Development of an Automatic Container Yard Crane

1 . I n t r o d uctio n

The realization of automation for the cranes at

container terminal has been delayed compared with
in doo r s er v i c e c r an es ca u s ed b y va rio u s p ro b lem s a t th e RMGC : 12-row 6-stack storage
outd oor envi ron m e nt .
For the q ua y si de c o n tain er h an d li n g c ran e, t h e ma in
o b j e c t i o n t o a c h i ev i n g t h e a u t o m a t i o n i s t h a t t h e RTG : 6-row 4-stack storage
relative p o si ti o n of t he s hi p to th e cra n e co u l d n o t be
,
surely recognized due to the ship s rolling motion, etc. Cab
Trans fer cra ne s i n t h e c on t ai n er s to ck y ar d d o n o t fa ce
t o s hip s , an d t h e i r a u to m at io n is in a re la tive ly eas y
e nv i r o n m e n t c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e q u a y s i d e c o n t a i n e r
Cab
c r a n e s , h ow eve r, t h e a u t o m a t i o n o f t h e r u b b e r- t i r e d
gan try c ra ne s (RT G ) w h ic h a re m o s t ex t en s ive ly us e d
mus t d eal w it h t he t i re b eh av io r, a n d a ct u all y h a s no t
b een r eal i z ed ye t .
In th is p a p e r, a tt e nti o n is pa i d t o th e a u t o m at io n o f
r a i l - m o u n t e d ga n t r y c r a n e s ( R M G C ) u s e d a s y a r d c r a n e s , Fig. 2 RMGC Comparison with conventional RTG
and an "automatic operation system for rail-mounted (comparison in size RMGC and RTG cranes)
gantry cr an e s" ca pa bl e o f ac hi ev i n g au to m at i c o p e ratio n
o f co nta in e r han dl i n g op era ti on s ex c ep t th o s e re l a te d to
t h e c h a s s i s a c c e s s o p e r a t i o n w a s d eve l o p e d , a n d i t s 2 . Cra n e Ou tli n e
outlin e i s i nt r odu c e d be low.
Tw e n t y - f o u r ( 2 4 ) s y s t e m s h av e b e e n d e l iv e r e d t o Th is c ra ne is a rail -mou nte d ga nt ry c ra ne fo r handl ing
container terminals in South-East Asia, and the con ta iners. Ta ble 1 shows th e principa l sp ec ific atio ns,
c o m m e r c i a l o p e r a t i o n s w e r e s t a r t e d a n d h av e b e e n an d Fig. 1 s ch ematic al ly illus t rates the RMGC. Fig . 2
r unn in g sm oot hl y si nc e 19 9 6. s how s a compa rison with a conve ntio n al RTG syst em .
As shown i n Table 1 and Fig. 2 , th is cra ne is la rger,
Table 1 Principal specifications h ighe r i n spee d, an d cons ide rabl y h igh er in conta iner
stora ge c apacit y than conven tiona l s ys te m.
Items Specifications
Type Rail-mounted gantry crane 3 . Au t o m a t ic Op e ra ti o n
Number of storage 12-row 6-stack (1 overpass)
The a uto ma tic op er at io n is achieved based on operat ion
Rated load 40.5 ton
com ma nd s f rom the c om put er on t he crane to which the
Lift 21.668 m co mma nd s a re tra ns mitted from t he pl an n in g c om put er
Span 37.03 m in th e con ta iner termi nal v ia optica l fi be r ca bl e.
Traverse range 45.43 m 3.1 Range of Automatic O peration
Wheel base 15.0 m Th is c ran e is a double ca nti lever ty p e gant ry crane, and
the container handling with chassis is operated
Crane width 24.0 m
manua lly by the both side ca nti levers .
Speed Hoisting 35/96 (RTG)(23/52) Th e manua l operat ion is limite d o nly to th e co nta in er
(m/min) Traversing 150 (70)
handlin g p art w ith ch assis, a nd all o th er op er ations a re
Traveling 120 (135)
within the automatic operation range. Thus, the
Chassis handling Both sides cantilever o p e r a t i o n s b e t w e e n l eg s o f t h e c r a n e a r e f u l l y a u t o m a t i c ,
Power supply Cable reel and the automatic operation area is separated from
wo rker s ex cep t for op eration s below t he c antilever. The
container handling part with chassis is manually
operated since although the crane can be accurately
pos itioned in the containe r s to ra ge po si tion i n t he y ard ,
c h a s s i s a r e d i ffi c u l t t o b e a c c u r a t e l y p o s i t i o n e d w i t h
r e s p e c t t o t h e c r a n e , a n d a d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e c h a s s i s
s ha pes a re di ffere nt b etwe en the yard c ha ss is a nd t he
loa d ch assis. Fig . 3 s how s the a ut om at ic op er at ion area .
3.2 Ki nds o f Au toma tic O peration
The automatic operation includes four types as
des crib ed b elow.
(1 ) Loading : th e opera tion to loa d t he co ntain ers i n the
yard on to c ha ss is
(2 ) Unload ing : the op eration to unlo ad t he c ont ai ne rs
o n the ch assi s in the yard
(3) Marshalling : the operation to marshal the
co nta in er s in the ya rd wi thin th e ya rd
Fig. 1 Rail mounted gantry crane (RMGC) (4) Move : the operation to move only the empty
(illustrating RMGC under operation at site) s preader
 Trolley
Sheave truck device
(right side) Sheave truck device
Sheave truck device
(left side)
(right side)

Head block
Automatic operation area
Spreader
Laser target Sheave
truck device
(left side)

Container

Fig. 4 Mechanism of sheave truck device

(illustrating the schematic representation of anti-skew and
positioning mechanisms using the sheave truck device)

Manual operation area

Fig. 3 Automatic operation area Skew

(The automatic operation area is shown based on the overall
view of the crane.)
100 mm

4 . C h ara cte r is tics of t he H igh-S peed

Aut oma tic Op erat ion S yst em

Th e obj e c t ive of t he a uto m at ic o p e rati o n o f th i s c ran e

6.5 s
is to im p rove t he c ont ai n er ha n d li n g e ffi ci en cy in t he
yard, and can be concluded to cope with natural
d istu rb anc e s ( t h e i nc lu d in g s o lar h e at, s u n sh in e, r ai n,
f og and w in d) sp e c i fi c to t h e o u t d o o r e nv ir o n m en t. Th e 100 mm
c o n c e p t o f t h i s a u t o m a t i c o p e r a t i o n i s " Fa s t " , " A c c u r a t e "
a nd "S af e" . Sheave position
5.0 s
Each ch ar ac t e r is t i c i s de s crib ed b e low.
4 .1 High e r O p era t i o n S p e e d
The moving time and the positioning time are Skew : 250 mm, height : 5 m
shortened due to the greater functionality of the
Fig. 5 Performance of the anti-skew system
auto mati on p a r t i n a dd i ti o n to t h e i n c reas e in th e sp ee d
(indicating the skew and the movement of the sheave car
and the acceleration/deceleration of each operation system by chart to clarify the anti-skew performance)
including the hoisting, traversing and traveling
c o m p a r e d w i t h t h o s e o f a c o nve n t i o n a l RT G s y s t e m .
Th e foll ow in g t e c hno l og i es a re ap p l ied to re al iz e th is ope ration , the dec elera tio n timin g is auto matic so as t o
h igher o p er a t io n s p e e d . obt ai n t he mini mu m c re ep time.
(1) Hig h sp e e d a nt i - s kew an d p o s i tio n i n g te ch n o lo g ie s An d, if the time for s im ultaneo u sl y imple me nting the
to deal wi th pa ral l e l sw in g in g an d s kew s w in g in g wi ndi ng and the tr ave rs ing is long, th e o pera ti on ti me i s
Th e swi ng of t he s pr ea d er a n d th e su sp en d ed c o n ta in er s ho rtened.
i nclu des p ar al l el swi n gin g and t h e s kew s wi n g in g (in Manual operation is implemented keeping a safe
w hich the su s p en d ed co nta in e r ro t ates as it s w in g s ). distance so that the spreader and the suspended
P a r a l l e l s w i n g d u r i n g t h e t r av e r s e m o v e m e n t i s container in question do not collide with other
r emoved by co nt r ol l i ng t he ac cel er at io n /d e c el e ratio n o f co nta iners s tacked in th e ya rd; how eve r, th ere ar e c as es
t h e t r o l l e y, a n d t h e s k ew s w i n g i s r e m o v e d b y where the opt imum pas s c an no t be ob ta in ed si nce s ome
c o n t r o l l i n g t h e m o t i o n o f t h e s h e av e t r u c k d ev i c e ope rat ors p re fe r a la rg er s afe di st an ce .
i ns talled o n th e t rol l ey. The m ost im por ta nt po int in aut om at ic oper ation is to
When the spreader and the suspended container p reve nt the s preader and the su sp end ed co nt ai ne r from
app roach t h e t a rget p os i ti on in th e t rave rs e d i rect io n , c o l l i d i n g w i t h c o n t a i n e r s a l r e a d y s t a c k e d eve n w h e n
the swing is stopped with high accuracy and the traversing and the winding are simultaneously
p os ition i s c o rr e ct ed b y c on t ro l li n g th e mo ti o n of th e implemente d.
s heave tr uc k . In this system, a stack height detection sensor is
F ig. 4 shows t h e m ec h an i s m of t h e s h eave t ru c k, a nd i ns ta lled on the crane in orde r t o au to matic ally de te ct
Fig. 5 sh ows t he a nt i -s kew p er f o rm an ce o f th e sh e ave the s ta ck heigh t, and the sho rt es t movi ng pa ss i n wh ich
tr uck . t he s pr ea de r and the s usp en de d co nta iner do n ot co lli de
A u t o m a t i c o p e r a t i o n o u t d o o r s i s a ff e c t e d b y n a t u r a l w i t h t h e s t a c ke d c o n t a i n e r s i n t h e y a r d i s c a l c u l a t e d
dis turban c e s ca us e d by w in d , etc. , h ow ever, th e s win g bas ed on t he data. Th e s ta cking infor ma tion on th e ya rd
stop and po si t i o ni n g w i t h hi g h er o p e ra ti o n s p eed a n d i s c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e s e n s o r ' s m e a s u r e d va l u e , a n d
high er ac c ur a cy have b ee n r eal iz ed b y th e a cti o n of t his s afe ty is e ns ured by a do pti ng th e la rg er hei g ht if t he re
sh eave t ru c k (1) . is a di ffere nc e be tween the t wo.
(2) Tech no l og y for A u t om at i ca ll y P ro d u c in g O p tim um 4.2 Ac curacy
Pas s The accurate positioning of the spreader and the
W h e n a c o n t a i n e r i s l ow e r e d a n d l a n d e d d u r i n g t h e s us pe nded co ntaine r and a landing ac cu ra cy wi thi n 50
manu al ope ra t i o n, l a n din g va ri ati o n is p r o d u c e d in t he mm is needed to be in order to realized implement
decelera t i on t im in g by the o p e rat o r, a n d th e cree p t im e c o n t a i n e r h a n d l i n g o p e r a t i o n w i t h a n i n t e r va l o f 4 0 0
before the landing is not constant. In automatic mm of the container s ta ck i n t he s ta ck a rea .
 25

20
Automatic
Hoisting height

controller
15 IPU

10
CCTV CCTV CCTV CCTV

5
Narrow Wide Narrow Wide
-angle -angle -angle -angle
camera camera camera camera
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 Right-side Left-side
skew sensor skew sensor
Traverse position
Head block
Fig. 6 Sample chart of automatically produced optimum passes
(illustrating the stack and the optimum pass
Fig. 8 System architecture of the spreader position detection system
in an overlapping manner)
(indicating the system architecture of the spreader position
detection system)
Landing variation histogram
35
position of the spre ader position de te ction device with
30 re spec t to the absolute position on the ground due to
changes in the inclination of the legs, changes in
25 structural distortions such as the deformation of the
Landing number

girde rs, a nd the changes in the clea ra nc e be twee n the

20
traveling whe el a nd the traveling rail which are ca used
15 by the movement of the trolley and the we ight of the
conta iner. Correc tive functions to the se devia tions a re
10 provide d.
Light sources moved together with the crane are
5 provide d on the trave ling rail, the c amera s to detec t this
light source and the inclination meter a re insta lled on
-70 -60 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 t h e g i r d e r o f t h e c r a n e , a n d t h e m ove m e n t a n d t h e
Landing variation (mm)
inc lination of the girder with respec t to the ce nter of
the trave ling rail a re de te cted on a rea l time basis. The
Fig. 7 Landing variation histogram re cognition position on the c rane side with respe ct to
(indicating the results of measurements of the actual landing the a bsolute position on the ground is corrected using
variation by the histogram) the se detected values.
A c onta iner suspended by wire ropes is landed on to
F i g . 7 s h ow s t h e r e s u l t s o f m e a s u r e m e n t s w h e n a n the ground surfac e within a va riation of 50 mm by
empty co n t a i n e r, a 2 0 t co n t a i n e r a n d a 3 0 t co n t a i ner are controlling the trolley and the sheave a t the he ight of
landed on the ground 33 times each. The landing a b o u t 3 0 m f r o m t h e g r o u n d l ev e l t h r o u g h t h e
va r i a t i o n i s 2 0 m m o n ave r a g e , a n d t h e f o l l ow i n g c o m b i n a t i o n o f t h e a b ove - d e s c r i b e d s p r e a d e r p o s i t i o n
counterm ea s u r e s h ave b e e n t a ken i n o r d e r t o r e al i ze this d e t e c t i o n d ev i c e , l a n d i n g p o s i t i o n e s t i m a t i o n c o n t r o l ,
accuracy. the structural c orre ctive function and the a nti-skew and
(1) Sprea d e r P o s i t i o n D e t e c t i o n D ev i c e positioning c ontrol.
Fig. 8 s h ow t h e c o ns t i t u t i o n o f t h e s p r e a d er p osition 4.3 Safety
detectio n d ev i ce . In a ddition to the se lf c he ck function of e ach devic e,
T h i s d e t e c t i o n d ev i c e d e t e c t s t h e r e l a t ive p o s i t i o n monitoring functions are include d to preve nt collisions
between t h e h ea d b l o c k an d t h e t r o l l ey b y i n s t a l l i ng the of the suspe nded c ontaine r, rea lizing sa fe ope ra tion.
l aser be a m e m i t t e r s o n t h e r i g h t a n d l e f t e n d s of the Eac h function is desc ribed below.
structur e, r e f e rr e d t o a s t h e h ea d b l o c k , s u s p en d i ng the (1) Consideration of Suspended Container Position
spreader as t h e l i g h t s o u r ce , d e t e c t i n g t h e l i g h t source when an Abnormality occ urs
by cam e r a s o n t h e t r o l l ey, a n d p r o c e s s i n g t h e images Since the container is suspended by ropes, the
thereof. suspe nded c onta iner might oscillated gre atly whe n an
(2) Land i n g P o s i t i o n E s t i m at i o n C o n t r o l a b n o r m a l i t y o c c u r s d u r i n g m o v e m e n t a n d t r av e r s e
This co n t r o l i s a m e t h o d t o e s t i m at e t h e va r i a t i o n in the m ove m e n t i s s t o p p e d . T h e a u t o m a t i c o p t i m u m p a s s
l a n d i n g p o s i t i o n d u r i n g l ow e r i n g i m m e d i a t e l y b e f o r e takes this into consideration so as to produce an
l anding, an d i f t h e va r i a t i o n i s j u d g ed t o b e w i t h in the optimum pass free from collision of the suspended
allowabl e val u e , t h e l ow e r i n g o p e r a t i o n i s c o n t i n ued; if conta iner with sta cked c onta iners eve n in su ch a c ase.
t he varia t i o n i s j u d g e d n o t t o b e wi t h i n t h e a l l owable (2) Real Time Pass Tra ce
va l u e , l ow e r i n g i s s u s p e n d e d u n t i l t h e va r i a t i o n i s Operation is constantly monitored to guarantee sure
w i t h i n t h e a l l owa b l e va l u e , a n d t h e c o n t a i n e r i s t h e n control a long the automatic ally produc ed optimum pass.
l anded w i t h i n t h e al l owa b l e va l u e . A s e r i e s o f these The syste m is a utoma tica lly stopped for safety's sa ke
operatio n s a r e a u t o m at i c al l y i m p l em en t e d b y u s i ng the when the diffe re nc e be twee n the monitored re sult of the
s p r e a d e r p o s i t i o n d e t e c t i o n d ev i c e i n ( 1 ) a b ove . A actual operation and the automatically produced pass
function i s a l s o i n c l u d e d w i t h i n t h i s s y s t e m s o t hat the excee ds the allowable value .
landing operation is automatically repeated again if A n o t h e r f u n c t i o n i s i n c l u d e d ex c l u s ive l y w h e n l ow e r i n g,
after th e l a n d i n g , t h e s y s t e m s i d e j u d g e s t h e l a n d ing to in which the falling speed is automatically
be unacc ep t a b l e (2) . ac celerated/de celerated ac cording to the variation of the
(3) Stru c t u r a l C o r r ec t ive F u n c t i o n position of the suspe nded containe r with respe ct to the
In the c ra n e , d ev i a t i o n s ar e p r o d u c e d i n t h e r e co gnition t a rg e t p o s i t i o n i n o r d e r t o avo i d a c o l l i s i o n i n a
compatib le m a nn e r betw een th e h i g h er o p e ra ti o n s peed 5 . Co n cl u s i o n s
a n d t h e s a f e t y. This is realized by constantly
i mp leme nt i ng t h e a nt i -s kew an d p o s it io n in g co n tro l b y The automatic operation of the rail-mounted gantry
t h e s h e av e o n t h e t r o l l e y i n o r d e r t o c o p e w i t h cr an e is int roduce d, in which au to matic ope rat ion has
dis tur ba nc e s suc h a s wi n d eve n d u r in g low er in g . b e e n r e a l i z e d w i t h o u t d o o r l a rg e c r a n e s i n c o n t a i n e r
(3) S tack An ti -Co l l i si o n S e n so r yard with commercial operation since 1996. The
In o rd e r t o p revent c oll i s io ns wit h ad ja cen t c o n ta in ers c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e c o n c e p t o f a u t o m a t i o n . " Fa s t " ,
a t t h e t a rg e t p o s i t i o n i n t h e l ow e r i n g o p e r a t i o n , t h e "Ac cura te " a nd "Sa fe " a re de scri be d. Ind ividua l d et ai led
ad jacent c ont a i ner i s d e te c ted b y th e s en s o rs fi tt ed to techn ol ogi es a re omitted for wan t o f sp ac e; h owever, a
th e sp rea de r. part thereof are in trodu ced in th is Spec ia l Issu e.
Collis io ns wi t h t he a d jace n t co n t a in ers ar e p reven te d These technologies can be utilized in both future
by th e above -de s c ri b e d r eal ti me p as s trac e fu n ct io n i n co nta in er ya rd s a nd also in the au to mation of outdoor
a nor ma l l oweri n g op era ti on ; h owever, th e st a ck an ti - cranes. E ff o r t w i l l b e m a d e o n t h e s t u d y o f t h e
c ollision se ns or i s p rovi d e d as t h e fi n al b ac k -u p s a fe ty automated handling with chassis, and realization of
d ev i c e t o c o p e w i t h a n y d ev i a t i o n i n t h e a d j a c e n t co mplete au tom at ic op era tio n.
c ontainer 's p osi t io n, m is take s o f var io u s d e te cto rs , a n d
unavoida bl e di st ur ban ce s su ch as th e g u s ts . B ibl iography:
(4) Abun d a n t Sel f Che c k F u nc t io n (1 ) "Se mi-automa ti c o pe rat ion sy stem of ra il- mount ed
T he s afe t y i s f u rt h e r h ei g ht en ed b y p rov i d i n g va ri ous g a n t r y c r a n e s " b y M I YATA , M a t e r i a l f o r s t u d y
s e l f c h e c k f u n c t i o n s t o f u l fi l l s a f e t y i n t e r l o c k s i n an nounc emen t of th e Sp ec ia l Lec tu re at the 20t h All -
add ition t o t he above - de s c rib ed i tem s . Japan Crane Safety Meeting of the Japan Crane
As s ociati on (1999)
(2 ) "On the a utoma tio n of rail-mou nt ed gant ry c ranes"
b y Ho sh ina , Ma ga zine Kowan N iy ak u , Ma rch 20 00