WO2021175403A1

WO2021175403A1 - Container-loading system and method for monitoring operation therein

Info

Publication number: WO2021175403A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/000054
Authority: WO
Inventors: David Moosbrugger; Andreas NATTER; Lars Ambrosy
Original assignee: LASE Industrielle Lasertechnik GmbH; Firma Hans Künz Gmbh
Priority date: 2020-03-02
Filing date: 2020-03-02
Publication date: 2021-09-10
Also published as: EP3894349C0; EP3894349B1; CN115003617A; EP3894349A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a container-loading system and to a method for monitoring the operation of a working area (3) on the ground (2) underneath a container crane (1), in which one or more 3D laser scanners (10) scan the working area (3) from above. During operation of the system, the laser scanners (10) scan the working area (3) with a fan of divergent planes of light beams or a fan of divergent individual light beams simultaneously in order to obtain a cloud of measurement points, wherein the planes or lines at the level of the working area (3) have a distance from one another which is such that a person standing on the working area is struck by at least one plane of light beams or at least one of the individual light beams (S1). In the cloud of measurement points thus obtained, the working area (3) is identified first (S2). Then it is determined whether there is in the cloud of measurement points at least one or more measurement points typical of a person standing on the identified working area (S3). If there is such a measurement point, the crane movement is slowed or stopped (S4).

Description

Container loading facility and procedures for operational monitoring therein

description

Field of invention

The invention relates to a container loading system and a method for operational monitoring with the features of the preambles of the independent claims.

Technical background

In a container terminal, a container bridge (STS (Ship-To-Shore) Crane) loads standardized ISO containers from ship to shore, either directly onto trucks, or it transfers the containers to transport vehicles, in particular automated guided vehicles (AGV; Automated Guided Vehicle), which are often designed as straddle carriers and automatically pick up the containers and drive them to a destination. The area in which the AGVs drive is closed to people for safety reasons.

The destination can e.g. B. be a land-based interim storage facility in which rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMG; Rail Mounted Gantry) or rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTG; Rubber Tyred Gantry) unload containers for interim storage.

Inside or outside the portal there are handover lanes through which containers are delivered or picked up. The handover takes place under manual crane control by a crane operator.

Vehicles for the road transport of containers are available as trucks with or without a trailer and as articulated vehicles consisting of a truck tractor and a container chassis attached like a normal semi-trailer or as a terminal truck with a terminal trailer. In the case of a loading order for road transport, the driver or another person must walk around the vehicle before or after loading or unloading and unlock the twistlocks on the vehicle or lock. In the case of a loading order with a terminal trailer, the driver must check whether the so-called IBCs (Inter Box Connectors, which hold containers together on a ship) have been removed. People can move freely in the space below the crane.

EP 2 724 972 B1 discloses a container loading system and a method with the features of the preambles of the independent claims and in particular a method for computer-aided determination of the position in which an ISO container is to be placed on a carrier vehicle by means of a crane, based on a Cloud of measurement points representing the top of the carrier vehicle, which are obtained by scanning the carrier vehicle from above from a height of at least 5 meters with a 3D laser scanner or two 3D laser scanners installed at a distance. The proposed 3D laser scanner is formed from a 2D laser scanner which can be pivoted by means of a servo motor and which is here a transit time infrared laser scanner with a distance resolution of approximately 10 mm. This resolution is required to identify and localize twistlocks on the carrier vehicle and to be able to calculate container target position data from this.

Such a 3D laser scanning provides an essentially complete image of the measurement scene in the form of relatively dense three-dimensional point clouds.

This and other methods now make it possible, in principle, to largely automate the crane activities in truck handling. B. is achieved in that the crane operator of a person in the work area such. B. maintains radio contact with a truck driver and can give and receive instructions.

Camera-based systems with image analysis can be used to monitor the danger area for people who are in it during the automatic loading or unloading of road transport vehicles in order to trigger an alarm or emergency stop if necessary. Due to inadequacies of such systems or e.g. B. due to restricted visibility and / or adverse weather conditions, however, false positive or false negative hazard detections and consequently personal injuries and corresponding downtimes can occur. Therefore, it is It is desirable to be able to recognize and localize people in the work area in at least one other way and thus to ensure special redundancy.

In the measuring point cloud of a 3D laser scanner for determining the position of containers and trucks, one could in principle also recognize whether something is in the way somewhere that does not belong there, but this is the time it takes to obtain such a relatively high-resolution scan , by several orders of magnitude too long to be able to detect the presence of people in the work area, especially when they are moving. In particular, previously used 3D laser scanners must be rotated as a whole from one position to the next, where they each stop briefly in order to obtain a cutting profile. At best, one could consider using a large number of individual 3D laser scanners, each of which only looks at a small section of the scenery, but something like this would multiply the equipment and computational effort.

Summary of the invention

The invention is based on the object of improving occupational safety when loading containers with acceptable effort.

This object is achieved by a container loading system and a method with the features specified in the independent claims. Advantageous further developments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

According to the invention, the laser scanners are of a type which is designed to scan the work surface simultaneously in several planes or lines spaced apart from one another, emitting a fan of diverging planes of light beams or a fan of diverging individual light beams. At the height of the work surface, the levels or lines are spaced apart from one another in at least one direction on the floor, e.g. B. in the longitudinal direction of the loading position and / or transversely thereto, larger than 10 and smaller than 30 centimeters.

There is also a person recognition unit which is set up to scan the laser scanner or laser scanners at least one time during a container loading process to have carried out in order to obtain a measurement point cloud; in the measurement point cloud thus obtained, e.g. B. by averaging and / or eliminating outliers to identify the work surface and the loading area of the road transport vehicle; to determine whether there are at least one or, in a preferred embodiment, at least two adjacent measuring points more than 0.5 meters or alternatively more than 1 meter above the identified work area or the identified loading area in the measuring point cloud, and if there is at least one such measuring point to output a person-likely signal, which indicates that a person is likely to be in the corresponding location.

In addition, there is a safety device which is set up to slow down or stop the crane movement when the person-likely signal is output, it being possible for a warning signal to be output either initially or in addition.

In a preferred embodiment, each of the laser scanners is a 3D multilayer scanner. Such a scanner, also called 3D multi-level scanner or 3D multi-layer scanner, is commercially available and is z. B. in EP 2983030 A2, which discloses that in many applications there is a desire to capture the environment not just in a single plane, especially in mobile applications, such as in driverless vehicles, where the requirement is to have the floor with edges and paragraphs as well as objects that protrude into the driving area at different heights. Instead of using three-dimensional scanners in which the sensor as a whole or the rotating mirror is also periodically tilted, it is sufficient if not an entire area of space but only a few layers stacked on top of each other can be monitored.

The invention includes the new intended use of multilayer laser scanners not to use them to detect objects that are more or less horizontally in front of the scanner by layering the scan planes on top of each other, but to detect people who are more or less vertically below the scanner, in container handling zones, with the scan planes layered next to each other. In contrast to conventional 3D laser scanning, only an incomplete image of the measurement scene is obtained, which can be achieved with a suitable selection of the distances However, between the levels is sufficient to recognize whether a person is likely to be in the measurement scene or not, and this image of the measurement scene is obtained in a very short time, which is at most in the order of 1/10 of a second and often much less ,, so that the detection of moving people is also possible.

As an alternative to multilayer laser scanners, so-called 3D array scanners or flash LiDAR devices can also be used for the invention. Such devices have an array of laser diodes which simultaneously emit a fan of diverging individual light beams, with a complete 3D image immediately being available.

In preferred embodiments, close to an edge or a corner of the work surface is a z. B. 2 x 2 meter measuring zone of people is marked on the work surface, and the safety device allows crane movements only if a person-probable signal is issued for the zone of people, but not for the rest of the work surface, and thus it is detected that in the zone of people, but there is no person in the rest of the work surface.

In preferred embodiments, the work surface is divided into several zones, namely at least one inner zone, which comprises at least the loading position, i. H. either equal to or larger than the loading position, and an outer zone extending around and adjacent to the inner zone. During a container loading process, several consecutive scans are carried out, and if at least one measuring point more than 0.5 meter (or alternatively more than 1 meter) above the identified work surface or the identified loading surface is determined, a person-likely signal is output .

In addition, it is checked whether the location of such a measuring point in the measuring point cloud changes over time. If so, a moving person likely signal can be output.

Depending on which of the two types of signals is output for which of the two zones, the crane movement is slowed down or stopped. Included The location and size of the zones into which the work area is divided can be dynamically changed during operation of the system and adapted to the location and direction of movement of a container that has just been loaded.

In contrast to conventional safety and collision avoidance systems, an emergency stop does not have to take place immediately, but a step-by-step reaction can take place, e.g. B. initially a mere warning when it is recognized that a person is approaching the outer zone, then a slower operation of the crane when the person enters the outer zone, and an emergency stop only when the person enters the inner zone Zone enters.

In the method for the operational monitoring of a work surface on a floor below a container crane, with one or more 3D laser scanners from a height above the floor that exceeds a multiple of the height of an ISO container during a container loading, depositing or lifting process the work surface are scanned in three dimensions from above, according to the invention, the laser scanner or the work surface with a fan of diverging planes of light beams or a fan of diverging individual light beams are allowed to scan simultaneously in several planes or lines spaced apart from one another in order to create a To gain measuring point cloud, the planes or lines at the level of the work surface at a distance from each other which is dimensioned such that a person standing on the work surface is hit by at least one plane of light rays or at least one of the individual light rays. The working area is first identified in the measurement point cloud obtained in this way. It is then determined whether there are at least one or more measuring points in the measuring point cloud that are typical of a person standing on the identified work surface. If there are one or, in preferred embodiments, at least two adjacent measuring points of this type, the crane movement is slowed down or stopped.

In preferred embodiments, crane movements are not slowed down or stopped, but rather remain allowed if one or more measuring points, which are typical for a person standing on the identified work surface, for a predetermined area at the edge of the work surface, but not for a central one Area of the work surface can be determined.

In preferred embodiments, several zones are defined within the working area, namely at least one inner zone directly below a container hanging on the crane and an outer zone which extends around and adjoins the inner zone. Crane movements are only permitted if one or more measuring points, which are typical for a person standing on the identified work surface, are not determined in the inner or outer zone. Crane movements are slowed down if one or more measuring points, which are typical for a person standing on the identified work surface, are determined in the outer and not in the inner zone. Crane movements are stopped when one or more measuring points, which are typical for a person standing on the identified work surface, are determined in the inner zone.

Further features and advantages of the invention emerge from the dependent claims and from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

1 shows a schematic side view of a lower part of a rail-mounted gantry crane, in which a work surface is located on the floor of a work space to be monitored;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic plan view of the work surface of FIG. 1;

3 shows a schematic top view of a work surface under a container crane with dynamically changing zones; and

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a method for monitoring the operation of a work surface below a container crane.

Detailed description For the loading of goods in the area (portal) of a ship-to-shore crane (STS crane) in container ports, human activity is required. That can be B. be marshallers for trucks, or people who remove the so-called IBCs (Inter Box Connectors, these hold containers standing on top of each other on a ship together) from the containers before they are placed on the ground or on a truck chassis. These people can move freely in the portal area. Visibility restrictions, inattention and / or adverse weather conditions can result in personal injury and therefore downtime when setting down or picking up the load.

In order to prevent accidents with people, a redundant system for object recognition and tracking in a defined work area is proposed. In this way, the whereabouts of each person in the danger area can be determined. B. the hoist function of the crane can be stopped. The system is able to recognize and localize people in the work area while containers are being loaded and to continuously return their position to the crane control. Fig. 1 shows a lower part of a container crane, here an RMG gantry crane 1, which can travel on rails on a floor 2 of a port or other container transshipment point and which forms a loading facility or a part thereof. Below the gantry crane 1 is a work surface 3 on the floor 2, which is shown from above in FIG. 2, on the same scale as in FIG. 1. On the work surface 3 there is at least one elongated loading position 4 (FIG. 2) for a truck 5 or the like marked. The truck 5 has a loading area 5a and a driver's cab 5b.

Alternatively, the container crane can also be an RTG crane or an STS crane.

The work area to be monitored, in which people can and may be, can, for. B. be a cuboid, which is limited by the floor 2 and by two vertical supports 6, 7 and cross members 8 of the gantry crane 1. For example, in the case of vertical supports 6, 7 that are far apart, the one to be monitored can

which does not quite reach to the supports, such. B. in Fig. 2, which shows the situation of Fig. 1 on the same scale in plan view.

In the exemplary embodiment, the work surface 3 extends between the vertical supports 6, 7 of the gantry crane 1. In other types of container cranes, such as a so-called cantilever RMG crane, which sets the container over the side, or in an STS crane, the The work area can also be wholly or partially outside the crane supports, in the case of an STS crane in its so-called backreach area.

At a height above the floor 2 that exceeds a multiple of the height of an ISO container, as indicated in FIG. 1 as a container 9 coming from above, two 3D laser scanners 10 are mounted, which are set up for the work space to monitor by scanning the work surface 3 including the truck 5 standing on it in three dimensions from above.

In particular, there is a 3D laser scanner 10 at a height of z. B. 10 or 20 meters close to a front left vertical support 6 and to a rear right vertical support which is covered by the front right vertical support 7 visible in FIG -Laser scanner 10 lie vertically over two diagonal corners of the work surface 3, as indicated in FIG. 2. The two 3D laser scanners 10 are further apart than the diagonal of the marked loading position 4 measures.

The laser scanners 10 are each a 3D multilayer scanner or, alternatively, a 3D array scanner or flash LiDAR device. The laser scanners 10 can - as in this exemplary embodiment! - Appropriately attached to the crane, but embodiments are also possible in which the laser scanners are attached to pillars or light poles, which may already be present on the company premises, provided that they are close enough to the work surface and do not hinder crane activity. In any case, the laser scanners 10 will in any case predominantly not scan the work surface 3 precisely from above, but rather more or less obliquely from above.

The laser scanners 10 are also designed and oriented so that they the whole

Laser scanner 10 - can completely monitor existing gaps, with each of the two laser scanners 10 being responsible for one of two L-shaped sub-zones 11, 12, which complement each other to form a rectangle around the loading position 4 corresponding to the work surface 3. This prevents parts of the work surface 3 from being shaded by the truck 5 or a container 9 standing on it or hanging vertically above it. In the case of 3D multilayer scanners, the scan planes preferably run parallel to the longitudinal direction of the loading position 4.

The loading system described above can, instead of the gantry crane 1, also use another crane such. B. have a container bridge, which transports containers from the ship directly to trucks or vice versa. In such a case, truck lanes and truck loading positions can run transversely to the quay or in the longitudinal direction.

When the container loading system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is in operation, a person recognition unit allows the laser scanners 10 to continuously perform scans during a container loading process, e.g. B. one every second or every tenth of a second. In principle, a measurement point cloud in which the floor 2 or the work surface 3 and the loading surface 5a of the truck 5 are identified is sufficient.

This could be done arithmetically in different ways, which are basically equivalent. So one could consider all measuring points that lie outside the previously known outlines of the loading position 4 as forming the work surface 3, and the loading area 5a of the truck 5 can then be obtained by selecting only those measuring points from the outlines of the loading position 4, which are at a height above the floor 2 that is typical for this, that is to say about 1 meter above the floor 2. This also eliminates measuring points that originate from the driver's cab 5b of the truck 5. Alternatively, one could subdivide the work space into many virtual cuboids with dimensions adapted to the resolution of the laser scanner 10, and the upper sides of all cuboids into which a measuring point falls are then taken as the profile of the bottom of the work surface 3 and the loading surface 5a of the truck 5 after eliminating cuboids that easily represent the driver's cab 5b.

It is then determined whether there is at least one more than in the measurement point cloud There is a measuring point 0.5 meters above the identified work surface or the identified loading surface, or equivalent to whether there is a topmost cuboid that protrudes more than 0.5 meters beyond. Instead of a minimum height of 0.5 meters, another minimum height could be used from which measurement points are taken into account, e.g. B. 0.7 or 1 meter.

If there is such a measuring point or cuboid, a person-likely signal is output, which indicates that a person is likely to be located at this location. In addition, an object probable signal can be output if there is a measuring point or cuboid that is less than 0.5 meters, but z. B. more than 30 centimeters above the identified work surface or the identified loading area, since in this case there is probably some object on the floor or on the loading area that does not belong there and z. B. represents a tripping hazard or an obstacle to settling.

If a person-probable signal or object-probable signal is output, a safety device ensures that the crane movement stops and sends a request to a control station or to the crane operator and / or the truck driver to clarify the situation .

Thus, in this exemplary embodiment, the truck driver must not be on the work surface 3 so that loading can be carried out quickly. However, it may be in the driver's cab 5b of the truck 5 or outside the work surface 3.

In a further development of this exemplary embodiment or the exemplary embodiments described below, the driver is or is urged to go to an approx. 2 x 2 meter area 13 for people, which is marked on the floor in a corner of the work surface 3, as shown in FIG Fig. 2 illustrates. The crane activity is only permitted as long as it is recognized by means of the laser scanner 10 that a person is likely to be in the passenger area 13, but not on the work surface 3 or on the loading surface 5a of the truck 5.

In a further development of this exemplary embodiment or as described below Embodiments, it is additionally determined whether there are at least one or more measuring points in the measuring point cloud which are typical for the truck 5 and in particular for its driver's cab 5b and whose locations in the measuring point cloud change over time. It can be seen from this that the truck 5 is moving during a container setting or lifting process, e.g. B. because the driver carelessly drives off too early so that crane movements can be stopped in good time.

With reference to Fig. 3, another embodiment will now be explained, which - like the previous embodiment - is not only particularly suitable for the operational monitoring of work areas of gantry cranes or container cranes, but also for other work areas in the port where containers are set down or are.

This can e.g. B. be a work area on the ship, in which containers are briefly set down in order to assemble or remove Inter Box Connectors by hand.

In addition, the systems and methods described here can also be used in other areas in container transshipment points in ports or elsewhere, including where people actually have no access, but z. B. could accidentally get into fully automated work areas.

Such a generalized method is described below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 3 shows from above a work surface 3 under a container crane, which, as in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2, is rectangular, with a length and width matching the size of the container crane used in the present case.

Laser scanners 10 scan the entire work surface 3 of FIG. 3 again and again from above, e.g. B. ten May per second, and capture in particular a container 8, which is hanging on the crane at a height in which the container 9 could collide now or at least after further lowering with an unfavorable person standing or running on the work surface 3, as well a person 16 who is here in a corner of the Work surface 3 stands. In addition, the laser scanners 10 detect the directions and speeds of movement of the container 9 and of the person 16, which are shown in FIG. 3 by means of arrows as movement vectors.

Several dynamically variable zones are virtually created on the work surface 3 in order to form multi-level danger areas and / or safety areas. For example, an inner zone 14 is virtually formed horizontally around the container 9, and an outer zone 15 is virtually formed horizontally around the inner zone 14.

As long as the container 9 is not moving, the inner zone 14 and the outer zone 15 can be smaller than shown in FIG. B. in such a way that the inner zone 14 corresponds to the loading position 4 in FIG. 2 and the outer zone 15 corresponds to the two sub-zones 11,

12 in Fig. 2 corresponds. When the container 9 moves in a horizontal direction, the inner zone 14 and the outer zone 15 are made larger in the direction of movement, the faster the container 9 moves, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

Such a zone or safety zone, which is dynamically variable as a function of the direction and speed of movement, can also be placed around the person 16 (not shown in FIG. 3), with which the movement of the person 16 can be anticipated. If the recognized person 16 is in a danger area, i.e. the inner zone 14 and / or the outer zone 15, or if the safety zone around the person 16 begins to penetrate into the outer zone 15, or conversely, the container 9 approaches the person 16 , the corresponding movements of the trolley, hoist and chassis of the crane are slowed down or stopped.

In particular, as in the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the laser scanners 10 scan the work surface 3 with a fan of diverging planes of light rays or individual light rays simultaneously in several planes or lines spaced apart from one another in order to obtain a measuring point cloud therefrom, the planes or lines at the level of the work surface 3 are spaced apart from one another in such a way that a person standing on the work surface can move from at least one plane of light rays or at least one of the individual light rays is struck (step S1 in FIG. 4).

In order to be able to recognize a person standing on the work surface with sufficient reliability using relatively few levels or lines, the levels or lines should be at the level of the work surface 3 in at least one direction on the floor, e.g. B. in the longitudinal direction of the loading position and / or across it, not be larger than 30 centimeters, but also smaller minimum distances such. B. 10 or 20 centimeters or any intermediate values are possible.

The working area 3 is also identified in the measurement point cloud obtained in step S1 (step S2 in FIG. 4).

It is then determined whether there are at least one or more measurement points in the measurement point cloud that are typical of a person standing on the identified work surface (step S3 in FIG. 4). If no such measuring point is determined, it goes back to step S1 in order to obtain a new measuring point cloud.

If such a measuring point is determined, the crane movement can be slowed down or stopped without further conditions (step S4 in FIG. 4), e.g. B. if the work surface 3 is designed from the outset so that no person should stay there as long as the container 9 is moving, or z. B. in special cases such as test or calibration drives.

Preferably, however, in step S3 it is additionally determined whether the person 16 or his own safety zone is located in the outer zone 15 and not in the inner zone 14 or whether it intersects with it. If so, crane movements are slowed down in step S4. In addition, it is determined in step S3 whether the person 16 or his own safety zone is located in the inner zone 14 or intersects with it. If so, crane movements are stopped in step S4. This means,

Crane movements are only permitted if the person 16 or their own safety zone is not in the inner or outer zone. Warning signals are also preferably output, even when the person 16 approaches the outer zone 15 and before crane movements are slowed down.

Between steps S2 and S3 or S3 and S4 it can also be determined whether there are measuring points in the measuring point cloud that are typical for the truck 5 or its driver's cab 5b and / or loading area 5a and their locations in the measuring point cloud change over time change. If this is the case, this indicates that the truck 5 is moving, whereupon crane movements are also stopped.

The method described above, like the first exemplary embodiment, can be expanded to also detect foreign objects in the workspace, in particular those that are larger than z. B. 30 centimeters to slow down or stop crane movements if necessary, so that the crane operator or the person 16 has the opportunity to clarify the situation. Objects that are accidentally left lying around can be found not only on work surfaces 3, but also on truck loading surfaces 5a, and with the method described, damage to property when the container is set down can thus also be avoided. Objects in the workspace can not only be differentiated from people based on their recognized size and classified accordingly, but also based on the fact that people working there often move.

For even more reliable detection of people and objects in the work area, the means and methods described above, which are provided as hardware and software, can be linked with other hardware components and software algorithms for person and object detection in order to produce an overall system that works redundantly. The availability and thus also the security of the system are increased by means of different hardware and software components.

Thus, in addition to the described 3D laser scanners 10, which form the main components of the described safety system or collision avoidance system, cameras can also be used, with which the presence of people in safe or unsafe areas can also be used can be detected. Optionally, it would also be possible, for. B. to integrate an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system, with places of people in the work area z. B. can be recognized by means of triangulation based on signals that are sent back by an RFID transponder that people are supposed to carry with them, but there can also be people in a container terminal who do not

RFID transponders carry, which is of course not necessary for laser-based person recognition.

Each of the different systems works independently and provides the aforementioned information on recognized persons. The data from the individual systems can, however, be merged in evaluation software. If at least one system reports a dangerous situation, instructions for suitable countermeasures to avoid the dangerous situation are sent to the crane control. Ideally, all existing systems report the same information. For availability and safety in dangerous situations, it is sufficient for one of the systems to report a dangerous situation. Such a fusion laser camera, laser RFID or laser camera RFID also facilitates occupational safety certification.

Claims

1. Container loading system with a container crane (10) and a work surface (3) accessible to people on a floor (2) below the container crane (10), with at least one elongated loading position (4) for a container on the work surface (3) - Road transport vehicle (5) is marked and one or more 3D laser scanners (10) are attached at a height above the ground (2) which is several times the height of an ISO container (9), which are set up for scanning the road transport vehicle (5) and the work surface (3) in three dimensions from above, characterized in that one or more of the laser scanners (10) is or are of a type which is set up to simultaneously scan the work surface (3) to scan several planes or lines spaced apart from one another, the planes or lines at the level of the work surface (3) being at a distance from one another that is greater than 10 and less than 3 in at least one direction on the floor (2) Is 0 centimeters;

- The system has a person recognition unit which is set up to allow the laser scanner (s) (10) to carry out at least one scan during a container loading process in order to obtain a measurement point cloud, in the measurement point cloud thus obtained, the work surface (3) and the loading area of the road transport vehicle (5) to identify, to determine whether there is at least one measuring point more than 0.5 meters above the identified work surface (3) or the identified loading area in the measuring point cloud, and if there is at least one such measuring point, a person-probable area Output signal; and

- The system has a safety device that is set up to slow down or stop the crane movement when the person-likely signal is output.

2. Container loading system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that close to an edge or a corner of the work surface (3) a zone (13) is marked on the work surface (3) and that the safety device is set up for crane movements only to be allowed if a person-probable signal is output for the people-stay zone (13), but not for the rest of the work surface (3).

3. Container loading system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the work surface (3) is divided into several zones, namely at least into an inner zone (14), which comprises at least the loading position (4), and an outer zone ( 15) extending around and adjacent to the inner zone (14); that the person recognition unit is set up to allow the laser scanner (s) (10) to carry out several consecutive scans during a container loading process and, if at least one measuring point is determined that is more than 0.5 meters above the identified work surface (3) or the identified loading surface whose location in the measurement point cloud changes over time, to output a moving person probable signal; and that the safety device is set up, depending on which of the two types of signals are output for which of the two zones (14, 15), whether the crane movement is to be slowed down or stopped.

4. Container loading system according to claim 3, characterized in that the person recognition unit is set up to dynamically change the location and size of the zones (11, 12) into which the work surface (3) is divided during operation of the system, and in particular to adapt to the location and direction of movement of a container (9) that has just been loaded.

5. Container loading system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the laser scanner (10) are attached to the container crane (10) or to pillars or masts that are fixed on the floor (2).

6. A method for operational monitoring of a work surface (3) on a floor (2) below a container crane (10), from a height above the floor (2) which exceeds a multiple of the height of an ISO container (9) during a One or more 3D laser scanners (10) can scan the work surface (3) in three dimensions from above, characterized by the following process steps:

- Let the laser scanner (s) (10) scan the work surface (3) with a fan of diverging planes of light rays or a fan of diverging individual light rays simultaneously in several planes or lines spaced apart from one another in order to obtain a measuring point cloud, the planes or lines at the level of the work surface (3) have a distance from one another which is dimensioned such that a person standing on the work surface (3) is hit by at least one plane of light rays or at least one of the individual light rays (S1),

- to identify the work surface (3) in the measurement point cloud obtained in this way (S2),

- to determine whether there are at least one or more measuring points in the measuring point cloud that are typical (S3) for a person (16) standing on the identified work surface (3), and

- if there is such a measuring point, slow down or stop the crane movement (S4).

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that crane movements are not slowed down or stopped, but are allowed when one or more measuring points that are typical for a person standing on the identified work surface (3) for a predetermined area at the edge the work surface (3), but not for a central area of the work surface (3).

8. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that a plurality of zones are defined within the work surface (3), namely at least one inner zone (14) below a container (9) hanging on the crane and an outer zone (15) which extends around and is adjacent to the inner zone (14), wherein

- Crane movements are only allowed if one or more measuring points, which are typical for a person standing on the identified work surface (3), are not determined in the inner zone (14) or the outer zone (15);

- Crane movements are slowed down if one or more measuring points, which are typical for a person standing on the identified work surface (3), are determined in the outer zone (15) and not in the inner zone (14); and

- Crane movements are stopped when one or more measuring points, which are typical for a person standing on the identified work surface (3), are determined in the inner zone (14).

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the location and size of the inner and outer zones (14, 15) are changed depending on the location and direction of movement of a container (9) that has just been loaded.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that it is additionally determined whether there are at least one or more measurement points in the measurement point cloud that are typical for a foreign object, with the aid of size and movement based on recognized persons and foreign objects is distinguished.

11. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that it is additionally determined whether there are at least one or more measuring points in the measuring point cloud that are typical for a truck (5) and in particular for its driver's cab (5b) and their locations in the measurement point cloud change over time; and that crane movements are also stopped if it is recognized in the aforementioned manner that the truck (5) is moving during a container lowering or lifting process.

12. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 11, characterized in that it is carried out in a container loading system according to one of claims 1 to 5.

13. Loading installation or method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the or each of the laser scanners (10) is a 3D multilayer scanner.

14. Loading system or method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the or each of the laser scanners (10) is a 3D array scanner or a flash LiDAR device.

15. Loading system or method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the container crane (10) is a container bridge, in particular an STS crane, or a portal crane, in particular an RMG crane or an RTG crane.

16. Container loading system according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it is set up to carry out the method according to one of claims 6 to 12.