Control method and medium suitable for loading and unloading of automatic container wharf oil tank

Abstract

The invention provides a control method suitable for loading and unloading of an automatic container wharf oil tank. The control method comprises the steps that an oil tank operation task is generated and conveyed; an oil tank carrying task is generated and conveyed according to the oil tank operation task, and a plurality of IGVs corresponding to the oil tank carrying task are scheduled; controlling a quay crane lifting appliance to lift the transportation box body on the ship to a visual recognition range of a quay crane OCR (Optical Character Recognition); matching the visual identification result of the quay crane OCR with the information condition, judging whether the transportation box body lifted by the quay crane lifting appliance is an oil tank or not, if so, executing the next step, and if not, executing the ship unloading task of the quay crane to the container type container; the quay crane lifting appliance lifts the lifted oil tank to the rear of the quay crane, and then lock pin dismounting and mounting operation is carried out on the oil tank; and the quay crane lifting appliance places the oil tank on which the lock pin is disassembled and assembled on a specified IGV (Intensity Guided Vehicle) which is arranged below the quay crane and is provided with an oil tank support frame. The invention further provides a system and a medium applying the method. The wharf operation efficiency is improved, and the risk of loading, unloading and transporting the oil tank is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of automatic loading and unloading control of oil tanks at automated container terminals, and in particular to a control method and medium suitable for loading and unloading oil tanks at automated container terminals. Background Art

[0002] Although automated terminals have achieved efficient loading, unloading, handling and storage of containers, reduced labor costs, improved operating efficiency and port competitiveness, and have become a highly respected solution in the field of modern logistics, in currently operating automated terminals, the unloading or loading of oil tank containers often still relies on traditional operating methods, from front-line loading and unloading to horizontal transportation and then to yard loading and unloading, all links are manually controlled;

[0003] When the terminal central control personnel initiates an oil tank operation application and designates a manual container truck to replace the oil tank support frame, after the switch is completed, the container truck driver is notified manually or through the terminal to go to the quay crane or yard machinery for the operation. After receiving the operation instruction for the oil tank, the quay crane driver determines whether the lifted container is to be placed in an ordinary container truck or a container truck equipped with an oil tank support frame. All links are manually communicated or operated, which will result in the following technical defects: First: It is difficult for the central control personnel to determine the overall oil tank operation needs. They can only instruct manual container trucks to replace the oil tank support frame according to the needs of a single bridge or a single ship. There is a risk of wasting port operation resources due to switching back and forth control methods; Second: There are shirking and delays in execution by the container truck driver. After all, the container truck driver is settled by piecework, and switching back and forth due to the control method is bound to cause operation delays. The problem of reduced volume; third: when loading, unloading or transporting oil tanks (TK boxes), there is a risk of manually placing the oil tanks on container trucks with ordinary brackets, which may cause the oil tanks to roll over during transportation due to the lack of support points on both sides; fourth: when the automated terminal operates on the oil tanks, there is a conflict between the manual container trucks and automation in the operation area. If the automated operation is not stopped, there will be a certain risk of collision. If the automated operation is stopped, the continuity of the automated operation will be affected; fifth, if manual container trucks are used to enter the automated operation area for transportation, this will not only destroy the continuity of the automated operation, but also bring a series of adverse effects: on the one hand, the entry of manual container trucks into the automated area may pose a threat to the operation and safety of unmanned vehicles; on the other hand, the automated container terminal needs to be equipped with additional traditional container trucks and drivers, which increases operating costs;

[0004] Among the existing patents for port oil tanks and their operation and transportation, for example, the Chinese patent document with publication number CN221395199U discloses a leak-proof aluminum alloy oil tank, and its disclosure content mainly focuses on the structure, materials, safety and other aspects of the oil tank; the Chinese patent document with publication number CN115860162A discloses an intelligent scheduling method, device and readable medium for operating trailers, and its disclosure content mainly focuses on real-time matching of operating tasks and trailers, but neither discloses how to solve the scheduling method of oil tank loading and unloading operations and horizontal transportation of automated terminals;

[0005] Based on the above-mentioned existing technologies, it is difficult to meet the efficient scheduling requirements of oil tank container loading and unloading operations and horizontal transportation in automated terminals. Therefore, existing automated terminals, especially automated container terminals, are in urgent need of a control method for efficiently, safely and reliably loading and unloading oil tank containers. Summary of the invention

[0006] In view of this, it is necessary to propose a control method and medium suitable for automated container terminal oil tank loading and unloading in order to overcome the shortcomings of the above-mentioned background technology and solve the following technical problems:

[0007] How to improve the operating efficiency of automated container terminals and reduce the risks of loading and unloading tank containers by coordinating IGV scheduling, tank container loading and unloading, and IGV disassembly and locking processes.

[0008] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0009] The present invention proposes a control method for loading and unloading oil tanks at an automated container terminal, which is applied to an automated container terminal. The automated container terminal includes a quay crane, a quay crane OCR and multiple IGVs. A disassembly and assembly lock pin operation area is provided behind the quay crane. The control method includes the following steps:

[0010] Step S1, generating and transmitting an oil tank operation task;

[0011] Step S2, generating and transmitting an oil tank container transport task according to the oil tank container operation task, dispatching a designated IGV corresponding to the oil tank container transport task to load the oil tank container support frame and then go to the quay crane;

[0012] Step S3, controlling the quay crane hoist to lift the designated transport box on the ship to the visual recognition range of the quay crane OCR;

[0013] Step S4, matching the visual recognition result of the quay crane OCR with an information condition, and determining whether the transport box lifted by the quay crane hoist is an oil tank box, if it is determined to be yes, executing the next step, if it is determined to be no, executing the task of unloading the container by the quay crane;

[0014] Step S5, the quay crane hoist lifts the oil tank to the rear of the quay crane, and then performs a disassembly and assembly of the locking pins on the oil tank;

[0015] Step S6: the quay crane hoist places the oil tank box on which the locking pin disassembly and assembly operation has been performed on a designated IGV under the quay crane on which the oil tank box support frame is placed.

[0016] Furthermore, step S2 includes the following sub-steps:

[0017] Step S21, obtaining the operation parameters of the oil tank; the operation parameters of the oil tank are used to configure the requirements of the oil tank to be unloaded;

[0018] Step S22, obtaining the quantity requirement of IGVs for transporting oil tank containers, the operation sequence of IGVs for transporting oil tank containers, and generating an IGV conversion task;

[0019] Step S23, the designated IGV for carrying the oil tank box performs the IGV conversion task, so that the designated IGV for carrying the oil tank box is installed with the oil tank box support frame;

[0020] Step S24, the designated IGV equipped with the oil tank box support frame is controlled to go to the designated position of the quay crane to be loaded with the oil tank box according to the IGV operation sequence for carrying the oil tank box.

[0021] Furthermore, in step S23, the designated IGV for carrying the oil tank box and the lifting equipment for lifting the oil tank box support frame jointly perform the IGV conversion task.

[0022] Furthermore, the lifting equipment is located on a rail crane in the yard; in step S2 or step S3, when the designated IGV used to carry the oil tank container is performing the IGV conversion task, it travels under the designated rail crane in the yard, and the designated rail crane in the yard places the oil tank container support frame on the IGV.

[0023] Furthermore, when the designated IGV used to transport the oil tank container is placed on the oil tank container support frame by the designated yard rail crane, the IGV is a defined and marked TK-IGV; the TK-IGV obtains the operation task of the oil tank container, and when matching the task, it dispatches the oil tank containers that need to be operated within the decision cycle according to the order of each task of the quay crane loading and unloading operation.

[0024] Furthermore, between step S2 and step S3, the following steps are also included:

[0025] In step S203, if the quay crane is performing a liner unloading task, it is determined whether the designated transport box located on the ship at that position in the ship loading diagram is an oil tank box according to the position of the container grabbed by the quay crane hoist. If it is determined to be yes, step S3 is executed. If it is determined to be no, the quay crane performs the unloading task of the container-type container. In step S203, if the quay crane is performing a barge unloading task, it is determined whether the designated transport box located on the ship is an oil tank box according to the order of the operation boxes in the unloading queue. The quay crane in step S203 is the quay crane that receives the oil tank operation task.

[0026] Furthermore, between step S4 and step S5, the following steps are also included:

[0027] Step S45, matches the visual recognition result of the quay crane OCR with another information condition, and determines whether the box matching information of the transport box lifted by the quay crane hoist meets the requirements. If it is judged to be yes, execute step S5; if it is judged to be no, transfer to manual confirmation: when it is manually confirmed that the box matching information meets the requirements, execute step S5; if it is manually confirmed that the box matching information does not meet the requirements, execute an opening and closing verification process and replace the specified IGV.

[0028] Furthermore, the box matching information includes the box number, ISO information and hazardous label information of the oil tank box.

[0029] The present invention further proposes a control system suitable for the loading and unloading of oil tank containers at an automated container terminal, characterized in that it includes a terminal operating system TOS, a quay crane management system, an IGV scheduling system and an OCR visual recognition system, and the control method suitable for the loading and unloading of oil tank containers at an automated container terminal as described in any of the above items is executed through the terminal operating system TOS, the quay crane management system, the IGV scheduling system and the OCR visual recognition system.

[0030] The present invention further proposes a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, characterized in that when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the control method applicable to the automated container terminal oil tank loading and unloading as described in any of the above items are implemented.

[0031] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0032] The present invention improves the operating efficiency of the automated container terminal and reduces the risk of loading and unloading the oil tank containers by coordinating the IGV scheduling, oil tank container loading and unloading, and IGV disassembly and locking pin processes; the present invention overcomes the shortcoming that a few control links in the automated container terminal cannot be replaced by automation for manual operations, realizes the safe transportation of oil tank containers in the automated container terminal, and greatly improves the resource utilization rate of port operations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present invention, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The accompanying drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, are used to explain the principles of the present invention. These drawings are for illustration only and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0034] Figure 1 It is a work flow chart of the control method applicable to the automatic container terminal oil tank loading and unloading of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 2 A side view of an IGV according to the present invention that loads an oil tank through an oil tank support frame;

[0036] Figure 3 The present invention is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of an oil tank box supported by an oil tank box support frame. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the present invention will be further clearly and completely described in combination with the embodiments of the present invention. It should be noted that the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0038] The terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth", etc. are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the definition of "first", "second", "third", "fourth" features may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features.

[0039] The following is a detailed description of an embodiment of the invention depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are detailed in order to clearly convey the invention. However, the number of details provided is not intended to limit the intended variations of the embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0040] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details.

[0041] Embodiments of the present invention include various steps, which are described below. These steps can be performed by hardware components, or can be contained in machine executable instructions, which can be used for general or special purpose processors programmed with instructions to perform these steps. Alternatively, the steps can be performed by a combination of hardware, software and firmware and / or a human operator.

[0042] The various methods described herein can be practiced by combining one or more machine-readable storage media containing codes according to the present invention with appropriate standard computer hardware to execute the codes contained therein. Apparatus for implementing various embodiments of the present invention may include one or more computers (or one or more processors within a single computer) and a storage system containing or having network access to computer programs encoded according to the various methods described herein, and the method steps of the present invention may be completed by modules, routines, subroutines or sub-parts of a computer program product.

[0043] If the specification states that a component or feature "may," "could," "might," or "might" include or have a feature, that particular component or feature is not required to be included or have that feature.

[0044] As used in the specification herein and the claims that follow, the meanings of “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0045] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments are shown. These exemplary embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only, and so that the present invention is thorough and complete, and the scope of the present invention is fully conveyed to those of ordinary skill in the art. However, the disclosed invention can be implemented in many different forms and should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Various modifications are apparent to those skilled in the art. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, the general principles defined herein can be applied to other embodiments and applications. In addition, all statements of the embodiments of the present invention and their specific examples described herein are intended to cover their structural and functional equivalents. In addition, these equivalents are intended to include currently known equivalents and equivalents developed in the future (i.e., any element developed to perform the same function, regardless of the structure). Moreover, the terms and wording used are for the purpose of describing exemplary embodiments and should not be considered restrictive. Therefore, the present invention will be given the widest scope, including multiple replacements, modifications and equivalents consistent with the disclosed principles and features. For the sake of clarity, the details of the technical materials known in the technical field related to the present invention are not described in detail, so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention.

[0046] Therefore, for example, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that schematic diagrams, schematic diagrams, diagrams, etc. represent conceptual views or processes that embody the systems and methods of the present invention. The functions of the various elements shown in the figures can be provided by using dedicated hardware and hardware capable of executing related software. Similarly, any switches shown in the figures are only conceptual. Their functions can be performed by the operation of program logic, by dedicated logic, by the interaction of program control and dedicated logic, or even manually, and specific techniques can be selected by the entity that implements the present invention. It will be further understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the exemplary hardware, software, processes, methods and / or operating systems described herein are for illustrative purposes and are therefore not intended to be limited to any specific named elements.

[0047] Embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a computer program product, which may include a machine-readable storage medium on which instructions are tangibly implemented, which may be used to program a computer (or other electronic device) to perform a process. The term "machine-readable storage medium" or "computer-readable storage medium" includes, but is not limited to, fixed (hardware) drives, tapes, floppy disks, optical disks, optical disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs)) and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories such as ROMs, PROMs, random access memories (RAMs), programmable read-only memories (PROMs), erasable PROMs (EPROMs), electrically erasable PROMs (EEPROMs), flash memory, magnetic or optical cards, or other types of media / machine-readable media suitable for storing electronic instructions (e.g., computer programming code, such as software or firmware). Machine-readable media may include non-transitory media in which data may be stored and does not include carrier waves and / or transient electronic signals propagated by wireless or wired connections. Examples of non-transitory media may include, but are not limited to, disks or tapes, optical storage media such as compact disks (CDs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs), flash memory, memory or memory devices. A computer program product may include code and / or machine executable instructions, which may represent any combination of a process, function, subprogram, program, routine, subroutine, module, software package, class, or instruction, data structure, or program statement. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and / or receiving information, data, variables, parameters, or memory contents. Information, variables, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted by any suitable means, including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

[0048] In addition, the embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the program code or code segments (e.g., computer program products) that perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a machine-readable medium. A processor may perform the necessary tasks.

[0049] The systems depicted in some of the figures may be provided in various configurations. In some embodiments, the system may be configured as a distributed system, where one or more components of the system are distributed over one or more networks in a cloud computing system.

[0050] Each of the appended claims defines a separate invention, which for infringement purposes is recognized as including equivalents to the various elements or limitations specified in the claims. Depending on the context, all references below to the "invention" may in some cases refer only to certain specific embodiments. In other cases, it should be recognized that references to the "invention" will refer to the subject matter recited in one or more, but not necessarily all, of the claims.

[0051] Unless otherwise specified herein or the context is clearly contradictory, all methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order. The use of any and all examples or exemplary language (e.g., "such as") provided with respect to certain embodiments herein is intended only to better illustrate the present invention, rather than to limit the scope of the claimed invention. Any language in the specification should not be interpreted as indicating any unclaimed element essential to the implementation of the present invention.

[0052] Various terms used herein are listed below. To the extent a term used in a claim is not defined below, it should be given the broadest definition persons in the relevant art have given that term as reflected in printed publications and issued patents at the time of filing the application.

[0053] Example 1

[0054] like Figure 1-Figure 3 As shown:

[0055] The present invention proposes a control method for loading and unloading oil tanks at an automated container terminal, which is applied to an automated container terminal. The automated container terminal includes a quay crane, a quay crane OCR and multiple IGVs. A disassembly and assembly lock pin operation area is provided behind the quay crane. The control method includes the following steps:

[0056] Step S1, generating and transmitting an oil tank operation task;

[0057] Step S2, generating and transmitting an oil tank container transport task according to the oil tank container operation task, dispatching a number of designated IGVs corresponding to the oil tank container transport task to load the oil tank container support frame and then proceed to the quay crane;

[0058] Step S3, controlling the quay crane hoist to lift the designated transport box on the ship to the visual recognition range of the quay crane OCR;

[0059] Step S4, matching the visual recognition result of the quay crane OCR with an information condition, and determining whether the transport box lifted by the quay crane hoist is an oil tank box, if it is determined to be yes, executing the next step, if it is determined to be no, executing the task of unloading the container by the quay crane;

[0060] Step S5, the quay crane hoist lifts the oil tank to the rear of the quay crane, and then performs a disassembly and assembly of the locking pins on the oil tank;

[0061] Step S6: the quay crane hoist places the oil tank box on which the locking pin disassembly and assembly operation has been performed on a designated IGV under the quay crane on which the oil tank box support frame is placed.

[0062] Specifically, oil tanks and container-type containers are both transport boxes, wherein the container-type container is a container in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, and the container-type container can be a 20-foot container or a 40-foot container, etc.

[0063] This embodiment also sets the loading and unloading requirements of the oil tank box operation according to the operation requirements and from a global perspective, and automatically matches the number requirement of the IGVs that need to be placed on the oil tank box support frame, reducing the risk of affecting resource allocation due to insufficient or excessive dispatch.

[0064] Example 2

[0065] Embodiment 2 is a further optimized design of Embodiment 1;

[0066] like Figure 1-Figure 3 As shown:

[0067] Step S2 includes the following sub-steps:

[0068] Step S21, obtaining the operation parameters of the oil tank; the operation parameters of the oil tank are used to configure the requirements of the oil tank to be unloaded;

[0069] Step S22, obtaining the quantity requirement of IGVs for transporting oil tank containers, the operation sequence of IGVs for transporting oil tank containers, and generating an IGV conversion task;

[0070] Step S23, the designated IGV for carrying the oil tank box performs the IGV conversion task, so that the designated IGV for carrying the oil tank box is installed with the oil tank box support frame;

[0071] Step S24, the designated IGV equipped with the oil tank box support frame is controlled to go to the designated position of the quay crane to be loaded with the oil tank box according to the IGV operation sequence for carrying the oil tank box.

[0072] Further optimized, in step S23, the designated IGV for carrying the oil tank box and the lifting equipment for lifting the oil tank box support frame jointly perform the IGV conversion task.

[0073] Further optimized, the lifting equipment is located on the yard rail crane; in step S2 or step S3, when the designated IGV used to carry the oil tank container is performing the IGV conversion task, it drives to the designated yard rail crane, and the designated yard rail crane places the oil tank container support frame on the IGV.

[0074] For further optimization, when the designated IGV used to transport the oil tank container is placed on the oil tank container support frame by the designated yard rail crane, the IGV is a defined and marked TK-IGV; the TK-IGV obtains the operation task of the oil tank container, and when matching the task, it dispatches the oil tank containers that need to be operated within the decision-making cycle according to the order of each task of the quay crane loading and unloading operation.

[0075] Example 3

[0076] Embodiment 3 is a further optimized design of Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 2;

[0077] like Figure 1-Figure 3 As shown:

[0078] Between step S2 and step S3, the method further includes:

[0079] In step S203, if the quay crane is performing a liner unloading task, it is determined whether the designated transport box located on the ship at that position in the ship loading diagram is an oil tank box according to the position of the container grabbed by the quay crane hoist. If it is determined to be yes, step S3 is executed. If it is determined to be no, the quay crane performs the unloading task of the container-type container. In step S203, if the quay crane is performing a barge unloading task, it is determined whether the designated transport box located on the ship is an oil tank box according to the order of the operation boxes in the unloading queue. The quay crane in step S203 is the quay crane that receives the oil tank operation task.

[0080] Example 4

[0081] Embodiment 4 is a further optimized design of Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 2 or Embodiment 3;

[0082] like Figure 1-Figure 3 As shown:

[0083] Between step S4 and step S5, the method further includes:

[0084] Step S45, matches the visual recognition result of the quay crane OCR with another information condition, and determines whether the box matching information of the transport box lifted by the quay crane hoist meets the requirements. If it is judged to be yes, execute step S5; if it is judged to be no, transfer to manual confirmation: when it is manually confirmed that the box matching information meets the requirements, execute step S5; if it is manually confirmed that the box matching information does not meet the requirements, execute an opening and closing verification process and replace the specified IGV.

[0085] Further optimized, the box matching information includes the box number, ISO information and hazardous label information of the oil tank box.

[0086] Example 5

[0087] This embodiment 5 is a further optimization of embodiment 1;

[0088] The specific implementation process of the control method of Example 1 is as follows:

[0089] Step S1 specifically includes: sending a TK box operation task;

[0090] Step S2 specifically includes: after obtaining the job task through scheduling, executing the TK-IGV scheduling process;

[0091] Step S3 is as follows: the quay crane receives the TK container operation task, and the spreader grabs the container and enters the OCR recognition range;

[0092] Step S4 specifically includes: matching information with the system to determine whether it is a TK box?

[0093] Step S5 specifically includes: executing the process of disassembling and assembling the lock pin at the rear of the quay crane;

[0094] Step S6 specifically includes: the quay crane places the TK box on the TK-IGV.

[0095] Furthermore, the TK-IGV scheduling process described in step S2 includes the following four steps: step ①, scheduling to obtain the ship TK box operation parameters; step ②, scheduling to calculate the TK-IGV quantity requirements, operation sequence, and generate IGV conversion tasks; step ③, mechanically executing the IGV conversion task; step ④, TK-IGV obtains the TK box operation task according to the operation sequence.

[0096] Furthermore, the ship TK box operation parameters are mainly used to configure the demand for unloading TK boxes. Since the loading TK boxes are already present, they are determined operations and do not require special configuration. The unloading TK box operation parameter configuration mainly includes the ship TK box configuration and the quay crane TK box configuration. The ship TK box configuration is mainly for liner unloading operations, and the quay crane TK box configuration is mainly for barge unloading operations (liner refers to a ship that sails regularly at a certain port of call, and a barge refers to a motor barge, a small boat used to connect liner cargo). The ship TK box operation parameters are mainly configured on the ship loading diagram, and TK box marks are made at specific positions on the ship loading diagram. Since the barge does not have a ship loading diagram, it is impossible to mark the loading position of the barge. Therefore, the barge's TK box operation parameters are mainly configured under the quay crane operating the barge. The configuration parameters include the expected number of TK-IGVs and the TK-IGV interval time. The expected number of TK-IGVs indicates the upper limit of the number of vehicles to be dispatched, and the TK-IGV interval time indicates the time interval for dispatching each TK-IGV.

[0097] Furthermore, when a quay crane is performing liner unloading operations, the TK box mark in the ship loading diagram is read. If the TK box operation parameters also exist in the quay crane configuration at this time, the scheduling will not respond to the relevant logic; if a quay crane is performing barge unloading operations, the TK box operation parameters in the quay crane configuration are read. If the parameter is initialized to 0, it is not needed.

[0098] Furthermore, since switching from IGV to TK-IGV requires equipment resources and time, it is impossible for the scheduling to immediately trigger the IGV switching task when there is a TK box operation task. Instead, it is necessary to calculate the total number of TK box loading and unloading operations within a certain decision-making cycle. The total number of TK box operations includes the current unloading configuration TK box operation parameters and the sent loading TK boxes. The number of TK-IGVs required is decided based on the calculated number of TK boxes to be operated. At the same time, the TK box operation requirements within the decision cycle are sorted according to the conditions of each operation line.

[0099] Furthermore, the machine executes the IGV switching task. After the dispatcher generates the switching task, it sends it to the yard machine. After receiving the task, the yard machine executes the IGV switching task and places the special flat plate on the ordinary IGV. After placement, the system automatically marks it as TK-IGV.

[0100] Furthermore, the TK-IGV root obtains the operation task of the TK box. When matching the task, the dispatcher will dispatch the TK boxes that need to be operated within the decision cycle according to the order of each task of the quay crane loading and unloading operation. In addition, when the quay crane is unloading the barge, the number of TK-IGVs dispatched shall not be greater than the expected number of TK-IGVs.

[0101] Furthermore, in step S3, the quay crane receives a TK box operation task. For example, when the quay crane performs a liner unloading task, the system will determine whether the position in the ship loading diagram is a TK box based on the position of the box grabbed by the quay crane hoist. When the quay crane performs a barge unloading task, the system will determine whether it is a TK box based on the order of the operation boxes in the TOS unloading queue.

[0102] Furthermore, the identified OCR information described in step S4 and step S5 is matched with the system, and the matching information mainly includes the container number, ISO, and hazardous label information. If the match is correct, the process of disassembling and assembling the lock pin at the rear of the quay crane is started normally; if the match is incorrect, it is turned to manual confirmation. When the confirmation is incorrect, the opening and closing lock verification and vehicle change are enabled.

[0103] Example 6

[0104] Embodiment 6 is an optimized design scheme of Embodiment 2;

[0105] The TK box described in this embodiment is an oil tank box, the ship TK box is an oil tank box on a ship, the TK-IGV is an IGV placed on the oil tank box support frame, the TK box mark is a mark defined by the TK-IGV, the ship TK box is an oil tank box located on a ship, and the quay crane TK box is an oil tank box hoisted by the quay crane;

[0106] In step S1, the operation parameters of the TK container are configured. The configuration of the TK container operation parameters mainly includes the configuration of the TK container on the ship and the configuration of the TK container on the quay crane. The configuration of the TK container on the ship is mainly for liner operations, and the configuration of the TK container on the quay crane is mainly for barge operations. The operation parameters of the TK container on the ship are mainly configured on the ship loading plan, and TK container marks are made at specific positions on the ship loading plan. Since the barge does not have a ship loading plan and cannot be marked at the loading position of the barge, the operation parameters of the TK container on the barge are mainly configured under the quay crane operating the barge. The configured parameters include the expected number of TK-IGVs and the interval time of TK-IGVs.

[0107] Further, when a quay crane is performing liner operations, it checks whether there is a TK container mark at the position in the read ship loading plan. If there are also TK container operation parameters in the configuration of this quay crane at this time, the dispatching will not respond to the relevant logic; when a quay crane is performing barge operations, it reads the TK container operation parameters in the quay crane configuration.

[0108] Further, the expected number of TK-IGVs and the interval time of TK-IGVs are specifically as follows: The expected number of TKIGVs includes the empty trucks dispatched and the heavy trucks with containers unloaded from the ship. Until the container leaves the TKIGV, it is considered that the number of TKIGVs on this operation line is reduced by 1; the expected number of TK-IGVs is initialized to 0, that is, there is no demand. When the modified value >= 1, it takes effect immediately. This quay crane generates a TK-IGV demand and records the demand time. The TK-IGV demand quantity = the expected quantity of TK-IGVs; and during the operation, it regularly checks whether there is a new TK-IGV demand. Once the number of TK-IGVs on this quay crane operation line < the expected number of TK-IGVs, a TK-IGV demand and the demand time are generated; the TK-IGV interval time is to avoid the single quay crane operation line from scrambling for TK-IGV resources and to enable each demand operation line to obtain TK-IGVs evenly.

[0109] Further, the expected number of TK-IGVs and the interval time of TK-IGVs are configured according to the following formula:

[0110] IF(Tar_Eff >= Cur_Eff), Count = {1 - (Cur_Eff - Tar_Eff) / Tar_Eff} * Z * X / Y, Int_time = PCT(TK) * 1 / Tar_Eff * 60 (minutes);

[0111] IF(TarEff < Cur_Eff), Count = {1 + (Tar_Eff - Cur_Eff) / Cur_Eff} * Z * X / Y, Int_time = PCT(TK) * 1 / M_Eff * 60 (minutes);

[0112] Among them, the target efficiency of the operation line is Tar_Eff, the current efficiency of the operation line is Cur_Eff, the limit efficiency of the quay crane is M_Eff, X is the number of TK boxes of the quay crane operation line, Y is the number of TK boxes of all operation lines, Z is the number of TK-IGVs that have been switched, and PCT(TK) is the proportion of TK boxes of the barge, that is, the number of TK boxes unloaded / the total number of unloaded.

[0113] Example 7

[0114] Embodiment 7 is an optimized design scheme of Embodiment 2;

[0115] The TK box described in this embodiment is an oil tank box, the ship TK box is an oil tank box on a ship, the TK-IGV is an IGV placed on the oil tank box support frame, the TK box mark is a mark defined by the TK-IGV, the ship TK box is an oil tank box located on a ship, and the quay crane TK box is an oil tank box hoisted by the quay crane;

[0116] According to the total number of current TK box operations, the number of TK-IGVs required is calculated and the TK box operation requirements within the decision range are sorted. It is impossible for the scheduling to immediately trigger the IGV switching task when there is a TK box operation task. Instead, it is necessary to calculate the total number of TK box operations within a certain decision cycle (indicated by Dc_time, generally set to 30 minutes). According to the calculated number of TK boxes to be operated, the number of TK-IGVs required is used to decide, and the TK box operation requirements are sorted by a certain method. It is specifically executed as follows:

[0117] Method 1: First, extract the operation type of each quay crane and the relevant TK box configuration parameters. If the quay crane operation is loading, extract the number of TK boxes within a certain range of the loading instructions sent by the quay crane, and the extracted serial number range is 1-M_Eff / 60*Dc_time; if the quay crane operation is unloading, determine whether it is liner unloading or barge unloading. When the liner is unloading, extract the number of TK boxes that have been sent and marked within a certain range under the quay crane. The extracted serial number range is consistent with the quay crane loading. When the barge is unloading, extract the expected TK-IGV number and interval duration. The specific number is Count*Dc_time / Int_time;

[0118] Method 2, the second is to calculate the number of TK-IGVs required based on the total number of TK box operations within the decision cycle, as follows:

[0119] TK-IGV demand = Num(TK) / (Dc_time / Avg_Loop(TK-IGV))

[0120] Where NUM(TK) is the demand for all TK box operations, Dc_time is the decision time, and Avg_Loop(TK-IGV) is the average loop time of TK-IGV;

[0121] Method 3: Finally, sort all TK requirements into jobs in the following order:

[0122] ① Those with manual annotations are prioritized first;

[0123] ② Sort the operation numbers of TK containers for loading, with smaller numbers in the first place. For the same numbers, sort them by target efficiency, with higher efficiency in the first place.

[0124] ③ Sort the operation numbers of liner unloading TK containers, with smaller numbers in the first place, and the same numbers are sorted by target efficiency, with the most efficient one in the front;

[0125] ④ Barge unloading is sorted according to the specific number of operation lines. If the number is the same, it is sorted according to the target efficiency, with the most efficient ones placed in front.

[0126] Example 8

[0127] Embodiment 8 is a further optimized design of Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 4;

[0128] In this embodiment, when unloading, the container with the lock cannot be directly placed on the TK-IGV, or when loading, the container cannot be directly locked on the TK-IGV, so it is necessary to set the TK-IGV's post-bridge lock removal process. When the quay crane receives the TK container unloading task, the quay crane hoist automatically runs to the ship's side, and the quay crane driver manually intervenes to grab the container on the ship's side. After grabbing the container, the quay crane hoist automatically runs to the rear bridge position, and the operator under the bridge removes the lock of the TK container. After the operator completes the unlocking, he notifies the driver. After receiving the notification, the driver presses the lock confirmation button on the terminal. After confirmation, the quay crane will select a suitable TK-IGV for operation, and the quay crane hoist automatically places the TK container on the TK-IGV; the loading process is the opposite. After grabbing the container on the IGV, the hoist first goes to the rear bridge position, and can go to the ship to test and release the container only after the locking is completed;

[0129] In step S6, when the quay crane unloads the ship, it will select a suitable TK-IGV for operation. Since there are multiple operation lanes at the bottom of the quay crane, there will be multiple IGVs of different types waiting for operation at the bottom of the bridge at the same time. When the quay crane is operating ordinary boxes, the quay crane will give priority to ordinary IGVs. In the absence of IGVs, TK-IGVs will also be selected for operation. Before selection, the TK box bridge will be first connected and then the lock will be removed. Since the time for vehicles to arrive at the operation lane is different, in order to avoid long waiting times for vehicles, a time threshold will be set (generally set to 10 minutes). Vehicles exceeding the threshold will be selected first. When all vehicles are within or outside the threshold, the nearest vehicle will be selected first. When the quay crane is operating TK boxes, the quay crane will select TK-IGV for operation and will not select ordinary TK boxes for operation.

[0130] Furthermore, due to incorrect information matching during the operation, in order to prevent safety accidents caused by IGV carrying boxes incorrectly, the opening and closing lock verification will be enabled at all times during the operation. The verification information mainly includes "container number", "ISO number", "hazardous goods label", etc. Among them, the container number verification includes container number recognition abnormality, container number no information, container number is a hazardous material, and the ISO number verification includes ISO recognition abnormality and TK container recognition; for TK container operations, if the IGV is locked, the opening and closing lock verification will not pass, the hoist is not allowed to be unlocked on the IGV, and the hoist is lifted and waits for the TK-IGV.

[0131] Example 9

[0132] The present invention further proposes a control system suitable for the loading and unloading of oil tank containers at an automated container terminal, characterized in that it includes a terminal operating system TOS, a quay crane management system, an IGV scheduling system and an OCR visual recognition system, and the terminal operating system TOS, the quay crane management system, the IGV scheduling system and the OCR visual recognition system execute the control method suitable for the loading and unloading of oil tank containers at an automated container terminal as described in any of the technical solutions in Examples 1 to 8 above.

[0133] Example 10

[0134] The present invention further proposes a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and is characterized in that: when the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the steps of the control method applicable to the loading and unloading of oil tanks at automated container terminals as described in any of the technical solutions in Examples 1 to 8 above.

[0135] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present invention, and the description thereof is relatively specific and detailed, but it cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the patent of the present invention. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this field, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, which all belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A control method for loading and unloading oil tanks at an automated container terminal, which is applied to an automated container terminal. The automated container terminal includes a quay crane, a quay crane OCR and multiple IGVs. A disassembly and assembly lock pin operation area is provided behind the quay crane, which is characterized in that: The control method comprises the following steps: Step S1, generating and transmitting an oil tank operation task; Step S2, generating and transmitting an oil tank container transport task according to the oil tank container operation task, dispatching a number of designated IGVs corresponding to the oil tank container transport task to load the oil tank container support frame and then proceed to the quay crane; Step S3, controlling the quay crane hoist to lift the designated transport box on the ship to the visual recognition range of the quay crane OCR; Step S4, matching the visual recognition result of the quay crane OCR with an information condition, and determining whether the transport box lifted by the quay crane hoist is an oil tank box, if it is determined to be yes, executing the next step, if it is determined to be no, executing the task of unloading the container by the quay crane; Step S5, the quay crane hoist lifts the oil tank to the rear of the quay crane, and then performs a disassembly and assembly of the locking pins on the oil tank; Step S6: the quay crane hoist places the oil tank box on which the locking pin disassembly and assembly operation has been performed on a designated IGV under the quay crane on which the oil tank box support frame is placed.

2. The control method for loading and unloading oil tanks at automated container terminals according to claim 1, characterized in that: Step S2 includes the following sub-steps: Step S21, obtaining the operation parameters of the oil tank; the operation parameters of the oil tank are used to configure the requirements of the oil tank to be unloaded; Step S22, obtaining the quantity requirement of IGVs for transporting oil tank containers, the operation sequence of IGVs for transporting oil tank containers, and generating an IGV conversion task; Step S23, the designated IGV for carrying the oil tank box performs the IGV conversion task, so that the designated IGV for carrying the oil tank box is installed with the oil tank box support frame; Step S24, the designated IGV equipped with the oil tank box support frame is controlled to go to the designated position of the quay crane to be loaded with the oil tank box according to the IGV operation sequence for carrying the oil tank box.

3. The control method for loading and unloading oil tanks at automated container terminals according to claim 2, characterized in that: In step S23 , the designated IGV for carrying the oil tank and the lifting equipment for lifting the oil tank support frame jointly perform the IGV conversion task.

4. The control method for loading and unloading oil tanks at automated container terminals according to claim 3, characterized in that: The lifting equipment is a rail crane located in the yard; in step S2 or step S3, when the designated IGV used to carry the oil tank container is performing the IGV conversion task, it drives under the designated rail crane in the yard, and the designated rail crane in the yard places the oil tank container support frame on the IGV.

5. The control method for loading and unloading oil tanks at automated container terminals according to claim 4, characterized in that: When the designated IGV used to transport the oil tank container is placed on the oil tank container support frame by the designated yard rail crane, the IGV is defined and marked as TK-IGV; TK-IGV obtains the operation task of the oil tank container and dispatches the oil tank containers that need to be operated within the decision cycle according to the order of each task of the quay crane loading and unloading operation when matching the task.

6. The control method for loading and unloading oil tanks at automated container terminals according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: Between step S2 and step S3, the method further includes: In step S203, if the quay crane is performing a liner unloading task, it is determined whether the designated transport box located on the ship at that position in the ship loading diagram is an oil tank box according to the position of the container grabbed by the quay crane hoist. If it is determined to be yes, step S3 is executed. If it is determined to be no, the quay crane performs the unloading task of the container-type container. In step S203, if the quay crane is performing a barge unloading task, it is determined whether the designated transport box located on the ship is an oil tank box according to the order of the operation boxes in the unloading queue. The quay crane in step S203 is the quay crane that receives the oil tank operation task.

7. The control method for loading and unloading oil tanks at automated container terminals according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: Between step S4 and step S5, the method further includes: Step S45, matches the visual recognition result of the quay crane OCR with another information condition, and determines whether the box matching information of the transport box lifted by the quay crane hoist meets the requirements. If it is judged to be yes, execute step S5; if it is judged to be no, transfer to manual confirmation: when it is manually confirmed that the box matching information meets the requirements, execute step S5; if it is manually confirmed that the box matching information does not meet the requirements, execute an opening and closing verification process and replace the specified IGV.

8. The control method for loading and unloading oil tanks at automated container terminals according to claim 7, characterized in that: The box matching information includes the box number, ISO information and hazardous label information of the oil tank box.

9. A control system suitable for automated container terminal oil tank loading and unloading, characterized in that: It comprises a terminal operating system TOS, a quay crane management system, an IGV scheduling system and an OCR visual recognition system, and the control method for loading and unloading oil tanks in an automated container terminal as described in any one of claims 1 to 8 is executed through the terminal operating system TOS, the quay crane management system, the IGV scheduling system and the OCR visual recognition system.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the control method applicable to the automatic loading and unloading of oil tanks at container terminals as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 are implemented.

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