Patent US5074496A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5074496A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System for supplying an enclosure with trolleys or similar
Assignee: Airbus Operations SAS
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Filing: 1991-02-06
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Granted: 1991-12-24
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Expires: 2011-02-06
Abstract
Abstract A system is disclosed for supplying an enclosure with trolleys or similar, provided more particularly in the passenger cabin of an aircraft and comprising: at least one storage container in which said trolleys are arranged and which is situated in the baggage compartment of said aircraft; a controllable automatic device provided in the baggage compartment of said aircraft and able to move to seize each of said trolleys in said container, by gripping means, and then bring it to said enclosure via a passage formed between the baggage compartment and said enclosure; and a programmable control unit connected to said automatic device and containing the information relative to the position of said trolleys in the container and to the types of products contained in each of them so that, depending on the information transmitted by said unit, said automatic device moves for seizing said corresponding trolley and bringing it from the baggage compartment to said enclosure.
Inventors
- 👤 Andre Rezag
- 👤 Antoine Ferretti
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-10 01:28
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65G; B65G1/00; B65G1/02; B65G1/04; B65G1/0407; B64; B64D; B64D11/00; B64D11/04
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
434 words
A system for supplying an enclosure with trolleys, said enclosure being provided in the passenger cabin of an aircraft and the trolleys being disposed in the baggage compartment of said aircraft and said system comprising: means for moving said trolleys, arranged in the baggage compartment and capable of bringing each of said trolleys to said enclosure via a passage formed between the baggage compartment and the enclosure, each of said trolleys having a lower face, and means for controlling said moving means, wherein said trolleys are arranged in at least one storage container situated in the baggage compartment, said moving means comprise a controllable, movable automatic device which is arranged in a container adjacent the container storing said trolleys, and which is capable of seizing each of said trolleys by gripping means, then bringing it to said enclosure, said passage connected to the container carrying the controllable, movable automatic device, and said control means comprise a programmable control unit connected to said controllable, movable automatic device and having, as data therein, the information relative to the position of said trolleys in the container and to the products contained in each of them so that, depending on the information transmitted by said unit, said controllable, movable automatic device moves for seizing said corresponding trolley and bringing it from said baggage compartment to said enclosure, said controllable, movable automatic device being formed of: a mount fixed to the base of said container and able to move with respect to the base along two axes X--X and Y--Y perpendicular to each other, said axis X--X being parallel to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, said mount of the controllable, movable automatic device being mounted on at least a first guide rail, corresponding to the axis X--X and along which the mount can move, said first guide rail being itself mounted for sliding on at least a second guide rail corresponding to the axis Y--Y and fixed to the base of said container, a bracket, extending said mount and able to pivot with respect to the mount about an axis of rotation R orthogonal to the plane formed by the axes X--X and Y--Y of the base, as well as to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, and a lifting device, comprising said gripping means and mounted for pivoting about the bracket about an axis of rotation R1, parallel to the axis of rotation R of the bracket, said gripping means being slidable along an axis Z--Z parallel to the axes of rotation R and R1 and orthogonal to the plane formed by the axes X--X and Y--Y.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
434 words
A system for supplying an enclosure with trolleys, said enclosure being provided in the passenger cabin of an aircraft and the trolleys being disposed in the baggage compartment of said aircraft and said system comprising: means for moving said trolleys, arranged in the baggage compartment and capable of bringing each of said trolleys to said enclosure via a passage formed between the baggage compartment and the enclosure, each of said trolleys having a lower face, and means for controlling said moving means, wherein said trolleys are arranged in at least one storage container situated in the baggage compartment, said moving means comprise a controllable, movable automatic device which is arranged in a container adjacent the container storing said trolleys, and which is capable of seizing each of said trolleys by gripping means, then bringing it to said enclosure, said passage connected to the container carrying the controllable, movable automatic device, and said control means comprise a programmable control unit connected to said controllable, movable automatic device and having, as data therein, the information relative to the position of said trolleys in the container and to the products contained in each of them so that, depending on the information transmitted by said unit, said controllable, movable automatic device moves for seizing said corresponding trolley and bringing it from said baggage compartment to said enclosure, said controllable, movable automatic device being formed of: a mount fixed to the base of said container and able to move with respect to the base along two axes X--X and Y--Y perpendicular to each other, said axis X--X being parallel to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, said mount of the controllable, movable automatic device being mounted on at least a first guide rail, corresponding to the axis X--X and along which the mount can move, said first guide rail being itself mounted for sliding on at least a second guide rail corresponding to the axis Y--Y and fixed to the base of said container, a bracket, extending said mount and able to pivot with respect to the mount about an axis of rotation R orthogonal to the plane formed by the axes X--X and Y--Y of the base, as well as to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, and a lifting device, comprising said gripping means and mounted for pivoting about the bracket about an axis of rotation R1, parallel to the axis of rotation R of the bracket, said gripping means being slidable along an axis Z--Z parallel to the axes of rotation R and R1 and orthogonal to the plane formed by the axes X--X and Y--Y.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
58 words
The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said lifting device of said automatic device, comprises a fixed part mounted for pivoting on the bracket about the axis of rotation R1 and a mobile part corresponding to said gripping means and slidable along the axis Z--Z by lifting means associated with the fixed part and the mobile part.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
79 words
The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said gripping means comprise at least two orthogonal bearing surfaces forming a dihedron, one of which, disposed parallel to the plane formed by the axes X--X and Y--Y, can come into contact with the lower face of said trolley to be seized and the other of which, parallel to the axis Z--Z and orthogonal to the plan X--X and Y--Y, can be applied against the corresponding lateral face of said trolley.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said storage container has a plurality of compartments, for receiving said trolleys and are aligned orthogonal to a vertical plan passing through the longitudinal axis of said aircraft.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
61 words
The system as claimed in claim 4 wherein said trolleys are housed respectively in receptacles, each receptacle which contains a trolley being itself arranged in one of the compartments of said storage container while being able to be withdrawn from said compartment by the gripping means of the automatic device in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system as claimed in claim 5 wherein said receptacles have a parallelepipedic form corresponding to that of said compartments and each receptacle has a lateral opening through which the corresponding trolley may be inserted or removed.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
46 words
The system as claimed in claim 5 wherein each of said trolleys is immobilized in the corresponding receptacle by a swinging lever mechanism, mounted for pivoting on each receptacle and being applied against the lateral face of said trolley which closes the opening of the receptacle.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system as claimed in claim 5 wherein the base of each compartment on which the receptacle rests has a recess allowing the corresponding bearing surface of said gripping means to be inserted under the lower face of said receptacle.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system as claimed in claim 5 wherein locking means immobilize the receptacle containing the trolley chosen by the gripping means of said automatic device.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
57 words
The system as claimed in claim 5 wherein said locking means are of the electromagnetic type and comprise metal plates fixed to the bearing surfaces of the gripping means and which are able to electromagnetically cooperate with metal plates situated correspondingly on the lower face and on the lateral face of each receptacle, opposite said lateral opening.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system as claimed in claim 5 wherein said receptacles are immobilized respectively in the compartments of said container by releasable locking means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
158 words
The system as claimed in claim 11 wherein said locking means are associated with the lower face of each receptacle and comprise at least one box with a mechanism with two movable rods adapted to cooperate perpendicularly with each other by means of an inclined ramp located on one of the movable rods, one of the ends of a rod projecting from the lateral face of the receptacle, turned towards said automatic device and opposite the opening, and one of the ends of the other rod being engaged in the dividing wall separating two adjacent compartments while immobilizing said receptacle in the container so that, under the action of the gripping means of the automatic device, the projecting end of said rod penetrates into said box whereas, simultaneously, the end of the other rod, under the section of a return spring, clears itself from the dividing wall thus releasing the receptacle from the corresponding compartment of said container.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system as claimed in claim 5 wherein each receptacle is mounted on running tracks connected to the base of each of the compartments.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said programmable control unit comprises a microcomputer situated in the enclosure receiving said trolleys.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USRE32176E
Cited
US4055317A
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FR2537543A1
Cited
GB2131779A
Cited
US4660787A
Cited
US4804307A
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1994-12-23 | 1995-06-24 | 1995-12-24 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1998-12-23 | 1999-06-24 | 1999-12-24 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2002-12-23 | 2003-06-24 | 2003-12-24 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |