GB2195613A

GB2195613A - Aircraft baggage container

Info

Publication number: GB2195613A
Application number: GB08723557A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Leigh Kirkham
Original assignee: AEROCAGE Ltd
Current assignee: AEROCAGE Ltd
Priority date: 1986-10-10
Filing date: 1987-10-07
Publication date: 1988-04-13
Also published as: GB8624389D0; GB8723557D0

Abstract

An aircraft baggage container comprises a base 11, an inboard side wall 12, an outboard side wall 13 which extends upwardly and outwardly from the base 11 to conform to the aircraft cross-section, a top 14 and end walls 15, 16 of which one has a closable opening 15a for loading and unloading of baggage. The side walls 12, 13, end walls 15, 16 and top 14 are made from a rigid plastics material, e.g. polyvinyl chloride. The side walls 12, 13 and top wall 14 may be formed from a single sheet. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Aircraft baggage container This invention relates to aircraft baggage (or cargo) containers of the kind comprising a base, an inboard side wall, an outboard side wall which extends upwardly and outwardly from the base to conform to the aircraft cross-section, a top and end walls of which one has a closable opening for loading and unloading of baggage.

All such baggage containers are currently made from aluminium. The base is of heavy gauge aluminium and supports a rigid frame.

The walls and top are made from sheet aluminium which is riveted to the frame. The opening is closed by a curtain which is secured to the top of the opening and which is releasably securable to the bottom of the opening.

The weight of the container is kept to a minimum by using the lightest gauge materials possible. For the walls, 1mm thick aluminium sheet is used. Since a typical dimension for a container for a Boeing 747 for example is some 2300mm by some 1600mm, such a sheet is remarkably thin for its area.

It is desired, obviously, to reduce the weight of such containers even further-a saving of 1Kg means a saving of some 44/annum on fuel costs. However, it is believed that such saving can only be made over the conventional design of container by resorting to alloys of lighter metals such as lithium.

The relative flimsiness of the stqpdard container means that it is easily damaged. Much damage is done by careless handling by fork lift truck drivers, the forks easily penetrating the thin aluminium and even piercing and buckling the rigid frame. Adjustable conveyors such as are used in aircraft loading operations are often misaligned so that a drop of fifteen centimetres or more is not unusual, which causes further damage. Even baggage carelessly thrown into the container can seriously dent the thin aluminium.

The current specification for baggage containers includes the requirement that the panels should be capable of replacement.

They are, but replacement involves drilling out all the rivets that hold the panels to the frame and is time-consuming and expensive. Repair is an expensive business, and frequently the containers are damaged beyond repair - replacement is even more expensive.

The present invention provides an improved container, lighter, yet more rugged and less liable to damage than the conventional container.

The invention comprises an aircraft baggage container of the kind comprising a base, an inboard side wall, an outboard side wall which extends upwardly and outwardly from the base to conform to the aircraft cross-section, a top and end walls of which one has a closable opening for loading and unloading of baggage, of which the side walls, end walls and top are made from a rigid plastics material.

The base may be formed of a different material - indeed there is nothing much wrong with the existing aluminium base, and it is retained in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

The side walls and top may be formed from a single sheet of the plastics material which is bent along the edges of the side walls and top.

The end walls may be adhesively bonded to the side walls and top.

The side walls, end-walls and top may constitute a unit which is attached to the base as by being adhesively bonded thereto.

The plastics material may comprise polyvinyl chloride, which may be made impact-resistant and also fire-resistant by appropriate additives.

The invention also comprises a method for making an aircraft baggage container of the kind comprising a base, an inboard side wall, an outboard side wall which extends upwardly and outwardly from the base to conform to the aircraft cross-section, a top and end walls of which one has a closable opening for loading and unloading of baggage, the method comprising making the side walls, end walls and top from a rigid plastics material.

The method may comprise the step of making the side walls and top by bending a single sheet of said material. This, of course, requires that sheet be produced in non-standard sizes and indeed in different sizes for containers of different dimension for different aeroplanes. The most convenient method of producing such specially sized sheet is by extrusion, since most platen presses will be too small, and it would be very expensive to construct special presses.

The side walls and top may thus or otherwise be made as a unit and the end walls adhesively bonded thereto, to make a larger unit which may then be secured to the base, as by adhesive bonding.

In this way, an impact-resistant container can be made with a substantially lower weight than the conventional lightweight aluminium containers. A typical weight saving on a 747 container could be as much as twenty kilograms-this could represent a fuel cost saving per container of 880 per annum, as well as the cost of frequent repair and replacement.

One embodiment of an aircraft baggage or cargo container according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an end elevation, Figure 2 is a view in the direction of arrow 2 on Figure 1, Figure 3 is a section through a lower edge of the container of Figures 1 and 2 showing the connection of a wall thereof to the base, Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the assembly of a top corner between an end wall a side wall and the top, Figure 5 is an exploded view showing the individual components of the container prior to assembly, and Figure 6 is a part cut-away view of a heater arrangement for bending a thermoplastic sheet.

The drawings illustrate an aircraft baggage container of the kind comprising a base 11, an inboard side wall 12, an outboard side wall 13 which extends upwardly and outwardly from the base 11 to conform to the aircraft cross-section, a top 14 and end walls 15, 16 of which one, 15, has a closable opening 15a for loading and unloading of baggage.

The side walls 12, 13, end walls 15, 16 and top 14 are made from a rigid plastics material.

The base 11 is formed of aluminium as in conventional all-aluminium baggage containers, and is in fact a standard base adapted to cooperate with the conveyors and guide means of an airport's cargo handling facility.

The side walls 12, 13 and top 14 are formed from a single sheet of the plastics material which is bent along the edges (12, 14), (14, 13), 13a and 13b- of the side walls 12, 13 and top 14.

Bending, with thermoplastic materials may be carried out as shown in Figure 6 by holding the sheet of material over an elongate heater 61-an electric heating element 63 is contained in a slot in an asbestos or refractory member 64 set into a table top 65 to heat the sheet along a straight line along which the sheet softens so that it can be bent. Jigs may of course be constructed to facilitate manufacture.

Figure 4 illustrates how an end wall 15 is adhesively secured to a side wall 12 and the top 14. The end face 41 of the sheet from which the end wall 15 and top 14 is made is adhesively secured to the edge of the end face 15, which is, of course, of corresponding shape.

With a proper choice of adhesive the bond is very strong and in fact the plastics material will usually fracture before the bond will give way.

Figure 3 illustrates the connection of a side wall 12 to the base 11 which has upstanding flanges 31 for such connection. Again, adhesive can be used to bond the wall 12 to the flange 31 but rivets 32 may also be used to reinforce this bond.

The end walls 15, 16 are assembled to the side walls 12, 13 and top 14, the resulting unit being then secured to the base 11.

A very suitable plastics material is polyvinyl chloride and especially an impact resistant grade thereof soid under the name "Pacton" by Weston Hyde Products Limited, of Hyde, Cheshire.

Whatever plastics material is used can of course be reinforced with any suitable reinforcing means such for example as carbon fibres.

The base 11 could of course also be made from a material other than aluminium, but as the base is the most satisfactory part of the conventional container and gives no or little trouble in use, the existing aluminium base is retained in the currently preferred embodiment of the invention, which also gives rise to the possibility of reclaiming bases from damaged conventional all-aluminium containers and fitting the plastics material walls and top of the present invention.

Claims

1. An aircraft baggage container of the kind comprising a base, an inboard side wall, an outboard side wall which extends upwardly and outwardly from the base to conform to the aircraft cross-section, a top and end walls of which one has a closable opening for loading and unloading of baggage, of which the side walls, end walls and top are made from a rigid plastics material.

2. A container according to claim 1, of which the base is formed of a different material.

3. A container according to claim 2, of which the base if formed of aluminium.

4. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, of which the side walls and top are formed from a single sheet of the plastics material which is bent along the edges of the side walls and top.

5. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the end walls are adhesively bonded to the side walls and top.

6. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which the side walls, end walls ana top constitute a unit which is attached to the base.

7. A container according to claim 7, in which said unit is adhesively bonded to the base.

8. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which the plastics material comprises polyvinyl chloride.

9. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 8, said plastics material being impact resistant.

10. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 9, said plastics material being fire resistant.

11. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 10, in which the plastics material inciudes a fibre reinforement.

12. A container according to claim 11, in which the fibre reinforement comprises carbon fibre.

13. A method for making an aircraft baggage container of the kind comprising a base, an inboard side wall, an outboard side wall which extends upwardly and outwardly from the base to conform to the aircraft cross-sec tion, a top and end walls of which one has a closable opening for loading and unloading of baggage, the method comprising making the side walls, end walls and top from a rigid reinforced plastics material.

14. A method according to claim 13, comprising the step of making the side walls and top by bending a single sheet of said material.

15. A method according to claim 13 or claim 14, in which the side walls and top are made as a unit and the end walls adhesively bonded thereto.

16. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, in which the side walls, top and end walls are made as a unit which is then secured to the base.

17. A method according to claim 16, in which the side unit is adhesively bonded to the base.

18. An aircraft baggage container substantially, as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

19. A method for making an aircraft baggage container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.