Patent ID: 8226034

Claim:
An aircraft having a fuselage comprising an outer skin, said aircraft comprising: a cargo deck being adapted to receive loads and comprising a plurality of floor modules, which are fixed within the a cargo compartment and define said cargo deck, and a plurality of longitudinal profiles attached to ribs running about an inner circumference of the skin, the ribs connected to said outer skin, and wherein each of said floor modules comprises at least a first and a second transverse beam that extend across of a width of said cargo compartment, each end of said transverse beams resting on an upper surface of a respective one of said longitudinal profiles, each of said floor modules comprises a plurality of profile elements that extend in a longitudinal direction of said aircraft along a respective upper surface of at least one of said floor modules, said plurality of profile elements comprising at least one peripheral profile located at an edge region of the respective floor module proximate to said outer skin; and said at least one peripheral profile is connected to said outer skin by means of a plurality of intermediate elements such that forces in said longitudinal direction of said aircraft are transferred from said at least one peripheral profile to said outer skin, whereas forces perpendicular to said longitudinal direction of said aircraft are transferred to the ribs.