Stowage carousel and method of storing cargo for use with an aircraft

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9878792-B2
Application number	US-201514790515-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 2, 2015
Priority date	Jul 2, 2015
Publication date	Jan 30, 2018
Grant date	Jan 30, 2018

Abstract

A stowage carousel for handling cargo aboard an aircraft is provided including a revolving conveyor having an inner ring facing a passenger cabin of the aircraft and an outer ring facing a fuselage of the aircraft. Stowage compartments are associated with the revolving conveyor. The stowage compartments are configured to receive the cargo. The stowage compartments are rotatable within the aircraft with the revolving conveyor. The revolving conveyor is situated within the aircraft partially in the passenger cabin and partially in at least one of an upper crown and a lower lobe of the aircraft.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A stowage carousel for handling cargo aboard an aircraft, the stowage carousel comprising:
a revolving conveyor having an inner ring facing a passenger cabin of the aircraft and an outer ring radially outward of the inner ring and facing a fuselage of the aircraft, the inner ring extending along a first arc path, the outer ring extending along a second arc path, the inner ring and the outer ring being rotatable within the aircraft; and
stowage compartments associated with the revolving conveyor, the stowage compartments being configured to receive the cargo, the stowage compartments being rotatable within the aircraft,
wherein the revolving conveyor is situated within the aircraft partially in the passenger cabin and partially in at least one of the upper crown and the lower lobe of the aircraft.

2. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the revolving conveyor is at least partially vertically oriented and defines a walkway interior of the inner ring.

3. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the outer ring of the revolving conveyor has an outer radius approximately equal to a side wall radius dimension of the fuselage.

4. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the revolving conveyor is open inside the inner ring and dimensioned for passengers to walk through the revolving conveyor.

5. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the arc path of the inner ring extends entirely circumferentially around the aircraft and the arc path of the outer ring extends entirely circumferentially around the aircraft such that the revolving conveyor is continuous and configured to revolve 360° within the fuselage.

6. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the revolving conveyor is discontinuous and positioned above a floor of the passenger cabin such that the revolving conveyor does not penetrate the floor of the passenger cabin.

7. The stowage carousel of claim 6 , wherein the revolving conveyor includes a first segment along a first side wall of the fuselage and a second segment along a second side wall of the fuselage opposite the first side wall, the first and second segments being arc shaped, the first and second segments each having a bottom end near the floor and a top end in the upper crown, the top ends of the first and second segments facing each other.

8. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the revolving conveyor passes through a floor of the passenger cabin at or near a first side wall of the fuselage and at or near a second side wall of the fuselage opposite the first side wall.

9. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , further comprising a lining covering an inside of the revolving conveyor facing the passenger cabin, the lining having a closable opening providing access to the stowage compartments, wherein the stowage compartments are configured to receive the cargo through the closable opening.

10. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the revolving conveyor is provided in both the upper crown and the lower lobe, the revolving conveyor being rotatable such that the stowage compartments are rotatable from the passenger cabin into the upper crown and from the passenger cabin into the lower lobe.

11. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the stowage compartments are mounted to the revolving conveyor and are movable with the revolving conveyor.

12. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the stowage compartments are rotatable relative to the revolving conveyor.

13. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the stowage compartments include a plurality of compartment walls including a bottom wall, the stowage compartments being hingedly coupled to a mounting bracket of the revolving conveyor extending between the inner ring and the outer ring such that the bottom wall remains at a bottom of the stowage compartment as the revolving conveyor and the stowage compartment is rotated about the fuselage.

14. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the stowage compartments are sized, shaped and dimensioned to receive aircraft standard size carry-on luggage.

15. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the stowage compartments are sized, shaped and dimensioned to receive aircraft standard galley containers.

16. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the stowage compartments are configured to be loaded and unloaded in the lower lobe of the aircraft and are configured to be loaded and unloaded in the passenger cabin of the aircraft.

17. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , further comprising a control system operably coupled to the revolving conveyor, the control system having an actuator causing the revolving conveyor to rotate, the control system controlling a position of the revolving conveyor with respect to the fuselage.

18. The stowage carousel of claim 17 , wherein the control system comprises a user interface for controlling operation of the revolving conveyor, the user interface being accessible within the passenger cabin.

19. The stowage carousel of claim 17 , wherein the control system comprises a scanner configured to scan passenger identification of a passenger to operate the revolving conveyor to rotate to a position for the passenger to retrieve cargo.

20. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the revolving conveyor is configured to be positioned in line with a row of passenger seats such that the revolving conveyor is positioned between the fuselage and at least one passenger seat.

21. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the revolving conveyor is configured to be positioned in the aircraft such that at least one stowage compartment is positioned along a side of a passenger seat, at least one stowage compartment is positioned vertically above a passenger seat, and at least one stowage compartment is positioned vertically below a passenger seat.

22. The stowage carousel of claim 1 , wherein the revolving conveyor includes mounting brackets extending between the inner ring and the outer ring, the stowage compartments being hingedly coupled to corresponding mounting brackets.

23. A method of stowing cargo aboard an aircraft, the method comprising:
moving the cargo into a passenger cabin of the aircraft;
placing the cargo into stowage compartments of a revolving stowage carousel via an opening, the revolving stowage carousel including a revolving conveyor supporting the stowage compartments, the revolving conveyor having an inner ring facing a passenger cabin of the aircraft and an outer ring radially outward of the inner ring and facing a fuselage of the aircraft, the inner ring extending along a first arc path, the outer ring extending along a second arc path, the inner ring and the outer ring being rotatable within the aircraft; and
rotating the inner and outer rings of the revolving conveyor to rotate the stowage compartments of the revolving stowage carousel to stow the cargo.

24. The method of claim 23 , further comprising:
rotating the revolving stowage carousel to unstow the cargo;
removing the cargo from the revolving stowage carousel via the opening; and
removing the cargo from the passenger cabin of the aircraft.

25. The method of claim 23 , further comprising operating a control system to control the position of the revolving stowage carousel to place different cargo into a different stowage compartment of the stowage carousel.

26. The method of claim 25 , wherein said operating the control system comprises scanning a passenger boarding pa

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Mcintosh Darren C

Classifications

• B64D11/003 Primary

  Stowage devices for passengers' personal luggage · CPC title

• B64D11/0007

  Devices specially adapted for food or beverage distribution services · CPC title

• B64D9/00

  Equipment for handling freight; Equipment for facilitating passenger embarkation or the like · CPC title

• B64C1/22

  Other structures integral with fuselages to facilitate loading {, e.g. cargo bays, cranes} · CPC title