Height-Adjustable Rotunda Boarding Bridge for Variable Aircraft Docking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional boarding bridges are limited by a fixed inclination of 4.7 degrees, restricting the types of airplanes they can serve, which leads to inconvenience for passengers needing to transfer to non-compatible aircraft, requiring remote transfer and extended processing times.
Innovation Solution
A height-adjustable rotunda-type boarding bridge system that uses a rotunda column with a raising and lowering unit, allowing the rotunda to be adjusted to accommodate various airplane types by altering the inclination of both the fixed and movable tunnels, ensuring a gentle slope and enabling docking on multiple aircraft types.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the boarding bridge is designed with a fixed inclination of 4.7 degrees to comply with safety standards, then passenger safety and comfort are protected, but the boarding bridge can only serve predetermined airplane types and cannot accommodate other aircraft
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the rotunda height adjustable through a raising and lowering unit. The rotunda can dynamically change its vertical position to accommodate different airplane types while maintaining the safe 4.7-degree inclination angle. This transforms a previously static structure into a dynamic one that can adapt to various aircraft configurations without compromising passenger safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the height parameter of the rotunda by introducing a raising and lowering unit. By adjusting the rotunda's vertical position parameter, the system can serve multiple airplane types with different door heights while keeping the inclination angle constant at 4.7 degrees, thus resolving the contradiction between safety compliance and airplane type versatility.
2Device complexity
If the boarding bridge uses a fixed rotunda height, then the structure is simple and stable, but it requires extended processing time and remote transfer arrangements for non-compatible airplanes
Solution Approach 1:
By introducing a raising and lowering unit that enables dynamic height adjustment of the rotunda, the system can quickly adapt to different airplane types without requiring complex manual reconfiguration or remote transfer arrangements. This reduces processing time while adding only moderate structural complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the boarding bridge is designed to serve multiple airplane types by adjusting rotunda height, then airplane type compatibility is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the raising and lowering unit
Solution Approach 1:
The raising and lowering unit serves multiple functions: it adjusts the rotunda height to accommodate various airplane types, maintains the safe 4.7-degree inclination angle, and enables quick reconfiguration between different aircraft configurations. This multi-functionality justifies the added structural complexity by providing comprehensive adaptability.
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a boarding bridge. The boarding bridge includes: a fixed tunnel of which one end is connected to a terminal or an extended fixed tunnel; and a rotunda of which one end is connected to the other end of the fixed tunnel and which is supported by a rotunda column. The rotunda column is driven to raise or lower the rotunda.