Method and apparatus for making status reporting devices for container handlers

• US 8,525,671 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2012
• Issued: 09/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HKI Systems and Service LLC
• Original Assignee: Paceco Corporation (Tsuneishi Holdings Company Limited)
• Inventors: King, Henry S., Takehara, Toru
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hung T.
• Application Number:
  US13/355,377
• Publication Number:
  US 20120185081A1
• Time in Patent Office: 592 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/539.1, 340/539.13, 340/539.16, 340/539.17, 340/825.49, 340/825.69, 340/988, 340/539.19, 235/375, 235/383, 235/385, 700/213, 700/214, 700/229, 701/207, 701/208, 705/29
• US Class Current: 340/539.19
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 63/004 for containers
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 13/46 Position indicators for suspended loads or for crane elements
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 13/48 Automatic control of crane drives for producing a single or repeated working cycle; Programme control
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 19/002 Container cranes B66C19/007 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 19/007 for containers
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/065 non-masted mobile jacks of the garage type mounted on wheels or rollers B66F5/00
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/24 Electrical devices or systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 3/00 Registering or indicating the condition or the working of machines or other apparatus, other than vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link

Abstract

A mechanism and method for making status reporting devices for container handlers, including: providing a micro-controller module, and installing a program system into memory accessed by a computer directing the micro-controller module. The micro-controller module communicatively couples with means for wirelessly communicating and for sensing a state of the container handler. Means for wirelessly communicating may include means for wirelessly determining container handler location. The micro-controller module may be communicatively coupled to a separate means for determining location. An apparatus making the devices may include a second program system directing the invention'"'"'s method through a second computer, which may control an assembly device in creating the micro-controller, coupled with the means for sensing and for wirelessly communicating.

Claims

1. A status reporting apparatus for a container handler, comprising:

a micro-controller communicatively coupled to a wireless communication component, and communicatively coupled to one or more sensor components, including a sensor component sensing a state of a structure comprising part of the container handler;

a programmable logic controller coupled to the sensor component, and configured to provide at least one member of a crane state list specifying a configuration of a structure element of the container handler; and

a memory accessibly coupled to a computer directing the micro-controller, the memory having installed therein a program comprising executable program steps for using the sensor component to create a sensed state of the container handler, and for using the wireless communication component to communicate the sensed state;

wherein the container handler moves a container of at least twenty foot in length.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the crane state list specifying a configuration of a structure element of the container handler, specifies a configuration of at least one of a twistlock interface and an spreader interface.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the wireless communication component comprises at least one of a radio-location tag unit and a wireless modem, and includes a network interface circuit supporting at least one wireline communications protocol, the wireline communications protocol supporting a serial protocol selected from the group consisting of:

Synchronous Serial interface protocol, Ethernet protocol, Serial Peripheral interface, RS-232 interface, Inter-IC protocol, Universal Serial Bus protocol, Controller Area Network protocol, Firewire protocol, RS-485 protocol, and RS-422 protocol.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the wireless communication component supports wireless communication using a wireless modulation-demodulation scheme selected from the group consisting of:

Time Division Multiple Access, Frequency Division, Multiple Access, Code Division Multiple Access, Spread Spectrum scheme, frequency Hopping Multiple Access, and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a sensor component of the one or more the sensor components is configured to sense at least one of an operator identity to provide a sensed operator identity, and a location of the container handler relative to a deployment area, the location determined using at least one of global positioning system data, differential global positioning system data, and timing signals from multiple antenna sites.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a sensor component of the one or more the sensor components is configured to sense a container presence to provide a sensed container present status, and wherein the sensed container present status can be used in part to derive a location of the container relative to the container handler.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a sensor component of the one or more the sensor components comprises an optical character recognition module configured to optically sense a container code on the container to provide an optical container characteristic, and wherein the optical container characteristic includes at least one instance of a member of a container code characteristic list;

and wherein the container code characteristic list includes a container code text, a view of the container code, and a compression of the view of the container code.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the optical character recognition module comprises at least one video camera to create at least one instance of the view of the container code and the compression of the view of the container code.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the container handler is selected from the group consisting of:

a utility truck, a gantry crane, a quay crane, a side picker, a reach stacker, a top handler, a straddle carrier, and a chassis rotator.

10. An apparatus for reporting the status of a container handler, comprising:

a microcontroller controlled by a processor executing program instructions;

at least one sensing component coupled to the microcontroller and configured to sense a state of the container handler to create a sensed state of the container handler with respect to a characteristic of at least one of a container handler operator and a container manipulated by the container handler, wherein the characteristic of the container manipulated by the container handler comprises a location of the container relative to the container handler as derived from the sensed state of the container handler, and including a sensor component sensing a state of a structure comprising part of the container handler;

a wireless communication component coupled to the microcontroller and configured to transmit the sensed state of the container handle to a remote server, the wireless communication module using a serial wireless communications protocol and a wireless modulation-demodulation scheme;

a programmable logic controller coupled to the at least one sensor component, and configured to provide at least one member of a crane state list specifying a configuration of a structure element of the container handler; and

a memory coupled to the microcontroller and storing the program instructions to control the sensing component and the wireless communication component.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the container handler comprises a human operated device that moves the container within a deployment area, and is selected from the group consisting of:

a utility truck, a gantry crane, a quay crane, a side picker, a reach stacker, a top handler, a straddle carrier, and a chassis rotator.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the crane state list specifying a configuration of a structure element of the container handler, specifies a configuration of at least one of a twistlock interface and an spreader interface.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 further comprising a location determination component configured to wirelessly determine a location of the container handler relative to the deployment area, wherein the location is provided by one of:

a Global Positioning System, a Differential Global Positioning System, and timing signals from multiple antenna sites.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the wireless communication component comprises one of:

a radio-location tag unit supporting a defined radio communication standard, and a wireless modem.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the serial wireless communications protocol is selected from the group consisting of:

synchronous serial interface protocol, Ethernet protocol, serial peripheral interface, RS-232 interface, Inter-IC protocol, Universal Serial Bus protocol, Controller Area Network protocol, Firewire protocol, RS-485 protocol, and RS-422 protocol; and

wherein the wireless modulation-demodulation scheme is selected from the group consisting of;

Time Division Multiple Access, Frequency Division, Multiple Access, Code Division Multiple Access, Spread Spectrum scheme, frequency Hopping Multiple Access, and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the at least one sensing component is selected from the group consisting of:

an operator identity sensor, a container presence sensor, an optical container code sensor, a radio frequency tag sensor, a container stack height sensor, a container size sensor, a container weight sensor, a container size sensor, a fuel level sensor, a fifth wheel engage/disengage proximity sensor, and a container damage sensor.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the at least one sensing component comprises a container size sensor including an ultrasonic sonar sensor configured to detect the presence of the container in the container handler, and a distance to the container relative to boundaries of the container handler.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the at least one sensing component comprises sensors configured to sense characteristics of a spreader used to grasp the container, the spreader characteristics including a foot-width spread of the spreader selected from one of twenty foot, forty foot, and forty-five foot.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the at least one sensing component comprises sensors to sense characteristics of a vehicle used to move the container, the vehicle characteristics including fuel level, mileage, operational life, compass reading, reverse motion, and vehicle speed.

20. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the at least one sensing component comprises sensors to sense a height of a stack of one or more containers relative to the container handler, the stack height sensor including one of:

a draw wire encoder and a hollow shaft encoder.