Loading device for ISO containers

A method for operating a loading device for ISO containers in a container terminal of the type comprising a container bridge for the loading and unloading of ships and for the automated incoming and outgoing transfer of the containers by means of automatic guided vehicles, said container bridge having a seaward support and a landward support, said device comprising a circular track on said container bridge to the rear of said landward support with respect to said seaward support, a crane bridge supported on said circular track and rotatable about a central axis, a trolley which can travel on said crane bridge for transporting a spreader for positioning an ISO container suspended from said spreader so that twistlocks thereon can be installed and removed by workers on a platform suspended from said trolley, said platform having long sides which face the path of a container being lowered, and a lifting device suspended from said trolley, said lifting device comprising a base frame and a lifting frame mounted underneath the base frame, said method comprising

• lowering a container suspended from the spreader into the shaft-like base frame,
• connecting the container to the lifting frame,
• raising the lifting frame slightly,
• releasing the container from the spreader,
• retracting the spreader,
• pivoting the long sides of the platform to a horizontal working position,
• detaching the twistlocks from the container,
• pivoting the long sides of the platform to a vertical waiting position,
• maneuvering the container, together with the lifting frame and the platform, to a transfer position by a 90 degree rotation of the crane bridge about the vertical axis and simultaneous travel of the trolley,
• lowering the lifting frame and the container to a transport vehicle on one of three loading tracks,
• releasing the container from the lifting frame, and
• raising the lifting frame back to the bottom of the base frame.