Georeferenced Container Positioning in Crane Shadow
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing GPS-based location determination systems for container cranes are ineffective in the reception shadow of the cranes, leading to inaccurate positioning of containers during loading and unloading, causing confusion and incorrect placement.
Innovation Solution
Determining the relative distance of the transport vehicle to fixed points on the crane, combined with the crane's GPS coordinates, allows for absolute positioning even in the reception shadow, using methods like wireless communication, radio beacons, or optical/ultrasound measurements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS-based location determination is used for transport vehicles, then location can be determined in open areas, but location determination fails in the reception shadow of container cranes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces fixed reference points on the crane as intermediary elements. Instead of relying solely on satellite signals that are blocked by the crane structure, the system uses these reference points as mediators to establish distance measurements. The transport vehicle measures its distance to multiple fixed reference points on the crane, and these measurements serve as intermediaries to calculate the vehicle's position even when GPS signals are blocked by the crane's booms or loading bridges.
2Reliability
If operator instructions via radio are used to manage container positions, then human intervention can ensure correct placement, but the process is time-consuming and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by allowing the transport vehicle to autonomously determine its own position through distance measurements to fixed reference points on the crane. The vehicle's on-board computer calculates its coordinates based on these measurements, eliminating the need for continuous operator intervention via radio. This autonomous positioning capability allows the system to self-manage container placement accuracy without human involvement, thereby reducing both time loss and potential for human error.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by continuously measuring the transport vehicle's distance to fixed reference points on the crane and using this information to calculate and update the vehicle's current position. This real-time feedback loop provides continuous position information to both the vehicle operator and the port management program, enabling dynamic adjustment of loading/unloading operations without requiring manual radio communication for each movement or placement decision.
3Loss of information
If OCR-readable information on containers is used for identification, then container identity can be recognized, but the system cannot determine the current position of containers in the loading area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges two previously separate functions: container identification via OCR and position determination. By combining the transport vehicle's autonomous positioning capability (which provides precise location data) with the existing OCR identification system, the port management program now receives both the container's identity information and its precise current position. This integration ensures that containers are not only identified correctly but also tracked to their exact locations in the loading area, enabling accurate record-keeping and retrieval operations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise georeferenced location determination of containers, preventing incorrect placement and ensuring accurate positioning in the loading or unloading area.
Implementation Method 1
The distance measurement is carried out using a radio beacon and a transponder. This distance measuring device, which works via wireless communication, sends out radio pulses at regular intervals, which are picked up by receivers arranged on the crane side and sent back again. The transit time of this pulse is recorded, and the transit time measurement is used to determine the exact distance
Implementation Method 2
the GPS coordinates of the container crane are known, it is now possible to determine the absolute position of the transport vehicle even in the receiving shadow of the crane by calculating the relative distance of the transport vehicle to the fixed fixed marks of the crane and its GPS coordinates
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for the georeferenced determination of the location of containers, in particular in the loading range of container cranes, wherein a satellite-based determination of the location of the container crane and of the transport vehicle which picks up the containers and puts them down, characterised in that for detecting the absolute position co-ordinates of the containers located in the satellite reception shadow in a first method step a distance measurement is carried out between at least one measurement point on the transport vehicle and one or more measurement points on the container crane, that in a second method step the position co-ordinates obtained by satellite-based determination of the location of the container crane in relation to the relative co-ordinates of the transport vehicle obtained by the distance measurement are set, and that in a third method step the absolute position of the transport vehicle and/or the container located below the transport vehicle are determined from the absolute crane co-ordinates and the relative position co-ordinates of the transport vehicle.