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EP-4742215-A1 - AUTOMATICALLY GUIDED TRANSPORT VEHICLE FOR CONTAINERS AND METHOD FOR OPERATING SAME

EP4742215A1EP 4742215 A1EP4742215 A1EP 4742215A1EP-4742215-A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a transport vehicle (1) for containers (12) that is automatically steerable and for this purpose has a vehicle control system (13) by means of which a speed and a direction of travel of the transport vehicle (1) can be controlled, wherein the transport vehicle (1) has at least a first sensor system (14) for object recognition, which interacts with the vehicle control system (13) in such a way that, depending on signals from the first sensor system (14), a speed and/or direction of travel of the transport vehicle (1) can be changed automatically. In order to provide an improved automatically guided transport vehicle (1) that can be operated in a particularly safe manner, it is proposed that the transport vehicle (1) in addition to the vehicle control system (13) has a collision avoidance control system (16) which is set up to decide, depending on information about a detected object (1, 17a, 17b, 18) and an operating situation of the transport vehicle (1), whether to initiate a change in the speed and/or direction of travel of the transport vehicle (1) in order to avoid a collision. The invention also relates to a method for operating such a transport vehicle (1).

Inventors

  • BIRO, George
  • Dr. Schmidt-Ewig, Jan Philipp
  • Dr. Aldejohann, Stefan

Assignees

  • Konecranes Global Corporation

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20251105

Claims (10)

  1. A transport vehicle (1) for containers (12) that is automatically steerable and has a vehicle control system (13) by means of which the speed and direction of travel of the transport vehicle (1) can be controlled, wherein the transport vehicle (1) has at least a first sensor system (14) for object detection, which interacts with the vehicle control system (13) in such a way that, depending on signals from the first sensor system (14), the speed and/or direction of travel of the transport vehicle (1) can be changed automatically, characterized in that, in addition to the vehicle control system (13), the transport vehicle (1) has a collision avoidance control system (16) which is configured to decide, depending on information about a detected object (1, 17a, 17b, 18) and an operating situation of the transport vehicle (1), whether a change in the speed and/or direction of travel of the transport vehicle (1) is to be initiated in order to avoid a collision.
  2. Transport vehicle (1) according to the previous claim, characterized in that the collision avoidance control system (16) is configured to specify a maximum permissible speed and/or a collision-avoiding direction of travel as a change and to monitor compliance with the specification, wherein the collision avoidance control system (16) preferably comprises a first control unit for the respective specification and a second control unit, preferably in the form of a safety control, for monitoring compliance with the respective specification.
  3. Transport vehicle (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a change in the speed and/or direction of travel of the transport vehicle (1) is caused depending on whether the detected object (1, 17a, 17b, 18) is located inside or outside a detection area (28a), wherein the detection area (28a) is a predefined sub-area of a detection area (28) of at least the first sensor system (14).
  4. Transport vehicle (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the inspection area (28a) is adapted depending on the situation, wherein the The investigation area (28a) is preferably limited to the space required for an upcoming driving maneuver, in particular taking into account the trajectory of the transport vehicle (1) during the driving maneuver and the lane(s) occupied at least partially during this maneuver, whereby the investigation area (28a) extends, in particular in the case of straight-ahead driving, only in the direction of travel in front of the transport vehicle (1) and in the case of cornering driving, only in the direction of travel and in the direction of the curve in front of and beside the transport vehicle (1).
  5. Transport vehicle (1) according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that a change in the speed and/or direction of travel of the transport vehicle (1) is initiated only when a detected object (1, 17a, 17b, 18) is located within the inspection area (28a).
  6. Transport vehicle (1) according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that a change in the speed and/or direction of travel of the transport vehicle (1) is initiated when a detected object (1, 17a, 17b, 18) is located between the transport vehicle (1) and the inspection area (28a), in particular in a free-view area (28b) defined as a sub-area of the detection area (28).
  7. Transport vehicle (1) according to one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that a map of a predefined, preferably delimited, operating area for the transport vehicle (1) is stored in a storage unit of the transport vehicle (1), and the collision avoidance control system (16) is set up to adapt the inspection area (28a) depending on a position of the transport vehicle (1) relative to the map and/or depending on an intended driving maneuver and/or depending on the traffic rules applicable at the location of the intended driving maneuver.
  8. Transport vehicle (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that several sensors (14a, 14b, 15a, 15b) are provided for object detection and the collision avoidance control system (16), in particular its respective control unit (16a, 16b) and/or evaluation unit, is installed is to check whether at least two of the sensors (14a, 14b, 15a, 15b) detect the same object (1, 17a, 17b, 18), in particular within a predefined tolerance with respect to the position of its orientation and/or its velocity vector and/or size and/or time.
  9. Transport vehicle (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one second sensor system (15) is provided for object detection, wherein preferably each sensor (14a, 14b) of the first sensor system (14) is of a first type and each sensor (15a, 15b) of the second sensor system (15) is of a second type, which is different from the first type.
  10. Method for operating a transport vehicle (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a collision avoidance control system (16) of the transport vehicle (1), provided in addition to the vehicle control system (13), decides, depending on information about a detected object (1, 17a, 17b, 18) and an operating situation of the transport vehicle (1), whether to initiate a change in the speed and/or direction of travel of the transport vehicle (1) in order to avoid a collision, wherein preferably the information is obtained at least partially from the collision avoidance control system (16) and at least the information about the detected object (1, 17a, 17b, 18) is obtained from signals of the first sensor system (14).

Description

The invention relates to a transport vehicle for containers according to the preamble of claim 1 and a method for operating such a transport vehicle. Transport vehicles within the meaning of this application are industrial trucks designed as heavy-duty vehicles for handling and/or transporting containers. The containers to be transported or handled can, accordingly, weigh up to 40 metric tons when loaded, particularly in the case of ISO containers, and have standardized or at least standardized lengths of, for example, 10, 20, 40, 45, 53, or 60 feet. The latter two lengths are currently used exclusively in North America as non-ISO standardized containers. In this context, ISO containers are understood to be standardized large-capacity or sea freight containers used in international trade. Containers in this context can also include other standardized or at least standardized load carriers, such as swap bodies, in particular swap containers or swap bodies. These types of transport vehicles are used particularly in fenced or otherwise enclosed operational areas or terminals, such as port terminals, which are closed or demarcated from uncontrolled access. Here, the transport vehicles are involved in the transshipment of containers between at least two modes of transport of the same or different types, for example, between ships, road vehicles, and/or rail vehicles. Accordingly, ships and/or rail vehicles, as well as the corresponding transport vehicles, are loaded and unloaded. In this context, the transport vehicles, which are not rail-bound but freely movable, transport the containers, for example, on the water side of a terminal's container yard between the yard and a container crane for unloading or loading containers onto a ship docked at the quay. Therefore, combined transport between water, road, and/or rail can also take place at the terminals. Transport vehicles within the meaning of this application therefore include, in particular, special vehicles that are operated as internal transport vehicles only within such operational areas or terminals and are generally not intended, designed, or approved for external use in public traffic. These transport vehicles must therefore be operated strictly separately from public traffic. One possible type of such transport vehicle is, for example, special container transport vehicles that have a loading area bounded by spaced-apart guide elements and are preferably symmetrically constructed so that they can travel forwards and backwards in the same way. The guide elements are also referred to as guides and guide a container to be picked up, or its corner fittings, onto the loading area. For this purpose, the guide elements extend with their guide surfaces diagonally outwards and upwards from the loading area. The loading area can also be designed as part of a lifting and lowering platform. Such container transport vehicles are, for example, from the EP 2 637 954 B1 known. A tractor unit designated as a terminal truck or terminal tractor can, either on its own or together with one or more trailers as a type of semi-trailer truck, constitute a vehicle type of internal transport vehicle within the meaning of the present application. Its loading platform for receiving the load carriers is then not located on the tractor unit itself, as with the aforementioned special container transport vehicles, but rather on the trailer(s) and can also be limited by guide elements as described above. Such transport vehicles are, for example, DE 10 2012 108 768 A1 known. Portal lifts also constitute a type of internal transport vehicle within the meaning of the present application. These transport vehicles are used, for example, in the EP 2 694 424 B1 described. Such straddle carriers, also called straddle stackers, van carriers, shuttle carriers, or runners, are used not only as transport vehicles for horizontal container transport, but also, and especially, as specialized handling equipment for ISO containers. With the aid of a lifting device Using a load-handling device called a spreader, straddle carriers can lift containers and place them at a destination after transport. Because straddle carriers have a spider-like design, they can drive over a container resting on the ground or on top of another container, and depending on the design, they can also transport a raised container. Depending on their height, straddle carriers are referred to as, for example, 1 over 3 carriers, 1 over 2 carriers, etc. A 1 over 3 carrier can lower a container onto three stacked containers, pick up the top of four stacked containers, or drive over three stacked containers with a container already lifted. The aforementioned internal transport vehicles can be manually operated and, accordingly, actively controlled manually by a driver who is usually riding along, particularly during acceleration, braking, and steering. For this purpose, manually operated transport vehicles have a corresponding vehicle