Grid rail container transport and storage system

A grid rail container handling and storage system for operation at a terminal, servicing the loading and unloading of containers, comprising:

• (a) a high density container storage yard having an overhead grid rail system providing access to storage locations in the yard, in which the containers are stacked on top of one another up to four containers high to define a plurality of stacks of containers, said stacks being aligned side by side to form a plurality of rows of containers with a plurality of rails aligned over said rows and extending substantially perpendicular to the lengths of the individual containers, said grid rail system providing a plurality of overhead access rails to different locations in the yard, and a plurality of passive overhead rail switches located at different junctions of the access rails;
• (b) a loading and unloading buffer means for the container storage yard, said buffer means having a first loading container handling means and a second unloading container handling means, with said grid rail system providing at least one overhead access rail extending to said loading and unloading buffer means to service either said first or second container handling means with a single container transfer;
• (c) a crane means for loading and unloading containers from or to said buffer means to or from a mode of transportation, said crane means obtaining containers to be loaded from said first container handling means, and depositing containers to be unloaded on said second container handling means;
• and
• (d) a plurality of shuttle vehicles for movement on said overhead grid rail system to different locations in the container storage yard, with said overhead grid rail system supporting the shuttle vehicles at a height to enable the shuttle vehicles to travel above a stack of four containers, each shuttle vehicle having an overhead container spreader bar mounted therebelow for releasably grasping a container, and a rotatable container hoisting and lowering means coupled to said container spreader bar, such that the shuttle vehicle can grasp, hoist and lower containers and can rotate a container to and from a storage yard position wherein the length of the container is perpendicular to an overhead access rail from or to a position wherein the length of the container is parallel to an overhead access rail for transportation therealong by a shuttle vehicle and each shuttle vehicle further having an active track switching mechanism for selectively switching through said passive overhead rail switches.