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KR-20260062858-A - ASSISTING AN OPERATOR TO HANDLE A CRANE OF A CONTAINER LIFTING SYSTEM

KR20260062858AKR 20260062858 AKR20260062858 AKR 20260062858AKR-20260062858-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for assisting an operator in handling a crane of a container lifting system, a computer program and a computer program product, a container lifting management device, as well as a container lifting system. The container lifting management device displays a progress indicator (PI) to the operator, the progress indicator (PI) shows a representation of a plurality of sequential steps performed by the crane in an operation cycle, obtains sensor data of the crane at a current point in time during the operation cycle, determines the current step of the operation cycle currently being performed by the crane and how much of the current step the crane has completed based on the sensor data, and displays the progress at the current point in time in the representation of the current step of the progress indicator (PI).

Inventors

  • 시오브로 다비드
  • 고팔라크리쉬난 가야트리
  • 할스타디우스 링에 시몬

Assignees

  • 에이비비 슈바이쯔 아게

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251024
Priority Date
20241029

Claims (16)

  1. A method for supporting an operator to handle a crane (18A) of a container lifting system (10), the method is performed by a container lifting management device (12), and A step (S110) of displaying a progress indicator (PI) to the operator, wherein the progress indicator (PI) shows a representation of a plurality of sequential steps performed by the crane (18A) in the operation cycle, a display step (S110), Step (S120) of obtaining sensor data of the crane at the current point in time during the operation cycle, A step (S130) of determining the current stage of the operation cycle currently being performed by the crane and how much the crane has completed the current stage based on sensor data, and A method comprising the step (S140) of displaying the progress at the current point in time in the representation of the current stage of the progress indicator (PI).
  2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the steps are shown as a plurality of rectangular shape regions provided along a first line, and the progress at the current point in time is indicated using a second line perpendicular to the first line.
  3. In paragraph 2, each step is shown as having one of two heights above the first line, the first height above the first line indicates that the crane is on the dock and the second height above the first line indicates that the crane is on the cargo ship, a method.
  4. A method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the progress indicator (PI) further comprises symbols (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6) representing at least some of the steps.
  5. A method according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 3, wherein the crane has a spreader, and the symbol of the spreader is used to indicate the progress rate at the current point in time.
  6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each step of a cycle has a different type, each step type has a corresponding reliability score, and for each step, a step (S300) of investigating the reliability score of the corresponding step type and a step (S310) of indicating in the expression of the step when the step type has an insufficient reliability score.
  7. In paragraph 6, a method in which a step type having an insufficient confidence score is indicated when the step becomes the current step.
  8. In claim 6, the crane (18A) is initially operated in a supervised mode, wherein the crane is controlled by a corresponding crane control device (16A), and further comprises the step of switching from the supervised mode to a manual control mode when the current stage is a stage with an insufficient reliability score, wherein in this manual control mode the crane is controlled by an operator.
  9. A method comprising, in any one of claims 1 to 3, a crane initially operated in a supervisory mode, wherein the crane is controlled by a corresponding crane control device (16A), and a step (S200) of detecting that there is a problem with the crane (18A) at a current time, a step (S210) of switching from the supervisory mode to a manual control mode based on the detection of the problem, wherein in the manual control mode the crane is controlled by an operator, a switching step (S210), and a step (S220) of displaying to the operator that there is a problem with the representation of the current stage in the progress indicator (PI).
  10. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the crane is set to handle a container in the current target area in an operation cycle, and further comprises the step of displaying the target area along with the previous and subsequent target areas and the safety zone.
  11. A method according to claim 9, wherein the crane is set to handle a container in the current target area in an operation cycle, further comprising the step of displaying the target area along with the previous and subsequent target areas and safety zones, and further comprising the step of determining the person in the current target area or around the problem that one or more people are located within the safety zone around the current target area, and determining the person who needs to handle the problem in or around the current target area and setting up a communication session between the operator and this person.
  12. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the container lifting system (10) includes a video capture system (14A) associated with a crane (18a), the video capture system provides a plurality of video streams (VS1A, VS2A, VS3A, VS4A, VS5A), wherein at least some of the steps are each associated with a corresponding video stream, and the method further includes a step (S150) of identifying and displaying a video stream (VS4) associated with the current step.
  13. A container lifting management device (12) including a processor (22), wherein the processor is: It operates to display a progress indicator (PI) to the operator, and the progress indicator (PI) shows a representation of a number of sequential steps performed by the crane (18A) in the operation cycle, and It operates to obtain crane sensor data at the current point in time during the operation cycle, and Based on sensor data, it operates to determine the current stage of the operation cycle currently being performed by the crane and how much of the current stage the crane has completed, and A container lifting management device (12) that operates to display the progress at the current point in time in the expression of the current stage of the progress indicator (PI).
  14. A container lifting system (10) comprising a crane (18A), a crane control device (16A) for controlling the crane, and a container lifting management device (12) according to claim 13.
  15. A computer program (26) stored in a storage medium to assist an operator in handling a crane (18A) of a container lifting system (10), and when the computer program (26) stored in the storage medium is executed by a processor (22), the processor (22): A progress indicator (PI) is displayed to the operator, and this progress indicator (PI) shows a representation of a number of sequential steps performed by the crane (18A) in the operation cycle, and Obtain crane sensor data at the current point in time during the operation cycle, and Based on sensor data, determine the current stage of the motion cycle currently being performed by the crane and how much of the current stage the crane has completed, and A computer program (26) stored on a storage medium that includes computer program code for displaying the progress at the current point in time in the representation of the current stage of the progress indicator (PI).
  16. A data carrier (34) that stores a computer program to assist an operator in handling a crane (18BA) of a container lifting system (10), wherein the computer program is the computer program (26) according to claim 15.

Description

Assisting an operator to handle a crane of a container lifting system The present invention relates to a method for assisting an operator in handling at least one crane of a container lifting system, a computer program and a computer program product, a container lifting management device, as well as a container lifting system. As crane systems become more intelligent, their capabilities expand, providing new opportunities to make crane operations more autonomous. For crane operators, this may imply a smaller workload or the need for manual intervention, but there are dangerous side effects such as boredom or meaningless supervisory tasks. The challenge arises of how to create meaningful jobs with stimulating tasks. A solution to this problem is to channel workloads from multiple cranes and assign operator(s) to supervise multiple cranes simultaneously. CN102491206 describes a tower crane monitoring system that includes, for example, a single-crane monitoring unit and a multi-crane centralized monitoring unit. The single-crane monitoring unit is used to manage on-site monitoring of a single tower crane and to transmit monitoring information to the multi-crane centralized monitoring unit, and is connected to a Universal Packet Radio Service (GPRS) public network. The multi-crane centralized monitoring unit is used to monitor information from all on-site single-crane monitoring units in a centralized manner and to control the on-site tower cranes. However, there is room for improvement in the way crane supervision is carried out, particularly when monitoring is intended to be extended to multiple cranes. The present invention will now be described in more detail in connection with the accompanying drawings, where: FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a container lifting system including a group of cranes each connected to a corresponding crane control device, a plurality of video capture systems each associated with the corresponding crane, as well as a container lifting management device. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a first video capture system and a plurality of video streams provided by it. FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating an example of a container lifting management device. FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating a computer program product in the form of a CD-ROM having computer program code used to implement a container lifting management function of a container lifting management device. FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing illustrating a container ship in which containers are lifted using a crane. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a progress indicator for a crane presented to an operator in supervision mode by a container lifting management device. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the first method step of a method to support an operator in handling a crane of a container lifting system. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a progress indicator for a crane presented to an operator by a container lifting management device in manual intervention mode. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the second method step of a method to support an operator in handling a crane of a container lifting system. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the third method step of a method to support an operator in handling a crane of a container lifting system. In the following description, specific details such as specific architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., are described for illustrative purposes rather than for limitation, in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced in other embodiments that deviate from these specific details. In other cases, detailed descriptions of known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the invention with unnecessary details. The present invention generally relates to supporting a container lifting system operator in connection with a crane of the system. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a container lifting system (10) comprising a container lifting management device (CLMD) (12), a group of cranes, a group of crane control devices, and a group of video capture systems. For example, there is a first crane (CRA) (18A) connected to a first crane control device (CCDA) (16A), a second crane (CRB) (18B) connected to a second crane control device (CCDB) (16B), a third crane (CRC) (18C) connected to a third crane control device (CCDC) (16C), and a fourth crane (CRD) (18D) connected to a fourth crane control device (CCDD) (16D). The first crane control device (16A) controls the first crane (18A), the second crane control device (16B) controls the second crane (18B), the third crane control device (16C) controls the third crane (18C), and the fourth crane control device (16D) controls the fourth crane (18D). There also exists a group of video capture systems (14A, 14B, 14C, 14D) each associated with a corresponding crane (18A, 18B, 18C, 18D) within the