Abstract
A gantry crane for containers with at least one raised horizontal beam, comprising ship-side spreaders supported on a first section of said horizontal beam, container land-side spreaders supported on a second section of said horizontal beam, and a horizontal transport carriage, mounted displaceably along the beam so that it is susceptible to being placed under the containers lifted by the ship-side spreaders, and arranged to support the containers and displace them to a position below the land-side spreaders, said horizontal transport carriage comprising anchoring means for separably anchoring the containers.
Claims
1. Gantry crane for containers having an elevated horizontal beam, comprising: one or more ship-side spreaders supported on a first section of said horizontal beam and arranged to lift one or more containers, one or more land-side spreaders supported on a second section of said horizontal beam and arranged to lower one or more containers, a horizontal transport carriage mounted movably along the horizontal beam so as to be capable of being positioned under the containers lifted by the ship-side spreaders, and arranged to support said containers and displace them to a position under the land-side spreaders, ship-side cable portions and land-side cable portions for maneuvering the ship-side spreaders and the descent land-side spreaders, a winch system to which the ship-side cable portions and land-side cable portions and, a control unit for commanding the winch system in a way that lowering containers with the land-side spreaders provides a counterweight for the simultaneous raising of containers with the ship-side spreaders.
2. Gantry crane for containers according to claim 1, wherein the winch system comprises: a ship-side winch and a land-side winch to which one end of the ship-side cable portions and one end of the land-side cable portions are connected respectively, a single counterweight winch to which one end of the ship-side cable portions and one end of the land-side cable portions are connected.
3. Gantry crane for containers according to claim 2, wherein ship-side cable portion and the land-side cable portion are part of a single cable, which is fixed in a rollably manner to the counterweight winch.
4. Gantry crane for containers according to claim 1, wherein the winch system comprises: a ship-side winch and a land-side winch to which one end of the ship-side cable portions and one end of the land-side cable portions are respectively connected, a ship-side counterweight winch and a land-side counterweight winch to which the other end of the ship-side cable portions and the other end of the land-side cable portions are respectively connected, a gear system being engaged to the ship-side counterweight winch and the land-side counterweight in a way that the lowering of containers with the land-side spreaders is used for the lifting of containers by the ship-side spreaders.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0041] For a better understanding of the description made herein, a set of drawings has been provided wherein, schematically, and solely by way of a non-limiting example, a practical case of an embodiment of the gantry crane for containers of the present invention is represented.
[0042] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first example of embodiment of the gantry crane for containers.
[0043] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of inset I of FIG. 1.
[0044] FIG. 3a is a schematic view of a first embodiment of a gantry crane for containers with a transmission system that links the simultaneous rise and fall of the spreaders.
[0045] FIG. 3b is a schematic view of a first embodiment of a gantry crane for containers with a transmission system that links the simultaneous rise and fall of the spreaders.
[0046] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an example of embodiment of a gantry crane for containers with additional beams in series with the horizontal beam.
[0047] FIG. 5 is a representation of a possible succession of steps of a first method of operation of the present invention.
[0048] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a second example of embodiment of the gantry crane for containers.
[0049] FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of inset VI of FIG. 6.
[0050] FIG. 8 is a representation of a possible succession of steps of a second method of operation of the present invention.
[0051] FIG. 9 is a representation of a possible succession of steps of a third method of operation of the present invention.
[0052] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a third example of embodiment of the gantry crane for containers.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0053] An embodiment of the container gantry crane and the method of operation claimed is described below, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.
[0054] A preferred embodiment of the gantry crane of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1, wherein the following can be seen: [0055] a horizontal beam (1), [0056] a ship-side spreader (2), supported on a first section (11) of said horizontal beam (1) by means of a support carriage (21), said spreader (2) being lowered by means of a cable system with pulleys (22) and anchored to a container (10), [0057] a land-side spreader (3), supported on a second section (12) of said horizontal beam (1), and [0058] a horizontal transport carriage (4), supported on said horizontal beam (1) between the ship-side spreader (2) and the land-side spreader (3).
[0059] For reasons of clarity, FIG. 1 does not show the rails or the operator's cab of the gantry crane.
[0060] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of inset I in FIG. 1. It shows in detail the land-side spreader (3), the corresponding support carriage (31), the corresponding cable system (32) and the corresponding anchoring means (33) to the container (10), as well as the horizontal transport carriage (4), which comprises an anchoring assembly (41). For sake of clarity, the container (10) of FIG. 2 has been depicted with transparent walls.
[0061] FIG. 3a shows a schematic view of a first embodiment of the present crane, comprising: [0062] a ship-side cable portion (22) and a land-side cable portion (32) for maneuvering the ship-side spreaders (2) and the land-side spreaders (3) respectively, [0063] a ship-side fixed pulley (24) and a land-side fixed pulley (34) around of which the ship-side cable portion (22) and the land-side cable portion (32) respectively slide, [0064] a winch system (5) comprising: [0065] a counterweight winch (51) to which one end of the ship-side cable portions (22) and one end of the land-side cable portions (32) are connected, [0066] a ship-side winch (20) and a land-side winch (30) to which one end of the ship-side cable portions (22) and one end of the land-side cable portions (32) are connected respectively, [0067] a control unit, not shown in figures, which commands the rotation of said winches (20, 30, 51) in a way that the ascent of the ship-side spreader (2) is linked to the simultaneous descent of the land-side spreader (3).
[0068] The lowering of one or more containers by means of the land-side spreaders (3) provides a counterweight for the simultaneous raising of one or more containers with the ship-side spreaders (2). The gravitational potential energy and the kinetic energy available and released when lowering the containers (10) with the land-side spreaders (3) is used for the lifting of the containers (10) by the ship-side spreaders (2). As can be expected, this use leads to significant savings in the energy consumption of the crane.
[0069] The ship-side cable portion (22) and the land-side cable portion (32) of the first embodiment are part of a single cable, which is fixed in a rollably manner to the counterweight winch (51). Therefore, the ship-side cable portion (22) is rolled up at the counterweight winch (51) when lifting containers (10) with the ship-side spreaders (2) while at the same time the land-side cable portion (32) is unrolled and the containers at the land-side spreaders (3) are lowered.
[0070] FIG. 3b shows a schematic view of a second embodiment of the present crane, wherein the winch system (5) comprises two counterweight winches (51, 52) and a gear system (50), this last one being represented by only one gear at this drawing. The cable systems (22, 32) that maneuver the ship-side spreaders (2) and the land-side spreaders (3) are linked to a corresponding counterweight winch (51, 52), said two counterweight winches (51, 52) and said gear system (50) being engaged so that the gravitational potential energy and the kinetic energy available when lowering the containers (10) with the land-side spreaders (3) is used for the lifting of the containers (10) by the ship-side spreaders (2). This configuration is convenient when the length of a single counterweight winch is not enough for winding both cable systems (22, 32).
[0071] FIG. 4 schematically depicts a gantry crane that has two additional horizontal beams (1, 1) in a configuration in series with said horizontal beam (1), which comprise their respective horizontal transport carriages (not shown in the figure) and their respective spreaders (3), with means for anchoring to containers (10), either above or under them, to receive them and move them through said additional horizontal beams (1, 1).
[0072] As regards the method of operation, exemplary steps of unloading a container with the crane depicted in FIG. 1 have been depicted in FIG. 5. In this example, the method comprises a first step (A) including simultaneously lifting the ship-side spreader (2) with a container (10) and lowering the land-side spreader (3) with another container (10), while moving the horizontal transport carriage (4) closer to the ship-side spreader (2).
[0073] Next, the method of operation shown comprises a second step (B) which includes placing the horizontal transport carriage (4) under the container (10) already hoisted by the ship-side spreader (2), anchoring the horizontal transport carriage (4) to said container (10) and undocking the ship-side spreader (2), while at the same time undocking the land-side spreader (3) from the lowered container.
[0074] Subsequently, the method of FIG. 5 shows a third step (C) comprising simultaneously lowering the ship-side spreader (2), lifting the land-side spreader (3), and moving the horizontal transport carriage (4) loaded with a container (10) closer to the land-side spreader (3).
[0075] To complete the cycle, the method shown in FIG. 5 comprises a fourth step (D) comprising placing the container (10) displaced by the horizontal transport carriage (4) under the land-side spreader (3), anchoring the land-side spreader (3) to said container, and undocking the horizontal transport carriage (4), while anchoring the ship-side spreader (2) to a new container.
[0076] FIG. 6 shows a second preferred embodiment of the gantry crane of the present invention, where the following can be seen: [0077] a horizontal beam (1), [0078] a ship-side spreader (2), whose anchoring position of the containers (10) is the usual one, i.e., perpendicular to the horizontal beam (1), [0079] a land-side spreader (3), whose anchoring position of the containers (10) is instead parallel to the horizontal beam (1), and [0080] a horizontal transport carriage (4), whose anchoring assembly (41) supports a container (10) in the process of rotation by means of the rotation mechanism (42).
[0081] FIG. 7 illustrates in detail the horizontal transport carriage (4) under the ship-side spreader (2), where the anchoring assembly (41) is supported by the rotation mechanism (42) for its rotation about its vertical axis (43) of symmetry.
[0082] FIG. 8 shows an example of the method for unloading containers stored on a ship (not shown for clarity) by means of the crane shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In this example, the method comprises a first step (A) that includes simultaneously anchoring the ship-side spreader (2) to one of the containers (10) of the ship, undocking the container already carried by the horizontal transport carriage (4) with respect to the anchoring assembly (41) thereof, and anchoring the land-side spreader (3) to the said latter container (10).
[0083] Next, the method of operation of FIG. 8 comprises a second step (B) which includes simultaneously lifting the container (10) of the ship with the ship-side spreader (2) while the horizontal transport carriage (4) is being moved closer to it until it is placed under said container (10), while the other container (10) is being lowered with the land-side spreader (3). As can be seen, the position of the container 10 on the ship-side is perpendicular to the horizontal beam 1, while the position of the container 10 on the land-side is parallel to the horizontal beam 1.
[0084] Next, the method of operation of FIG. 8 comprises a third step (C) which includes simultaneously anchoring the horizontal transport carriage (4) to said container (10) of the ship and undocking the ship-side spreader (2), while at the same time undocking the land-side spreader (3) from the lowered container.
[0085] Subsequently, the method of FIG. 8 shows a fourth stage (D) that includes simultaneously lowering the ship-side spreader (2), lifting the land-side spreader (3) and rotating 90 the anchoring assembly (41) of the horizontal transport carriage (4), which is loaded with the container (10) of the ship, while displacing it until it is located under the land-side spreader (3).
[0086] Finally, the method of operation of FIG. 8 comprises a fifth stage (E) consisting of repeating the steps of the first stage (A), but with other containers (10), as well as repeating successively the remaining stages, such as a sixth stage in which the container (10) is lowered with the land-side spreader (3), etc.
[0087] FIG. 9 shows an example of the method for loading containers from land to the ship with the crane shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In this example, the method comprises a first step (A) that includes simultaneously anchoring the land-side spreader (3) to one of the containers (10) that are on the ground, undocking the container already transported by the horizontal transport carriage (4) of the anchoring assembly (41) thereof and anchoring the ship-side spreader (2) to said latter container (10).
[0088] Next, the method of operation of FIG. 9 comprises a second step (B) which includes simultaneously lifting the ground container (10) with the land-side spreader (3) while the horizontal transport carriage (4) is moved closer to it until it is placed under said container (10), while the other container (10) is lowered with the ship-side spreader (2). As can be seen, the position of the container 10 on the ship-side is perpendicular to the horizontal beam 1, while the position of the container 10 on the land-side is parallel to the horizontal beam 1.
[0089] Next, the method of operation of FIG. 9 comprises a third step (C) that simultaneously includes anchoring the horizontal transport carriage (4) to said ground container (10) and undocking from it the land-side spreader (3), while at the same time undocking the ship-side spreader (2) from the lowered container.
[0090] Subsequently, the method of FIG. 9 shows a fourth stage (D) that includes simultaneously lowering the land-side spreader (3), lifting the ship-side spreader (2) and rotating 90 the anchoring assembly (41) of the horizontal transport carriage (4), which is loaded with the ground container (10), while displacing it until it is located below the ship-side spreader (2).
[0091] Finally, the method of operation of FIG. 9 comprises a fifth stage (E) consisting of repeating the steps of the first stage (A), but with other containers (10), as well as repeating successively the rest of the stages, such as a sixth stage in which the container (10) is lowered with the ship-side spreader (2), etc.
[0092] FIG. 10 shows a loading and unloading system comprising: [0093] a main gantry crane (1) and one or more secondary gantry cranes (100, 101), parallel to each other and each with their respective horizontal transport carriages and their respective spreaders, and [0094] at least one rail (200), perpendicular to the beams of the gantry cranes (1, 100, 101), which runs under one of its spreaders, and which has at least one horizontal transport carriage (in this embodiment located on rails adjacent to the ground, but it could be on an elevated beam) to receive a container and preferably move it autonomously between the gantry cranes (1, 100, 101).
