CONTAINER STORAGE SYSTEMS

摘要

A container storage system is provided comprising a storage area (10) and a support framework (13, 14, 15 and 16), the storage area having a longitudinal axis (11) with a shorter transverse axis (12). An overhead crane (18) is mounted on the support framework, and at least one vehicle roadway (19) extends substantially parallel to the transverse axis (12) of the storage area (10). The overhead crane (18) is moveable on the support framework to remove containers from a vehicle on the roadway and deposit the containers for storage in the storage area, and to subsequently replace containers on a vehicle after storage. The invention substantially reduces the amount of space taken up by roadways compared to known systems, in which the roadways extend longitudinally through storage areas.