Method for maneuvering an electric taxi drive system driven aircraft into an airport ramp parking location

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11975823-B2
Application number	US-202117485133-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 24, 2021
Priority date	Sep 25, 2020
Publication date	May 7, 2024
Grant date	May 7, 2024

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for maneuvering and aligning aircraft equipped and driven during ramp ground travel with landing gear wheel-mounted electric taxi drive systems that have deviated from taxi line travel paths and for maneuvering the electric taxi drive system-driven aircraft to park accurately to align with locations of parking stops when the aircraft nose landing gear wheels stop beyond or short of a parking stop. The aircraft pilot can, without waiting for a tug or starting aircraft engines, precisely maneuver the aircraft with the electric taxi drive systems while viewing the taxi line and parking stop location in real time with an optional camera and sensor system while maneuvering the aircraft in forward or reverse and lateral directions to align the aircraft nose wheels with the taxi line path and to accurately position the nose landing gear wheels at the parking stop.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for precisely maneuvering aircraft equipped with nose landing gear wheel steering systems, camera and sensor systems, and pilot-controllable nose landing gear wheel-mounted electric taxi drive systems to parking locations within an airport ramp area with a plurality of aircraft taxi paths leading to parking stop locations at each parking location, comprising:
a. defining taxi lines on a surface of the ramp area corresponding to the plurality of aircraft taxi paths leading to the parking stop locations at the airport ramp area parking locations;
b. providing aircraft equipped with the pilot-controllable electric taxi drive systems mounted completely within a volume defined by wheel wall sections of each nose landing gear wheel operable to move the equipped aircraft during ground travel within the airport ramp area and with the camera and sensor systems mounted in exterior positions on an exterior of the equipped aircraft to capture real time views of ramp ground surfaces around the nose landing gear wheels and tail ends of the equipped aircraft as the equipped aircraft are maneuvered along the defined taxi lines for transmission to a cockpit in the equipped aircraft and to a processor, and providing an assigned airport ramp area parking location with a defined taxi line leading to a parking stop location at an assigned ramp area parking location for the equipped aircraft;
c. driving the equipped aircraft to the defined taxi line for the assigned parking location within the airport ramp area, simultaneously operating the camera and sensor system, capturing the real time views of the ramp ground surfaces around the nose landing gear wheels and the tail ends as the pilot controls the electric taxi drive system and maneuvers the equipped aircraft along the defined taxi line leading to the parking stop location, and transmitting the captured real time views to the cockpit or the processor as the pilot maneuvers the equipped aircraft with the electric taxi drive systems and the nose landing gear wheels in precise alignment with the defined taxi line toward the parking stop location at the equipped aircraft's assigned ramp area parking location;
d. using the transmitted captured real time views of the ramp ground surfaces around the nose landing gear wheels and the tail ends and controlling the electric taxi drive systems by the pilot to maneuver the equipped aircraft and maintain the nose landing gear wheels precisely aligned with the defined taxi line as the equipped aircraft is driven with the electric taxi drive systems toward the parking stop location; and
e. using the transmitted captured real time views of the ramp ground spaces around the nose landing gear wheels and transmitted captured real time views of the parking stop location and controlling the equipped aircraft electric taxi drive systems by the pilot to stop the equipped aircraft with the nose landing gear wheels precisely aligned with the parking stop location at the equipped aircraft's assigned parking location.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising when the transmitted captured real time views show that the nose landing gear wheels are not aligned with and have deviated from the defined taxi line, operating the nose landing gear wheel steering system and concurrently maneuvering the equipped aircraft with the electric taxi drive systems in forward, reverse, and lateral directions as required to re-align the nose landing gear wheels with the defined taxi line, and continuing to drive the equipped aircraft with the electric taxi drive systems and the re-aligned nose landing gear wheels along the defined taxi line.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising when the transmitted captured real time views show that nose landing gear wheels of the equipped aircraft have moved out of alignment with the defined taxi line and are driving the aircraft to the right of the defined taxi line, maneuvering the equipped aircraft laterally to the left with the electric taxi drive systems, aligning the nose landing gear wheels with the defined taxi line, and continuing to drive the equipped aircraft along the defined taxi line to the parking stop location with the electric taxi drive systems.

4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising when the transmitted captured real time views show that nose landing gear wheels of the equipped aircraft have moved out of alignment with the defined taxi line and are driving the aircraft to the left of the defined taxi line, maneuvering the equipped aircraft laterally to the right with the electric taxi drive systems, aligning the nose landing gear wheels with the defined taxi line, and continuing to drive the equipped aircraft along the defined taxi line to the parking stop location with the electric taxi drive systems.

5. The method of claim 2 , further comprising when the transmitted captured real time views show that the equipped aircraft has stopped and the nose landing gear wheels are not precisely aligned with the parking stop location, maneuvering the stopped equipped aircraft with the electric taxi drive systems by the pilot in a forward direction or in a reverse direction as required to accurately position the equipped aircraft's nose landing gear wheels in precise alignment with the parking stop location.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising when the transmitted captured real time views show the stopped equipped aircraft's nose landing gear wheels are positioned a distance before the parking stop location, maneuvering the stopped equipped aircraft with the electric taxi drive systems in a forward direction for the distance along the defined taxi line and precisely aligning the nose landing gear wheels with the parking stop location.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising when the transmitted captured real time views show the stopped aircraft's nose landing gear wheels are positioned a distance past the parking stop location, maneuvering the stopped equipped aircraft with the electric taxi drive systems in a reverse direction for the distance along the defined taxi line and precisely aligning the nose landing gear wheels with the parking stop location.

8. The method of claim 5 , further comprising mounting cameras in the camera and sensor system in selected exterior positions on the equipped aircraft fuselage ground-facing surface and capturing the real time views of the ramp ground surfaces around the nose landing gear wheels, the tail ends, the defined taxi line, and the parking stop location not otherwise visible to a pilot in the equipped aircraft cockpit from the cameras in the selected exterior positions.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising providing a visual guidance docking system at the plurality of parking locations and visual signals representing the equipped aircraft defined taxi line and parking stop location for each parking location, communicating locations of equipped aircraft defined taxi lines and parking location stops with the visual signals to pilots in cockpits of the equipped aircraft and guiding alignment of the equipped aircraft nose landing gear wheels with the defined taxi lines and parking location stops, and maneuvering the equipped aircraft with the electric taxi drive systems in response to the visual signals as required to maintain alignment of the nose landing gear wheels with the defined taxi lines and parking location stops.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising providing passenger loading bridges at each of the assigned aircraft parking locations adjacent to the parking stop locations, using the transmitted captured real time views of the aircraft nose landing gear wheels and tail end, the defined taxi line, and the parking stop lo

Assignees

• Borealis Tech Ltd

Inventors

• Cox Nechama

Classifications

• G08G5/51 Primary

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

• G08G5/21

  located onboard the aircraft · CPC title

• B64D47/08

  Arrangements of cameras · CPC title

• B64U20/87

  Mounting of imaging devices, e.g. mounting of gimbals · CPC title

• B64C25/405 Primary

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