Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64F—GROUND OR AIRCRAFT-CARRIER-DECK INSTALLATIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH AIRCRAFT; DESIGNING, MANUFACTURING, ASSEMBLING, CLEANING, MAINTAINING OR REPAIRING AIRCRAFT, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; HANDLING, TRANSPORTING, TESTING OR INSPECTING AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B64F1/00—Ground or aircraft-carrier-deck installations
  • B64F1/22—Ground or aircraft-carrier-deck installations for handling aircraft
  • B64F1/223—Ground or aircraft-carrier-deck installations for handling aircraft for towing aircraft
  • B64F1/225—Vehicles specially adapted therefor, e.g. aircraft tow tractors
  • B64F1/228—Vehicles specially adapted therefor, e.g. aircraft tow tractors remotely controlled; operating autonomously
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64F—GROUND OR AIRCRAFT-CARRIER-DECK INSTALLATIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH AIRCRAFT; DESIGNING, MANUFACTURING, ASSEMBLING, CLEANING, MAINTAINING OR REPAIRING AIRCRAFT, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; HANDLING, TRANSPORTING, TESTING OR INSPECTING AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B64F1/00—Ground or aircraft-carrier-deck installations
  • B64F1/22—Ground or aircraft-carrier-deck installations for handling aircraft
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64F—GROUND OR AIRCRAFT-CARRIER-DECK INSTALLATIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH AIRCRAFT; DESIGNING, MANUFACTURING, ASSEMBLING, CLEANING, MAINTAINING OR REPAIRING AIRCRAFT, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; HANDLING, TRANSPORTING, TESTING OR INSPECTING AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B64F1/00—Ground or aircraft-carrier-deck installations
  • B64F1/22—Ground or aircraft-carrier-deck installations for handling aircraft
  • B64F1/223—Ground or aircraft-carrier-deck installations for handling aircraft for towing aircraft
  • B64F1/225—Vehicles specially adapted therefor, e.g. aircraft tow tractors
  • B64F1/227—Vehicles specially adapted therefor, e.g. aircraft tow tractors for direct connection to aircraft, e.g. tow tractors without towing bars
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
  • Y02T50/00—Aeronautics or air transport
  • Y02T50/80—Energy efficient operational measures, e.g. ground operations or mission management

Definitions

• the invention relates to the movement of aircraft on the ground, in particular before takeoff and after landing. It is common for an airplane to first back off to leave its parking spot. However, its engines do not generally allow it to accomplish this movement autonomously. It is therefore known to maneuver the aircraft by means of a tractor from its parking point to make it back to a position in which it is able to drive independently thanks to its motors alone. This maneuver is commonly called “pushback".
• Devices for towing aircraft on the ground are for example described in documents US-3,025,922, US-3,015,509 and US-3,005,510.
• the tractor is controlled by a pilot aboard the machine or remote control device. gear.
• the tractor is generally connected to the aircraft's front landing gear to move the aircraft. However, the front landing gear is not provided at the base for this type of operation.
• the possibilities of moving the aircraft by means of the tractor remain limited.
• the aircraft can not perform certain types of turns.
• the tractor control is a delicate operation, a tractor trajectory error causing indeed a greater error in the trajectory followed by the aircraft.
• An object of the invention is to facilitate the movement of aircraft on the ground without using their engines.
• a method for moving an aircraft in which the aircraft is moved to the ground by means of at least two machines independent of each other and each connected to the aircraft independently other gear or other gear.
• the movement of the aircraft by means of at least two gears gives greater flexibility for maneuvering the aircraft.
• the possibilities of movement are widened and it becomes possible to make the aircraft make tight turns, and even turns on the spot. It thus becomes possible to maneuver an aircraft, even of large dimensions, on most of the tracks or taxiways, which is not still possible today.
• the use of at least two devices makes it possible to reduce the stresses on each of the parts of the aircraft (such as the trains) to which they are connected by distributing these stresses, as compared with the connection to a single train. .
• the other machine may continue this maneuver in whole or in part.
• a part, such as a train, of the aircraft is advanced by means of one of the machines and another part, such as a train, of the aircraft is moved back by means of another gear.
• the aircraft is moved via at least one train of the aircraft other than the nose gear.
• the main trains of the aircraft are generally more robust than the front axle. It avoids too much stress on the latter or having to strengthen it to be able to maneuver.
• one of the gear is given a speed different from that of the other gear or one of the other gear.
• At least one of the machines is controlled as a function of at least one datum relating to a position and / or a movement of the other craft or at least one of the other gears.
• control of the movement of the aircraft by means of the machines from inside the aircraft preferably from a cockpit of the aircraft.
• traditional taxiing involves three people: the controller, the pilot of the aircraft and the driver of the tractor.
• this communication to three can lead to misunderstandings harmful to security.
• the pilot is responsible for the aircraft, including when it is maneuvered by means of a machine on the ground.
• the aircraft is braked by means of at least one gear.
• at least one of the devices at least one of the devices:
• the machine is controlled according to the movement or the position of the front wheel. It can therefore be expected that it is sufficient for the pilot on board the aircraft to maneuver the wheel so that the craft properly interpret the desired action and move the aircraft in the direction corresponding to this orientation.
• At least one of the devices is a
• At least one of the machines determines its position in a predetermined airport area, for example by means of ground beacons or satellites.
• These positioning means improve the operational safety. In particular, they make it possible to prevent the risk of collision between vehicles circulating in the zone, for example several gears or several aircraft moved by gears.
• the two positioning means ground beacons or satellites, can also be used in redundancy.
• the wheel or the train is filmed.
• the wheel or the train have not been damaged during the movement on the ground.
• the aircraft is moved by means of the gears from the parking position to an intermediate position, respectively the reverse, so that a partial path of the aircraft from the intermediate position to the track, respectively -Inversely, has a length less than half a length of the complete path, and preferably less than 25% of this length.
• At least one of the vehicles is parked in a parking area separated from a nearest take-off and / or landing strip by a distance less than half the length of the runway, preferably less than 20% of that length.
• the parking of the machines in this zone makes it possible to reduce their traffic and the risks of collision between the machines or between the vehicles and other vehicles. It is furthermore possible to have more gear available immediately when many aircraft are to be successively taken out of the runway after landing on the runway.
• the parking zone or at least one of the parking zones is closer to an exit corridor of the runway than to an entry corridor of the runway.
• the machine is supplied with energy on the parking area.
• the machines connected to the aircraft are driven to a position closer to an entrance corridor of a take-off runway than to an exit runway of the runway, and after separation of the gears from the runway. the aircraft, the machines are driven to a position closer to an exit corridor of an airstrip than to an entrance corridor of this runway.
• the gears will be placed in a position where they are available to support a newly landed aircraft and move it to its parking point.
• Each machine does not return to the terminal after driving the aircraft to the runway and therefore does not encumber the airport infrastructure in the vicinity of the terminal.
• the path of the machine after the separation will generally be shorter than a return trip to the terminal, which limits the movement and the energy consumption of the machine.
• a higher proportion of the activity of the gears and their operators, if any, is therefore devoted to the movement of aircraft compared with what was the case in the prior art.
• a smaller proportion of their activity is dedicated to the empty movement of equipment in the airport area. It follows that we optimize the operation of the gear, without clogging traffic in the area, nor generate additional costs.
• the displacement of the aircraft taking place according to an aircraft route, the driving of each machine after the separation takes place according to a different aircraft route from the aircraft route, preferably on a road dedicated to aircraft. gear and / or parallel to the track.
• each machine is driven from a position closer to an entry corridor of a take-off runway than from an exit runway of the runway to a position closer to an exit runway of a runway. landing strip than an entrance corridor of the airstrip, and after connecting the machine to an aircraft, the machine is driven from this last position.
• the movement of the aircraft takes place during a complete journey of the aircraft from the landing runway to a parking position, and so that a partial path of the aircraft from the runway to the position closer to the exit runway of the runway than the entrance corridor has a length less than half a length of the complete path and preferably less than 25% of this length.
• Also provided according to the invention is a computer program comprising instructions able to control the implementation of the steps of a method according to the invention when it is executed on a computer.
• a data recording medium comprising such a program in recorded form, and the provision of such a program on a telecommunications network for download.
• a machine for the implementation of a method according to the invention capable of communicating with an identical machine for transmitting and / or receiving at least one piece of data relating to a position and / or a movement of one of the gear.
• the machine is capable of detecting an ignition of an engine of an aircraft moved by the vehicle and, because of this detection, to command a departure from the craft of the aircraft.
• the machine is able to detect a presence of an aircraft train in a predetermined area remote from the vehicle and, following this detection, to take a position making it able to move the aircraft.
• the machine comprises means for detecting a steering action of a front wheel of the aircraft, and for modifying a position and / or a movement of the vehicle according to this detection.
• At least one of the gear communicates with the other gear or at least one of the other gear for transmitting and / or receiving at least one item relating to a position and / or movement of one of the gear.
• the machine comprises means for braking the aircraft during its movement by the vehicle.
• the aircraft retains its own braking means that can be operated if necessary.
• at least one of the devices comprises at least one camera able to film an approach zone of the vehicle by a wheel of the aircraft or to film in the opposite direction to the aircraft when it is moved by the aircraft. gear.
• the camera makes it possible to check the good condition of the landing gear or the wheel through which the aircraft was maneuvered by the vehicle.
• the camera makes it possible to give the operator controlling the movement of the aircraft, in particular the pilot, an image of the trajectory.
• the machine is able to determine its position in a predetermined area, for example by means of beacons or satellites.
• Also provided according to the invention is a control member for the movement of an aircraft, able to send commands to at least two machines independent of each other to move the aircraft on the ground by means of gear.
• the member is able to control at least one of the gear according to at least one data relating to a position and / or movement of the other gear or at least one of the other gear.
• the member ensures good coordination between the movements of the two machines and makes it possible to control the movement of the aircraft by means of a single command setpoint transmitted to the control member.
• An aircraft is also provided according to the invention which comprises a control member according to the invention.
• an airport zone that includes:
• the zone comprises a parking zone for the vehicles, separated from the track or from one of the tracks by a distance less than half a length of this track, preferably less than 20% of this length, and preferably comprising permanently in the area means for supplying the gear with energy.
• FIG. 1 is a plan view of an airport area illustrating the implementation of the invention
• FIG. 2 is a plan view of an aircraft used during the implementation of the invention and two devices used for the displacement of this aircraft;
• FIG. 3 is a simplified diagram of the cockpit of the aircraft of FIG. 2;
• FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a machine used in the implementation of the invention.
• FIG. 1 illustrates an airport zone 2 in which the invention is implemented.
• This zone 2 comprises, for example, a terminal 4 for the access of passengers to aircraft which are in this case intended for commercial use. Access to the terminal by the passengers can be done from outside the airport area by means of a road 6, a parking 8 being provided for the parking of road motor vehicles near the zone 2.
• aircraft 10 which are in this case planes such as the one illustrated on a larger scale in FIG. 2.
• gears 12 such as that illustrated in FIG. planes 10, which serve to implement the invention, include for example, as shown in Figure 2, a fuselage 14, two wings 16, and one or more engines 18.
• the aircraft shown comprises in this regard four reactors 18 forming the engines.
• a cockpit 20 of the aircraft is provided at the front of the fuselage.
• the aircraft includes several main landing gear. This is the central trains 22, left 24 and right 26 placed respectively under the fuselage, the left wing and the right wing, in the middle zone of the device.
• the aircraft also comprises a front landing gear 28 located under a front part of the fuselage. This train here includes two twin wheels.
• the vehicle 12 is a motor vehicle comprising a frame 30 and wheels 32, for example four in number. It has a location 34 for housing or receiving a wheel or a train of the aircraft 10. This housing is for example arranged in a fork 34.
• the tractor 12 comprises a motorization whose power the makes it able to move all or part of an aircraft 10 as will be seen later.
• the machine 12 comprises in this case a module forming electronic control means and computer 36. These means are able to control the movement of the machine, including its direction of travel, direction, speed and acceleration.
• the machine 12 comprises transmitting and receiving means 38 making it able to communicate by radio waves with an identical machine to transmit to this other machine at least one piece of data relating to its position and / or to the movement of the machine, and preferably data relating to the position, speed and acceleration of the craft. Similarly, these means make the vehicle 12 able to receive similar data from another craft or other gear. These communications take place between the machines that cooperate to move the same aircraft as will be seen later.
• the control means 36 are connected to the transmitting / receiving means 38 so as to control the movement of the machine 12 as a function of the position and movements of the other machines.
• the airport zone 2 includes in this example beacons 40 distributed in different parts of the airport area, including those likely to be frequented by the gear.
• the vehicle 12 comprises means 42 for detecting and recognizing these beacons enabling it to determine its position relative to the beacons located near the craft. These means 42 are also connected to the means 36 to allow the latter to control the movement of the machine according to the positioning thus determined by means of the beacons 40.
• the machine 12 comprises means 44 enabling it to determine its position in the area by means of a set of satellites, for example by the so-called "Global Positioning System” or GPS system. These means 44 connected to the means 36 also allow the vehicle to know its position accurately in the airport area. The redundant use of the means 42 and 44 ensures a good knowledge of its own position by the vehicle in all circumstances.
• the machine 12 comprises means 46 enabling it to know the orientation of a wheel or the front axle 28 of the aircraft which is associated with the vehicle 12. It may for example be form recognition means including a camera. It may also be means receiving a command to maneuver this wheel or the front gear, command issued from the cockpit 20 by the pilot of the aircraft 10.
• the means 36 are connected to the means 46 to allow change the position and movement of the machine 12 according to the detection of a steering action of the wheel or the front axle. They also allow them to take into account the position of the wheel or the front axle in the control of the movements of the vehicle.
• the apparatus 12 comprises in the present example means 48 making it suitable for detecting an ignition of an engine 18 of the aircraft associated with the craft. These means are connected to the means 36 and allow the latter, when this detection takes place, to control the vehicle 12 to separate from the aircraft 10 and move away.
• the machine 12 further comprises means 50 able to detect, in a predetermined area around the vehicle 12, the presence of a main train of an aircraft. These means are connected to the means 36 and make them able to control, following this detection, a movement of the vehicle 12 to place it in a position where it is suitable to associate with the latter, for example by coming to place the housing 34 around the train thus detected in order to be able to connect to it. It can be expected that the machines recognize landing gear using a pattern recognition technique.
• the machine 12 furthermore comprises in the present example at least one camera and preferably two cameras 52, 54.
• the front camera is able to film a zone of approach of the machine by a wheel or a main gear of the aircraft, this approach being taken here in a relative sense in that it is the vehicle that, in practice, approaches the plane when the latter is stationary. It is therefore a question of filming the zone in which the wheel or the train of the aircraft will be in its trajectory to the housing 34.
• the other camera 54, the rear camera is able to film the environment of the vehicle in the opposite direction to the aircraft, in this case in the rear direction of the vehicle, in order to allow the pilot controlling the craft 12 to have a vision of the trajectory of the vehicle when it retreats.
• the vehicle 12 includes braking means 56 enabling it to brake the aircraft 10 when it is associated with the craft.
• the aircraft 10 is moved for taxiing in the airport zone by at least two gears 12.
• the control of the gears 12 moving the aircraft 10 is performed by the pilot in the aircraft. cockpit 20 by means of a control member 60 of this station.
• the control organ is arranged to translate the instructions of the pilot in the form of commands and transmit them preferably by radio and wireless, to the gear 12 connected to the aircraft.
• the control member comprises, for this purpose, transmission / reception means 62.
• the control member is able, in particular, to control the machines 12 associated with the aircraft 10, independently of one another. other but in a coordinated way to move the aircraft by means of the craft.
• the control member receives for this purpose from each gear 12 data concerning their respective position and movement.
• the control member 60 comprises display means 64 such as a screen giving the pilot a view of the environment of the vehicles 12, in particular from the rear of these cameras 56 when the machines retreat.
• the means 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50 and the member 60 comprise electronic and / or computer elements making them capable of presenting the functionalities described here.
• computer elements they include at least one microprocessor, a clock, one or more memories, etc.
• the vehicles 12 and the control member 60 may thus comprise at least one computer capable of implementing all or part of the indicated functionalities and all or part of the method of the invention.
• this computer may be one of the aircraft computers on board.
• the airport zone 2 comprises a take-off runway 70 and an airstrip, which in this example is the same as the take-off runway. It includes an area 72 for parking planes 10 when they occupy their parking spot.
• Zone 72 is connected to the runway 70 by entry and exit corridors 74 which are here two in number, but the number may be higher. These corridors are configured and sized to be used by aircraft for their movement from zone 72 to the track and vice versa.
• Zone 2 further comprises a road 78 dedicated to gear 12 and extending from a point 80 closer to the entrance corridor 74 than to the exit corridor 76, and in this case contiguous to the entry corridor, until at a point 82 closer to the exit corridor 76 than the entrance corridor 74, and in this case contiguous to the exit corridor.
• Route 78 is in this case straight and parallel to the general direction of runway 70.
• zone 2 comprises two parking zones 84a, 84b dedicated to the machines 12.
• Each of these zones is separated from the track 70 by a distance d, e less than half a length L of this track, and preferably less than 20% of this length.
• the zone 84a is closer to the exit corridor 76 than to the entry corridor 74, while the other zone 84b is closer to the entry corridor 74 than to the exit corridor 76.
• Each zone here has a rectangular shape. plan and presents parking spaces for the vehicles 12.
• Each of the two zones includes permanently in the zone means 86 to supply energy to the gear 12.
• the gear 12 may use energy sources such as diesel, natural gas, electricity, a hydrogen fuel cell or a hydrogen fuel
• the means 86 will provide the vehicles used in zone 2 with the appropriate energy.
• the aircraft is moved through the two trains left and right, in this example without using the front train 28. During this movement, the aircraft continues to drive on all its trains. However, it could alternatively be provided that the machines 12 are able to lift the train by which they are connected to the aircraft.
• the control of the gear 12 is carried out by the pilot of the aircraft from the cockpit 20.
• the pilot transmits to the member 60 commands allowing the latter to control the movement of the gear 12.
• the aircraft has for this purpose for the pilot of a suitable control member integrating the member 60.
• the machines are controlled in speed independently of the other. They communicate with each other so that they know their position and speed at every moment.
• the member 60 thus provides differential gearing of the gears 12.
• the differential control of the two gears 12 makes it possible for the pilot to manage the turns.
• the machines 12 are capable of measuring the steering of the front axle. This data is therefore taken into account for the trajectory and speed of the gear 12 so that the steering of the wheel is coordinated with the gear speed. It can be expected that the control of the direction of the aircraft during taxi is performed by the pilot only by the steering control of the nose gear, which is detected by the gear 12 and translated by the member 60 into suitable controls for the gear 12.
• a 90 ° steering of the nosewheel is interpreted by the entire system as the control of an aircraft turn or turn around.
• one of the machines for example that associated with the right train 26, advance while the other machine, for example that associated with the left gear 24, back, thus rotating the aircraft in the opposite direction of the needles a clock in FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrow 92 around a vertical axis of rotation 95.
• the pilot can use the cameras 54 of the machines, or other cameras, to improve his visibility of the trajectory and environment of the gears and the aircraft while driving. In replacement or in addition, it can be assisted by one or more ground operators who monitor the trajectory of the craft and the aircraft and communicate with the pilot on this subject.
• the pilot can brake one of the gears to slow down the progression of the aircraft.
• the machines 12 determine their position in the airport area by means of the beacons 40 and the satellite positioning system. It can be provided alternatively that the driving gear 12 is fully automated and is done without human intervention.
• the pilot puts into operation the engines of the aircraft.
• This ignition engines is detected by the gear 12 which, because of this detection, automatically move away from the aircraft.
• the vehicles film the landing gear with which they were respectively associated to ensure that these trains were not damaged in their cooperation with the machines. It is preferable that the decoupling of the gear with respect to the aircraft is done from the rear, that is to say that the gear recoils with respect to the aircraft.
• each machine 12 is driven to the parking zone 84a if places are available within it, and each machine is parked there. If no place is available in zone 84a, the machine is parked until zone 84b.
• This last trip each machine follows the road 78 dedicated to the machines without risking an encounter with an aircraft. This route may have characteristics (for example dimensions and / or surface geometry) making it impractical for aircraft or most of them.
• the vehicle can be supplied with energy to the parking area when it is parked, using means 86.
• point 82 it is also known that it is common to expect after landing a period of a few minutes (for example five minutes) of reduced engine speed of an aircraft to cool before extinction. It will therefore be possible to position point 82 at a suitable place to take account of this period. For example, point 82 will be located at a distance from the runway exit that the aircraft takes about five minutes to taxi. Point 82 may therefore be located further from the runway than point 80.
• the partial journey made by the aircraft since it left the runway at point 92 to point 82 has a length q much less than the total length r of the complete path of the airplane since its exit. from track 70 to its parking point 90.
• the length q is even less than 25% of the length r.
• Aircraft can be towed by gear 12 using different techniques.
• the machines are able to operate each with different types of aircraft in order to limit the number of different gear needed and thus reduce costs.
• the method according to the invention may be wholly or partly automated and controlled by means of a computer program comprising code instructions able to control the execution of the steps of this method when it is executed on a computer.
• a data recording medium such as a CD or DVD disk, a memory or a hard disk.
• a program may also be made available on a telecommunications network for download, for example for updating purposes when a new version of the program is available for use.
• the engines of the aircraft remain lit after being taken over by the vehicles at point 82, or that they are switched on prior to separation at point 80.
• the airport zone 2 may include several runways for takeoff and / or landing.
• a runway When a runway is reserved for take-off and another for landing, the aircraft may be moved by a runway access corridor, and after separation, follow a route 78 to the runway. to an exit corridor of the runway.
• One or more zones 78 may be provided on this road.
• the or each route 78 may be non-rectilinear.
• Aircraft maneuvering through gear may be limited to zone 72.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
• Traffic Control Systems (AREA)
• Control Of Position, Course, Altitude, Or Attitude Of Moving Bodies (AREA)

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• 2008
  • 2008-10-23 FR FR0857199A patent/FR2937777B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2009
  • 2009-10-22 CN CN2009801521291A patent/CN102264599A/zh active Pending
  • 2009-10-22 CN CN201610085997.4A patent/CN105730710A/zh active Pending
  • 2009-10-22 WO PCT/FR2009/052026 patent/WO2010046603A2/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2009-10-22 EP EP09760194A patent/EP2349841A2/de not_active Ceased
  • 2009-10-22 US US13/124,711 patent/US8788117B2/en active Active

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