Towbarless Aircraft Towing with Offline Visual Alignment Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional aircraft towing methods face challenges in maintaining proper alignment between the tow vehicle and the aircraft, particularly during tight maneuvers or in adverse weather conditions, and existing systems often require frequent maintenance and produce high emissions, leading to inefficiencies and environmental impact.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous system with a tow vehicle equipped with a turntable lifting unit, sensor fusion system, and Offline Intelligence Advanced Driver Assistance System (OI-ADAS) that processes sensor data in volatile memory to control the tow vehicle's position and orientation, allowing for precise aircraft handling without pre-existing maps or GPS data, and includes collision avoidance and torque sensors for stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional towing methods with towbars are used, then connection and disconnection operations can be performed, but the system becomes cumbersome and places stress on the aircraft's landing gear during turns
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the towbar component entirely, extracting the connection function from the traditional towing system. The tow vehicle directly engages the nose landing gear without requiring external connecting elements, thereby eliminating the stress that towbars impose on the landing gear during turns while simplifying the connection and disconnection operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical towbar connection system with a direct engagement mechanism where the tow vehicle's turntable lifting unit directly interfaces with the nose landing gear. This substitution eliminates the intermediate mechanical linkages that cause stress during maneuvers, while maintaining the essential towing function.
2Productivity
If towbarless designs with direct nose landing gear engagement are used, then towing efficiency is improved, but maintaining proper alignment between the tow vehicle and aircraft becomes challenging during tight maneuvers or in adverse weather
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a turntable lifting unit that can dynamically adjust its orientation and position. The turntable rotates to align the lifting unit with the nose landing gear during approach, and can tilt to compensate for alignment deviations during towing operations. This dynamic adjustment capability maintains precise alignment even during tight maneuvers or in adverse weather conditions while preserving towing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensors to continuously monitor the relative position and orientation between the tow vehicle and aircraft, providing feedback to the control system. This feedback enables real-time adjustments to the turntable lifting unit's position and angle, ensuring proper alignment is maintained throughout the towing operation despite changing conditions.
3Power
If gasoline or diesel engines are used in tow vehicles, then high power output is achieved, but fuel efficiency is poor and harmful emissions are produced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the internal combustion engine system with an electric propulsion system. Electric motors provide the necessary high power output for towing operations without producing harmful emissions, thereby eliminating the trade-off between power and environmental impact. The electric system also improves fuel efficiency by eliminating the inefficiencies of combustion engines.
4Object-generated harmful factors
If electric propulsion systems are used in tow vehicles, then emissions are reduced and fuel efficiency improves, but delivering high currents for breakaway torque strains battery systems and limits operational capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a battery management system that dynamically adjusts electrical parameters to deliver high breakaway torque when needed. The system can provide high current pulses for initial movement and overcoming inertia, then transition to lower current operation during steady-state towing. This parameter adjustment capability enables electric propulsion to meet the high power demands of aircraft towing while managing battery strain and extending operational capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for autonomous aircraft towing includes a tow vehicle with a turntable lifting unit for engaging an aircraft's nose landing gear, a sensor system, and an Offline Intelligence Advanced Driver Assistance System (OI-ADAS) integrated with the tow vehicle. The OI-ADAS includes a local processing unit that processes sensor data in volatile memory without persistent storage and a controller that analyzes visual cues to determine position and orientation, generates control commands, controls the turntable lifting unit, and maneuvers the tow vehicle. The OI-ADAS operates without preexisting knowledge of the environment, processing all data exclusively in volatile memory and discarding visual frames after processing. The system detects visual cues on ground surfaces for navigation without relying on pre-existing maps or GPS data. A collision avoidance module detects obstacles and generates avoidance maneuvers in autonomous mode while providing warnings and intervention in operator-controlled mode.