Patent · US11247672B2 · B2 · US

Automatically guided transportation vehicle for containers and method for operating the same and also system with an automatically driven transportation vehicle

(11) Publication number

US11247672B2

(21) Application number

16/484,758

(22) Filing date

2018-02-12

(30) Priority date

2017-02-15

(43) Publication date

2022-02-15

(45) Date of grant

2022-02-15

(51) IPC

B60W 10/04; B60W 10/18; B60W 30/09; B60W 30/095; G05D 1/00

(52) CPC

B60W Conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function; control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles; road vehicle drive control systems for purposes not related to the control of a particular sub-unit: 30/09, 10/04, 10/18, 2520/10, 2554/00, 2554/4041, 2554/4042, 2554/4044, 2710/18, 2720/10, 2720/106, 30/095, 30/14, 30/16, 30/162, 50/0097, 60/001, 60/00256
B60T Vehicle brake control systems or parts thereof; brake control systems or parts thereof, in general; arrangement of braking elements on vehicles in general; portable devices for preventing unwanted movement of vehicles; vehicle modifications to facilitate cooling of brakes: 7/00
B65G Transport or storage devices, e.g. conveyors for loading or tipping, shop conveyor systems or pneumatic tube conveyors: 63/004
G05D Systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables: 1/0088, 1/0214, 1/0223, 1/617, 1/65, 2101/10
G06V Image or video recognition or understanding: 20/56

(73) Assignee

Konecranes Global Oy

(72) Inventors

Armin Wieschemann; Stefan Aldejohann; Heiko Schulz; Jan Philipp Schmidt-Ewig; Heinz Eichner

(54) Title

Automatically guided transportation vehicle for containers and method for operating the same and also system with an automatically driven transportation vehicle

(57) Abstract

A transportation vehicle for containers has a vehicle controller for automatically driving and controlling the speed of the transportation vehicle. The transportation vehicle includes a sensor apparatus for object identification, with the sensor apparatus interacting with the vehicle controller such that a movement region of the transportation vehicle can be ascertained. The transportation vehicle is configured to come to a standstill within the movement region by a braking process during a braking time, and that a movement region of an object that is identified by the sensor apparatus can be ascertained, with the object being moved within the movement region during the braking time of the transportation vehicle, so that the permissible speed of the transportation vehicle can be automatically reduced by the vehicle controller, and so that the two movement regions do not touch after the reduction in the permissible speed.

Full text

View on Google Patents

Claims (16)

A transport vehicle for containers comprising a vehicle controller operable to automatically guide and control a speed of the transport vehicle, wherein the transport vehicle has a sensor apparatus for object recognition which cooperates with the vehicle controller to ascertain a movement area of the transport vehicle within which the transport vehicle can come to a standstill by a braking procedure during a braking time, and to ascertain a movement area of an object recognized via the sensor apparatus within which the object can be moved during the braking time of the transport vehicle, wherein a permissible speed of the transport vehicle can be reduced automatically by the vehicle controller such that the two movement areas do not come into contact with one another after the reduction in the permissible speed, wherein the movement area of the object is ascertained on the basis of kinematic limits of a worst-case maneuver of the recognized object.
The transport vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor apparatus is configured to recognize as an object at least one manually guided transport vehicle and/or a person and/or an automatically guided transport vehicle.
The transport vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor apparatus is configured to detect a position, speed and movement direction of the object and from this the movement area of the object is ascertained.
The transport vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the sensor apparatus has a detection region that is dimensioned such that an object can be recognized before the movement areas of the transport vehicle and the object come into contact with one another.
The transport vehicle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the vehicle controller and the sensor apparatus are configured to continuously ascertain the movement areas of the transport vehicle and the object and to adapt them in dependence upon the current speed of the transport vehicle.
The transport vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor apparatus has a detection region that is dimensioned such that an object can be recognized before the movement areas of the transport vehicle and the object come into contact with one another.
The transport vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle controller and the sensor apparatus are configured to continuously ascertain the movement areas of the transport vehicle and the object and to adapt them in dependence upon a current speed of the transport vehicle.
The transport vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transport vehicle is disposed in a system comprising a first lane provided for a manually guided transport vehicle and a second lane provided for the automatically guided transport vehicle and wherein the two lanes are separated from one another by a barrier in order to delimit the movement area of the manually guided transport vehicle.
A method for operating a transport vehicle for containers that has a vehicle controller, comprising: automatically guiding the transport vehicle and automatically controlling a speed of the transport vehicle via the vehicle controller; ascertaining a movement area of the transport vehicle within which the transport vehicle can come to a standstill by means of a braking procedure during a braking time, wherein the movement area of the transport vehicle is ascertained utilizing a sensor apparatus in cooperation with the vehicle controller; ascertaining a movement area of an object recognized via the sensor apparatus within which the object is moveable during the braking time of the transport vehicle; wherein a permissible speed of the transport vehicle is configured to be reduced automatically by the vehicle controller such that the two movement areas do not come into contact with one another after the reduction in the permissible speed; and wherein the movement area of the object is ascertained on the basis of kinematic limits of a worst-case maneuver of the recognized object.
The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising recognizing as an object via the sensor apparatus at least one manually guided transport vehicle and/or a person and/or an automatically guided transport vehicle.
The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said ascertaining the movement area of the object further comprises ascertaining a position, speed and movement direction of the object via the sensor apparatus and from this the movement area of the object is ascertained.
The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the sensor apparatus has a detection region that is dimensioned such that an object can be recognized before the movement areas of the transport vehicle and the object come into contact with one another.
The method as claimed in claim 12, further comprising continuously ascertaining the movement area of the transport vehicle and continuously ascertaining the movement area of the object via the vehicle controller and the sensor apparatus and to adapt the movement area of the transport vehicle and the movement area of the object in dependence upon a current speed of the transport vehicle.
The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the sensor apparatus has a detection region that is dimensioned such that an object can be recognized before the movement areas of the transport vehicle and the object come into contact with one another.
The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising continuously ascertaining the movement area of the transport vehicle and continuously ascertaining the movement area of the object via the vehicle controller and the sensor apparatus and adapting the movement area of the transport vehicle and the movement area of the object in dependence upon a current speed of the transport vehicle.
A system comprising a transport vehicle for containers which has a vehicle controller operable to automatically guide and control a speed of the transport vehicle, wherein a sensor apparatus for object recognition is provided which cooperates with the vehicle controller to ascertain a movement area of the transport vehicle within which the transport vehicle can come to a standstill by a braking procedure during a braking time, and to ascertain a movement area of an object recognized via the sensor apparatus within which the object can be moved during the braking time of the transport vehicle, wherein a permissible speed of the transport vehicle can be reduced automatically by the vehicle controller such that the two movement areas do not come into contact with one another after the reduction in the permissible speed, wherein the movement area of the object is ascertained on the basis of kinematic limits of a worst-case maneuver of the recognized object.

Description

The invention relates to a transport vehicle for containers, and in particular to a system and method for operating a transport vehicle for containers.

Transport vehicles in terms of the present invention are ground conveyor vehicles which are designed as heavy-duty vehicles and are configured for handling and/or transporting containers. Accordingly, the containers which are to be transported or handled can weigh up to 40 t in particular in the case of ISO containers in the loaded state and can have normed or at least standardised lengths of e.g. 10, 20, 40, 45, 53 or 60 foot. The two last-named lengths have hitherto been used exclusively in North America as non-ISO-normed containers. In this regard, ISO containers are understood to be normed large-volume or sea-freight containers which are used in the international transportation of goods. In this regard, containers can also be other normed or at least standardised load carriers, such as e.g. swap bodies, in particular swap containers or swap trailers.

Corresponding transport vehicles can also be part of a terminal, e.g. a port terminal. In this case, the transport vehicles are involved in the handling of containers between at least two transport means of the same or different type, e.g. between ships, road vehicles and/or rail vehicles. Ships and/or rail vehicles as well as corresponding transport vehicles are loaded and unloaded accordingly. In this regard, the non-rail-bound but freely movable transport vehicles transport the containers e.g.

Citations (20)

US20030055563A1
US20070282530A1
DE102005049159A1
DE102005054359A1
US20100057361A1
DE102008062916A1
DE102010031038A1
EP2637954A1
US20130236279A1
CN102096803A
EP2694424A1
US20130179047A1
CN104169994A
DE102012108768A1
CN104183157A
US20150187217A1
US20190001973A1
US20190005821A1
US20190193959A1
US20180231974A1

Record as JSON

{
  "publication_number": "US11247672B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Automatically guided transportation vehicle for containers and method for operating the same and also system with an automatically driven transportation vehicle",
  "abstract": "A transportation vehicle for containers has a vehicle controller for automatically driving and controlling the speed of the transportation vehicle. The transportation vehicle includes a sensor apparatus for object identification, with the sensor apparatus interacting with the vehicle controller such that a movement region of the transportation vehicle can be ascertained. The transportation vehicle is configured to come to a standstill within the movement region by a braking process during a braking time, and that a movement region of an object that is identified by the sensor apparatus can be ascertained, with the object being moved within the movement region during the braking time of the transportation vehicle, so that the permissible speed of the transportation vehicle can be automatically reduced by the vehicle controller, and so that the two movement regions do not touch after the reduction in the permissible speed.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A transport vehicle for containers comprising a vehicle controller operable to automatically guide and control a speed of the transport vehicle, wherein the transport vehicle has a sensor apparatus for object recognition which cooperates with the vehicle controller to ascertain a movement area of the transport vehicle within which the transport vehicle can come to a standstill by a braking procedure during a braking time, and to ascertain a movement area of an object recognized via the sensor apparatus within which the object can be moved during the braking time of the transport vehicle, wherein a permissible speed of the transport vehicle can be reduced automatically by the vehicle controller such that the two movement areas do not come into contact with one another after the reduction in the permissible speed, wherein the movement area of the object is ascertained on the basis of kinematic limits of a worst-case maneuver of the recognized object.",
    "2. The transport vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor apparatus is configured to recognize as an object at least one manually guided transport vehicle and/or a person and/or an automatically guided transport vehicle.",
    "3. The transport vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor apparatus is configured to detect a position, speed and movement direction of the object and from this the movement area of the object is ascertained.",
    "4. The transport vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the sensor apparatus has a detection region that is dimensioned such that an object can be recognized before the movement areas of the transport vehicle and the object come into contact with one another.",
    "5. The transport vehicle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the vehicle controller and the sensor apparatus are configured to continuously ascertain the movement areas of the transport vehicle and the object and to adapt them in dependence upon the current speed of the transport vehicle.",
    "6. The transport vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor apparatus has a detection region that is dimensioned such that an object can be recognized before the movement areas of the transport vehicle and the object come into contact with one another.",
    "7. The transport vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle controller and the sensor apparatus are configured to continuously ascertain the movement areas of the transport vehicle and the object and to adapt them in dependence upon a current speed of the transport vehicle.",
    "8. The transport vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transport vehicle is disposed in a system comprising a first lane provided for a manually guided transport vehicle and a second lane provided for the automatically guided transport vehicle and wherein the two lanes are separated from one another by a barrier in order to delimit the movement area of the manually guided transport vehicle.",
    "9. A method for operating a transport vehicle for containers that has a vehicle controller, comprising: automatically guiding the transport vehicle and automatically controlling a speed of the transport vehicle via the vehicle controller; ascertaining a movement area of the transport vehicle within which the transport vehicle can come to a standstill by means of a braking procedure during a braking time, wherein the movement area of the transport vehicle is ascertained utilizing a sensor apparatus in cooperation with the vehicle controller; ascertaining a movement area of an object recognized via the sensor apparatus within which the object is moveable during the braking time of the transport vehicle; wherein a permissible speed of the transport vehicle is configured to be reduced automatically by the vehicle controller such that the two movement areas do not come into contact with one another after the reduction in the permissible speed; and wherein the movement area of the object is ascertained on the basis of kinematic limits of a worst-case maneuver of the recognized object.",
    "10. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising recognizing as an object via the sensor apparatus at least one manually guided transport vehicle and/or a person and/or an automatically guided transport vehicle.",
    "11. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said ascertaining the movement area of the object further comprises ascertaining a position, speed and movement direction of the object via the sensor apparatus and from this the movement area of the object is ascertained.",
    "12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the sensor apparatus has a detection region that is dimensioned such that an object can be recognized before the movement areas of the transport vehicle and the object come into contact with one another.",
    "13. The method as claimed in claim 12, further comprising continuously ascertaining the movement area of the transport vehicle and continuously ascertaining the movement area of the object via the vehicle controller and the sensor apparatus and to adapt the movement area of the transport vehicle and the movement area of the object in dependence upon a current speed of the transport vehicle.",
    "14. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the sensor apparatus has a detection region that is dimensioned such that an object can be recognized before the movement areas of the transport vehicle and the object come into contact with one another.",
    "15. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising continuously ascertaining the movement area of the transport vehicle and continuously ascertaining the movement area of the object via the vehicle controller and the sensor apparatus and adapting the movement area of the transport vehicle and the movement area of the object in dependence upon a current speed of the transport vehicle.",
    "16. A system comprising a transport vehicle for containers which has a vehicle controller operable to automatically guide and control a speed of the transport vehicle, wherein a sensor apparatus for object recognition is provided which cooperates with the vehicle controller to ascertain a movement area of the transport vehicle within which the transport vehicle can come to a standstill by a braking procedure during a braking time, and to ascertain a movement area of an object recognized via the sensor apparatus within which the object can be moved during the braking time of the transport vehicle, wherein a permissible speed of the transport vehicle can be reduced automatically by the vehicle controller such that the two movement areas do not come into contact with one another after the reduction in the permissible speed, wherein the movement area of the object is ascertained on the basis of kinematic limits of a worst-case maneuver of the recognized object."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The invention relates to a transport vehicle for containers, and in particular to a system and method for operating a transport vehicle for containers.\n\nTransport vehicles in terms of the present invention are ground conveyor vehicles which are designed as heavy-duty vehicles and are configured for handling and/or transporting containers. Accordingly, the containers which are to be transported or handled can weigh up to 40 t in particular in the case of ISO containers in the loaded state and can have normed or at least standardised lengths of e.g. 10, 20, 40, 45, 53 or 60 foot. The two last-named lengths have hitherto been used exclusively in North America as non-ISO-normed containers. In this regard, ISO containers are understood to be normed large-volume or sea-freight containers which are used in the international transportation of goods. In this regard, containers can also be other normed or at least standardised load carriers, such as e.g. swap bodies, in particular swap containers or swap trailers.\n\nCorresponding transport vehicles can also be part of a terminal, e.g. a port terminal. In this case, the transport vehicles are involved in the handling of containers between at least two transport means of the same or different type, e.g. between ships, road vehicles and/or rail vehicles. Ships and/or rail vehicles as well as corresponding transport vehicles are loaded and unloaded accordingly. In this regard, the non-rail-bound but freely movable transport vehicles transport the containers e.g.",
  "cpc": [
    "B60W 30/09",
    "B60T 7/00",
    "B60W 10/04",
    "B60W 10/18",
    "B60W 2520/10",
    "B60W 2554/00",
    "B60W 2554/4041",
    "B60W 2554/4042",
    "B60W 2554/4044",
    "B60W 2710/18",
    "B60W 2720/10",
    "B60W 2720/106",
    "B60W 30/095",
    "B60W 30/14",
    "B60W 30/16",
    "B60W 30/162",
    "B60W 50/0097",
    "B60W 60/001",
    "B60W 60/00256",
    "B65G 63/004",
    "G05D 1/0088",
    "G05D 1/0214",
    "G05D 1/0223",
    "G05D 1/617",
    "G05D 1/65",
    "G05D 2101/10",
    "G06V 20/56"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B60W 10/04",
    "B60W 10/18",
    "B60W 30/09",
    "B60W 30/095",
    "G05D 1/00"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Konecranes Global Oy"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Armin Wieschemann",
    "Stefan Aldejohann",
    "Heiko Schulz",
    "Jan Philipp Schmidt-Ewig",
    "Heinz Eichner"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2018-02-12",
  "publication_date": "2022-02-15",
  "grant_date": "2022-02-15",
  "priority_date": "2017-02-15",
  "application_number": "US-201816484758-A",
  "family_id": "61283178",
  "cited_by_count": 3,
  "citations": [
    "US20030055563A1",
    "US20070282530A1",
    "DE102005049159A1",
    "DE102005054359A1",
    "US20100057361A1",
    "DE102008062916A1",
    "DE102010031038A1",
    "EP2637954A1",
    "US20130236279A1",
    "CN102096803A",
    "EP2694424A1",
    "US20130179047A1",
    "CN104169994A",
    "DE102012108768A1",
    "CN104183157A",
    "US20150187217A1",
    "US20190001973A1",
    "US20190005821A1",
    "US20190193959A1",
    "US20180231974A1"
  ]
}

Record 1,279 of 8,000 in Patents full text (MLC-0201). Request the full dataset.