Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6893200?ie=ISO-8859-1
Timestamp: 2014-11-23 01:30:03
Document Index: 705774478

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 7', 'art 7', 'art 8', 'art 8', 'art 7', 'art 8', 'art 8', 'art 8', 'arts 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7']

Patent US6893200 - Apparatus for loading and unloading aircrafts - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsAn apparatus for loading and unloading aircrafts comprises a tiltable first conveyor part (7) adjustable in height and provided with a conveyor path (11) advancing and removing luggage (59), such as suitcases, parcels and the like cargo items, to and from the apparatus. The apparatus comprises further...http://www.google.com/patents/US6893200?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6893200 - Apparatus for loading and unloading aircraftsAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6893200 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/406,313Publication dateMay 17, 2005Filing dateApr 4, 2003Priority dateJan 11, 2000Fee statusPaidAlso published asCA2396198A1, CA2396198C, CA2640645A1, CA2640645C, CN1162303C, CN1396877A, DE60104280D1, DE60104280T2, DE60118043D1, DE60118043T2, DE60133327D1, DE60133327T2, EP1248726A1, EP1248726B1, EP1273517A2, EP1273517A3, EP1273517B1, EP1666357A1, EP1666357B1, US7033125, US7156604, US20030049107, US20030091415, US20030161707, US20040105740, WO2001051356A1Publication number10406313, 406313, US 6893200 B2, US 6893200B2, US-B2-6893200, US6893200 B2, US6893200B2InventorsLars Th�gersenOriginal AssigneeRasn A/SExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (33), Non-Patent Citations (2), Referenced by (8), Classifications (10), Legal Events (5) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetApparatus for loading and unloading aircraftsUS 6893200 B2Abstract An apparatus for loading and unloading aircrafts comprises a tiltable first conveyor part (7) adjustable in height and provided with a conveyor path (11) advancing and removing luggage (59), such as suitcases, parcels and the like cargo items, to and from the apparatus. The apparatus comprises further a second conveyor part (8) extendable from the first conveyor part and being adapted to be moved through an opening in the aircraft and into the cargo compartment of said aircraft. This second conveyor part (8) comprises a conveyor path advancing or removing the luggage to or from the storing site inside the cargo compartment. The second conveyor part (8) comprises a plurality of pivotally interconnected conveyor units (30, 31) with their respective activatable conveyor paths and their respective sets of wheels (44).
1. A conveyor for loading and unloading a cargo compartment of an aircraft,
said conveyor having a first end and a second end, said conveyor including a succession of conveyor units arranged between said first end and said second end, for conveying said cargo towards said first end from said second end, and vice versa, said conveyor units being mutually interconnected by means of coupling members that allow for a mutual pivotal movement of said conveyor units about an essentially vertical axis and for a mutual pivotal movement of said conveyor units about an essentially horizontal axis, said conveyor units comprising a frame, wheels mounted along two opposite sides of said frame, for supporting said conveyor unit, at least one endless conveyor belt for conveying said cargo along said conveyor unit, said at least one endless conveyor belt being arranged between said wheels at the level of said wheels, and at least two rollers mounted on said frame, said at least one endless conveyor belt extending around said rollers, at least one of said rollers driving said at least one conveyor belt. 2. A conveyor according to claim 1 wherein rubber units are placed between said conveyor units for aligning said conveyor units when said conveyor units are not subjected to any forces seeking to pivot said conveyor units about one of said axes, said rubber units including a channel.
3. A conveyor according to claim 1, said at least one conveyor belt having a width and extending around said rollers to define an extension perpendicular to said width along which extension said cargo is conveyed, said width of said conveyor belt being greater than said extension perpendicular to said width.
4. A conveyor according to claim 1, said conveyor units being releasably interconnectable.
5. A conveyor according to claim 1, operatively extendable from a vehicle.
6. An apparatus for loading and unloading a cargo compartment of an aircraft,
said apparatus comprising a vehicle and a conveyor carried thereon in an extractable relation, said conveyor having a first end and a second end and comprising a succession of individual conveyor units arranged between said first end and said second end, for conveying said cargo towards said first end from said second end, and vice versa, said conveyor units being mutually interconnected in an end-to-end relation by means of coupling members that allow for a mutual pivotal movement of said conveyor units about an essentially vertical axis and for a mutual pivotal movement of said conveyor units about an essentially horizontal axis, said conveyor units comprising a frame, wheels mounted along two opposite sides of said frame and supporting said conveyor unit on said vehicle, at least one endless conveyor belt for conveying said cargo along said conveyor unit, said at least one endless conveyor belt being arranged between said wheels at the level of said wheels, and at least two rollers mounted on said frame, said at least one endless conveyor belt extending around said rollers, at least one of said rollers driving said at least one conveyor belt. 7. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein rubber units are placed between said conveyor units for aligning said conveyor units when said conveyor units are not subjected to any forces seeking to pivot said conveyor units about one of said axes, said rubber units including a channel.
8. An apparatus according to claim 6, said at least one conveyor belt having a width and extending around said rollers to define an extension perpendicular to said width along which extension said cargo is conveyed, said width of said conveyor belt being greater than said extension perpendicular to said width.
9. An apparatus according to claim 1, said conveyor units being releasably interconnectable.
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/169,361, filed Oct. 23, 2002 which is a 371 of PCT/DK01/00012, filed Jan. 10, 2001.
TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to an apparatus for loading and unloading aircrafts, where said apparatus comprises a tiltable first conveyor part adjustable in height and comprising a conveyor path advancing and removing luggage, such as suitcases, parcels and the like cargo items, to and from a second conveyor part connected to and being extend able from said first conveyor part, where said second conveyor part is adapted to be extended into the aircraft through an opening therein and into the cargo compartment of said aircraft, and where said second conveyor part comprises a conveyor path advancing and removing the luggage to or from the storing site inside the cargo compartment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to provide an apparatus, which presents a relatively simple structure, and which allows a relatively easy advancing and removal of cargo items into and out of the cargo compartment of an aircraft while ensuring an easy and continuous movement of said cargo items.
In this connection the conveyor flap may according to the invention at the front end farthest away from the pivoting location be provided with a conveyor front member also being hingedly journalled, and which can be set with a desired inclination relative to the advancing plane of the conveyor flap by means of its own driving means.
As a result the operator can place the front member in a plane suited for the most advantageous path in and out of a stack of the cargo item in question.
According to the invention each conveyor unit may comprise an endless conveyor belt driven by a driving roller and one or more additional rollers, which are all carried by a frame, said frame in turn being supported by a wheel-carrying support member. The resulting conveyor unit is particularly simple.
The conveyor flap of the front conveyor unit may according to the invention, be formed by the frame and the associated conveyor belt and be pivotally journalled on the wheel-carrying support member, and the driving means thereof may be a plurality of electrically driven actuators. As a result, the front conveyor unit can in a simple manner be moved forwards and backwards inside a cargo compartment although the conveyor flap is arranged with an inclination relative to the floor of said cargo compartment.
Moreover, the conveyor flap may according to the invention project a distance beyond the associated support member when seen in the conveying direction of the second conveyor part during the loading, and according to the invention the conveyor flap may at its front end or the conveyor front member be provided with wheels for supporting said conveyor flap and said conveyor front member when they are in the flapped down position. As a result, an operator can easily find room below the conveyor flap for his legs when said conveyor flap is placed in an inclined position.
However, when the conveyor front member is flapped down the wheels of said conveyor front member ensure that the flap is supported and can be easily handled together with the remaining conveyor units.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The apparatus of FIG. 1 comprises a vehicle designated the general reference numeral 1 and provided with a cab 2 and a platform 3. The cab 2 is of a width corresponding to approximately half the width of the platform 3. Next to the cab 2, the vehicle 1 is provided with a ramp 4 tiltably arranged in a manner not described in greater detail. This ramp 4 can be positioned with a suitable inclination relative to the platform 3 of the vehicle 1 by means of an actuator 5. The ramp 4 extends substantially across the entire length of the vehicle 1, the front end 6 of said ramp being positioned in the area around the front side of the cab 2.
The ramp 4 carries a first conveyor part designated the general reference numeral 7, and a second conveyor part 7 designated the general reference numeral 8. The first conveyor part 7 comprises an endless conveyor belt 9 shown in detail in FIGS. 1 to 4 where parts of the four sides of the ramp have been removed for the sake of clarity. At the rear end of the ramp 4, this endless conveyor belt 9 runs from a lower path 10 to an upper path 11 or vice versa through a rear turning member 12 which is provided with a plurality of rollers 13,14 and 15. At its front end, the upper path 11 ends at a redirecting member designated the general reference numeral 16, cf. also FIGS. 6 and 7. The redirecting member 16 comprises two interconnected rollers 17 and 18 redirecting the conveyor belt 9 to an intermediate path 19 continuing forwards towards the front end 6 of the ramp parallel to the upper path 11, but on a level there below. This intermediate path 19 ends at a front turning member designated the general reference numeral 20 and comprising a single roller 21. The conveyor belt 9 returns to the lower path 10 through the latter single roller 21, said lower path 10 extending parallel to the upper path 11 and the intermediate path 19.
As shown in particular in FIGS. 6 and 7, the redirecting member 16 is by means of a U-shaped bracket 22 connected to the rear end of the second conveyor part 8 when seen in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 1. As the bracket 22 simultaneously engages suitable guides not shown in greater detail along the sides 23 and 24 of the ramp 4, cf. FIG. 6, the reciprocating movement of the second conveyor part 8 relative to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 1 implies that the redirecting member 16 follows said movement in such a manner that the upper conveyor path 11 of the first conveyor part 7 is of an increasing or decreasing length in response to the position of the rear end of the second conveyor part 8. Within the intermediate path 19, the conveyor belt 9 is supported by a supporting plate 25, cf. FIG. 7, through suitable means (not shown) for reducing the friction.
Within the upper path 11, the conveyor belt 9 is supported by a supporting means 26 comprising a high number of interconnected lamellas 27, said lamellas being hingedly interconnected along the longitudinal side farthest away from the conveyor belt 9.
At one end, this supporting means 26 is connected to the redirecting member 16 in such a manner that it follows the movement of said redirecting member 16. In addition, the supporting means is adapted to move from a position immediately adjacent the lower path 10 to a position below the upper path 11 through the rear end adjacent the turning member 12 of said supporting plate 25 in such a manner that the number of lamellas in the supporting state below the upper path 11 corresponds substantially to the entire length of the upper path 11. If necessary, the movement from one side to the opposite side of the supporting plate can be facilitated by means of guides not shown in greater detail. In addition, the end of the supporting means 26 farthest away from the redirecting member 16 can also be connected to said redirecting member through conventionally known means in such a manner that the end in question is subjected to a tractive force when the redirecting member 16 is moved downwards towards the rearmost turning member 12. The second conveyor part 8 comprises a plurality of conveyor units 30, which all are substantially identical apart from the front conveyor unit 31. All the conveyor units 30 comprise a continuous belt 32, cf. FIG. 15, driven around suitable rollers 33,34 and 35. These rollers are journalled in a frame 36 arranged on a support member 37.
The support member 37 is arranged on rollers 44. The conveyor units 30,31 are interconnected by means of flexible coupling means which allow said conveyor units to be mutually turned both in the horizontal and in the vertical direction and be mutually displaced a short distance in the same directions. The coupling means are surrounded by bellow-shaped tubes 38 of rectangular cross sections and with circumferential waves. The frames 36 and the support members 37 are made of a suitable plastic material. The coupling means are furthermore adapted in a manner not described in greater detail to releasably couple the conveyor units 30,31 together in such a manner that said conveyor units are easily replaceable. In addition, the bellow-shaped tube 38 surrounding the coupling means provides an easy access to passage of a main distributing system with associated coupling equipment with the result that the individual conveyor units 30,31 can be supplied with the desired energy, such as electric current in an easy manner. As mentioned above, the rear-most conveyor unit 30 is connected to the redirecting member 16 of the first conveyor part. The conveyor units are further provided with such a height that the conveying plane thereof, i.e. the upper side of the conveyor belts 32, flushes with the upper path 11 of the endless conveyor belt 9, cf.
Handles 47 and 48 are accommodated on the side of the frame 41 of the conveyor flap 39. These handles 47 and 48 allow an operator to manoeuvre the second conveyor part 8. These handles 47 and 48 are in addition adapted to be used as control means such a manner that by a suitable turning of said handles the operator can activate or actuate the various driving means not shown of the first and the second conveyor parts 7,8.
As illustrated in FIG. 8, the bridge member 50 is positioned directly below the front conveyor unit 31 when said conveyor unit is in the retracted state on the ramp. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the bridge member is moved forwards and through the opening 51 together with the front conveyor unit 31. This inward movement is carried out at the same time as the inclination of the ramp 4 is adjusted so as to mate the floor 54 of the cargo compartment 52. When the bridge member has been positioned so as to rest on the floor 54 inside the cargo compartment 52, the front conveyor unit is lifted outwards to one side or the opposite side of said bridge member 50 in such a manner that from this position it can be pulled backwards or pushed forwards inside said cargo compartment together with the subsequent conveyor units 30. Such a control or guiding of the front conveyor unit 31 and the succeeding conveyor units 30 is enhanced by a raised platform 55 with suitably shaped guiding sides 56 and 57, said conveyor units 30 and 31 sliding against said guiding sides during their movement.
Suitable means not shown couple and uncouple the bridge member to and from the front conveyor unit 31 in such a manner that together with said conveyor unit 31 the bridge member can be moved into and out of the opening 51 of the cargo compartment 52.
FIG. 24 illustrates a third embodiment of the invention. Here the conveyor path of the first conveyor part 7 is formed by a first endless conveyor belt 110 mounted above the path of the conveyor units 70 between a compartment 111 and the bridge member 105. The first conveyor part 7 comprises furthermore a front conveying means with a second continuous belt 112, and which in front tapers in such a manner that the cargo items being handled pass in a relatively easy manner to and from the first endless conveyor belt of the first conveyor part 7. As indicated in FIG. 24, rails 113 are provided in the compartment 111, and the conveyor units 70 can run on said rails by means of the wheels 76 while the endless conveyor belts face downwards.
The moving of the conveyor units 70 to and from the compartment is carried out by means of a driving, endless conveyor belt 114 which co-operates with the bottom side of the conveyor units 70 in a suitable manner, such as by way of friction.
The invention has been described for use in connection with an aircraft but can, of course, also be used in other situations where similar circumstances apply.
Instead of lamellas 27, the supporting means 26 can also be provided with rollers, and the conveyor units 30,31 can be adapted to slide in suitable guides on the sides of the ramp 4 instead of resting on their own wheels as long as they are positioned on said ramp 4.
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BOX 150KASTRUP,Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:RAMPSNAKE A/S /AR;REEL/FRAME:015950/0161RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google