DE202024103006U1 - Arrangement for detecting a container position, e.g. on a container ship - Google Patents

Abstract

Arrangement with:a container (11);a container transport means (10), in particular a ship, or container storage area;a container conveyor system, in particular a container bridge, for loading the container (11) onto or unloading the container (11) from the container transport means (11) or container storage area;a detection unit (14, 15; 18) for detecting a container identification (12);a detection unit for detecting the setting down of the container (11) on a parking space on the container transport means (10) or container storage area; anda data processing system which processes the detected container identification (12) and signals from the detection unit for detecting the setting down of the container (11) and uses this to determine a parking space for the container (11).

Description

The present invention relates to an arrangement with the aid of which it can be reliably detected in which position a certain container is parked on a container transport means or a container storage area with several parking spaces for containers.

Within the scope of the invention, railway trains or inland waterway vessels, for example, are considered as container transport means. More specifically, the invention concerns the transport of containers on board seagoing container ships as a container transport means.

When loading container ships, it often happens that containers are loaded in the wrong place. According to an accident report by the "CMA CGM George Washington", this is said to be around 5% of the containers loaded. The consequences of an incorrectly parked container include, among other things, that in the event of an accident, it is not clear which container is affected. For example, if a container is lost, it is not clear which container went overboard. Furthermore, only containers with a certain range of actual weight are permitted for certain places. If a container is loaded in the wrong place, it can happen that a container that is too light or too heavy for this place is loaded onto it. This increases the risk of accidents, which can cause not only property damage but also personal injury. The final verification of the assignment of container and place is therefore essential.

The present invention relates to the subject matter of WO 2021 234 091 A2 of the applicant, which teaches a coupling piece for connecting two containers stacked on top of each other, which is equipped with a sensor for detecting the state of the coupling piece. Such coupling pieces are referred to as sensor coupling pieces in the context of the present application. For example, the sensor can be used to monitor whether the coupling piece is correctly inserted into the corner fitting of the lower of the two containers and coupled there. Furthermore, a method and a system using such coupling pieces are described, with which the position of the container on board the ship, i.e. its parking space, can be determined. Floor coupling pieces, known in technical terms as bottom stackers, are also used, with which the lowest container of a container stack is connected to the container foundations, and with which a weight measurement is possible. Such floor coupling pieces are known from the WO 2016/126163 A2 known. If, as taught in this document, all four bottom coupling pieces are equipped with weight measurement, the actual container weight of the loaded container can also be determined by subtracting the stack weight before loading the container from the stack weight after loading the container. However, for this to happen, it is imperative that all container foundations for a respective container stack are equipped with the weight-measuring bottom coupling pieces.

Other problems resulting from a container being loaded into the wrong slot cannot be solved by the system and method described above. It is possible that the container intended for that slot is not being hoisted on board at the time and therefore an incorrect container is loaded into that slot.

The WO 2006/025790 A1 and the WO 2018/172518 A1 describe remote-controlled coupling pieces, namely twistlocks, which can be opened and, if necessary, closed remotely. This is intended to avoid the use of a stevedore at least to open the twistlocks before unloading containers. In order to be able to specifically control the twistlocks for this purpose, an identification of each of the four twistlocks, which are inserted into the lower corner fittings of a newly loaded container, is assigned to a container identification of this container. A reader permanently attached to a container bridge (also known as a ship-to-shore crane or STS crane for short) or a handheld device can be used. This allows the twistlocks to be specifically controlled to open and, if necessary, also to close, as long as the container is actually loaded in the designated parking space. However, it is not monitored which parking space the container is actually loaded in. Incorrect loading cannot therefore be ruled out with this system either.

The invention is based on the object of creating an arrangement with which it is possible to reliably determine which container is loaded on which parking space.

To solve this problem, an arrangement with the following features is proposed: a container; a container transport means, in particular a ship, or container storage area; a container conveyor system, in particular a container bridge, for loading the container onto or unloading the container from the container transport means or container storage area; a recording unit for recording a container identification; a recording unit for recording the setting down or lifting of the container on a parking space on the container transport means or container storage area; and a data processing system which stores the recorded container identification. cation and signals from the detection unit to detect the placement of the container are processed and a parking location for the container is determined from this.

According to the invention, the container's identification is recorded before it is loaded and sent to the data processing system. From the signal from the recording unit for recording the container being set down, the data processing system determines which parking space this container was specifically loaded on. This specifically identifies the container that was loaded on a specific parking space. Incorrect loading is ruled out.

The recording units for recording a container identification and the recording unit for recording the setting down of the container can be different recording units or one and the same recording unit, e.g. optical image recognition units, which also track the loading process of the container until it is set down in a parking space.

If a floor coupling piece with weight measurement is used to record the setting down of a container, it is sufficient if one of the floor coupling pieces for a particular container stack is equipped with the weight measurement, since a change, specifically an increase in the weight on this floor coupling piece during loading, indicates that a container has been set down on the container stack. Simply counting the weight changes determines the position of the container that has just been set down within the container stack. There is no need to record the actual container weight and thus also the actual stack weight, since this is known from the loading documents and the container identifications of the containers loaded in a stack.

An image processing unit can be used as a recording unit for recording the container identification, which reads the identification of this container attached to this container and, if applicable, also a size identification of this container, which is also attached to the container.

The image processing unit can be arranged on land, e.g. in the area where the containers are fitted with coupling pieces. Preferably, however, the image processing unit is assigned to the container transport means or the container storage area. In this case, only a few components are required and there are no error-prone manual work steps, such as when manually recording the container identification using a handheld device. In the case of container ships or railway trains as means of container transport, the arrangement of the image processing unit on the means of transport also has the advantage that it is completely provided on the means of transport and is therefore available in every port or train station. However, an arrangement on a container ship can also be disadvantageous, as it is exposed to sea water and other environmental conditions during the sea voyage, which would have to be compensated for by appropriate maintenance. The same applies to railway trains, albeit to a lesser extent.

Preferably, a further detection unit is provided, which can also be combined with the above-mentioned detection unit(s), which detects an identification of the coupling pieces used. This is advantageous if the present invention is used in conjunction with coupling pieces which detect a state, eg correct coupling, as for example according to the EN 10 2020 113 681 A1 .

Furthermore, a detection unit can be provided which detects whether a coupling piece is inserted into all of the corner fittings provided on the container to be loaded. This prevents a container from not being adequately secured, for example on board a container ship. The same image processing unit that is used to read out the container identification can advantageously be used for this detection, so that no additional component is required.

• 1 Einen Teil eins üblichen Containers in perspektivischer Ansicht,
• 2 eine Anordnung mit den Erfindungsmerkmalen nach einem ersten Ausführungsbeispiel in schematischer Draufsicht,
• 3 ein Detail der Anordnung gemäß 1,
• 4 eine Anordnung mit den Erfindungsmerkmalen nach einem weiteren Ausführungsbeispiel in schematischer Draufsicht, und
• 5 die Anordnung gemäß 3 in schematischer Seitenansicht.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an embodiment shown in the drawing. In the drawing:

• 1 A part of a common container in perspective view,
• 2 an arrangement with the inventive features according to a first embodiment in a schematic plan view,
• 3 a detail of the arrangement according to 1 ,
• 4 an arrangement with the inventive features according to a further embodiment in a schematic plan view, and
• 5 the arrangement according to 3 in schematic side view.

As explained above, the invention is suitable for all types of container transport, such as railway trains or inland waterway vessels, or also for container storage areas, e.g. in container ports. Specifically, the invention is aimed at the transport of containers on board seagoing vessels, i.e. primarily container ships. The exemplary embodiments described below therefore relate to this application, without being understood as limiting.

The figures show arrangements according to embodiments of the present invention. The arrangements each have a container 11 to be loaded onto a container ship 10. The container 11 is initially still on the quay, namely in a coning station, in which a stevedore (or two stevedore, namely one on each container front side) inserts the required coupling pieces into the lower corner fittings of the container 11. The container 11 is then hoisted from a container bridge onto the container ship 10 to its intended parking space and set down there. The lower coupling projections of the coupling pieces are inserted into the upper corner fittings of a container stacked underneath and couple there. The only exception to this are the containers in the bottom layer of a respective container stack, since here bottom coupling pieces are already inserted into the container foundations, which then couple with the lower corner fittings of the bottommost container. Furthermore, coupling pieces are not required for containers loaded below deck if 40-foot containers or 20-foot containers are loaded into cell frames for the corresponding container size. Only if two 20-foot containers are loaded one after the other into a cell frame for 40-foot containers are coupling pieces, namely twist stackers, required at least on the front sides of the adjacent containers facing each other that are not guided through the cell frame.

At least one of the four bottom coupling pieces required for a container stack is provided with a weight measurement, for example according to WO 2016/126163 A2 If the weight resting on this floor coupling piece changes, this indicates that a new container 11 has just been placed on the container stack. By counting the containers 11 that have been placed, it is then also known at what height, i.e. position, this container 11 has been placed. This means that the exact parking space, i.e. the row (in the ship's longitudinal axis), the bay (perpendicular to the ship's longitudinal axis) and the height/position are known. Alternatively, other methods for detecting the parking space can also be used, such as optical methods using imaging methods or methods using radar. In addition or alternatively, sensory coupling pieces according to EN 10 2020 113 681 A1 be used.

The container 11 is identified while the coupling pieces are being inserted into the lower corner fittings of the container 11 to be loaded or while the container 11 is being hoisted on board. 1 shows a front side and part of an adjacent side wall of such a container 11. A number and letter code is attached to both the front wall and the side wall as container identification 12 for this container 11. This container identification 12 is standardized in ISO 6346. In addition to the identification 12 for the container 11, an indication 13 for a size of the container 11 according to ISO can also be seen on the side wall.

The container identification 12 and, if applicable, the information 13 for the size of the container 11 can be read optically. According to a very simple embodiment, not shown in the picture, this is done using a handheld device that optically reads the container identification 12 and, if applicable, the size information 13. This is done manually by a stevedore. If the container 11 is now hoisted on board the container ship 10, it is known exactly which container 11 was placed in the corresponding parking space. A further advantage of this embodiment is that it can also be used when loading containers 11 using the ship's own cranes.

A disadvantage of this embodiment is that the container identification 12 and the size information 13 must be read out manually by a stevedore. This is prone to errors, since it is easy to forget, for example, to read out the container identification 12 and, if applicable, the size information 13.

This disadvantage can be overcome by the embodiments on the one hand according to 2 and 3 and on the other hand in accordance with 4 and 5 avoid.

In the embodiment according to 2 and 3 A camera mast 14 with an image processing unit, specifically a camera, is provided in the area of the container station. This camera mast 14 is positioned in such a way that the camera illuminates both one of the front sides of the container 11 and a sufficient part of one of the side walls of the container 11, i.e. can capture it in order to recognize and read the container identification 12 and, if applicable, the size information 13.

In addition, a further camera mast 15 can be provided, which illuminates the other front side of the container 11 and a sufficient part of the other front side of the container 11. The illuminated area 16 is indicated by triangles. This allows the container identification 12 to be read at all the positions provided for the container identification 12, so that even if one or more of the container identifications 12 are damaged, the corresponding container 11 is reliably recognized. Even if all four container identifications 12 are damaged, it is unlikely that the same area is always affected, so that overlapping The correct container identification 13 can be determined by placing the corresponding container identifications 12. Furthermore, after coning, it can be visually checked whether a coupling piece has actually been inserted into all four lower corner fittings of the container 11.

Specifically, according to this example, the procedure is as follows:

If not permanently installed, the camera mast 14 and, if necessary, the second camera mast 15 are placed in the area of the coning station. A first container 11 is then placed in the area of the coning station and, if necessary, coupling pieces are inserted into the lower corner fittings of this container 11. During this time, immediately before or immediately after this, the container identification 12 and, if necessary, the size information 13 are read out using the cameras. The container status can now also be recorded using Lidar. In this way, containers 11 can be sorted out which are no longer suitable for sea transport due to damage and must first be repaired. This also increases safety during sea transport.

Now the container 11 in question is hoisted on board the container ship 10. The lifting of the container 11 can also be monitored optically. It can also be checked optically or using lidar whether all the required coupling pieces are inserted (present) in the lower corner fittings of the container 11.

Furthermore, the setting down of the container 11 at its location on board the container ship 10 can also be monitored optically. When using both camera masts 14 and 15 and suitable positioning and size of the camera masts 14, 15, a three-dimensional image can be generated, by means of which the exact location of the container 11 on board the container ship 10 can also be determined if the cameras are designed in such a way that they also illuminate a sufficient part of the container ship 10 or follow the path of the container 11 by panning the camera accordingly.

Additionally or alternatively, the parking space can also be equipped with sensory coupling pieces, for example according to EN 10 2020 113 681 A1 as described in this publication and/or weight-measuring floor coupling pieces, for example according to WO 2016/126163 A2 be determined.

However, the method can be easily simplified in this case by determining the position of the camera masts 14, 15 relative to the ship by means of triangulation. For this purpose, suitable triangulation sensors 17 are mounted on the ship's side, as they are also used in the EN 10 2020 113 681 A1 described. The positions of the light masts 14, 15 are recorded using corresponding angle measurements (dotted lines 18).

The position of the light masts 14, 15 relative to the container ship 10 indicates the bay in which the container 11 is set down. By detecting the setting down of the container 10, for example by at least one weight-measuring floor coupling piece and/or the sensory coupling pieces, it is determined which container data belongs to which parking space, since the container 11 that was lifted on the camera mast 14, 15 is always the one that is set down next.

This process is repeated until all containers 11 for this bay are loaded. Now the camera masts 14, 15 are moved into position for the next bay to be loaded and the loading process begins again.

This embodiment has the advantage that no manual intervention by the stevedor is required to read the container identification 12. This not only prevents errors, but also frees the stevedor from a task. By detecting damage to the container 11 and, if necessary, to the coupling pieces using Lidar, safety is further increased, as is checking whether all the required coupling pieces are present.

A disadvantage of this example embodiment is that the camera masts 14, 15 have to be moved after the loading process for one bay has been completed and a new bay is to be loaded. If necessary, this is done together with the boxes (also called bins) in which the coupling pieces are stored. However, this disadvantage could be avoided by assigning the cameras to the container bridge and installing them permanently there.

This disadvantage could also be eliminated by the embodiment described below according to the 4 and 5 avoid:

In this embodiment, one or preferably several ship-side cameras 18 are arranged on one or preferably both longitudinal sides of the ship in such a way that the quay is illuminated on the entire length ( 4 Preferably, the viewing areas 19 of the ship-side cameras 18 overlap.

The container 11 to be loaded is optically recorded by one or at least two of the cameras 18 and the container identification 12 and, if applicable, the size information 13 are read out. The position of the container 11 to be loaded to the container ship 10 in the longitudinal direction of the container ship 10 and thus the bay in which the container 11 is loaded is determined by the relative position to the camera 18 or the cameras 18.

As in the embodiment according to the 2 and 3 the setting down of the newly loaded container 11 in the assigned bay is recorded. Since the container 11 that has just been recorded by the camera 18 or cameras 18 is always the next to be set down, it is known which container 11 is being specifically set down.

Optionally, in addition to or as an alternative to the cameras 18, a central camera on the container ship 10, for example on the deckhouse or the engine room, can monitor the container bridge. In this case, weight-measuring or sensory coupling pieces are not absolutely necessary, since this camera detects the setting down of the container 11. Additional sensors can monitor whether a hatch cover is present or not. If a hatch cover is present, it is clear that the container 11 is being loaded on deck (in 5 If there is no hatch cover, it is clear that container 11 is loaded into a cell frame in the hold (in 5 indicated by dotted lines).

If there are bays for loading containers 11 both in front of and behind the deckhouse or engine room, two cameras may need to be provided. Furthermore, one camera could be assigned to each cargo hold.

This embodiment also has the advantage that no manual work steps by a stevedore are required. In addition, this embodiment has fewer components than the previously described embodiment. Installation takes place entirely on the ship, so that this embodiment can also be used in any container port, like the manual embodiment described first.

A disadvantage, however, is that the optical systems may be exposed to seawater and may be susceptible to this or other environmental conditions and corrosion on board. However, this can be checked and remedied if necessary through appropriate regular maintenance.

List of reference symbols:

10

Container ship

11

container

12

Container identification

13

Size information

14

Camera mast

15

Camera mast

16

Area

17

Triangulation sensor

18

camera

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• WO 2021234091 A2 [0004]
• WO 2016126163 A2 [0004, 0019, 0030]
• WO 2006025790 A1 [0006]
• WO 2018172518 A1 [0006]
• DE 102020113681 A1 [0014, 0019, 0030, 0031]

Claims (5)

Arrangement with: a container (11); a container transport means (10), in particular a ship, or container storage area; a container conveyor system, in particular a container bridge, for loading the container (11) onto or unloading the container (11) from the container transport means (11) or container storage area; a detection unit (14, 15; 18) for detecting a container identification (12); a detection unit for detecting the setting down of the container (11) on a parking space on the container transport means (10) or container storage area; and a data processing system which processes the detected container identification (12) and signals from the detection unit for detecting the setting down of the container (11) and uses this to determine a parking space for the container (11). Arrangement according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the detection unit (14, 15; 18) for detecting a container identification (11) is an image processing unit. Arrangement according to Claim 2 , characterized in that the image processing unit is assigned to the container transport means (10) or the container storage location. Arrangement according to one of the Claims 1 until 3 , characterized by a detection unit for detecting an identification of a coupling piece inserted into the container (11). Arrangement according to one of the Claims 1 until 4 , characterized by a detection unit for detecting whether a coupling piece is inserted into all provided corner fittings of the container (11).

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