WO2014115354A1

WO2014115354A1 - Container crane

Info

Publication number: WO2014115354A1
Application number: PCT/JP2013/068731
Authority: WO
Inventors: 小林　雅人
Original assignee: 三菱重工マシナリーテクノロジー株式会社
Priority date: 2013-01-28
Filing date: 2013-07-09
Publication date: 2014-07-31
Also published as: CN104379489A; HK1205995A1; SG11201408467QA; JP2014144836A; CN104379489B

Abstract

In the present invention, a container crane comprises a travelling apparatus, a girder, a trolley, a splitter (10), an elevating mechanism, a laser scanner (22), and a crane control apparatus. The girder is supported by the travelling apparatus and extends in the horizontal direction. The trolley is capable of travelling along the girder. The splitter (10) is hung from the trolley and is capable of engaging and disengaging the container. The elevating mechanism moves the splitter (10) up and down. The laser scanner (22) is provided in the splitter (10) and emits laser light and obtains the coordinates of the point of incidence on an article of interest. The crane control apparatus controls the driving of the trolley and the splitter (10) based on the coordinates of the point of incidence obtained using the laser scanner (22).

Description

Container crane

This invention relates to a container crane, and particularly relates to its container detection. The present application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-013468 filed in Japan on January 28, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In container terminals that load and unload containers on container ships and foreign chassis, unmanned and labor-saving efforts are being promoted from the viewpoint of cost reduction.
In particular, when containers are stacked and stored, the storage container may be displaced due to the influence of wind or deformation of the container. Therefore, in order to avoid contact between the suspended container being transported and the container stored, it is necessary to detect obstacles around the suspended container and avoid interference of the obstacles.

Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for storing a suspended container by measuring the position of a target and the position of an obstacle using a laser scanner arranged in a trolley.
Patent Document 2 proposes a technique for attaching a CCD camera to a spreader and detecting each edge of a suspended container and a target container by image processing of a camera image.
Furthermore, Patent Document 3 describes that the position of a row adjacent to the target container is measured in advance and the envelope of the adjacent row is evaluated.
Patent Document 4 describes that an obstacle near the lower end of a suspended container is detected by an infrared beam sensor provided in the spreader.

JP-T-2002-527317 JP 2002-205891 A JP 2003-034490 A JP 2006-232496 A

However, since the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above is provided with a laser scanner in the trolley, there is a problem that an area in which measurement cannot be performed due to the spreader being disturbed occurs particularly when the spreader is lowered. In addition, there is a problem that it is difficult to improve detection accuracy because the distance between the target container on which the suspended container is placed, the row adjacent to the target container, and the above-described laser scanner is long.

Further, in the case of the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 to 4, a landing container sensor for detecting each edge between the hanging container and the target container, a collision prevention sensor for measuring the position of the adjacent row, etc. It is necessary to provide a large number of sensors individually. Therefore, there is a problem that the cost increases due to an increase in the number of parts and a complicated control system.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can detect obstacles and the like in a wide range with high accuracy, and suppress an increase in cost due to an increase in the number of parts and a complicated control system. A container crane that can be used is provided.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the container crane is suspended from the traveling device, the girder supported by the traveling device and extending in the horizontal direction, the trolley capable of traveling along the girder, and the trolley. And a spreader capable of engaging and disengaging the container, an elevating mechanism for raising and lowering the spreader, a laser scanner provided on the spreader for emitting the laser beam to obtain the coordinates of the light landing point of the object, and the laser scanner And a crane control device that drives and controls the trolley and the spreader based on the coordinates of the light spot acquired by the above.
With this configuration, since the laser scanner moves up and down together with the spreader, it is possible to prevent an area that cannot be measured by the laser scanner due to the spreader becoming an obstacle. In addition, the distance between the laser scanner, the target container, and the row adjacent to the target container can be shortened. Further, without separately providing a sensor for landing the suspended container engaged with the spreader and a sensor for preventing a collision, only the laser scanner disposed on the spreader can be used to connect the suspended container and the target container. The position can be detected and the position of the adjacent row can be measured.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the laser scanner may be provided on a lateral side of the spreader.
By comprising in this way, the clearance gap between adjacent containers can be detected accurately.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the crane control device scans the laser scanner in a horizontal range from below the spreader, and based on the coordinates of the light spot acquired by the laser scanner, Determining the amount of displacement for obtaining the envelope between the suspended container engaged with the spreader and the target container on which the suspended container is placed, and obtaining the amount of positional deviation between the suspended container and the target container based on the envelope May be provided.
By comprising in this way, the positional offset amount of a hanging container and a target container can be calculated | required based on the detection result of a laser scanner.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the crane control device determines the distance between the surrounding obstacle and the laser scanner based on the coordinates of the light spot acquired by the laser scanner. And a descent restriction control unit that restricts the descent operation of the spreader based on the distance between the surrounding obstacle and the laser scanner.
With this configuration, the lowering operation of the spreader can be limited before the suspended container collides with the obstacle based on the distance between the laser scanner and the obstacle.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, an accumulating unit that accumulates the coordinates of the light arrival point may be provided.
With this configuration, it is possible to accumulate the coordinates of the light arrival points detected at various trolley positions. As a result, the spreader can be driven and controlled so that the suspended container does not interfere with the obstacles, including the coordinates of the light arrival points that cannot be detected at the current trolley position.

According to the container crane according to the aspect of the present invention, obstacles and the like can be detected in a wide range with high accuracy, and an increase in cost due to an increase in the number of parts and a complicated control system can be suppressed.

It is a perspective view of a container crane in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the container crane and lane. It is a top view of the spreader which the said container crane has. It is a functional block diagram for performing control which lowers a suspended container on the target container which piles up a suspended container in the crane control apparatus of the said container crane. It is a perspective view which shows the scanning range of the said hanging container, a target container, and a laser scanner. It is explanatory drawing of the envelope of the said hanging container and a target container. It is a functional block diagram for performing control which prevents that a hanging container collides with an obstacle in the above-mentioned crane control device. It is explanatory drawing of the envelope of the said hanging container and the container of an adjacent wax. It is a functional block diagram for calculating | requiring the container product shape in each bay of a lane in the said crane control apparatus. In the said container crane, it is a front view which shows an example of arrangement | positioning of the laser scanner which detects a light arrival coordinate. In the said container crane, it is a front view which shows an example of arrangement | positioning different from the said FIG. 10 of the laser scanner which detects a light arrival coordinate. It is explanatory drawing which shows the container product shape determined in arrangement | positioning of the laser scanner of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the container product shape determined in arrangement | positioning of the laser scanner of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the method of calculating | requiring the light arrival coordinate in the said container crane.

Next, a container crane according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The container crane 1 in this embodiment is provided, for example, in a container yard of a container terminal that loads and unloads containers C, loads containers C, and the like on a container ship that touches a quay.

1 and 2 are diagrams showing a schematic configuration of a container crane 1 of this embodiment.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the container crane 1 is disposed in each of a plurality of lanes 2 provided in the container yard, and handles the container C. The container crane 1 can be self-propelled by a traveling device 4 having wheels with tires. The container crane 1 is formed in a substantially portal shape including two pairs of leg portions 5 supported by the traveling device 4 and a crane girder 6 connecting the upper end portions of the leg portions 5. The container crane 1 includes a trolley 7 that can traverse the crane girder 6. The trolley 7 is provided with a hoisting device 8 (see FIG. 1), and a spreader 10 is suspended from the hoisting device 8 via a suspension wire 9 so as to be lifted and lowered.

Here, the container C stored in the lane 2 is a container such as an ISO standard container. The container C is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a predetermined length represented by 20 feet or 40 feet. Each lane 2 has a plurality of bays having a unit length of one longitudinal dimension of the container C in the longitudinal direction. In each bay, a plurality of rows 12 having a short length of the container C as a unit length are set. In these rows 12, a plurality of containers C can be stacked and stored. In each lane 2, the position of the container C can be specified based on the position of the bay, the position of the row 12, and the number of stages in the row 12. The interval between adjacent rows 12 is set as narrow as possible for the purpose of improving storage density.

Further, between the legs 5 of the container crane 1, a traveling path 14 of a transport carriage 13 such as AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) is laid, and the container crane 1 is transported by the transport carriage 13. And the container C is stored in a predetermined storage position in the lane 2. On the other hand, the container crane 1 carries out the container C to the outside of the lane 2 by delivering the container C stored in the lane 2 to the transport carriage 13.

As shown in FIG. 3, the spreader 10 is a device for lifting the container C, and includes a spreader body 15, an engagement / disengagement mechanism 16, and a slide mechanism 17.
The spreader main body 15 is composed of a horizontal frame 15a and a vertical frame 15b that form the skeleton of the spreader 10, and a pulley 18 (see FIG. 1) around which the suspension wire 9 is wound is disposed at the center upper portion.

The engagement / disengagement mechanism 16 includes an engagement piece (not shown) such as a so-called twist lock that engages / disengages with respect to engagement holes (not shown) formed in the upper four corners of the container C. The engagement / disengagement mechanism 16 can be disposed at a position facing the engagement hole of the container C. More specifically, the engagement / disengagement mechanism 16 is disposed at each end of the support frame 19 extending in parallel with the lateral frame 15a.

The slide mechanism 17 includes a guide rod 20 extending in the longitudinal direction of the container C.
The slide mechanism 17 slides the engagement / disengagement mechanism 16 along with the support frame 19 along the guide rod 20. That is, by adjusting the position of the engagement / disengagement mechanism 16 by the slide mechanism 17, even the containers C having different lengths can be lifted by one spreader 10.

Further, the spreader 10 includes a sensor bracket 21 that extends from each end of the support frame 19 toward the spreader main body 15 and substantially parallel to the guide rod 20. Laser scanners 22 are respectively attached to the end portions of the sensor brackets 21.
That is, the laser scanner 22 is disposed on the outer side (side portion) in the width direction of a container suspended by the spreader 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as a suspended container C1). Here, the width direction of the container C is a horizontal direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the container C.

The laser scanner 22 is a device that can acquire three-dimensional coordinate data of a measurement object using laser light. More specifically, the laser scanner 22 calculates the distance to the measurement object from the time until the laser light is reflected by the measurement object and returns. Then, the coordinates of the light receiving point (hereinafter simply referred to as the light receiving coordinates) are obtained from the distance to the measurement object and the irradiation angle of the laser light. The information is output to the crane control device 23 that controls the drive of the hoisting device 8, the trolley 7, and the skew device (not shown) described above.

As shown in FIG. 4, the crane control device 23 includes a sensor data capturing unit 24, an envelope determination processing unit 25, a deviation amount deriving unit 26, and a control amount calculating unit 27. The sensor data capturing unit 24, the envelope determination processing unit 25, the deviation amount deriving unit 26, and the control amount calculating unit 27 are set in advance on the ground of the lane 2 based on the detection result of the laser scanner 22. It is a control block that performs a series of controls when the suspended container C1 is lowered on a target or a container (hereinafter simply referred to as a target container C2) to be stacked (placed) on the upper surface of the suspended container C1.

The sensor data capturing unit 24 is an interface that captures detection results obtained by the laser scanners 22. The data of the incoming light coordinates captured by the sensor data capturing unit 24 is output toward the envelope determination processing unit 25.

The envelope determination processing unit 25 determines the envelopes 28 of the suspended container C1 and the target container C2 based on the light arrival coordinates acquired via the sensor data acquisition unit 24. Here, the envelope 28 substantially coincides with the contours on the outer side surfaces in the width direction of the suspended container C1 and the target container C2. As shown in FIG. 5, the laser scanner 22 of this embodiment obtains an envelope 28 by scanning laser light from a vertically lower position to a substantially horizontal position in the extending direction of the bay (the traversing direction of the trolley 7).

The deviation amount deriving unit 26 derives a relative deviation amount L1 between the suspended container C1 and the target container C2 based on the envelope 28 obtained by the envelope determination processing unit 25. For example, when a horizontal shift occurs between the suspended container C1 and the target container C2, a clear step is formed in the distance to the laser light landing point as shown in FIG. Therefore, the landing points on the side closer to the laser scanner 22 are arranged in a substantially horizontal direction, and the horizontal lengths of the envelopes 28 at the positions where these landing points are arranged are obtained, whereby the suspended container C1 and the target container C2 are obtained. Deviation amount L1 can be derived.

The control amount calculation unit 27 obtains a control amount for moving the spreader 10 in a direction in which the deviation amount L1 decreases based on the deviation amount L1 derived by the deviation amount deriving unit 26. More specifically, the control amount by a skew device (not shown) for controlling the inclination of the winding device 8, the trolley 7 and the spreader 10 is derived. The crane control device 23 performs drive control of the hoisting device 8, the trolley 7, and the spreader 10 based on the control amount information derived by the control amount calculation unit 27.

As shown in FIG. 7, the crane control device 23 further includes an obstacle distance determination unit 29 and a lowering speed limit amount calculation unit 30. The obstacle distance determination unit 29 and the lowering speed limit amount calculation unit 30 perform a series of control processes for preventing the suspended container C1 from colliding with the obstacle.

The obstacle distance determination unit 29 is an envelope in which the envelope determination processing unit 25 determines the distance between the suspended container C1 (suspended load) and the container C (surrounding obstacle) of the row 12 adjacent to the target container C2. The determination is made based on 28a and 28b. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the envelope 28 calculated by the envelope determination processing unit 25 is adjacent to the target container C2 and the envelope 28a extending on the side surfaces of the suspended container C1 and the target container C2. And the envelope 28b of the container C stored in the row 12 (hereinafter simply referred to as the adjacent row 12a). The obstacle distance determination unit 29 obtains the distance between the suspended container C1 and the container C of the adjacent wax 12a based on the distance between the

envelopes

28a and 28b, and sends the information to the unwinding speed limit amount calculation unit 30. Output.

The lowering speed limit amount calculation unit 30 determines whether or not the distance between the suspended container C1 and the container C of the adjacent wax 12a is less than a predetermined distance set in advance. When it is determined that the distance between the suspended container C1 and the container C of the adjacent row 12a is less than a predetermined distance, there is a possibility of collision between the suspended container C1 and the container C of the adjacent row 12a. It is determined that there is, and the lowering operation is restricted, for example, the spreader 10 is lowered by the hoisting device 8, that is, the unwinding speed of the hanging wire 9 is set to "0". Note that the lowering operation may be set to be slower as the distance between the suspended container C1 and the container C of the adjacent wax 12a becomes smaller.

As shown in FIG. 9, the crane control device 23 further includes an incident light coordinate calculation unit 31, an arrival point data storage unit 32, and a container product shape determination unit 33. The received light coordinate calculation unit 31, the received light spot data storage unit 32, and the container product shape determination unit 33 perform control processing for obtaining the container product shape in each bay of the lane 2. Here, the container product shape is substantially equal to the cross-sectional contour shape when it is assumed that all the containers C stored in one bay are integrated in the transverse direction of the trolley 7. This container product shape is obtained for each bay in one lane 2. By determining the container product shape, the height of the suspended container C1 is moved to an appropriate position when the suspended container C1 is transported in the horizontal direction regardless of the detection result of the distance between the spreader 10 and the obstacle. It becomes possible to convey quickly and efficiently.

The sensor data capturing unit 24 detects the position of the spreader 10, that is, the position of the laser scanner 22 from the encoder 34 and the shake sensor 35 provided in the trolley 7 in order to obtain the position of the spreader 10 in addition to the light receiving coordinates by the laser scanner 22 described above. Capture data. Here, the encoder 34 detects the traversing position of the trolley 7 and the traveling position of the container crane 1 by the traveling device 4. Further, the shake sensor 35 detects the shake amount of the spreader 10 suspended from the trolley 7. The traveling position of the container crane 1 may be obtained by receiving a signal such as GPS (Global Positioning System).

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the received light coordinate calculation unit 31 detects the received light coordinates by the laser scanner 22 while the suspended container C1 is being transported, for example. The data of each light receiving coordinate is output to the light spot data storage unit 32 in association with the position information of the laser scanner 22. In FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the scanning range by the laser scanner 22 is shown surrounded by a sector of a two-dot difference line.

The received light spot data storage unit 32 includes storage means such as a memory, and stores the received light coordinate data input from the received light coordinate calculation unit 31 and the position information of the laser scanner 22 in association with each other. In addition, when a change occurs in the light arrival coordinates in the same bay, the light arrival point data accumulation unit 32 performs a process of deleting the old light arrival coordinate data and updating it to the latest light arrival coordinate data.

The container product shape determination unit 33 determines the container product shape of the target bay based on the light arrival coordinate data accumulated in the light arrival point data accumulation unit 32 and the position information of the laser scanner 22.
From this container product shape, the container product height of each row 12 can be known.

Here, for example, when the spreader 10 is located at the position shown in FIG. 10, the uppermost container C of the row 12 (second row from the left in FIG. 10) surrounded by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. The laser beam emitted from the laser scanner 22 does not reach. In this case, the container product shape determination unit 33 determines the container product shape as shown by a thick line in FIG. Here, the shape indicated by a broken line in FIG. 12 is a container product shape at the maximum height of each row 12, and the default value for the container C of the row 12 where the laser beam does not reach as described above, The coordinate of the maximum height position of the row 12 is used instead of the light arrival coordinate.

On the other hand, for example, when the spreader 10 is moved from the position shown in FIG. 10 to the position shown in FIG. 11, the laser light from the laser scanner 22 is incident on the container C where the laser light did not reach at the position shown in FIG. It becomes possible. As a result, the new light arrival coordinate is detected by the light arrival coordinate calculation unit 31. Then, the data is additionally updated to the light coordinates of the newly detected position in the light coordinates data stored in the light spot data storage unit 32. Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the container product shape determination unit 33 calculates the added container product shape (indicated by a thick line in FIG. 13) of the light arrival coordinates of the container C where the laser light can be received. It is calculated by.

Here, as shown in FIG. 14, the light receiving coordinates (Xt, Yt) are calculated based on the center coordinates (Xs, Ys) of the spreader 10. More specifically, the distance in the transverse direction from the center of the spreader 10 to the laser scanner 22 is “W”, the distance from the laser scanner 22 to the light spot is “L”, and the angle of the laser scanner 22 with respect to the vertical direction is “θ”. ", The light arrival coordinates can be obtained by the following equations (1) and (2).

Xt = Xs + W + L · sin θ (1)
Yt = Ys−L · cos θ (2)

The received light coordinate calculation unit 31 performs the calculation of the received light coordinates for each angle at which the laser scanner 22 is scanned. Then, the obtained light arrival coordinates are sequentially accumulated in the light arrival point data accumulation unit 32.

Therefore, according to the container crane 1 of the above-described embodiment, since the laser scanner 22 can be moved up and down together with the spreader 10, it is possible to prevent the spreader 10 from becoming an obstacle and causing an area that cannot be measured by the laser scanner 22. . In addition, the distance between the laser scanner 22, the target container C2, and the container C of the adjacent row 12a can be shortened.
Further, without separately providing a sensor for landing the suspended container C1 engaged with the spreader 10 and a sensor for preventing a collision, the suspended container C1 is provided only by the laser scanner 22 disposed on the spreader 10. And the position of the container C of the adjacent row 12a can be measured.
As a result, obstacles and the like can be detected accurately over a wide range, the number of parts can be reduced, control can be simplified, and cost increase can be suppressed.

In addition, since the gap between the adjacent rows 12 can be detected with high accuracy, even when the container crane 1 is unmanned and labor-saving, the gap between the containers C is minimized and the container C Storage density can be improved.

Furthermore, since the amount of positional deviation between the suspended container C1 and the target container C2 can be obtained based on the detection result of the laser scanner 22, the suspended container C1 can be accurately landed on the target container C2.

Further, since the descending operation of the spreader 10 can be restricted before the suspended container C1 collides with the obstacle based on the distance from the obstacle such as the container C of the adjacent row 12a, the suspended container C1 is prevented from being damaged. it can.

Further, since the light arrival coordinates detected at the horizontal positions of the various trolleys 7 are accumulated, the light arrival coordinates that cannot be detected at the current horizontal position of the trolley 7 are accumulated, and the container product shape of the target bay is more accurately detected. be able to. Therefore, the drive control of the spreader 10 can be performed so that the suspended container C1 does not interfere with the obstacle. As a result, the height of the spreader 10 can be adjusted in advance based on the state of the bay of the container yard, so that it is more hung than when the spreader 10 is moved so as to avoid the obstacle by detecting the distance from the obstacle. The conveyance time of the container C1 can be shortened.

In addition, this invention is not restricted to the structure of embodiment mentioned above, A design change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the container C stored in the bay is detected by the laser scanner 22 has been described, but the object to be detected is not limited to the container C, and is an object other than the container C. May be.

For example, as shown in FIG. 14, a transport carriage 13 that travels between the container cranes 1 may be detected. Furthermore, you may make it detect whether the conveyance trolley 13 is the state which loaded the container C, or an empty state. In this case, a dedicated sensor for detecting the transport carriage 13 can be omitted, and the number of parts can be further reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the container product shape of the target bay is determined based only on the light arrival coordinates by the laser scanner 22 is described, but the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, when the container C stored by the spreader 10 is grasped or the container C is stacked, the coordinates of the container C stacked on the row 12 are detected by the encoder or the like. The determination may be made based on the position, and the determination result may be accumulated in the light spot data accumulation unit 32.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the portal container crane has been described as an example. However, the shape of the container crane is not limited to the portal shape, and is not limited to the one including the traveling device 4 having wheels with tires. . Further, the present invention can be applied to a structure in which the traveling path 14 is not laid between the legs 5. Moreover, although the case where the suspended container C1 is landed on the target container C2 has been described in the above-described embodiment, the suspended container C1 may be landed in the section of the row 12 on the ground. Further, in the case of the row 12 without the container C, the light arrival coordinates of the ground may be obtained.

This container crane can detect obstacles and the like in a wide range with high accuracy, and can suppress an increase in cost due to an increase in the number of parts and a complicated control system.

4 traveling device 6 crane girder (girder)
7 Trolley 10 Spreader 8 Winding device (elevating mechanism)
22 Laser Scanner 23 Crane Control Device C1 Hanging Container C2 Target Container 26 Deviation Derivation Unit 29 Obstacle Distance Judgment Unit 30 Lowering Speed Limit Amount Calculation Unit (Descent Limit Control Unit)
32 Light spot data storage unit (storage unit)

Claims

A traveling device;
A girder supported by the traveling device and extending in a horizontal direction;
A trolley that can travel along the girder;
A spreader that can be suspended from the trolley and that can disengage a container;
A lifting mechanism for lifting and lowering the spreader;
A laser scanner that is provided in the spreader and that emits laser light to obtain the coordinates of the light landing point of the object;
A container crane comprising: a crane control device that drives and controls the trolley and the spreader based on the coordinates of the light spot acquired by the laser scanner.
The container crane according to claim 1,
The laser scanner is a container crane provided on a lateral side of the spreader.
The container crane according to claim 2,
The crane control device scans the laser scanner in a horizontal direction from below the spreader, and a suspended container engaged with the spreader based on the coordinates of the landing point obtained by the laser scanner, A container crane including a deviation amount deriving unit that obtains an envelope line between a suspended container and a target container placed on an upper surface and obtains a positional deviation amount between the suspended container and the target container based on the envelope line.
The container crane according to claim 2 or 3,
The crane control device
An obstacle distance determination unit that determines a distance between a surrounding obstacle and the laser scanner, based on the coordinates of the landing point acquired by the laser scanner;
A container crane comprising: a lowering restriction control unit that restricts a lowering operation of the spreader based on a distance between the surrounding obstacle and the laser scanner.
The container crane according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A container crane comprising a storage unit for storing the coordinates of the light spot.