Cargo area of an airport

• US 20080131243A1
• Filed: 09/27/2007
• Published: 06/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Wenzel, Reinhard
• Granted Patent: US 9,387,986 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 414/344
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/04 mechanical
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 63/004 for containers
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 63/025 for containers

Abstract

The invention relates to the cargo area of an airport, having transporting paths which connect the land side and the air side of the airport and are intended for the standard loading units (ULDs), and also having interim stores for the buffer storage of the loading units prior to the cargo being assembled. In order to create storage and sorting opportunities in the immediate vicinity of the transporting paths, while being simultaneously independent of the main store, and in order to achieve flexible supply of the loading units, it is proposed for the transporting paths to be assigned vertical stores each with a plurality of storage levels which are arranged one above the other, are set up above or alongside the transporting paths and in which, with the aid of lifting means, the loading units, which can be lifted off from the transporting paths, can be stored.

Claims

1-14. -14. (canceled)

15. A cargo area of an airport having a land side for connecting to a road and/or railroad and an air side for connecting to the apron of the airport, comprising:

a transporting path for transporting a plurality of loading units between the land and air sides;

an interim store each having a plurality of storage levels arranged one above the other where the store is arranged above or alongside the transporting path, wherein the interim store provides a buffer storage of the loading units within the cargo area prior to assembling cargo to be assigned to an aircraft or a vehicle in a desired order; and

a lifting device associated with the interim store that lifts the loading units from the transporting paths onto an assigned storage level for storage.

16. The cargo area as claimed in claim 15, wherein the vertical stores are isolated from a conveying flow of the loading units.

17. The cargo area as claimed in claim 16, further comprising a plurality of transporting paths.

18. The cargo area as claimed in claim 17, wherein the transporting paths are guided transversely or longitudinally through the vertical stores.

19. The cargo area as claimed in claim 15, wherein the lifting device engages beneath the loading units resting on the transporting paths.

20. The cargo area as claimed in claim 19, wherein the storage levels of a vertical store are arranged on two sides of the lifting device, which is arranged centrally in the vertical store, and the lifting device further comprises a transferring capability for transferring the loading units into, and receiving the loading units from, the storage levels on the two sides of the vertical store.

21. The cargo area as claimed in claim 20, wherein the storage levels arranged on the two sides of the lifting device, are dimensioned differently for receiving loading units of different sizes or a plurality of small loading units, the lifting device being dimensioned to correspond to the largest loading unit for storage and retrieval.

22. The cargo area as claimed in claim 15, wherein the vertical stores are arranged laterally alongside the transporting path and in each case one transverse transporting path, which runs in the plane of the transporting path, extends at least into the vertical store, into a region of the lifting device.

23. The cargo area as claimed in claim 22, wherein the transverse transporting path passes through at least one of the vertical stores at a lowermost level and, on the side directed away from the transporting path allows coupling for vehicles or further transportation of the loading units to a further station.

24. The cargo area as claimed in claim 23, wherein the vertical stores are set up alongside the transporting path on the two sides of the lifting device.

25. The cargo area as claimed in claim 15, wherein a vertical store is arranged between two transporting paths and is charged from both of the two transporting paths via transverse transporting paths.

26. The cargo area as claimed in claim 25, wherein the storage levels arranged one above the other, are provided on at least three sides of the lifting device where the lower most storage level remains free at least on one side of the vertical store.

27. The cargo area as claimed in claim 25, wherein the vertical store is arranged between two transporting paths to allow introduction into the storage levels in horizontally lateral and transverse directions, on three to four sides, wherein the introduction, which takes place on storage levels arranged on the respectively second to nth level above the transporting paths.

28. The cargo area as claimed in claim 27, further comprising a plurality of interim vertical stores and associated lifting devices are employed for storage.

29. The cargo area as claimed in claim 28, wherein the lifting devices are roller decks.

30. The cargo area as claimed in claim 29, wherein the interim vertical stores are arranged as buffer stores in the cargo area in a vicinity of the apron and/or the road/railroad.