System for passenger and luggage processing at commercial airports

Claim 1

A new and improved system for processing passengers and their luggage at civil airports including a passenger processing counter for verifying airline tickets and confirming passenger identity, equipment for conveying large luggage to be separately stowed aboard the plane from the counter to the plane and installations for performing a security check of both the passengers and their hand luggage, said system comprising: (a) first moveable conveyor belt means extending alongside the passenger processing counter and alongside a passenger passageway for passengers approaching the counter for processing, said first moveable conveyor belt means being in close proximity to said counter and accessible to passengers in the passageway in advance of the counter but inaccessible to passengers from a passenger check-in station at the counter to a point of pick-up and handling by airport personnel; (b) a passenger security check zone in which a personal security check of the individual passengers is provided, said passenger security check zone being designed in the manner of a one-way gate for allowing only one-way travel of passengers through the passenger passageway from a point immediately following the passenger check-in station at the counter through to a verification zone which immediately follows the passenger security check zone and where a passenger is considered cleared from a security standpoint; (c) second moveable conveyor belt means accessible to passengers in the passenger passageway in the vicinity of the passenger processing counter and prior to the passenger security check zone for transporting said hand luggage of passengers through a hand luggage security check zone and terminating in the verification zone, said second moveable conveyor belt means being inaccessible to passengers while the hand luggage is passing through the hand luggage security check zone and becomes accessible to particular and security cleared passengers so that they may retrieve their security cleared hand luggage after having passed through the passenger security check zone and upon reaching the verification zone; (d) at least one weighing device for recording the weight of the large luggage transported by the first conveyor belt means, at least one weighing device for recording the weight of the hand luggage transported by the second conveyor belt means, and at least one passenger weighing device provided in the passenger passageway of the passenger security check zone at a point where the hand luggage is inaccessible to the passenger for recording the weight of passengers; (e) a further weighing device provided on the passenger pathway to the plane immediately adjacent to the plane entrance for recording the weight of all of the passengers plus their hand luggage as the plane is loaded; and (f) weight analyzing means for receiving and correlating the weights recorded for the large luggage, the hand luggage and the individual passengers at the passenger check-in station with their weight at the point of plane loading whereby any discrepancies between the recorded weights at the point of passenger check-in and the weights obtained from said further weighing device can be readily determined.