阅读说明：本技术 具有接近控制功能的飞机乘客登机桥 (Aircraft passenger boarding bridge with access control function ) 是由 和田匡史 于 2020-02-13 设计创作，主要内容包括：要求能够以简易的构造准确且短时间地移动到飞机的机体的预定的可乘降位置的飞机乘客登机桥(PBB)。通过下述PBB来解决,所述PBB在以第一轴与第二轴的交点为原点的假想坐标系中移动,具备：旋转平台,以能够旋转的方式安装于所述机场航站楼；通道部,一端与旋转平台连接,该通道部具有驱动轮和支承该驱动轮并能够使驱动轮绕铅直方向轴转动的转向装置,并且通过驱动轮的驱动而能够在经过原点的伸缩方向上伸缩；接机平台,与通道部的另一端连接,并具有能够与飞机的侧面相对地接触的接合部,并且接合部能够相对于通道部在飞机的机头侧与尾翼侧之间转动；控制装置,控制转向装置的回旋角度和驱动轮的向前进后退方向的驱动；以及存储装置,保存包括目标位置处的距原点的第一轴的方向的距离和第二轴的方向的距离的目标位置坐标数据。(An aircraft Passenger Boarding Bridge (PBB) capable of accurately and quickly moving to a predetermined boarding/landing position of an airframe of an aircraft with a simple configuration is required. The PBB is moved in a virtual coordinate system with an intersection point of a first axis and a second axis as an origin, and comprises: a rotary platform rotatably mounted on the airport terminal; a tunnel part having a drive wheel and a steering device for supporting the drive wheel and rotating the drive wheel about a vertical axis, one end of the tunnel part being connected to the rotary platform, the tunnel part being extendable and retractable in an extension and retraction direction passing through an origin by driving the drive wheel; an aircraft landing platform connected to the other end of the tunnel portion and having a joint portion relatively contactable with a side surface of the aircraft, and the joint portion being rotatable relative to the tunnel portion between a nose side and a tail side of the aircraft; a control device for controlling the rotation angle of the steering device and the driving of the driving wheel in the forward and backward directions; and a storage device that holds target position coordinate data including a distance in the direction of the first axis and a distance in the direction of the second axis from the origin at the target position.)

1. An aircraft passenger boarding bridge that moves in a virtual coordinate system with an origin at an intersection of a first axis parallel to a parking surface and a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, from a standby position separated from an aircraft parked at a predetermined position on the parking surface to a target position with respect to an airport terminal, the aircraft passenger boarding bridge comprising:

a rotating platform mounted to the airport terminal so as to be rotatable about an axis extending perpendicularly from the origin to the first axis and the second axis;

a tunnel part having a drive wheel and a steering device for supporting the drive wheel and rotating the drive wheel about a vertical axis, one end of the tunnel part being connected to the rotary platform, the tunnel part being extendable and retractable in an extension and retraction direction passing through the origin by driving the drive wheel;

an aircraft landing platform connected to the other end of the tunnel portion and having an engagement portion that is contactable with a side surface of the aircraft in opposition, and the engagement portion being rotatable relative to the tunnel portion between a nose side and a tail side of the aircraft;

a control device for controlling a turning angle of the steering device and driving of the driving wheel in a forward/backward direction; and

a storage device that holds target position coordinate data including a distance in the direction of the first axis and a distance in the direction of the second axis from the origin at the target position,

the channel part has a first detector capable of detecting an angle of the rotary table from the first axis around the origin, and a second detector capable of measuring a distance of the channel part from the origin in the expansion and contraction direction,

the first detector measures a standby position angle of the rotary table from the first axis at the standby position, and the second detector measures a standby position distance from the origin to an arbitrary reference point of the tunnel part in the expansion and contraction direction,

the control device calculates standby position coordinate data including a distance in the first axis direction and a distance in the second axis direction from the origin at the standby position based on the standby position angle and the standby position distance, converts a difference between component values in the first axis direction and the second axis direction of the target position coordinate data and the standby position coordinate data into a difference angle between the rotating platform around the reference point from the first axis and a difference distance between the tunnel part and the reference point in the expansion and contraction direction,

the turning angle of the steering device is set to the differential angle, and the driving wheel is moved by the differential distance to move from the standby position to the target position.

2. The aircraft passenger boarding bridge of claim 1,

the target position is a landing position at which the engagement portion is in contact with a landing door of a passenger of the aircraft and the passenger can land relative to the aircraft.

3. The aircraft passenger boarding bridge of claim 1,

the target position is an intermediate target position in which the engagement portion is spaced a predetermined distance from a landing door of the aircraft,

the pick-up platform includes a length measurement sensor capable of measuring a distance to the aircraft in a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction, the first direction being a normal direction of a surface of the pick-up platform facing the landing door of the aircraft in a state where the joint portion is joined to the aircraft, the second direction being a direction offset by a predetermined angle to a nose side of the aircraft with respect to the first direction, the third direction being a direction offset by the predetermined angle to a tail side with respect to the first direction,

the landing stage is provided with a shooting device which can shoot the normal direction of the landing stage surface and calculate the position of the center of the landing door according to the shot image,

at the intermediate target position, the length measuring sensor measures the distance in the second direction and the distance in the third direction,

the control device rotates the airport platform so that a difference between the distance in the second direction and the distance in the third direction becomes zero,

the control device calculates a residual angle from the position of the detection surface of the length measurement sensor in the machine axis direction of the aircraft to the position of the center calculated by the imaging device with respect to the first direction and a residual distance from the position of the detection surface of the length measurement sensor to the position of the center of the landing door, and moves the drive wheels by the residual distance from the intermediate target position to a landing door of a passenger of the aircraft, with the turning angle of the steering device being set to the residual angle, so that the passenger can move to a landing position where the passenger can land with respect to the aircraft.

4. The aircraft passenger boarding bridge of claim 3,

the center calculated by the imaging device is an area center of gravity of the contour calculated by recognizing a contour of a predetermined shape of the entrance/exit door.

5. The aircraft passenger boarding bridge of any one of claims 1 to 4,

the first detector is a potentiometer or rotary encoder and the second detector is a potentiometer or length measuring sensor.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an aircraft passenger boarding bridge for passengers installed in an airport, and more particularly to an aircraft passenger boarding bridge having an approach control function.

Background

In a passenger aircraft (hereinafter, referred to as an aircraft), passengers board the aircraft through a boarding/alighting port disposed in an airframe, or disembark the aircraft (hereinafter, referred to as boarding or the like). Between the Boarding gate and a gate (gate) in an airport terminal disposed in the airport terminal, an airplane Passenger Boarding Bridge (hereinafter referred to as "PBB") is provided. The PBB is normally retracted and stored in a standby position separated from the airplane when no passenger gets on the airplane, and is extended from the standby position to a landing position where the PBB can contact with a landing port of the airplane and the passenger can land and be connected to the landing port of the airplane when the passenger gets on the airplane. The PBB is fixed at a position substantially coincident with the landing entrance of the aircraft, and allows passengers to board the PBB through the landing entrance.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

When an aircraft with passengers arrives at a predetermined apron, it is required to bring PBB accurately and in a short time to a predetermined landing position of the aircraft body and connect them. However, in this approach, the portion of the operator's perception that relies on the PBB is large. Even a skilled person who has accumulated experience may cause an error or an erroneous operation. In addition, conventionally, the approach route to the body varies depending on the operator of the PBB from the standby position to the liftable position.

Means for solving the problems

The problem is solved by an aircraft passenger boarding bridge moving in a virtual coordinate system with an origin at an intersection of a first axis parallel to a parking surface and a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, from a standby position separated from an aircraft parked at a predetermined position on the parking surface to a target position with respect to an airport terminal, the aircraft passenger boarding bridge comprising: a rotating platform (rotunda) mounted to the airport terminal in a rotatable manner about an axis extending perpendicularly from the origin to the first axis and the second axis; a tunnel part having a drive wheel and a steering device for supporting the drive wheel and rotating the drive wheel about a vertical axis, one end of the tunnel part being connected to the rotary platform, the tunnel part being extendable and retractable in an extension and retraction direction passing through the intersection point by driving of the drive wheel; an aircraft landing platform (cab) connected to the other end of the tunnel portion and having an engagement portion that is contactable oppositely to a side surface of the aircraft, and the engagement portion being rotatable relative to the tunnel portion between a nose side and a tail side of the aircraft; a control device for controlling a turning angle of the steering device and driving of the driving wheel in a forward/backward direction; and a storage device that stores target position coordinate data including a distance in the first axis direction and a distance in the second axis direction from the origin at the target position, wherein the passage portion includes a first detector capable of detecting an angle around the origin of the rotary platform from the first axis, and a second detector capable of measuring a distance in the expansion/contraction direction from the origin of the passage portion.

Effects of the invention

The PBB can be accurately moved to a predetermined landing position of the body of the airplane in a short time by a simple structure.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the relationship of the PBB of the present invention to an aircraft and an airport terminal.

Fig. 2 is an overall view showing the side of the PBB.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a movable structure of the drive column of the PBB.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the rough proximity control of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a state of movement of the PBB in the coarse proximity control of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the fine proximity control of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between the aircraft-on platform and the aircraft in the fine proximity control of the present invention in a state where the aircraft-on platform is tilted with respect to the aircraft.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which the positional relationship between the aircraft-on platform and the aircraft in the fine proximity control of the present invention is such that the aircraft-on platform is directly facing the aircraft.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing the setting of the steering device in a state where the positional relationship between the aircraft-on platform and the aircraft in the fine proximity control of the present invention is such that the aircraft-on platform faces the aircraft.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing the concept of a recognition method for recognizing the center of the entrance by image recognition in the fine proximity control of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a state in which the aircraft landing platform is engaged with the aircraft in the positional relationship between the aircraft landing platform and the aircraft in the fine proximity control according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 3. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the relationship of PBB1 of the present invention to airport terminal 51 and aircraft 52 parked on the apron. In fig. 1, the state of PBB1 retracted and stored in the standby position separated from the aircraft when no passenger or the like is boarding is PBB1a shown by a dotted line, and the state of PBB1 located in the boarding/alightable position where the passenger can board and alight by coming into contact with the boarding/alighting port of the aircraft is PBB1b shown by a solid line. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing PBB1 in a state (corresponding to PBB1b in fig. 1) extended from a standby position to be connected to an aircraft and in a boarding/landing position, and is a diagram of a state (PBB1b) viewed from arrow a in fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view of the drive column 5 as viewed from the vertical direction toward the parking surface 53, and is a view showing a cross section B of fig. 2. In the present description, the PBB is assumed to be moved relative to the airport terminal 51 in XY coordinates that are a virtual coordinate system having an origin O at an intersection of an X axis (first axis) parallel to the parking surface 53 on which wheels of the airplane 52 are grounded and a Y axis (second axis) parallel to the parking surface 53 and perpendicular to the X axis. The X-axis is typically the crankshaft direction of the aircraft at a predetermined stop location where passengers can board and disembark via PBB 1.

The PBB1 includes a rotary table 2, a tunnel 3, and an aircraft table 4. The rotary platform 2 is attached to a fixed bridge 51a protruding from the airport terminal 51 so as to be rotatable about an axis extending from the origin O perpendicularly to the X-axis and the Y-axis, that is, so as to be rotatable about the origin O when viewed from the vertical direction with respect to the surface of the apron.

The tunnel part 3 includes, for example, an outer tunnel and an inner tunnel, which are hollow members in which passengers walk, respectively. The outer channel has a larger cross-sectional profile than the inner channel, and the inner channel is inserted from one end side of the outer channel in a nested manner. One end of the inner channel of the channel part 3 is connected to the rotary platform 2. The drive column 5 is fixedly supported in the outer channel. The drive column 5 includes a pair of drive wheels 5a that move on the parking surface 53 and a steering device 5b that supports the drive wheels 5 a. Two wheels of a pair of driving wheels 5a supported by the driving column 5 rotate at the same rotation speed. The steering device 5b is a shaft member disposed parallel to the parking surface 53, and rotates about a vertical axis extending in the vertical direction with respect to the parking surface 53 of the drive column 5. The drive wheel 5a can rotate around the steering device 5b, and by traveling on the parking surface 53, the drive column 5 moves the tunnel part 3 in the direction of approaching or separating from the revolving platform 2, whereby the tunnel part 3 contracts so that the outer tunnel covers the inner tunnel, or the tunnel part 3 expands so that the outer tunnel exposes the inner tunnel, and the tunnel part 3 can expand and contract in the expansion and contraction direction in which the tunnel part 3 passing through the origin O extends. In addition, the rotary platform 2 rotates around the origin O, whereby the tunnel portion 3 can rotate around the origin O.

The docking platform 4 is connected to an end (the other end) on the opposite side of the passage portion 3 to which the rotary platform 2 is connected. The airport platform 4 has a joint 6 contactable in a diametrically opposed manner with a side of the aircraft 52. The aircraft platform 4 is rotatable relative to the tunnel 3, the joint 6 being rotatable relative to the outboard tunnel of the tunnel 3 between a direction towards the nose side and a direction towards the tail side of the aircraft 52. The landing platform 4 has an opening communicating with the tunnel portion 3, and passengers take in and out of the aircraft between the opening and an entrance door of the aircraft. The joint 6 is attached with a joint 6 made of a wrinkle-proof cover disposed around the opening of the aircraft platform 4. By rotating the airport platform 4, the opening is moved to a position facing the landing door of the airplane 52, and the joint 6 is extended in contact with the airframe, thereby isolating the inside of the PBB1 from the outside. When a passenger gets off, the passenger moves from the docking platform 4 to the rotary platform 2 through the tunnel 3 inside the PBB1 isolated from the outside.

The PBB1 has a control device (not shown) and a storage device (not shown). The control device controls the turning angle of the steering device 5b and the driving of the driving wheels 5a in the forward/backward direction, and the storage device stores target position coordinate data including the distance in the X-axis direction and the distance in the Y-axis direction from the origin O of the target position with respect to the aircraft to be brought into contact with the joint 6 of the aircraft landing platform 4 of the PBB 1. The channel portion 3 includes a first detector (not shown) and a second detector (not shown). The first detector is, for example, a potentiometer or a rotary encoder, and is capable of detecting an angle θ of the rotary table from the X axis around the origin O. The second detector is, for example, a potentiometer or a length measuring sensor, and can measure the distance of the channel portion from the origin O in the expansion and contraction direction. The first detector and the second detector can be attached to any position of the tunnel portion 3, and typically can be attached to the steering device 5 b. In order to determine the position of the PBB1, it is preferable to mount the first detector and the second detector at a position (reference point) that is a reference that can represent the position of the PBB1 most. The reference point is, for example, the position of the drive column 5 as the rotation center of the steering device 5 b. Hereinafter, the position of the PBB1 is defined by a reference point in the XY coordinate system of the origin O, and is explained.

Next, coarse proximity control will be described with reference to fig. 4 and 5. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the processing of the rough proximity control. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the manner of position and movement of PBB1 in coarse proximity control. The coarse proximity control is a movement control of the PBB1 for moving the PBB1 from the standby position separated from the airplane to the target position. In the rough approach control, the target position may be a final landing position at which the passenger can land by coming into contact with the landing entrance of the airplane when the passenger boards the airplane, for example. That is, the present invention is an example of a control method from the standby position to the final liftable position.

First, the first detector determines the current position (current position polar coordinates) in the polar coordinate system around the origin O of the PBB1 at the standby position. That is, first, the first detector measures the standby position angle θ 1 of the rotary platform 2 from the X axis at the standby position, and the second detector measures the standby position distance L in the telescopic direction of the tunnel part 3 from the origin O. The standby position distance L can be set to, for example, a distance from the origin O to the pivot center of the drive column 5, but can be set at any position as long as it is in the extension direction of the PBB1 (S101).

After determining the current position (current position polar coordinates) in the polar coordinate system around the origin O of the PBB1 at the standby position, the control device calculates standby position coordinate data (standby position XY coordinates) including a distance X1 in the X-axis direction and a distance Y1 in the Y-axis direction from the origin O at the standby position from the standby position angle θ 1 and the standby position distance L (S102). That is, X1 and Y1 are determined by L and θ 1 as shown in the following formulas 1 and 2.

X1 ═ L · cos θ 1 · (formula 1)

Y1 ═ L · sin θ 1 · (formula 2)

The position of the aircraft in the apron is determined by the aircraft with slight errors. Thus, the target location at which the PBB1 should be located relative to the aircraft is predetermined. As described above, the storage device stores in advance target position coordinate data in the XY coordinate system with the origin O. For example, considering the steering device 5b as a reference, the target position coordinate data is the distance component Xt, which is a component value in the X direction of the steering device 5b from the origin O, and the distance component Yt, which is a component value in the Y direction of the steering device 5 b. The target position coordinate data is read from the storage device to determine the target position of PBB1 (S103).

Next, a difference value Δ X of the distance component in the X-axis direction and a difference value Δ Y of the distance component in the Y-axis direction between the target position coordinate data and the standby position coordinate data are obtained. In other words, Δ X and Δ Y are determined as in the following expressions 3 and 4.

Δ X ═ Xt-X1 · (formula 3)

Δ Y-Yt-Y1 (formula 4)

The XY coordinate system data of the differential value is the amount of movement that PBB1 must move toward the target position. When the amount of movement is converted to a polar coordinate system around the reference point at the standby position, the amount becomes an amount that the PBB1 needs to be moved. That is, the difference angle θ 2 of the XY coordinate system data reference point around the difference value from the X axis of the rotary table 2 and the difference distance L2 in the expansion and contraction direction of the tunnel part 3 from the reference point are converted into polar coordinates (S104). The differential angle θ 2 and the differential distance L2 are expressed by the following equations 5 and 6.

θ2＝tan^-1(ΔY/ΔX)＝tan^-1(Yt-Y1/Xt-X1. cndot. (formula 5)

Then, the control device performs control in the following manner: the steering device 5b is moved from the standby position to the target position by moving the driving wheels 5a by the differential distance L2 in a direction in which the differential angle θ 2 is added to the angle of the steering device 5b at the standby position. Thereby, the PBB1 can move to the target position (S105). When the interference due to the frictional force or the like applied to the pair of drive wheels 5a is not taken into consideration, the travel distances of the pair of drive wheels 5a are theoretically the same, and therefore, the movement to the target position always moves the PBB1 to the target position only through the above-described procedure, but actually, the travel distances of the pair of drive wheels 5a differ due to the angle of the steering device 5b, the frictional force applied to the pair of drive wheels 5a, or the like, and the position at which the PBB1 actually moves deviates from the target position. Therefore, before reaching the final target position, a multi-point target position is set, an error is calculated for each movement, and the next target position is reset by the above procedure so as to cancel the error, and PBB1 is moved toward the target position. After repeating this operation a plurality of times, the rough approach control is ended.

As described above, the target position reached by PBB1 in the rough approach control can be set to the final landing position where the passenger can take in and out of contact with the landing entrance of the aircraft when the passenger gets in the aircraft or the like. On the other hand, the target position in the coarse proximity control may be set as an intermediate target position, and the fine proximity control may be added after the coarse proximity control. That is, the following procedure can be adopted: in the fine approach control, the target position of the coarse approach control is set to an intermediate target position at which the joint 6 is separated from the landing door 52a of the aircraft 52 by a predetermined distance, and in the fine approach control, movement is performed from the intermediate target position to a final landing possible position at which passengers can perform landing.

The following describes the fine proximity control with reference to fig. 6 to 11. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the fine proximity control. Fig. 7 to 9 and 11 are diagrams showing the state of the position of the aircraft platform 4 in each process of the fine proximity control. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an entry gate 52a of an airplane 52 for taking in and out passengers for position determination in fine proximity control.

The airport platform 4 includes a length measuring sensor 7 capable of measuring a distance to a facing object in a separated state, and an imaging device 8 capable of performing image-based recognition. The length measuring sensor 7 is preferably disposed at a position closest to the aircraft 52 when the airport platform 4 is connected to the aircraft 52. Typically, the length measurement sensor 7 is preferably disposed at the center of the aircraft platform 4 in the width direction (the direction of the airplane axis 52). Thus, the length measuring sensor 7 can most accurately measure the distance between the aircraft landing platform 4 and the aircraft 52. When the surface of the aircraft landing 4 facing the landing door of the aircraft 52 in a state where the joint 6 is joined to the aircraft when the PBB1 is at a position where boarding and landing with respect to the aircraft 52 are possible is set as the aircraft landing surface, the length measurement sensor 7 includes a sensor surface (detection surface) so as to be able to measure the length in the first direction X which is the normal direction of the aircraft landing surface. The imaging device 8 also includes a sensor surface (imaging surface) capable of imaging in the first direction X which is the normal direction of the landing platform surface. The imaging device 8 is disposed behind the length sensor 7 at a distance d from the length sensor 7 so that the imaging range thereof covers the entire measurement range of the length sensor 7. In particular, the imaging direction of the imaging device 8 is aligned with the center direction of the measurement direction of the length sensor 7, and the position of the sensor surface of the length sensor 7 is different from that of the imaging device 8. Here, a first direction X, which is a central axis measured by the length measuring sensor 7 and the imaging device 8, is set as an airplane plane vertical reference axis P. The length measuring sensor 7 can measure the distance separately from the opposing surface in at least 3 directions including the first direction X which is the normal direction of the landing platform surface by one length measuring sensor. As for the 3 directions in which this measurement can be performed, a first direction, a second direction Y, which is a direction shifted by a predetermined angle (for example, 60 degrees) toward the nose side of the aircraft 52 with respect to the first direction X, and a third direction Z, which is a direction shifted by a predetermined angle (for example, 60 degrees) toward the tail side with respect to the first direction X, can be measured. The imaging device 8 is preferably disposed in the center of the width of the joint 6 in the crankshaft direction of the airplane 52. That is, the predetermined angle formed by the second direction Y and the first direction X and the predetermined angle formed by the third direction Z and the first direction X must be the same.

The state where the fine proximity control is started is a state where the joint 6 of the aircraft landing 4 is located at a position substantially distant from the airframe of the aircraft by the coarse proximity control. In this state, the distance from the landing platform surface to the body surface of the airplane is measured in 3 directions, i.e., the first direction X, the second direction Y, and the third direction Z, by the length measuring sensor 7 (S201). At this time, the joint 6 of the docking platform 4 is not directly opposed but inclined in most cases. That is, as shown in fig. 7, the value of the distance measurement by the length measuring sensor 7 in the second direction Y differs from the value of the distance measurement by the length measuring sensor 7 in the third direction Z.

Here, the joint 6 of the aircraft platform 4 is rotated from the nose side to the tail side of the aircraft 52 or from the tail side to the nose side of the aircraft 52, and the value of the distance measurement by the length measuring sensor 7 in the second direction Y of the aircraft platform 4 is set to the same position as the value of the distance measurement by the length measuring sensor 7 in the third direction Z (a position where the difference between the distance in the second direction Y and the distance in the third direction Z is zero) (S202). As shown in fig. 8, this state is a state in which the aircraft landing surface faces the surface of the body of the aircraft 52. The distance Tx in the first direction X in this state is the actual distance between the aircraft 52 and the aircraft landing surface, and the joint 6 of the aircraft landing 4 needs to be brought close to the aircraft body by the distance Tx to be in a connected state (the state of fig. 11). When the joint 6 of the airport platform 4 is moved toward the airplane body by the distance Tx, the position of the airport platform 4 is moved so that the length measurement sensor 7 provided at the center in the width direction of the airport platform 4 coincides with the center G of the landing door 52 a. When the length measurement sensor 7 is provided offset from the center in the width direction of the aircraft platform 4, the position of the aircraft platform 4 may be moved so that the position of the length measurement sensor 7 coincides with a position offset by the offset amount from the center G.

Next, from here, the entrance door 52a is photographed by the photographing device 8 and image recognition is performed. The position of the center G of the entrance 52a is calculated by this image recognition (S203). The center G as the area barycenter can be directly calculated from the image recognition of the entrance/exit door 52 a. Alternatively, the center G of the entrance door 52a may be indirectly calculated. At this time, the contour of the entrance door 52a and the contour C of an arbitrary shape appearing on the entrance door 52a are recognized. For example, the outline C of the shape of the opening/closing lever of the landing door 52a (hatched portion in fig. 10) is recognized. The gravity center position Cg of the contour C is calculated from the image recognition of the contour C. Since the distances Δ Xcg and Δ Ycg of the difference between the center G of the landing door 52a and the center of gravity position Cg of the contour C are known, the center G of the landing door 52a is calculated by adding the distances Δ Xcg and Δ Ycg to the center of gravity position Cg.

Next, a control method of moving the position of the aircraft landing 4 so that the length measurement sensor 7 provided at the center in the width direction of the aircraft landing 4 coincides with the center G of the landing door 52a when the joint 6 of the aircraft landing 4 is moved closer to the body of the aircraft by the distance Tx will be described. First, a residual angle α 1 from the length measurement sensor 7 to the center G of the entrance gate 52a and a residual angle α 2 from the photographing device 8 to the center G of the entrance gate 52a are measured (S204). Here, α 1 and α 2 are values in which a predetermined direction is positive (+), and a direction opposite thereto is negative (-).

α1＝cot(Tx×cotα2/(Tx)+d))^-1DEG- (formula 7)

Here, if the orientation of the steering device 5b of the drive column 5 is set to S, which is the same direction as the residual angle α 1 from the length measurement sensor 7 to the center G of the entrance door 52a_TARGETIf the door is moved by the distance D1, the door is properly engaged.

Here, at the position of the rotation axis of the steering device 5b of the drive column 5, the longitudinal direction O with respect to the passage portion 3 will be_LThe vertical direction is set as the channel reference direction Rs. In addition, at the position of the rotation center of the aircraft platform 4, the reference direction of the aircraft platform 4 parallel to the aisle reference direction Rs is set as the aircraft platform reference direction Cs. I.e. in the passage reference direction Rs and the aircraft landing reference direction Cs, with respect to the longitudinal axis direction O_LAre respectively homonymous angles. At the position of the rotation axis of the steering device 5b of the drive column 5 and the position of the rotation center of the airport platform 4, the directions of the aircraft planes perpendicular to the reference axis P are parallel. In this case, the angle α of the reference channel direction Rs with respect to the plane-perpendicular reference axis P is then determined_SPAnd an angle α c formed by the aircraft landing platform reference direction Cs and the aircraft plane vertical reference axis P. Thus, S_TARGETCan be taken as the angle alpha formed by the channel reference direction Rs and the plane vertical reference axis P_STCalculated as follows. Then, the set angle of the steering device 5b of the drive column 5 is set to the residual angle α_ST(S205)。

α_ST＝αc+α₁－α_SPDEG- (formula 8)

That is, the orientation of the drive column 5 is set to coincide with the orientation from the photographing device 8 to the center G of the ascending/descending door 52 a. When the driving wheel 5a of the driving column 5 is moved by the residual distance D, the joint 6 of the airport platform 4 is engaged with the landing door 52a of the airplane 52 (S206). The residual distance D1 to be moved by the drive wheel 5a is calculated by the following equation 9.

D1. Tx/cos α 1. cndot. (formula 9)

Thus, by combining the coarse proximity control and the fine proximity control, the PBB1 can be more accurately engaged with the landing door. In particular, in the fine proximity control, by using the length measuring sensor 7 and the imaging device 8 which are arranged so that the positions of the sensor surfaces are different from each other, the orientation of the steering device 5b of the drive column 5 can be corrected to perform accurate proximity.

This application claims priority based on japanese patent application No. 2019-024355, filed on 14/2/2019, the contents of which are incorporated as part of the present application.

Description of the reference numerals

1 airplane Passenger Boarding Bridge (PBB)

2 rotating platform

3 channel part

4 airport pickup platform

5 drive column

5a drive wheel

5b steering device

6 joint part

7 length measuring sensor

8 shooting equipment

51 airport terminal building

52 plane

52a ascending and descending door