JP7308888B2 - Container yard and container yard control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a container yard and a container yard control method for transferring containers between a storage area where containers are stored and a chassis by cargo handling equipment such as a gate crane. The present invention relates to a container yard in which a chassis can reach its destination without hesitation, and a container yard control method.

Various methods have been proposed for guiding a chassis to a destination in a container yard (see Patent Document 1, for example). Patent Literature 1 proposes a method of guiding a chassis to a destination by having an operator of a gantry crane give an instruction via a communication device to a driver of a chassis on which a communication device is pre-installed.

The method described in Patent Literature 1 requires a communication device to be mounted on the chassis, so it was not possible to guide a chassis that does not have a communication device to the destination. Since most of the foreign chassis that mainly travel on public roads and carry containers are not equipped with the above-described communication device, the foreign chassis could not be guided to the destination.

Since the foreign chassis mainly travels on public roads, there are cases where the driver of this foreign chassis does not fully grasp the structure in a given container yard. As a result, the foreign chassis sometimes got lost in the container yard in a completely different place from the destination. In such a case, it was necessary for a guide to find the target chassis in the vast container yard and guide it to its destination.

Since the chassis does not reach its destination, the gantry crane cannot carry out the cargo handling work and waits, or the guide continues to search for the chassis, resulting in a significant drop in cargo handling efficiency at the container yard.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-091394

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to provide a container yard and a control method for a container yard that allows a chassis to reach its destination in the container yard without hesitation.

A container yard according to the present invention for achieving the above objects is a container yard comprising a storage area for storing containers and cargo handling equipment for delivering the containers between the storage area and chassis, wherein position information is acquired. A drone that has a mechanism and acquires its own position information by the position information acquisition mechanism, and a control mechanism that controls the drone, and the purpose of the control mechanism is predetermined in the container yard. It has a configuration for performing guidance control to guide the chassis to the ground by the drone, and by controlling the stop or flight of the drone, the chassis driven by the driver and following the drone stops or starts. is performed according to the stop or flight of the drone, and the drone has a display that displays the reason for the stop when the drone is stopped.

A method of controlling a container yard according to the present invention for achieving the above object is to control a container yard comprising a storage area for storing containers and cargo handling equipment for transferring the containers between the storage area and chassis. The method has a configuration for causing a drone having destination information of a predetermined chassis to acquire its own position information and guides the chassis to the destination, and controlling the stop or flight of the drone. and causing the chassis driven by the driver to follow the drone to stop or start in accordance with the stop or flight of the drone, and when the drone is stopped, the reason for the stop is explained The drone informs the driver of said chassis .

According to the present invention, a chassis can be guided by a drone in a container yard, so even a chassis that is not equipped with a communication device or the like can reach its destination without hesitation. It is advantageous to improve cargo handling efficiency in container yards.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the outline of the container yard of this invention. It is an explanatory view illustrating a drone in perspective. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which the drone is guiding the chassis in guidance control; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which the drone has landed on the top surface of the chassis; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which the drone is attached to a front wall surface of the chassis; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a flight area of a drone; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a route when a drone searches for a chassis in search control; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a range and a route when a drone searches for a chassis in search control;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A container yard and a container yard control method according to the present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the drawings. In the drawing, the longitudinal direction of the storage lane is indicated by an arrow y, the lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction y is indicated by an arrow x, and the vertical direction is indicated by an arrow z.

As exemplified in FIG. 1, a container yard 1 of the present invention includes a plurality of storage areas 3 in which a plurality of containers 2 are stored, and a storage area 3 traveling along the longitudinal direction y of the storage areas 3. A cargo handling device 5 for delivering the container 2 to and from the chassis 4 is provided. In this specification, chassis 4 means a combination of a tractor head with a driver's seat and a trailer towed with the tractor head.

The cargo handling equipment 5 traveling along the storage area 3 is, for example, a gate-type crane that straddles the entire storage area 3 in the lateral direction x, a straddle carrier that straddles one container 2 in the lateral direction x, or a storage area. It is composed of a reach stacker or the like that runs on the side of the storage area 3 along the longitudinal direction y of 3 . The cargo-handling equipment 5 is not limited to the above, and can be composed of equipment capable of cargo-handling the containers 2 stored in the storage area 3 . In this specification, an example in which the cargo handling equipment 5 is configured by a portal crane will be described below.

The container yard 1 has a plurality of quay cranes 6 installed on the quay. A wharf crane 6 transfers the container 2 between the container ship 7 and the chassis 4 . A chassis 4 that transports the container 2 between the quay crane 6 and the storage area 3 is sometimes called a yard chassis 4a, and performs cargo handling operations only in the container yard 1. On the other hand, the chassis 4 that transports the container 2 between the outside of the container yard 1 such as a public road and the storage area 3 is sometimes called an external chassis 4b.

The container yard 1 has a management building 8. A management system 9 for managing the cargo handling of the entire container yard 1 is installed in the management building 8 . In FIG. 1, the management system 9 is indicated by a dashed line for explanation. The management system 9 has identification information of each container 2 and information of the storage location, and manages operations to be performed by the cargo handling equipment 5 such as a portal crane and the wharf crane 6 .

The container yard 1 is provided with a gate 10 for performing entrance/exit procedures for the foreign chassis 4b coming from outside the container yard 1. As shown in FIG.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 , a plurality of drones 11 are arranged in the container yard 1 and near the gate 10 . The drone 11 is placed in a charging area 12 formed near the gate 10 , and the drone 11 is charged by a charger installed in the charging area 12 . In this specification, the drone 11 means an unmanned aerial vehicle configured to be able to fly under automatic control or remote control.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the drone 11 has a position information acquisition mechanism 13, and the position information of the drone 11 itself can be acquired by the position information acquisition mechanism 13. FIG. The position information acquisition mechanism 13 may have a configuration that allows the drone 11 to grasp its own position. The position information acquisition mechanism 13 uses a satellite positioning system such as GPS or a quasi-zenith satellite, or a plurality of transponders arranged in the container yard 1 to measure the relative positions of these transponders using ultrasonic waves or radio waves. It can be configured with a device or the like. Here, the transponder is a device capable of transmitting and receiving signals to and from the position information acquisition mechanism 13 installed in the drone 11, and each transponder has position information of the place where it is installed. Thereby, the position information acquisition mechanism 13 of the drone 11 can acquire the position of the drone 11 from the relative position with respect to a predetermined transponder and the position information of the transponder. That is, the drone 11 can acquire its own position coordinates and altitude as position information by the position information acquisition mechanism 13 .

The drone 11 also has a control mechanism 14 for controlling its own operation. In FIG. 2, the control mechanism 14 is indicated by a dashed line for explanation. The control mechanism 14 has a configuration for guiding the chassis 4 to the drone 11 . Although the control mechanism 14 is installed on the drone 11 in this embodiment, the invention is not limited to this configuration. The control mechanism 14 may be arranged outside the drone 11 such as the management building 8 or may be incorporated into the management system 9 . At this time, the control mechanism 14 can be configured to control the operation of the drone 11 from the outside of the drone 11 by wireless signal communication or the like. In this case, the drone 11 may have a communication mechanism 15 for receiving control signals from the outside.

Next, a method of controlling the container yard 1 will be described. As exemplified in FIG. 1, the foreign chassis 4b coming to the container yard 1 to pick up the container 2 first performs an entrance procedure at the gate 10 of the container yard 1. FIG. From the information stored in the management system 9, the location of the container 2 that the foreign chassis 4b has come to pick up is known. The position of this container 2 is set as the destination P of the foreign chassis 4b.

The management system 9 records that a predetermined foreign chassis 4 b has come to pick up the container 2 . In addition, the management system 9 informs the cargo handling equipment 5 such as a portal crane that performs the work of the position, type, etc. of the container 2 to be delivered to the target foreign chassis 4b.

Positional information of the destination P is input to one of the drones 11 waiting in the charging area 12 . A worker working at the gate 10 or the management building 8 can manually input the positional information to the drone 11 . If the drone 11 has a communication mechanism 15 for exchanging signals with the management system 9 , the position information of the destination P may be automatically input from the management system 9 to the drone 11 . A predetermined foreign chassis 4b and a drone 11 having position information of the destination P of this foreign chassis 4b are linked at a gate 10. FIG.

The control mechanism 14 flies the drone 11 tied to the foreign chassis 4b along a predetermined route R to guide the foreign chassis 4b to its destination P. The route R is predetermined for each destination P, and the route R is automatically set as the destination P is determined. The method of setting the route R is not limited to the above. For example, the control mechanism 14 may perform calculations based on the current location and the destination P to determine the route R each time.

Since the drone 11 can sequentially obtain positional information by a positional information acquisition mechanism 13 such as GNSS, it flies toward the destination P along the route R while confirming this. In FIG. 1, the route R is indicated by a one-dot chain line for explanation. The control for guiding the foreign chassis 4b by the drone 11 may be hereinafter referred to as guidance control.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the guidance control by the control mechanism 14 has a configuration in which the drone 11 is made to fly at a predetermined speed or less to guide the external chassis 4b. The drone 11 can be configured to fly at a speed of 30 km/h or less, for example. The drone 11 flies ahead of the external chassis 4b.

The driver of the foreign chassis 4b can drive the foreign chassis 4b following the drone 11 tied at the gate 10.例文帳に追加When another chassis 4 or cargo handling equipment 5 crosses in front of the drone 11 flying along the route R, the drone 11 may be configured to stop (hover) on the spot.

The drone 11 is equipped with a sensor that irradiates a laser forward in the direction of travel to confirm the presence or absence of another chassis 4 or the like. It may be configured to be stopped. Also, a configuration may be adopted in which a control system 9 that grasps the positions of the drone 11 and other chassis 4 or the like transmits a signal to control the drone 11 depending on the situation to stop or fly the drone 11 .

As the drone 11 stops, the following foreign chassis 4b stops. After passing other chassis 4, etc., the drone 11 and foreign chassis 4b resume movement. Since the drone 11 can control the stop and start of the external chassis 4b, the drone 11 can provide the same effect as the signal installed in the container yard 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the drone 11 may be provided with a distance sensor 16 that measures the distance to the rear external chassis 4b. The drone 11 can grasp the position of the external chassis 4b. The control mechanism 14 can be configured to control the drone 11 according to the signal output from the distance sensor 16 . Specifically, when the distance between the drone 11 and the external chassis 4b increases, the control mechanism 14 reduces the flight speed of the drone 11 according to the magnitude of the value obtained from the distance sensor 16. or stop (hover) and wait for the foreign chassis 4b to catch up.

According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the external chassis 4b from deviating from the drone 11 in the container yard 1 and getting lost. This distance sensor 16 is not an essential component of the present invention. By setting the upper limit of the flight speed of the drone 11 that performs guidance control to a low speed, such as 10 km/h, the possibility that the external chassis 4b deviates from the drone 11 and gets lost can be suppressed.

The control mechanism 14 can guide the foreign chassis 4b to the destination P by causing the drone 11 to fly. For example, a configuration in which an indicator light is installed on the upper surface of the drone 11 may be employed. In this case, when the drone 11 arrives at the destination P, the control mechanism 14 turns on this indicator light so that the driver of the cargo handling equipment 5 can be notified of the arrival of the external chassis 4b. The foreign chassis 4b that has arrived at the destination P receives the target container 2 from the cargo handling equipment 5 such as a portal crane. In the cargo handling equipment 5 such as a gate-type crane, when the foreign chassis 4b performs an entrance procedure at the gate 10, a communication to that effect from the management system 9, a location of the container 2 to be loaded on the foreign chassis 4b, and the like are received. instructed.

The control mechanism 14 guides the foreign chassis 4b that has received the container 2 to the gate 10 along the predetermined route R1. That is, the drone 11 guides the external chassis 4b along the entire route R from the gate 10 to the destination P and the route R1 from the destination P back to the gate 10 . The outpatient chassis 4b goes through exit procedures at the gate 10 . On the other hand, the control mechanism 14 releases the connection between the drone 11 and the external chassis 4b, moves the drone 11 to the charging area 12, and performs control for charging.

The case where the foreign chassis 4b comes to the container yard 1 to receive the container 2 has been described above. The only difference is whether the direction in which the container 2 moves is from the cargo handling equipment 5 to the external chassis 4b or from the external chassis 4b to the cargo handling equipment 5. FIG.

Since the foreign chassis 4b is guided by the drone 11, the foreign chassis 4b does not get lost in the container yard 1.例文帳に追加Since the foreign chassis 4b can arrive at the destination P where the cargo handling equipment 5 such as a gate-type crane stands by for delivery of the container 2 as scheduled, cargo handling efficiency in the container yard 1 is dramatically improved. can do.

The external chassis 4b can be guided without depending on equipment or the like installed on the external chassis 4b. In other words, the drone 11 can guide all the foreign chassis 4b including the foreign chassis 4b that are not equipped with a special communication device or the like, which is advantageous for improving cargo handling efficiency in the container yard 1.

When the drone 11 has a communication mechanism 15 capable of exchanging signals with the management system 9, the management system 9 grasps the position of the drone 11 obtained by the position information acquisition mechanism 13 installed in the drone 11. be able to. Therefore, in the container yard 1, the management system 9 can grasp the position of the foreign chassis 4b following the drone 11. FIG. The management system 9 can grasp the situation of the external chassis 4b to the same extent as the on-premises chassis 4a equipped with a communication device or the like. Since the movements of the cargo handling equipment 5 and other chassis 4 in the container yard 1 can be appropriately changed according to the situation of the external chassis 4b, it is advantageous for improving the cargo handling efficiency in the container yard 1.

Even when it is necessary to prevent a new chassis 4 from entering the storage area 3, such as when other chassis 4 and cargo handling equipment 5 are performing cargo handling work in the storage area 3, the drone 11 can be used to control the chassis 4. movement can be controlled. Since traffic signals and the like that have been conventionally installed at the entrance of the storage area 3 are no longer required, this is advantageous in reducing the construction cost of the container yard 1 .

The control mechanism 14 may have a configuration that guides the chassis 4 by the drone 11 to the target storage area 3 where the container 2 to be handled is located. In the target storage area 3, the cargo handling equipment 5 such as a gate-type crane is waiting at the position where the target storage area 3 is located, so that the chassis 4 can receive the container 2 without hesitation if it reaches the target storage area 3. can. In this case, after guiding the chassis 4 with the drone 11 to the end of the storage area 3, the control mechanism 14 cancels the connection between the drone 11 and the chassis 4, and controls the drone 11 to return to the charging area 12. good too. At this time, the destination P of the chassis 4 is set at the end of the target storage area 3 . Further, the drone 11 guides the chassis 4 on the route R from the gate 10 to the destination P. The drone 11 does not guide the chassis 4 on the route R1 from the destination P to the gate 10 .

When the drone 11 returns to the charging area 12 without guiding the chassis 4, the drone 11 is raised to a region higher than the upper end of the cargo handling equipment 5 such as a gate-type crane and is flown straight to the charging area 12. good too. Since the time required for the drones 11 to return to the charging area 12 can be shortened, a large number of chassis 4 can be guided by a relatively small number of drones 11 in the container yard 1 .

A charger may be installed in advance in a plurality of cargo handling equipment 5 such as a portal crane, and the drone 11 may be charged as needed. When the remaining amount of the battery mounted on the drone 11 becomes low, the drone 11 can land on the cargo handling equipment 5 and receive power supply from the charger. Even if the container yard 1 is relatively wide and the moving distance of the drone 11 is relatively long, the drone 11 can continue flying. For example, after guiding the chassis 4, the drone 11 receives power supply from a charger installed in the cargo handling equipment 5 such as a portal crane. After that, the drone 11 may be configured to return to the charging area 12 .

When a plurality of cargo handling devices 5 are working in the storage area 3 where the container 2 to be handled is located, the drone 11 may be configured to guide the chassis 4 to the position of the container 2 to be handled. At this time, the destination P of the chassis 4 is set to the position where the container 2 to be handled is located. It is advantageous to avoid the problem of chassis 4 receiving the wrong container 2 . In this case, after guiding the chassis 4 to the destination P by the drone 11 , the control mechanism 14 may release the connection between the drone 11 and the chassis 4 and return the drone 11 to the charging area 12 . After receiving the container 2 at the destination P, the chassis 4 can return to the gate 10 relatively without hesitation.

The drone 11 may be configured to include a speaker 17 as illustrated in FIG. According to this configuration, the drone 11 can give voice instructions to the driver of the chassis 4 . For example, while the drone 11 flies with the chassis 4 leading the drone 11, it can be configured to give automatic voice instructions to stop, go straight, or turn left or right. If an emergency stop is required, the drone 11 may be configured to issue an alarm from the speaker 17 .

A communication mechanism 15 that communicates between the drone 11 and the administration building 8 may be installed in the drone 11 so that instructions of a worker working in the administration building 8 are emitted from the speaker 17 as voice. A worker in the management building 8 can grasp the position of the chassis 4 from the position information acquisition mechanism 13 mounted on the drone 11 , so that the driver of the chassis 4 can be instructed accurately. A configuration may be adopted in which instructions are given to the driver of the chassis 4 by automatic voice from the speaker 17 in normal times, and instructions from the worker in the control building 8 are given as voice from the speaker 17 as necessary.

The structure in which the drone 11 includes the speaker 17 makes it easy to guide the chassis 4 by the drone 11 even in an environment where visibility is poor due to fog or the like. When the flight of the drone 11 is unstable due to strong winds or the like, the drone 11 may be landed on the ceiling of the tractor head of the chassis 4 as illustrated in FIG. Although the drone 11 at this position cannot be visually recognized by the driver of the chassis 4 , the chassis 4 can be guided by the sound from the speaker 17 . Further, since the drone 11 is integrated with the chassis 4 , the administration building 8 can accurately grasp the position of the chassis 4 based on the information from the position information acquisition mechanism 13 of the drone 11 .

The drone 11 may be configured to include an attracting member such as an electromagnet installed at its lower end. Since the drone 11 can be attached to the chassis 4 by this electromagnet, it is advantageous to avoid problems such as the drone 11 falling from the chassis 4 . The attracting member is not limited to an electromagnet, and may have a configuration capable of attracting the drone 11 to the chassis 4 and releasing the attraction. The attracting member may be, for example, a permanent magnet. The permanent magnet only needs to have a magnetic force that allows the drone 11 to fly away from the chassis 4 and be released from the attraction to the chassis 4 . The adsorption member may be composed of a non-slip member such as silicon having a relatively high frictional resistance. The anti-slip member prevents the drone 11 from slipping down from the chassis 4 , thereby allowing the drone 11 to stick to the chassis 4 .

The position where the attracting member such as an electromagnet is installed is not limited to the above. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the drone 11 may be provided with an arm 19 extending in the horizontal direction, and a suction member may be installed at the end of the arm 19 . According to this configuration, the drone 11 can stick to the wall surface in front of or to the side of the tractor head of the chassis 4 .

According to the configuration in which the drone 11 is attracted to the chassis 4 by the attraction member, guidance control can be performed without the drone 11 flying. This is advantageous for suppressing power consumption of the drone 11 .

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the drone 11 may be configured to include a display device 18 such as an electronic bulletin board or a display. According to this configuration, the drone 11 can instruct the driver of the chassis 4 using images or characters. For example, the drone 11 can be configured to automatically display an instruction such as turning left at the next branch on the display 18 while flying while leading the chassis 4 .

A communication mechanism for communicating between the drone 11 and the management building 8 is installed in the drone 11, and instructions of workers working in the management building 8 are displayed on the display device 18 as images and characters. good too.

The configuration of the drone 11 with the display 18 allows more detailed and complex instructions to be given to the driver of the chassis 4 . For example, if the drone 11 does not have the display 18, when the drone 11 is stationary (hovering), the driver of the chassis 4 cannot understand why the drone 11 is stationary. If the drone 11 is equipped with the display 18, the reason why the drone 11 is stopped can be displayed in detail. For example, the fact that the vehicle is stopped because another chassis 4 crosses ahead, or that the vehicle has arrived at the destination P but is delayed because the cargo handling equipment 5 is engaged in another task, The drone 11 can notify the driver of the chassis 4.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the indicator 18 is installed on the rear side of the drone 11, but the position where the indicator 18 is installed is not limited to this. For example, if the drone 11 has an arm 19 and can stick to the front wall surface of the chassis 4 as shown in FIG. This configuration makes it easier for the driver of the chassis 4 to see the indicator 18 .

The number of displays 18 installed on the drone 11 is not limited to one, and a plurality of displays may be installed. For example, if a plurality of indicators 18 are installed on the side of the drone 11, the driver of the chassis 4 can visually recognize the indicators 18 even when the drone 11 turns around the vertical direction z. Also, if the display 18 is installed on the upper surface of the drone 11 in addition to the side surface of the drone 11, even when the drone 11 is attached to the wall surface in front of the chassis 4 as shown in FIG. Also, the driver of the chassis 4 can see the indicator 18 visually.

If the drone 11 has both the speaker 17 and the display 18, it is advantageous because it is easy to give detailed instructions from the drone 11 to the chassis 4 without being affected by the position of the drone 11 with respect to the chassis 4 or the weather. is. Note that neither the speaker 17 nor the display 18 installed on the drone 11 is an essential requirement of the present invention.

A drone-dedicated flight area S in which the drone 11 flies when the drone 11 guides the chassis 4 may be set in advance in the container yard 1 . By setting an area into which the chassis 4 and the cargo handling equipment 5 hardly enter as the drone-dedicated flight area S, it becomes easier to avoid the problem of the drone 11 colliding with the chassis 4 and the like.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the dedicated drone flight area S is, for example, an area lower than the upper end of the chassis 4 in the vertical direction z, and is set in an area outside and laterally of the chassis 4 traveling along the storage area 3. be able to. Specifically, a dedicated drone flight area S1 can be set on the outer side of the chassis 4 between the container 2 stored in the storage area 3 and the lane on which the chassis 4 travels. The drone flight area S1 extends along the longitudinal direction y of the storage area 3 . In FIG. 6, the boundary between the dedicated drone flight area S and other parts is indicated by a dashed line for explanation, and the inside of the dedicated drone flight area S is hatched.

Since the drone-dedicated flight area S is set in an area lower than the upper end of the chassis 4, the drone 11 flies in a position where the driver of the chassis 4 can easily visually recognize it. Moreover, since the containers 2 stacked in the storage area 3 serve as a windbreak, it is advantageous in avoiding the problem that the flight of the drone 11 becomes unstable due to the influence of the wind. In order to increase the windbreak effect of the container 2, it is desirable to set the dedicated drone flight area S1 in an area lower than the upper end of the first-stage container 2 stored in the storage area 3.

The drone-dedicated flight area S1 may be any area that is higher than the ground surface in the vertical direction z. Desirably, the area should be higher than the middle in the height direction of the container 2 of the first stage. The lower the lower end of the drone flight area S1 is set, the less the drone 11 is affected by the wind.

A typical chassis 4 height is no more than 3.8m from the ground and a typical container height is about 2.6m. Therefore, the dedicated drone flight area S1 is formed in an area between 0 m and 3.8 m above the ground, preferably between 0 m and 2.6 m above the ground, and more preferably between 1.3 m and 2.6 m above the ground. formed in the area between

The area between the container 2 stored in the storage area 3 and the running lane of the chassis 4 is hardly intruded by the chassis 4, the cargo handling equipment 5, and the like. Therefore, it is advantageous to avoid the problem that the chassis 4, the cargo handling equipment 5, and the like come into contact with the drone 11.

A dedicated drone flight area S2 may be set on the outer side of the chassis 4 between the cargo handling equipment 5 such as a gate-type crane and the traveling lane of the chassis 4 . The boundary of the drone flight area S2 in the vertical direction z is set in the same manner as the drone flight area S1 described above. Since the spreader, chassis 4, etc. of the portal crane do not enter this area, it is advantageous for avoiding the problem of contact between these devices and the drone 11 .

The area for setting the drone dedicated flight area S is not limited to the above. For example, the drone-dedicated flight area S3 may be set in an area above the chassis 4 traveling along the storage area 3 . Specifically, a drone dedicated flight area S3 is set in an area higher than the upper end (for example, 3.8 m) of the chassis 4 and between the container 2 stored in the storage area 3 and the legs of the gate-type crane. can do. Since the drone 11 flies in an area higher than the chassis 4, the problem of the drone 11 colliding with the chassis 4 does not occur. In order to obtain the windbreak effect of the container 2, it is desirable to set the drone dedicated flight area S3 in an area lower than the upper end (for example, 5.2 m) of the second tier container 2 stored in the storage area 3. .

For example, a drone-dedicated flight area S4 may be set in an area that overlaps with the travel lane of the chassis 4 that travels along the storage area 3 . Since the drone 11 flies at a relatively low position, it is advantageous to suppress the influence of the wind. Also, since the drone 11 is positioned in front of the driver of the chassis 4, the driver can easily see the display on the display 18 of the drone 11.例文帳に追加

In this embodiment, when the drone 11 flies to guide the chassis 4, the control mechanism 14 allows the drone 11 to fly within a predetermined drone flight area S (S1, S2, S3, S4). It has a configuration for controlling the drone 11 to fly. When the drone 11 is not guiding the chassis 4, the drone 11 may fly within the drone dedicated flight area S or may fly outside the drone dedicated flight area S.

The control mechanism 14 may have a configuration that performs search control for searching the foreign chassis 4 b lost in the container yard 1 by using the drone 11 . The management building 8 may be informed that the foreign chassis 4b has not yet arrived from the cargo handling equipment 5, such as a portal crane, which has completed preparations for transferring the container 2 to be handled to the foreign chassis 4b. In such a case, the control mechanism 14 causes the drone 11 that has been on standby to fly to search for the lost chassis 4 by search control.

The drone 11 of this embodiment includes an identification unit 20 that acquires identification information of the chassis 4 as illustrated in FIG. This identification unit 20 can be configured by a camera that captures an image below the drone 11, for example. In this embodiment, while the foreign chassis 4b is performing an entrance procedure at the gate 10, a camera installed at the gate 10 acquires a planar image from above the foreign chassis 4b in advance. Planar images of foreign chassis 4b acquired at gate 10 can be stored in management system 9, for example.

The control mechanism 14 causes the drone 11 to fly in the container yard 1 and causes the identification unit 20 to capture plane images of the chassis 4 sequentially discovered by the drone 11 . The control mechanism 14 compares the image obtained by the identification unit 20 of the drone 11 with the images stored in the management system 9 to find the chassis 4 to be searched.

The control mechanism 14 uses image processing to identify the color of the driver's cab of the external chassis 4b, the presence or absence of an air deflector or the shape of the air deflector, the color or shape of the frame of the container-loaded semi-trailer, and the like, and becomes a search target. A configuration can be used to distinguish between the foreign chassis 4b and other chassis 4. As shown in FIG.

An identification number or the like may be displayed on the top surface of the driver's cab of the external chassis 4b. At this time, the control mechanism 14 may be configured to identify the identification number or the like by image processing such as OCR (optical character recognition) to distinguish the foreign chassis 4b to be searched.

When the foreign chassis 4b comes to put the container 2 in the container yard 1, the container 2 may be loaded on the foreign chassis 4b. At this time, an identification number or the like displayed on the container 2 may be used to distinguish the foreign chassis 4b to be searched.

The identification unit 20 is not limited to a camera. If the foreign chassis 4b is equipped with an RFID tag, the identification section 20 can be configured with a tag reader. The control mechanism 14 causes the drone 11 to fly, sequentially approaches the chassis 4 discovered by the drone 11, and reads the RFID tag of the foreign chassis 4b with a tag reader. The control mechanism 14 may be configured to identify the information obtained by the tag reader to distinguish the exotic chassis 4b being searched. In this case, it is desirable to read the RFID tag of the foreign chassis 4b in advance with a tag reader installed at the gate 10 and store the information in the management system 9. FIG.

When performing search control, the control mechanism 14 can cause the drone 11 to fly in an area different from the drone-dedicated flight area S. The control mechanism 14 causes the drone 11 to fly at a higher altitude than the cargo handling equipment 5 such as a portal crane (hereinafter sometimes referred to as high-altitude flight control) to search the foreign chassis 4b in the container yard 1. be able to. When the identification unit 20 is composed of a camera, the higher the altitude at which the drone 11 flies, the easier it is to acquire images of a wider range, and the easier it is to find the foreign chassis 4b to be searched.

It should be noted that, when performing search control, for example, flying the drone 11 in a region lower than the upper end of the cargo handling equipment 5 such as a portal crane is not prevented. In other words, high-altitude flight control is not an essential requirement for search control.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, when flying the drone 11 by search control, the control mechanism 14 can be configured to fly the drone 11 along a predetermined route R2 (route flight control). For example, the drone 11 flies along the longitudinal direction y of the storage area 3 and searches for the foreign chassis 4b to be searched while flying the entire container yard 1 . In FIG. 7, for the sake of explanation, routes other than the route R2 are indicated by dashed lines.

When flying the drone 11 by search control as illustrated in FIG. 8, the control mechanism 14 causes the drone 11 to fly within the range of the search area P1 defined around the destination P of the foreign chassis 4b to be searched. configuration (area flight control). For example, when starting search control, the control mechanism 14 forms a search area P1 from the coordinate information of the destination P, and further forms a route R3 for the drone 11 to fly within the search area P1. In this embodiment, the search area P1 is set as a circle with the destination P as the center and a predetermined radius. The search area P1 can be formed, for example, by a circle with a radius of 30m to 100m.

When there is a high possibility that the foreign chassis 4b is lost around the destination P, the foreign chassis 4b to be searched can be found in a relatively short time. In FIG. 8, for the sake of explanation, areas other than the search area P1 and the route R3 along which the drone 11 flies are indicated by dashed lines.

If an area, such as the vicinity of a quayside crane, that is unlikely to be approached by the foreign chassis 4b is included in the range of the search area P1, the control mechanism 14 controls a route R3 for the drone 11 to fly in a range excluding this area. It is desirable to have a configuration in which This is advantageous for shortening the time until the foreign chassis 4b to be searched is found.

The container yard 1 may be provided with a storage unit 9a for storing the position coordinates of the foreign chassis 4b to be searched when the drone 11 finds the foreign chassis 4b. The storage unit 9a can be installed in the management system 9, for example, as illustrated in FIG. The configuration is not limited to this, and the storage unit 9a may be configured to be installed independently of the management system 9. FIG. The storage unit 9a accumulates the position coordinates of places where the lost chassis 4 is likely to be found. According to the configuration in which the container yard 1 includes the storage unit 9a, it is possible to know the destination P to which the chassis 4 is lost and difficult to reach and the place to which the lost chassis 4 is likely to reach, and to take countermeasures against this. . For example, it is possible to know where the driver of chassis 4 is likely to miss a corner to turn. Countermeasures such as drawing a line on the ground surface at this location can be taken. It is advantageous to improve cargo handling efficiency in container yards.

The control mechanism 14 may determine the search area P1 in which the drone 11 searches based on the position coordinates stored and accumulated in the storage unit 9a. At this time, the storage unit 9a can extract a place where the lost foreign chassis 4b can be easily found from the accumulated positional coordinate data. The control mechanism 14 forms a range of a search area P1 centering on the location extracted by the storage unit 9a, and further forms a route R3 along which the drone 11 flies within the range of this search area P1. After that, the control mechanism 14 causes the drone 11 to fly along this route R3.

As the number of position coordinates stored in the storage unit 9a increases, the learning by the storage unit 9a progresses, and the accuracy in extracting a place where the foreign chassis 4b can be easily found improves. This is advantageous for shortening the time until the foreign chassis 4b to be searched is found. Based on the position coordinates stored in the storage unit 9a, the control mechanism 14 forms at least one search area P1. A plurality of search areas P1 may be formed by the control mechanism 14 . When multiple search areas P1 are formed, the control mechanism 14 forms a route R3 that sequentially flies through the multiple search areas P1.

The position coordinates of the destination P of this foreign chassis 4b may be stored in the storage unit 9a together with the position coordinates where the lost foreign chassis 4b was found. According to this configuration, for each set destination P, it is possible to know a place where the foreign chassis 4b can easily reach. As a result, the control mechanism 14 can reduce the number of search areas P1 or narrow the range based on the destination P of the foreign chassis 4b to be searched. This is advantageous for finding the foreign chassis 4b to be searched for in a shorter time.

After the drone 11 finds the foreign chassis 4b to be searched, the control mechanism 14 flies the drone 11 by guidance control and guides the foreign chassis 4b to the destination P in the same manner as described above.

According to the above configuration, the chassis 4 lost in the container yard 1 can be searched by the drone 11 from a high altitude. Therefore, it is possible to find the chassis 4 to be searched and guide it to the destination P in a shorter time than in the conventional case in which the guide staff searched for the lost chassis. Even in a container yard, such as an automated yard, where entry of guides is restricted, it becomes easier to find the lost chassis 4.例文帳に追加This is advantageous for improving cargo handling efficiency in the container yard 1 .

In addition, it becomes possible to search for the foreign chassis 4b that has deviated from the drone 11 tied at the gate 10 by the search control of the control mechanism 14 and to guide it to the destination P by the guidance control.

In addition, in the container yard 1 which does not have a structure for linking the foreign chassis 4b and the drone 11 with the gate 10, only the foreign chassis 4b lost in the container yard 1 is searched for by the drone 11 and guided to the destination P. The configuration may be the configuration that the control mechanism 14 has. Since it is not necessary to tie the drones 11 to all the external chassis 4b, it is advantageous to reduce the number of drones 11 to be prepared in advance in the container yard 1.

In this case, instead of installing the charging area 12 in the vicinity of the management building 8, the charging area 12 may be installed in the cargo handling equipment 5 such as a portal crane. While the drone 11 receives power from a charger installed in the cargo handling equipment 5, when a wandering foreign chassis 4b is found, the drone 11 located near the foreign chassis 4 guides the drone 11.例文帳に追加Since the time until the drone 11 arrives at the position of the lost foreign chassis 4 is shortened, it is advantageous for improving cargo handling efficiency in the container yard 1 .

In the container yard 1 where the foreign chassis 4b are less likely to get lost, the number of the lost foreign chassis 4b can be brought close to zero while suppressing the number of the drones 11 prepared in advance. This is advantageous for improving cargo handling efficiency in the container yard 1 at relatively low cost.

When a driver of cargo handling equipment 5 such as a gate-type crane or a chassis 4a on the premises finds an alien chassis 4b that seems to be lost in the container yard 1, the position coordinates of the foreign chassis 4b are communicated to the management building 8. It may be configured to The control mechanism 14 may be configured to fly the drone 11 to the position where the communication is received and to guide the foreign chassis 4b to the destination P by the drone 11 .

The chassis 4 searched or guided by the drone 11 by the control mechanism 14 is not limited to the foreign chassis 4b. A configuration in which the drone 11 searches for and guides the chassis 4a within the premises may be employed. With this configuration, even a chassis 4 that does not have a communication device can be used as a premises chassis 4a.

1 Container Yard 2 Container 3 Storage Area 4 Chassis 4a Premises Chassis 4b External Chassis 5 Cargo Handling Equipment 6 Quay Crane 7 Container Ship 8 Management Building 9 Management System 9a Storage Unit 10 Gate 11 Drone 12 Charging Area 13 Position Information Acquisition Mechanism 14 Control Mechanism 15 Communication mechanism 16 Distance sensor 17 Speaker 18 Display device 19 Arm 20 Identification part x Short direction y Long direction z Vertical direction P Destination S, S1, S2 Drone dedicated flight area R, R1, R2, R3 Route P1 Search area

Claims (6)

In a container yard comprising a storage area for storing containers and cargo handling equipment for delivering the containers between the storage area and chassis,
A drone that has a position information acquisition mechanism and acquires its own position information by this position information acquisition mechanism, and a control mechanism that controls this drone,
The control mechanism has a configuration for performing guidance control to guide the chassis to a predetermined destination in the container yard by the drone,
By controlling the stop or flight of the drone, the chassis driven by the driver and following the drone is stopped or started in accordance with the stop or flight of the drone,
A container yard, wherein said drone has an indicator for displaying a reason why said drone is stopped when said drone is stopped. The drone is equipped with a sensor that irradiates a laser forward in the direction of travel and confirms the presence or absence of another chassis,
The container yard according to claim 1, wherein the drone is configured to stop when the sensor detects crossing of another chassis. Having a management system for managing the entire cargo handling of the container yard,
2. The container yard according to claim 1, wherein said management system is configured to grasp the positions of said drones and other chassis and to stop or fly said drones depending on the situation. A control method for a container yard comprising a storage area for storing containers and cargo handling equipment for delivering the containers between the storage area and chassis,
A drone having destination information of a predetermined chassis acquires its own position information and guides the chassis to the destination,
controlling the stopping or flying of the drone to cause the chassis driven by a driver to follow the drone to stop or start in conjunction with the stopping or flying of the drone;
A method of controlling a container yard, wherein when the drone is stopped, the drone informs the driver of the chassis why it is stopped. The drone is equipped with a sensor that irradiates a laser forward in the direction of travel and confirms the presence or absence of another chassis,
5. The method of controlling a container yard according to claim 4, wherein the drone stops when the sensor detects crossing of another chassis. The container yard has a management system that manages the overall cargo handling of the container yard,
5. The container yard control method according to claim 4, wherein the management system grasps the positions of the drone and other chassis and stops or flies the drone depending on the situation.

Images