WO2005014450A1

WO2005014450A1 - Cargo loading and unloading apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2005014450A1
Application number: PCT/KR2003/001590
Authority: WO
Inventors: Young-Soo Kwon; Kyoung-Han Kim
Original assignee: Dong-A University
Priority date: 2003-08-07
Filing date: 2003-08-07
Publication date: 2005-02-17
Also published as: AU2003247220A1; CN1839080A

Abstract

A cargo loading and unloading apparatus is disclosed. The cargo loading and unloading apparatus prevents a vibration, which occurs at a ship cargo transfer means for transferring a cargo from a ship to a land side conveyance unit, from transmitting to a trailer cargo transfer means for transferring the cargo from the conveyance unit to a trailer. The cargo loading and unloading apparatus for unloading a cargo from a ship to a trailer or loading a cargo on a ship, comprises a crane body movably disposed along a rail installed at a land side, a ship cargo transfer means having a transporting device which is used only for a ship cargo and disposed at the crane body, for transferring the cargo from one of a ship and a ship side transfer unit to the other one, a trailer cargo transfer means having a transporting device which is used only for a trailer cargo to transfer a cargo from one of a trailer and a trailer side transfer unit to the other one, a conveyance unit for conveying the cargos as transferred to the ship side transfer unit and the trailer side transfer unit, respectively, and a vibration insulating means for absorbing vibrations occurring at the ship cargo transfer means and the trailer cargo transfer means.

Description

CARGO LOADING AND UNLOADING APPARATUS

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a cargo loading and unloading apparatus which unloads cargo from an anchored ship in port onto a trailer or loads cargo onto the ship, and more particularly, to a cargo loading and unloading apparatus which has a medium unit between the ships and the trailers to facilitate cargo loading and unloading process.

BACKGROUND ART Cargo cranes are one of the main parts of the port facilities, which are operated to load and unload the goods. There have been a variety of suggestions for the cargo cranes which can perform loading and unloading operations more efficiently and rapidly. In one conventional example, for the cargo loading or unloading, as shown in FIG. 1, a ship cargo transfer means 11 installed on the crane body 10 reciprocates all the way between the cargo 'C of the ship 1 and the location of the trailer 'T'. Because the distance between the ship 1 and the trailer 'T' is considerably long, and the ship cargo transfer means 11 moves relatively slow, it takes relatively long period of time for one reciprocation. Accordingly, it usually takes a long period of time to unload cargo from the ship 1 onto the trailer 'T' and vice versa, and especially when operation is delayed under certain condition at the trailer 'T' or the cargo transfer means 11, which happens frequently, all the operations have to wait until the cause of the delay is dealt with. This problem of the conventional cargo crane causes considerable degradation of efficiency in

overall unloading/loading operations at the port.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, JP61211238 with the publication date of September

19, 1986 entitled "Method and device for transporting load between ship and dock" discloses a cargo unloading/loading method and apparatus which divides unloading/loading operation into waterside and landside operations, for the enhancement

of unloading/loading efficiency. However, the disclosed apparatus requires a landing platform to intervene between the ship cargo transfer means 11 which transfers cargo

from the ship 1 and the trailer cargo transfer means 12 which transfers cargo from the

trailer. That is, the disclosed apparatus requires the landing platform to carry the cargo thereon and vertically move between the ship cargo transfer means 11 and the trailer

cargo transfer means 12. Accordingly, if one of the ship cargo transfer means 11 and the trailer cargo transfer means 12 is in operation, the other side, which is not in operation,

has to stand by and wait. As a result, operation is delayed, and performance of the operation degrades. In order to enhance loading/unloading efficiency, the ship cargo transfer means

and the trailer cargo transfer means 11 and 12 can be constructed to move fast and therefore shorten the operation time. However, there is a limit in the moving speed of the transfer means 11 and 12, if considering the load of the cargo 'C and the safety during

the transfer. KR0230144 to the same applicant disclosed a cargo loading/unloading apparatus which divides loading and unloading operations between the ships anchored at port and the cargo trailers into sub-operations.

More specifically, KR0230144 is capable of providing reduced cargo transfer time and fast loading and unloading operation, because a situation in ship 1 or trailer 'T' does

not cause delay to the other. For example, trailers 'T' do not have to wait for an

unnecessarily long period of time. Because cargo can be efficiently loaded and unloaded, loading/unloading operation time at port reduces, and cargo transfer cost reduces due to

the enhancement of operation efficiency, and labor at port can be more effectively utilized.

However, because the ship cargo transfer means for transporting cargo from the ship onto the conveyance unit, and the unloading cargo transfer means for transporting the

cargo from the conveyance unit onto the trailer are altogether installed on the same frame, the problem occurs as the vibration from the gripping of the ship cargo transfer means affects the unloading cargo transfer means.

Korean Publication Patent No. 1996-7000188 discloses a method for substantially preventing the vibration of the cargo during the gripping operation of the ship cargo

transfer means. In order to compensate for the accelerator moment or decelerator moment acting on the cargo, a trolley is provided, having at least a pair of corresponding collector

paddles which have a length sufficient to extend downward to under the center of gravity of the cargo when the cargo is positioned at the highest position of the space between the collector paddles.

However, the method mentioned above requires facelift of the cargo loading and unloading apparatus, and therefore, cost increases. Besides, sufficient damping of the

vibration is not guaranteed. Accordingly, a cargo loading and unloading apparatus, which

can reduce vibration of the cargo during the gripping of the cargo ship transfer means in more economical manner, is required.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION In order to overcome the problems as mentioned above, an apparatus for unloading a cargo from a ship onto a trailer, or loading the cargo from the trailer onto the ship, according

to the present invention comprises a crane body installed to move along a landside rail; a ship cargo transfer means installed on the crane body, and comprising a ship cargo transporter

which transports the cargo from the ship to an adjacent ship-side transfer part, or vice versa; an auxiliary frame installed on the crane body; a trailer cargo transfer means installed on the

auxiliary frame, and comprising a trailer cargo transporter which transports the cargo from a trailer to an adjacent trailer-side transfer part, or vice versa; a conveyance means installed on

the auxiliary frame, for conveying the cargo of the ship-side transfer part to the trailer-side transfer part, or vice versa; and a vibration insulating means installed between the crane body

and the auxiliary frame, for absorbing a vibration generated from the ship cargo transfer means and the trailer cargo transfer means, respectively. The auxiliary frame preferably comprises a seating part seated on the crane body by the vibration insulating means; a cargo stacker for sequentially storing therein a plurality of cargoes respectively conveyed from the ship cargo transfer means and the trailer cargo transfer means; and a plurality of rolling means driven in accordance with the movement of the crane body along the ground. The conveyance means preferably comprises a palette, as the ship-side transfer part, for storing thereon the cargo conveyed from the ship; an elevator for elevating the palette to the elevation same as that of the trailer-side transfer part, or de-elevating; a first conveyor installed on the palette, for transporting the cargo of the palette forward to the trailer-side transfer part or backward; and a second conveyor installed on the trailer-side transfer part, moving forward to the location where the palette is moved, or backward.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional container crane; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a dual hoist type of container crane; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cargo loading and unloading apparatus according to the present invention; and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the main part of FIG. 3.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring to FIG. 3, the cargo loading and unloading apparatus according to the present invention includes a crane body 100, a ship cargo transfer means 110, an auxiliary frame 200, a trailer cargo transfer means 210, and a vibration insulating means 300.

The crane body 100 is formed to move along a landside rail 101, and to this end, includes a plurality of wheel units 102 positioned to correspond to the landside rail 101.

The ship cargo transfer means 110 is installed on the crane body 100. The ship cargo transfer means 110 includes a guide rail 112 horizontally formed along the upper side of the main frame 111 which is extended in the crane body 100, and

a ship cargo transporter 113 which transports cargo 'C between the ship 1 and the adjacent ship-side transfer part 120 along the guide rail 112. The trailer cargo transfer means 210 includes a trailer cargo transporter 213 which

transports cargo 'C between the trailer 'T' and the adjacent trailer-side transfer part 211. The trailer cargo transfer means 210 is preferably installed on the auxiliary frame 200

which is separately provided in addition to the crane body 100.

The auxiliary frame 200 includes a seating part 201 seated on the crane body 100 by the vibration insulating means 300 such as vibration-proof rubber or spring, a cargo stacker 202 for subsequently storing a plurality of cargoes 'C from the ship cargo transfer

means 110 and the trailer cargo transfer means 210 into stack; and a plurality of rolling means 203 driven along the ground in an endless orbit in accordance with the movement of the crane body 100.

The cargo stacker 202 fills in the time interval caused by untimely operations at the trailer 'T' and the ship 1 during the loading and unloading operation from the trailer 'T'

to the ship 1 or vice versa. The cargo stacker 202 stores therein cargo, and the number of accommodating cargoes can vary in accordance with the processing capacity of the port. The conveyance means 220 includes a palette 221 on which the cargo 'C from the ship is loaded; an elevator 222 for elevating the palette 221 to the elevation same as the trailer-side transfer part 211 or moving the palette 221 in an opposite direction, that is, de- elevating the palette 221 ; a first conveyor 223 installed on the palette 221 to transport the cargo 'C on the palette 221 forward to the intermediate location, that is, to the trailer-side transfer part 211 and backward; and a second conveyor 224 installed on the trailer-side transfer part 211 and moving forward to the position where the palette 221 is de-elevated and backward. The second conveyor 224 may include a plurality of conveyors in accordance with the number of cargoes stacked in the cargo stacker 202, each being formed with the length corresponding to the width of the cargo. An X-ray inspection equipment (not shown) may be installed in the cargo stacker 2002 where the second conveyor 224 is installed, so that the inspection on the cargo 'C prior to the transport onto the trailer ', which was done manually, can be automated. The method of loading and unloading ship cargo will now be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring to FIG. 3, for the transfer of cargo from the anchored ship in port, the wheel units 102 of the crane body 100 roll along the landside rail 101 to move to the column of the designated cargo 'C. When the crane body 100 arrives at the unloading position, the ship cargo transfer means 110 starts operating. The ship cargo transfer means 110 moves toward the cargo along the guide rail 112 horizontally formed on the upper portion of the main frame 111, and de-elevates the ship cargo transporter 113 directly thereunder to grips the cargo. With gripping the cargo, the ship cargo transporter 113 picks up the cargo to a predetermined elevation, and transports the cargo along the guide rail 112 to the ship 1 and the adjacent ship-side transfer part 120. Meanwhile, in order to insulate the vibration which is usually generated during the operation of the ship cargo transporter 113, and accordingly to prevent the vibration from transmitting to the trailer cargo transfer means 210 which will be described in greater detail below, the ship-side transfer part 120 is installed on the auxiliary frame 200. The auxiliary frame 200 includes a seating part 201 seated on the crane body 100 by a flexible member such as vibration-proof rubber or spring, and a plurality of rolling means 203 driven along the ground in an endless orbit in accordance with the movement of the crane body 100. Accordingly, by the resilience of the auxiliary frame 200 itself, the vibration insulating means and the plurality of rolling means 203 contacting the ground, vibration which is generated with the operation of the ship cargo transporter 113, can be damped. In other words, vibration is generated as the ship cargo transporter 113 operates, and transmitted via the crane body 100. However, because the auxiliary frame 200 and the crane body 100 are installed with the vibration insulating means 300 interposed therebetween, vibration is damped. The vibration may still be transmitted to the auxiliary frame 200 even after the vibration insulating means 300, but is secondly damped by the ground because the auxiliary frame 200 is indirectly contacted with the ground via the

plurality of rolling means 203. As a result, the trailer cargo transfer means is not vibrated. When the cargo arrives at the ship-side transfer part 120 by the ship cargo transporter

113, in order to transport the cargo to the trailer-side transfer part 211, the cargo is then

transported to the elevator 222, the conveyance means 220 and the cargo stacker 202.

The cargo is positioned to the elevation same as that of the cargo stacker 202 by the elevator 222 which elevates the cargo-loaded palette 221 to the elevation same as that of the trailer-side transfer part 211. Then by the first conveyor, which is installed at the

lower part of the palette 221, the cargo 'C is conveyed to the second conveyor 224 in the arrowed direction as shown in FIG. 4.

When the cargo 'C is positioned on the plurality of second conveyors 221 by the

first conveyor 223, each of the second conveyors 224 operates to convey the cargo to the extreme end, that is, toward the trailer-side transfer part 211. At this time, the number of

second conveyors 224 can be appropriately adjusted in accordance with the cargo

handling capacity of the port to adjust the number of cargoes 'C accommodated in the cargo stacker 202. As described above, when the cargo is conveyed to the cargo stacker 202 by the conveyance means 220 and positioned on the trailer-side transfer part 211, the trailer

cargo transporter 213 operates to stack the cargo on the waiting trailers 'T'. Because the trailer cargo transporter 213 is installed on the auxiliary frame 200 which is separately installed in addition to the crane body 100, it is possible to separately operate, independently from the operation of the ship cargo transporter 113. As a result, even when the trailer cargo transporter 213 is in operation, the ship cargo

transporter 113 can keep operating to convey the cargo 'C of the ship onto the ship-side

transfer part 120, and therefore, the cargo 'C can be continuously stored in the stack of the cargo stacker 202 by the conveyance means 220. As a result, waiting time of the

trailers 'T' is shortened. Additionally, because the trailer cargo transporter 213 is separately installed on the

auxiliary frame 200 in addition to the crane body 100, it is less subjected to the vibration

from the operation of the ship cargo transporter 113, and as a result, cargo can be loaded

onto the trailer 'T' more accurately. Meanwhile, the method of loading cargo of the trailers 'T' onto the ship 1 is performed in the reverse order of that cargo unloading method, and therefore, additional

description thereof will be omitted for the sake of brevity.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY With the cargo loading and unloading apparatus described as above according to the

present invention, the ship-side transfer means and the trailer-side transfer part are installed and operated on separate frames, respectively, and therefore, loading and unloading time can be reduced, the time of the ship's stay at port can be reduced, and the port capability greatly increases.

Additionally, because vibration, which is generated from the ship cargo transfer means during the gripping and lifting of the containers, is insulated through the vibration insulating means and therefore, prevented from transmitting to the trailer cargo transfer means, loading and unloading can be performed more accurately. Although the present invention has been described above with reference to exemplary preferred embodiments and reference drawings, the foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. The present teaching can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. Also, the description of the embodiments of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. An apparatus for unloading a cargo from a ship onto a trailer, or loading the cargo from the trailer onto the ship, the apparatus comprising: a crane body installed to move along a landside rail; a ship cargo transfer means installed on the crane body, and comprising a ship cargo transporter which transports the cargo from the ship to an adjacent ship-side transfer part, or vice versa; an auxiliary frame installed on the crane body; a trailer cargo transfer means installed on the auxiliary frame, and comprising a trailer cargo transporter which transports the cargo from a trailer to an adjacent trailer-side transfer part, or vice versa; a conveyance means installed on the auxiliary frame, for conveying the cargo of the ship-side transfer part to the trailer-side transfer part, or vice versa; and a vibration insulating means installed between the crane body and the auxiliary frame, for absorbing a vibration generated from the ship cargo transfer means and the trailer cargo transfer means, respectively.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary frame comprises: a seating part seated on the crane body by the vibration insulating means; a cargo stacker for sequentially storing therein a plurality of cargoes respectively conveyed from the ship cargo transfer means and the trailer cargo transfer means; and a plurality of rolling means driven in accordance with the movement of the crane body along the ground.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the rolling means moves in an endless orbit.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conveyance means comprises: a palette, as the ship-side transfer part, for storing thereon the cargo conveyed from the ship; an elevator for elevating the palette to the elevation same as that of the trailer-side

transfer part, or de-elevating; a first conveyor installed on the palette, for transporting the cargo of the palette

forward to the trailer-side transfer part or backward; and a second conveyor installed on the trailer-side transfer part, moving forward to the location where the palette is moved, or backward.