WO2007132416A2

WO2007132416A2 - The displacement of containers with respect to a ship

Info

Publication number: WO2007132416A2
Application number: PCT/IB2007/051795
Authority: WO
Inventors: David Peter Dennison
Original assignee: David Peter Dennison
Priority date: 2006-05-15
Filing date: 2007-05-11
Publication date: 2007-11-22
Also published as: WO2007132416A3

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of displacing shipping containers (10) onto a ship (12) and from a ship. The method includes performing vertical displacement of containers adjacent a ship and horizontal displacement of containers above the ship by means of two separate displacement mechanisms, thereby permitting the time efficiency associated with the loading onto a ship and unloading from a ship of the containers to be enhanced. The invention extends also to equipment for use in the above method, particularly a displacement mechanism (21) that can vertically displace containers adjacent a ship, a gantry- type crane (16, 18) conveniently providing for horizontal displacement of the containers (10).

Description

THE DISPLACEMENT OF CONTAINERS WITH RESPECT TO A SHIP

THIS INVENTION relates to the displacement of containers with respect to a ship.

The invention relates particularly to a method of displacing a shipping container onto a ship and from a ship, respectively for loading and unloading purposes, and to equipment for use in this method.

In the loading of conventional load carrying shipping containers onto a ship, with the ship moored alongside a wharf in a harbour, the containers to be loaded onto the ship are transported to and positioned on the wharf adjacent the ship. A crane, typically a crane displaceably supported on a gantry and commonly known as a shore side gantry, individually engages each container via a structure known as a spreader, lifts the container to a level above the location on a ship where the container is to be positioned, by displacement of the crane along the gantry moves the container to a position above the location on the ship where the container must be positioned, lowers the container into its position and then disengages the container. Unloading of containers from a ship clearly involves the reverse operation in relation to each container to be unloaded.

It will be understood in relation to the above loading and unloading operations that the crane used fulfils the entire operations which, it is submitted, is time inefficient and, as such, renders loading and unloading expensive. It is thus an object of this invention to render these operations more time efficient and, as such, less expensive. Insofar as reference is made hereinafter to the displacement of a container with respect to a ship, this must be understood as a reference to such displacement of a container that occurs during loading onto and unloading from a ship and that, for the purposes of this specification, includes vertical displacement adjacent a ship, during which a container is displaced between a position on a wharf and a raised position above the wharf and higher than the position on the ship where the container must be positioned or is already positioned, and horizontal displacement, during which a container is displaced between its raised position above a wharf and its position on a ship. It will be understood that the raised position of a container must take into account that, for loading, by way of example, the container may have to be positioned at a level significantly higher than the top edge of the hull of the relevant ship and also insofar as the horizontal displacement referred to is concerned, actual positioning as required, or lifting of a container from a particular position, will involve also some vertical displacement.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of displacing a container with respect to a ship, for loading and unloading of the container, which includes

performing vertical displacement of the container adjacent the ship by means of a first displacement mechanism positioned operatively adjacent the ship on a wharf; and

performing horizontal displacement of the container above the ship by means of a second displacement mechanism positioned operatively adjacent the ship on the wharf.

The method of the invention provides particularly for the vertical displacement of the container adjacent the ship to be performed with a first displacement mechanism including at least one platform on which the container is supported and which is vertically displaced. The method of the invention also provides for the horizontal displacement of the container above the ship to be performed with a second displacement mechanism which is a gantry-type crane and which carries a spreader that engages the container during its displacement. Further according to the method of the first aspect of the invention, each one of the first displacement mechanism and the second displacement mechanism may perform a container displacement stage, during which a container is displaced, and a reverse displacement stage, each container displacement stage of one displacement mechanism overlapping with the reverse displacement stage of the other displacement mechanism.

According to a second aspect of this invention there is provided equipment for use in a method of displacing a container with respect to a ship, for loading and unloading of the container, and where the method includes

performing horizontal displacement of the container above the ship by means of a second displacement mechanism positioned operatively adjacent the ship on the wharf,

in which the equipment includes

a first displacement mechanism for performing vertical displacement of a container adjacent a ship; and

a second displacement mechanism for performing horizontal displacement of a container above the ship.

The first displacement mechanism of the equipment may include at least one platform on which a container can be supported for displacement and which is vertically displaceable. The first displacement mechanism particularly includes a winch and cable arrangement for vertically displacing the platform. The platform of the first displacement mechanism may include locating formations for locating a container thereon. The equipment also may include an auxiliary platform operatively positioned at the raised level of the platform of the first displacement mechanism and displacement means for displacing a container between the auxiliary platform and the platform of the first displacement mechanism. The equipment also may include a displacement arrangement for displacing a container onto or from the platform of the first displacement mechanism, when in its lowered position.

The first displacement mechanism of the equipment of the invention may be mounted on a wheeled base structure that provides for displacement of the mechanism along a wharf.

The second displacement mechanism of the equipment of the invention may be a gantry-type crane which carries a spreader for engaging a container during displacement thereby.

The equipment of the invention may be particularly adapted for use in the method of displacing a container in accordance with the first aspect of this invention.

It must be understood that the features of the method of the invention and of the equipment for use in the method of the invention are greatly variable. The invention accordingly extends also to all such alternative methods and equipment which still incorporate the essential features thereof as hereinabove defined.

Further features of the method of the first aspect of this invention and the equipment of the second aspect of this invention are described hereafter, by way of examples, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings. In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a schematic elevational view of a first embodiment of equipment, in accordance with the second aspect of this invention, illustrating schematically the method of displacing a container with respect to a ship, in accordance with the first aspect of this invention; and

Figure 2 shows a schematic elevational view of a second embodiment of a part of equipment, in accordance with the second aspect of this invention.

Referring initially to Figure 1 of the drawings, equipment, in accordance with the second aspect of this invention, for carrying out the method of displacing a container with respect to a ship, in accordance with the first aspect of this invention, is described with reference to the application of the method for loading a load carrying container 10 onto a ship 12 which is moored adjacent a wharf 14 in a harbour. The equipment includes a conventional-type crane 16 that is displaceably supported by a gantry 18, the support of the gantry 18 on the wharf 14 being conventional and not being illustrated in detail. The crane 16 has an engagement structure, known as a spreader 20, suspended therefrom, the spreader 20 being a structure that provides for engagement of a conventional container in a known manner, for the displacement thereof.

The equipment includes also a further displacement mechanism, designated generally by the numeral 21 , which includes a support structure 22 mounted on a wheeled base structure 24, the wheeled base structure 24 being displaceable along the wharf 14. The support structure 22 extends from the base structure 24 operatively upwardly and beyond the top of the hull of the ship 12. Stabilizing legs 26 that are operative while the equipment is in use enhance the stable support of the displacement mechanism 21 during the loading process as described hereafter.

The support structure 22 has four cable and winch mechanisms 30 (only two shown) mounted thereon that form a cable and winch arrangement, a platform 32 being suspended at its corners by the four cables of the mechanisms 30. The cable and winch arrangement is operable so that by operation of the winches, the platform 32 is vertically displaced within the support structure 22 from a first position (as shown in dotted lines), near the level of the wharf 14, to an elevated position (as shown in solid lines), which is a position slightly higher than the position at which a container must be loaded onto the ship 12.

As is conventional, containers to be loaded onto a ship are positioned on the wharf adjacent which the ship is moored. For loading, the method of the invention provides for the containers, one at a time, to be positioned on the platform 32 of the displacement mechanism 21 , particularly while the platform is in its first position. Locating formations 34 determine the required location of a container on the platform, the platform further being configured to accommodate twist locks, and the like, that may be engaged with a container during loading and unloading thereof (not shown in detail). When so positioned and by the operation of the winch and cable arrangement, the platform is raised to its elevated position, at which time the container supported thereon is engaged by the spreader 20 of the crane 16. Once so engaged and by operation and displacement of the crane, the container is displaced in a conventional manner into its loading position on the ship, whereafter the crane can return to its position as shown in Figure 1. While the latter displacement of the container from its position as shown in solid lines in Figure 1 is occurring, the platform 32 is lowered to its first position and a further container is positioned thereon and raised to the elevated position as shown.

It will be appreciated that unloading of containers from a ship will require the reverse of the above described operation, the method of the invention essentially providing for the vertical displacement stage of the container to be performed by the first displacement mechanism of the equipment, whereas the horizontal displacement stage is performed by the second displacement mechanism of the equipment, i.e. the crane 16. By employing this method, the time efficiency of loading containers onto a ship or unloading containers from a ship is greatly improved, keeping in mind that the two displacement stages described can now occur simultaneously in relation to separate containers, which clearly is not possible in accordance with the known method of loading containers onto a ship which involves only the use of a gantry-type crane which performs both the vertical displacement stage of the container and the horizontal displacement stage of the container.

Clearly, the displacement mechanism 21 of the equipment will be specially designed in order to accommodate requirements, whereas the other displacement mechanism is a conventional gantry-type crane, i.e. a crane of the type conventionally used for lifting containers from a wharf to an elevated level and then displacing the containers above the ship involved to the loading position of the container, or the reverse path for unloading.

Still referring particularly to Figure 1 of the drawings, it must be understood that the elevated position to which the container 10 is vertically displaced is a position from which the crane 16 will position the container 10 on top of the already loaded containers 10. In relation to loading and unloading of containers 10, different elevated positions of the platform 32 will be determined, these positions being essentially determined by the levels at which individual containers must be loaded, or from which individual containers must be unloaded, thus to minimize the vertical displacement of individual containers by the crane 16.

It must be appreciated that the method of loading containers onto a ship and unloading containers from a ship, as above described, can be greatly varied whilst still utilizing displacement mechanisms as described for performing vertical and horizontal displacement of the containers, the configuration of the equipment used for the purpose clearly also being greatly variable, both in relation to construction and the operation thereof.

Particularly in relation to the equipment for performing the method of the invention, it is anticipated that the displacement mechanism that provides for horizontal displacement of a container above a ship will always be a gantry-type crane as above envisaged and described. The configuration of the displacement mechanism that provides for vertical displacement of a container, however, is greatly variable, it being particularly envisaged that many different mechanisms can potentially provide for vertical displacement of containers between positions as described. For example, instead of cable and winch mechanisms, different displacement means can be utilized for the vertical displacement of a platform. The exact construction and configuration of the displacement mechanism 21 , therefore, is not described in further detail herein. Different forms of mechanisms will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Referring now to Figure 2 of the drawings, an alternative embodiment displacement mechanism, that operates in association with a mechanism that provides for the horizontal displacement of a container, is illustrated, this mechanism being designated generally by the numeral 40. The lifting mechanism associated with the displacement mechanism 40 may be the same as before and, as such, is not again illustrated in any detail. The mechanism 40 includes also a platform structure 42 which serves to facilitate the displacement of a container onto or from the platform 44. A conveyor arrangement or a container handling means is thus provided for loading containers to be loaded onto a ship onto the platform structure 42 or, in relation to unloading of containers, for displacing containers from the platform structure 42. Various different arrangements in this regard are envisaged and are already associated with the known handling of containers and this, therefore, requires no further description.

The displacement mechanism 40 includes also an auxiliary platform 46 which is supported within the support structure 48 of the mechanism, the auxiliary platform 46 being vertically displaceable to coincide with the level of the platform 44, which is determined in accordance with considerations as above explained. For loading a container, the container can be displaced form the platform 44 onto the platform 46, from which a gantry-type crane can pick-up the container for loading purposes, the reverse applying for unloading. The provision of the auxiliary platform particularly accommodates situations where vertical displacement and horizontal displacement of containers occur over different time periods and it may thus become necessary to retain a container on the auxiliary platform for a time period, either to be picked up for loading or to be displaced onto the platform 44 during unloading. Considerations in this regard will be clearly apparent and this is thus not described in further detail herein.

It must be appreciated from the above that many different displacement mechanism associated with platforms are envisaged that can enhance the time efficiency associated with loading and unloading of containers, the invention extending also to all such configurations of mechanisms which will serve to still benefit from the advantages of the present invention as hereinabove explained.

Claims

1. A method of displacing a container with respect to a ship, for loading and unloading of the container, which includes

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1 , in which the vertical displacement of the container adjacent the ship is performed with a first displacement mechanism including at least one platform on which the container is supported and which is vertically displaced.

3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the horizontal displacement of the container above the ship is performed with a second displacement mechanism which is a gantry-type crane and which carries a spreader that engages the container during its displacement.

4. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which each one of the first displacement mechanism and the second displacement mechanism performs a container displacement stage, during which a container is displaced, and a reverse displacement stage and in which each container displacement stage of one displacement mechanism overlaps with the reverse displacement stage of the other displacement mechanism.

5. Equipment for use in a method of displacing a container with respect to a ship, for loading and unloading of the container, and where the method includes

performing vertical displacement of the container adjacent the ship by means of a first displacement mechanism operatively positioned adjacent the ship on a wharf; and

performing horizontal displacement of the container above the ship by means of a second displacement mechanism operatively positioned adjacent the ship on a wharf, in which the equipment includes

a second displacement mechanism for performing horizontal displacement of the container above the ship.

6. Equipment as claimed in Claim 5, in which the first displacement mechanism includes at least one platform on which a container can be supported for displacement and which is vertically displaceable.

7. Equipment as claimed in Claim 6, in which the first displacement mechanism includes a winch and cable arrangement for vertically displacing the platform.

8. Equipment as claimed in Claim 6 or Claim 7, in which the platform includes locating formations for locating a container thereon.

9. Equipment as claimed in any one of Claims 6 to 8, which includes an auxiliary platform operatively positioned at the raised level of the platform of the first displacement mechanism and displacement means for displacing a container between the auxiliary platform and the platform of the first displacement mechanism.

10. Equipment as claimed in any one of Claims 6 to 9, which includes a displacement arrangement for displacing a container onto or from the platform of the first displacement mechanism when in its lowered position.

1 1. Equipment as claimed in any one of Claims 5 to 10, in which the first displacement mechanism is mounted on a wheeled base structure that provides for displacement of the mechanism on a wharf.

12. Equipment as claimed in any one of Claims 5 to 1 1 , in which the second displacement mechanism is a gantry-type crane which carries a spreader for engaging a container during displacement thereby.

13. Equipment as claimed in any one of Claims 5 to 12, which is particularly adapted for use in the method of displacing a container as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4.

14. A method of displacing a container with respect to a ship, for loading or unloading of the container, as claimed in Claim 1 , substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

15. Equipment for use in the method of displacing a container with respect to a ship, for loading or unloading of a container, as claimed in Claim 5, substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.