar device installed on a trolley. The real-time attitude (heading angle) of the sling can be obtained through a point cloud data recognition algorithm for comparison and redundant detection to obtain accurate attitude angle information of the sling.

[0053] For example, under ideal conditions, the plane position or coordinate information of the spreader should be equal to the plane coordinates of the center point of the trolley. Therefore, the real-time plane coordinates of the spreader can be obtained through the real-time position of the trolley. However, when the tire pressure on one side of the RTG trolley is insufficient, or the RTG as a whole has a certain tilt angle due to micro-topography or ground subsidence, it is necessary to calculate the offset between the center of the spreader and the center of the trolley in the y-axis direction through the trigonometric function of the tilt angle and the spreader height, so as to obtain the plane coordinates of the spreader center based on the real-time plane coordinates of the trolley and the offset calculation.

[0054] In an optional embodiment, before step S100, the method further includes:

[0055] The laser radar scans the containers in the yard from two directions, integrates the camera and encoder on the trolley, estimates the posture of the spreader and reconstructs the 3D yard through the SLAM algorithm, and combines the TOS command to accurately obtain the position of the target container.

[0056] In an optional embodiment, before step S100, the method further includes:

[0057] Based on the images taken by the camera installed on the side of the gantry crane, the vehicle features of the unmanned container truck are identified and the movement of the unmanned container truck is monitored.

[0058] In an optional embodiment, the vehicle characteristics of the unmanned container truck include the vehicle head, the load and its type, the trailer, and whether the load has a swing lock.

[0059] In an optional embodiment, a positioning module is installed on the crane trolley.

[0060] In an optional embodiment, the positioning module is a Beidou antenna and / or inertial navigation.

[0061] In an optional embodiment, before step S501, the method further includes:

[0062] The height of the spreader is detected in real time by a laser scanning sensor and three-dimensional point cloud data formed by real-time scanning of a laser radar, and the spatial relative position of the spreader and the container in the envelope space of the travel route is detected in real time to determine the appropriate safety height of the spreader. In this embodiment, by determining the appropriate safety height of the spreader, collisions with containers on the travel path are avoided.

[0063] When the spreader is lowered to a preset distance from the top surface of the target container, the corner piece / keyhole image recognition program of the target container is started.

[0064] In an optional embodiment, the preset spacing is 20 cm, 50 cm or 100 cm.

[0065] In an optional embodiment, the operation status in step S200 includes the operation scene, container sorting / in / out in the yard, and the target container number of the operation.

[0066] In an optional embodiment, step S100 further includes:

[0067] The onboard visual fusion system of the container truck can accurately detect lane lines and obstacles. At the same time, the positioning, prediction, planning and control PnC functions of the autonomous driving system can be used to realize the autonomous driving of container trucks in the port park.

[0068] The horizontal position of the internal and external container trucks is detected through 3D LiDAR, ensuring that each 3D LiDAR data scan detects the position of the container truck head.

[0069] For example, when there is an offset between the center coordinates of the spreader and the center coordinates of the target container, or there is a certain offset between the plane coordinates of the four sliding locks and the center plane coordinates of the four lock holes of the target container (the offset in the x or y axis direction is greater than 2 cm), it is necessary to fine-tune the RTG actuator - the trolley (when the offset in the x axis direction is greater than 2 cm) and / or the trolley (when the offset in the y axis direction is greater than 2 cm) to accurately align the spreader with the target container. The fine motion of the crane trolley is relatively easy to achieve, but the fine motion of the trolley will cause the spreader to move and sway. Therefore, it is necessary to automatically calculate the automatic fine motion scheme of the trolley (acceleration curve) based on the full state feedback anti-sway control algorithm of the RTG trolley-spreader system, move the trolley to the target position as quickly and accurately as possible, and make the spreader basically stop swaying when the trolley reaches the target position, and restore it to the initial state and stable state of vertical downward.

[0070] For example, when the spreader is aligned with the target container (or within the allowable error range of 2 cm), for the container grabbing task, the container grabbing action can be executed, and after confirming the successful container grabbing, the spreader with the container is raised to a safe height, and then subsequent tasks such as moving the trolley and releasing the container are executed; and for the container releasing task, the container can be released to the target bay (depending on the size of the yard, the bay number may include the area code and block number to which it belongs), and after confirming the successful stacking / releasing of the containers, the sliding lock is unlocked, the empty spreader is raised to a safe height, and then subsequent tasks such as moving the trolley and grabbing the container are executed.

[0071] Working principle: The embodiment of the present invention discloses a method for fully automatic container grabbing and placing operation in a port. An unmanned container truck drives into the yard lane, and voice-assisted navigation is performed on the moving container truck through a scanning and positioning system, so that the container truck arrives at a preset parking position; the corresponding automated operation is started according to the comparison result of the automated operation instruction analysis and the operating environment perception; the automatic driving plan of the crane truck is automatically calculated according to the current position of the port crane truck and the position information of the target container, and the crane truck performs automatic deviation correction during automatic travel; according to the received target container number and its position information, the RTG trolley is moved to the top of the target container, and the spreader is restored to the initial state and stable state of vertical downward; the spreader is aligned with the target container, so that the spreader can smoothly grab the target container or correctly stack the container on the spreader onto the target container. Compared with the prior art, the present invention can realize fully automatic container grabbing and placing operation in a port, realize unmanned operation, and improve the operation efficiency of the port.

[0072] Obviously, the above embodiments are merely examples for the purpose of clear explanation, and are not intended to limit the implementation methods. For those skilled in the art, other different forms of changes or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is not necessary and impossible to list all the implementation methods here. The obvious changes or modifications derived therefrom are still within the scope of protection of the invention.

Claims

1. A fully automatic method for picking up and releasing containers at a port, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Step S100, the unmanned container truck drives into the yard lane, and the scanning and positioning system performs voice-assisted navigation on the moving container truck, so that the container truck arrives at the preset parking position; Step S200, starting the corresponding automated operation according to the comparison result between the automated operation instruction analysis and the operation environment perception; Step S300, automatically calculating the automatic driving plan of the crane trolley according to the current position of the port crane trolley and the position information of the target container, and the crane trolley automatically corrects the deviation during the automatic driving; Step S400, according to the received target container number and location information, the RTG trolley is moved to the top of the target container, and the spreader is restored to the initial state and stable state of vertical downward; Step S500, aligning the spreader with the target container so that the spreader can smoothly grab the target container or correctly stack the containers on the spreader onto the target container.

2. The fully automatic port container grabbing and releasing method according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The step S500 specifically includes: Step S501, image recognition of the corner fittings / lock holes on the four corners of the target container, and calculation of the plane coordinates of the center points of the four corner fittings / lock holes; Step S502, determining the plane coordinates of the center point and the heading angle of the target container according to the plane coordinates of the center points of the four corner pieces / lock holes; Step S503: the center point of the spreader is aligned with the center point of the target container, and the heading angles of the two are the same.

3. The fully automatic port container grabbing and releasing operation method according to claim 2 is characterized in that: In the step S503, the heading angle of the sling is measured by an inertial measurement unit (IMU) device installed on the sling.

4. The fully automatic port container grabbing and releasing operation method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: Before step S100, the method further includes: The laser radar scans the containers in the yard from two directions, integrates the camera and encoder on the trolley, estimates the posture of the spreader and reconstructs the 3D yard through the SLAM algorithm, and combines the TOS command to accurately obtain the position of the target container.

5. The fully automatic port container grabbing and releasing operation method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: Before step S100, the method further includes: Based on the images taken by the camera installed on the side of the gantry crane, the vehicle features of the unmanned container truck are identified and the movement of the unmanned container truck is monitored.

6. The fully automatic port container grabbing and releasing operation method according to claim 5 is characterized in that: The vehicle characteristics of the unmanned container truck include the vehicle head, the load and type, the trailer, and whether the load has a rotary lock.

7. The fully automatic port container grabbing and releasing operation method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: A positioning module is installed on the crane trolley.

8. The fully automatic port container grabbing and releasing operation method according to claim 7 is characterized in that: The positioning module is a Beidou antenna and / or an inertial navigation.

9. The fully automatic port container grabbing and releasing operation method according to claim 2, characterized in that: Before step S501, the method further includes: The height of the spreader is detected in real time by a laser scanning sensor and the three-dimensional point cloud data formed by real-time scanning of a laser radar, and the relative spatial position of the spreader and the container in the envelope space of the travel route is detected in real time to determine the appropriate safe height of the spreader; When the spreader is lowered to a preset distance from the top surface of the target container, a corner piece / keyhole image recognition program of the target container is started.

10. The fully automatic port container grabbing and releasing operation method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The preset spacing is 20 cm, 50 cm or 100 cm.

11. The fully automatic port container grabbing and releasing operation method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 or 9 or 10, characterized in that: The operation conditions in step S200 include the operation scene, container sorting / in / out in the yard, and the target container number of the operation.

12. The fully automatic port container grabbing and releasing operation method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 or 9 or 10, characterized in that: In step S100, it also includes: The onboard visual fusion system of the container truck can accurately detect lane lines and obstacles. At the same time, the positioning, prediction, planning and control PnC functions of the autonomous driving system can be used to realize the autonomous driving of unmanned container trucks in the port park. The horizontal position of the internal and external container trucks is detected through 3D LiDAR, ensuring that each 3D LiDAR data scan detects the position of the container truck head.

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