| 摘要 |
A cargo container storage and retrieval system and method. One embodiment of a system according to the present invention includes a vessel having cargo hold with a plurality of bulkheads disposed along a width of the cargo hold to define a plurality of adjacent cells along a length of the cargo hold. The vessel also includes a deck having a plurality of hatch openings that are used to gain access to the cargo hold (16). In addition, the vessel includes a storage and retrieval system having a plurality of sets of parallel spaced tracks and a plurality of chassis seats disposed within each set of parallel space tracks. Each track of each set of parallel spaced tracks is mounted to a surface of a bulkhead of opposing bulkheads so that one set of parallel space tracks is disposed within each cell along the length of the cargo hold and so that a plurality of sets of parallel spaced tracks are disposed within each tier of the cargo. Each chassis seat has corresponding wheels that move along a corresponding set of parallel spaced tracks to provide a plurality of chassis seats along the width of the cargo hold for each set of parallel spaced tracks within each tier. Each chassis seat is equipped to hold a standardised cargo container. In addition, each set of parallel space d tracks has an empty space of one chassis seat width. The storage and retrieval system also includes a plurality of carriage tracks wherein each carriage track runs along a length of the deck of the cargo vessel. In addition, the storage and retrieval system includes at leas t one carriage assembly (12) having correponding wheels that move along the carriage tracks (13) along the deck. The main deck of the car go vessel also has an empty space corresponding to one carriage assembly length so that the at least one carriage assembly may be moved along the length of the deck of the cargo vessel to gain access to any hatch opening in the deck and to the cargo hold of the cargo vessel.
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