Vessel to dock cargo transfer apparatus

Claim 1

Cargo handling apparatus for transferring containers of cargo between a dock and a vessel and comprising: a transfer frame mounted on said dock and formed with an upstanding open top elevator tower defining an elevator shaft, said tower being formed in its side facing said ship with a vertically elongated topless doorway for passage therethrough of such containers, said frame being further formed adjacent the bottom of said tower with a laterally projecting accumulator frame; elevator means mounted in said tower and formed with at least one upwardly facing container support means for receiving such containers and operative to be raised between an elevated container transfer level and a lower accumulator level; accumulator conveyor means mounted on said accumulator frame at said accumulator level for receipt of multiple ones of said containers for accumulation thereof; an overhead boom mounted on said dock and projecting horizontally over said tower and said vessel to define therebelow a pathway leading from said vessel through said topless doorway and over said container support means; a trolley mounted on said boom for travel thereon between said tower and said vessel; hoist means on said trolley, including deployable cable means suspending container grabbing means for grabbing said containers, said hoist means being operable to raise and lower said container grabber means concurrent with travel of said trolley along said pathway to pass through said topless doorway to transfer such containers from various levels on said ship directly onto said upwardly facing support means; and drive means for driving said trolley along said boom, raising and lowering said hoist and raising and lowering said container support means in said tower and for driving said conveyor means whereby said drive means may be actuated to drive said trolley means along said boom to be positioned over containers loaded on said vessel, said hoist actuated to lower said grabber means onto a container, said grabbing means actuated to grab said container and, said hoist means actuated to raise said container as said trolley is driven along said boom carrying said container along said pathway and through said topless doorway for deposit directly on said container support means which is lowered by said drive means to said accumulator level for transfer to said accumulator conveyor means.