Loading/Unloading to/from a ship:
Anothe kind of management can be actuated in the ports where containers are moved and loaded / unloaded.
Instead of store the containers in the dock, the containers can be immediately be loaded by the cranes on the wagons of a convoy waiting near the cranes and that will position to be loaded/unloaded, controlled by suitable sensors and control systems, then moving when the loading/unloading operation will be finished. So, another wagon will arrive and can be loaded/unloaded.
The method can be optimized if some tracks are present in the docks where different cranes can be present, near the ships.
- The first track toward the deliver station to guide the wagons loaded by the cranes
- The second track to guide the coming back wagons toward the departing station.
- The third track for the waiting wagons.
Several exchanges will occur between the second and the third tracks allowing the optimal movements of the cranes.
Demo within a port by means of wagons and automated dock cranes.
Operations:
From the stocking station along the first track the wagons will be sent for performing the requested operations.
Based on request of the cranes a wagon is sent to the second track and is deviated in the track reserved to the loading near the interested crane, guided by the sensors.
Once the loading operation is made, the wagon will be guided on the second track to come back in the station.
In order to increase the velocity of the containers loading/unloading operations by means of the cranes, it’s possible that the cranes perform an automatic manouvre of moving the containers, without the manual intervention of an operator a part the insertion of the command to automatically perform the loading/unloading the wagon.
To do that, the wagon positioning in a precise position near the crane sends to it a communication for identifying its type and its features.
So, by means of a dedicated software in the crane it will be possible that the crane performs the movements to take or put the container from/into the train and to put it near the position of loading/unloading on/from the ship.
The loaded wagons are immediately available for next automatic operations of coupling to convoys which are composing in the stations near to the port.
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Demo of the coupling of a wagon to the tail’s convoy.
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Demo of an automatic wagon provided of sidelifter.
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Demo of a convoy’s composition by means of automatic wagons.
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Demo of containers’ storage within ports by means of shuttle wagons and automated dock cranes.