Abstract:
Method and system for transferring standard cargo holders, especially ISO containers and swap bodies, between railways and roads. The standard cargo holders are loaded onto driverless transport vehicles by means of handling equipment or are received by said transport vehicles, and the driverless transport vehicles transport the standard cargo holders between the handling equipment and a loading and unloading zone. Alternatively, a driving zone for driverless transport vehicles for transporting standard cargo holders to or from the handling equipment adjoins the handling equipment, and a loading and unloading zone for transporting standard cargo holders adjoins the driving zone.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a method and system for transferring standard cargo holders, especially ISO containers and swap bodies in a rail handling zone between road and railway. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A gantry crane for transferring containers and swap bodies between railways and roads is disclosed in European patent EP 0 796 813 B1. Corresponding to the design customary for a gantry crane, a crane trolley on a crane girder, which can travel in the girder&#39;s longitudinal direction, is provided. Seen in travel direction of the gantry crane, two hydraulic cylinder units are attached in tandem and with spacing between them. Each of the cylinder units is vertically oriented and includes a lift cylinder and in it a movable push rod. The lift cylinders are rigidly attached to the crane trolley and the push rods, extending downwards from the crane trolley, can be extended in the lowering direction and correspondingly retracted in the lifting direction. At the ends of the push rods opposed to the crane trolley, a suspension frame is attached via slotted hole connections, on which a load take-up device in the shape of a spreader frame is suspended. The connection of the suspension frame with the push rods via slotted hole connections was selected in order to balance differences in the synchronous operation of the cylinder units and corresponding inclinations of the containers. In addition, the suspension frame and the load take-up device arranged in it is offset laterally in regard to the longitudinal axis of both rod-cylinder units by at least 500 mm so that containers or swap bodies can also be placed on a rail car, or lifted off it and simultaneously a catenary wire can reach under the laterally offset arrangement of the load take-up device at the push rod. 
     Additionally, European patent EP 1 365 984 B1 discloses a bridge crane for stacking containers, in particular ISO containers, which moves containers within a container terminal into or out of a storage site. The bridge crane contains a crane girder which spans the width of an generally rectangular storage site. On the crane girder and along its longitudinal direction, a crane trolley can be moved in the direction of the width of the storage site. The crane girder can be moved via bridge trolleys on tracks in the direction of the crane travel and, thus, laterally to the crane trolley on the crane girder as well as in longitudinal direction of the storage site. In order to be able to handle the container, a mast is positioned on the crane trolley which is guided in vertical direction and can be lifted or lowered. This mast is shaped like a box girder and lifting gears are placed on the crane trolley for the lifting and lowering movement of the mast. On the lower end of the mast pointing in the direction of the containers to be handled is a load take-up device for containers, in particular a so-called spreader, suspended in an articulated fashion. The load take-up device is connected via cables to the lifting gears on the crane trolley. The mast is not directly driven in the lifting or lowering direction, but only indirectly via the cables acting at the load take-up device. The use of a rigid mast between the crane trolley and the load take-up device has the advantage that containers can be handled with little swaying movement in contrast to the also-used load take-up devices which are exclusively suspended on cables. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides an improved method and system for transferring standard cargo holders, especially ISO containers and swap bodies, between railways and roads. 
     According to one aspect of the invention, a method is provided for transferring standard cargo holders, especially ISO containers and swap bodies, between rail and road, in which the standard cargo holders are loaded onto or off rail cars by means of handling equipment adjacent to a railway track in a rail transfer zone. Improvement to the transfer process is achieved by the standard cargo holders being loaded onto or picked up off driverless transport vehicles by means of handling equipment and the standard cargo holders being transported by the driverless transport vehicles between the handling equipment and a loading and unloading zone. By using the driverless transport vehicles, the road and rail transfer zones are separated, the result of which is that rail cars can be loaded or unloaded faster, as no logistic coordination between the rail car and the allocated truck is required. 
     A further disentanglement or organization of the arrival times of the rail cars and the associated trucks is achieved by loading or unloading the standard cargo holders in the loading and unloading zone onto or off of the driverless transport vehicles by means of a stacking device, and transporting the standard cargo holders with the stacking device between the driverless transport vehicles and a cargo holder storage site. The utilization of a cargo holder storage site increases logistic flexibility. 
     Particularly advantageous is that the standard cargo holders are loaded onto or unloaded off of trucks in a road transfer zone by the stacking device and that the standard cargo holders are transported by the stacking device between the loading and unloading zone and the storage site. Thus, the stacking device can be used for storage site tasks as well as for loading and unloading the trucks and the driverless transport vehicles. 
     A further increase in flexibility is achieved by the standard cargo holders in the loading and unloading zone being placed by the driverless transport vehicles, which are equipped with a lifting platform, onto a supporting frame. The driverless transport vehicles can thus be operated independently of the transfer and stacking devices. 
     Optionally, the standard cargo holders resting on the supporting frame are transported by additional driverless transport vehicles. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the transfer is improved with a system for transferring standard cargo holders, especially ISO containers and swap bodies, between rail and road, with handling equipment for loading and unloading standard cargo holders onto or off of rail cars in a rail transfer zone adjacent to a railway track. A driving zone for driverless transport vehicles, bringing or picking up the standard cargo holders to or from the handling equipment, is adjacent to the handling equipment, and a loading and unloading zone for delivering or collecting the standard cargo holders is adjacent to the driving zone. 
     Optionally, a cargo holder storage site is provided with a stacking device for transporting the standard cargo holders between the loading and unloading zone and the storage site is adjacent to the loading and unloading zone. The cargo holder storage site allows an intermediate storage of the standard cargo holders. 
     Optionally, a road transfer zone for loading and unloading the standard cargo holders onto or off of trucks may adjoin the storage site. Thus, the cargo holder storage site is linked to both the rail and the road transfer zones. 
     To increase the flexibility and the transfer performance, the driverless transport vehicles may each be equipped with a lifting platform, and supporting frames are positioned in the loading and unloading zone for resting or picking up the standard cargo holders from the lifting platform of the driverless transport vehicles. 
     Optionally, the handling equipment and the stacking device may be formed like a bridge or gantry crane. 
     The orientation of the standard cargo holders can be adapted to the turnover flow by being able to rotate the standard cargo holder, which is being transported by the handling equipment and/or the stacking device, around a vertical axis. 
     The handling equipment and/or the stacking device may include a movable crane trolley along a crane girder in a trolley track direction, on which a rigid mast is guided, which is extending in lifting and lowering direction. The mast is movable in a lifting and lowering direction by means of cables via at least one lifting gear attached on the crane trolley, at the end of which a load take-up device for standard cargo holders is attached. In one embodiment, the mast can be rotated around a vertical pivot axis in relation to the crane trolley. 
     If the rail tracks should be equipped with catenary lines, the load take-up device of the handling equipment may be placed laterally offset from the mast. 
     Stable guidance of the standard cargo holders is achieved by a crane girder including a first girder and a second girder on which trolley tracks are located, on which the crane trolley can be moved in trolley track direction and in which the first girder and the second girder are spaced from each other in the crane traveling direction, which runs at a right angle to the trolley track direction. 
     These and other objects, advantages and features of this invention will become apparent upon review of the following specification in conjunction with the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top plan view of a portion of transfer system for standard cargo holders in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of  FIG. 1 , taken from the area of a rail transfer zone; 
         FIG. 3  is a side elevation of the portion of the transfer system  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged sectional view of an alternative rail transfer zone similar to that of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged sectional view of another alternative rail transfer zone similar to that of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a side elevation of handling equipment of a transfer system, in an alternative embodiment; and 
         FIG. 7  is a top plan view of a transfer system for standard cargo holders, including the portion of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  shows an overview plan of a transfer system  1  for standard cargo holders  2 , such as ISO containers and swap bodies, which are transferred between a rail transfer zone  3  and a road transfer zone  4 . The overview plan of  FIG. 1  only shows a section of transfer system  1 , but identifies the essential components. Transfer system  1  includes the rail transfer zone  3  and the road transfer zone  4  which are connected via a cargo holder storage site  5 . The cargo holder storage site  5  serves as intermediate storage for the standard cargo holders  2 . 
     The rail transfer zone  3  includes a first rail track  3   a , a parallel and spaced second rail track  3   b , and the allocated handling equipment  6 . On the first and the second tracks  3   a  and  3   b , rails cars  7  can be moved for inward and outward transport of the standard cargo holders  2 . The handling equipment  6  is developed as a bridge or gantry crane which spans the first and the second tracks  3   a  and  3   b  as well as a transfer zone  8 . In the transfer zone  8 , driverless transport vehicles  9  can be driven in or out. 
     The driverless transport vehicles  9  are suited for transporting two twenty-foot containers, one forty-foot container or one forty-five-foot container. By means of the handling equipment  6 , the standard cargo holders are transferred between the driverless transport vehicles  9 , positioned in the transfer zone  8 , and the rail cars  7 . 
     The handling equipment  6 , developed as a bridge or gantry crane, includes a crane girder  11 , which can be moved along the first and second tracks  3   a  and  3   b  on the rails  10  in the track direction G. The rails  10  run parallel to the tracks  3   a ,  3   b . On the crane girder  11 , transverse to track direction G which coincides with the driving direction of the handling equipment  6 , a crane trolley  12  can be moved in trolley track direction K. On the crane trolley  12 , a mast  13  is suspended, which can be raised and lowered vertically and relative to the crane trolley  12 , in order to pick up and release standard cargo holders  2  by means of a load take-up device  14  attached to its lower end  13   a.    
     Depending on the arrangement or embodiment of the handling equipment  6 , the orientation of the standard cargo holders  2  is maintained during transfer between the driverless transport vehicles  9  and the rail cars  7 , or they are rotated around a vertical axis, if desired. In  FIG. 1 , the standard cargo holders  2  on the rail cars  7  are shown oriented in track direction G and the driverless transport vehicles  9  with their longitudinal axes rotated by 90 degrees in relation to them. Correspondingly, the handling equipment  6  has a rotating device  26  for this purpose. 
     The transfer zone  8  is positioned along the side of the second track  3   b . In the case shown, this transfer zone  8  includes supporting the frames  8   a , on which the standard cargo holders  2 , unloaded from the rail cars  7 , can be placed for interim storage or can be picked up from them by means of the handling equipment  6 , and/or from the neighboring parking sites  8   b  on which the driverless transport vehicles  9  can wait for delivering the standard cargo holders  2  to (or picking them up from) the handling equipment  6 . The driverless transport vehicles  9  are each equipped with a lifting platform  9   a  so that the driverless transport vehicles  9  with lowered lifting platform  9   a  can drive into the supporting frames  8   a , and thus drive under a standard cargo holder  2  resting on them. 
     For picking up the standard cargo holder  2 , the lifting platform  9   a  is then raised and the standard cargo holder  2  is lifted from the supporting frame  8   a . The driverless transport vehicle  9  then drives with the raised lifting platform  9   a  and the standard cargo holder  2  resting on it out of the supporting frame  8   a , then lowers the lifting platform  9   a  and continues its drive. Placing a standard cargo holder  2  on a supporting frame  8   a  is carried out in reverse order. 
     The transfer zone  8  is adjoined by a driving zone  15  in which the driverless transport vehicles  9  move in automated operation. Adjacent to this driving zone  15  and preferably opposite to the transfer zone  8 , a loading and unloading zone  16  is located which forms the interface to the cargo holder storage site  5 . 
     In this loading and unloading zone  16  supporting frames are again arranged in order to temporarily store the standard cargo holders  2  there for further handling. Sites for the driverless transport vehicles  9  can also be provided there, in order to transfer the standard cargo holders  2  directly with the driverless transport vehicles  9  without the supporting frames  16   a . In the loading and unloading zone  16 , the supporting frames  16   a  are loaded with or unloaded from the standard cargo holders  2  by means of a stacking device  17 , which operates in the cargo holder storage site  5  and is in the form of a bridge or gantry crane. 
     The cargo holder storage site  5  includes a large number of cargo holder storage zones  5   c , which are arranged in parallel side by side and in rows. At their rail-side end  5   a  each has a loading and unloading zone  16  and at their road-side end  5   b  is an associated storage and retrieval zone  18 . Each cargo holder storage zone  5   c  is allocated one or several stacking devices  17  which can be moved along the cargo holder storage zones  5   c  on rails  19  in crane movement direction. The stacking device  17  transports the standard cargo holders  2  between the cargo holder storage zone  5   c  and the loading and unloading zone  16 , or the storage and retrieval zone  18 . Each cargo holder storage zone  5   c , in addition to the one or more stacking devices  17 , also has a parking zone  5   d  for the standard cargo holders  2 . The parking zone  5   d  has a rectangular floor space on which the standard cargo holders  2  are arranged in columns and rows. 
     Up to five standard cargo holders  2  are stored stacked on top of each other. The parked standard cargo holders  2  are oriented with their long side generally parallel to the rails  19  and, thus, in crane travel direction of the stacking devices  17 . This orientation of the standard cargo holders  2  can also be found in the loading and unloading zone  18  with the arriving and departing trucks  20 , so that the stacking devices  17  do not have to rotate the standard cargo holders  2  during pick-up or deposit in addition to any required alignment corrections. In principle, it is also possible to equip the stacking device  17  with a rotating mechanism for changing the orientation of the standard cargo holders  2  in the horizontal plane. The design of the stacking device  17  generally corresponds to the design of the handling equipment  6 . 
     At the rail-side end  5   a  of the cargo holder storage site  5 , the standard cargo holders  2  are placed in the storage and retrieval zone  16  by the stacking device  17  onto the supporting frames  16   a , or are retrieved from there. The storage and retrieval zone  16  serves as an interface to the rail transfer zone  3  and has several supporting frames  16   a  for the standard cargo holders  2 , arranged side by side, into which the driverless transport vehicles  9  with their lifting platforms  9   a  can drive, in order to pick up the temporarily stored standard cargo holders  2  or park them there. It is also possible that the containers  2  are directly picked up by means of the stacking crane or stacking device  17  from its platform, or placed there. Then, no supporting frames  16   a  exist and the driverless transport vehicles  9  have no lifting tables or lifting platforms. 
     In the sectional enlargement of  FIG. 2 , no parking sites  8   b  for the driverless transport vehicles  9  are shown between the supporting frames  8   a . The handling equipment  6 , in the form of a semi-gantry crane can be traversed along the rails  10  in track direction G. Corresponding to the semi-gantry crane construction, one of the two rails  10 , namely the one rail  10  adjoining the first track  3   a , is located on approximately the same height level as the tracks  3   a ,  3   b . The opposing rail  10  is elevated so that the driverless transport vehicles  9  can drive without intersecting or contacting the supporting frames  8   a  and/or parking sites  8   b.    
     The crane trolley  12  includes a rectangular base frame  12   a , on the four corners of which the trolley travelling gears  21  are positioned, which travel on the trolley tracks on the crane girder  12 . The base frame  12   a  of the crane trolley  12  has an opening in the center area through which a rotation tube  26  is passed through. The rotating tube  26  is supported on its top end via a revolving joint  26   a  on the base frame  12   a  of the crane trolley  12  and can be rotated via the revolving joint  26   a  around a vertical rotating axis. Mast  13  runs inside the rotating tube  26  and is guided there. 
       FIG. 2  also shows that the crane girder  11  is designed with a first girder  11   a  and a second girder  11   b  which, seen in rail direction G, are arranged in tandem at one height level and with spacing between them. 
     As best seen in  FIG. 3 , the first girder  11   a  and the second girder  11   b  each have a triangular cross-section. This triangular cross-section has the shape of an isosceles triangle with the angle in the top area of  11   c  being about 30 degrees. The trolley rail  22  is mounted on each of the top areas  11   c  of the first girder  11   a  and the second girder  11   b . The crane trolley  12  can be traversed on these rails in the trolley track direction K. In the front area, corresponding to the semi-gantry design, the rail  10  is elevated via the supports  23  and the base or base plates of the first girder  11   a  and the second girder  11   b , which are connected by a base girder  25   a  and are directly supported via the crane travelling mechanism  24  on the rail  10 . Also corresponding to the semi-gantry design, in the rear area, the ends of the first girder  11   a  and the second girder  11   b  are supported via two vertical girders  25   b  on the crane traversing mechanism  24 . The lower ends of the two vertical girders  25   b  are connected in a U-shape via another base girder  25   a.    
       FIG. 3  also shows the revolving joint  26   a  and the rotating tube  26 . As a drive for the rotating tube  26 , a ring gear running around its outside is provided which engages an electric motor rotary actuator. In order to move the mast  13  in the lifting and lowering direction H, a rectangular lifting frame  27  ( FIG. 6 ) is rigidly mounted on the lower end of the rotating tube  26 . A lifting gear  28  for the mast  13  is located on the lifting frame  27  of the crane trolley  12 . 
     The lifting gear  28  has a first cable drum  28   a  and a second cable drum, which are co-axially bearing mounted on a common transmission, which is driven by a drive motor  28   c . A first cable  29   a  and a second cable (not shown in  FIG. 3 ) reel off the first cable drum  28   a . A third cable and a fourth cable (also not shown in  FIG. 3 ) reel off the second cable drum. Correspondingly, there are four cables  29  which either directly reel off vertically downwards from the first cable drum  28   a  or the second cable drum, or are guided horizontally to the opposite side of mast  13  and from there, via a corner pulley with a horizontal rotating axis, are diverted by 90 degrees vertically downwards. The ends of the cables  29  are connected with the load take-up device  14 . 
       FIG. 4  shows a view of a rail transfer zone  3  in an alternative embodiment, which generally corresponds to the one shown in  FIG. 2 . Here also the first and second rail tracks  3   a ,  3   b , running in parallel, can be seen with the rail cars  7 , which can be moved on them, as well as the rails  10  for the handling equipment  6 , running parallel to the direction of the tracks. Here, the handling equipment  6  is designed as a gantry crane, as the driverless transport vehicles  9  do not have to cross the rails  11  in order to drive in or out of the driving zone  15  between the tracks  3   a ,  3   b  and the rails  11 . As explained before, the handling equipment  6  can be equipped with a rotating tube  26  and a revolving joint  26   a  and can, thus, rotate around a vertical axis in a horizontal plane the standard cargo holders lifted by the load take-up device  14 . This facilitates placing the standard cargo holders  2 , which are lifted from the rail cars  7 , on the supporting frames  8   a  within the transfer zone  8 , or retrieving them from these. The supporting frames  8   a  are approximately oriented with their long dimension in an angle of 30 degrees to the track direction G. Thus, the driverless transport vehicles  9  can drive into the supporting frames  8   a  from one side, then pick up the standard cargo holders  2 , or put them down, and drive out on the opposite side, in order to then leave the driving zone  15  at the end of the handling equipment  6  and thus its rails  10 . 
     In  FIG. 5  is shown another alternative embodiment of the rail transfer zone  3 , which is similar to the embodiment described earlier with reference to  FIG. 4 . 
     The driverless transport vehicles  9  move here also in a driving zone located between the rails  11  and the tracks  3   a ,  3   b . However, the configuration with a rotating tube  26  and a revolving joint  26   a  on the handling equipment  6  is not needed, as the supporting frames  8   a  for the interim storage and the standard cargo holders  2  are oriented centrally in the driving zone and parallel to the tracks  3   a ,  3   b.    
       FIG. 6  further shows that the load take-up device  14  is divided into a suspension frame  14   a , which is rigidly mounted to the lower end  13   a  of the mast  13 , and a spreader frame  14   b , which is suspended on the suspension frame  14  via chains  14   c . A container-like receptacle  31  is attached to the outside of the first girder  11   a , in which the control and power electrics, or electronics for the handling equipment  6  are arranged. 
       FIG. 6  further shows that the load take-up device  14  is divided into a suspension frame  14   a , which is rigidly mounted to the lower end  13   a  of the mast  13 , and a spreader frame  14   b , which is suspended on the suspension frame  14  via chains  14   c . A container-like receptacle  31  is attached to the outside of the second girder  11   b , in which the control and power electrics, or electronics for the handling equipment  6  are arranged. 
     Between the first and the second tracks  3   a  and  3   b , which are running straight within the transfer zone  3 , a variety of catenary supports can usually be located, which carry a catenary wire each above the first and second tracks  3   a ,  3   b . The handling equipment  6  will then have a laterally cantilevered load take-up device  14 . 
     The overview plan of  FIG. 7  shows substantially all essential elements of the transfer system of  FIG. 1 , such as the rail transfer zone  3 , the first and second tracks  3   a ,  3   b , the cargo holder storage site  5 , the handling equipment  6 , the transfer zone  8 , the supporting frames  8   a , the driverless transport vehicles  9 , the loading and unloading zones  16 , and the stacking devices  17 . 
     A variety of cargo holder storage sites  5 , arranged side by side in parallel, is also shown. Compared to  FIG. 1 , the road transfer zone  4  is shown in more detail in  FIG. 7 . At the road-side end  5   b  of the cargo holder storage site  5 , the standard cargo holders  2  are placed in the storage and retrieval zone  18  by the stacking device  17  onto the trucks  20 , parked on the parking sites  18   a  located there, or are retrieved from there. The storage and retrieval zone  18  is the interface to the road transfer zone  4  and has several parking sites  18   a  for trucks  20 , arranged side by side. 
     In addition, a distribution site  32  is located adjacent to the many cargo holder storage sites  5 , which has loading and unloading zones  16  for the driverless transport vehicles  9  pointing to the rail transfer zone  3 . As for the cargo holder storage sites  5 , the loading and unloading zones  16  are equipped with supporting frames  16   a  for interim storage of the cargo holders  2 . Additionally, the distribution site  32  is equipped with storage and retrieval sites  18 , which are pointing to the road transfer site  4  with the street  4   a  for inward and outward transport of the cargo holders  2  via trucks  20 . The storage and retrieval zones  18  have parking sites  18   a , arranged side by side in parallel, for the trucks  20  backing up into these parking sites  18   a.    
     Changes and modifications to the specifically described embodiments may be carried out without departing from the principles of the present invention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims as interpreted according to the principles of patent law including the doctrine of equivalents.