METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OPERATING, INTERFACING AND/OR MANAGING FOR AT LEAST ONE OPTICAL CHARACTERISTIC SYSTEM FOR CONTAINER HANDLERS IN A CONTAINER YARD

• US 20090110283A1
• Filed: 10/30/2008
• Published: 04/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HKI Systems and Service LLC
• Original Assignee: HKI Systems and Service LLC
• Inventors: Takehara, Toru, King, Henry
• Granted Patent: US 8,488,884 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/182
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/137 with arrangements or automatic control means for selecting which articles are to be removed
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2203/041 Camera
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 63/004 for containers
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/0755 Position control; Position detectors
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/186 Container lifting frames
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

Methods and several apparatus embodiments are disclosed operating Optical Characteristic Systems (OCS) in a container storage and/or transfer yard supporting the automated recognition of container codes displayed on various sides of the containers being stored and/or transferred. At least one processor may initiate an operational process by an OCS mounted on a container handler to create an operational result, select the operational process based upon an operational schedule and communicate with at least one OCS to receive an image of a container being handled by the container handler to at least partly create a container code estimate for a container inventory management system. A program system directing at least one computer implementing these operations, and may reside in computer readable memory, an installation package and/or a download server. The computer readable memory may or may not be accessibly coupled to the computer.

Claims

1. Apparatus, comprising at least one member of the group consisting of:

a control module configured to initiate an operational process by at least one optical characteristic system configured to mount on at least one container handler to create an operational result;

a management circuit configured to select said operational process for said optical characteristic system based upon an operational schedule; and

a server interface configured to communicate with at least one of said optical characteristic systems to receive a version of an image of a container being handled by said container handler to at least partly create a container code estimate of a container code on said container for transmission to a container inventory management system.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said operational process is initiated on at least one member of the group consisting of:

a power-up process, a diagnostic process, at least one normal process, and a power-down process.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said container handler comprises at least one member of the group consisting of a UTR truck, a bomb cart, a chassis rotator, a quay crane, a side picker, a top loader, a straddle carrier, a reach stacker, and a Rubber Tire Gantry crane.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said operational process is performed on at least one member of a group consisting of:

said optical characteristic system, at least one camera, at least one light, at least one sensor module creating a machine state of said container handler, and at least one image processor generating said container code estimate based upon said image.

5. The control module of claim 1, comprising:

a processor communicatively coupled to said optical characteristic system to initiate said operational process by said optical characteristic system and to receive said operational result based upon said optical characteristic system performing said operational process.

6. The control module of claim 5, further comprising:

said processor communicatively coupled to a second module interfaced to said container handler to provide a position estimate of a container being handled by said container handler.

7. The control module of claim 6, wherein said second module includes a second instance of said processor.

8. The control module of claim 7, wherein said second module is an instance of said control module configured to create said position estimate of said container being handled by said container handler.

9. The management circuit of claim 1, comprising:

a processor configured to select said operational process for said optical characteristic system based upon said operational schedule; and

said processor configured to communicate with said optical characteristic system to initiate said operational process on said optical characteristic system creating said operational result.

10. The management circuit of claim 9, wherein said processor configured to communicate with said optical characteristic system further comprises at least one member of the group consisting of:

said processor configured to communicate with said control module to initiate said operational process;

said processor configured to communicate with said control module to receive said operational result;

said processor configured to communicate with said optical characteristic system to receive said operational result;

said processor communicatively coupled with a wireless network access point to communicate with at least one of said optical characteristic system and said control module; and

said processor communicatively coupled with said server interface configured to communicate with at least one of said optical characteristic system and said control module;

wherein said operational schedule includes at least one operational event.

11. The server interface of claim 1, comprising:

a processor communicatively coupled with at least one of said optical characteristic systems to receive said image of said container being handled by said container handler; and

said processor second communicatively coupled to said container inventory management system to communicate said container code estimate to said container inventory management system.

12. The server interface of claim 11, wherein said processor communicatively coupled with said optical characteristic system further comprises said processor communicatively coupled with a first communication mechanism to communicate with said optical characteristic system, further comprising at least one member of the group consisting of:

said first communication mechanism configured to use a wireless network access point to communicate with said optical characteristic system;

said first communication mechanism configured to use a wireless network interface to communicate with said optical characteristic system;

said first communication mechanism configured to communicate via said container handler to said optical characteristic system; and

said first communication mechanism configured to read a portable memory device to receive said image of said container being handled said container handler.

13. The server interface of claim 11, further comprising at least one optical character recognition system configured to receive at least one of said images from at least one of said optical characteristic systems to create said estimated container code.

14. A method for operating said apparatus of claim 1, comprising at least one of the steps of:

at least one processor initiating said operational process by said optical characteristic system to create said operational result;

said processor selecting said operational process for said optical characteristic system based upon said operational schedule; and

said processor communicating with at least one of said optical characteristic systems to receive at least one image of said container being handled by said container handler to at least partly create said container code estimate for transmission to said container inventory management system.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the steps of said method uses a network protocol that complies with at least one member of the group consisting of:

a wireless network protocol standard and a wireline network protocol, a time divisional multiple access protocol, a spread spectrum protocol, a packet transfer protocol, a frame transfer protocol, an error correction coding protocol and an encryption protocol.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein said processor includes at least one instance of at least one member of the group consisting of a computer instructed by a program system, a finite state machine, an inferential engine and a neural network.

17. The program system of claim 16, comprising at least one of the program steps of:

initiating said operational process by said optical characteristic system to create said operational result;

selecting said operational process for said optical characteristic system based upon said operational schedule; and

communicating with at least one of said optical characteristic systems to receive said image of said container being handled by said container handler to at least partly create said container code estimate for transmission to said container inventory management system.

18. The program system of claim 17, wherein said program systems resides in at least one member of the group consisting of:

a computer readable memory, said computer readable memory accessibly coupled to said computer, an installation package, and a download server.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of said processor selecting further comprises at least one of the steps of:

said processor assembling said operational results from said optical characteristic systems to create a status report; and

said processor accessing said status report to update said operational schedule.

20. At least one member of a group as a product of the process of claim 19,

wherein said group consists of:

said status report, said operational schedule, said operational process, said operational result, and said image received by said processor, and said estimated container code for said transmission.

21. The apparatus of claim 1,

wherein said management circuit is further configured to select a second operational process for a second of said optical characteristic system based upon said operational schedule;

and

wherein said server interface is further configured to communicate with said second of said optical characteristic systems to receive a version of a second image of a second container being handled by a second of said container handlers to at least partly create a second container code estimates of said container code on said second container for transmission to said container inventory management system.