Angled Aircraft Cargo Access Platform
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft with restricted cargo door access due to obstructions like engines or wing fairings face challenges in efficient loading and unloading of freight containers, leading to increased turnaround times and costs, as conventional loaders cannot access all cargo holds simultaneously.
Innovation Solution
An access platform for aircraft cargo holds that allows cargo to be loaded or unloaded at an angle relative to the conventional perpendicular position, enabling ground vehicles to position themselves safely away from obstructions by extending non-parallel to the cargo door opening, thereby facilitating access through a platform that can be attached to vehicles and supports cargo movement across it.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional pallet/container loaders are used to load cargo into aircraft cargo holds, then loading and unloading operations can be performed efficiently, but ground vehicles cannot access all cargo holds simultaneously due to obstructions like engines or wing fairings
Solution Approach 1:
The platform is made movable between a stowed position (flush with the aircraft skin) and a deployed position (extending outward at an angle). This dynamic configuration allows the platform to adapt to different operational requirements: when stowed, it maintains aerodynamic fairness and avoids obstruction; when deployed, it enables ground vehicles to access cargo holds that would otherwise be inaccessible due to engines or wing fairings.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform extends outward from the aircraft skin at an angle, creating a new spatial dimension for cargo loading. This angular extension allows ground vehicles to approach the cargo door from a direction that clears obstructions like engines or wing fairings, effectively using the third dimension (angle/orientation) to resolve the accessibility conflict.
2Ease of manufacture
If cargo doors are positioned near aircraft structures like engines or wing fairings, then aircraft design constraints are met, but ground vehicle access to these cargo doors is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The platform acts as an intermediary element between the aircraft skin and the ground vehicle. It provides a mechanical bridge that extends the reach of the cargo door opening, allowing ground vehicles to access cargo holds near engines or wing fairings without requiring the vehicle to position itself in a restricted space. The platform mediates the interaction between the fixed aircraft structure and the mobile ground vehicle.
3Reliability
If only one cargo door is used for loading pallets/containers, then access problems are avoided, but turnaround time increases and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The platform is designed to be universally applicable to multiple cargo doors on the aircraft. Each cargo door can be equipped with a deployable platform, allowing any door to function as a full-capacity loading point for pallets and containers. This multi-functionality enables the aircraft to utilize all cargo doors simultaneously for different types of cargo, maximizing throughput and reducing turnaround time.
Data Source
AI summary
An access platform (208) enables containers (222) to be loaded into a cargo hold (218) of an aircraft (202) from a ground vehicle (220). The platform (208) has two opposite and non-parallel ends (210, 214), between which there is defined a support surface, the platform when viewed in plan having a generally trapezoidal shape. In use, an item (222) of cargo is moved between the cargo hold (218) and the ground vehicle (220) via a door opening, the movement of the item (222) through the door opening being in a direction (213) which when viewed in plan is not parallel to the direction (211) in which the door opening faces. During such movement, the item (222) of cargo is supported by from beneath by the support surface of the platform (208).