The present invention is directed to a baggage chute for transferring baggage, luggage and the like from a passenger boarding bridge to ground level for placing baggage, luggage and the like into the baggage hold of an aircraft. Presently, at many airports, passengers board and disembark from an aircraft by walking through an elevated boarding bridge which connects the inside of the airport to the passenger seating area of a waiting aircraft. In this manner, passengers do not need to walk across the tarmac to get into the aircraft, nor do they have to travel outside to board the aircraft. This is particularly advantageous when the weather is hot or cold and when it is raining or snowing outside.
Accordingly, many boarding bridges are moveable from different positions. Thus, once an aircraft is positioned outside of a gate at an airport, the boarding bridge is moved so that passengers and airline personnel can travel directly between the airport and the aircraft without traveling outside. Additionally, the boarding bridges may compensate for differences between the elevation of the airport and the passenger seating area of the aircraft. In particular, because larger aircraft typically have passenger seating areas elevated many feet above the ground level (that is, the level of the tarmac), boarding bridges dispense with the need for both stairs leading down to the tarmac and stairs back up to the aircraft.
Generally, the airport is elevated higher than the level of the passenger seating area of the aircraft, and thus boarding bridges slope slightly downward from the airport to the aircraft. Since the entry and exit doors of aircrafts are many feet off of the ground, and the height of the doors vary between different aircraft, boarding bridges may be moved up and down to accommodate different aircraft. Because airline personnel use the boarding bridge to service the aircraft, boarding bridges may also include an outside stairway which connects the boarding bridge (and thus the inside of the airport) with the ground level outside of the aircraft.
While passengers always travel in the passenger area of the aircraft, their baggage may travel with them in that area or in the baggage hold of the aircraft. Generally, when a passenger arrives at the airport, he or she xe2x80x9cchecks-inxe2x80x9d with the airline at a ticket counter to confirm his or her ticket for a particular flight. At that time, the passenger usually decides where his or her baggage should be placed during the aircraft flight. The passenger may xe2x80x9ccheckxe2x80x9d the baggage, that is, have the baggage placed in the baggage hold of the aircraft. The baggage hold of a typical aircraft is usually located in a separate compartment beneath the passenger area. Access to the baggage hold is made through one or more hatches in the underside of the aircraft. Thus, hatches typically must be entered from the ground level.
If the passenger checks his or her baggage, the baggage is left with the airline personnel at the ticket counter or, in some instances, at the curb of the airport terminal, and airline personnel generally ensure that the baggage travels through the baggage handling system of the airport to the baggage hold of the aircraft that the passenger plans to take to his or her destination. In the alternative, the passenger may xe2x80x9ccarry onxe2x80x9d his baggage, that is, carry the baggage onto the aircraft and store the baggage in a storage compartment in the passenger area of the aircraft, or, alternatively, underneath a passenger seat.
In some instances, passengers do not check their baggage when they check-in to confirm their flight, but when they arrive at the gate of the aircraft they plan to take, for some reason, the baggage needs to be placed into the baggage hold of the aircraft. For example, the baggage may not fit in the passenger area of the aircraft because of a lack of space for additional baggage or because that particular baggage is too large to fit within a storage space in the passenger area. In these instances, the baggage generally must be moved to the baggage hold of the aircraft.
At this point, however, the passenger is already at the aircraft gate, or even near or at the aircraft entrance. Accordingly, instead of having the passenger travel back to the ticket counter to check the baggage through the airport""s baggage handling system, airline personnel can check the baggage at the gate. In the past, airline personnel would have to walk the gate-checked baggage down the outside stairs of the bridge out onto the tarmac to have the baggage directly placed in the baggage hold of the aircraft. This could be difficult or even hazardous for the airline personnel if the baggage was large, heavy or cumbersome. Later, chutes were added next to the stairs from the upper level of the boarding bridge to the lower ground level. The airline personnel could then slide the baggage down the chute from the boarding bridge level to ground level. These chutes are generally made of metal and are channel-shaped having straight sides, thereby having two side walls which were generally perpendicular to a bottom wall. However, these chutes were expensive, difficult to manufacture, and tended to fracture after relatively short periods of use. Furthermore, the chutes were heavy and placed significant structural stress on the stairs and boarding bridge.
Accordingly, there is a need for a baggage chute apparatus which is inexpensive, easy to manufacture, lightweight and long-lasting.
One aspect of the present invention provides a baggage chute for transferring baggage from an elevated level of an aircraft passenger boarding bridge to ground level. The chute includes at least one slide member which is shaped to form a lightweight truncated cylinder of arcuate cross-section and has annularly extending ribs. In one embodiment, there are a plurality of slide members which are rigidly connected to provide an elongated slide. The slide has a plurality of mounting members for fastening the slide to the boarding bridge. A baggage receiving area is attached near an end of the slide near ground level for receiving and retaining baggage. The receiving area may include baggage holding means for stopping the sliding of the baggage and absorbing the impact between the receiving member and the baggage bumper member. Alternatively, the receiving area may include a bumper member which extends substantially across the receiving area for stopping the sliding of the baggage and absorbing the impact between the bumper member and the baggage.
Another aspect of the present invention provides an airline passenger boarding apparatus which includes a passenger boarding bridge elevated above ground level. The bridge includes at least one stairway linking the passageway with ground level. The apparatus also includes an elongated slide which is mounted adjacent the stairway via a plurality of mounting brackets. The slide has a generally uniform, arcuate shape and is elongated generally in a baggage-transport path. The slide further defines a plurality of annularly extending ribs. The slide may be comprised of a plurality of interconnected slide members. The mounting brackets extend toward the stairway, and support the arcuate cross-sectional shape of the slide. The apparatus also includes a baggage receiving area defined on the slide near ground level for receiving and retaining baggage transported on the slide. The receiving area may include baggage holding means for stopping the sliding of baggage down the slide. Alternatively, the receiving area may include a bumper member for stopping the sliding of the baggage down the slide.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method for loading baggage from an elevated passenger boarding bridge onto an aircraft. First, a baggage chute is provided. The baggage chute is mounted adjacent the passenger boarding bridge. The chute includes a plurality of slide members shaped to form truncated cylinders of arcuate cross-section. The slide members have annularly extending ribs and are rigidly connected to provide an elongated slide. The slide has an upper end and a lower end so that the slide extends from its upper end at the level of the boarding bridge to its lower end at ground level. The baggage chute is also provided with a baggage receiving area formed near the lower end of the slide and thus near ground level. Next, the baggage is transferred from the boarding bridge to the upper end of the slide. Then, the baggage item is allowed to slide down the slide to come to rest against the bumper member at least partially within the baggage receiving area. Next, the baggage is retrieved from the baggage receiving area at the lower end of the slide. Last, the baggage is then placed onto the aircraft.
These and other objects, advantages, and features of the present invention will be better understood upon review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.