U.S. patent application number 12/965975 was filed with the patent office on 2011-06-23 for quay-wall system for loading and unloading containers, mobile harbor and transporting device for use therein.
This patent application is currently assigned to KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. Invention is credited to Kook-Jin Choi, HyunJung Kim, JungHoon Kim, Seokhyun Lee, Tae-Eog Lee.
Application Number | 20110150606 12/965975 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43766078 |
Filed Date | 2011-06-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110150606 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lee; Tae-Eog ; et
al. |
June 23, 2011 |
QUAY-WALL SYSTEM FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING CONTAINERS, MOBILE
HARBOR AND TRANSPORTING DEVICE FOR USE THEREIN
Abstract
A quay-wall system for loading and unloading containers includes
a quay-wall having a open-air storage yard, a floating body berthed
to the quay-wall and resting a ramp on the quay-wall, a pallet
formed for receiving one or more containers, and a transporting
device transporting the plurality of pallets in parallel. A mobile
harbor for use in the quay-wall system includes the ramp, a loading
space in which one or more pallets having one or more containers
accommodated therein can be placed, wherein the loading space has
guide grooves formed thereon for guiding a transporting device. A
transporting device for use in the quay-wall system includes a
transporting device for being coupled a plurality of pallets in
parallel and transporting the pallets from the open-air storage
yard to a floating body or from the floating body to the open-air
storage yard.
Inventors: |
Lee; Tae-Eog; (Daejeon,
KR) ; Choi; Kook-Jin; (Daejeon, KR) ; Lee;
Seokhyun; (Daejeon, KR) ; Kim; JungHoon;
(Daejeon, KR) ; Kim; HyunJung; (Daejeon,
KR) |
Assignee: |
KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY
Daejeon
KR
|
Family ID: |
43766078 |
Appl. No.: |
12/965975 |
Filed: |
December 13, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
414/140.1 ;
414/467 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65G 63/006
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
414/140.1 ;
414/467 |
International
Class: |
B63B 27/14 20060101
B63B027/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 17, 2009 |
KR |
10-2009-0126184 |
Claims
1. A quay-wall system for loading and unloading containers,
comprising a quay-wall having a open-air storage yard provided at
an upper portion thereof; a floating body berthed to the quay-wall
and resting a ramp on the quay-wall; a pallet formed for receiving
one or more containers and loaded on the open-air storage yard or
the floating body; and a transporting device transporting the
plurality of pallets in parallel from the floating body to the
open-air storage yard or from the open-air storage yard to the
floating body.
2. The quay-wall system of claim 1, the transporting device
comprising: a plurality of movable carts, each of the movable carts
capable of coupling with the pallet on an upper portion thereof; a
parallel connector adapted to connect ends of each movable carts
arranged in parallel to a movement direction of the movable carts;
and a transporting vehicle coupled to the parallel connector.
3. The quay-wall system of claim 2, wherein the open-air storage
yard comprises an unloading open-air storage yard and a loading
open-air storage yard, each of the unloading open-air storage yard
and the loading open-air storage yard has guide grooves provided
thereon for guiding the transporting device.
4. The quay-wall system of claim 2, wherein the floating body has
guide grooves provided on an upper portion thereof for guiding the
transporting device.
5. The quay-wall system of claim 3, wherein the transporting device
is provided with wheels, and the guide grooves of each of the
open-air storage yard and the floating body are formed to guide a
portion of the wheels.
6. The quay-wall system of claim 1, wherein the ramp is adapted to
be folded and unfolded at one side surface of the floating
body.
7. The quay-wall system of claim 1, wherein the pallet comprises a
bottom plate and a supporting frame formed upward to support one or
more containers, the supporting frame includes protrusion parts
extended from both sides thereof, and the protrusion parts of the
one side of the supporting frame are provided with
pallet-connecting members, and the protrusion parts of the other
side of the supporting frame are provided with locking parts with
which the pallet-connecting members are capable of being coupled
respectively.
8. The quay-wall system of claim 7, wherein two or more containers
are stacked in a multiple stage manner in the supporting frame.
9. A mobile harbor comprising; a ramp adapted to be rested on a
quay-wall; and a loading space provided on the mobile harbor to
accommodate one or more pallets having one or more containers
stacked therein, wherein the loading space has guide grooves formed
thereon for guiding a transporting device which is adapted to be
coupled with the two or more pallets in parallel and transports the
pallets from the loading space to an open-air storage yard of the
quay-wall or from the open-air storage yard to the loading
space.
10. The mobile harbor of claim 9, wherein the transporting device
comprises; a plurality of movable carts, each of which is coupled
to the pallet on an upper portion thereof; a parallel connector
adapted to connect ends of each movable carts arranged in parallel
to a movement direction of the movable carts; and a transporting
vehicle coupled to the parallel connector.
11. The mobile harbor of claim 10, wherein the transporting vehicle
is provided with wheels, and the guide grooves of the mobile harbor
are formed to guide a portion of the wheels.
12. The mobile harbor of claim 9, wherein the ramp is adapted to be
folded and unfolded at one side surface of the mobile harbor.
13. The mobile harbor of claim 9, wherein the pallet comprises a
bottom plate and a supporting frame formed upward to support one or
more containers, the supporting frame includes protrusion parts
extended from both sides thereof, and the protrusion parts of the
one side of the supporting frame are provided with
pallet-connecting members, and the protrusion parts of the other
side of the supporting frame are provided with locking parts with
which the pallet-connecting members are coupled respectively.
14. The mobile harbor of claim 13, wherein two or more containers
are stacked in a multiple stage manner in the supporting frame.
15. A transporting device for being coupled a plurality of pallets
in parallel and transporting the pallets from an open-air storage
yard provided on a quay-wall to a floating body or from the
floating body to the open-air storage yard.
16. The transporting device claim 15, wherein the transporting
device comprises; a plurality of movable carts, each of the movable
carts capable of coupling with the pallet on an upper portion
thereof; a parallel connector adapted to connect ends of each
movable carts arranged in parallel to a movement direction of the
movable carts; and a transporting vehicle coupled to the parallel
connector.
17. The transporting device of claim 15, wherein the pallet
comprises a bottom plate and a supporting frame formed upward to
support one or more containers, the supporting frame includes
protrusion parts extended from both sides thereof, and the
protrusion parts of the one side of the supporting frame are
provided with pallet-connecting members, and the protrusion parts
of the other side of the supporting frame are provided with locking
parts with which the pallet-connecting members are coupled
respectively.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a quay-wall system for
loading and unloading containers through a transporting device such
as a tractor, and a mobile harbor and a transporting device for use
therein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] As means for transporting goods and cargos between two
remote places, a marine transportation using a ship consumes less
energy than the other transportation means consume. Accordingly,
the marine transportation accounts for great part of the
international trades due to a low transportation cost.
[0003] In a marine transportation using a container ship, a
large-sized ship is recently employed to enhance the transportation
efficiency and to secure economic feasibility. For this reason,
large-scale docks equipping with berthing and unloading facilities
for large-sized ships are required increasingly.
[0004] A conventional system for unloading and loading containers
employs a gantry crane for unloading and loading cargos
transported. The gantry crane is the equipment lifting and
transporting a container having a specific size.
[0005] Generally, the gantry crane has a steel frame and a crane
supported by the steel frame. The steel frame consists of a column
built upright on a ground and a guide rail supported by the column
and extended horizontally. The crane can be two-axis controlled
such that the container can be moved along the guide rail and moved
simultaneously in the direction perpendicular to the guide
rail.
[0006] In a case where the container loaded in the ship is unloaded
by means of the above gantry crane, after the gantry crane is moved
to a location to which the ship is berthed, a spreader of the crane
is descended and grabs one of the containers loaded in the ship.
Then, the container is lifted and moved to a trailer stopped at the
dock by the crane. Subsequently, a grabbing force of the spreader
is removed to unload the container to the trailer.
[0007] Then, the spreader is separated from the container, and is
returned to the ship for repeating the unloading process for next
container. During a movement, of the crane to the ship, the trailer
in which the container is loaded leaves the dock, and next trailer
is entered to the dock and waits. The above processes are repeated
until finishing the unloading processes for all the containers in
the ship. An operation for loading the containers on the ship is
performed in order which is reverse of the above unloading
process.
[0008] In the loading and unloading processes according to the
conventional system as described above, however, the crane
transports the containers one by one intermittently. Accordingly,
there is a problem that it will take a lot of time to transfer the
containers from the ship to the trailer or from the trailer to the
ship. In addition, if a ready status of any one of the ship, the
trailer, and the spreader is delayed, an operation of the
conventional system should be halted until the ready status is
completed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention provides a quay-wall system for
loading and unloading containers, which includes a quay-wall, a
floating body, and a transporting device being capable of moving a
plurality of pallets accommodating one or more containers
simultaneously. The present invention also provides a mobile harbor
and a transporting device for use in the quay-wall system.
[0010] In accordance with a preferred aspect of the present
invention, there is provided a quay-wall system for loading and
unloading containers, comprising a quay-wall having a open-air
storage yard provided at an upper portion thereof; a floating body
berthed to the quay-wall and resting a ramp on the quay-wall; a
pallet formed for receiving one or more containers and loaded on
the open-air storage yard or the floating body; and a transporting
device transporting the plurality of pallets in parallel from the
floating body to the open-air storage yard or from the open-air
storage yard to the floating body.
[0011] In accordance with another preferred aspect of the present
invention, there is provided a mobile harbor, comprising; a ramp
adapted to be rested on a quay-wall; and a loading space provided
on the mobile harbor to accommodate one or more pallets having one
or more containers stacked therein, wherein the loading space has
guide grooves formed thereon for guiding a transporting device
which is adapted to be coupled with the two or more pallets in
parallel and transports the pallets from the loading space to an
open-air storage yard of the quay-wall or from the open-air storage
yard to the loading space.
[0012] In accordance with still another preferred aspect of the
present invention, there is provided a transporting device for
being coupled a plurality of pallets in parallel and transporting
the pallets from an open-air storage yard provided on a quay-wall
to a floating body or from the floating body to the open-air
storage yard.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The objects and features of the present invention will
become apparent from the following description of preferred
embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a quay-wall system for loading
and unloading a container according to one embodiment of the
present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 describes a perspective view of a mobile harbor
according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates an upper perspective view of a mobile
harbor according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an unloading open-air
storage yard according to one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a loading open-air storage
yard according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 6 describes an exploded perspective view of a pallet,
according to one embodiment of the present invention; and
[0020] FIG. 7 shows an exploded perspective view of a transporting
device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0021] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so
that they can be readily implemented by those skilled in the
art.
[0022] The below specific embodiments illustrate a quay-wall system
for loading and unloading containers, a mobile harbor, and a
transporting device for use therein according to the present
invention as examples, but the present invention is not limited
thereto.
[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a quay-wall system for loading
and unloading containers according to one embodiment of the present
invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mobile harbor
according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is an
upper perspective view of a mobile harbor according to one
embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a perspective view
of an unloading open-air storage yard according to one embodiment
of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a loading
open-air storage yard according to one embodiment of the present
invention; FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a pallet
according to one embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 7 is
an exploded perspective view of a transporting device according to
one embodiment of the present invention.
[0024] First, a quay-wall system for loading and unloading
containers according one embodiment of the present invention will
be illustrated in detail with reference to FIG. 1.
[0025] As shown in FIG. 1, a quay-wall system for loading and
unloading containers according to the embodiment of the present
invention includes a quay-wall Q on which open-air storage yards
200, 250 are provided, a floating body 100 being berthed to the
quay-wall Q and resting a ramp 110 on the quay-wall Q, a pallet 400
formed for receiving containers 1 and loaded on the open-air
storage yards 200, 250 or the floating body 100, and a transporting
device 300 transporting the plurality of pallets 400 arranged in
parallel from the floating body 100 to the open-air storage yards
200, 250 or from the open-air storage yards 200, 250 to the
floating body 100.
[0026] First of all, the quay-wall Q means a structure which is
extended from a dock or harbor (not shown) to enable the floating
body 100 such as a ship or mobile harbor to be berthed thereto, and
various kinds of equipments such as fenders (not shown) for
berthing the floating body can be provided at a side of the quay
wall at which the floating body 100 is berthed. Although the
quay-wall Q means a structure which is extended from the dock or
harbor, all the structure including the dock or harbor at which the
ship or mobile harbor can be berthed will be commonly called as the
quay-wall in the below description.
[0027] The open-air storage yards 200, 250 are provided on the
quay-wall Q, and the open-air storage yards 200, 250 may include
the unloading open-air storage yard 200 and the loading open-air
storage yard 250. The unloading open-air storage yard 200 means a
space in which cargos transported from the floating body 100 such
as a ship or mobile harbor are stacked, and the loading open-air
storage yard 250 means a space in which cargos to be transported to
the floating body 100 such as a ship or a mobile harbor are
stacked. One or more open-air storage yards 200, 250 may be
provided on the quay-wall Q, and each of the open-air storage yards
200, 250 may be provided with a rail-mounted gantry crane. The
rail-mounted gantry crane moves the container from the open-air
storage yards 200, 250 to a truck which transports the container to
outside of the quay-wall.
[0028] A plurality of pallets 400, which accommodate one or more
containers 1 and are loaded on the floating body 100 berthed to the
quay-wall Q, are transported by the transporting device 300 in
parallel, and unloaded in order at certain intervals in the
unloading open-air storage yard 200. In addition, a plurality of
pallets 400 placed in the loading open-air storage yard 250 are
connected in parallel to the transporting device 300 and then
transported to the floating body 100.
[0029] Next, the floating body 100 means a ship or mobile harbor
which can be berthed to the quay-wall Q. After the floating body
100 is berthed to the quay-wall Q, in order to unload the pallets
400 (in which the containers 1 are accommodated) loaded at an upper
portion 140 of the floating body 100 to the unloading open-air
storage yard 200, or in order to load the pallets 400 (in which the
containers 1 are accommodated) placed in the loading open-air
storage yard 250 to the upper portion 140 of the floating body 100,
the ramp 110 is rested on the quay-wall Q for forming a slope way
between the upper portion 140 of the floating body 100 and an upper
portion of the quay-wall Q. Hereby the transporting device 300
connecting the pallets 400 in parallel can be travelled between the
floating body 100 and the open-air storage yards 200, 250 through
the ramp 110.
[0030] Here, the ramp 110 may be formed such that the ramp 110 can
be folded and unfolded at one side of the floating body 100. The
ramp 110 can be hinge-coupled to the floating body 100 by a hinge
112.
[0031] Although the floating body 100 and the ramp 110 is coupled
by the hinge 112, it will be apparent that other coupling
structures employed in a large construction such as a conventional
ship may be used as the coupling structure of the present
invention. In addition, it will be apparent that the ramp 110 can
be folded and unfolded in one stage with respect to the floating
body 100 by one hinge-coupling, and the ramp 110 is a combination
of multi plates connected by a plurality of hinge-couplings so that
the ramp 110 can be folded and unfolded in multi stages with
respect to the floating body 100.
[0032] Next, the pallet 400 is formed such that one or more
containers 1 can be accommodated in the pallet, and the pallet is
loaded in the open-air storage yards 200, 250 or at the upper
portion of the floating body 100. The pallets 400 are spaced apart
each other at the open-air storage yards 200, 250 or at the
floating body 100 by a certain interval to enable the transporting
device 300 (which will be illustrated in detail) to be moved under
the pallets 400 and coupled to the pallets for allowing the
transporting device 300 to transport the pallets 400 in
parallel.
[0033] The transporting device 300 transports the pallets in
parallel from the floating body 100 berthed to the quay-wall Q to
the unloading open-air storage yard 200 or from the loading
open-air storage yard 250 to the floating body 100. The
transporting device 300 is constructed such that the transporting
device 300 can be coupled to each of the pallets 400 to arrange the
pallets 400 (in which one or more containers 1 are accommodated) in
parallel. Concretely, the transporting device 300 includes a
plurality of movable carts 322, each of which being coupled to the
pallet 400 on an upper portion thereof; a parallel connector 320
connected to front portions of the movable carts 322 to connect the
movable carts 322 in parallel with respect to a movement direction
of the movable carts 322; and a transporting vehicle 301 coupled to
the parallel connector 320.
[0034] Below, the transporting device 300 is illustrated in more
detail with reference to FIG. 7.
[0035] First of all, the movable cart 322 is connected and fixed
with the pallet 400 at the upper portion, and has a longitudinal
length which is the same as or longer than a length of the
container 1 accommodated in the pallet 400.
[0036] The parallel connector 320 is connected to a plurality of
movable carts 322, enables the plurality of movable carts 322 to be
moved following the transporting vehicle 301 with maintaining a
certain distance between the movable carts 322 when the
transporting vehicle 301 is travelled. The parallel connector 320
may include movable cart-connecting parts 320b connected to the
plurality of movable carts; a transporting vehicle-connecting part
320c connected to the transporting vehicle 301 via a connecting
part 311; and a connecting arm 320a for connecting the movable
cart-connecting parts 320b and the transporting vehicle-connecting
part 320c.
[0037] The movable cart-connecting part 320b may include a shape of
beam which can be coupled with the end portion of the movable cart
322. That is, the shape of beam may be coupled with a protrusion C
provided at one end of the movable cart 322. After ends of the
movable carts 322 are coupled with the movable cart-connecting
parts 320b, a distance between the movable carts 322 can be the
same as a distance between the pallets 400 loaded on the open-air
storage yards 200, 250 or loaded on the floating body 100 such as a
ship or a mobile harbor.
[0038] Here, the protrusion C can be coupled with the movable
cart-connecting part 320b by various manners. For example, although
not shown in the drawings, the protrusion C can be coupled with the
movable cart-connecting part 320b by a coupling achieved by a pin
passing through the protrusion C and the movable cart-connecting
part 320b or a bolt provided on the protrusion C. Also, the movable
cart-connecting part 320b and the movable cart 322 can be connected
to each other by a pin or bolt, and can be separated from each
other by loosening a bolt or removing a pin.
[0039] The transporting vehicle-connecting part 320c is formed such
that the transporting vehicle-connecting part 320c can be coupled
with the connecting part 311 provided at the transporting vehicle
301. Although not shown in the drawings, the transporting
vehicle-connecting part 320c is coupled with the connecting part
311 through a pin so that if the connecting part 311 is rotated by
a turn of the transporting vehicle 301 in a specific direction, the
transporting vehicle-connecting part 320c can be rotated with
respect to the pin acting as a rotational axis to tow smoothly the
movable carts 322.
[0040] Next, the transporting vehicle-connecting part 320c and the
movable cart-connecting parts 320b are connected to each other
through the connecting arm 320a. In a case where the movable
cart-connecting parts 320b to be connected to the movable carts 322
disposed in parallel includes the shape of beam and the
transporting vehicle-connecting part 320c is coupled with the
connecting part 311 of the transporting vehicle 301 by a pin, it is
desirable that the connecting arm 320a consists of a plurality of
arms. The number of arms of the connecting arm 320a can be the same
as the number of the movable carts 322 to be connected to the
parallel connector 320. However, not limited to the number of the
movable carts 322 to be connected to the parallel connector 320,
the number of arms of the connecting arm 320a can be determined
appropriately for connecting stably the transporting
vehicle-connecting part 320c with the movable cart-connecting parts
320b.
[0041] Here, the movable cart-connecting part 320b and the
transporting vehicle-connecting part 320c can be fixedly connected
to each other to prevent a relative movement of each of the movable
carts 322 from being occurred. Also, the movable cart-connecting
part 320b and the transporting vehicle-connecting part 320c can be
non-fixedly connected to each other by a chain and the like to
enable a relative motion between the two parts to be generated. It
will be apparent that the fixed connection or the non-fixed
connection can be appropriately selected according to a
cargo-transportation environment of the quay-wall.
[0042] The transporting vehicle 301 means a driving body which can
tow and transport two or more movable carts 322, for example, a
truck, a tractor, or a trailer can be used as the transporting
vehicle 301. The transporting vehicle 301 can include the
connecting part 311 which can be connected with the parallel
connector 320 to be connected to the movable carts 322.
[0043] Here, guide grooves 130, 230, 280 can be formed on the
open-air storage yards 200, 250 and the floating body 100 for
guiding the transporting vehicle 301 so as to enable two or more
movable carts 322 to be simultaneously entered under the two or
more pallets 400. The guide grooves 130, 230, 280 are formed such
that a distance between the guide grooves 130, 230, 280 is
substantially the same as or larger than a width of the movable
cart 322 coupled to the transporting vehicle 301. Accordingly, the
guide grooves 130, 230, 280 can act as an indicator and guider
guiding a location to which the transporting device 300 should be
entered from the open-air storage yards 200, 250 and the floating
body 100. The guide grooves 130, 230, 280 can be structures
obtained by digging longitudinal grooves on the upper portions
niche open-air storage yards 200, 250 and the floating body 100.
Additionally, it is apparent that the guide grooves 130, 230, 280
can be formed by appending additional structures (for example, 120,
220, and 270) on the open-air storage yards 200, 250 and the
floating body 100 at certain intervals.
[0044] In addition, although not shown in the drawings, the guide
grooves 130, 230, 280 can be formed at locations corresponding to
wheels T of the transporting device 300. Here, each of the guide
grooves 130, 230, 280 has a width which has the same as or larger
than a width of the wheel T of the transporting device 300 so that
the wheels T of the transporting device can be entered in and
guided by the guide grooves 130, 230, 280. Also, in this case,
structures obtained by digging longitudinal grooves on the upper
portions of the open-air storage yards 200, 250 and the floating
body 100 may be used as the guide grooves, and additional
structures (for example, 120, 220 and 270) can be provided with the
open-air storage 200, 250 yards and the floating body 100 to form
the guide grooves 130, 230, 280.
[0045] Also, it is apparent that the groove 130 formed on the upper
portion 140 of the floating body 100 can be extended to the ramp
110 connected to the floating body 100 to enable the transporting
device 300 to be guided from the entrance step of the ramp 110.
[0046] Below, the pallets 400 which are stacked on the open-air
storage yards 200, 250 or the floating body 100 and then arranged
and transported in parallel by the transporting device 300 will be
illustrated in more detail with reference to FIG. 6.
[0047] The pallet 400 may include a bottom plate 410 and a
supporting frame 412 formed upward to support one or more
containers 1. Here, the supporting frame 412 can be coupled with
the bottom plate 410 by one or more twist locks 430.
[0048] The support frame 412 in the form of a vertical frame having
a framework structure is provided on an upper side of the bottom
plate 410 of the pallet 400 to secure one or more containers 1, and
prevents one or more containers 1 from being shaken or moved.
[0049] In addition, the supporting frame 412 may include protrusion
parts 424 extended from both sides thereof, the protrusion parts
424 are protruded within the range in which the protrusion parts
424 are not overlapped with the support frame 412 of the adjacent
pallet 100 placed in parallel.
[0050] Here, each of the protrusion parts 424 on the one side of
the support frame 412 can be provided with a pallet-connecting
member 420, and each of the protrusion parts 424 on the other side
of the support frame 412 can be provided with a locking part
422.
[0051] The pallet-connecting member 420 and the locking part 422
serve to connect and couple the pallets 400 to each other placed on
the movable carts 322 in parallel by coupling the pallet-connecting
member 420 with the locking part 422 of the adjacent pallet 400.
For example, the pallet-connecting member 420 can be provided to be
rotated on the protrusion part 424 and a latching recess 421 can be
provided at one end of the pallet-connecting member 420. By the
rotation of the pallet-connecting member 420, the latching recess
421 is coupled with the locking part 422 of the adjacent pallet 400
having a protrusion shape so that the pallet-connecting member 420
and the locking part 422 can be coupled.
[0052] Here, the support frame 412 cannot support only the
containers 1 stacked in one stage, but can also have a sufficient
height to support the containers 1 stacked in multi-stages. FIG. 6
illustrates that the containers 1 are stacked in three (3) stages.
However, the present invention can be applied in a case where the
containers are stacked in two (2), four (4), or more stages.
[0053] Below, the mobile harbor according to one embodiment of the
present invention is illustrated in detail with reference to FIG.
2.
[0054] The mobile harbor according to one embodiment of the present
invention is one embodiment of the floating body 100 which is
already illustrated in the above, and is a floating body moved
between a container ship (not shown) and the quay-wall Q to unload
cargos such as containers from the container ship and to load
cargos to the container ship.
[0055] The mobile harbor 100 according to one embodiment of the
present invention includes the ramp 110 adapted to be laid on the
quay-wall which the open-air storage yards 200, 250 is provided on
and a loading space 150 in which the pallets 400 for accommodating
one or more containers can be placed. The loading space 150 is
provided with the guide grooves 130 for guiding the transporting
device 300 which connects the plurality of pallets 400 to each
other in parallel and transports the pallets 400 from the loading
space 150 to the open-air storage yard (200 in FIG. 1) or from the
open-air storage yard 250 to the loading space 150.
[0056] The ramp 110 is formed such that the ramp 110 is coupled
with the mobile harbor 100 by a hinge 112, the ramp 110 can be
folded and unfolded on one side surface of the mobile harbor 100.
The transporting device 300 connecting the pallets 400 (in which
one or more containers 1 are accommodated) in parallel can
transport the pallets 400 between the mobile harbor 100 and the
open-air storage yards 200, 250 through the ramp 110.
[0057] The loading space 150 is provided on the upper portion 140
of the mobile harbor 100 for loading the pallets 400 accommodating
the containers 1.
[0058] Here, the transporting device 300 is to be connected with
the plurality of pallets 400 (in which one or more containers 1 are
accommodated) in parallel and transports a plurality of pallets 400
at a time to a predetermined location. Accordingly, it is important
to move precisely the transporting device 300 to the location at
which the plurality of pallets 400 can be connected to the
transporting device 300 (in the unloading process) or be loaded on
the mobile harbor (in the loading process).
[0059] For achieving the above, the guide grooves 130 are formed on
the upper portion 140 of the mobile harbor 100, and a distance
between the guide grooves is substantially the same as or larger
than the width of the movable cart 322 connected to the
transporting vehicle 301. Accordingly, the guide grooves 130 can
act as an indicator and guider guiding a location to which the
transporting device 300 should be entered from the mobile harbor
100. The guide grooves 130 can be structures obtained by digging
longitudinal grooves on the upper portions of the mobile harbor
100. It is apparent that the guide grooves 130 can be formed by
appending additional structures (for example, 120) at certain
intervals.
[0060] In addition, although not shown in the drawings, the guide
grooves 130 can be formed at locations corresponding to the wheels
T of the transporting device 300. Here, each of the guide grooves
130 has a width which has the same as or larger than a width of the
wheel T of the transporting device 300 so that the wheels T of the
transporting device can be entered in and guided by the guide
grooves 130. Also, in this case, a structure obtained by digging
longitudinal grooves on the upper portions of the mobile harbor 100
may be used as the guide grooves, and additional structures 120 can
be provided with the mobile harbor 100 to form the guide grooves
130.
[0061] Here, the transporting device 300 employed in the quay-wall
system for unloading and loading the containers 1 as described
above can be used as the transporting device 300 in the mobile
harbor. The transporting device 300 is constructed such that the
transporting device 300 can be coupled to ends of each of the
plurality of pallets 400 to arrange the pallets 400 (in which one
or more containers 1 are accommodated) in parallel. Concretely, the
transporting device 300 includes a plurality of movable carts 322,
each of which being coupled to the pallet 400 on the upper portion
thereof; the parallel connector 320 connected to front portions of
the movable carts 322 to connect the movable carts 322 in parallel
with respect to a movement direction of the movable carts 322; and
the transporting vehicle 301 coupled to the parallel connector
320.
[0062] The transporting vehicle 301 means a driving body which can
tow and transport two or more movable carts 322, for example, a
truck, a tractor or a trailer can be used as the transporting
vehicle.
[0063] In addition, The pallet 400 may include a bottom plate 410
and a supporting frame 412 formed upward to support one or more
containers 1. Here, the supporting frame 412 can be coupled with
the bottom plate 410 by one or more twist locks 430. The support
frame 412 in the form of a vertical frame having a framework
structure is provided on an upper side of the bottom plate 410 of
the pallet 400 to secure one or more containers 1, and prevents one
or more containers 1 from being shaken or moved. In addition, the
supporting frame 412 may include protrusion parts 424 extended from
both sides thereof, the protrusion parts 424 are protruded within
the range in which the protrusion parts 424 are not overlapped with
the support frame 412 of the adjacent pallet 400 placed in
parallel. Here, each of the protrusion parts 424 on the one side of
the support frame 412 can be provided with a pallet-connecting
member 420, and each of the protrusion parts 424 on the other side
of the support frame 412 can be provided with a locking part 422.
The pallet-connecting member 420 and the locking part 422 serve to
connect and couple the pallets 400 to each other placed on the
movable carts 322 in parallel by coupling the pallet-connecting
member 420 with the locking part 422 of the adjacent pallet 400.
Here, the above coupling can be similarly achieved as the
embodiment of the transporting device 300.
[0064] Here, the support frame 412 cannot support only the
containers 1 stacked in one stage, but can also have a sufficient
height to support the containers stacked in multi-stages. FIG. 2
illustrates that the containers 1 are stacked in three (3) stages.
However, the present invention can be applied in a case where the
containers are stacked in two (2), four (4), or more stages.
[0065] Operations of the quay-wall system for unloading and loading
the containers 1, the floating body 100 and the transporting device
300 used in the quay-wall system described above are illustrated as
follows. Below, a process for unloading the containers 1 from the
floating body 100, for example, a ship or a mobile harbor berthed
to the dock or the quay-wall Q is illustrated in detail. A process
for loading the containers 1 to the floating body 100 can be
performed reversely, and so a detail description on a loading
process will be omitted.
[0066] One or more containers 1 are accommodated in the pallet 400
loaded to the floating body 100 such as the ship or the mobile
harbor. There is no doubt that one container 1 is not only
accommodated in the pallet 400, but two or more containers 1 can be
also accommodated in the pallet 400 in multiple stages.
[0067] In a state where a plurality of movable carts 322 disposed
in parallel are coupled to the transporting vehicle 301 via the
parallel connector 320, the movable carts 322 are moved under the
pallet 400 of the floating body 100 by a backward movement of the
transporting vehicle 301. At this time, the transporting vehicle
301 and the movable carts 322 are guided by the guide grooves 130
so that a plurality of movable carts 322 disposed in parallel are
simultaneously moved under the pallets 400 loaded in parallel,
respectively.
[0068] Next, once the movable carts 322 are moved under the pallets
400 respectively, each of the movable carts 322 is coupled with
each of the bottom plates 410 of the corresponding pallet 400.
Subsequently, according to a movement, of the transporting vehicle
301, a plurality of pallets 400 placed on the moving parts 322 in
parallel are towed, passed through the ramp 110 and then moved to
the unloading open-air storage yard 200.
[0069] On the unloading open-air storage yard 200, the transporting
device 300 is guided by the guide grooves 230 and moved backward.
If the transporting device 300 reaches an unloading place of the
pallet 400 in which one or more containers 1 are accommodated, the
transporting device 300 is separated from the bottom plate 410 of
the pallet 400 and then got out of the unloading open-air storage
yard 200.
[0070] Subsequently, in a case where cargos for which additional
unloading process is required are remained, the transporting device
300 is moved to the floating body 100 again.
[0071] The quay-wall system for loading and unloading containers,
the mobile harbor and the transporting device for use therein
according to the present invention are advantageous in that it is
possible to transport rapidly and economically the cargos such as
containers. In addition, the pallets in which the containers are
accommodated are coupled to each other in parallel so that a
plurality of containers can be transported. Accordingly, the
present invention has the effect that a convenience and efficiency
of the loading/unloading process can be enhanced and a risk caused
by using a large-sized crane can be removed.
[0072] The concrete versions of the quay-wall system for loading
and unloading containers, a mobile harbor and a transporting device
for use therein according to the embodiments of the present
invention are illustrated. However, the above versions are only
examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not
limited thereto. In addition, it should be interpreted that the
embodiments as described above have the broadest scope of the
spirit disclosed in the specification.
[0073] While the invention has been shown and described with
respect to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by
those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may
be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention as defined in the following claims.
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