STS multi-trolley portal gantry container crane

Abstract

A portal gantry crane including: two parallel main girders running side by side on respective sides of a midplane, two legs each positioned in the midplane, two couples of trolleys, each couple of trolleys operating on a corresponding girder, each trolley carrying a hoist.

Claims

1. Portal gantry crane for loading/unloading containers from a container vessel comprising: two parallel main girders running side by side on respective sides of a midplane, two legs each crossed by said midplane, two couples of trolleys, each couple of trolleys operating on a corresponding girder, each trolley carrying a hoist, ropes of which carrying a spreader configured for attachment to a container, each hoist being laterally movable both ways relative to a centreline of the corresponding girder, and suspension cross beams connected to respective legs and carrying the girders.

2. Portal gantry crane according to claim 1, the legs being of box-section.

3. Portal gantry crane according to claim 1, the girders being rigidly connected to one leg and being pinned to the other leg.

4. Portal gantry crane according to claim 1, comprising cantilevers extending beyond a main span, the girders being suspended in a way to allow the trolleys to pass on to cantilevers.

5. Portal gantry crane according to claim 1, the girders being interconnected by horizontal bracing.

6. Portal gantry crane according to claim 1, the girders being of variable depth, the trolleys traveling on tracks situated below a top edge of the girders.

7. Portal gantry crane according to claim 1, the girders comprising lateral extensions or brackets carrying tracks on which the trolleys travel.

8. Portal gantry crane according to claim 1, the trolleys being self-propelled.

9. Portal gantry crane according to claim 1, wherein the main girders are prestressed.

10. Container terminal comprising: a double-sided berth, at least one portal gantry crane according to claim 1, spanning in a transverse direction across the berth.

11. The terminal of claim 10, the gantry crane traveling on tracks extending along each side of the berth.

12. The terminal of claim 11, comprising a plurality of portal gantry cranes traveling along said tracks.

13. The terminal of claim 12 the plurality being three to four cranes.

14. The terminal of claim 10, the berth being an indented berth.

15. A method for loading/unloading a container vessel received in the double-sided berth of the container terminal of claim 10, comprising: moving the trolleys along the girders so that each trolley moves between a first position substantially median to the vessel and a second position on a corresponding side of the vessel.

16. The method of claim 15, two portal gantry cranes being positioned adjacent to each other, four adjacent trolleys of said cranes being operated simultaneously as a unit in heavy lift operations.

17. Portal gantry crane according to claim 1, wherein the suspension cross beams are prestressed.

Description

(1) Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in reference to the attached drawings, on which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-section of a container terminal according to the present invention,

(3) FIG. 2 is an elevation of the portal gantry crane of FIG. 1,

(4) FIG. 3 is a top view of the crane of FIG. 2,

(5) FIG. 4 is a section along IV-IV of FIG. 2,

(6) FIG. 5 is a section along V-V of FIG. 2, with trolleys made apparent,

(7) FIG. 6 is a cross-section along VI-VI of FIG. 2, with trolleys made apparent,

(8) FIG. 7 illustrates the lateral displacement of the hoist of a trolley,

(9) FIG. 8 illustrates the operation in tandem of trolleys belonging to adjacent cranes,

(10) FIG. 9 illustrates the operation in tandem of trolley traveling along a same girder,

(11) FIG. 10 shows in cross-section a girder,

(12) FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10 of a variant embodiment.

(13) FIG. 1 shows a container terminal 1 according to the present invention. This terminal 1 comprises an indented berth 2 extending between opposite left 3 and right 4 quays. The berth 2 is preferably configured for receiving an Ultra Large Container Vessels ULCV as illustrated. Such a vessel carries typically more than 13 000 TEU.

(14) The berth 2 may include roadways and/or railways and various facilities (not shown) for transportation and storage of containers unloaded from the vessels or waiting to be loaded.

(15) Two tracks 5 extend along the berth 2 on each side thereof for travel of at least one portal gantry crane 10 made in accordance to the present invention. Preferably, more than one crane 10 is present on the tracks 5. Up to four cranes 10 may be present.

(16) Each crane 10 comprises, as can be seen on FIG. 3, two parallel horizontal main girders 11. The two parallel horizontal main girders 11 are connected together by a bracing 12, which may include as shown end beams 13, transverse intermediate beams 14 of smaller section than end beams 13 and oblique beams 15 of smaller section than intermediate beams 14.

(17) The bracing 12 preferably follows the upper line of the girders. The beams 14 and 15 are preferably of tubular design for better aerodynamics. The bracing 12 improves the stability and aerodynamic performance of the girders 11.

(18) The girders 11 are suspended from suspension beams 17 and 18 that are supported respectively by a fixed leg 20 and a shear leg 21.

(19) The girders 11 are preferably prestressed to reduce their mass and improve their fatigue life.

(20) The girders 11 are positioned symmetrically with respect to a midplane M.

(21) The crane 10 comprises cantilevers 22 and 23 extending beyond the main span.

(22) A twin brace 24 connects the fixed leg 20 to the cantilever 22 to stabilize the structure in direction of trolley travel.

(23) Each girder 11 defines, as can be seen on FIGS. 1 and 10, tracks 30 for a couple of trolleys 40.

(24) The tracks 30 extend on lateral extensions 32 at the lower part of the girder 11.

(25) The tracks 30 are horizontal. They support the mass of the trolley and of the load.

(26) Each lateral extension 32 carries a handrail 35.

(27) The body 37 of the girder 11 extends between the tracks 30.

(28) The horizontal tracks 30 extend at a non-zero distance h from the top edge 11a of the girders 11.

(29) The girders 11 exhibit a constant depth k along a major portion of their length and preferably their depth starts decreasing down to their ends at a distance d from their ends.

(30) The legs 20, 21 are of box section as shown in FIG. 4 and house an elevator shaft and stairwell around the elevator shaft, up to a walkway 43 giving access to the trolleys.

(31) The legs 20, 21 are preferably connected to base support beams 48, struts 49 being integral part of this connection. The base support beams 48 rest via equalizers 47, 52 on bogies 50 traveling on the quay tracks 5.

(32) Each trolley 40 is self-propelled and comprises a machinery house 55 with the hoist mechanism. The drive mechanism is located above the track.

(33) Machinery house 55 is suspended below the girder 11 by two frames 57 that hold the wheels that engage the tracks 30.

(34) The ropes 58 of the hoist carry a spreader 60 configured for attachment to a container C.

(35) Preferably, as shown in FIG. 7, the hoist with ropes 58 is capable of transverse movement in a direction T under the machinery house 55 thanks to a side shift mechanism 65. Such mechanism may comprise a truck movable in a transverse direction, perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis X of the girder 11, this truck carrying the hoist.

(36) The amplitude of transverse movement of the hoist is for example of at least 0.5 m each way.

(37) The presence of two girders 11 and a pair of trolleys 40 on each girder 11 allows fast loading and fast unloading from both sides of the vessel and enables a step change in overall performance by transferring large numbers of containers to and from the largest vessels while removing the vessel beam width restrictions of conventional STS cranes.

(38) The invention enables to more than double loading/unloading productivity when compared to best current systems; moreover, the efficiency/productivity increases with increase in the ship size.

(39) The crane 10 can also be operated in heavy lift operations.

(40) The two trolleys 40 of a same girder 11 may be operated in tandem as illustrated in FIG. 9, doubling the hoisting capacity.

(41) In the variant embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8, two cranes 10 are positioned one next to the other and the trolleys 40 of the adjacent girders 11 are operated in tandem to carry a common load L, which results in fourfold hoisting capacity compared to a single trolley.

(42) Secondary structures of the crane, such as handrails or sheeting of machinery houses, are preferably made of composite materials to contribute to reduction of weight of the crane and improve resistance to corrosion. This sheeting is preferably made of a translucent material to save energy.

(43) The present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. For example, various modifications may be brought to the shape of the girders 11.

(44) FIG. 11 shows a variant embodiment in which the tracks 30 on which the trolleys travel are defined by brackets 75 that extends on both sides of the girder main body 37.

(45) Trolleys 40 may be tele-operated from a remote control room. In a variant, cabin suspended from the machinery house 55 of the trolley 40 is configured for accommodating a crane driver. One trolley 40 may be a master trolley controlling the overall crane travel.

(46) The system is preferably fully automatic.