Baggage and cargo handling

Reliable conveying of baggage is a primary concern for a large portion of travellers at an airport. Safe, fast, and undamaged return of personal possessions is one of the most important services expected of an airport operator.

In addition to the mechanical features of a baggage handling system, the electrical drive components also determine the function of the overall system. They represent the link between the operating level and the motors. Reliability, fast reaction times as well as simple signalling and handling of the electrical drive components have a decisive influence on the function of the overall system.

For applications of this type, we have developed Rapid Link, the decentralised drive control system. Some of the performance features of Rapid Link have been specially optimised for airports and assure smooth daily operations in service.

Engineering and installation

It is often a long time before the final decision for a baggage transport system is made. Short engineering and installation times are therefore often decisive, particularly when special events such as the world championships or Olympic Games with fixed dates are on the horizon.

As early as the system design and configuration stages, Rapid Link and its distributed engineering philosophy starts to earn plus points. Installation and commissioning in particular are accelerated by the manual operating features. Even when conversions or expansions are required, the advantages of Rapid Link are highly beneficial. The modular, distributed design also reduces the cost and effort in this case and brings the system back up to speed in the shortest possible time.

Access and signalling on location

Irrespective of if the corresponding motor is::

• Difficult to access
• Installed higher than 2.5 m or is
• Located in an enclosed area or compound,

the RL unit can also be installed so that it can be accessed quickly by the operating personnel without the need for further tools.
The operating personnel are immediately made aware of the status by LED displays located on the unit: if there is a malfunction? What is the cause of the malfunction? Thus, we guarantee quick reaction times and avoid the need for extended fault analysis.

Manual operation, a clear benefit in daily operation

In day-to-day operation at many airports, it has become evident that manual operation of the motor operators on location has some decisive advantages:

• Installation, configuration, and fault rectification can be undertaken independently of the PLC by the operating personnel on location.
• Manual operation enables independent operation of certain sections, even when the rest of the system continues to operate automatically.
• Error messages in the PLC can be acknowledged in manual mode. Further intervention in the control is no longer necessary.

Technicians and operating personnel are very impressed with the quality of our drive system at many European airports where Rapid Link is already in service.