Data processing: generic control systems or specific application – Specific application – apparatus or process – Article handling
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-09
2004-07-27
Tran, Khoi H. (Department: 3651)
Data processing: generic control systems or specific application
Specific application, apparatus or process
Article handling
C414S140300, C414S141300, C414S142600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06768931
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to automated container code recognition on quay container cranes as used in loading and unloading cargo containers from ships.
BACKGROUND ART
In the marine shipping industry, the expected annual container traffic growth is from 4.7% to 7.6%. Container terminals are faced with the challenge of maintaining the inventory control for these escalating numbers of containers. The input, ouput and storage of containers at these terminals must provide an efficiency level that is at least consistent with, or exceeds, past performance.
Present and future growth levels have compelled terminal management companies to look for new systems to bring about more efficient resource control and as a consequence, provide a more profitable operation.
Shipping companies wish to reduce the time a ship spends at port in order to increase the productivity of each vessel. Increasing the productivity of berthing operations allows ships to be loaded and unloaded faster, effectively reducing the time spent at port.
What is needed by both terminal management and shipping companies is a more accurate, real time accounting of incoming, outgoing and existing container inventory. A more efficient container inventory management system is needed to minimize the time spent at a port or rail yard loading and unloading containers.
FIG. 1
illustrates a typical berthing process involving operations of quay container cranes
2200
, transports between quay container cranes
2200
and storage yards, and storage yard containers manipulated by transfer container cranes
2100
, as found in the prior art.
The berthing operations involve the transport of containers between container ships and the storage yard. Currently, quay container cranes
2200
access the containers from above ships
220
and move them to and from transportation units
210
, such as trucks, each with a chassis, or Automatically Guided Vehicles (AGV's). The vehicles deliver the containers to storage yards
200
where other vehicles transfer the containers to stacks. The berthing process involves three operations: (1) quay container crane
2200
handling, (2) quay container crane
2200
to storage area
200
transport, and (3) storage area
200
manipulation often by one or more transfer container cranes
2100
as illustrated in FIG.
1
.
The quay container crane
2100
and transport vehicle
210
operations are highly interdependent. A delay in one operation causes the other to pause, reducing the overall productivity of the berthing process. If there are mistakes in these operations, then the overall berthing process is seriously delayed.
It is extremely important that ship unloading of containers be done correctly. If there are mistakes, a container may be lost for as much as a month. Even when found, the container may be further delayed because the ship, which has its own schedule, may already have left. This can render the cargo in a container worthless. For example, the container may hold seafood or other perishable products, which a delay of one or more months could render worthless.
What is needed is a method for reducing errors and supporting efficient operation of the berthing process.
FIGS. 2A and 2B
illustrate typical container codes and their representation on the side of a container as found in the prior art.
Each cargo container
100
is assigned a unique identification number
110
displayed on the sides and roof of the container. This identification number is represented in the form of a painted code and ID tag. Numerous government agencies and ship regulators require container codes on all containers. As a result, the painted container code representations of numerals and letters are used universally and internationally, as shown in
FIGS. 2A and 2B
.
A magnetic tag is another prior art method assigning an identification number to a container. However, magnetic tag method suffers from several problems. The magnetic tag method is not an international standard. Magnetic tags for containers are only installed by individual shipping line owners at their discretion. Not all container transporters support magnetic tags for their containers.
Additionally, a magnetic tag must pass in close proximity to a magnetometer in order for the magnetic tag to be read. The container passing the magnetometer can be outbound and inbound. Moreover, the magnetically tagged container can be moved anywhere. Magnetic tag reading provides no information about the container's physical location.
Another prior art alternative can identify containers from a distance. It is a technically more sophisticated and expensive system requiring a transponder tag attached to each container. The transponder tags can be programmed to show different kinds of information in the form of a coded signal when interrogated by a radio frequency transceiver. Such systems are expensive, delicate, and easily damaged.
Cargo containers are the individually property of the different shipping lines. When used by a non-owner shipping line, a container rental fee is paid to the owner. At the present time, the shipping companies only know the size of each container and whether it is dry or refrigerated.
A cargo container can become lost for several reasons. Inadvertently, a container is misplaced in a different location (yard address). Sometimes a container crane operator leaves a container at the wrong address, causing the container to be lost. A computer tracking the containers parked in a container terminal storage area will have an error in the container's tracking data. As a result, the lost container is effectively invisible to the existing container terminal management system (CTMS). While this is usually discovered evetually, the container is inevitably lost for a certain time.
A cargo container can become lost when the container ID number is incorrectly input into the CTMS. A cargo container can become lost when the container ID number is unreadable due to dirt, scratches, being covered, or the incorrect label on the container.
Any of these errors can result in disruptions of the inventory database. In addition, these errors become particularly serious when one attempts to place a second container into a supposedly vacant location only to find the location is already occupied, which further results in time consuming interruptions. What is needed is an efficient way to track all the containers and update an inventory database.
It can take a week in a major container storage yard to find a lost container. This can delay a ship's departure and/or the container's delivery to its destination. Either and/or both delays cost the shipping companies money.
Today, there is a large turnover of cargo containers in the seaports. This cargo turnover makes it necessary to regularly update the CTMS database. What is needed is an automated method of updating the CTMS database in real-time that will work efficiently even during the rush hours.
Today, a known disclosure teaching automatic reading of container ID tags on container cranes, is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,356,802 entitled “Method and apparatus for location cargo containers”, by Takehara (one of the inventors of this application) and Ng. The '802 patent is assigned to the same assignee as this application, Paceco Corp. The '802 patent discloses “The system can be installed on cranes to identify containers at wharfside and on straddle carrier cranes for identifying containers in single or multiple stack container storage. The system can be installed on cranes to identify containers mounted on rail cars in rail terminals . . . ” (Lines 50-55, Column 4)
“The machine reader, its associated apparatus, and the LDU, are carried onboard a transporter such as a cart which runs on tracks or can be steerable. The cart can either be operator driven or remotely controlled. The apparatus could be mounted onboard the storage yard patrol truck. . . . The machine reader can be alternatively aimed by the transporter, remotely controlled, or handheld by an operator.” (lines 40-48, Column 6) N
Chung Chingyei
King Maxwell W.
Takehara Toru
Gregory Smith & Associates
Jennings Earle
PACECO Corp.
Tran Khoi H.
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