Patent EA-001289-B1 (EA)
Title: Cargo container storage and retrieval system and method including an on deck carriage assembly
IPC: B63B25/00
Filed: 1998-07-10
Abstract: 1. A vessel, comprising: a cargo hold having 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 cargo hold also having a plurality of tiers within a depth of the cargo hold; a deck having a plurality of hatch openings to gain access to the cargo hold of the vessel; and a storage and retrieval system including: a plurality of sets of parallel spaced tracks, each track of each set of parallel spaced tracks being mounted to a surface of a bulkhead of opposing bulkheads so that one set of parallel spaced tracks is disposed within each cell and so that a plurality of sets of parallel spaced tracks are disposed within each tier of the plurality of tiers; a plurality of chassis seats disposed within each set of parallel spaced tracks, each chassis seat having corresponding wheels that move along a corresponding set of parallel spaced tracks to comprise 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 being equipped to hold a standardized cargo container; each set of parallel spaced tracks having an empty space of one chassis seat width so that the chassis seats may be moved along the corresponding set of parallel spaced tracks and so that the standardized cargo container may be stored at or retrieved from any chassis seat position within any tier of the cargo hold of the vessel; a plurality of carriage tracks, each carriage track running along a length of the deck; at least one carriage assembly having corresponding wheels that move along the carriage tracks along the deck, the at lest one carriage assembly including a plurality of tiers wherein each tier includes a set of parallel spaced tracks that run along a width of the at least one carriage assembly so that one set of parallel spaced tracks is disposed within each tier within the at least one carriage assembly; a plurality of chassis seats disposed within each set of parallel spaced tracks within each tier of the at least one carriage assembly, each chassis seat having corresponding wheels that move along the corresponding set of parallel spaced tracks to comprise a plurality of chassis seats along the width of the carriage assembly within each tier, each chassis seat being equipped to hold a standardized cargo container; and each tier of the at least one carriage assembly having an empty space of one chassis seat width so that the plurality of chassis seats may be moved along the corresponding set of parallel spaced tracks within each tier so that the standardized cargo container may be stored at or retrieved from any chassis seat position within any tier of the at least one carriage assembly; and the main deck having an empty space corresponding to one carriage assembly length so that the at least one carriage assembly may be moved along the deck of the cargo vessel to gain access to any hatch opening and to the cargo hold of the cargo vessel. 2. The vessel as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a mobile gantry crane to carry the standardized cargo containers and to place or remove the standardized cargo containers in the any chassis seat position within the any tier of the cargo hold and the at least one carriage assembly. 3. The vessel as claimed in claim 2, wherein the mobile gantry crane is equipped with twist lock receptacles that engage corresponding twist locks on the standardized cargo containers to hold the standardized cargo containers. 4. The storage and retrieval system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each chassis seat is provided with at least one opening that mates with a corresponding twist lock of a standardized cargo container. 5. The storage and retrieval system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each chassis seat is provided with a motor assembly disposed within the chassis seat to drive the chassis seat along the corresponding set of parallel spaced tracks. 6. The storage and retrieval system as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a remote control that may be used to select any chassis seat and move a selected chassis seat along the corresponding set of parallel spaced tracks. 7. The storage and retrieval system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each chassis seat includes at least one twist lock that mates with a twist lock of an adjacent chassis seat so that the chassis seats may be locked together within each set of parallel spaced tracks.