Multi directional input cargo moving system

• US 9,446,846 B1
• Filed: 03/31/2015
• Issued: 09/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Goodrich Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Goodrich Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Harms, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Calvin
• Application Number:
  US14/674,235
• Publication Number:
  US 20160288907A1
• Time in Patent Office: 539 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 1/20 specially adapted for freight
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2009/006 Rollers or drives for pallets of freight containers, e.g. PDU
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 9/00 Equipment for handling freight; Equipment for facilitating passenger embarkation or the like emergency equipment B64D17/00, B64D19/00, B64D25/00; structures integral with fuselage to facilitate loading, fuselage floors specially adapted for freight, steps mounted on and retractable within aircraft B64C; ground installations B64F

Abstract

A cargo loading system may comprise a non-transitory memory communicating with a processor, the non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations. The operations may comprise partitioning a cargo hold into a forward partition and an aft partition, reading a first input from a first joystick and a second input from a second joystick, mapping the first input to a first power drive unit (PDU) in the forward partition, and mapping the second input to a second PDU in the aft partition.

Claims

1. A cargo loading system, comprising:

a non-transitory memory communicating with a processor, the non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

partitioning, by the processor, a cargo hold into a forward partition and an aft partition;

reading, by the processor, a first input from a first joystick and a second input from a second joystick;

determining, by the processor, a modulus of the first input and a direction of the first input;

controlling, by the processor, the first input to a first power drive unit (PDU) in the forward partition by,

applying, by the processor, the modulus as a throttle of the first PDU;

applying, by the processor, the direction of the first input into the direction of the first PDU; and

applying, by the processor, the second input to a second PDU in the aft partition.

2. The cargo loading system of claim 1, wherein the first PDU and the second PDU are configured to load a cargo into the cargo hold.

3. The cargo loading system of claim 2, further comprising selecting, by the processor, the first PDU in the forward partition in response to the cargo covering the first PDU.

4. The cargo loading system of claim 3, further comprising detecting, by the processor, the first PDU in the forward partition being covered by the cargo using an optical sensor.

5. The cargo loading system of claim 2, further comprising estimating, by the processor, a centroid of the cargo.

6. The cargo loading system of claim 5, wherein the partitioning the cargo hold into the forward partition and the aft partition further comprises partitioning the cargo hold into the forward partition forward of the centroid and the aft partition aft of the centroid.

7. A method of loading an aircraft, comprising:

estimating a centroid of a cargo;

partitioning a cargo hold into a forward partition forward of the centroid and an aft partition aft of the centroid;

reading a first input from a first joystick and a second input from a second joystick;

applying the first input to a first power drive unit (PDU) in the forward partition to control the first PDU; and

applying the second input to a second PDU in the aft partition to control the second PDU.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising determining a modulus of the first input and a direction of the first input.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the mapping the first input to the first PDU comprises:

mapping the modulus as a throttle of the first PDU; and

mapping the direction of the first input into the direction of the first PDU.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the first PDU and the second PDU are configured to load a cargo into the cargo hold.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising selecting the first PDU in the forward partition in response to the cargo covering the first PDU.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising detecting the first PDU in the forward partition being covered by the cargo using an optical sensor.