Cargo movement detection system

A system for detecting cargo movement inside a cargo compartment of a craft, such as a plane or vehicle. The cargo is mounted on pallets that in turn are transported within the cargo compartment on rails end kept in place by latch assemblies. An arm assembly is mounted to a fixed convenient location inside the compartment at its distal end attached to a suitable position on the cargo being monitored. At least two parallel arms are pivotally mounted to the fixed position at the distal end. One of the arms to pivotally mounted indirectly through plate members. The plate member pivotally mounted to the fixed end includes a magnetic element that moves in physical proximity to a magnetic field sensor. If the separation exceeds a predetermined magnitude, the sensor generates an output signal that is transmitted to the pilot or driver for the necessary measures to be taken.

BACKGROUND OR THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a system for detecting cargo movement in 
the cargo compartment of a craft. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
It has been documented that shifts in loads in the cargo compartments of 
airplanes are the cause of many accidents. These accidents can be 
prevented if the pilot is given a timely indication of what is happening 
so that corrective action can be taken. This can be accomplished with a 
reliable system that alerts the pilot to any movements above a 
predetermined dangerous level. No other system is known to applicant that 
can do this. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is one of the main objects of the present invention to provide a system 
for detecting cargo movement, in particular, when the movement is critical 
to the aircraft transporting the cargo. 
It is another object of this invention to provide such a system that can be 
readily adjusted to detect varying threshold magnitudes of movement to 
permit a pilot to take the pertinent measures in a timely fashion and 
ignore inconsequential movements. 
It is yet another object of this invention to provide such a device that is 
inexpensive to manufacture and maintain while retaining its effectiveness. 
Further objects of the invention will be brought out in the following part 
of the specification, wherein detailed description is for the purpose of 
fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings, where the present invention is generally 
referred to with numeral 10, it can be observed that it basically includes 
arm assembly 20 mounted to a fixed location inside a typical plane cargo 
compartment with the distal end 22' affixed to a point on cargo C being 
monitored. Rail assembly 60 on which cargo C is mounted on board or pallet 
members is typically found in cargo compartments of planes. 
FIG. 1 shows in general terms how arm assembly 20 is mounted to interior 
wall W at a relatively high location. FIG. 2 shows anchorage assembly 62 
found in conventional rail assemblies 60 to keep cargo C in place. 
Anchorage or latch assembly 62 is slidably mounted along rails 63, as seen 
in FIGS. 1 and 2. Assemblies 62 include fingers 65 that extend 
substantially horizontally above rail 63 and cooperate with pallet board 
members 67 over which cargo C rest. Arm assembly 20 includes fixed end 21' 
which in the preferred embodiment is mounted to interior wall W with 
fastening member 23, shown in FIG. 1, passing through openings 24, as best 
seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. 
Tying member 22 is, in the preferred embodiment, a plate with a 
substantially rectangular shape. On the periphery of member 22, C-shaped 
members 33 and 33' are mounted providing a cooperative structure for tying 
cords 50, as seen in FIG. 1. 
Assembly 20 is best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, at two positions. Assembly 20 
also includes distal end 22'. Plates 25 and 25' are perpendicularly and 
rigidly mounted to support assembly 21 and kept at a spaced apart 
relationship to each other hold axle 26 in between. Base plate member 27 
is journaled around axle 26 permitting the former to pivot about the 
latter. The distal end of base plate member 27 includes openings 28 and 
28' through which pivoting pins 29 and 29' are passed permitting arm 
members 30 and 30' to pivot about pins 29 and 29'. The other ends of 
members 30 and 30' include through openings 38 and 38', respectively, that 
with pin members 39 and 39' permit these other ends of members 30 and 30' 
to pivot. 
Arm member 30' (and it may have also been arm member 30) includes magnet 
holding plate 34 pivotally mounted to pin 29', as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. 
Magnet element 35 is mounted at the edge of plate 34 to achieve maximum 
linear movement for a given angular rotation. The other end of arm member 
30 includes locking plate 36 that includes locking mechanism 37. Mechanism 
37 permits a user to lock plate 36 at a particular fixed position with 
respect to arm 30'. Handle 32 is provided to facilitate the angular 
movement of plate 36. Thus, tying assembly 22 will have some flexibility 
as to where on cargo C (typically with irregular shapes) will be 
positioned. If arms 30 and 30' do not extend perpendicularly then the 
pertinent adjustment can be made, as shown in FIG. 4. 
When setting tying member 22 against cargo C, cords 50 are passed through 
C-shaped members 33 and 33' and suitable structural members on cargo C. 
Arm assembly 20 will not end up looking like what is represented in FIG. 3 
necessarily. A user may end up with arm assembly 20 in a position similar 
to the one represented in FIG. 4. Therefore, an adjustment is necessary. 
This is accomplished by rotating locking plate 36 sufficiently to cause 
magnet element 35 to be aligned with magnet sensor 40. This will then be 
the "stable" position for arm assembly 20. 
FIG. 5 shows the moved position of assembly 20 which includes tying member 
22 at its distal end. Arm member 31 is pivotally mounted to plates 34 and 
36 so that any movements of tying member 22 is transmitted to plate 34. 
The angular movement experienced by tying member 22 is transmitted through 
plate 36 and arm member 31 to plate 34 and if the angular movement of the 
latter is sufficient to affect the alignment of magnet element 35 with 
magnet sensor 40, the latter is activated producing an electrical signal 
output that is transmitted to the pilot's cockpit instruments. 
FIGS. 6a; 6b and 6c show the details of latching assembly 80. FIG. 6a shows 
housing 82 empty with Hall effect sensors 140 and 142 mounted on the 
bottom. FIG. 6b has latching mechanism 84 mounted inside housing 82. FIG. 
6c shows gripping member 86 used to hold cargo C in place along rail 
assembly 60. 
FIGS. 7; 8 and 9 show sensor housing 90 wherein sensors 140 and 142 are 
housed. Housing 90 is cooperatively positioned below latching assembly 80. 
Magnet sensor 40 may be implemented with a reed relay, Hall effect sensor, 
or equivalent, and one of the preferred embodiment is shown in FIG. 10. 
FIG. 10 shows a circuit used in conjunction with arm assembly 20 wherein a 
Hall effect sensors can be used to implement a device that produces 
electrical output when the movement of the cargo exceeds a predetermined 
magnitude. 
As it can be seen in FIG. 11, Hall effect sensors 140 and 142 can be used 
to implement a magnetic sensing device that generates an electrical output 
when a magnetic element is within or outside a predetermined distance. 
This electrical output can then be translated to a visual or aural alarm. 
The magnetic sensing device is mounted on the latching mechanism that 
keeps the pallets in place. A magnetic element is mounted on the movable 
component of the latch. 
The circuit on FIG. 10 senses a misalignment between magnet 35 and sensor 
40 when a displacement above a predetermined magnitude has been detected 
on cargo C where tying member 22 has been installed. 
State 1: Arm Aligned. (Green LED energized) State 2: Arm out of alignment 
caused by cargo movement (after initial alignment). (Red LED energized). 
For state 1 arm assembly is installed and adjusted to align the magnet 
element with the Hall effect magnetic sensor. 
The magnetic flux on the marking side of sensor 40 turns the output 
collector to a low reading, unbalancing the Weston bridge circuit composed 
by resistors R10, R20, R30, and R40. 
The difference on the potential between the R10-R20 junction and the 
R30-R40 junction will flow through current limiting resistor R50 to light 
up LED-110 on Green, showing that the arm is aligned in place. 
For state 2 a displacement of the load is detected by movement of tying 
member 22. 
Magnetic flux is removed from the sensor 40 or its intensity is not enough 
to activate it. The collector output of sensor 40 goes high. Voltage at 
the junction of R10-R20 will be higher than the voltage at the junction of 
R30-R40 causing the red LED-110 to turn on to alert that the cargo load 
had been displaced more than normal. 
##EQU1## 
Also, when the collector output of sensor 40 goes high, R60 and R70 will 
provide the bias to turn transistor Q1 on, changing the output from high 
to low. This collector output is the logic output. R80 limit the current 
delivery at the logic output A. 
A is a logic output used to send data to remote display units in the 
aircraft cockpit. 
The circuit on FIG. 11 senses three different states for latch in assembly 
80. 
State 1: Latching assembly 80 not in place. (LED OFF). 
State 2: Latching assembly 80 in place with gripping member 86 down. (Red 
LED ON). 
State 3: Latch in place with latching mechanism raised and in locked 
position. (Green LED ON). 
The different states of latching assembly 80 are also monitored by the 
pilot. This monitoring is implemented in the preferred embodiment with the 
circuit represented in FIG. 11. 
Two Hall effect sensors (140 and 142) are positioned in a way that a north 
pole of the magnet 135 will bias the sensor from the opposite side of the 
marking surfaces. This arrangement permits a maximum sensitivity for the 
sensors on the marking surface that will detect and complete the magnetic 
flux when the metallic latch assembly 80 is locked turning on sensor 140, 
and when the latch is raised activating sensor 142. 
With respect to the circuit shown in FIG. 11, Q4 is a NPN silicone 
switching transistor. R4 provides collector working voltage, R1 provides 
voltage to the open collector output of the sensor 140. R2 and R3 provide 
bias voltage for base of Q4. 
In state 1, that is, no latch assembly 80 in place, Q4 is ON due to R1, R2, 
R3 voltage divider that bias the transistor at 0.7 volts. Collector output 
X is low (voltage near zero volts in saturation). With this condition, 
sensor 142 will not have operating voltage (Pin 1) and switching 
transistors Q2 and Q3 will be OFF. R7 and R8 make a voltage divider that 
provides bias for both transistor bases. Since, at this stage, Q4 is ON 
and collector voltage is low, there will be zero voltage for both Q2 and 
Q3 base. 
Resistors R5, R6, R9, R12 and transistors Q2 and Q3 form a Weston bridge 
circuit. At state 1, Q2 and Q3 are OFF, the negative side of the bridge 
(R6 and R9) is open and there will be no voltage between points Y and Z 
and LED-102 will be OFF showing no latch in place condition. 
State 2 corresponds to setting gripping members 86 after assembly 80 is 
placed on the rail. 
The metal gripping members 86 complete the magnetic flux flow through 
sensor 140. Collector output of the sensor will change from high to low, 
removing bias on transistor Q4; changing the collector output from low to 
high; now, R4 will provide working voltage to sensor 142 and R7 will have 
voltage that will be applied to the bases of Q2 and Q3, turning both ON, 
completing the Weston bridge circuit to the negative side of the working 
voltage; and, since the latching arm is down, a magnetic flux will 
energize sensor 142, changing the collector output from high to low. The 
connection from collector to voltage divider R5 and R6 is part of the 
Weston bridge. The condition low on sensor 142 collector, will develop a 
voltage difference between X and Y that will be applied through current 
limiting resistor R11 to LED-102. Voltage polarity on the LED-102 will 
turn LED ON (Red), at this time, showing state 2 (griping members 86 in 
place) but not securing loaded pallet. The values of the resistors will 
respond to the following formula: 
##EQU2## 
In state 3 the latching mechanism 84 is raised to secure a pallet, magnetic 
flux is removed from sensor 142. Sensor 142 collector output will change 
to high, voltage will increase at R6 resistor, unbalancing the bridge and 
reversing the polarity between X and Y. This condition will energize the 
green LED-102 to show a latch is in place and latching mechanism is raised 
and in locked position. 
Outputs X, Y, and Z are logic outputs to be used to send data info to the 
remote display unit at the aircraft cockpit. 
Sensor housing 90 shows in FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 houses Hall effect sensors 140 
and 142, cooperatively positioned adjacent to and below latching assembly 
80. Depending on the state (present, latched or unlatched) of assembly 80, 
sensors 140 and 142 are activated or not. 
The foregoing description conveys the best understanding of the objectives 
and advantages of the present invention. Different embodiments may be made 
of the inventive concept of this invention. It is to be understood that 
all matter disclosed herein is to be interpreted merely as illustrative, 
and not in a limiting sense.