Towbarless Aircraft Tractor With Autonomous Return Path Avoidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tow vehicles require a towbar for coupling with aircraft nose landing gear, limiting flexibility and efficiency in airport operations.
Innovation Solution
A towbarless tractor equipped with a chassis, tractive assembly, driveline, braking system, and capture system, capable of autonomous navigation and object detection, allowing for hands-free coupling and towing of aircraft with nose landing gear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a towbar is used for coupling with aircraft nose landing gear, then the coupling is secure and reliable, but the flexibility and operational efficiency are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the towbar from the system entirely, extracting this limiting component to enable direct coupling between the tractor and aircraft nose landing gear. This eliminates the flexibility constraints imposed by towbar-based systems while maintaining secure coupling through the capture system.
Solution Approach 2:
The capture system acts as an intermediary mechanism between the tractor and aircraft, providing secure coupling without requiring a towbar. This intermediate device enables both reliability and flexibility by allowing direct attachment while maintaining the ability to release and reposition the aircraft.
2Productivity
If autonomous navigation and object detection systems are added to the tractor, then operational efficiency and safety are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller serves multiple functions by integrating autonomous navigation, object detection, path planning, and collision avoidance capabilities into a single control system. This multi-functionality improves operational efficiency while managing system complexity through consolidation rather than separate independent systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The tractor performs self-navigation and self-monitoring through autonomous systems that detect objects and adjust the return path without human intervention. This self-service capability improves operational efficiency by eliminating manual piloting while the integrated controller manages complexity through unified autonomous control.
3Reliability
If the tractor autonomously detects objects and adjusts return path, then collision avoidance is improved, but navigation time and operational duration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The object detection system operates continuously during the return navigation, performing preliminary detection of potential obstacles before the tractor reaches them. This allows the controller to plan alternative paths in advance rather than reacting to emergencies, improving collision avoidance while minimizing navigation time delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The autonomous navigation system uses real-time feedback from object detection sensors to continuously adjust the return path. This feedback mechanism enables dynamic collision avoidance by routing around detected objects while efficiently returning to the home location, balancing safety with navigation time.
Data Source
AI summary
A towbarless tractor includes a chassis, a body supported on the chassis, a tractive assembly, a driveline configured to drive and steer the tractive assembly, a braking system configured to apply a brake force to the tractive assembly, and a controller. The controller is configured to command the driveline to autonomously follow a travel path taken from a home location to a pushback location in a reverse order to return from the pushback location to the home location, and determine, when navigating from the pushback location to the home location, if an object is in a return path from the pushback location to the home location.