Patent ID: 7604204

Claim:
A loading device for the at least partially automated loading and unloading of cargo units in a cargo hold comprising a floor space of a transport equipment, the loading device comprising: a first conveying system for positioning a cargo unit in a longitudinal direction of the floor space of the cargo hold and a second conveying system for positioning the cargo unit on the floor space in a second direction transverse to the longitudinal direction, each conveying system comprising a housing and at least one sensor arranged in the housing; at least one guiding element for guiding conveyance of a cargo unit by the first conveying system and the second conveying system; at least one movement aid for enabling positioning of the cargo unit, the movement aid being located in the floor space of the cargo hold; the loading device is formed and operable so as at least partially to turn the cargo unit around a vertical axis of the cargo unit; the at least one sensor operates to detect a presence of the cargo unit in an area of the conveying system without contact between the at least one sensor and the cargo unit; the at least one sensor is further operable to determine and acquire as measurement data, a position and a velocity of the cargo unit on the floor space in at least two spatial dimensions without contact between the at least one sensor and the cargo unit; and a controller for the conveying system, the controller operable to receive the measurement data from the at least one sensor and to actuate independently one or both of the first conveying system and the second conveying system according to the measurement data to move the cargo unit.