An improved aircraft gate parking and servicing method is provided, wherein an aircraft is maneuvered into an airport terminal gate and parked in an optimum orientation at an angle that facilitates maximum access to aircraft front and rear doors. Boarding bridges are designed to facilitate connection to doors located rear of an aircraft wing without extending over the aircraft wing to maximize efficiency of passenger transfer. Passenger transfer and servicing of the aircraft may occur concurrently before the aircraft is maneuvered out of its optimum orientation in the parking space and driven to a takeoff runway for departure. Required safety margins are maintained at all times during aircraft maneuvers into and out of the optimum parking orientation. Stairs may be provided to simultaneously access aircraft doors not connected to boarding bridges. In a preferred embodiment, aircraft are moved to an optimum parking location by engines-off electric taxi systems.
A system and method is provided for improving efficiency of aircraft gate services and reducing time spent by an aircraft parked parallel to an airport terminal wherein aircraft utilities and gate services provided during turnaround are supported by an arrangement of flexibly movable, service and utility-carrying extendable passenger boarding bridges that enable passenger and baggage exchange concurrently with connection of utilities and provision of gate services to the aircraft. Aircraft are maneuvered by a pilot into and out of a parallel parking location in a forward direction by an engines-off electric taxi system that does not rely on the use of aircraft main engines to drive the aircraft, enabling loading bridge, utility, and service connections to be made to multiple aircraft doors as soon as the aircraft arrives at a parking space and then quickly disconnected upon departure.
A method for increasing and optimizing the value of airport terminal exterior advertising is provided that significantly increases exposure of exterior advertising displays on the airside or non-public side of an airport terminal to passengers on arriving, parked, and departing aircraft. The movement of aircraft equipped with non-engine drive means on landing gear wheels for autonomous ground movement is controlled within an airport ramp area so that the aircraft moves in only a forward direction toward and away from a terminal parking place and parks in an orientation parallel to the terminal. The direction and orientation of aircraft ground travel and parking parallel to a terminal enhances and improves the visibility of exterior advertising displays to a maximum percentage of the passengers in the aircraft as the aircraft travels within the ramp area and parks between arrival and departure.
A method is provided for restoring mobility to an aircraft equipped with at least one self-propelled drive wheel powered by a driver when the aircraft has been rendered immobile as a result of one or more wheel tires adhering to and becoming stuck to tarmac or another ground surface. The method uses forces generated by the cooperative action of the wheel driver, the aircraft steering, and the aircraft braking system to release adherent tires of each set of main wheels and/or nose gear wheels by applying differential force to one set of wheels at a time to release any adherent tires so that the aircraft is able to move on the ground surface and travel in a desired direction at a desired speed.
B64C 25/34 - Trains d'atterrissage caractérisés par les éléments de contact avec le sol ou une surface analogue du type à roues, p.ex. bogies à roues multiples
5.
APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING AIRCRAFT GROUND MOVEMENT
A method and apparatus is disclosed for reversing an aircraft on the ground comprising driving the aircraft using at least one self-propelled undercarriage wheel. An apparatus for controlling at least one of speed and at least one direction of an aircraft having a self-propelled nosewheel, on the ground, is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a control arm; a control unit; means for transmitting information to said self-propelled nosewheel; means for receiving information at said self-propelled nosewheel; and means for controlling at least one of the speed and direction of said nosewheel; whereby airport ground staff can intuitively control the movements of said aircraft by holding said arm and moving it in the direction of required movement of said aircraft.
B64F 5/00 - Tracé, fabrication, assemblage, nettoyage, entretien ou réparation des aéronefs, non prévus ailleurs; Manipulation, transport, test ou inspection de composants d’aéronefs, non prévus ailleurs
6.
SELF-PROPELLED UNDERCARRIAGE WHEEL HAVING A LOW PROFILE TIRE
An undercarriage wheel is disclosed comprising an axle member that supports a drive member, for example but not limited to a compact high torque electric motor, a wheel member driven by said drive member, and a tire attached to the wheel member, wherein the tire bulges in the width dimension of the wheel, wherein the drive member protrudes from the wheel member and thus occupies at least some of the additional width made available by the bulge of the tire. A further aspect of the invention is an undercarriage wheel that comprises an axle member that supports a drive member, for example but not limited to a compact high torque electric motor, a wheel member driven by said drive member, and a low-profile tire attached to the wheel member. Since the profile of the tire is low, additional space is available inside the wheel for the drive member. Preferably, the drive member occupies at least some of this additional space, and has sufficient power to be able to propel an aircraft to which the undercarriage assembly is attached, either alone or in combination with other self-propelled undercarriage assemblies attached to the aircraft.
A motor is disclosed comprising: a fixed member comprising a magnetic core and magnetic windings, having an internal cavity; a driven member inside said fixed member, comprising magnetically conductive materials; said driven member being situated inside, and able to move within, said fixed member, wherein magnetic normal force is induced in said fixed member periodically, whereby said driven member is periodically moved by magnetic force with respect to said fixed member, whereby periodic motion is produced.
A thermionic or thermotunneling converter consisting of two electrodes maintained at a desired distance from one another by means of spacers in which the electrodes comprise silicon coated with a hard material, or comprise a ceramic or other refractory material. The spacers are formed by oxidizing one electrode, protecting certain oxidized areas and removing the remainder of the oxidized layer. The protected oxidized areas remain as spacers. These spacers have the effect of maintaining the electrodes at a desired distance without the need for active elements, thus greatly reducing costs.
H01L 35/32 - DISPOSITIFS À SEMI-CONDUCTEURS; DISPOSITIFS ÉLECTRIQUES À L'ÉTAT SOLIDE NON PRÉVUS AILLEURS - Détails fonctionnant exclusivement par effet Peltier ou effet Seebeck caractérisés par la structure ou la configuration de la cellule ou du thermocouple constituant le dispositif
The present invention provides a method for building a component for an electrical rotating machine and comprises: providing powdered magnetic material; providing electrically conductive material; positioning the powdered magnetic material and the electrically conductive material within a mold functional to provide the materials with the required dimensions after application of a hot isostatic pressing (HIP) procedure; and applying at least one HIP procedure to the materials in the mold. Temperatures and pressures of the process are chosen to ensure that the electrically conducting and magnetic portions of the component are bonded without the materials seeping into each other. In one aspect the present invention thus provides a method for building small compact motor systems using motor components formed from pressed powder. A technical advantage of this approach is that the component has uniform grain structure and thus consistent magnetic and structural properties. The motor may be located inside a vehicle drive wheel, as it is equipped to be a drive motor providing the necessary torque with reasonable system mass. The motor systems of the invention may utilize polyphase electric motors, and are preferably connected to appropriate drive systems via mesh connections, to provide variable V/Hz ratios.
An apparatus for driving a taxiing aircraft is disclosed, comprising, in an aircraft, two self-propelled nosewheels, each having an electric motor; equipment for flight; dual-function controlling means for controlling said equipment for flight and said nosewheels, said dual -function controlling means being disposed in the cockpit of said aircraft; sensing means; and switching means,- wherein said switching means are operable to switch the function of said dual -function controlling means between controlling said equipment for flight and controlling said nosewheels. Said dual function controlling means may control speed and/or steering of the aircraft. Second controlling means may be provided, and may be disposed externally to the aircraft .
This application describes a motor designed to operate as a reluctance machine at low speeds and as an induction machine at high speeds. The drive waveform is composed of one or more harmonics to be used to match the reluctance pattern of the stator-rotor, causing the rotor to rotate due to the reluctance effect, and one or more other harmonics to induce current in the rotor, causing the rotor to rotate due to the induction effect and the subsequent interaction of the stator and rotor magnetic fields. The two effects are generally not applied simultaneously.
This application describes the software invented to control a dual electric motor system. The dual electric motor system is a Chorus Motor system applied to electric drive for aircraft taxi. The software uses closed-loop control together with several other control laws to operate the motors. Knowledge of the current operating state of the motors, together with knowledge of the commands given to taxi forward, taxi in reverse, or brake in reverse, is used to configure the motors to optimal operating parameters. The software architecture is described along with the pilot interface and many details of software implementation.
G05B 11/36 - Commandes automatiques électriques avec les dispositions nécessaires pour obtenir des caractéristiques particulières, p.ex. proportionnelles, intégrales, différentielles
13.
METHOD FOR MODIFICATION OF BUILT IN POTENTIAL OF DIODES
In broad terms the present invention is a semiconductor junction comprising a first material (102) and a second material (104), in which a surface of one or both of the junction materials has a periodically repeating structure that causes electron wave interference resulting in a change in the way electron energy levels within the junction are distributed.
H01L 27/095 - Dispositifs consistant en une pluralité de composants semi-conducteurs ou d'autres composants à l'état solide formés dans ou sur un substrat commun comprenant des éléments de circuit passif intégrés avec au moins une barrière de potentiel ou une barrière de surface le substrat étant un corps semi-conducteur comprenant uniquement des composants semi-conducteurs d'un seul type comprenant uniquement des composants à effet de champ les composants étant des transistors à effet de champ à porte à barrière Schottky
H01L 29/22 - Corps semi-conducteurs caractérisés par les matériaux dont ils sont constitués comprenant, à part les matériaux de dopage ou autres impuretés, uniquement des composés AIIBVI
H01L 29/207 - Corps semi-conducteurs caractérisés par les matériaux dont ils sont constitués comprenant, à part les matériaux de dopage ou autres impuretés, uniquement des composés AIIIBV caractérisés en outre par le matériau de dopage
H01L 29/80 - Transistors à effet de champ l'effet de champ étant produit par une jonction PN ou une autre jonction redresseuse
H01L 31/072 - Dispositifs à semi-conducteurs sensibles aux rayons infrarouges, à la lumière, au rayonnement électromagnétique d'ondes plus courtes, ou au rayonnement corpusculaire, et spécialement adaptés, soit comme convertisseurs de l'énergie dudit rayonnement e; Procédés ou appareils spécialement adaptés à la fabrication ou au traitement de ces dispositifs ou de leurs parties constitutives; Leurs détails adaptés comme dispositifs de conversion photovoltaïque [PV] caractérisés par au moins une barrière de potentiel ou une barrière de surface les barrières de potentiel étant uniquement du type PN à hétérojonction
H01L 31/109 - Dispositifs sensibles au rayonnement infrarouge, visible ou ultraviolet caractérisés par une seule barrière de potentiel ou de surface la barrière de potentiel étant du type PN à hétérojonction
H01L 31/0336 - Matériaux inorganiques comprenant, à part les matériaux de dopage ou autres impuretés, des matériaux semi-conducteurs couverts par plusieurs des groupes dans des régions semi-conductrices différentes, p.ex. des hétéro-jonctions Cu2X/CdX, X étant un élément du groupe VI de la classification périodique
H01L 31/0328 - Matériaux inorganiques comprenant, à part les matériaux de dopage ou autres impuretés, des matériaux semi-conducteurs couverts par plusieurs des groupes
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