Patent ID: 8087867
Filing Date: 2012-01-03
Classification: B65G,B66C

Abstract:
1. A loading/unloading system for container terminal, wherein a container yard is disposed close to the quayside and transportation of containers between the yard and a ship is realized in a three-dimensional and electric driven mode, the loading/unloading system comprising: quayside cranes, each comprising at least a trolley, a travelling mechanism and a hoisting mechanism, the quayside cranes operable for loading/unloading containers on/off a ship and a low elevated system at a certain position, wherein containers on the ship are arranged in a first direction, containers being loaded/unloaded by the quayside cranes are kept in the first direction, and trolleys of the quayside cranes move in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; a low elevated transfer system, comprising at least one low elevated transfer subsystem, each subsystem comprising at least one group of low elevated rails disposed along the first direction, each group of low elevated rails comprising a low elevated crane rail and a plurality of low elevated flat carrier rails with a multi-tier structure, at least one low elevated crane being disposed on and moving along one low elevated crane rail, at least one low elevated flat carrier being disposed on and moving along one of the plurality of low elevated flat carrier rails with a multi-tier structure, the low elevated crane performing loading/unloading operation on a low elevated flat carrier and one of a plurality of corresponding ground transportation carriers at a certain position, the low elevated flat carrier rails being configured to enable the low elevated flat carriers to reach at least a position where the low elevated flat carriers can cooperate with trolleys of the quayside cranes and a position where the low elevated flat carriers can cooperate with the corresponding ground transportation carriers; a ground transportation carrier system, comprising at least one group of ground transportation carrier rails disposed along the second direction in each yard, the ground transportation carrier rails aligning to passages in the yards and extending to a certain position in the yard, the transportation carrier rails also extending to a position below the lowest tier of the low elevated transfer subsystem in the low elevated transfer system, the ground transportation carrier system further comprising the plurality of ground transportation carriers moving along the ground transportation carrier rails, the ground transportation carrier rails being configured to enable the ground transportation carriers to reach at least a position where the ground transportation carriers can cooperate with the low elevated cranes and a position where the ground transportation carriers can cooperate with the yard cranes, the ground transportation carrier system further being configured to ensure that the ground transportation carriers are not in a same plane with any low elevated flat carriers on any tier of the low elevated transfer system, the ground transportation carrier having an ability to rotate to an angle between the first direction and the second direction with or without a container; yard cranes, each comprising at least a trolley, a travelling mechanism and a hoisting mechanism, the yard cranes operable for loading/unloading containers on/off a yard and ground transportation carriers, the yard cranes being disposed on yard crane rails that are arranged along the second direction, containers in the yard being arranged along the second direction, the yard cranes moving along the yard crane rails, the yard crane rails being configured to enable the yard cranes to reach at least a position where the yard cranes can cooperate with ground transportation carriers and a position where the yard cranes can cooperate with the yard; when loading the containers to the ship, a yard crane hoists a container in the second direction from a yard, the yard crane moves to a position above a ground transportation carrier or the ground transportation carrier moves to a position below the yard crane along a ground transportation carrier rail, the yard crane puts the container onto the ground transportation carrier and the ground transportation carrier moves along the ground transportation carrier rail to a position below a low elevated rail of the low elevated transfer system, the ground transportation carrier rotates the container from the second direction to the first direction, the low elevated crane hoists the container from the ground transportation carrier to a low elevated flat carrier, the low elevated flat carrier moves along the low elevated flat carrier rail to a position below a quayside crane, the quayside crane hoists the container from the low elevated flat carrier to the ship; when unloading the containers from the ship, a quayside crane hoists a container in the first direction from a ship and puts the container onto a low elevated flat carrier, the low elevate flat carrier moves along a low elevated flat carrier rail to a position that can cooperate with a ground transportation carrier, a low elevated crane hoists the container to a ground transportation carrier, the ground transportation carrier rotates the container from the first direction to the second direction, the ground transportation carrier moves along a ground transportation carrier rail to a yard, a yard crane hoists the container from the ground transportation carrier to the yard; and wherein the low elevated crane includes supports, a traveling mechanism, a platform, a rotation plate, a hoisting mechanism and a rotation mechanism, the traveling mechanism is provided below the supports and enables the low elevates crane to move along the low elevated crane rails, the platform is provided above the supports and the rotation plate is provided on the platform, the hoisting mechanism and the rotation mechanism is provided on the rotation plate, the hoisting mechanism rotates together with the rotation plate, wherein the hoisting mechanism and the rotation plate are able to rotate to an angle between the first direction and the second direction with or without a container, when loading the containers to the ship the hoisting mechanism and the rotation plate rotate the container from the second direction to the first direction, when unloading the containers from the ship the hoisting mechanism and the rotation plate rotate the container from the first direction to the second direction; wherein the hoisting mechanism is configured for hoisting two 40 feet containers simultaneously.