Passenger Boarding Bridge Undocking Direction Check
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Solution Overview
Problem
The docking and undocking of passenger boarding bridges with aircraft are often manually controlled, relying on operator skill, which can lead to hindrances during undocking if the operator is unaware of the current docked state, potentially causing backward travel and hindering the undocking process.
Innovation Solution
A passenger boarding bridge system that includes a determiner to assess whether the travel direction of the wheels is within a smooth undocking range before undocking, allowing for automatic or manual control based on the determination, ensuring safe and efficient undocking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual control is used for docking and undocking operations, then the operator can perform operations based on experience and judgment, but the docking and undocking process becomes dependent on operator skill and may lead to hindrances if the operator is unaware of the current docked state
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates a determiner that automatically detects the docked state of the cab with the aircraft and provides feedback information. This feedback mechanism ensures that the current operational state is always known, preventing operators from making incorrect decisions due to lack of awareness. The determiner monitors whether the cab is properly docked and communicates this status to the control system, which then guides the operator's subsequent actions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-detection of the docked state through the determiner, which automatically assesses whether the cab is properly connected to the aircraft without requiring manual verification by the operator. This self-service capability reduces dependency on operator skill and experience while maintaining manual control, as the system independently provides critical state information that guides safe operation.
2Productivity
If the operator causes the travel device to travel backward for undocking, then the passenger boarding bridge can be undocked from the aircraft, but there is a risk that the operator may cause the travel device to travel in the wrong direction if unaware of the current state, hindering the undocking process
Solution Approach 1:
The determiner performs preliminary detection of the docked state before the operator initiates undocking operations. By assessing whether the cab is properly docked with the aircraft in advance, the system prepares the control system with accurate state information, enabling the operator to proceed with confidence in the correct undocking direction without risk of moving the travel device incorrectly.
3Reliability
If automatic control is implemented to eliminate dependency on operator skill, then the reliability of docking and undocking improves, but the system complexity increases due to the need for state detection and determination mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The determiner serves as an intermediary component that bridges the gap between simple manual control and complex automatic control systems. It automatically detects the docked state and provides this information to the control system, which then assists the operator in making correct decisions. This intermediary approach maintains manual operation simplicity while incorporating automated state detection to improve reliability, avoiding the need for fully complex automatic control systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a passenger boarding bridge that includes: a rotunda connected to a terminal building and supported in a horizontally rotatable manner; a tunnel unit whose proximal end is connected to the rotunda, the tunnel unit being extendable and retractable; a travel device that supports the tunnel unit and includes travel wheels, the travel device being configured such that a travel direction of forward travel of the travel wheels and a travel direction of backward travel of the travel wheels are changeable; a cab provided at a distal end of the tunnel unit, the cab being configured to be docked with an aircraft; and a determiner configured to, at a time before undocking the cab docked with the aircraft from the aircraft, perform determination whether or not the travel direction of the backward travel of the travel wheels at the time is a direction within a smooth undocking range.