CA1138831A - Cargo handling system especially for large capacity aircraft - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTION

CARGO HANDLING SYSTEM ESPECIALLY FOR LARGE CAPACITY
AIRCRAFT

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present cargo handling system is suitable for loading and unloading large capacity aircraft and similar longitudinally extending cargo compartments with a side entry at one end. Longitudinal roller conveyors and omni-direction ball bearing mats are combined with a plurality of roll-over container guiding and locking mechanisms distributed and mounted over the base, side walls and loading door of the cargo compartment. The guiding and locking mechanisms operate according to a roll-over mode for low friction bearing or supporting and guiding of containers and palletized loads during the loading operation, and according to a locking mode for preventing containers from rolling back and for constraining any motion of the load. Arrangements for manual, semiautomatic, and fully automatic operation of the cargo handling system are described.

Description

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1 BACKG~OUND OF T~E INVENTION:

The invention relates to a cargo handling system for "below~the-floor" compartments for example in large aircraft for the loading and unloading with containers and palletized loads. Such systems comprise installed roller conveyors, ball bearing mats, bearing rollers and braking rollers, and the associated driving means.
All types of loads will be referred to as load items herein.

Cargo loading systems d~signed for a fully automatic operation are known as such These conventional car~o loading systems in the below-the-floor compartments of large aircxat are constructed for a single -type of loading and securing and leave no opportunity to adapt the loading system to special requirements or to carry out the loading in a given time wi~hout ~reat expense.

Further~ore, known systems have the disadvantage, -that they are relatively complicated to operate; and they are, with regard to construction and arrangement, rather troublesome, because of their complexity. In addition, there are no on-board weighing devices associa-ted with these systems, so that an optimal determination of the center of gravity of the large capacity aircraft is not possible.

OBJECTS OF TME INVENTION:

In view of the above it is the aim of the invention to achieve the ~ollowing objects singly or in combination:

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1 to avoid the above disadvantages of the prior art, more specificallyJ to provide a cargo loading and unloading system for below-the-floor cargo compartments in large capacity aircrat or the loading of containers and palletsl which system includes installed roller con-veyors, ball bearing mats, support rollers and braking rollers, and the assoc.iated driving means, whereby the system shall be manually operable, while simultaneously being convertible for semiautomatic or fully automatic operation by means of a selective coordination of elec-trical and electronic components, whereby the construction and function o~ the mechanical locking components shall remain unchanged;

to operatively combine the electrical components with the mechanical locking members;

to construct all locking members so that they may be operated by a foot pedal or the like;

to combine an on-board weighiny apparatus with the loading system;

to control each locking member by a respective solenoid wherein the release of the locking member is accomplished by the cargo carrier itself, and, if desired, the locked position is indicated by visible and/or acous-tical means with the aid of light barriers and limit switches of a control device;

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1 to arrange a weighiny apparatus including weight sensors in the region of the ball bearing mats whereby the weighing apparatus is operatively connected to said ball bearing matsi to provide a control panel or unit for the semi-automatic or fully automatic loading system, with push buttons and multi-position s~itches;

to construct the control panel or unit so that a computer or microprocessor is detachably associated with the control panel or unit in a plug-in manner;

to construct the loading door locking means as longitudi~al guide membexs and as a safety-device against roll-out;

. to use in~ra-red light barriers (20) which switch without a reflecting mirror;

to provide a cargo handling system ~or large capacity airc~a~t car~o compartments and similar longi-tudinal or elongate cargo compartments which have a loading door at the side and at one end, more specifically, the present system shall be robust and fully compatable with rough cargo handling conditions;

to provide a cargo loading and unloading system for elongate cargo compartments equipped with antifriction bearing means for the con~eying of containers and pallet-ized loads during the loading and unloading process and ~3~

1 which also prevents the rolling back of the containers and pallets and constrains movement of the loads when they have been conveyed to the desired intermediate and final pos.itions in the cargo compartment;

to permit the use o omni-directional anti-friction bearing means and the handling of containers and pallets upon entry through the loading door so that the unit loads can be arranged in position for longitudi-nal con~eyance into multiple rows and so that half load containers can be similarly positioned in longitudinal rows along the length of the cargo compartments; and to provide a flexible and adaptable cargo handling system, particularly suitable for the require-ments o~ large aircrat cargo compartments for an optimal arxan~ement and positioning o$ containers and palletized loads in a safe manner and with an optimal wei~ht dis-tribution relative to the center of gravity determinat:ion of an aircraft.

SUMMARY O~ THE INUENTION:

According to the present invention there is provided a cargo handling system suitable for loading and unloading containers and palletized loads in large, longitudinally extending cargo compartments defined by longitudinally extending base and side walls, end walls, and a loading door in a side wall of the elongate cargo compartment.
A plurality of roller conveyors, ball bearing mats are mounted alon~ the base of the cargo compartment for 1 longitudinally conveying of containers and palletized loads along the length of the cargo compartment. The roller con-veyors or ball mats assure a low friction conveying of the loads. Braking rollers prevent the rolling back of a load item during loading. While the roller conveyors per-mit longitudinal motion of containers and loads, a ball bearing mat is mounted on the base of the cargo compart-ment at the end in the loading door region and is adapted for support and movement of the cargo in all directions during loading. Thus, the ball hearing mat permits low fxiction cross~ise entry of containers and pallets through the loading door and then movement in a longitudinal direc-tion to the roller conveyor ~or positioning in one or more rows along the length of the cargo compartment.

In the pre~erred embodiment the invention provides a pluralit~ of roll-over container guiding and locking mechanisms distributed and mounted along the base and side walls of the cargo compartment and also around the sides and threshold of the loading door. These roll-over container guiding and locking members are constructed and arranged for operation according to two modes. One mode is a roll-over mode for low friction support and guiding of a load item during the loading operation. The second mode is a locking mode for preventing a load item from rolling back during the loading operation and for con-straining motion of the loads when they have been posi-tioned at desired intermediate and final locations in the cargo compartment.

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1 The invention also provides means for selectively actuating a plurality of said roll-over container guiding and locking mechanisms between the locking and roll-over modes during the loading operation.

~ccording to one aspect of ~he invention, selective actu-ation of the roll-over container guiding and locking mechanisms between the locking and roll-over modes is achieved manually or by a ~oot operated mechanism. Further-more, the guiding and locking mechanisms are construc-ted for actuation into one or the other mode b~ a load item passing over or passing by the guiding and locking mechanism.
The lo~ friction guiding and locking mechanism may also be controlled automatically and semiautomaticall~ as hereaEter described.

For a semiautoma-tic operation of the cargo handling system, electric drive means are mounted in the base of a cargo compartment. Some of the drive means are oriented for an automated crosswise conveyin~ of a load item across the end of the cargo compartment at the loading door. Other elec-tric drives are oriented for an automated longitudinalconveying of a load item along the length of a-cargo com-partment.

For the fully automatic operation of the cargo handling system, control means are responsive to a load item at the loading door or in other positions in the cargo com-partment for selectively actuating or deactivating the various electric drive means distributed along the base of the cargo compartment or an automatic crosswise and `~:

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1 longitudinal conveyance o~ a load item into rows and along the length of the cargo compartment to desired locations.
Another aspect of the fully automatic cargo handling system is the automatic control in response to positions of a load item relative to selected ones o~ the roll-over guiding and locking mechanisms for controlling the operation in either the roll-over mode or the lockin~ mode. Thus, either a low friction support and a passage of a load item to desired intermediate and final positions or a locking and constrain-ing o~ the movement of the load item once they have beenplaced in the desired intermediate or final position is automatically selected. Such automatic sensing and control o~ the electric drive means in the base of the cargo com-partment and of selected ones of the roll~over container guiding and loc]si~g mechanisms is achieved according to one examp~e, by the use o~ light barriers and light actu-ated control means.

The invention provides several embodiments for the roll-over container guiding and locking mechanism. These roll-over container guiding and locking mechanisms which are dis-tributed around the base side walls, end wall, and cargo loading door of the cargo c4mpartment, may be divided into a number of cate~ories according to the varying structure and function required at the different locations of the cargo compartment. Thus, side entry guiding and locking means axe positioned at the sides of the loading door and end wall of the cargo compartment adjacent to the loading door to facilitatç mov~ment of a load item with low friction during loading through the door, whereby locking structures are actuated after the loading is completed to 3~

1 restrict movement of a load item. Further roll-over con-tainer guiding and locking means are also secured along the longitudinal side walls of a cargo compartment, and down the center o~ the compartment when a multiple row arrangemant of the load items is utilized, ~or low friction suppoxting and guiding ~f cargo along the compartment rows in the roll-over mode during longitudinal conveyance and for restricting the movement of cargo in the locking mode.

Still further guiding and locking means are positioned in the loading door threshold to permit roll-over and en-try of a load item crosswise into the cargo compartment. In the locking mode these still ~urther guiding and locking means are operable to prevent cargo from rollin~ back out of the door.

A plurality of roll-over container guidin~ and locking means are distributed and mounted throughout the base of the cargo compartment. Thus, load items may be moved crosswise and lengthwise in the cargo compartment. If ~ load items are to be organized in multiple rows or if half ;~ 20 container loads are to be organized in the cargo compart-ment, still other roll-over and roll-by guidin~ and lock-ing means are also included. For example, a center guiding roller may separate rows. A center guiding and locking means may constrain the movement of a plurality of cargo rows.

1 BRIEF FIGURE DESCRIPTION~

In order that the invention may be clearly unaerstood, it will now be described, by ~ay of example, with xeference to the accompanyin~ drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a schematic plan view of the instal-l~tion of a manual cargo Loading system in the below-the~floor region o a cargo hold;

Fig. la shows a sche~atic plan view of the loacling procedure;

Fig. 2 shows a sche~atic plan view o~ the instal-lation of a semiautomatic cargo lsadin~
system in -the below-the-floor re~ion;

Fig- 2~ is a plan view of the loadin~ procedure of the semiautomatic cargo loading system accsrding to ~ig. 2;

Fig. 3 shows a schematic plan view of the instal-lation of a fully automatic cargo loading system in the below-the~floor region;

Fig. 3a shows a schematic plan view of the loading procedure of a fully automatic loading system according to Fig- 3;

Fig. 4 illustrates a control panel for the con-trolling of the semiautomatic cargo load-ing system;

1 Fig. 5 illustrates a control panel ~or the fully automatic control operation;

Fig. 6 shows a cross-section through a roll-over loading door lock in the locked positi.on;

Fig. 7 shows a cross-section through a roll-over loading door lock in the rolled~over posi~
tion;

Fig. 8 shows a cross-section through a roll-over container lock in the locked position;

Fig. 9 shows a cross-section through a container lock .in the rolled-over position;

Fig. 10 shows a cross-section through a container lock, in the region o~ the ball bearing mat, in the locked position;

Fig. 11 shows a cross-section through a container lock, in the region of the ball bearing mat, in the rolled-over position;

Fig. 12 shows a cross-section throu~h a container lock, in the region of the ball bearing mat, with a foot controlling device;

Fig. 13 shows a cross-section through a container lock, in the region of the ball bearing mat, with a trip type arresting means;

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1 Fig. 14 shows a cross-section through a center guiding and separating roller in the locked position~ in the instance of double loading with hal containers;

Fig. 15 shows a cross-section throu~h a center ~uid-ing and separating roller in the rolled-over position in the in~tance of double loading with half containers;

Fig. 16 shows a cross-section through a roll-over entry guide in the locked position;

Fig. 17 shows a plan view oE the guide acco:rdiny to Fi~. 16;

Fig. 18 shows a schematic plan view o~ a car~o loading s~ste~ With a weighing device in the re~ion of the ball bearing mat;

Fig. 19 shows a cross section of a weighing sensor in the ball bearing mat; and Fig. 20 shows a plan view of a weighing sensor in the ball bearing mat.

OF T~E BEST MODE OF T~E INVENTION:

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Figs. 1 and 2 show the construction of a manually operable cargo loading system, wherein the roller trains or conveyars B~ L

1 lA to lF with the carrying rollers 2 are installed for the longitudinal conveying of the cargo containers or load items in the longitudinal direction of the aircraft. The braking rollers 3, set in the roller conveyors B and E pre-vent a rapid rolling back of the cargo containers. The ball bearing m~ts 4 in the region of the loading door 5 enable cargo movement in all directions. Conse~uentl~, the load items may be brought into the cargo hold cross-wise to the flight direction and they may -then be pushed longitudinall~ in -the flight dixection. The guides 6 and 8 facilitate the entry of the cargo into the hold. The noses 7 on the entry guides 6 are ~imultaneousl~ locking members if pallets are being loaded.

The floor plates ~ axe installed between the roller trains lA to lC and lD to 1~. ~ixed locks 10 are arranged at the longitudinal sides of the cargo compartments. These ixed locks, which are provided with rollers, simultaneously serve for longitudinall~ guiding and locking of the cargo containers.

If half containers are being loaded, the center locks 11 r between -the two roller trains lC and lD, are guiding and locking members for the cargo containers.

The loading door locks 12, mounted on the loading door threshold in the region of the loading door 5, are con-structed as longitudinal guiding members and safety means against rolling out. The loading door locks 12 form, in combination with the manually operable locking hoG~s, the locking means, see Figs. 6 and 7.

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1 Two roll-over container locks 13 are arranged for the locking of half containers in the loading door region in the aircraft center, see Figs. 10 to 13. Roll-over con-tainer locks 14 are installed in the roller trains lB and lE
for the locking of the containers in the lon~i~udinal di-rection of the aircra~t, see Figs. 8 and 9.

A middle guiding roller 15 is installed in the region of the loading door in the aircraft center for the loading of the caxgo compa~tment with containers and pallets.
Tn instances of double loading with two half containers, which are driven into -the cargo compartment one immediatel~
behind the other, the middle ~uide roller 15 acts as a separator durin~ the longitudinal transport o both con-tainers to the entr~ into the respective loadin~ row I
or II leading to tha storage compartment, see Figs. 14 and 15.

The roll-over entr~ guide 16 in the loading door region 5 assures a txouble-free loading o the cargo compar~ment with containers, see Figs. 16 and 17.

If the cargo compartment is to be loaded only with pallets, then the locking of these pallets occurs by means of the pallet locks 17 r which are arranged in the roller conveyors lA to lF.

The loading process according to Figs. 1 and la in the instance of manual loading is carried out as follows. The cargo door of a large capacity aircraft has been opened and the locking hooks of the cargo door lock have been 1 manually lowered. The loading device with the half con-tainers is standing in position at the car~o door thres-hold. The container locks 14 in the caryo door region 5 are now brought into the loc~ed position by means o~ a foot pedal. The container locks 14' tFig. la) are com-pletely lowered by foot and locked in this position. The remaining con~ainer locks 1~" are unlocked by ~oot. The container locks 13l on the o~her hand, are all lowered b~ means of a foot lever. All palle~ locks 17 are likewise in the lowered position. The middle guide roller 15 is in the raised position. The container is now pushed by the loading device into the car~o compartment in the direction of the arrow. When the container bottom has reached loadin~
door lock 12, the longitudinal guides in the loading door lock 12 are automatically unlocked b~ the car~o ~loor and are lowered down. The container moves between the ~uides 6 and 8 into the cargo compartment. Once the container base has passed by the cargo door lock, the lon~itudinal guides automatically lock. The cargo container now rolls over the container locks 13, which are thereby tripped; and once they are free of the cargo bottom they automatically lockO The container is now in the loading row II.

Throughout the further conveyance of the container in the longitudinal direction, the cargo container travels be-tween the fixed locks 10 and the middle locks 11 toward the rear of the cargo compartment. The container locks 14"
become disengaged during the rolling over and automatically lock after the container has rolled by. This feature serves as a safety precaution for the personnel, in order to prevent that a container can roll back over several stop ~l~3~

1 positions. Once the cargo container has reached its stop position, it is already automatically locked. The con-tainer locks 14" of the vacant stop positions are now unlocked again by foot and the next container is moved in for loading. The loading door locks 12 are again rolled-over and the container is pushed as ~ar as the locks 13, which were brought into their locked position by the pre-ceding container. The cargo container is now in the loadin~ row I. During the further conveyance the above described operations are trig~ered as in the loading row II, until the container is locked at its stop position. Once a~ain, the container locks 14" are disengaged by foot and the container lock 13 is lowered, so that the loading may take place again.

Atex the fourth to the last and the third to the last containers have reached their stop positions, the con-tainer lock 1~' must be locked by oot, and when the last t~o cont~i~ers have reached their stop position, the lock-in~ hooks in the loading door must be manually closed.
Thus, the loading operation with so-called LD3-containers is completed.

It is to be understood that the unloading process is carried out in the reverse sequence of opera-tion.

If pallets are to be loaded, the container locks 14, 14', and 14" are completely lowered by foot and locked in this position. The same goes for the container locks 13. The roll-over entry guide 16 is lowered and manually locked, and the same goes ~or the pallet locks 17. The pallet 3~

l locks 17 in the roller trains l~ to lF, farthest remo~ed from the loading door region 5, are now brought into the locked position by means o foot acti~ation, while the preceding pallet locks 17 are merely activated for locking.
The loading process is carried out su~stantially as pre-viously described. The pallets move between the guides 6, 8, and 15 to the side opposite the loading door. Once the fixed locks 10 ha~e been reached, the longitudinal guides in the loading door locks 12 are released by the pallet base and automatically locked. The caxgo moves to the designated stopping position, at which point it is automatically locked by means of the activated pallet locks 17. The center locks ll are automatically rolled-over during the loading with pallets and automatically stand up a~ain in response ~o spring force. All of the pallet locks in the roller trains lB and lE are ac-ti~ated before loading for the sa~ety of the personnel, so that these pallet locks are automatically raised for locking after the rolling over by the cargo, and thus prevent a rolling back of the cargo. The subsequent procedure corresponds to the previously described method also in the instance of pallet loading. The last pallet is now pushed into the cargo compartment crosswise to the direc-tion of the aircraft between the guides 6, 8, and 15, whereby the locking is accomplished by means of the noses 7 of the entry guide 6. The leading edge of the pallet is locked in the loading door region by the four pallet locks 17, while the locks 10 and the locking hooks of the loading door locks 12 hold the left and right pallet edges.

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1 The semiautomatic embodiment of the cargo loading system according to ~he invention di~fers from the previously described manual system merely by the arrangement of electric drive mem~ers 18 and a so-called command-control panel 19 for these components. In addition, the con-tainer locks 13 and 1~ and the pallet locks 17 in the roller conveyors lB and lE are provided with electrical limit switches, which control the electrical drive members.
The ~iddle guide roller 15 is adapted for the semiautomatic system by means of a solenoid. Otherwise, the loading system does not dif~er from the manual system. The method of o~eration durin~ the loading process is consequently also the same, at least in the essential operational c;teps, so tha-t these steps need not be'repeated. ~he container locks 13 must again be lowered by foot and the locks 14 as well as the entry guide 16 are in the'raised position. ~11 container locks 14l and 14" and the pallet locks 17 are lowered and locked, while only the last container locks 14"
in the loading rows I and II are unlocked.

The operation of the semiautomatic system begins by p~shing the loading button on the command panel 19 (Fig. 2). By activating the drive lever in the direction "load cross-wise", the crosswise drives 18a and 18b also begin to oper-ate automatically. By pushing the button "load lengthwise", after the cargo has reached or rolled over the container lock 13, the longitudinal drives 18c of the selected load-ing row II are set into operation. Both crosswise drives 18a and 18b are automatically switched off after the rolling over of the installed limit switches together with that of the longitudinal guides. The subsequent procedure 1 is, as previously described, functionally the salne. During the subsequent loading, the commands are given to corres-pond with the stop positions, accordingly, the last longi-tudinal drives 18d are also set to operate respectively.

The loading procedure with half pallets is also substan-tially the same. This can be clearly seen in Fig. 2a.
Thus it is unnecessaxy to repeat the functional descrip-tion. The loading with full containers is also carried out in a manner equi~alent to the previously described operation and should be reiterated here only with regard to its main points. The container locks 13 and the pallet locks 17 are lowered and locked by foot be~ore be~inn:ing the loading~ The container locks 14 and the entry guide 1 are, on the other hand, raised. The container locks 14', 14" in the loading rows I and II are also comple~ely lowered and locked, onl~ the last container locks 14" are unlocked by foot. This unlocking must also occur each time follow-ing the occupying of the stop position with next in line container lock 14".

In the instance of pallet loading, not only the container locks 13, 14, 14' and 14" but also the pallet locks 17 are lowered by foot and locked in this position. Only the last pallet locks 17 in the roller conveyors lA to lF are unlocked by ~oot pressure. The loading process is similar to the procedure already described. The pallet rolls over the longitudinal guides in the loading door locks 12 after entry into the cargo compartment, and the limit switches of the longitudinal guides activate the crosswise drives 18a, 18b. Once they have been rolled over, the loading , ~l~3~3~

1 door locks 12 automa-tically lock and simultaneously turn off the crosswise drives 18a, 18b by means of their limit switches. The command "longitudinal loading"
*ollo~s now by pushing the button and the longitudinal drives 18c and 18d are thus turned on. ~t the same time, the solenoid o~ the middle guide roller 15 receives a switching impulse, which unlocks this roller. The pallet is moved to the rear loading compartment. When the pallet has reached its position, the las-t pallet locks 17 automatically lock again behind the pallet by means o~ cpring force and shut off the drives 18c, 18d located beneath the pallet. The further loading is carried out accordingly and the unloading occurs in reverse order.

The Figs. 3 and 3a show a ~ully automatic loading and unloading system accoxdin~ to the invention. The semi-automatic system has been made fully automatic by the installation of light barriers 20 and a control panel 21 cooperating with corresponding control electronic means~
At the beginning of the loading, the entry guides 16 are in the raised position. The container locks 14 on the other hand are in the locked position. All pallet locks 17 are in the lowered position and the middle guide 15 is raised. By activating the control lever, the first cross-wise drive 18a starts and advances the first container to the light barrier 20a. Once this light barrier is inter-rupted, a switching impulse goes to the solenoids of both container locks 13 and lowers these locks. The light barrier simultaneously turns on the crosswise drive 18b, which advances the container to the side opposite the 1 loading door. Once the light barrier 20a is no longer blocked by the container bottom, the drive 18a is automatically switched of. This occurs in the same manner and in the same time sequence with all other devices of this type. The container locks 13 automatic-ally lock after being rolled o~er. The light barrier 2Qc gives a switching impulse to the solenoids of the con-tainer locks 14' when the container has reached the loading row II. This switching impulse initiates the unlocking procedure. At the same time, -the light bar rier 20c witches on the longitudinal drives 18c and 18d.
The container is advanced to the interior in the longi-tudinal direction of the cargo compartment between the fixed locks 10 and the middle locks 11. When th~ ligh-t barrier 20d has been reached. the container lock 14" is unlocked, the drive 18c is s~itched off, and the long~
tudinal drive 18e is switched on. This repeats itself until the stop position is reached and the last light barrier is covered, whereby the last container lock 14"
under spring force automatically prevents a rolling back of the cargo by locking the last container and, at the same time, the last drive is switched off. The control electronics, through the control panel 21, signal the end of the loading process of the first container. The second container is now dri~en into the cargo compart-ment and the operational procedure accordingly repeats itself. This also applies to the loading and unloading of pallets and full containers. The individual steps of this loading and unloading may be seen from the drawings, and otherwise from the preceding description.

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1 Fig. 4 shows an exa~ple embodiment of a control panel 21, the housing 21a of which i~ proYided with a plug connec-tion 22 and a coupling 23 for a computer or microprocessor, and which housing 21a supports the front pla-te 24. Fur-thermore, the housing 21a may be provided with a hand grip ~5 for a mobile application. The front plate 24 has a toggle switch 26 for providing power to the cargo load-ing system. The switch b-utton lC0) 27 is for the loading and unloadin~ of full containers. The switch button (PA) 28 is the one for loading pallets. The two switch buttons (RE, LE) 29, 3Q permit selecting the proper loading row when loading half containers. The four-way lever 31 determines the rotating direction of the drives for loading and unloading. The operating lever 31, or 32, in Fig. 5, also serves ~or switching over from a crosswise to a longitudinal arive.

The four switch buttons 27 to 30 light up when the cargo loading system is turned on by means of the toggle switch 26. The type of cargo, for example pallets, is chosen by pushing the switch button ~PA~ 28. This button then becomes brightly lit. The computer coupling 23 attached to the housing 21a is required when equipping the system with an on-board weighing apparatus, for plugging in an input and display computer.

Fig. 5 shows the control panel for a fully automatic cargo loading system, which corresponds substantially to the previously described example embodiment. How-ever, the operating lever 32 i5 not a four-way lever, but rather simply a two-way lever, since only the o~llditions 1 load or unload are to be activated. The operatin~ lever 31 or 32 of both types, is constructed so that it must be pushed in the desired loading direction and is automatic-ally returned to the zern position when released, and hence immediately interrupts the loading process and brings the system to a standstill. As a result, the protection of the operating personnel is increased. The ending of the load-ing procedure in each instance is indicated by a blinking of the corresponding s~itch button.

Figs. 6 and 7 show a locking apparatus for the roll-over loading door locks. This apparatus has a housing 41 with ' side walls and a rear wall. The locking catch 42 is movabl~ supported on said housing 41 and hinged ~o swing down by means Oe a ~oot button not sho~n. The longitudi-nal ~uide ~3 ~ith its no~e 43a is rotatably supported in the rocker arm 45 by means of -the bolt 44. Both o the bell cranks 46 ~ith their noses 46a and 46b are rotatably connected by means of the bolt 47. The bell crank 46 is movably connected to the rocker arm 45 by means of the bolt 48 and to the housing 41 by means of the bolt 49~
The unlocking lever 5Q and the rocker arm 45 are rotatably supported in the housing 41 by means of the bolt 51. A
crank lever 52 is also supported in the housing 41 by means of the bolt 53. The switching roller 52b activates the unlocking lever 50. The crank lever 52 is coupled by means o~ the bolt 52a through the connectin~ rod 54 to the le~er 55. Their pivoting points are designated with 54a and 55a. The free end of the lever 55 extends into the slot 56a of the connecting rod 56, which in turn is connected to the foot lever or to the solenoid. Thekolt 57 :, - 23 ~

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1 ser~es as an abutment for the rocker arm 45 and the return spring 58. The torsion spring 59 brings the longitudinal ~uide into the raised position. The limitlng switch 60 is also installed or included for the semiautomatic and the fully automatic cargo loading system according to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, wherein the entire mechanical locking member remains unchanged. The method of operation is clear ~rom the figures and from the pre-cedîng description. In the instance of unloading, the lQ connecting rod 56 is activated either by means of the foot leYer or the solenoid.

Figs. 8 and 9 sho~ a roll-ovar container lock in both operating positions. The housin~ 61 and both of the con-necting bolts 62, 62a are supporting members of this locking apparatus. The lock portions 63 are rotatably supported in the housing 61 bv means of the bolts 63a.
The lock portions 63, by means of the oblong holes 63c and the roller 64, are movably connected to the axle 63b and the bell crank 65. In adaition, the bell crank 65 is rotatably supported in the housing 61 by means of the axle 65a. The bolt 65b connects the two bell cranks 65 so that they are rotatably movable. The roller 65c is activated by the unlocking lever 66, which is supported in the housing 61 b~ means of the bolt 66a. The roller 66b is connected to the housing 61 by means of the rocker arm 67b of the foot lever 67. The locking lever 68 is also arranged on the housing 61 at the pivot point 6~a and is activated by the foot lever 67 through the roller 68b.

The torsion spring 69 brings the lock portions 63 into the raised position, and the torsion spring 70 raises the 3~3~

1 ~oot button up again. The limi~ing switch 71 is installed in the semiautomatic system for controlling the drive by means of the bell crank nose 65d. The solenoid 72 is in-stalled in the fully automatic system for activating the unlocking lever 66 by means of the pivot 66c.

The locking apparatus shown in the Figs. 10 to 13 comprises a housing 81 with the lockin~ catch 8~, which is rotatably supported in the housing 81 by means of the bolts 83. The locking catch 82 is conencted to the bellcxank 85 by means of the spindle 84. The bel`l crank 85 itself is supported in the housin~ 81 by means of the spindle 85a and can buckle about the pivot 85b. The abutment 85c rests against the bolt 86 in ~he dead point po~ition and is pulled illtO
the dead point position by the tension spring 87 through the spring support point 85d and the bolt 87a. The roller 88 is supported in the unlocking bridge 89 by means o the spindle 88a. The unlocking bridge 89 is connected to the housing 81 by means of the axle 89a. The tension spring 90 keeps the unlocking brid~e 89 in the raised position a~ainst the stop 90a. The stop catch 91 is rotatably sup-ported on the bolt 87a and is pressed against the bell crank 85 by means of the tension spring 92. The roller 91a is activated by means o~ the unlocking bridge 89. The holding pins 85e and 89b ser~e ~or starting the operation.
The crank lever 93 of the fully automatic system according to Fig. 3 connects the solenoid 100. The crank lever 94 with the bore 9~a is arranged for connecting to the foot actuation means according to Fig. 12. The tie rod with the oblong hole 95 is connected to the bell crank 85 by means of the bolt 94a of the crank lever 94. The foot 1 lever 96 is pivotally connec~ed to the housin~ 81 by the spindle 96a and to the tie rod 95 by means of the bolt 95a.
The foot button is shown at 96b. The locking catch 97 is rotatably supported on the spindle 95a for locking down as shown in Fig. 13. The locking catch 97 with the abut-ment 97a is held in its position on the housing 81 by means of the tension spring 98. The locking catch 97 is con-nected to the actuating rod 99 and the foot button 99a by means of a bolt 97b. The`limiting switch 101 is installed ~or the switching of the drives in the semiautomatic and the full~ automatic systems.

Figs. 14 and 15 show a guide roller including a housing 111 and a lowering rocker arm 113 supported by an axle 112. A
roller axle 11~ is supported in the lowering arm 113, and carries a guiding and separating roller 114a as well as a shaft 114b o~ the unlocking cam 114c, of the korsion : spring 114d, and of the spring bolt 114e. The locking pawl 115 is supported in the housing 111 by means of the axle 115a and is held against the stop bolt 115b in the vertical position by means of the torsion spring 116.
The locking pawl 115 is connected to the solenoid 117 by means of the connecting bolt 115c for a semiautomatic and for a fully automatic operation. The lowering locking lever 118 is provided for the manual loading of the cargo compartment with full containers and is connected to the housing 111 through the pivoting point 118a. The torsion spring 119 holds the lowering rocker arm 112 through the spring bearing ll9a against the stop llla. The tension spring 12Q strengthens the lowering movement of the rocker arm through the roller axle 114.

Fi~s. 16 and 17 show an example embodiment of an entry guide, which comprises the housing 121 and the guide 122 which is rotatabl~ supported in the lowering rocker arm 123 b~ means of the spindle 122a. This lowering rocker arm 123 is arranged so that i~ can rotate on the switch-ing shaft 125. The supporting bolt 122b rests against the nose 123b o;E the rocker arm in the ~ertical position.
In the locked position, the supporting bolt 122b also ex-tends into the hbok catch 124, which is rotatably sup-ported on the housing b~ means of the bolt 124a. The roller 124b o$ the hook catch l24 is acti~rated by the unlocking lever 126, which is afixed to the switching sha~t 125. The locXing lever 127 with the connecting bolt 127a is rigidly connected to the switching shaft 125 and is connected to the lowexing device 129 by means oP
the tie rod 128, through the oblong hole 128a~ wherein the lowexing device 129 i5 rotatably supported on the axle 129a. The Eoot lever 13û is also rigidly connected to the rotating shaft 12S. The stop 123a of the lower-ing rocker arm 123 is suppoxted on the stop bolt 131.
The torsion sprin~ 122c holds the guide 122 in the ver-tical position. The torsion spring 126c pushes the hook catch 124 with the roller 124b against the unloc~sing - lever 126. The solenoid 132, which is provided for semiautomatic and ;fully automatic loading systems, acti-vates the rotating shaft 125 by means of the push rod 132a through the connecting ~olt 127a of the switching lever 127.

Fig. 18 shows an example embodiment with wei~hing system, which comprises a mechanical portion and an electronic portion. The mechanical weighing apparatus comprises the 3~

1 ball bearing mats 151, which serve in this instance as weighing platforms, and the weighing sensors 152, which are connected to the computer and which permit the weight dètermination. The weighing s~stem functions as follows.
The air cargo means, that is, the conta:iner, the pallet, etc., is moved, manually or automatical:Ly with drives, to the ball bearin~ mat re~`ion 153 crosswise to the direc-tion of 1ight. Once the cargo has reached its corres-ponding loading row I or II respectively, then the weigh-lQ ing takes place prior to the lon~itudinal conveying. Thecorresponding individual weights of the loaded weighing sensors are added by the computer to a total weight, and reco~ded or registered in the computer.

Figs.l9 and 20 show an example embodiment of wei~hin~
sensors. A sensor of this type comprises a housing 161 with a load xeceiver 162 rigidly connected thereto. The load receiver 162 is connected to the ball bearing mat 151 through the bolt 163 and the connecting screw 164. The eIastic support 166 in the abutment 167 of the ball bear-ing mat 165 is installed to make sure that extraneousforces do not influence the weighing process~ The sup port 167 is laid directly on the load receiver 162 at the point 168. The connection 169 is provided for the electrical measurement circuits.

If a cargo is placed on the corresponding ball bearing mat region, then this load P is transmitted proportion-ally by the ball bearing mats 165, through the support 167 and the point 168 to the load receiver 162, and is added to a total weight by the computer. The ball bearing ~3~

1 mat 165 is also connected to the aircraft structure through the housing 161, the bolt 163, and the connect-ing screw 164A

The cargo loading system as described above makes it possible to use the same components for manual~ semi-automatic, and fully automatic loading and unloading operations, and it makes the re~itting possible without great cost depending on the corresponding needs, and it is not necessary with this refitting to change the system as such. Through the simultaneous weight deter-mination of the cargo, the center of gravity may be determined most exactly.

Although the invention has been described with re~erence to specific example embodiments, it is to be understood, that it is intended to cover all modifications and eyuivalents within the scope of the appended claims.

.

' ~? 29

Claims (13)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A cargo handling system for loading and unloading containers and pallets into and out of a cargo hold, especi-ally in large capacity aircraft, said cargo hold having lon-gitudinally extending base or floor means for supporting the weight of the load, end walls, longitudinally extending side walls and a cargo loading door formed in a side wall of the cargo hold which provides space for one or more longitudinal rows for receiving and storing containers and palletized loads, comprising: roller conveyor means mounted along the base of the cargo hold for longitudinal conveyance of loads along the length of the cargo hold, said roller conveyor means including bearing rollers for conveying loads and braking rollers for preventing roll-back during loading;
ball bearing mat means mounted on the base of the cargo hold near said loading door, said ball bearing mat means being adapted for supporting the movement of loads in all directions during loading for crosswise entry of containers and pallets through the loading door and longitudinal conveyance to said roller conveyor means for positioning in one or more rows along the length of the cargo hold; manually operable mechan-ical components including a plurality of roll-over container guiding and locking means distributed and mounted on the base and side walls of the cargo hold and adjacent the loading door, said roll-over guiding and locking means being constructed and arranged for operation according to two modes, a roll-over mode for low friction bearing and guiding of containers and palletized loads during a handling, and a locking mode for preventing roll-back of the containers and palletized loads during a handling and for constraining motion of the loads during storage and transport; manual control means, electri-cal drive means, and electronic control means operatively connected to said container guiding and locking means for selectively actuating said plurality of roll-over container guiding and locking means between the locking and roll-over modes during a handling for passage of containers and pallet-ized loads into the cargo hold to desired locations during a handling and for locking and constraining motion of the con-tainers and palletized loads after positioning at inter-mediate and final positions, and selector means operatively connected to said electrical drive means and to said elec-tronic control means for operating the same mechanical com-ponents in a manual mode, or in a semi-automatic mode, or in a fully automatic mode.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said manual control means for selectively actuating the plurality of roll-over container guiding and locking means comprise manual or foot operated means.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said electrical drive means for selectively actuating the plurality of roll-over guiding and locking means comprises solenoid means.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said electrical drive means comprise first electric drive means mounted in the base of the cargo hold in the loading door region and oriented for automated crosswise conveyance of containers and pallets entering through the loading door, and second electric drive means mounted in the length of the cargo hold and oriented for automated longitudinal conveyance of con-tainers and pallets along the length of the cargo hold.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said electronic control means comprise a first control device responsive to a container or pallet at the loading door for actuating the first electric drive means for automatic crosswise conveyance of the load, and a second control device responsive to a con-tainer or pallet positioned within the cargo hold at the end of one or more rows preparatory to final positioning for automatic longitudinal conveyance along the length of the cargo hold to a desired location.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said first and second control devices are further coupled for control and actuation of selected ones of said roll-over guiding and locking means for controlling the operation in the roll-over or locking modes for guiding and passage of containers or pallets to desired intermediate and final positions and for locking and constraining the movement of the containers or pallets in intermediate and final positions.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said electronic control means comprise control panel means for a fully automatic control of the cargo loading operations.

8. The system of claims 5 or 6, wherein the first and second control devices comprise light actuated sensing and control means.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of said manual control means of the roll-over guiding and lock-ing means are constructed for actuation between the roll-over mode and the locking mode by containers or palletized loads passing over or passing by said roll-over guiding and locking means.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising weigh-ing means incorporated in said ball bearing mat means for weighing loads prior to final placement in the cargo hold.

11. A cargo handling system for loading and unloading containers and pallets into and out of longitudinally ex-tending cargo compartments formed by a longitudinally extend-ing base or floor for supporting said containers and pallets, end walls, and longitudinally extending side walls, a cargo loading door formed in a side wall at the end of the cargo compartment, and one or more longitudinal rows on said floor for receiving the containers and pallets, comprising: a plurality of roller conveyor means mounted along the base of the cargo compartment for longitudinal conveyance of contain-ers and pallets along the length of the cargo compartment, said roller conveyor means including support rollers for conveying loads and braking rollers to prevent roll-back during loading, ball bearing mat means mounted on the base of the cargo compartment at the end of the cargo compartment in the loading door region, said ball bearing mat means being adapted for support and movement of cargo in all directions during loading for crosswise entry of containers and pallets through the loading door and longitudinal conveyance to the roller conveyor means for positioning in one or more rows along the length of the cargo compartment, side entry guiding and locking means being positioned at the sides of the loading door and end wall of the cargo compartment adjacent to the loading door to facilitate movement of containers and pallets during loading and including locking means actuated after loading to restrict movement of palletized loads; manually operable mechanical components including first roll-over container guiding and locking means fixed along the longi-tudinal sides of the cargo compartment, said roll-over container guiding and locking means having a roll-over mode and a locking mode for guiding of cargo along the compartment in the roll-over mode and for restricting -the movement of cargo in the locking mode; loading door guiding and locking means mounted in the loading door threshold, said loading door guiding and locking means having a roll-over mode for entry of cargo crosswise into the cargo compartment and a locking mode operable to prevent cargo from rolling out of the door, second roll-over container guiding and locking means mounted in the base of the cargo compartment having a roll-over mode for passage of containers and pallets in the longitudinal direction along the length of the cargo compart-ment and a locking mode adapted to restrain roll-back of car-go containers and pallets being conveyed into position along the length of the cargo compartment manual control means, electrical drive means, and electronic control means opera-tively connected to said first and second roll-over container guiding and locking means and to said loading door guiding and locking means for selectively actuating any one or more of said guiding and locking means, and selector means opera-tively connected to said electrical drive means and to said electronic control means for operating the same mechanical components in a manual mode, or in a semi-automatic mode, or in a fully automatic mode.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the cargo compart-ment comprises at least two longitudinal rows for receiving and storing two respective rows of containers or pallets or for receiving half loads, wherein the cargo loading system further comprises: a plurality of roll-over container lock-ing means mounted in the base of the cargo compartment and located in the loading door region, said locking means being oriented to permit crosswise entry and roll-over of contain-ers and pallets when the roll-over container locking means are in the roll-over mode and for restraining crosswise mo-tion or roll-back of the containers or pallets in the load-ing door region in the locking mode, center guiding roller means positioned along the center of the longitudinal cargo compartment for defining at least two rows and for separating half container loads and containers and pallets generally to be organized and positioned along said two rows within the cargo compartment; and center guiding and locking means for half containers loads and for containers and pallets organized along at least two rows for guiding and then locking contain-ers on either side of the center guiding and locking means thereby constraining movement of the plural rows of cargo.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein said electric drive means comprise first electric drive means and first and second limit switches for actuating said first electric drive means upon entry of cargo into the loading door for delivering the cargo crosswise and for shutting off the first electric drive means when the cargo load has been conveyed across the compartment to a position for longi-tudinal loading, second electric drive means and third and fourth limit switch means for actuating the second electric drive means for delivering the cargo load longitudinally into the cargo compartment and for shutting off the second electric drive means when the cargo is in longitudinal posi-tion along the cargo compartment.