A DOCK TYPE HARBOR CARGO LOADING AND UNLOADING APPARATUS

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a cargo loading/unloading apparatus for unloading cargos from a ship, which is in anchor at a harbor, to a trailer or loading cargos from a trailer to a ship, and in particular to a dock type harbor cargo loading/unloading apparatus for use in a dock type harbor.

[2]

Background Art

[3] A cargo loading and unloading apparatus such as a cargo crane is one of principal cargo installations, which are utilized for either unloading cargos from a ship to a trailer or loading cargos from a trailer to a ship. It is a recent tendency that shipping companies, which possess ships, increase their ships larger and larger to obtain super- sized ships for the purpose of prior occupation in competition among the shipping companies. Meanwhile, a harbor is also requested that cargos loaded in a ship be unloaded more rapidly so as to have a better position in competition than other harbors. Therefore, various methods have been researched for rapidly unloading cargos from a super-sized ship as mentioned above. For example, Korean Registered Patent Publication No. 0230144 and Korean Un-examined Publication No. 2005-23665, which are owned by the applicant, disclose such methods.

[4] In particular, in order to reduce the waiting time of a super-sized ship, which requires a long period of time in loading and unloading cargos, dock type harbors have been developed, wherein such a harbor is recently operated in such a manner that cargo cranes are installed on the opposite quay walls of the harbor so as to unload or load cargos.

[5] FIG. 1 shows how cargo cranes invented by the applicant of the present application are applied to a harbor P. As shown in the drawing, a super-sized ship (10,000 to 13,000 TEU) comes alongside the opposite quay walls 14 and 15 of the dock type harbor P3. Meanwhile, a plurality of cargo cranes 50 are alternately arranged along the opposite quay walls 14 and 15. The ship is partitioned into cells 21 to 28, and each of the cargo cranes 50 unloads cargos from a corresponding cell or loads cargos to the corresponding cell.

[6] However, if the number of cargos, which are to be unloaded from a certain cell is larger than the number of cargos, which have been loaded in any other cell, it is necessary to wait until all the cargos in the certain cell are unloaded even if all the

cargos in the other cells were unloaded. As a result, improvement is still desired for reducing the length of time required for unloading and loading cargos.

[7] [Brief Description of the drawings]

[8] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing how cargo cranes are installed in a conventional harbor;

[9] FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing dock type harbor cargo unloading/ loading apparatus according to preferred embodiments of the present invention;

[10] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of main parts of a first crane body, a boom structure, and a joint unit of FIG. 3;

[11] FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of first and second joint units of FIG. 3; and

[12] FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing how a dock type harbor unloading/loading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a harbor.

[13] 100: dock type harbor cargo unloading/loading apparatus

[14] 200: first crane body

[15] 210: elevator

[16] 220: cargo accumulation part

[17] 230: trailer's cargo transportation means

[18] 300: second crane body

[19] 400: boom structure

[20] 410: first ship's cargo transportation means

[21] 420: second ship's cargo transportation means

[22] 430: first driving means

[23] 440: second driving means

[24] 450: cockpit

[25] 500: joint units

[26] 510: first joint unit

[27] 511: first abutment

[28] 512: first slip plate

[29] 515: first rotary shaft member

[30] 520: second joint unit

[31] 521: second abutment

[32] 522: second slip plate

[33] 525: second rotary shaft member

[34] 527: slip member

[35]

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[36] The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a dock type harbor cargo unloading/loading apparatus which can reduce the length of time required for unloading or loading cargos.

[37]

Technical Solution

[38] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, there is provided a dock type harbor cargo unloading/loading apparatus, which is installed in a dock type harbor with opposite quay walls so as to unload cargos from a ship to a trailer or load cargos from a trailer to a ship, wherein the apparatus comprises first and second crane bodies, a boom structure, first and second ship's cargo transportation means, a cockpit, and one or more joint units. The first and second crane bodies are installed on the top of the opposite quay walls in such a manner as to be opposite to each other and to be movable along body guide rails installed on the top of the quay walls, respectively, so as to transport cargos from the ship to the trailer or vice versa. The boom structure is installed on the top of the first and second crane bodies to be movable in cooperation with the first and second crane bodies. The first and second ship's cargo transportation means are movable along a first guide rail installed on the boom structure, thereby performing cargo loading or unloading works above the ship. The cockpit is movable along a second guide rail installed in the boom structure, wherein an operator gets into the cockpit so as to manipulate the first and second ship's cargo transportation means. The joint units are connected to the first and second crane bodies and fixedly support the boom structure.

[39] The joint units are preferably rotated and slid if a difference in moving distance between the first and second crane bodies occurs as the first and second crane bodies do not move parallel to each other.

[40] The joint units may comprise first and second joint units which are connected to the first and second crane bodies, respectively, and each of the first and second joint units may comprise: one or more abutments fixedly installed on the top of the first or second crane body; and a slip plate seated on the top of the abutments and installed to be rotatable and coupled to the boom structure by one or more pins.

[41] The slip plate of the first joint unit may comprise: a pair of first saddles, which are seated on the top of the abutments, each of the first saddles having a projection rib, which is formed with a pin insertion hole, through which a pin is inserted; a first connection means for interconnecting the first saddles; and a rotary shaft member installed in the first connection means and engaged with one or more bearings installed on the abutments in such a manner as to be rotatable.

[42] The slip plate of the second joint unit may comprise: a pair of second saddles, which are seated on the top of the abutments, each of the second saddles having a projection rib, which is formed with a pin insertion hole, through which a pin is inserted; a second connection means for interconnecting the second saddles; and a slip member installed in the second connection means and engaged with one or more bearings installed on the abutments in such a manner as to be slidable by a predetermined distance; and a second rotary shaft member which is engaged with the slip member in such a manner as to be rotatable.

[43] Meanwhile, it is preferable that the first and second ship's cargo transportation means are be alternately manually manipulated in at least a part of the entire path for transporting cargos. In particular, it is preferable that the first and second ship's cargo transportation means are manipulated by one operator.

[44] More preferably, the second ship's cargo transportation means is manually operated by the operator and then automatically moved, and the second ship's cargo transportation means is manually operated by the operator while the first ship's cargo transportation means is being automatically moved, so as to reduce the working hours for loading or unloading. In particular, in the entire cargo transportation path, the first and second ship's cargo transportation means may be manually operated at least at a cargo transportation section for lowering cargos so as to load the cargos to the ship, and automatically operated at the remaining cargo transportation section.

[45] Meanwhile, the inventive dock type harbor cargo unloading/loading apparatus may further comprise first and second driving units for driving the first and second cargo transportation means, respectively, the first and second driving units being installed at the opposite sides of the boom structure.

[46] It is preferable that the first and second guide rails are not positioned on a same line.

[47] Each of the first and second crane bodies may comprise: a cargo accumulation part for accumulating cargos; an elevator ascending and descending between a first position where the elevator is loaded with cargos by the first or second ship's cargo transportation means, and a second position, where the cargos loaded in the elevator are unloaded to the cargo accumulation part; and a trailer's cargo transportation means for transporting cargos from one side of the cargo accumulation part and the trailer to the other side of the cargo accumulation part and the trailer.

[48]

Advantageous Effects

[49] Accordingthe inventive dock type harbor cargo unloading/loading apparatus, a pair of crane bodies, each of which is provided with a trailer's cargo transportation means, are installed on the opposite quay walls of a dock type harbor, and a pair of ship's

cargo transportation means are installed on a boom structure which interconnects the crane bodies, whereby cargo unloading or loading works performed in two places with a time interval. As a result, the length of time required for unloading or loading cargoes can be eminently reduced. Accordingly, from a shipping company's standpoint, it is possible to maximize their profits by reducing the length of time a ship should stay in the harbor, and from a harbor's standpoint, it is possible to increase their competitiveness by realizing a high efficient and inexpensive harbor. In addition, the present invention is very effective for cargo unloading or loading works for a certain cell, in which more cargos are loaded as compared with any other cell in a super-sized ship.

[50] Meanwhile, according to the present invention, joint units for connecting two crane bodies and the boom structure are arranged in such a way that when the two crane bodies do not move parallel to each other, the joint units execute rotating and slipping movements. As a result, it is possible to secure the operational stability of the cargo unloading/loading apparatus.

[51]

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[52] Hereinafter, a dock type harbor cargo unloading/loading apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to accompanying drawings.

[53] Referring to FIG. 2, a dock type harbor cargo unloading/loading apparatus 200 comprises first and second crane bodies 200 and 300 installed on the opposite quay walls 11 and 12 of a dock type harbor, a boom structure 400 installed on the top of the first and second crane bodies 200 and 300, and joint units 500 for interconnecting the first and second crane bodies 200 and 300 and the boom structure 400. The boom structure 400 is provided with a plurality of support frames 401 at the top side thereof so as to support the boom structure 400.

[54] A ship 10 for loading cargos C is at anchor between the opposite quay walls 11 and

12, wherein the first and second crane bodies 300 are installed on the top of the quay walls 11 and 12 in such a manner as to be movable along crane guide rails 201 and 301, respectively. A plurality of wheel units 202 and 302 are installed in such a manner as to correspond in position to the crane guide rails 201 and 301 on the top of the quay walls 11 and 12. A plurality of rolling means 203 and 303 including endless tracks are installed under the first and second crane bodies 200 and 300 and adjacent to the wheel units 202 and 302, wherein the rolling means 203 and 303 are driven and slid on the ground depending on the movements of the crane bodies 200 and 300. The boom structure 400 is installed in such a manner as to be connected to the top of the first and

second crane bodies 200 and 300 through the joint units 400 and moves in cooperation with the first and second crane bodies 200 and 300. The ship 10 is loaded with cargos C in a plurality of rows. The first and second crane bodies 200 and 300 and the boom structure 400 move along each row so as to unload the cargos C from the row to a trailer T or load cargos C from the trailer T to the ship 10.

[55] Referring to FIG. 3, each of the first and second crane bodies 200 and 300 includes an elevator 210 or 310, a cargo accumulation part 220 or 320, and a trailer's cargo transportation means 230 or 330. Since the first and second crane bodies 200 and 300 are identical to each other in construction, only the first crane body 200 is described in the present embodiment.

[56] The elevator 210 is loaded with cargos C, which are transferred from the ship 10 by a first ship's cargo transportation means 410, and lowers the loaded cargos C to a same height as the cargo accumulation part 220.

[57] Meanwhile, the elevator 210 further comprises a conveyer (not shown) for horizontally moving the cargos loaded in the elevator 210 to the cargo accumulation part 220. Although it has been described above that the elevator 210 descends so as to move and unload the loaded cargos C to the cargo accumulation part 220, it is also possible that the elevator 210 is fed with cargos C from the cargo accumulation part 220 and then ascends to the same height as it descent.

[58] The cargo accumulation part 220 serves to reduce the waiting time, which is resulted from the unharmonized cargo loading and unloading periods when cargos C are transferred from the ship 10 to the trailer T or vice versa. The number of cargoes accumulated in the cargo accumulation part 220 may be variable according to the cargo processing capacity of the harbor.

[59] The trailer's cargo transportation means 230 moves along a body guide rail 231 mounted on the first crane body 200, so as to transport cargos C from one side of the trailer T and the cargo accumulation part 220 to the other side. The trailer's cargo transportation means 230 comprises a trailer trolley 232 which moves along a body guide rail 231, and a trailer spreader 233 which vertically ascends or descends so as to grip a cargo C.

[60] The boom structure 400 is connected to the first and second crane bodies 300 through the joint units 500 and pins 350 (see FIG. 4), and moves in cooperation with the first and second crane bodies 300. The boom structure 400 comprises first and second ship's cargo transportation means 410 and 420, and first and second driving units 430 and 440, and a cockpit 450.

[61] The first and second ship's cargo transportation means 410 and 420 transport cargos

C between the ship 10 and the elevators 210 and 310 of the first and second crane bodies 200 and 300, which are adjacent to the ship 10, respectively. Each of the first

and second ship's cargo transportation means 410 and 420 comprises a ship trolley 412 or 422, which is moves along a first guide rail 411 installed in the longitudinal direction of the boom structure 400, and a ship spreader 413 or 423, which vertically ascends and descends so as to grip a cargo C.

[62] The first and second driving units 430 and 440 are installed at the opposite sides of the boom structure 400 and drive the first and second ship's cargo transportation means 410 and 420, respectively. The first and second driving unit 430 and 440 are connected with the first and second ship's cargo transportation means 410 and 420 through wires, which are not shown in the drawings, and drive the first and second ship's cargo transportation means 410 and 420, respectively, according to a command of an operator.

[63] The cockpit 450 moves along a second guide rail 451, which is installed in the longitudinal direction of the boom structure 400. An operator gets into the cockpit 450 so as to control the entire cargo unloading and unloading works, and in particular, the operator manually manipulates the first and second ship's cargo transportation means 410 and 420 so as to lift cargos C, which are loaded in the ship 10. Meanwhile, it is desired that the second guide rail 451 is not positioned on a same line as the first guide rail 411. This means that the first and second guide rails 451 and 411 are not positioned coplanar with each other. Therefore, the operator may freely moves to a position which is more suitable for working, without being affected by the first and second ship's cargo transportation 410 and 420.

[64] The joint units 500 include first and second joint units 510 and 520, which are engaged with the first and second crane bodies 200 and 300, respectively, and are installed in such a manner as to connect the boom structure 400 and the first and second bodies 200 and 300, respectively. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the first joint unit 510 comprises one or more first abutments 511 and a first slip plate 512, and the second joint unit 520 comprises one or more second abutment 521 and a second slip plate 522. The above-mentioned first abutments 511 are provided in pair, so that they are anchored to the top of the first crane body 200. On the top of the first abutments 511, a pair of first bearings 516 are fixedly installed for supporting a first rotary shaft member 515 in such a manner as to be rotatable. Like the first abutments 511, the second abutments 521 are provided in pair, so that they are fixedly supported on the top of the second crane body 300. On the top of the second abutments 521, two pairs of second bearings 526 are fixedly installed for supporting a slip member 527 of the second slip plate 522 in such a manner as to be rotatable and slidable.

[65] The first slip plate 522 comprises a pair of first saddles 513 seated on the top of the first abutments 511, and a first connection means 514 for interconnecting the first saddles 513. Each of the first saddles 513 has a first projection rib 519, which is formed with a first pin insertion hole 518, through which a pin is inserted. The first slip

plate 512 and the boom structure 400 are joined with each other by pins 530 through the first projection ribs 519. The first connection means 514 is provided so as to interconnect two first saddles 513, and a first rotary shaft member 515 is fixedly assembled to a predetermined portion of the first connection means 514. In the present embodiment, the first connection means 514 consists of a plurality of frames but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the first connection means 514 may consist of a single plate which interconnects the first saddles 513. The first rotary shaft member 515 serves as an axis when the first and second crane bodies 200 and 300 move, wherein the opposite ends of the first rotary shaft member 515 are engaged with the two first bearings 516, which are fixedly installed on the top of the first abutments 511. Therefore, the first rotary shaft member 515 is rotatable over a predetermined angle when the first and second crane bodies 200 and 300 move, whereby the saddles 513 of the first slip plate 512 are allowed to rotate on the top of the abutments 511 as indicated by arrows A in FIG. 5. In order to facilitate the rotation of the saddles 513, it is desired to apply oil or insert an object with a low frictional coefficient between the saddles 513 and the top surfaces of the first abutments 511.

[66] The second slip plate 522 comprises a pair of second saddles 523 which are seated on the top of the second abutments 521, and a second connection means 524 for interconnecting the second saddles 523, like the first slip plate 522. Since the second projection ribs 523 of the second saddles 523 are identical to the first projection ribs 519 of the first saddles 513 in function, the detailed description thereof is omitted. Meanwhile, on the top of the second abutments 521, two pairs of second bearings 526 are fixedly installed for supporting the slip member 527 in such a manner as to be capable of moving by a predetermined distance. Therefore, the slip member 527 is allowed to slip in the direction indicated by arrow B in FIG. 5. A second rotary shaft member 525 is installed within and rotatably engaged with the slip member 527. Therefore, like the first rotary shaft member 515, the second rotary shaft member 525 is allowed to rotate over a predetermined angle when the first and second crane bodies 200 and 300 moves, whereby the saddles 523 of the second slip plate 522 are allowed to rotate on the top of the abutments 521 as indicated by arrows A in FIG. 5.

[67] After completing cargo unloading or loading works for one cargo row in the ship, the first and second cranes 200 and 300 move in Y-direction so as to unload or load cargos of another cargo row. In that event, no problem occurs if the first and second crane bodies 200 and 300 move parallel to each other. However, if they do not move parallel to each other, a distortion, which corresponds to a difference in moving distance between the first and second crane bodies 200 and 300, is produced in the first rotary shaft member 515 of the first connection unit 510 and the second rotary shaft member 525 of the second connection unit 520. If such a distortion frequently occurs,

stresses are concentrated to the rotary shaft members 515 and 525, thereby causing the fracture of the rotary shaft members 515 and 525. Therefore, the first and second rotary shaft members 515 are made to be rotatable over an angle which corresponds to a difference in moving distance between the first and second crane bodies 300, whereby the first and second rotary shaft members 515 and 525 are prevented from being fractured by concentrated torsional stresses. Meanwhile, if the first and second crane members 200 and 300 do not move parallel to each other, a slip phenomenon occurs, whereby the first or second slip plate 512 or 522 is pushed by a predetermined distance in X-direction. Therefore, the slip member 527 of the second slip plate 522 absorbs the sliding of the second slip plate 522 caused by the difference in moving distance between the first and second crane bodies 300, thereby preventing the preventing the fracture caused by concentrated torsional stresses, as described above.

[68] Now, the cargo unloading and loading works performed by a dock type harbor cargo unloading and unloading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention are described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

[69] In order to transport cargos C from a ship 10, which is at anchor in the harbor, the first and second crane bodies 200 and 300 move to a cargo row having cargos to be unloaded along the crane guide rails 201 and 301, respectively. If the first and second crane bodies 201 and 301 arrive at unloading positions, respectively, the operator stops the cockpit 450 at a position suitable for working and then manually manipulates the first ship's cargo transportation means 410 so as to perform cargo unloading works. According to the manipulation of the operator, the first ship's cargo transportation means 410 moves along the first guide rail 411 and then the spreader 413 vertically descends and grips a cargo C. If a cargo C is gripped, the spreader 413 ascends to a predetermined height and the first ship's cargo transportation means 410 moves along the first guide rail 411, thereby transporting the cargo C to the elevator 210 of the first crane body 200. Here, if the spreader 413 of the first ship's cargo transportation means 410 ascends after having gripped the cargo C, the operator preferably turns the subsequent cargo unloading works into an automatic mode. If the cargo unloading works are turned into the automatic mode, the first ship's cargo transportation means 410 automatically moves along the first guide rail 411, causes a cargo C to be engaged with the elevator 210, and then waits for the manual manipulation of the operator.

[70] Meanwhile, the operator manually manipulates the second ship's cargo transportation means 420 while the first ship's cargo transportation means 410 is transferring a cargo, whereby the second ship's cargo transportation means 420 performs a work, which is same with that performed by the first ship's cargo transportation means 410 while being manually manipulated. As cargo loading and unloading works are repeatedly performed by the first and second ship's cargo trans-

portation means 410 and 420 with a predetermined time difference in this manner, it is possible to unload two cargos at the same time and the working hours can be eminently reduced. Here, it is natural that there is no limitation in terms of the working sequence of the first and second ship's cargo transportation means 410 and 420.

[71] The elevator 210, which has been loaded with cargos C by the first ship's cargo transportation means 410, descends to the cargo accumulation part 220, and a conveyer (not shown) for the elevator 210 transfers the cargos C to the cargo transportation part 220. The trailer's cargo transportation means 230 grips a cargo C which is loaded in the cargo accumulation part 220 and loads the cargo C to a trailer T which is waiting. Meanwhile, it is preferable that the procedure of loading a cargo C to the elevator and moving the cargo C to the trailer is automatically prosecuted. The trailer's cargo transportation means 230 is operated independently from the operations of the ship's cargo transportation means 410 and 420. Because the first and second ship's cargo transportation means can be manually manipulated by the operator even if the trailer's cargo transportation means 230 is being operated, the length of time the trailer waits the loading of cargos can be reduced.

[72] Because the loading of cargos C from the trailer C to the ship 10 is performed in the reversed sequence of the above-mentioned procedure, the detailed description thereof is omitted.

[73] FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing how the inventive dock type harbor unloading/ loading apparatus is applied to a harbor P. As shown in the drawing, the harbor P takes a combined construction of dock type harbors Pl and P2, each of which has two opposite quay walls, and ordinary harbors P3 and P4, each of which has a single quay wall at a side thereof. A large ship (9,400 TEU) containing a relatively small number of cargos or a small ship (6,400 TEU) may be in anchor in an ordinary harbor P3, P4 or P4, which is provided with a cargo unloading/loading apparatus 50 having a single crane body as in the prior art, and a large ship (9,400 TEU) containing a relatively large number of cargos or a super-sized ship (10,000 to 13,000 TEU) may be at anchor in a harbor Pl or P2, which is provided with the inventive cargo unloading/loading apparatus 100. As ships can be flexibly arranged depending on their sizes in this manner, it is possible to shorten the length of time the ships stay in the harbors.