Adjustable Quayside Support Legs for Ship-to-Shore Crane Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing ship-to-shore cranes are limited in their container handling capacity due to their width, which prevents them from serving every container hold on a ship simultaneously, resulting in idle hatches during loading and unloading operations.
Innovation Solution
The design of the cargo crane includes quayside support legs with adjustable widths at different heights, allowing for closer positioning of cranes to enable simultaneous loading and unloading of neighboring container holds, with optimized rail configurations for unobstructed container passage and reduced congestion under the cranes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the minimum centre distance between two ship to shore cranes is maintained at about 27 m, then the cranes can operate with sufficient stability and clearance, but every second hatch of the ship is left idle without a crane
Solution Approach 1:
The support legs are made adjustable in width, allowing the crane to dynamically change its configuration. The quayside support legs can be positioned at different horizontal distances apart, enabling the crane to adapt to varying ship hatch distances and operate closer to neighboring cranes while maintaining stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameter of the crane by making the support leg width adjustable. This allows the crane to operate at different centre distances from neighboring cranes, optimizing the balance between stability and productivity by matching the crane spacing to the ship's hatch configuration.
2Productivity
If the cranes are positioned closer to serve neighboring container holds, then berth capacity is increased, but congestion and obstruction occur under the cranes
Solution Approach 1:
The support legs can be dynamically repositioned to adjust the crane's horizontal footprint. This allows the crane to move closer to neighboring cranes when needed for high productivity while maintaining sufficient clearance for container passage, avoiding obstruction and congestion.
Solution Approach 2:
The crane structure is segmented into adjustable support legs and a boom section. This segmentation allows independent adjustment of the support leg positions to optimize both the crane's proximity to neighboring holds and the clearance for container passage, resolving the congestion issue.
3Productivity
If the quayside support legs are positioned at a fixed width, then the crane structure is simple, but the crane cannot serve every container hold on a ship simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The support legs are equipped with adjustment mechanisms that allow them to change their horizontal positioning. This dynamic capability enables the crane to adapt to different ship configurations and serve multiple container holds simultaneously, significantly increasing productivity despite the added complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable support legs give the crane universal adaptability to different ship hatch configurations. The same crane can serve various container holds by adjusting its support leg width, making it a multi-functional device that maximizes its service coverage without requiring multiple specialized cranes.
Data Source
AI summary
A cargo crane (1) for transferring containers (50) to and from a ship (100) birthed alongside a quay (110) is disclosed. The cargo crane (1) includes: at least one quayside support leg (10) supported by a bogie (60) arranged to travel on a rail, at least one landside support leg (20) supported by a bogie (60) arranged to travel on a rail, a boom (2) configured to extend over a ship (100) birthed alongside a quay (110), a trolley (3) displaceably connected to said boom (2), and container lifting means (5) connected to said trolley (3) The invention is novel and inventive in that said at least one quayside support leg (10) in a first height define an outer horizontal width (A) and, in a second height, said at least one quayside support leg (10) define an inner horizontal width (B′) wherein said inner horizontal width (B′) in said second height is greater or less than said outer horizontal width (A) of said quayside support leg (10) in said first height.