Aircraft door determination system, aircraft door determination method, and PBB

Abstract

In automatic approach control of passenger boarding bridges (PBBs), it is desirable to accurately determine the target position optically in order to shorten the time required to acquire aircraft data for control. [Solution] An aircraft door determination system for a passenger boarding bridge (PBB) comprising a cab section rotatably attached to the tip of a tunnel section, wherein the cab section automatically approaches and connects to an aircraft door that is closed by an aircraft door having a transparent door window, wherein the aircraft door determination system comprises a sensor attached to the cab section that emits a light beam toward the aircraft body and receives reflected light from the aircraft body, and a determination device that performs a door window determination by determining, based on the reflected light of the light beam from the aircraft body received by the sensor, that there are no reflective areas where the light beam has not passed through the door window and therefore no reflected light of the light beam is a candidate for the door window, and determines the position of the door opening based on the door window determination.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an aircraft door determination system, an aircraft door determination method, and a PBB.

Background Art

[0002] In an aircraft such as an airliner, passengers board the aircraft using a Passenger Boarding Bridge (hereinafter, "PBB") 1. The PBB 1 and the aircraft AP and the aircraft door D will be described with reference to FIGS. 1B to 1D. The PBB 1 is a facility having a tunnel portion 12 that connects between a cab portion 11 that is an end portion connected to a door opening DO that is an access port of the aircraft AP and a rotunda portion 13 that is an end portion on the airport building side.

[0003] The rotunda portion 13 is connected to the airport building BL, and the tunnel portion 12 is attached to a column 4b having drive wheels 3a. By the forward movement of the drive wheels 3a, the tunnel portion 12 extends with respect to the rotunda portion 13 and the cab portion 11 approaches the aircraft door D of the aircraft AP, and by the backward movement of the drive wheels 3a, the tunnel portion 12 contracts with respect to the rotunda portion 13 and can be separated from the aircraft AP.

[0004] The PBB 1 is usually accommodated in a standby position where the tunnel portion 12 is contracted and separated from a predetermined parking position of the aircraft. When the aircraft AP is parked at the predetermined parking position, the tunnel portion 12 extends with respect to the rotunda portion 13 by the forward movement of the drive wheels 3a and moves from the standby position so that the cab portion 11 approaches the aircraft door D of the aircraft AP. When the movement to the approaching completion position where the cab portion 11 contacts the aircraft door is completed, the door opening DO that was closed by the aircraft door D is opened, and passengers board the aircraft or disembark outside the aircraft through the tunnel portion 12 that extends between the cab portion 11 and the rotunda portion 13.

[0005] Traditionally, the control of moving a passenger boarding bridge (PBB1) from its standby position towards the aircraft door has been performed manually. However, in recent years, there has been a demand for automated control of the PBB1's approach to the aircraft door. To achieve this, it is necessary to accurately determine the position of the aircraft door. One method for accurately determining the position of the aircraft door is, for example, as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, to use a detection device that measures distance to determine the current position of the PBB1 and the target position of the aircraft door, and then move them closer together. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6744789 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6671733 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] Conventional automatic control methods have a problem in that the process of moving the PBB1 from the standby position towards the aircraft door involves a large number of calculation points at each location, resulting in a time-consuming acquisition of aircraft data for control. In automatic control of moving the PBB1 from the standby position towards the aircraft door, it is desirable to be able to optically and accurately grasp the target location in order to shorten the time required to acquire aircraft data for accurate control.

[0008] However, because the exterior surface of an aircraft varies depending on the airline's attributes, including paint color, material, and surface condition, there is a possibility of misidentification when optically determining the position of the aircraft door that serves as the joining target for PBB1's cab 33.

[0009] Regardless of the diversity of the aircraft's exterior surface, there is a need for a passenger boarding bridge (PBB) with an automatic approach function that incorporates a judgment method and device that can optically and accurately determine the position of the aircraft door, thereby preventing misidentification. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] An aircraft door determination system for a passenger boarding bridge (PBB) is provided, which includes a cab section rotatably attached to the tip of a tunnel section, and the cab section automatically approaches and connects to an aircraft door that is closed by an aircraft door having a transparent door window. The aircraft door determination system comprises a sensor attached to the cab section that emits a light beam toward the aircraft body and receives reflected light from the aircraft body, and a determination device that performs a door window determination in the reflected light of the light beam from the aircraft body received by the sensor, determining that non-reflective areas where the light beam does not reflect light because the light beam has passed through the door window are candidate door window areas, and determining the position of the door opening based on the door window determination.

[0011] A method for determining an aircraft door of a passenger boarding bridge (PBB) that automatically brings the cab portion of the PBB close to and connects to an aircraft door that is closed by an aircraft door having a light-transmitting door window, wherein the cab portion is equipped with a sensor that emits a light beam toward the aircraft body and receives reflected light from the aircraft body, and the aircraft door determination method comprises the steps of: emitting a light beam from the sensor toward the aircraft body and receiving reflected light from the aircraft body; performing a door window determination in which the sensor determines, based on the reflected light of the light beam from the aircraft body received by the sensor, that there are no reflective areas where the light beam has not passed through the door window and therefore no reflected light of the light beam is a candidate for the door window; and determining the position of the aircraft door based on the door window determination.

[0012] A passenger boarding bridge (PBB) comprising a tunnel section and a cab section rotatably attached to the tip of the tunnel section, wherein the cab section automatically approaches and connects to the door opening of an aircraft, the door opening of the aircraft being closed by an aircraft door having a transparent door window and a door contour line whose periphery is painted in a color different from the aircraft's fuselage, the PBB comprising: a moving device for moving the cab section; a moving control device for controlling the moving device to perform coarse approach control, which involves moving the cab section to a preliminary position using the moving device; and fine approach control, which involves moving the cab section from the preliminary position to a completed approach position, where the cab section contacts the aircraft's aircraft door; and an aircraft door determination system, the aircraft door determination system comprising: a sensor attached to the cab section that emits a light beam toward the aircraft's fuselage and receives reflected light from the fuselage; and a determination device for determining the aircraft door. The PBB (Platform Bike) is configured to provide the following: In the coarse approach control, the determination device determines the door contour line to be the outer shell of the aircraft door based on the difference between the reflected light of the door contour line and the reflected light of the aircraft's fuselage in the reflected light of the light beam from the aircraft body received by the sensor, and the movement control device moves the cab section to the preliminary position toward the aircraft door determined by the determination device; In the fine approach control, the determination device performs a door window determination based on the reflected light of the light beam from the aircraft body received by the sensor, determining that any non-reflective areas where the light beam does not reflect due to the light beam passing through the door window are candidate door window locations, and determines the position of the aircraft door based on the door window determination, and the movement control device moves the cab section from the preliminary position to the approach completion position toward the aircraft door determined by the determination device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] In passenger boarding bridges (PBBs) with automatic approach functions, the time required to acquire aircraft body data for automatic control is reduced, and regardless of the diversity of the aircraft's external surface, such as paint and surface treatment, misidentification is prevented, making it possible to optically and accurately determine the position of the aircraft door. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1A] This shows a functional block diagram of the PBB and aircraft door determination system of the present invention. [Figure 1B] This is a view of the PBB1 of the present invention and the aircraft as seen from above. [Figure 1C] This is a side view showing the side of the PBB1 of the present invention, as seen from the arrow view A in FIG. 1B. [Figure 1D] This is a view showing the aircraft door D of the aircraft AP to which the PBB1 of the present invention is applied. [Figure 1E] This is a view from above showing the state of the PBB1 when the PBB1 of the present invention is joined to the aircraft door D. [Figure 2A] This conceptually shows a representative example of the trajectory of the light beam scanned and irradiated on the aircraft. [Figure 2B] This is a representative example of the reflected light of the light beam scanned and irradiated on the aircraft, and conceptually shows a representative example of recognizing the aircraft door D and the window. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart showing the overall algorithm of the PBB automatic approach algorithm AAA of the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart of the algorithm of the rough approach control RA among the PBB automatic approach algorithm AAA of the present invention. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart of the algorithm of the fine approach control FA among the PBB automatic approach algorithm AAA of the present invention. [Figure 6] This is a flowchart of the control algorithm of the moving device 3 among the algorithms of the fine approach control FA of the present invention.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] [Embodiments] Referring to FIGS. 1A to 1E, the PBB1 with an automatic approach function according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1A shows a functional block diagram of the PBB and the aircraft door determination system of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a view of the PBB1 of the present invention and the aircraft seen from above. FIG. 1C is a side view showing the side of the PBB1 of the present invention, which is a view seen from the arrow A in FIG. 1B. FIG. 1D is a view showing the aircraft door D of the aircraft AP to which the PBB1 of the present invention is applied. FIG. 1E is a view of the state of the PBB1 when it is joined to the aircraft door D seen from above.

[0016] (Configuration and Structure of PBB1) The PBB1 includes at least a cab portion 11, a tunnel portion 12, a moving device 3, a movement control device 4, and an aircraft door determination system 2. The aircraft door determination system 2 includes a sensor 21 and a determination device 22.

[0017] The tunnel portion 12 is a tunnel-shaped structure body with openings at both ends that extend细长ly in a certain direction (referred to as the "extending direction") from the rotary portion 13 and is hollow inside. The cab portion 11 is attached to the tip (one end) of the tunnel portion 12 so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis Oc with respect to the tunnel portion 12. A rotary portion 13 is fixed to the rear end (the other end) of the tunnel portion 12 on the side opposite to the cab portion 11, and the rotary portion 13 is fixed to a base installed on the airport ground G.

[0018] The tunnel portion 12 is composed of a plurality of tunnel members, which are configured in a nested manner, and has a structure in which one side moves relative to the other side to expand and contract. For example, typically, the tunnel portion 12 is composed of a first tunnel portion 12a and a second tunnel portion 12b, and is configured in a nested manner such that the second tunnel portion 12b is inserted into the first tunnel portion 12a. The moving device 3 causes the first tunnel portion 12a to move in the extending direction with respect to the second tunnel portion 12b, so that the tunnel portion 12 has a structure that can expand and contract as a whole.

[0019] The first tunnel section 12a is equipped with a moving device 3. The moving device 3 comprises drive wheels 3a that move relative to the airport ground G and support columns 3b that are fixedly supported by the first tunnel section 12a, and the first tunnel section 12a is movable in the direction of extension of the tunnel section 12 (L direction) relative to the airport ground G by the drive wheels 3a.

[0020] Since the other end of the tunnel section 12 is fixed to the rotunda section 13, when the tunnel section 12 is extended by the moving device 3, the cab section 11 connected to one end of the tunnel section 12 moves closer to the aircraft AP, and when the tunnel section 12 is contracted by the moving device 3, the cab section 11 connected to one end of the tunnel section 12 moves away from the aircraft AP.

[0021] The tunnel section 12 is mounted to the rotunda section 13 so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis Oa. The moving device 3 is rotatable around the vertical axis Ob, and the moving device 3 allows the tunnel section 12 to rotate around the vertical axis Oa relative to the rotunda section 13.

[0022] The PBB1 has a cab section 11 that is closely attached to the door opening DO of the aircraft AP, which is closed by the aircraft door D, allowing passengers to board and alight from the aircraft AP. The aircraft door D of the aircraft AP is structured such that when the door opening DO is closed, the outer surface of the aircraft door D and the surface of the aircraft AP form the same plane when the door opening DO is closed.

[0023] The outer surface of the aircraft door D and the fuselage surface of the aircraft AP are painted with the same paint. In accordance with safety regulations, a door contour line DL, painted with a different paint than the fuselage surface of the aircraft AP, is always placed along the entire edge of the outer surface of the aircraft door D of the aircraft AP, so that the aircraft door D can be easily seen from the outside. When the aircraft door D is closed, the door contour line DL separates the outer surface of the aircraft door D from the fuselage surface of the aircraft AP. A door window DW is located in the area inside the door contour line DL of the aircraft door D. The door window DW is made of a light-transmitting material so that the outside can be seen from inside the aircraft AP.

[0024] (Aircraft door detection system 2) The aircraft door determination system 2 comprises a sensor 21 and a determination device 22. The sensor 21 is positioned in the cab section 11, always facing the aircraft AP, and emits a light beam and receives reflected light from the light beam. The sensor 21 is, for example, a so-called active optical three-dimensional sensor, and the light beam is typically a laser beam. The sensor 21 emits a light beam toward the aircraft AP. The reflected light from the sensor 21 is emitted so that the light-receiving surface of the sensor 21 scans the aircraft AP's fuselage evenly. The light beam is received by the sensor 21. The sensor 21 receives the reflected light of the light beam emitted from the sensor 21 and reflected by the aircraft AP's fuselage. The sensor 21 is electrically coupled to the determination device 22, and the reflected light of the light beam reflected by the aircraft AP's fuselage, received by the sensor 21, is received by the sensor 21 and processed by the determination device 22.

[0025] <Aircraft door recognition and determination in aircraft door detection system 2> Next, referring to Figures 2A and 2B, the recognition and determination of aircraft doors in the aircraft door determination system 2 using the irradiation of a light beam and the reflected light of the irradiated light beam will be explained. Figure 2A conceptually shows a typical example of the trajectory of a light beam irradiated onto an aircraft. Figure 2B is a typical example of the reflected light of a light beam irradiated onto an aircraft, and is a conceptual diagram showing a typical example of recognizing an aircraft door D and a window. The determination device 22 determines in advance that the area identified as the door contour line DL is the reflected light of the aircraft AP's fuselage, based on the difference between the reflected light of the door contour line DL and the reflected light of the aircraft AP's fuselage, as received by the sensor 21. The determination device 22 determines the part of the aircraft based on the reflected light. Since the received light intensity of the reflected light of the light beam differs depending on the difference in the reflectivity of the paint and the difference in the angle of the aircraft surface at the location irradiated by the light beam, it is possible to identify the location irradiated by the light beam. Because the aircraft AP's fuselage is curved, the reflected light received by sensor 21 is strongest at the center of the fuselage along the aircraft axis, and decreases as it deviates from the axis upwards and downwards. In particular, the reflectivity of the paint on the door contour line DL is different from that of the paint on the aircraft AP's fuselage surface, so the door contour line DL can be identified by the difference between the reflectivity of the paint on the aircraft AP's fuselage surface and the reflectivity of the paint on the periphery of the aircraft door D. From the identified door contour line DL, the aircraft door D can be determined. The contour of the door opening DO can be determined as the outer circumference of the aircraft door D based on the determination of the aircraft door D. That is, sensor 21 emits a light beam from the cab section 11 toward the aircraft AP while scanning the surface of the aircraft AP's fuselage, and receives the reflected light of the light beam reflected by the fuselage with sensor 21. For example, as shown in Figure 2A, the light beam is irradiated onto the aircraft AP while rotating it in an elliptical curve around an arbitrary point. The method of illumination is sufficient as long as the light beam scans and illuminates the aircraft within the detection area V evenly. As long as the light beam scans and illuminates the aircraft within the detection area V evenly, the method of illumination is not specified. Figure 2A shows a conceptual diagram of a typical example of the trajectory SL of a light beam scanned and irradiated onto an aircraft in the detection area V. It is desirable to make the trajectory of the light beam denser so that the scanning trajectory of the irradiated light beam is denser.This is an example of a scan in which a light beam is projected in an elliptical shape around an arbitrary point on the door and rotated. In this scan as well, the light beam is projected evenly onto the group of windows W around the aircraft door D. However, the positions of the door windows DW and W described here are unknown when the light beam is projected, so their determination is made after the light beam is projected based on the reflected light. In the reflected light of the light beam received by sensor 21, the difference in reflectivity between the reflected light of the door contour line DL and the reflected light of the aircraft AP is recognized, and the determination device 22 determines that the area with a shape similar to the shape of the door contour line DL is the door contour line DL. The determination device 22 determines that the area inside the door contour line DL, including the door contour line DL, is the aircraft door D. For example, as shown in Figure 2B, the area inside the door contour line DL, including the door contour line DL, can be recognized as the aircraft door D based on the difference between the reflected light of the door contour line DL and the reflected light of the aircraft AP. Figure 2B is a conceptual diagram showing the trajectory of reflected light from an irradiated light beam, representing a typical example of the result of recognizing an aircraft door D. The door contour line DL of the aircraft door D is shown as a rectangular shadow line with a different color or hue from the reflected light of the irradiated light beam, due to the reflected light having a different reflectivity. For example, as shown in Figure 2B, the reflected light from the irradiated light beam appears as a darker color or hue at the door line, which differs from the reflected light of other parts of the aircraft.

[0026] <Recognition and determination of door windows in aircraft door detection system 2> Furthermore, since the door window DW is made of a light-transmitting material, the light beam irradiated onto the door window DW passes through the door window DW and no reflected light is generated. Therefore, in the reflected light of the light beam received by sensor 21, it can be determined that the areas where there is no reflected light are windows W. These windows W include the door window DW of the aircraft door D. Therefore, these areas where it is determined that there is no reflected light are windows W and are at least door window candidate DWc. For example, as shown in Figure 2B, in the trajectory of the scanned irradiated light beam, areas where there is no reflected light of the light beam appear as roughly rectangular shadows. Areas where there is no reflected light of the light beam are door window candidates. In Figure 2B, the areas of door window candidates where there is no reflected light of the light beam are shown with dashed lines for clarity, but in reality, these are areas where the reflected light of the light beam is missing. In Figure 2A as well, areas where there is no reflected light of the light beam appear as rectangular shadows. By reducing the contrast of the trajectory SL of the scanned light beam in Figure 2A, areas without reflected light from the light beam become particularly clear, as shown in Figure 2B. Specifically, the light beam is emitted while scanning the surface of the aircraft AP, and the reflected light from the aircraft is received by sensor 21. In the reflected light of the light beam received by sensor 21, the determination device 22 performs a door window determination, determining that areas without reflected light are candidates for door windows DW. As shown in Figure 2B, areas without reflected light from the irradiated light beam are where the irradiated light beam passed through a window, and all of these appear particularly clearly as door window candidates DWc. Then, the appropriate target is determined to be door window DW from the door window candidates DWc. Based on this door window determination, the position of the aircraft door D is determined. Among the door window candidates DWc, those that may be determined to be windows W that are not door windows DW are, for example, passenger windows W, and these can be distinguished because they are located at a certain distance from the aircraft door D. For example, in the example in Figure 2B, four door window candidates DWc appear, one of which is door window DW, and all the others are windows W.

[0027] <Accurate identification of aircraft doors using door window detection in the aircraft door identification system 2> Since the door window DW is always located within the area enclosed by the door contour line DL, it can be reliably determined that the area outside the door window DW, where there is no reflected light, is the door contour line DL, where the reflected light is different. Furthermore, the aircraft AP has many windows in the passenger section in addition to the door window DW. However, if it is found that the area without reflected light is outside the area enclosed by the door contour line DL, then that window can be determined not to be a door window DW. In other words, while the door opening DO can be determined from the door contour line DL by the reflected light received by sensor 21, determining the door window DW based on the area where no reflected light is received has the advantage of increasing the reliability of determining the door opening DO using the door contour line DL. That is, in the example in Figure 2B, of the four candidate door window DWc, the one inside the door contour line DL is the correct door window DW, and the one outside the door contour line DL is a window W that is not a door window DW.

[0028] Therefore, the determination device 22 first determines that areas with a shape similar to the door contour line DL are door contour line DL based on the difference between the reflected light of the door contour line DL and the reflected light of the aircraft AP's fuselage, as determined by the sensor 21. Then, based on this result, or in a process different from the scan, the sensor 21 emits a light beam from the cab section 11 toward the aircraft AP while scanning the surface of the aircraft AP's fuselage, and based on the result of the sensor 21 receiving the reflected light of the light beam reflected by the fuselage, the determination device 22 performs a door window determination in which areas without reflected light are candidates for door window DW (door window candidates). In this door window determination, the determination device 22 determines that a door window candidate is a door window DW if it is inside the door contour line DL, and determines that a door window candidate is not a door window DW if it is outside the door contour line DL.

[0029] Based on the door window DW determined by the determination device 22, the distance from the edge of the door window DW to the periphery of the aircraft door D is measured in at least one of the width direction of the aircraft door D and the direction perpendicular to the width direction. The width direction of the aircraft door D is the direction of the short side of the aircraft door D, which is the aircraft axis direction or the horizontal direction. The direction perpendicular to the width direction of the aircraft door D is the direction of the long side of the aircraft door D, which is the height direction. That is, based on the door window DW, the distances W1 and W2 from the edge of the door window DW in the short side direction of the aircraft door D to the periphery of the aircraft door D, and the distances H1 and H2 from the edge of the door window DW in the long side direction of the aircraft door D are measured in at least one of the short side direction and the long side direction of the aircraft door D. From these measurements, the precise position of the aircraft door D is determined. The precisely determined position of the aircraft door D is set as the target position of the aircraft door D that the PBB should approach. In particular, the entire aircraft door D, which has been accurately identified, may be used as the target location, or a representative part of the aircraft door D, which has been accurately identified, may be used as the target location.

[0030] Furthermore, in door window determination, it is also possible to use the opening / closing handle DH for opening and closing the aircraft door D instead of the door contour line DL. On the aircraft door D, the opening / closing handle DH for opening and closing the aircraft door D is located in the area inside the door contour line DL. The opening / closing handle contour line DHL is also applied to the periphery of the opening / closing handle DH. Therefore, in the determination device 22, based on the difference between the reflected light of the opening / closing handle contour line DHL and the reflected light of the aircraft AP's fuselage, the determination device 22 determines in advance that the area with a shape similar to the opening / closing handle contour line DHL is the opening / closing handle contour line DHL. Since the positional relationship between the opening / closing handle DH and the door window DW is known in advance, in the door window determination, the door window candidate that is in the position where the door window DW should be located is determined to be the door window DW based on the positional relationship between the opening / closing handle DH recognized from the recognized opening / closing handle contour line DHL and the door window candidate, and the door window candidate that is not in the position where the door window should be located is determined to be not the door window DW.

[0031] (Algorithm of PBB1 with automatic approach function) Next, a PBB1 equipped with an aircraft door determination system 2 will be described. The PBB1 comprises at least a cab section 11, a tunnel section 12, a rotunda section 13, a moving device 3, a moving control device 4, and an aircraft door determination system 2. The aircraft door determination system 2 has been described above. The moving device 3 is a moving device for moving the cab section 11 and is equipped with a drive wheel 3a. The drive wheel 3a supports the tunnel section 12 by a support column 3b. The drive wheel 3a is able to rotate in an axial direction perpendicular to the airport ground G, that is, around the vertical axis Ob of the tunnel section 12, and is also able to move in the extending direction of the tunnel section 12. As the drive wheel 3a moves in the extending direction L of the tunnel section 12, the second tunnel section 12b, which is nested inside the tunnel section 12, enters or exits the first tunnel section 12a, allowing the tunnel section 12 to expand and contract in the extending direction L of the tunnel section 12. The movement of the drive wheel 3a in the extension direction L of the tunnel section 12 and the rotation of the drive wheel 3a in the tunnel section 12 around the vertical axis are controlled by the movement control device 4. The movement control device 4 also controls the rotation of the rotunda section 13 around the vertical axis Oa with respect to the airport ground G and the rotation of the cab section 11 around the vertical axis Oc with respect to the airport ground G.

[0032] The control of the mobile device 3 by the mobile control device 4 is performed by the PBB automatic approach algorithm AAA together with the determination device 22. The PBB automatic approach algorithm AAA will be explained with reference to Figures 3 to 6. Figure 3 shows the overall algorithm of the PBB automatic approach algorithm AAA. Figure 4 shows the algorithm for coarse approach control RA of the PBB automatic approach algorithm AAA. Figure 5 shows the algorithm for fine approach control FA of the PBB automatic approach algorithm AAA. Figure 6 shows the control algorithm for the mobile device 3 within the fine approach control FA algorithm.

[0033] According to the PBB automatic approach algorithm AAA, the movement control device 4 performs coarse approach control RA, in which the movement device 3 moves the cab section 11 from the standby position to the reserve position, and fine approach control FA, in which the movement device 3 moves the cab section 11 from the reserve position to the approach completion position where the cab section 11 contacts the aircraft door D of the aircraft AP. The movement control device 4 controls the movement device 3 in both coarse approach control RA and fine approach control FA.

[0034] The standby position is defined as the position where the PBB1 is fully or partially retracted and separated from the aircraft AP. The standby position is not necessarily limited to the retracted position when the PBB1 is not operational, but is defined to include the starting position when the PBB1 begins to approach while it is in operation. The approach completion position is defined as the position where the cab section 11 is joined to the aircraft door D of the aircraft AP, and means the target position where the bumper attached to the front of the cab section 11 is in contact with a predetermined position on the aircraft door D of the aircraft AP. The reserve position is defined as any position between the standby position and the approach completion position, and the reserve position is the position where coarse approach control RA and fine approach control FA are switched. The reserve position can be defined, for example, as the position where the size of the aircraft door D exceeds the field of view of the sensor 21.

[0035] (Coarse approach control RA) The coarse approach control RA is a control process that determines the aircraft door D using the door contour line DL and moves the PBB1 from the standby position to the reserve position based on this determination result. The coarse approach control RA comprises an optical data acquisition process (RAS1), an aircraft door determination process (RAS2), and a coarse approach control process (RAS3).

[0036] In the optical data acquisition process (RAS1), the aircraft door determination system 2 emits a light beam from a sensor 21 attached to the cab section 11 toward the aircraft AP while scanning the aircraft body toward the aircraft door D, and the reflected light from the aircraft body is received by the sensor 21. In the aircraft door determination process (RAS2), the determination device 22 recognizes the door contour line DL based on the difference between the reflectance of the paint on the surface of the aircraft AP and the reflectance of the paint around the periphery of the aircraft door D, based on the reflected light received by the sensor 21, and determines that it is aircraft door D.

[0037] In the PBB rough approach process (RAS3), the determination device 22 identifies the length of the aircraft door O in the width direction from the door contour line DL of the aircraft door D and sets a predetermined position in the width direction of the aircraft door D as the target position. The target position can be freely set as the target position when moving the cab section 11 toward the aircraft door D. Typically, it is the center position of half the width of the aircraft door D in the width direction. The movement control device 4 controls the movement device 3 so that a predetermined reference position of the cab section 11 automatically joins this target position (RAS3). In the PBB rough approach process (RAS3), the movement control device 4 moves the movement device 3 so that the difference in distance between the reference position of the cab section 11 and the target position of the aircraft door D is eliminated, and controls it from the standby position to the reserve position (RAS2). The reference position is defined as a position set so that it has a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the target position of the aircraft door D when the cab section 11 is joined to the aircraft door D. The reference position and the target position may each be one location or multiple locations. Furthermore, in the case of multiple locations, the cab section 11 is defined as being joined to the aircraft door D if the corresponding positional relationships between multiple reference positions and multiple target positions are in a predetermined positional relationship. Also, the reference position and target position are not limited to points, but may be lines or certain areas having an area. At the very least, it is defined as meaning that the cab section 11 is joined to the aircraft door D when the positional relationship between the reference position and the target position is in a predetermined positional relationship. A reserve position is a position set along the way from the waiting position to the approach completion position so that the positional relationship between the reference position and the target position satisfies the predetermined positional relationship. Since the PBB's movement path is usually not just one path, there may be one or more reserve positions.

[0038] (Precise proximity control FA) The precision approach control FA is a control process that determines the door window DW using the door contour line DL and door window determination, uses this to accurately determine and grasp the aircraft door D, and moves the PBB1 from the preparatory position to the approach completion position. The precision approach control FA comprises an optical data acquisition process (FAS1), a door window determination process (FAS2), an aircraft door determination process (FAS3), and a precision approach control process (RAS4).

[0039] In the optical data acquisition process (FAS1) of the fine approach control FA, the aircraft door determination system 2 emits a light beam from a sensor 21 attached to the cab section 11 toward the aircraft AP while scanning the aircraft body toward the direction of the aircraft door D, and the reflected light from the aircraft body is received by the sensor 21. In determining that it is aircraft door D in the optical data acquisition process (FAS1), the determination device 22 recognizes the door contour line DL based on the difference between the reflectance of the paint on the surface of the aircraft AP and the reflectance of the paint around the periphery of the aircraft door D, based on the reflected light received by the sensor 21, and determines that it is aircraft door D. This determination may also utilize the determination result of aircraft door D in the coarse approach control RA.

[0040] Then, in the door window determination process (FAS2) of the precision proximity control FA, the emission continues while scanning the surface of the aircraft AP, and the reflected light of the light beam reflected by the aircraft is received by sensor 21. In the reflected light of the light beam received by sensor 21, the determination device 22 determines that any area where there is no reflected light is a candidate for door window DW, and performs door window determination. Near the reserve position, the field of view of sensor 21 includes not only the door window DW of the aircraft door D but also passenger windows, resulting in a situation where there are multiple door window candidates. Therefore, as part of the door window determination, the determination device 22 determines that among these multiple door window candidates, the door window candidate that is inside the door contour line DL is door window DW, and if the door window candidate is outside the door contour line DL, it determines that the door window candidate is not door window DW. In the door window determination process (FAS2) of the high-proximity control FA, unlike the door contour line DL in the coarse-proximity control RA, the determination device 22 determines that areas without reflected light are candidates for door window DW, thereby accurately determining the position of the aircraft door D.

[0041] Then, in the aircraft door determination process (FAS3) of the precision proximity control FA, the distances W1 and W2 from the edge of the door window DW in the short-side direction to the periphery of the aircraft door D, and the distances H1 and H2 from the edge of the door window DW in the long-side direction to the periphery of the aircraft door D are measured with the door window DW as a reference. From these measurements, the precise position of the aircraft door D is determined. Based on the determination of the precise position of the aircraft door D, it is set as the target position of the aircraft door D.

[0042] Then, in the precision approach control process (RAS4) of the precision approach control FA, the movement control device 4 moves the movement device 3 so that the distance difference between the reference position of the cab section 11 and the target position of the aircraft door D is eliminated and the positional relationship between the reference position of the cab section 11 and the target position of the aircraft door D becomes a specified positional relationship, and controls the aircraft from the preliminary position to the approach completion position.

[0043] In the aircraft door determination process (FAS4) of the precision approach control FA, first, the movement control device 4 sets a target position based on a predetermined reference position of the cab section 11 and the position of the aircraft door D accurately determined in the aircraft door determination process (FAS3), and moves the movement device 3 so that the difference between the reference position of the cab section 11 and the target position of the aircraft door D is eliminated (FAS4-1). At that time, if necessary, it is determined at predetermined time intervals whether a predetermined point has been reached where the distance between the tip of the cab section 11 and the aircraft door D is a predetermined distance (FAS4-2). Here, the predetermined point is the point that has not been reached, and if movement beyond the movable range of the movement device 3 is required, it stops and returns to the initial state (FAS4-8). After returning to the initial state, the determination and movement are performed again. If the predetermined point has been reached, the algorithm continues to operate normally.

[0044] Next, the tunnel section is rotated around the vertical axis Oa so that the angle difference α between the direction from the vertical axis Oa of the rotunda section 13 to the center of the width of the door opening and the extending direction PBB HL of the tunnel section becomes small, and the drive wheels are driven so that the difference in distance between the front of the cab section and the door opening becomes small (FAS4-3). Here, if necessary, it is determined whether a predetermined location has been reached where the distance between the front of the cab section and the door opening is a predetermined distance (FAS4-4). If the predetermined location has not been reached and movement beyond the movable range of the moving device 3 is required, it stops and returns to the predetermined initial state at the predetermined position (FAS4-8). After that, the determination and movement are performed again from the initial state. If the predetermined location has been reached, the algorithm continues to operate normally.

[0045] The movement control device 4 controls the cab rotation mechanism to rotate the cab section 11 around Oc so that the opening of the cab section 11 faces the aircraft door D (FAS4-5). It is determined whether the cab section has reached a predetermined location where the distance between the tip of the cab section and the door opening is a predetermined distance and the positional relationship between the reference position of the cab section 11 and the target position of the aircraft door D is a predetermined positional relationship (FAS4-6). If the cab has not reached the predetermined location and movement beyond the range of motion of the movement device 3 is required, it stops and returns to the predetermined initial state at the predetermined position (FAS4-8). After that, the determination and movement are repeated from the initial state. On the other hand, if the cab has reached the predetermined location, the algorithm continues to operate normally.

[0046] When the opening of the cab section 11 is directly facing the door opening DO, the cab rotation mechanism is stopped and the moving device 3 is moved so that the bumper of the cab section 11 contacts the door opening DO, and the vehicle comes to a normal stop (FAS4-7).

[0047] By using the aircraft door determination system 2, and by executing the PBB automatic approach algorithm AAA in the PBB1 equipped with the aircraft door determination system 2, unlike the door contour line DL in coarse approach control RA, the door window determination process (FAS2) of fine approach control FA, which has door window determination by determination device 22, can be executed, in which areas without reflected light are candidates for door window DW, and the position of the aircraft door D can be optically determined accurately. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1 PBB 2. Aircraft Door Detection System 3. Mobile device 4. Mobile control device 21 sensors 22 Judgment device AAA PBB Automatic Approach Algorithm RA coarse approach control FA (Factory Automation) Precision Approach Control AP aircraft D Aircraft Door DL Door Outline DW Door Window DH opening / closing handle DHL Open / Close Handle Contour

Claims

1. A PBB aircraft door determination system for automatically bringing the cab portion of the leading edge of the PBB into close proximity to an aircraft door that is closed by an aircraft door having a light-transmitting door window, wherein the aircraft door determination system is A sensor attached to the cab section emits a light beam toward the aircraft's fuselage and receives reflected light from the aircraft's fuselage. An aircraft door determination system comprising: a determination device that performs door window determination in the reflected light of the light beam from the aircraft body received by the sensor, and determines that non-reflective areas where there is no reflected light of the light beam because the light beam has passed through the door window are candidate door window areas for the door window, and determines the position of the aircraft door based on the door window determination.

2. The periphery of the aircraft door of the aircraft has a door contour line painted in a different color from the aircraft's fuselage, and the periphery of the opening and closing handle of the aircraft door has an opening and closing handle contour line painted in a different color from the aircraft's fuselage. The determination device, before determining the door window, determines in advance the location identified as the door contour line based on the difference between the reflected light of the door contour line and the reflected light of the aircraft's fuselage, in the door window determination, if the candidate door window is inside the door contour line, it determines that the candidate door window is a door window, if the candidate door window is outside the door contour line, it determines that the candidate door window is not a door window, and determines the position of the aircraft from the position of the door window, or The determination device, prior to determining the door window, determines in advance that the reflected light from the light beam received by the sensor from the aircraft is an opening / closing handle based on the difference between the reflected light of the outline of the opening / closing handle and the reflected light of the aircraft's fuselage. The aircraft door determination system according to claim 1, wherein the determination device determines, in determining the door window, that among the candidate door windows, the one that is in the position where the door window should be located is the door window, based on the positional relationship with the opening and closing handle, and that among the candidate door windows, the one that is not in the position where the door window should be located is not the door window, and determines the position of the aircraft door from the position of the door window.

3. A method for determining an aircraft door of a passenger boarding bridge (PBB) that automatically brings the cab portion of the PBB close to and connects to an aircraft door that is closed by an aircraft door having a light-transmitting door window, wherein the cab portion is equipped with a sensor that emits a light beam toward the aircraft body and receives reflected light from the aircraft body, and the aircraft door determination method is: The process involves emitting a light beam from the sensor toward the aircraft body and receiving the reflected light of the light beam from the aircraft body. The process of determining a door window is to determine, based on the reflected light of the light beam from the machine body received by the sensor, that the sensor determines a non-reflective area where there is no reflected light of the light beam because the light beam has passed through the door window as a candidate for the door window, An aircraft door determination method comprising the step of determining the position of the aircraft door based on the door window determination.

4. The periphery of the aircraft door of the aircraft has a door contour line painted in a different color from the aircraft's fuselage, and the periphery of the opening and closing handle of the aircraft door has an opening and closing handle contour line painted in a different color from the aircraft's fuselage. The aforementioned aircraft door determination method is: Prior to the door window determination, the steps include: determining in advance that the location identified from the difference between the reflected light of the door contour line and the reflected light of the aircraft's fuselage in the reflected light of the light beam from the aircraft body received by the sensor is the door contour line; determining that the candidate door window is a door window if it is inside the door contour line, determining that the candidate door window is not a door window if it is outside the door contour line, and determining the position of the aircraft from the position of the door window; or prior to the door window determination, the steps include: The aircraft door determination method according to claim 3, comprising the steps of: determining in advance that the reflected light of the light beam from the aircraft body is an opening / closing handle based on the difference between the reflected light of the outline of the opening / closing handle and the reflected light of the aircraft body; and determining, in the door window determination, determining that the door window candidate that is in the position where the door window should be located is a door window based on its positional relationship with the opening / closing handle, determining that the door window candidate that is not in the position where the door window should be located is not a door window based on its positional relationship with the opening / closing handle, and determining the position of the aircraft door from the position of the door window.

5. A PBB (Panel Barrier) that automatically brings the leading cab portion close to the aircraft door of an aircraft that is closed by an aircraft door having a door contour line and a light-transmitting door window, wherein the door contour line is a PBB whose periphery is painted in a different color from the aircraft's fuselage, and the PBB is A moving device for moving the aforementioned cab section, A movement control device controls the movement device to perform coarse approach control, which involves moving the cab section to a preliminary position using the movement device, and fine approach control, which involves moving the cab section from the preliminary position to a completed approach position, where the cab section contacts the aircraft door of the aircraft using the movement device. Equipped with an aircraft door detection system, The aforementioned aircraft door determination system is A sensor attached to the cab section emits a light beam toward the aircraft's fuselage and receives reflected light from the aircraft's fuselage. The aircraft door is determined by a determination device, In the rough approach control described above, the determination device determines the door contour line to be the outer shell of the aircraft door based on the difference between the reflected light of the door contour line and the reflected light of the aircraft body in the reflected light of the light beam from the aircraft body received by the sensor, and the movement control device then moves the cab section to the preliminary position toward the aircraft door determined by the determination device. In the aforementioned precise approach control, the determination device performs a door window determination in the reflected light of the light beam from the aircraft body received by the sensor, and the sensor determines that any non-reflective areas where the light beam does not reflect light due to the light beam passing through the door window are candidate door window locations for the door window, and based on the door window determination, it performs a determination of the position of the aircraft door, and the movement control device uses the movement device to approach the aircraft door from the preliminary position to the approach completion position.

6. The PBB according to claim 5, wherein the determination of the position of the aircraft door based on the door window determination includes determining that the door window candidate is a door window if the door window candidate is inside the door contour line, determining that the door window candidate is not a door window if the door window candidate is outside the door contour line, and determining the position of the aircraft door from the position of the door window.

7. The determination of the position of the aircraft door by the determination device includes measuring the distance from the edge of the door window to the periphery of the aircraft door in at least one of the width direction of the aircraft door and a direction perpendicular to the width direction, with respect to the door window.

8. The approach is performed by the movement control device to move the movement device so that the difference in distance between a predetermined position of the aircraft door, which is set based on the distance from the edge of the door window to the periphery of the aircraft door, and a reference position of the cab section is eliminated.

9. The PBB according to claim 6, wherein a predetermined position in the width direction of the aircraft door is set as the target position, and the movement control device performs control to move the movement device so that the difference in distance between the reference position of the cab and the predetermined position of the aircraft door is eliminated.

10. The PBB is equipped with a tunnel section that extends in the direction of extension from the rotunda section, with one end attached to the cab section and the other end fixed to the base, and is rotatable around a vertical axis. The moving device comprises 8 which rotates the tunnel section around the vertical axis and extends and retracts the tunnel section in the extending direction, The control that causes the moving device to perform the movement so that the difference in distance between the reference position of the cab section and the target position of the aircraft door is eliminated is to rotate the tunnel section around the vertical axis so that the difference in angle between the direction of the aircraft door in the width direction from the vertical axis and the extending direction of the tunnel section is reduced, and to drive the drive wheels so that the difference in distance between the tip of the cab section and the aircraft door is reduced, according to claim 9.

11. The PBB is equipped with a tunnel section that extends in the direction of extension from the rotunda section, with one end attached to the cab section and the other end fixed to the base, and is rotatable around a vertical axis. The moving device is equipped with a drive wheel that rotates the tunnel section around the vertical axis and extends and retracts the tunnel section in the extending direction. The control that causes the moving device to move so that the difference in distance between the reference position of the cab section and the predetermined position of the aircraft door is eliminated, involves rotating the tunnel section around the vertical axis so that the difference in angle between the direction of the aircraft door in the width direction from the vertical axis and the extending direction of the tunnel section is reduced, and driving the drive wheels so that the difference in distance between the tip of the cab section and the aircraft door is reduced, according to claim 8.

12. The PBB is equipped with a rotation mechanism that performs rotational operation of the cab portion with respect to the extending direction of the tunnel portion. The PBB according to claim 10, wherein the movement control device controls the rotation mechanism so that when the distance between the tip of the cab and the aircraft door becomes a predetermined distance, the cab rotates so that the opening of the cab faces the aircraft door.

13. The PBB is equipped with a rotation mechanism that performs rotational operation of the cab portion with respect to the extending direction of the tunnel portion. The PBB according to claim 11, wherein the movement control device controls the rotation mechanism so that when the distance between the tip of the cab and the aircraft door becomes a predetermined distance, the cab rotates so that the opening of the cab faces the aircraft door.

14. The PBB according to claim 10, wherein the movement control device controls the drive wheel to stop the rotation of the tunnel section around the vertical axis and the expansion and contraction of the tunnel section in the extending direction when the drive wheel requires an operation that exceeds a predetermined range of motion of the drive wheel.

15. The PBB according to claim 11, wherein the movement control device controls the drive wheel to stop the rotation of the tunnel section around the vertical axis and the expansion and contraction of the tunnel section in the extending direction if the drive wheel requires an operation that exceeds a predetermined range of motion of the drive wheel.

16. The PBB according to claim 15, wherein the movement control device controls the drive wheel to return the tunnel section to a predetermined position when the movement of the drive wheel is stopped.

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