US3572253A - Gt express car - Google Patents

Abstract

THE BODY OF A CAR OF A BAGGAGE TRANSPORTING SYSTEM IS FORMED AS A MOLDED SHELL THAT IS CONTOURED TO PROVIDE A LONGITUDINAL SHALLOW V-BOTTOM TROUGH SLOPING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE REAR TO THE FRONT OF THE CAR TO RECEIVE DUFFEL BAGS, HOODED GOLF CLUB BAGS AND SIMILAR GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL LUGGAGE AND AN INTERMEDIATE SECTION HAVING VERTICAL TRANSVERSE WALLS AND FLOOR PORTIONS SLOPING DOWNWARDLY

FROM THE SIDES OF THE CAR AND GENERALLY NORMAL TO EACH OTHER FOR RECEIVING AND SUPPORTING THE BOTTOM AND ONE END OF SUITCASES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES. THE CONTOURS ARE SUCH THAT LUGGAGE OF EITHER TYPE MAY BE DISCHARGED BY TIPPING THE CAR THROUGH AN ANGLE OF 60* TO 70* ABOUT A LONGITUDINAL AXIS.

Description

March 23, c L. ROEDER ET AL 3,572,253

GT EXPRES S CAR Filed Aug. 7, 1969 INVENTORS CHARLES L. ROEDER WILLIAM w KLEMME FIG. 2 BY WWZMW United States Patent Ofice U.S. Cl. 105-367 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The body of a car of a baggage transporting system is formed as a molded shell that is contoured to provide a longitudinal shallow V-bottom trough sloping downwardly from the rear to the front of the car to receive duffel bags, hooded golf club bags and similar generally cylindrical luggage and an intermediate section having vertical transverse walls and floor portions sloping downwardly from the sides of the car and generally normal to each other for receiving and supporting the bottom and one end of suitcases and similar articles. The contours are such that luggage of either type may be discharged by tipping the car through an angle of 60 to 70 about a longitudinal axis.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The increasing volume of air traffic has created a need for faster transportation of passenger luggage in the airports. The problem is complicated, in many airports, by the large number of check in and destination points from and to which luggage must be transmitted and the large number of loading areas to which luggage must be dispatched for loading onto the aircraft.

T o handle the volume of luggage expeditiously, a large number of small, automatically directed luggage carriers are required.

While it is necessary that the carriers safely carry the luggage it is also highly desirable that the individual carriers be automatically unloaded at their destinations and be loadable with a minimum of effort in the loading stations.

THE INVENTION To provide for safe transportation, easy loading and automatic unloading the individual carriers are contoured to form both a shallow longitudinal sloping trough to receive duffel bags, golf club bags, and similar generally cylindrical pieces of luggage and a deeper straight-sided sloping floor recess to receive ordinary suitcases with each suitcase standing on one sloping floor portion and its end resting against a complementary floor portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a pictorial view showing the right side, top and rear of the improved luggage carrier.

FIG. 2 is a pictorial view showing the rear, top, and left side of the improved luggage carrier.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The improved luggage carrier includes a body 1 that is preferably molded of reinforced plastic in the form of a contoured shell. For strength and rigidity it includes interior stiffening webs and reinforced portions (not shown) adapted to be attached through resilient mountings to a chassis including rail engaging wheels 2. Suitable means are provided for driving the chassis along supporting rails 3.

The body 1 is contoured to provide two separated boxlike portions 4 and 5 at the front corners of the body. These portions are preferably flat topped and are connected, at the front of the car by a hollow wall 6.

3,572,253 Patented Mar. 23, 1971 A pocket, which is bounded on the front by the wall 6, on the sides by facing walls 7 and 8 of the box- like portions 4 and 5, and on the bottom by sloping sections 9 and 10 and fiat section 11, is adapted to receive and position one end of a duffel bag, golf club bag or similar elongated generally cylindrical piece of luggage. The other end of such a piece of luggage is cradled in a valley between inwardly sloping top portions 12 and 13 of a box section 14 extending across the rear of the body 1.

Ordinary suitcases and similar pieces of luggage are carried in an upright position between vertical rear faces 15, 16 of the forward box- like portions 4 and 5 and a vertical forwardly facing wall 17 of the rear box section 14. The suitcases rest on a first bottom section 18 that slopes downwardly at an angle of 20 to 25 from the right side of the body 1 past the center line of the body. A steep bottom section 19, generally normal to the first bottom secion 18, slopes downwardly from the left side of the body until it joins the first section 18.

The body 1 also includes a skirt 20 forming the lower part of the body and connecting the forward box- like portions 4 and 5 to the rear box section 14.

This particular body design is primarily adapted for loading from the right side. An ordinary piece of luggage is easily lifted over the low side wall and slid down the sloping floor section 18 until it comes to rest against the steep section 19. It is also relatively easy to load from the left side. In this case the luggage is manually lifted over the low portion of the left side wall and lowered into the car until it comes to rest with the bottom resting on the floor section 18 and the end resting against the steep wall 19.

Duffel bags, etc., are easily loaded from either side. One end of such a piece of luggage is placed in the pocket at the forward end of the car body 1 and the other end lowered into the valley formed by the sloping surfaces 12 and 13 of the rear deck.

Both types of luggage may be readily and safely unloaded by tipping the car body toward the right side. Ordinary luggage slides down the tipped sloping floor section 18 onto a receiving belt conveyor or other receiver that presents the luggage to the passenger at a reclaim station or to the baggage crew for an outgoing flight. Duffel bags, etc., which are no longer than the width of the usual receiving belt conveyor, have one end caught by the corner between the walls 7 and 15 and retained until the other end slides off the surface 13. This aligns the bag with the receiving conveyor to minimize the danger of a jam on the receiving conveyor line.

What is claimed is:

1. A carrier for transporting luggage, comprising, a vehicle adapted to move along a prescribed path, a luggage receiver carried on the vehicle, said receiver having upper surfaces defining separated portions of a longitudinally extending trough sloping downwardly from one end of the receiver toward the other, and an intermediate portion defining a recess bounded by sloping floor portions and vertical transverse end walls extending between the adjacent surfaces of the trough portion and said floor portions.

2. A vehicle luggage receiver according to claim 1 in which spaced apart vertical, longitudinally extending walls bound the sides of the lower end of the sloping trough.

3. A vehicle luggage receiver according to claim 1 in which the dihedral angle between the sloping floor portions of the recess approximates a right angle.

4. A vehicle luggage receiver according to claim 1 in which the slope of one of the sloping floor portions of the recess is substantially greater than the slope of the other floor portion.

5. A vehicle luggage receiver according to claim 1 in which said sloping surfaces of the recess intersect the sides of the receiver at lower elevations than the intersection of said trough defining surfaces and the sides of the receiver.

6. A vehicle luggage receiver according to claim I having a skirt portion surrounding the receiver, ribs extending as continuations of said vertical transverse end Walls of the recess, said ribs being connected to said skirt portions, and means connecting said ribs to a chassis of the vehicle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS DRAYTON E. HOFFMAN, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

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