JPH1134729A - Container conveying carriage, and control therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveying carriage capable of fixing a container to the carriage without requiring high positioning accuracy for the carriage and a crane, capable of utilizing conveying capacity to the utmost, and capable of preventing any influence to moving performance of the carriage, and provide a controlling method therefor. SOLUTION: This container conveying carriage has a platform to mount a container, and container guides to fit to plural kinds of container sizes. A container guide in the longitudinal direction of a container 1 is provided with a turning pawl 4 turnably attached to the platform, a torque applying means applying torque normally to the direction to project the pawl 4 from the platform, and a turning angle sensor to detect a turning angle of the pawl 4. Recesses for fixing the container are formed in the pawl 4 at plural positions with different distances from its turning center.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a platform for loading containers, a container carrier having a container guide adapted to the dimensions of a plurality of types of containers, and a control method therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For loading and unloading containers at ports and the like, transfer facilities such as quay cranes and yard cranes are installed for loading or unloading containers on ships or the like. For transporting containers at relatively short distances, such as holding containers sideways, between these transfer facilities, container transport vehicles have come to be used.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-187063 proposes a self-propelled vehicle control device for container handling of ships and the like. According to this technology, a guide plate that can be easily installed along a traveling path is laid, and a distance sensor that detects a distance from the guide plate is provided near each of the front and rear wheels of the self-propelled vehicle.
From these distance detection results, the position and direction (inclination angle with the traveling direction) of the self-propelled vehicle are obtained and compared with the allowable range. According to the comparison result, at least one of the left and right wheels of the front and rear wheels is made differential to move the front and rear wheels within an allowable range.

[0004] A guide device (container guide) is provided for a platform of a container transport trolley in order to load a container at a predetermined position on the platform. 20ft container,
You need to handle 45 foot containers in addition to 40 foot containers.

[0005] A plurality of container guides are provided on the platform of the vehicle so that these various containers can be loaded. In this case, a container guide for a short container is generally provided between container guides for a long container due to restrictions on the length of the platform of the vehicle.
There are several types of installation methods of these container guides, such as a staircase type container guide and a retractable container guide.

FIG. 7 is a view showing the appearance of a conventional staircase-type container guide (here, referred to as a guide). In this case, the container guide 3c for the smallest 20 foot container is mounted directly on the platform. A larger guide 3b for a 40-foot container is mounted higher than the guide 3c for a 20-foot container. In this way, when the 40-foot container 1b is loaded, the bottom of the container does not interfere with the guide 3c for the 20-foot container.

Similarly, the guide 3a for a 45-foot container is mounted at a higher position than the guide 3b for a 40-foot container. In this manner, according to this technique, a container guide corresponding to various container sizes can be provided without using a movable portion on the platform.

[0008] The retractable container guide is a type of container guide that is installed so as to be able to protrude and retract at positions corresponding to containers of various dimensions such as a 20-foot container and a 40-foot container. An actuator such as a hydraulic cylinder can be used as a mechanism for moving the container guide in and out. This type of container guide includes a vertical container guide and a rotary container guide.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a vertical container guide. This method can be used for 3
Container guides 3a to 3c corresponding to the types of containers 1a to 1c, respectively, project from the platform 2 in the vertical direction. Where the outer 4
The guide 3a for a 5-foot container is fixed.

This vertical container guide is proposed as an auxiliary cargo handling device of a container crane, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 1-313300. In this technology, a gantry on which a container is mounted and travels is used in container handling. A claw body for receiving a 40-foot container and a claw body for receiving a 20-foot container are provided on a beam material constituting a part of the gantry. These claws can be protruded and retracted from the beam by a hydraulic device or the like.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a rotary container guide. This figure shows an example in which two types of containers of 20 and 40 feet are handled. Here, 20
The guide 3c for the foot container protrudes from the platform by a rotation of 90 degrees, and is stored by a reverse rotation. In this case, the outer guide 3b for the 40-foot container is fixed.

[0012]

In the conventional staircase type container guide, the guide for the long container needs to be provided at a higher position than the guide for the short container so that the long container does not interfere with the guide for the short container. is there. As a result, since the heaviest 45-foot container is loaded at the highest position, the position of the center of gravity increases, and there is a possibility that the handling stability or running stability of the transport vehicle is impaired. as a result,
There is a disadvantage that the speed of the transport vehicle, particularly when turning at a corner, cannot be increased.

When a 20-foot container is loaded, it is desirable that two containers be loaded in terms of transport efficiency.
In this case, the container is supported by the container guides at the center and the front and rear ends of the carrier. However, as described above, in the staircase-type container guide, the center of the transport cart is low and the front and rear ends are high, so that the container is inclined, and it is not possible to load two containers. The transport capacity was impaired.

The distance between the container guides is the distance between the actual container dimensions (standard dimensions), the container transfer position accuracy by the transfer machine (quay crane, yard crane) (crane positioning accuracy + sway accuracy), and It is necessary to set the stop positioning accuracy of the transport vehicle to the added distance. The clearance (clearance) between the container guides is
Larger control of crane and carrier (positioning control)
However, from the viewpoint of fixing the container, it is better to be narrow.

Therefore, it is conceivable to make the upper part of the container guide inclined (tapered) to increase the interval between the container guides. In this case, the height of the guide is increased only in the inclined part. Get higher. Therefore, as in the case described above, the position of the center of gravity of the long container becomes high, and there is a possibility that the handling stability of the bogie is impaired.

Accordingly, in order to make the height of the container guide as low as possible, it is necessary to reduce the positioning accuracy. Generally, it is necessary to match the position of the transport trolley with the position of the container guide, and the lower the positioning accuracy, the longer the time for positioning. Therefore, there are drawbacks such as an increase in the positioning time of the transport vehicle and an increase in the transfer time, a decrease in the transport capacity of the entire transport system, and an increase in the price of the entire system.

In the retractable container guide, the container can be loaded on the platform regardless of the dimensions.
The heaviest 45-foot container can be loaded at the same height as a short container. However, it is necessary to attach an actuator to each container guide, and therefore, these devices and control devices are required, which increases costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a container can be fixed to a carrier without requiring high positioning accuracy of the carrier and the crane. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transport vehicle and a control method thereof, which make full use of the transport capability of the transport vehicle and do not affect the kinetic performance of the transport vehicle.

[0019]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container carrier having a platform on which containers are placed and a container guide adapted to the dimensions of a plurality of types of containers. A rotating claw rotatably mounted on the rotating claw, a torque applying means for constantly applying torque in a direction in which the rotating claw comes out of the platform, and a rotation angle sensor for detecting a rotation angle of the rotating claw, A container transporting trolley characterized in that concave portions for fixing a container are formed at a plurality of positions on the pawl at different distances from the center of rotation.

According to the present invention, a rotating claw is provided on a platform of a transport trolley on which one or a plurality of various containers are loaded, corresponding to the loading position of the containers. These rotating claws are constantly applied with torque by the torque applying means, and are in a state of being out of the platform when no container is loaded. Here, since the torque adding means may always keep adding the torque,
It is not necessary to use an active mechanism such as an actuator, and it is sufficient to use a passive mechanism such as a spring.

The state of the rotating claw is that there is no contact with the container,
One of three states: contact with the bottom of the container and contact with the end of the container. If the rotating pawl is not in contact with the container, the rotating pawl remains out of the platform.

When the rotating claw contacts the bottom of the container, the tip of the rotating claw contacts the bottom of the container, and is rotated by applying a torque in the opposite direction to the torque applying means due to the weight of the container. Eventually, the rotating pawl will be stored inside the platform. Therefore, even if containers of different sizes are loaded, the rotating claws are pushed into the platform and stored, so that they do not become an obstacle, and containers of various dimensions can be loaded directly on the platform.

When the rotating claw contacts the end of the container, the end of the container contacts any of the plurality of container fixing recesses formed on the rotating claw. Since the positions of these recesses are different from the center of rotation of the rotary claw, the corresponding positions on the platform are also different.
Therefore, even if the position of the end of the container is shifted on the platform, the container can be loaded as long as it is within the range corresponding to the plurality of concave portions of the rotating claw.

As described above, according to the present invention, the positioning at the time of loading the containers becomes easy, and the time required for the positioning can be greatly reduced. In addition, the position of the rotating claw may be attached to the approximate container loading position.

According to the present invention, a rotation angle sensor for detecting the rotation angle of the rotating claw is provided, and from the detection result, the state of the rotating claw (for example, whether or not there is contact with the container) can be determined, and the type of the container and the number of stacked containers can be determined. Can be requested. Further, the loading position of the container on the platform can be known from the rotation angle of the rotating claw that is in contact with the end of the container, as described later.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when a container is transferred by using the container transport vehicle according to the first aspect, the rotation angle of each of the rotating claws is detected by a rotation angle sensor, and the loading is performed based on the detected rotation angle. A method of controlling a container transport trolley, wherein a type of a container, the number of containers, and a loading position of the container are calculated.

According to the present invention, the state of the rotary claw can be determined by the rotation angle sensor. The rotation angle of the rotating claw is 0
(No rotation) if there is no contact with the container, if the rotation angle is maximum, it will contact the bottom of the container,
It is stored in the platform. When the rotation angle of the rotating claw is other than these, that is, between 0 and the maximum, the state of the rotating claw is that it is in contact with the end of the container.

From the state of the rotating claws, the type of the container and the number of stacked containers can be obtained. First, the type of the container is known from the installation position of the rotating claw that is in contact with the end of the container. The number of loaded containers can be calculated from the number of rotating claws in contact with the end of the container. For example, if one rotating claw is arranged at each of the four corners of the container,
The number of loaded containers can be calculated as 1/4 of the number of rotating claws in contact with the end of the container.

When the long and short containers share a rotary claw, the type of the container can be determined from the state of the rotary claw (for the short container) at the intermediate portion of the transport vehicle. If the state of the rotating claw at the intermediate portion is in contact with the bottom of the container, the container is a long container, and if it is in contact with the end of the container, the container is a short container.

The loading position of the container is determined from the rotation angle of the rotating claw that is in contact with the end of the container. From the rotation angle of the rotating claw that contacts the end of the container, it is possible to determine which of the plurality of recesses of the rotating claw is in contact with the end of the container. If the concave portion of the rotating claw can be specified, the distance of the end of the container from the rotation center of the rotating claw can be known, and the loading position of the container on the platform can be calculated.

As described above, by using the container transport vehicle of the present invention, the position and type of the container on the platform at the time of loading the container are recognized, and the stop position for transferring the container is corrected. Control can be performed.

[0032]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In carrying out the present invention, a shaft for rotating a rotating claw in the front-rear direction (longitudinal direction of a container) is installed inside a platform of a transport vehicle. A claw-shaped component (rotary claw main body) having a stepped concave portion is attached to the rotating shaft, and the rotary claw main body is caused to protrude from the platform by a reaction force of a coil spring, an air damper, or the like. A plurality of such devices (rotating claws) are arranged corresponding to the container loading position. It is desirable to mount two or more in the width direction of the transport vehicle, and their rotation may be independent or may be connected in the width direction.

The rotating claw is applied with a torque by a spring in a direction of protruding from the platform. When the container is loaded by a crane or the like, it is pushed back by the lower end of the container. At this time, the lower end portion of the container comes into contact with any one of the concave portions formed in the rotary claw main body. If the shape of the concave part of the rotating claw is made to be a horizontal plane (the same plane as the platform) and a plane perpendicular to it when it is in contact with the lower end of the container, the vertical plane moves the container in the front-rear direction. Is prevented. In this manner, the transfer of the container can be realized without requiring high-precision positioning of the container and the transport trolley.

In this case, when the lower end of the container moves and hits the vertical surface of the concave portion of the rotating claw, the claw is caught by that portion, that is, a state close to a self-lock, and further movement is performed. Will be blocked. The effect of preventing the movement of the container is more effective as the distance between the rotation axis of the rotating claw and the bottom of the container, that is, the distance from the surface of the platform is shorter. Therefore, it is desirable that the rotating shaft of the rotating claw be installed directly below the surface of the platform.

Various sea shipping containers (20 feet,
In a container terminal handling 40 feet or 45 feet), if a detector for the rotation angle of each rotating claw is installed on the transport trolley, a control device mounted on the transport trolley can be used to determine the type, loading position and number of containers to be loaded. Can be recognized by By correcting the stop position when the container is unloaded at the transport destination based on the loading information, the transfer can be reliably performed, and the time required for the transfer can be saved.

The rotation angle of the rotating claw is detected by detecting the position of a part such as a rotating lever attached to the rotating shaft with a limit switch or by attaching an angle detecting device such as a potentiometer or a pulse encoder to the rotating shaft. Can be. As the angle at this time, it is sufficient that data capable of recognizing the position of the rotating claw be obtained, and such accuracy is sufficient.

The type and number of loaded containers and the loading position of the containers can be detected by a rotation angle sensor attached to the rotating claw. In this case, the rotating claw is in a state where there is no contact with the container when the rotation angle of the rotating claw is 0 (not rotating), and in a state where it is in contact with the bottom of the container when the rotation angle is maximum. is there. If the rotation angle of the rotary claw is neither 0 nor the maximum and is in the middle, it is in contact with the end of the container. From the state of the rotating claws, the type of the container and the number of stacked containers are obtained as described above.

When the long and short containers share the rotating claw, the type of the container can be determined from the state of the rotating claw (for the short container) at the intermediate portion of the transport vehicle. If the state of the rotating claw in the middle part is in contact with the bottom of the container, it is a long container, and if it is in contact with the end of the container, it is a short container.

As for the guides in the width direction of the transport vehicle, since each container has the same width, a fixed type guide may be used, and these guides are to be installed at necessary positions.

[0040]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the platform of the present invention
This will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a bird's-eye view showing the appearance of the platform of the transport vehicle. The upper surface of the frame 2 constituting the platform is a surface on which containers are loaded, and a plurality of rotating claws 4 are installed. The rotating claws 4 are arranged in eight rows in front and rear according to the container loading position. As shown in FIG. 1, two width direction guides 3s are mounted in the width direction of the carriage. The width guide 3s of the transport vehicle may be a fixed type guide since each container has the same width dimension.

FIG. 2 is a bird's-eye view showing the appearance of the rotating claw.
A rotary claw 4 having a stepped concave portion that rotates in the front-rear direction of the carrier (longitudinal direction of the container) and a rotary lever 7 are attached to the rotary shaft 6. A torque applying means (here, a coil spring) 5 is attached between the frame 2 and the rotating lever 7, and the rotating claw 4 is installed so as to protrude from the upper surface (platform) of the frame 2 by the reaction force of the coil spring 5. .

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a contact state between the rotating claw and the lower end of the container. Since the container 1 is loaded from above by the crane, the rotating claw 4 rotates according to the loading position of the container 1 and fixes the container position as shown in FIGS.

Here, the rotating pawl 4 under no load is shown in FIG.
It is stopped by the stopper 9 as shown in FIG. Therefore, FIG.
In this case, the rotation angle of the rotary claw 4 becomes the same (0 degree) when no load is applied and when the container is loaded. In the case where the state of one rotating claw in the longitudinal direction of the container is as shown in FIG. 3A, it is indistinguishable from the case of no load only by the rotation angle, but in this case, the other rotating claw that is opposed to contacts the lower end of the container. And the type of the container can be identified.

The shape of the rotary claw 4 is designed such that the surface that comes into contact with the container even when rotated is perpendicular to the platform as shown in FIG. 3 so that the container does not shift in the front-rear direction during transportation. I have. To detect the rotation angle of the rotating claw 4, three proximity switches 8a, 8b, 8c are connected to the frame 2
The rotation angle is detected by directly detecting the rotation lever 7. In this case, the rotation angle sensor is composed of three proximity switches, and detects the range of the rotation angle of the rotary claw 4, that is, the rotation state, instead of measuring the angle.

Next, the state of the rotary claw 4 installed on the platform will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4a shows a no-load condition, in which all rotating claws 4 have protruded from the frame 2 (platform). FIG. 4b shows a state in which one 45-foot container 1a is loaded. In this case, none of the rotating claws 4 is in contact with the lower end or the bottom of the container, and there is no load.

FIG. 4c shows a 40-foot container 1b
FIG. 4d shows a state in which one 20-foot container 1c is loaded. In each case, the rotating pawls outside the rotating pawls (in the front-rear direction of the transport vehicle) that are in contact with the lower ends of the containers 1b or 1c are in a no-load state. On the other hand, FIG.
Indicates a state in which two 20-foot containers 1c are stacked. In this case, all the rotating claws 4 come into contact with the container. However, in FIG. 4b (in the case of a 45-foot container), all of the rotating claws are in contact with the container bottom except for the rotating claws at the front and rear ends, whereas in FIG. 4d, the rotating claws 4 at the center of the platform are in contact with the lower end of the container. The point of contact is different.

Next, a method of detecting the container loading position will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 5D shows a state where the container 1 is loaded at a regular position. On the other hand, FIGS. 5B and 5F show a case where the container position is shifted by 100 mm to the left and right, and FIG.
And (e). The states from (b) to (f) in FIG. 5 are the transportable container loading states. If the range exceeds this range, the lower end of the container rotates as shown in (a) or (g) in the figure. The state is protruded from the nail 4.

As can be seen from FIGS. 5B to 5F (transportable container loaded state), the combination of the rotation angles of the right and left rotary claws is different in all cases. Therefore, it is understood that the loading position of the container can be detected by detecting the angle of the rotating claw.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the control device of the transport vehicle. In FIG. 6, the rotation angle of the rotating claw installed at each loading position of the carrier is detected by each rotation angle sensor, and the control of the steering, vehicle speed, brake, etc. of the carrier is performed by a steering control device, a vehicle speed control. Equipment and brake control equipment. In this way, by inputting the position of each rotating claw to the transport trolley control device, the type of the container and the loading position can be detected by the above-described method, and based on this information, the trolley stops at the container transport destination. The position can be modified.

As described above, the effects obtained by the apparatus and method of the present invention are summarized as follows. The transfer of the container can be performed in a short time without requiring high-accuracy positioning of the container and the transport vehicle. Various containers can be directly loaded on the platform, and the kinetic performance of the transport trolley can be maximized. By correcting the stop position at the time of unloading the container at the destination based on the loading information, the transfer can be reliably performed, and the time required for the transfer can be saved.

[0052]

According to the present invention, a long-sized container can be placed directly on the platform, so that the running stability is high. Further, since there is no need to attach an actuator to the container guide, the vehicle height can be reduced, and traveling can be stabilized.

Further, since the stop position of the container carrier is corrected by calculating the relative position of the container on the platform from the rotation angle of the rotating claw, it is not necessary to align the height of the container and the carrier. , Positioning time is reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a bird's-eye view showing an external appearance of a platform of a transport vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a bird's-eye view showing the appearance of a rotating claw.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a contact state between a rotating claw and a lower end of a container.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state of a rotating claw installed on a platform.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method of detecting a container loading position.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control device for the transport vehicle.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a staircase type container guide.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a conventional technique (a vertical container guide).

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a conventional technique (rotary container guide).

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a-1c Container 2 Frame 3a-3c Container guide 3s Width guide 4 Rotating claw 5 Torque applying means 6 Rotating shaft 7 Rotating lever 8 Rotation angle sensor 9 Stopper

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Sadao Nomura 1-1-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nihon Kokan Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A container carrier having a platform for loading containers and a container guide adapted to the dimensions of a plurality of types of containers, wherein a container guide in a longitudinal direction of the container includes a rotating claw rotatably mounted on the platform. A torque applying means for constantly applying torque in a direction in which the rotating claw comes out of the platform; and a rotation angle sensor for detecting a rotation angle of the rotating claw. A container transporting trolley, characterized in that concave portions for fixing the container are formed at a plurality of positions. 2. When a container is transferred using the container transport cart according to claim 1, the rotation angles of the individual rotating claws are detected by a rotation angle sensor, and the loaded container is detected based on the detected rotation angle. A method for controlling a container carrier, comprising calculating a type of a container, a number of containers, and a loading position of the containers.