This invention relates to a load-transportation apparatus which is particularly, but not exclusively, designed for use on board a ship, oil rig or other structure which is liable to be subject to adverse weather conditions. In such circumstances it is very often desirable to transport a load across, for example, the deck of a ship without requiring personnel on deck but in which the load can be transported securely and accurately from one location to another.

In particular, the present invention has application to the traversing of a load in the nature of an aircraft such as a helicopter from a landing location to a hangar. The invention is equally applicable, however, to the other forms of load such as a trolley bearing stores.

Methods have previously been proposed in which an aircraft such as a helicopter can be landed on a landing grid provided on a flight deck of a ship and subsequently transported to a hangar also provided on the flight deck but at some distance from the landing grid. Such previously proposed systems include one in which a guide rail is recessed into the deck, the rail extending substantially between the landing grid and the hangar. On landing on the landing grid, a retractable deck-lock is extended from the helicopter to engage the landing grid

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and lock the helicopter to the deck. The helicopter, which has a pair of main wheels and a nose-wheel assembly, is rotated about the deck-lock until the nose-wheel assembly is aligned with the guide rail. A shuttle which is slidable along the guide rail is.located adjacent the nose-wheel assembly until the shuttle is engaged with a probe on the nose wheel assembly. The deck-lock is disengaged. The helicopter is then pulled into the hangar by winches whilst being restrained against lateral movement by the guide rail.

In the above-described prior arrangement, there is a period of time during which the helicopter is not secured to the deck. This arises after the deck-lock has been released from engagement with the landing grid.

An object of the present invention is to provide a load-transportation system for a load such a helicopter wherein the load is at all times secured to the surface over which it has to travel from one location to another.

According to the present invention there is provided a load transportation apparatus for transporting a load in a path across a surface from one location to another, destination, location and simultaneously restraining the load against lateral and vertical movement, said apparatus comprising first and second latching means for securing the load at said first location, means for disengaging said first latching means to enable the load to be moved under lateral restraint whilst locked by said second

latching means to an intermediate location for automatic engagement of said load with a third latching means prior to disengagement of said second latching means thereby enabling the load to be moved under lateral restraint to the destination location.

Preferably the load may be an aircraft, said one location may be a landing grid on the deck of a ship or the like and said destination location may be a hangar spaced from said landing grid.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which the drawing is a diagrammatic representation of a flight deck of a ship having a load transportation system for enabling a helicopter or helicopters to be transported from a landing grid to a hangar or hangars.

Referring to the drawing, a load transportation system is illustrated for transporting a helicopter 10 from a landing grid 11 on a flight deck 9 to either of a port or starboard hangar 12, 13 respectively located at a distance from the landing grid 11.

The helicopter 10 has main wheels 14 and nose wheels 15 and is provided with a retractable deck-lock 16 fitted on the fore-and-aft centre line of the aircraft and on the axis of the main wheels 14. The deck-lock 16 is of known construction and is adapted to be moved into and out of engagement with the landing grid 11 provided on the flight

deck 9. The helicopter 10 also has an extendable main probe 17 located on the longitudinal axis of the aircraft between the deck-lock 16 and an extendable nose-wheel probe 18 mounted on the steering axis of the nose-wheels 15.

Located adjacent the landing grid 11 in the direction of the hangars are destination selection means including a pair of arcuate plates 19 which are curvilinearly movable in a manner equivalent to sections of a rotatable turntable.

A auxiliary guide rail 20, along which is moveable an auxiliary shuttle (not shown) is recessed into the deck and extends between the landing grid 11 and a location designated X which is the probe point of rotation as will be hereinafter described. The auxiliary shuttle has a latching mechanism which is automatically engageable to the main probe 17 of the helicopter.

Extending from a position on the port anά^ starboard sides of location X are respective port and starboard main guide rails 21, 22 each being recessed into the deck and leading into a respective hangar 12 or 13. Each guide rail 21, 22 has associated therewith a primary shuttle (not shown) each shuttle being freely traversable under the power of winches along its respective guide rail. Each primary shuttle has a cranked arm at the end of which is a clamp for automatic engagement of said nose-wheel probe 18, the cranked arm being capable of rotating

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through 180 about a vertical axis so that the shuttle can pass the nose-wheel assembly prior to being reset for engagement with the probe 18.

Extending substantially parallel to each primary shuttle guide rail 21, 22 and inwardly thereof is a nose-wheel probe steering track, 23, 24 respectively, along which the nose-wheel probe 18 is adapted to move whilst being restrained against lateral movement. The tracks 23, 24 diverge at 25, 26 respectively from their associated main guide rail 21, 22.

It will be noted that the port main guide rail 21 and its associated steering track 23 and the starboard main guide rail 22 and its associated steering track 24 are curved. The curvature of these components is selected so that, as the nose-wheels 15 of a helicopter are moved along its steering track 23 or 24, pure rolling motion is provided for the aircraft's main wheels 14 during the helicopter's traverse. This eliminates tyre scrub and reduces the steering force for handling the aircraft via the probe.

The operation of the helicopter transporting apparatus as shown in the accompanying drawing will now be described.

After the helicopter has landed on the landing grid 11, its deck-lock 16 is extended to engage the landing grid 11 and thereby secure the aircraft.to the deck. The main probe 17 is then extended until it makes contact with. the deck. The helicopter 10 is then rotated in

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conventional manner about the deck-lock 16 using tail rotor thrust in order to bring the main probe 17 adjacent the end of the auxiliary guide rail 20. The main probe 17 engages with the rail 20 and arrests further rotation of the aircraft.

The auxiliary shuttle is raised from a position flush with the flight deck and moved forward along the auxiliary guide rail 20 where it is halted and automatically engaged by the main probe 17. At this point it will be appreciated that the helicopter 10 is secured to the deck of the ship by two devices, namely the deck-lock 16 and the auxiliary shuttle through the intermediary of the main probe 17. The deck-lock 16 is now disengaged from the grid 11 and the auxiliary shuttle pulls the aircraft forward via the main probe 17 and stops automatically at that end of the secondary guide rail 20 remote from the landing grid 11. At this point the aircraft's main wheels 14 will have rolled forward and mounted the arcuate plates 19 at positions 14' and the main probe 17 will be positioned at location X.

The arcuate plates 19 are then operated to rotate the aircraft about main probe 17 in order to point the aircraft towards its desired hangar to which it has to be traversed the wheels 14 and 15 taking up positions 14", 15". Rotation of the aircraft by the arcuate plates 19 and about the vertical axis of the main probe 17 is halted when the nose-wheel probe 18 is lowered and automatically

engages its steering track 23 or 24.

The primary shuttle is now moved aft along and within its main guide rail 21 or 22 until it is halted by the main probe 17. When the primary shuttle meets the main probe 17, it automatically disengages the auxiliary shuttle from the main probe 17. Security of the aircraft is thus transferred from the auxiliary shuttle to the primary shuttle. The aircraft is prevented from slewing about the main probe 17 by the previous engagement of the nose-wheel probe 18 in its steering track 23 or 24.

The primary shuttle is then moved along its guide rail 21 or 22 thereby pulling the aircraft via the main probe 17 with complete restraint into its designated hangar 12 or 13. The operation can be effected in one continuous movement with security against involuntary movement due to deck motion and wind forces.

Moving the aircraft from the hangar to the landing grid 11 is essentially the reverse procedure

It will be readily appreciated that although the above described embodiment refers to apparatus for serving two hangars, the apparatus can be adapted for use with only a single hangar. Furthermore, although the invention described in the above embodiment refers to transportation of a load in the form of an aircraft such as a helicopter it will be appreciated that the apparatus of the invention can be used for the transportation of other forms of load. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the

apparatus is used for the transportation of a load consisting of a loading trolley carrying stores from a hangar to an aircraft positioned on the landing grid 11. In this situation the main probe 17 of the aircraft is engaged to the auxiliary shuttle associated with the auxiliary rail 20 and the main wheels 14 are positioned on the arcuate plates 19. The primary shuttle is moved along its main guide rail 21 or 22 and operates as a tractor to push the loading trolley from the hangar to the aircraft. The loading trolley has guide shoes which co-operate with the main guide rail 21 or 22 to give the necessary restraint to involuntary lateral movement. The aircraft can be rotated about its main probe 17 to present the correct alignment of the aircraft to the loading trolley. A feature of the system is that in a double hangar installation, the primary shuttle from either hangar can be used to push a rail-guided stores trolley aft to the aircraft. The stores trolley can also be used simultaneously to take stores along each side of an aircraft positioned at a location between the two main guide rails 21 and -22.

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