Airport parking system for electric taxi driven aircraft

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11858656-B2
Application number	US-202017091864-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 6, 2020
Priority date	Nov 8, 2019
Publication date	Jan 2, 2024
Grant date	Jan 2, 2024

Abstract

A system is provided that guides aircraft driven with landing gear wheel-mounted electric taxi drive systems without reliance on airport ground personnel to park the aircraft parallel to an airport terminal with connections to multiple passenger loading bridges, automatically docks the aircraft, and connects the multiple loading bridges to multiple forward and rear doors. Cooperative on-aircraft monitoring systems, airport docking systems, loading bridge and terminal monitoring systems, and processors are integrated to use real time information and guide the aircraft to safely maneuver into and automatically dock in a parallel orientation at a parking location with multiple aircraft forward and rear doors connected to multiple loading bridges. The system may automatically undock the aircraft and retract the loading bridges and guide the electric taxi drive system-driven aircraft out of the parking location without reliance on airport ground personnel.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method that automatically integrates docking and parking pilot-controllable taxi drive system-driven aircraft and guides the pilot-controllable taxi system-driven aircraft into and out of designated airport terminal parking locations to dock and park in an orientation parallel to the airport terminal without reliance on airport ground personnel, comprising:
a. at an airport terminal with a plurality of aircraft parking locations, providing an aircraft parking location receiving device and multiple extendible passenger loading bridges at each parking location, the multiple passenger loading bridges being spaced and positioned to connect with corresponding multiple forward and rear doors of each aircraft parked at a parking location with a longest axis of the aircraft oriented parallel to the airport terminal, and providing a loading bridge receiving and transmitting device mounted on each said extendible passenger loading bridge;
b. equipping aircraft with landing gear wheel-mounted pilot-controllable taxi drive systems, providing pilot-controllable taxi drive system cockpit controls to maneuver the equipped aircraft into the parallel parking orientations, an on-aircraft monitoring system comprising ground travel monitoring and sensing devices mounted in exterior locations on the equipped aircraft to obtain and communicate real time aircraft ground travel information to cockpit indicators, an on-aircraft processor in real time communication with the on-aircraft monitoring system, the cockpit controls and indicators, and the pilot-controllable taxi drive systems, and aircraft door receiving and transmitting devices located at each forward door and rear door on opposite sides of the equipped aircraft, further providing an airport terminal docking and parking system with a docking and parking processor in integrating real time communication with the on-aircraft processor, the aircraft parking location receiving devices, the loading bridge receiving and transmitting devices, and the aircraft door receiving and transmitting devices, and assigning each equipped aircraft to dock at a designated one of the plurality of airport terminal parking locations;
c. programming the docking and parking processor to integrate real time communications from the on-aircraft processor, the aircraft parking location receiving devices, the loading bridge receiving and transmitting devices, and the aircraft door receiving and transmitting devices to automatically identify an equipped aircraft assigned to dock at a designated parking location, to guide said identified equipped aircraft to dock and park in the parallel orientation at the designated parking location, and connect the multiple extendible passenger loading bridges to corresponding multiple forward and rear doors on an airport terminal-facing side of the identified equipped aircraft;
d. driving an equipped aircraft with the pilot-controllable taxi drive systems and cockpit controls and the on-aircraft monitoring system assisting a pilot to maneuver the equipped aircraft through an airport ramp area to the assigned airport terminal parking location, while the on-aircraft processor receives, integrates, and transmits real time information from the on-aircraft monitoring system and the pilot-controllable taxi drive system to the cockpit; and
e. identifying the equipped aircraft as assigned to dock at the designated airport terminal parking location with real time information transmitted to the aircraft parking location receiving device, guiding the identified equipped aircraft to maneuver into the parallel parking orientation with the pilot-controllable taxi drive systems, communicating real time position information for the identified equipped aircraft to the loading bridge receiving and transmitting devices and the aircraft door receiving and transmitting devices, and connecting each of the multiple passenger loading bridges to each corresponding forward aircraft door and rear aircraft door.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing intelligent algorithms for use by the docking and parking processor and providing docking and parking system receiver and transmitter components in the aircraft door receiving and transmitting devices on each of the multiple forward and rear doors of the aircraft and in the loading bridge receiving and transmitting devices on each of the multiple passenger loading bridges, obtaining and transmitting to the docking and parking processor identifying information required to connect each of the multiple passenger loading bridges to a corresponding one of the multiple aircraft forward and rear doors, and connecting each of the multiple passenger loading bridges to a corresponding one of the multiple aircraft forward and rear doors.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising automatically extending each of the multiple passenger loading bridges and automatically connecting each of the multiple passenger loading bridges to a corresponding one of the multiple aircraft forward and rear doors.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multiple passenger loading bridges comprise two passenger loading bridges and the multiple aircraft forward and rear doors comprise one forward door and one rear door on each side of the aircraft, and the docking system receiver and transmitter components are located on the two passenger loading bridges and on the forward door and on the rear door on both sides of the aircraft in control communication with the docking and parking processor, and automatically docking one of the two passenger loading bridges to connect to one forward door and automatically docking another of the two passenger loading bridges to connect to one rear door on the airport terminal-facing side of the aircraft.

5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising automatically undocking and retracting each of the multiple passenger loading bridges from the corresponding one of the multiple aircraft forward and rear aircraft doors, guiding the equipped aircraft with the on-aircraft monitoring system, and driving the aircraft with the electric taxi drive system in a forward direction out of the assigned parking location.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising providing intelligent algorithms for use by the on-aircraft processor for automatic real time operation of the on-aircraft monitoring system and guidance of the docking and parking system at each of the plurality of parking locations with the multiple passenger loading bridges, guiding ground movement of the pilot-controllable taxi drive system-driven aircraft in a forward direction into and out of an assigned one of the plurality of parking locations in response to real time information from the on-aircraft monitoring system, and automatically extending and retracting the multiple passenger loading bridges at the assigned parking location to corresponding aircraft multiple front and rear doors to dock and undock the aircraft from the assigned one of the plurality of parking locations.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising providing a receiver in communication with the docking and parking processor to receive real time information from each equipped aircraft assigned to each of the plurality of parking locations and receiving real time information comprising at least identity of the aircraft, position of the aircraft relative to the terminal and the assigned parking location, and forward and rear doors to be connected to identified ones of the multiple passenger loading bridges.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising using the real time ground travel environment information communicated by the on-aircraft monitoring system to the on-aircraft processor and guiding the aircraft to drive forward into and out of the

Assignees

• Borealis Tech Ltd

Inventors

• Vana Jan
• Cox Isaiah W
• Cox Joseph J

Classifications

• G08G5/51

  for control when on the ground, e.g. taxiing or rolling · CPC title

• B64D47/08

  Arrangements of cameras · CPC title

• B64F1/002 Primary

  Taxiing aids · CPC title

• B64C25/405 Primary

  Powered wheels, e.g. for taxing · CPC title

• B64F1/305

  Bridges extending between terminal building and aircraft, e.g. telescopic, vertically adjustable · CPC title