Harbor loading apparatus charging system, and harbor loading apparatus charging method

Abstract

To provide a harbor loading apparatus charging system at a container terminal, that contributes to cost cut reduction of a harbor loading apparatus as well as suppression of storage battery deterioration.SOLUTION: According to a harbor loading apparatus charging system at a container terminal, that is constituted to execute a process comprising at least each of the following steps; the process comprises: an initial charging step of charging 40% or more and 60% or less of battery capacity of a storage battery installed in a harbor loading apparatus; a determination step of determining a travel distance required for one loading operation of the harbor loading apparatus; a calculation step of calculating a power amount which the harbor loading apparatus needs for traveling the travel distance; and an intermediate charging step of charging the storage battery only by an amount equivalent to the power amount.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a port cargo-handling equipment charging system and a port cargo-handling equipment charging method. [Background technology]

[0002] As efforts to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere become more active to prevent global warming, the Carbon Neutral Port (CNP) initiative has been launched in Japan, and efforts to reduce GHG emissions in port areas are being promoted. Container terminals located in port areas are being required to reduce the use of fossil fuels such as diesel fuel used in loading and unloading equipment for container loading and unloading.

[0003] Among major loading and unloading equipment, container cranes are being increasingly electrified. However, diesel engines that run on diesel fuel are still used for tractor heads, straddle carriers, top lifters, etc., which transport containers. For example, with regard to tractor heads, development of electric tractor heads is underway with the aim of decarbonizing the industry.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses an electric vehicle that can extend the driving range by efficiently cooling the battery and charger. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-170843 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, within a container terminal, for example, a tractor head will travel 300 km per day, and the total weight of the containers it transports and the chassis on which it carries the containers can reach a maximum of 60 tons. This means that the batteries installed in the tractor head must be large-capacity, which results in high vehicle prices.

[0007] Furthermore, in container terminals, tractor heads operate every day, so if they are equipped with storage batteries that meet the minimum conditions for use mentioned above, they must be fully charged every day. Generally, lithium-ion batteries, which are the most popular on-board storage batteries, are said to fall below 80% of their rated capacity after about 3,000 cycles of repeated full charging and discharging, so in order to continue operating the terminal in the same way as before, it will be necessary to replace the storage batteries sooner than the lifespan of the vehicle itself, which will further increase operating costs.

[0008] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a port loading and unloading equipment charging system in a container terminal, which contributes to reducing the cost of port loading and unloading equipment and suppressing deterioration of storage batteries. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] A first aspect of the present invention is a port cargo handling equipment charging system in a container terminal, configured to perform at least the following steps: In the initial charging step, the battery capacity of the storage battery installed in the port loading and unloading equipment is charged to between 40% and 60%. In the determination step, a travel distance required for one cargo handling operation of the port cargo handling equipment is determined; In the calculation step, an amount of electric power required for the port cargo handling equipment to travel the travel distance is calculated, In the intermediate charging step, the storage battery is charged only with the amount of power.

[0010] A second aspect of the present invention is a method for charging port cargo handling equipment in a container terminal, The method comprises at least the following steps: In the initial charging step, the battery capacity of the storage battery installed in the port loading and unloading equipment is charged to between 40% and 60%. In the determination step, a travel distance required for one cargo handling operation of the port cargo handling equipment is determined; In the calculation step, an amount of electric power required for the port cargo handling equipment to travel the travel distance is calculated, In the intermediate charging step, the storage battery is charged only with the amount of power.

[0011] According to the port loading / unloading equipment charging system and port loading / unloading equipment charging method of the present invention, the capacity of the storage batteries installed in the port loading / unloading equipment can be reduced, which leads to cost reduction, and since full charging and full discharging are not performed, deterioration of the storage batteries can be suppressed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] Overall view of Container Terminal 1 [Diagram 2] Detailed diagram of port loading and unloading equipment charging system 2 [Diagram 3] Flowchart according to the present embodiment DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Various features shown in the embodiments described below can be combined with each other.

[0014] 1 shows an overall view of a container terminal 1. The container terminal 1 mainly includes a gantry crane 3, a portal crane 4, an electric tractor head 5, a container 6, and a charging facility 7.

[0015] The gantry crane 3 is a device for loading and unloading containers 6 transported by a ship 10 (not shown) to land, or for loading and unloading containers 6 stored in the container terminal 1 onto the ship 10.

[0016] The gantry crane 4 is a device primarily used to store containers 6 at designated positions within the container terminal 1, or to load stored containers 6 onto a chassis 51 (not shown) towed by an electric tractor head 5.

[0017] The container 6 is a metal container for transporting cargo, and is mainly 20-foot or 40-foot in size. In the container terminal 1, the containers 6 are stored in designated storage areas separated by whether they are export containers, import containers, or export destinations.

[0018] The electric tractor head 5 is a vehicle that tows a chassis 51 on which a container 6 is loaded, and is equipped with a storage battery 52 (not shown) and is driven by operating a motor using electricity stored in the storage battery 52 as an energy source. Although six electric tractor heads 5 are shown in Fig. 1 at the container terminal 1, the number is optimized according to the scale of the container terminal.

[0019] The charging equipment 7 is primarily intended for charging the storage battery 52 mounted on the electric tractor head 5, but also targets other port loading and unloading equipment such as forklifts, top lifters, and straddle carriers. The charging equipment 7 employs a conductive system using a connector, which is used in general electric vehicles, but is not limited to this. Although the charging equipment 7 in the container terminal 1 in FIG. 1 is one set, multiple sets may be used.

[0020] An example of one loading and unloading operation performed at the container terminal 1 is shown below. When a ship 10 loaded with a container 6 arrives at a quay, a gantry crane 3 unloads the container 6 loaded on the ship 10 onto the land side. The unloaded container 6 is loaded onto a chassis 51 towed by an electric tractor head 5 waiting under the gantry crane 3. After the container 6 is loaded onto the chassis 51, the electric tractor head 5 transports the container 6 to a designated storage area. The container 6 is then stored in the storage area by a gantry crane 4 in the storage area. Note that the above-mentioned operation is merely an example, and there are also other patterns in which the above-mentioned process is reversed, and in which the container 6 is transported from one storage area to another.

[0021] FIG. 2 shows an overall view of the port cargo-handling equipment charging system 2. The port cargo-handling equipment charging system 2 mainly comprises an electric tractor head 5, a charging facility 7, and a server 8, which are connected through a network. The network here is not limited to a private network, but may be a public network or a virtual network. FIG. 2 shows a charging system in which only an electric tractor head is the target port cargo-handling equipment, but the target port cargo-handling equipment is not limited to this, and port cargo-handling equipment present in a container terminal, such as a forklift, a top lifter, and a straddle carrier, may also be the target.

[0022] The electric tractor head 5 and the charging facility 7 are connected to a communication unit 82 in a server 8 (described later) via a network, and are configured to be able to transfer data between the server 8 and the electric tractor head 5 and the charging facility 7.

[0023] The server 8 has a communication unit 82, a recording unit 83, a control unit 84, and a calculation unit 85, and these components are electrically connected inside the server 8 via a communication bus 81. Note that the server 8 can utilize a locally existing server device, but may also be a cloud server.

[0024] The communication unit 82 may employ, but is not limited to, wired communication means such as USB, IEEE1394, Thunderbolt, wired LAN network communication, wireless LAN network communication, mobile communication such as 5G, LTE, 3G, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication, etc. The server 8 transmits and receives information regarding the travel distance and the charge amount to the electric tractor head 5 and the charging equipment 7 via the communication unit 82 and through the network. Details will be described later.

[0025] The recording unit 83 records information received from the electric tractor head 5 and the charging facility 7 described above, as well as values ​​calculated by the calculation unit 85 described below, and details will be described later. This can be implemented, for example, as a storage device such as a solid state drive (SSD) that records various programs related to the server 8 executed by the control unit 84 described below, or as a memory such as a random access memory (RAM) that records temporarily required information (arguments, arrays, etc.) related to the calculation of the programs. Alternatively, it may be a combination of these.

[0026] The control unit 84 processes and controls the overall operation related to the server 8. The control unit 84 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) not shown. The control unit 84 transmits and receives information related to the mileage and the charge amount and calculates the power consumption related to one loading and unloading operation by reading out a predetermined program recorded in the recording unit 83. That is, the information processing by the software recorded in the recording unit 83 is specifically realized by the control unit 84, which is an example of hardware, and can be executed as a functional unit not shown included in the control unit 84. These will be described in detail later. Note that the control unit 84 is not limited to being single, and may be implemented to have multiple control units 84 for each function, or a combination thereof.

[0027] The calculation unit 85 calculates the amount of power consumed by the electric tractor head 5 in one loading and unloading operation based on the traveling distance recorded in the recording unit 83 using the following formula, and records the calculated amount of power in the recording unit 83. Electricity consumption (kWh) = Traveling distance (km) x Unit electricity cost (kWh / km) (1) Here, the power consumption per unit travel distance (hereinafter referred to as "power consumption") is the known power consumption of the electric tractor head 5, but power consumption calculated based on the fuel consumption of a diesel engine-driven tractor head with a similar maximum load capacity may also be used. Here, the power consumption calculated based on the fuel consumption is obtained by the following formula. Note that 3.6 (MJ / kWh) is a unit conversion coefficient. Electricity cost (kWh / km) = unit heat of diesel (MJ / L) ÷ 3.6 (MJ / kWh) ÷ actual fuel consumption (km / L) ··· (2)

[0028] 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of information processing executed by the port cargo handling equipment charging system 2. Each flow of this flowchart will be described below.

[0029] Prior to the start of operations at the container terminal 1, the electric tractor head 5 moves to the charging facility 7 (S101), and the charging facility 7 charges the onboard storage battery 52 to 40% to 60% of its battery capacity (S102). In other words, the SOC (State of Charge) becomes 40% to 60%. At this time, the server 8 records in advance in the recording unit 83 the voltage value when the SOC is 40% to 60% (hereinafter referred to as the "initial voltage value"), and the control unit 84 instructs the charging facility 7 to set the voltage value of the storage battery 52 to the initial voltage value.

[0030] After the container terminal 1 starts operation, the electric tractor head 5 starts the above-mentioned loading and unloading operation (S103). When one loading and unloading operation is performed, the server 8 records the travel distance required for the electric tractor head 5 to perform one loading and unloading operation in the recording unit 83 (S104), and calculates the amount of power consumption by the above-mentioned formula (1) or formula (2) (S105). At this time, the distance actually traveled by the electric tractor head 5 is transmitted to the recording unit 83 as the travel distance, but if the travel distance can be known in advance, it may be input manually in advance. Also, if the electric tractor head 5 is controlled by a TOS (Terminal Operation System) operated at the container terminal, the travel distance may be calculated based on information on the travel route owned by the TOS.

[0031] After one loading / unloading operation is completed, the electric tractor head 5 moves to the charging facility 7 (S106), and the charging facility 7 charges the storage battery 52 with only the amount of power consumption calculated in S105 (S107). At this time, the power consumption recorded in the recording unit 83 is transmitted by the control unit 84 to the charging facility 7 via the communication unit 82 and the network. The electric tractor head 5 is identified in the charging facility 7 by reading a non-contact type RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag, which is an information medium that uses radio waves to non-contactly read and write data in a built-in memory owned by the electric tractor head 5, with an RFID reader owned by the charging facility 7, but the driver may input vehicle information to the charging facility 7 himself, and this is not limited to this.

[0032] As a result, the battery capacity required for the total travel distance in one day is not required, so the storage battery capacity mounted on the electric tractor head 5 can be reduced, which contributes to reducing the vehicle price of the electric tractor head 5. Furthermore, since only the amount of electricity consumed in one loading and unloading operation is charged, the SOC does not exceed 40% to 60% during terminal operation, and full charging, which affects the deterioration of the storage battery 52, is not required.

[0033] In addition, the power consumption can be derived from the relationship between the voltage value and the power consumption of the storage battery, but when multiple batteries are packaged in a module, there may be an error between the power consumption calculated from the voltage value and the actual power consumption due to the variation in the performance of each battery. By using the power consumption calculated based on the mileage as the charge amount as in this embodiment, the above-mentioned error caused by the individual difference in the battery performance can be suppressed.

[0034] <Other embodiments> In another embodiment of the present invention, the battery capacity of the storage battery 52 is four times or more, preferably eight times or more, and more preferably twenty times or more, the charge amount in S107, and the C rate in the charging facility 7 is equal to or more than a value calculated by the following formula. In this case, the travel distance required for one loading and unloading operation may be regarded as the outermost circumference of the container terminal 1, and the charge amount may be calculated using formula (1) or (2). C rate = 60 × power consumption required for one loading / unloading operation (kWh) (3) Here, C rate means the rate of charging and discharging. In the case of constant current charge / discharge measurement, the magnitude of the current that completely charges or completely discharges the theoretical capacity of the battery in one hour is defined as 1C.

[0035] As a result, the amount of power consumed in one loading / unloading operation is a maximum of 25% of the battery capacity, so that even if one loading / unloading operation is performed when the SOC is 40-60%, the battery will not be fully discharged, preventing deterioration of the storage battery 52. ​​Also, by charging at a value equal to or higher than the C rate calculated by the above formula (3), the charging time can be reduced to within one minute, which makes it possible to smoothly operate loading / unloading operations at the container terminal.

[0036] In another embodiment of the present invention, the charging facility 7 may be a pantograph type or a non-contact type charging facility. In the case of the conductive type used in general electric vehicles, manual work is required for connection, but the above-mentioned pantograph type or non-contact type allows charging without manual work, making it possible to reduce labor costs related to charging work. In addition, in the case of the pantograph type, high power transmission is possible, making it possible to further shorten the charging time.

[0037] The above-described embodiment is merely an example, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The invention can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Such embodiments and modifications are within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as set forth in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 1. Container Terminal 2. Charging system for port cargo handling equipment 3. Gantry Crane 4 Gantry Crane 5 Electric Tractor Head 6 Container 7 Charging device 8 Server 10 ships 81 Communication Bus 82 Communications Department 83 Recording Department 84 Control Unit 85 Arithmetic section

Claims

1. A port cargo handling equipment charging system in a container terminal, comprising: configured to perform at least the following steps: In the initial charging step, the battery capacity of the storage battery installed in the port loading and unloading equipment is charged to 40% to 60%. In the determination step, a travel distance required for one cargo handling operation of the port cargo handling equipment is determined; In the calculation step, an amount of electric power required for the port cargo handling equipment to travel the travel distance is calculated, In the intermediate charging step, the storage battery is charged only by the amount of power. Charging system for port loading and unloading equipment.

2. The port cargo handling equipment charging system according to claim 1, The battery capacity of the storage battery mounted on the port cargo handling equipment is four times or more the charge amount in the intermediate step, A port loading and unloading equipment charging system, wherein a C rate in the charging step satisfies the relationship of the following formula (1). C rate ≧60X ... formula (1) Here, X indicates the amount of power consumption required for one loading and unloading operation.

3. The port cargo handling equipment charging system according to claim 2, A port loading and unloading equipment charging system, wherein the charging equipment used in the charging step is a pantograph type charging device or a non-contact type charging equipment.

4. A method for charging port cargo handling equipment at a container terminal, comprising: The method comprises at least the following steps: In the initial charging step, the battery capacity of the storage battery installed in the port loading and unloading equipment is charged to 40% to 60%. In the determination step, a travel distance required for one cargo handling operation of the port cargo handling equipment is determined; In the calculation step, an amount of electric power required for the port cargo handling equipment to travel the travel distance is calculated, In the intermediate charging step, the storage battery is charged only by the amount of power. How to charge port loading and unloading equipment.

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