Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FASTENING SYSTEM FOR HANGING MOUNTABLE OVERHEAD CONTAINERS
The invention relates to a fastening system for hanging, mountable overhead
containers, such as baggage compartments in aircraft, with at least one pair
of
support lugs attached to a support structure or to an overhead container, with
a pin
for the detachable interconnection of the support lugs, and with receptacle
sleeves
for the pin, wherein these sleeves are attached to the support lugs and are
essentially flush with each other in a mounted position of the overhead
container.
Below, such a fastening system is indeed described in its use for the mounting
of
overhead containers, such as baggage compartments, on the support structure of
aircraft, but such a fastening system could be used anywhere the task is to
mount
hanging overhead containers. One support lug provided with the pin guide is
indeed
fastened advantageously to the support structure, but the support lugs of a
pair
could be interchanged. In the development of cabins for newer types of
aircraft, such
as, for example, the Airbus A350, one goal is to design each element to be
fastened
to the fuselage of the aircraft, such as restrooms, galleys, passenger seats,
cabin
power networks, cabin lighting, and air nozzles, overhead containers, and rear-
panel
shelves, as a complete cabin module, wherein, however, all of the connection
points
should be constructed as flexible, standardized interfaces and wherein
simplified
fastener designs should be used that allow assembly and disassembly without
the
use of tools (cf., the article "Cabin Development - New Approach for the A350 -
Cabin Customization," One (magazine), German edition, December 18, 2006, pg.
23).
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In a known fastening system of the type noted above, which is used for the
hanging
assembly of baggage compartments in aircraft, more than three persons are
required for the assembly of each baggage compartment. At least three persons
lift
the baggage compartment into an assembly position. The support lugs of each
pair
are connected to each other by a respective bolt (which is a loose part). For
the
assembly of these bolts, special tools, such as hammers, pliers, etc. are
required.
Furthermore, the known fastening system does indeed allow a secure fastening
of
the baggage compartments to the support structure, wherein the fastening
system
distinguishes itself through light weight, good force absorption, low parts
prices, and
a small number of components, but in contrast to these features, it has long
assembly and disassembly times, a relatively large number of persons required
for
the assembly and disassembly of a baggage compartment, and the requirement of
tools. The loose bolts can also be lost. These restrictions lead to the result
that, in
the cabin configuration of aircraft, attention must be given to managing with
as few
variants as possible. This is associated with a loss of flexibility in the
cabin
configuration. A disadvantageous effect is that the disassembly is
complicated,
because the bolts can be detached again only with difficulty and typically
only with
special tools.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an object is to provide a
fastening
system for pendant-mountable overhead containers, such as stowage bins in an
aircraft,
with at least one pair of support lugs attached to a support structure or to
an
overhead container,
with a pin for the releasable interconnection of the support lugs, and
with receiving sleeves for the pin, which sleeves are attached to the support
lugs and
are aligned with one other in an assembled position of an overhead container,
characterised that a pin guide is attached to one of the support lugs aligned
with its
receiving sleeve, in which pin guide the pin is retracted but can be locked
with
spring-loading in the direction of the receiving sleeve and can be locked by
bringing
the receiving sleeves of the support lug pair into alignment and can be
extended at
least into the receiving sleeve of the other support lug,
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in that a compression spring for the preloading and extending out of the pin
is
arranged in the pin guide,
in that for locking the retracted pin a locking element, which can move
transversely
to the pin, engages in a recess formed on the pin, and
in that a lever is articulated on the pin guide for the manual retraction of
the pin in the
pin guide and for further extending the pin into the receiving sleeve of one
support
lug.
Other object(s), objective(s), embodiment(s), variant(s) and/or advantage(s)
of the
present invention, all being preferred and/or optional, are briefly summarized
hereinbelow.
For example, another objective of the invention can be to form a fastening
system of
the type noted above such that it allows a quicker and easier assembly and
disassembly of overhead containers, such as baggage compartments, to a support
structure, in particular, in wide-bodied aircraft, wherein the assembly and
disassembly should be possible with two persons, without special tools, and
without
loose parts.
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['his objective is met according to the invention by a pin guide attached to
one of the support
lugs flush with their receptacle sleeve, wherein, in this pin guide, the pin
is retracted, but can be
locked in a spring-biased manner in the direction of the receptacle sleeve and
can be unlocked
through at least the approximate alignment of the receptacle sleeves of the
support lug pair and
can be extended at least into the receptacle sleeve of the other support lug.
In the fastening system according to the invention, the not-extended pin is
located under spring
biasing tension in the pin guide. The pin is thus not a loose part, but
instead captively assembled
in advance on one of the support lugs of the pair. This allows the assembly of
an overhead
container by fewer persons than in the prior art, because the overhead
containers merely need to
be lifted until the receptacle sleeves attached to the support lugs are
essentially flush with each
other. In this way. the pin is unlocked that is then extended by the existing
spring biasing tension
into the receptacle sleeve of the other support lug. Thus, the overhead
container is already locked
onto one support lug. The pin could then be extended completely by hand if
necessary and
inserted into the receptacle sleeve of one support lug. The disassembly is
possible in the reverse
sequence just as easily, without a special tool being required for extending
and retracting the pin.
One of the persons who have lifted the overhead container upward into the
assembled position is
free after the first locking of the other support lug to the first support lug
and can work on the
final extension of the pin. The fastening system according to the invention
thus allows a simpler
assembly and disassembly of hanging, mountable overhead containers, such as
baggage
compartments, in aircraft with less effort by personnel. The safety is also
therefore increased,
because there are no loose parts that could be lost and could cause
disruptions. Simultaneously,
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more flexibility is achieved for the cabin equipment. The simple fastening
system according to
the invention allows many more variants than in the prior art.
Advantageous constructions of the fastening system according to the invention
form the subject
matter of the subordinate claims.
In one construction of the fastening system according to the invention, a
first locking element
moving transverse to the pin engages in a recess formed on the pin for locking
the retracted pin.
This allows the pin retracted into the pin guide to be locked detachably in
this position in which
it is spring-loaded with the help of the first locking element that engages in
the recess formed on
the pin. The first locking element is unlocked in that the receptacle sleeves
of the support lug pair
are brought at least approximately into alignment. As soon as the first
locking element leaves the
recess formed on the pin, the pin is extended into the receptacle sleeve of
the first support lug
provided with the pin guide due to the spring biasing tension.
In another construction of the fastening system according to the invention,
the locking element is
a part of a release bracket that is supported so that it can move on the first
support lug and can be
displaced through the other support lug when the receptacle sleeves of the
support lugs are
brought into alignment. By lifting the overhead container into the assembled
position, the release
bracket is activated by the other support lug. In this way, the locking
element is moved out from
the recess formed on the pin, so that the pin is then extended automatically
due to its spring
biasing, in order to lock the other support lug on the first support lug
provided with the pin guide.
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In another construction of the fastening system according to the invention,
the release bracket is
biased in the direction of the pin guide and the receptacle sleeve of the
first support lug provided
with the pin guide by at least one compression spring. In this way it is
guaranteed that the
locking element engages in the recess formed on the pin as long as the other
support lug has not
been introduced into the first support lug provided with the pin guide, in
order to lift the release
bracket.
In another construction of the fastening system according to the invention,
another compression
spring is arranged in the pin guide for the biasing and extending of the pin.
This additional
compression spring is tensioned in the retracted position of the pin, so that
the automatic
extending of the pin is guaranteed as soon as the locking element is removed
from the recess
formed on the pin.
In another construction of the fastening system according to the invention, a
lever is hinged on
the pin guide for the manual retraction of the pin into the pin guide and for
the extension of the
pin into the receptacle sleeve of the first support lug. Through the biasing
by the additional
compression spring, the pin is extended into the receptacle sleeve of the
other support lug when
the pin is unlocked. With the lever, the pin can then be extended farther by
hand until its free end
is located in the receptacle sleeve of the first support lug provided with the
pin guide. This end
position of the pin corresponds to a final position of the lever that
simultaneously thus prevents a
retraction of the pin into the pin guide.
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In another construction of the fastening system according to the invention,
the lever can be
locked detachably in a closed position by a securing device. In this way, the
lever itself is also
secured against undesired backward movement. The fastening system is thus
secured against
detachment of the pin, whether due to vibrations or other mechanical
conditions.
In another construction of the fastening system according to the invention,
the lever engages in
the closed position with its free end in a spring-loaded part of the securing
device and is held
back by this part. For this purpose, it would be sufficient to form an opening
in which one end of
the lever engages when closed in the spring-loaded part of the securing
device.
Therefore, because the lever can be locked detachably in the closed position
by the securing
device, it is guaranteed that the lever and thus the pin cannot move backward
unintentionally
from the receptacle sleeve. When lifting and inserting the other support lug
with the overhead
container, it must be guaranteed that the pin is retracted into the pin guide
in the opened state.
The other support lug thus could be positioned unimpaired with its receptacle
sleeve in the axis
of the pin. Only through the mechanical detachment of the locking element from
the pin, this
could penetrate into the receptacle sleeve of the first support lug provided
with the pin guide
through the biasing loading of its compression spring.
In another construction of the fastening system according to the invention, a
spring that brings
the lever from its closed position when the securing device is detached is
attached to the lever.
Therefore, the lever in the closed position is pressed against the opening or
a stop on the spring-
loaded part of the securing device. The securing effect is thus not only
reinforced, but the lever is
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automatically folded up at least to a certain extent when the securing device
is released.
Therefore it is easier to grip the lever by hand and to release the support
lugs completely from
each other by moving the pin backward into the pin guide.
In another construction of the fastening system according to the invention,
the lever forms, with
a connection element hinged on the pin, an articulated lever for extending and
retracting as well
as for securing the pin. After the pin has been pushed by its compression
spring automatically
into the receptacle sleeve of the other support lug, through subsequent
closing of the lever, the
mutual locking of the support lugs through the pin can now be finally secured.
In another construction of the fastening system according to the invention, a
first pair of support
lugs and a second pair of support lugs are attached to each other at two
adjacent hanging points
of two adjacent overhead containers to a multiple-compartment mounting bracket
attached to the
support structure. The arrangement is here affected so that, in the case of
assembled overhead
containers, for example, the first overhead container with the first support
lug pair is prevented
from evasive movement in the X, Y, and Z directions and the other overhead
container with the
second support lug pair is prevented from evasive movement in the Y and Z
directions.
Embodiments of the invention are explained in detail below with reference to
the drawings.
Shown are:
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section view of a fastening system according to the
invention in the
disassembled state,
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Fig. 2 is a view of the fastening system according to Fig. 1 in a first phase
of an assembled state,
Fig. 3 is a view of the fastening system according to Fig. 1 in a completely
assembled state,
Fig. 4 is a view of a fastening system according to the invention with two
pairs of support lugs
for the simultaneous fastening of two adjacent overhead containers at two
adjacent hanging
points, wherein one support lug pair is shown in the mounted state and one
support lug pair is
shown in the disassembled state,
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the fastening system according to Fig. 4, and
Fig. 6 is an exploded view of the fastening system according to Figs. 4 and 5.
Fig. 1 shows, in a longitudinal section view, a fastening system designated
overall with 10 for
the hanging assembly of an overhead container 12 only indicated in Fig. 1 on a
support structure
14 only indicated in Fig. 1. The overhead container 12 could involve a baggage
compartment or
the like in an aircraft. The fastening system 10 comprises a pair of support
lugs that are
designated overall with 20 or 22. The support lug 20 is formed for attaching
to the support
structure 14. The support lug 22 is attached to the overhead container 12. The
two support lugs
20, 22 could be interchanged, as already mentioned above. The fastening system
10 is shown in
Fig. 1 in the disassembled state, that is, the support lugs 20, 22 are not
connected to each other
by a pin 30, as shown for the assembled state in Fig. 3, but instead still
separated from each
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other. Using the pin 30, the support lugs 20, 22 can be connected detachably
to each other.
Consequently, the two support lugs will now be described first in detail.
The support lug 20 is a component on which two forks are formed, namely an
upper fork 20a in
the diagram in Fig. 1 and a lower fork 20b in the diagram in Fig. 1. For
fastening the support lug
20 on the support structure 14, this is accommodated between the two legs of
the upper fork 20a.
A tight connection is produced with the help of a screw 24 that is guided
through the passage
hole 14a into the support structure 14. For fixing the screw in the upper fork
20a, a not-shown
nut or a threaded hole formed in the fork leg at the right in Fig. 1 could be
used. A multiple-
compartment mounting bracket 100 could be arranged between the upper fork 20a
and the
support structure 14 according to Fig. 5, wherein this mounting bracket will
be discussed in
detail farther below. In the right leg of the lower fork 20b, a receptacle
sleeve 26 for the pin 30 is
attached. In the left leg of the lower fork 20b, that is, flush with the
receptacle sleeve 26, a pin
guide 40 is attached as shown on the axis of the receptacle sleeve 26. The two
forks 20a and 20b
and thus the support lug 20 are divided along a joint 32 and thus can be
disassembled as can be
recognized in Fig. 6 in the exploded-view diagram in which the support lug 20
is shown at the
top left.
The pin 30 is shown retracted into the pin guide 40 in Fig. 1. The pin 30 is
locked in the retracted
position by a locking element 42 that moves transverse relative to the pin and
engages in a recess
44 formed on the pin 30. The recess 44 is formed in the shown embodiment as a
ring groove.
The locking element 42 is a part of a release bracket 46 that is supported so
that it can move on
the support lug 20 and is biased in the direction of the pin guide 40 and the
receptacle sleeve 26
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of the support lug 20 by two compression springs 48. The release bracket has
two legs of which
the first is a locking element 42 and of which the other is formed like the
locking element 42 but
is used only as a guide. These two arms are connected rigidly to each other by
a transverse pin
50. The support lug 22 comes in contact with the transverse pin 50 when the
overhead container
12 is lifted, in order to bring the support lugs mutually into an assembled
position that is
described in even more detail farther below. Due to the biasing loading by the
compression
springs 48, the locking element 60 remains locked in the recess 44 of the pin
30 and thus the pin
30 remains in its position shown in Fig. 1 in which it is biased by a
compression spring 34 in the
direction of the receptacle sleeve 26 as long as the release bracket 46 is not
lifted by the support
lug 22. The compression spring 34 is indicated in Fig. 1 and is not shown in
Fig. 6.
A lever 60 is hinged on the pin guide 40. A connection element 62 is hinged at
its one end on the
lever 60 and at its other end on the pin 30. The hinged connection on the pin
30 comprises a
hinge pin 64 that projects outward into two opposing longitudinal slots 66 of
the pin guide 40
and is supported in two corresponding holes of the connection element 42. The
lever 60 thus
forms, with the connection element 62, an articulated lever for extending and
retracting as well
as for securing the pin 30. By pivoting the lever 60 in the counterclockwise
direction in the
position shown in Fig. 1, the pin 30 is retracted in the pin guide 40 until
the locking element 42
engages in the recess 44. When pulled back, the compression spring 34 is
tensioned. For
extending the pin 30 from the pin guide 40, which is described in detail
farther below, the lever
60 is pivoted in the clockwise direction until it lies on the pin guide 40 in
a closed position
shown in Fig. 3. The pin guide 40 carries a securing device 70 that is formed
as a type of spring
bracket. When the lever 60 is pivoted in the clockwise direction, it presses,
with its free end, the
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securing device 70 in Fig. 1 to the right and finally reaches, with its free
end, into an opening 72,
whereupon the securing device 70 is pivoted back and the lever 60 is held
tight in the closed
position. A leaf spring 68 that brings the lever 60 out from the closed
position when the securing
device 70 is released is attached to the lever 60.
The support lug 22 comprises a lug 80 in which a receptacle sleeve 86 is
supported centrally for
the pin 30 in an impact damping bushing 88. The impact damping bushing 88 is
supported in the
lug 80 in Fig. 1 at the right on a ring shoulder 82 and is held by a spring
ring 84 in the lug 80.
The lug 80 is part of a bracket 90 that is fastened to the outside of the
overhead container 12.
With reference to the diagram in Figs. 1-3, the assembly and the disassembly
of the overhead
container 12 will now be described. Fig. 1 shows the starting positions of the
support lugs 20 and
22. In the starting position of the support lug 20, the pin 30 is inserted
into the pin guide 40 and
locked by the locking element 42. The compression spring 34 is tensioned.
Several persons now
lift the overhead container 12 until the support lug 22 impacts against the
transverse pin 50 of the
release bracket 46 and presses the release bracket 46 upward. Therefore, the
locking element 42
is lifted and leaves the recess 44. Here, the receptacle sleeves 26 and 86 of
the support lugs 20 or
22 are brought into alignment. Through the tensioned compression spring 34,
the now unlocked
pin 30 is pushed into the receptacle sleeve 86 of the support lug 22 as shown
in Fig. 2. The lever
60 is here automatically pivoted somewhat in the clockwise direction, as also
shown in Fig. 2.
The overhead container 12 is now already locked in advance to the support lug
20, so that at least
one of the persons who have lifted the overhead container 12 into the
assembled position is free
to actuate the lever 60 and to secure the overhead container 12 finally in its
assembled position.
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For this purpose. the operator pivots the lever 60 from the position shown in
Fig. 2 farther in the
clockwise direction into the closed position shown in Fig. 3 in which the leaf
spring 68 lies on
the pin guide 40 on the outside, just like the lever 60, wherein the lever 60
is held in this position
by the securing device 70. When moving into this closed position, the pin 30
is shifted farther to
the right by the lever 60 by the connection element 62 until it assumes the
position shown in Fig.
3 in which the pin 30 is received into the receptacle sleeve 26 of the support
lug 20.
For disassembly of the overhead container 12, the securing device 70 is moved
somewhat to the
right from the position shown in Fig. 3 until the securing device 70 releases
the lever 60. This is
pressed somewhat upward by the leaf spring 68 that is supported on the pin
guide 40, so that it
can be easily gripped by hand and can be moved in the counterclockwise
direction via the
position according to Fig. 2 into the final position according to Fig. 1 in
which the pin 30 is
pulled back again into the pin guide 40, the locking element 42 is locked
again in the recess 44
and the compression spring 34 is tensioned again.
According to the diagram in Figs. 4-6, a first pair of support lugs 20, 22 and
a second pair of
support lugs 20'. 22' are attached one next to the other at two adjacent
hanging points of two
adjacent overhead containers 12, 12' to a multiple-compartment mounting
bracket 100 affixed to
the support structure 14 and, indeed, in the assembled state in Fig. 5 and in
the disassembled
state in Fig. 4. The support lug 20' differs from the support lug 20 only in
that it is not divided
along a joint and that it also still has a centering cap 52 that guides the
support lug 22' into a
central position, in order to simplify bringing the receptacle sleeves 36, 86
into alignment. The
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support lug 20 itself is shaped on the inside so that the support lug 22 is
guided into a central
position.
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List of reference symbols
Fastening system
12, 12' Overhead container
14 Support structure
14a Passage hole
20, 20' Support lug
20a Upper fork
20b Lower fork
22, 22' Support lug
24 Screw
26 Receptacle sleeve
30 Pin
32 Joint
34 Compression spring
36 Receptacle sleeve
40 Pin guide
42 Locking element
44 Recess
46 Release bracket
48 Compression spring
50 Transverse pin
52 Centering cap
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60 Lever
62 Connection element
64 Link pin
66 Longitudinal slot
68 Leaf spring
70 Securing device
72 Opening
80 Lug
82 Ring shoulder
84 Spring ring
86 Receptacle sleeve
88 Impact damping bushing
90 Bracket
100 Multi-compartment mounting bracket
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