US 3,999,630 AGranted

Transport and serving device

OwnerDonald T. McPheeinventor

Life of this patent

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Abstract

Transport, service and pick-up devices for use primarily in food, snack and beverage service in aircraft cabins; apparatus for loading, transporting, serving and picking-up of trays and containers used in serving meals, beverages and snacks to seated passengers in aircraft; a collapsible, storeable, transport service device suspended from an overhead monorail which, moving along the monorail, typically first receives a multiplicity of trays or objects from a storage and dispersal point in an aircraft cabin, then transports them to the passenger seating area, there permits distribution of the trays or objects to the passengers and, finally, thereafter, facilitates mass pick-up of the trays or objects from the passengers for transport back to the storage and dispersal point in the aircraft; a device of the character described which removably receives within itself loaded containers of trays for dispensing and pick-up of the trays from the containers.

Claims32

Dependent claims

A transport serving device comprising, in combination,

1. an overhead, elongate, normally horizontally oriented monorail,
2. a first frame assembly supported by and movable on said monorail comprising an elongate, normally horizontal support carried by at least two spaced wheels rotatably riding on said monorail,
3. a second frame assembly supported by and depending from said support comprising:
a. two sets of elongate, normally substantially vertical, spaced double beam members, each pivotally depending at one end thereof from the said horizonal support,
b. a pair of normally horizontal, elongate, transverse first shafts each connectably engaged at its ends by the lower ends of the beam members of one set thereof, and
c. a first pair of normally horizontal connecting arms joining the opposed outer ends of said shafts,
4. said second frame assembly pivotable from a lowermost position with the beam members vertical and the first shafts and connecting arms vertically spaced away from the support and an uppermost position with the beam members substantially horizontal and the first shafts and connecting arms closely adjacent the support,
5. means communicating between said support and one of said first shafts operable to releasably fix said second frame assembly in any desired position between its lower and upper positions,
6. a third frame assembly supported by and depended from said second frame assembly comprising:
a. a first transverse wall member pivotally mounted on and depending from one of said shafts,
b. a second, transverse wall member pivotably mounted on and depended from the other of said shafts,
c. a pair of second, normally horizonal, elongate, transverse second shafts, each one of said second shafts carried and engaged by the lower end of one of said walls, and
d. a second pair of normally horizontal connecting arms joining the opposed outer ends of the said second shafts,
7. said third frame assembly pivotable from a lowermost position with the walls vertical to an uppermost position with the said walls substantially horizontal,
8. means for removably supporting said third frame assembly in its uppermost position from said second frame assembly, and
9. means for supporting articles to be dispensed associated with said walls.

13 more elements

A transport serving device comprising, in combination,

1. an overhead, elongate, normally horizontally oriented monorail,
2. a first frame assembly supported by and movable on said monorail comprising an elongate, normally horizontal support carried by at least two spaced wheels rotatably riding on said monorail,
3. a second frame assembly supported by and depending from said support comprising:
a. two sets of elongate, normally substantially vertical, spaced double beam members, each pivotally depending at one end thereof from the said horizontal support,
b. a pair of normally horizontal, elongate, transverse first shafts each connectably engaged at its ends by the lower ends of the beam members of one set thereof, and
c. a normally horizontally oriented roof member pivotally connected to and supported by the lower ends of said beam members and said first shafts,
4. said second frame assembly pivotable from a lowermost position with the beam members a substantially vertical and the first shafts and roof member vertically spaced away from the support and an uppermost position with the beam member substantially horizontal and the first shaft and roof member closely adjacent the support,
5. means communicating between said support and one of said first shafts operable to releaseably fix said second frame assembly in any desired position between its lower and upper positions,
6. a third frame assembly supported by and depended from said second frame assembly comprising:
a. a first pair of second beam members pivotably mounted on and depending from the side edges of one end of the roof member,
b. a second pair of second beam members pivotably depending from the side edges of the opposite end of said roof member,
c. a floor member substantially congruent to said roof member pivotably connected to the lower ends of said second beam members at the end corners thereof,
7. said third frame assembly pivotable from a lowermost position with the second beam members substantially vertical and the floor member spaced away from the roof member to an uppermost position with the said second beam members substantially horizontal and the said floor member closely adjacent said roof member, and
8. means for removably supporting said third frame assembly in its uppermost position from said second frame assembly.

11 more elements

A transport serving device comprising, in combination,

1. an overhead, elongate, normally horizontally oriented monorail,
2. a first frame assembly supported by and movable on said monorail comprising an elongate, normally horizontal support carried by at least two spaced wheels rotatably riding on said monorail,
3. a second frame assembly supported by and depending from said support comprising:
a. two elongate, normally substantially vertical, spaced beam members, each pivotably depending at one end thereof from the said horizontal support,
b. a pair of normally horizontal, elongate, transverse first shafts each connectably engaged by the lower end of one of said beam members, and
c. a first pair of normally horizontal connecting arms joining the opposed outer ends of said shafts,
4. said second frame assembly pivotable from a lowermost position with the beam members vertical and the first shaft and connecting arms vertically spaced away from the support and an uppermost position with the beam members substantially horizontal and the first shafts and connecting arms closely adjacent the support,
5. means communicating between said support and one of said first shafts operable to releaseably fix said second frame assembly in any desired position between its lowermost and uppermost positions,
6. a third frame assembly supported by and depending from said second frame assembly comprising:
a. a first transverse wall member pivotably mounted on and depending from one of said shafts,
b. a second, transverse wall member pivotably mounted on and depended from the other of said shafts,
c. a pair of second, normally horizontal, elongate, transverse second shafts, each one of said second shafts carried and engaged by the lower end of one of said walls, and
d. a second pair of normally horizontal connecting arms joining the opposed outer ends of the said second shaft,
7. said third frame assembly pivotable from a lowermost position with the walls vertical to an uppermost position with the said walls substantially horizontal,
8. means for removably supporting said third frame assembly in its uppermost position from said second frame assembly, and
9. means for supporting articles to be dispensed associated with said walls.

13 more elements

A transport serving device comprising, in combination,

1. an overhead, elongate, normally horizontally oriented monorail,
2. a first frame assembly supported by and movable on said monorail comprising an elongate, normally horizontal support carried by at least two spaced wheels rotatably riding on said monorail,
3. a second frame assembly supported by and depending from said support comprising:
a. two elongate, normally substantially vertical, spaced beam members, each pivotably depending at one end thereof from the said horizontal support,
b. a pair of normally horizontal, elongate, transverse first shafts each connectably engaged by the lower end of one of said beam members,
c. a normally horizontally oriented roof member pivotally connected to and supported by the lower ends of said beam members and said first shafts,
4. said second frame assembly pivotable from a lowermost position with the beam member substantially vertical and the first shaft and roof member vertically spaced away from the support and an uppermost position with the beam member substantially horizontal and the first shaft and roof member closely adjacent the support,
5. means communicating between said support and one of said first shafts operable to releaseably fix said second frame assembly in any desired position between its lower and upper positions,
6. a third frame assembly supported by and depending from said second frame assembly comprising:
a. a first pair of second beam members pivotably mounted on and depending from the side edges of one end of the roof member,
b. a second pair of second beam members pivotably depending from the side edges of the opposite end of said roof member,
c. a floor member substantially congruent to said roof member pivotably connected to the lower ends of said second beam members at the end corners thereof,
7. said third frame assembly pivotable from a lowermost position with the second beam member substantially vertical and the floor member spaced away from the roof member to an uppermost position with the said second beam members substantially horizontal and said floor member closely adjacent said roof member, and
8. means for removably supporting said third frame assembly in its uppermost position from said second frame assembly.

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 05/670,748Filed 26 Mar 1976
Granted: 28 Dec 1976
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

B65G 9/002
Apparatus for assisting manual handling having suspended load-carriers movable by hand or gravity: load-carriers, rollers therefor
B64D 11/0007
Passenger or crew accommodation; Flight-deck installations not otherwise provided for: devices specially adapted for food or beverage distribution…
B64D 11/04
Passenger or crew accommodation; Flight-deck installations not otherwise provided for: galleys
B65G
Transport or storage devices