Abstract:
A passenger boarding bridge for use by passengers in an airport terminal for embarking to and disembarking from a parked aircraft is provided with a resilient canopy that conforms to the shape of the outside surface of a parked aircraft without the aid of any external driving assembly or linkages directly attached thereto. The resilient canopy is useful with a wide range of airplanes sizes and, in contrast to existing steel framed weather shielding bellows, the canopy is particularly suited to the rapidly changing curvature of smaller planes and significantly inexpensive to construct.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates to passenger boarding bridges for use by passengers in an airport terminal for embarking to and disembarking from a parked aircraft without exposing them to weather and ambient conditions. More specifically, this invention is directed to a resilient canopy for use in boarding bridges configured to conform to the shape of the outside surface of a parked aircraft without the aid of any external driving assembly directly attached thereto.  
           [0003]    2. State of the Art  
           [0004]    Passenger boarding bridges are systems commonly used in airports throughout the world to provide a passageway for passengers between an airport terminal and a parked aircraft. These bridges are usually adapted for servicing a wide range of aircraft, ranging in size from one-hundred-passenger airplanes (such as, for example, a DC-9 or MD-80) to large, wide-body, intercontinental aircrafts (such as, for example, the Boeing 747 or 777, DC-10, MD-11, and Airbus 340). FIG. 1 illustrates the main components of a prior art boarding bridge shown in a retracted and elevated position.  
           [0005]    Normally a passenger boarding bridge is connected to the airport terminal at its inboard end by a rotunda pivotally mounted on top of a sustaining column. Connected to the rotunda are a first tunnel and a set of telescoping tunnels, wherein the first tunnel is free to rotate vertically and allows the telescoping tunnel sections to move up or down in order to align the boarding bridge with the aircraft passenger door. The up and down motion or elevation adjustment of a passenger boarding bridge may be provided by an elevating structure composed of a set of telescoping members driven by several means, which may include a set of motors driving ball screw actuators to provided the desired adjustment.  
           [0006]    A bubble section is located at the outermost end of the tunnel, including a cab, a weather shielding bellows, which is the part of the bridge that makes the most contact with the airplane, and a bumper. The cab, which serves as the outermost entrance or exit to the bridge, rotates on the bubble section in order to allow the correct positioning of the bridge with respect to the parked aircraft. Wheels, which are installed in the elevating structures and typically driven by electric motors, provide the means to move the bridge close to the airplane during boarding and away from it once the airplane is boarded and ready to depart. The foremost or leading element of the cab is the bumper, which will be positioned right up to and sometimes against or in contact with the aircraft being serviced.  
           [0007]    The weather shielding bellows is an expensive and complex steel frame supported above a floor section that includes the bumper. Weather shielding bellows are expensive items in a passenger boarding bridge because the driving mechanism used to deploy and retract them during operation has to be configured to sense the load applied to the airplane when the bellows are deployed and to adjust deployment in order to avoid unwanted forces applied by the deployed bellows to the parked aircraft. Such is the case when the bellows are first deployed and properly adjusted to unload an arriving aircraft, but later it becomes overextended, applying unwanted forces to the aircraft, once the empty airplane rises against the bellows as the total weight of the passengers is removed.  
           [0008]    Another problem with existing passenger boarding bridges is their inability to service small commuter aircraft, particularly because these steel frame bellows do not conform well to the rapidly changing curvature of smaller planes. Thus, the inherent problem of weather shielding bellows, i.e., high cost, high maintenance, and improper fitting to smaller planes, remains unsolved to date.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The present invention is directed to a passenger boarding bridge for use by passengers in an airport terminal for embarking to and disembarking from a parked aircraft. The bridge cab is provided with a resilient canopy that conforms to the outside surface shape of a parked aircraft without the aid of any external driving assembly directly attached thereto. The resilient canopy invention is useful with a wide range of airplanes sizes. In contrast to the existing steel framed weather shielding bellows of the prior art, the resilient canopy is also suited to the rapidly changing curvature of the outside surface of smaller planes and significantly inexpensive to construct.  
           [0010]    The resilient canopy may be made as an integral structure or in the form of interconnected horizontal and vertical sections attached to the cab of a passenger boarding bridge. These sections may have resilient foam structural members wrapped with foam sections attached thereto, defining the overall desired shape of the resilient canopy. A plurality of covers of different materials may be provided to give additional structural strength as well as protection against external weather conditions. A plurality of pairs of buttons connected by a cord passing through the different layers of covers and foam sections may be used in the vertical sections of the canopy to control the amount of structural collapse experienced when the canopy is in contact with a parked aircraft. Additionally, vinyl straps discretely wrapped around resilient foam structural members may be used to provide additional strength and to maintain the overall shape of the horizontal and vertical sections of the canopy when contacting the parked aircraft. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    In the drawings, which illustrate what is currently considered to be the best mode for carrying out the invention:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 illustrates a side elevation view of a prior art passenger boarding bridge;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the cab section of a passenger boarding bridge with the resilient canopy invention installed thereon;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a side view of a resilient foam core structure of a vertical section of the canopy invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is side view of a vertical section of the resilient canopy invention, including the resilient core structure (dashed lines) wrapped by a plurality of foam sections;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 illustrates three separate foam sections used in FIG. 4 to wrap the resilient foam core structure;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 is a view perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 4 taken along line A-A;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 is a view perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 4 taken along line B-B;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 8 is a view perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 4 taken along line A-A of a vertical section of the resilient canopy invention, including the different covers and buttons and nylon cord;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 9 illustrates an isometric view of a wear pad for a vertical section of the resilient canopy in an installed configuration;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 10 illustrates a side view of a vertical section of the resilient canopy;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 11 illustrates a bottom view of a vertical section of the resilient canopy;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 12 illustrates a front (FIG. 12A) and back (FIG. 12B) isometric views of a horizontal section of the resilient canopy;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 13 illustrates a sectional view along lines C-C of FIG. 12A of a horizontal section of the resilient canopy;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 14 illustrates a isometric view of a resilient foam member with a plurality of vinyl straps; and  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 15 illustrates a sectional view of a horizontal section of the resilient canopy when placed against the surface of a parked aircraft. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0027]    [0027]FIG. 2 is an isometric projection of the cab section  32  of a passenger boarding bridge with a resilient canopy of the invention installed thereon. In the mode of the invention illustrated in FIG. 2 the resilient canopy is made of three interconnected sections: two vertical sections  40  and  44  and one horizontal top section  42  secured to the cab and the vertical sections and extending there between. The horizontal top section  42  may have flaps  46  for firmly connecting it to the two vertical sections  40  and  44 . In one of the preferred ways to connect the horizontal top section to the vertical sections hook-and-loop fasteners are used, but other connecting methods well known by those of ordinary skill in the applicable art may also be used, including, but not limited to, for example, gluing and sewing. The details of the construction of both vertical and horizontal sections of the resilient canopy invention are illustrated in FIGS. 3 through 15.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 3 illustrates a resilient foam core structure  52  which may be utilized in the construction of a vertical section  44  of the resilient canopy. This resilient foam core structure has a main element  54  shaped so as to fit to the canopy support  36  shown in FIG. 2. This resilient foam structure is preferably made of a polyurethane foam material, model HR70280 manufactured by Future Foam Inc., of Salt Lake City, Utah, having a density of 2.8 lbs/ft 3 , no fillers, a 70 lbs/50 in 2  indentation force deflection at 25% deflection, and a minimum tensile strength of 10 psi. Further, although the main element  54  is illustrated in FIG. 3 as an integral piece, it may also be fabricated by connecting a plurality of smaller resilient foam pieces. Connected to the main element  54  is a plurality of secondary elements  56  located at pre-selected locations along the main element  54 .  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 4 illustrates the resilient foam core structure  52  of FIG. 3 wrapped by a plurality of foam sections  58 ′,  58 ″, and  58 ′″. These foam sections are supported by and securely attached to the resilient foam core structure  52 . Dashed lines represent locations of the main element  54  and secondary elements  56  of the foam core structure  52 . As indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 4, the locations of the plurality of secondary members  56  along the main member  54  are selected so as to assure that the seams or joints  59  between two adjacent foam sections will be located over each secondary member in order to provide extra support to the seams or joints. FIG. 5 illustrates flat patterns for the lower ( 58 ′″), the middle ( 58 ′), and the upper ( 58 ″) foam sections used in FIG. 4 to wrap the resilient foam core structure  52 . These patterns are prepared taking into account any additional material, such as for example, additional material for a hem or a seam. The sections illustrated in FIG. 5 are examples of flat patterns used on vertical section  44 . Slightly different flat patterns may be used, but have not been illustrated, for the other vertical section  40 , depending on whether or not slight design variations exist between the two vertical sections, as illustrated, by way of example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 because of the bay  38  for the installation of a prior art auto-level unit on the side of vertical section  40 .  
         [0030]    [0030]FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate views perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 4 and along section lines A-A and B-B thereof, respectively. A sectional view taken at the location of one of the secondary members  56  is shown in FIG. 6, illustrating how the foam section  58  wraps around the main member  54  and secondary member  56 , creating only a small empty space  59  between the secondary member  56  and the foam section  58  and forming the round tip or leading edge  62 . A sectional view taken at a location where there is no secondary member as shown in FIG. 7 illustrates a larger empty space  61  defined by the main member  54  and the foam section  58 , also forming a round tip or leading edge  62 . Although the resilient canopy invention is useful with any airplane size, the exemplary embodiment of the vertical sections presented herein assures that they will maintain their shape when not in use, and, at the same time, will be substantially conforming to even the rapidly changing body curvature of smaller planes. These foam sections are preferably made of a polyurethane foam material, model CC48150 manufactured by Future Foam Inc., of Salt Lake City, Utah, having a density of 1.5 lbs/ft 3 , no fillers, a 48 lbs/50 in 2  indentation force deflection at 25% deflection, and a minimum tensile strength of 10 psi.  
         [0031]    Several layers of different covering materials may be used in the manufacture of the vertical section  44 . FIG. 8 illustrates a view perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 4 along the sectional line A-A thereof after the installation of the different layers of covering materials. A first layer of vinyl material  68  may be used to partially or entirely cover the external surface of the foam sections  58  covering the main and secondary members  54  and  56  of the resilient foam core structure  52 . All seams and edges in the first layer of vinyl material  68  may be sealed water tight and one of the preferred vinyl fabrics may be an  18 -once vinyl coated polyester as per NFPA 701 regulations. Hook-and-loop fasteners may be used to connect the first layer of vinyl material  68  to the foam sections  58  besides any other method known to those skilled in the applicable arts.  
         [0032]    In addition, another layer of a fabric  70  may be used to partially or entirely cover the external surface of this first layer of vinyl material  68 . Hook-and-loop fasteners may also be used to connect the layer of fabric  70  to the first layer of vinyl material  68 , although other fastening methods known to those skilled in the applicable arts may also be used. The layer of fabric  70  may be made of a fire retardant material and may be used only to cover the external surface of the first layer of vinyl material  68  exposed to the inside of the boarding bridge.  
         [0033]    Besides the previously discussed layers, a wear pad  66  may also be used as shown in FIG. 8 to cover the areas of the vertical sections in contact with the aircraft when the boarding bridge is in use. FIG. 9 illustrates an isometric view of the wear pad  66  for the vertical structure  40  in an installed configuration. A plurality of hooks  82  and loops  84  of hook-and-loop fasteners are used in the wear pad  66  to connect to a plurality of corresponding and opposing loops  84  and hooks  82  placed on the first layer of vinyl material  68  (not illustrated in FIG. 9).  
         [0034]    Additionally, a plurality of pairs of buttons  71  (only one pair is illustrated in FIG. 8) is placed on each side of the vertical section  44  and connected to each other by way of a cord  75 . As illustrated, the cord  75  passes through the layers of vinyl cover  68 , additional layer of fabric  70 , the plurality of foam sections  58 , and the secondary member  56  and is configured to control and minimize the amount of collapse when the vertical section  44  comes in contact with a parked aircraft. FIG. 8 illustrates the buttons placed at a position where a secondary member  56  is located. They may however also be placed on other locations in the vertical section  44 , as for example, in the location of the sectional view illustrated in FIG. 7. FIG. 10 shows an outside view  86  of the vertical structure  40 , illustrating the positions of three upholstery buttons  71 . FIG. 10 also illustrates the use of a plurality of hook-and-loop fasteners (illustrated as a plurality of pieces of fabric of small hooks  82  and a plurality of pieces of fabric of small loops  84 ) for the purpose of connecting the several layers of materials  68 ,  70 , and  66  to the vertical section  40  as well as interconnecting it to the horizontal section  42  and connecting it to the cab  32 . Although hook-and-loop fasteners have been illustrated, it is understood that other fasteners known to those of ordinary skill in the art would also be appropriate. Additionally, vertical sections  44  and  40  and top horizontal section  42  may be reinforced with additional foam as needed to minimizing collapsing.  
         [0035]    Another inventive feature of the present invention is shown in the bottom view of an exemplary vertical section  44  in FIG. 11, wherein a plurality of holes  92  at the bottom of the vertical section  44  is shown for the purpose of venting and draining the interior thereof  
         [0036]    As illustrated in FIG. 2, the vertical sections  40  and  44  are not necessarily identical to each other. Modifications to each vertical section can be specified in order to accommodate variations in bridge design and equipment installation. For example, FIG. 2 shows that the bottom part of the vertical section  42  on the right (viewed from the bridge operator position facing the airplane) may be designed slightly different from the vertical section  44  on the left so as to accommodate the installation of an auto-level unit in the auto-level bay  38  using methods well known to one of ordinary skill in the art. Nevertheless, besides slight geometrical variations to accommodate modifications in bridge design and equipment installation, the construction of vertical section  40  is similar to that of vertical section  44  as illustrated in FIGS.  3 - 13 . That is, vertical section  40  also has a resilient foam core structure  52  with a main element  54  shaped so as to fit to the canopy support  50  (FIG. 2) and a plurality of secondary elements  56 , a plurality of foam sections  58 ′,  58 ″, and  58 ′″ covering the resilient foam core structure  52 , several layers of different fabric materials covering the foam sections  58 , including a first layer of vinyl material  68 , a layer of a fire retardant fabric  70 , and a wear pad  66 , a plurality of pairs of buttons  71 , and a plurality of holes  92  at the bottom of the vertical section  40  for the purpose of venting and draining the interior thereof.  
         [0037]    FIGS.  12 - 14  illustrate the details in the construction of the horizontal top section  42 , which is connected to the canopy at the top canopy support  34  (FIG. 2) and to the vertical sections  40  and  44  and extends there between (FIG. 2). FIG. 12A illustrates an isometric view of the inside (as viewed by an observer inside the boarding bridge) of the horizontal top section  42  of the resilient canopy invention and FIG. 14B illustrates an outside isometric view of the same section. As illustrate by several elements  82  and  84 , a plurality of hook-and-loop fasteners are used to fasten the horizontal top section  42  to the vertical sections  40  and  44  as well as to the top canopy support  34 . Flaps  46  with a plurality of pieces of fabric of small loops  84  are used on both extremities of the horizontal top section  42  to firmly connect it to a corresponding plurality of pieces of fabric of small hooks  82  in both the vertical sections  40  and  44 . The connected canopy is shown in FIG. 2. Similar to the vertical sections  40  and  44 , a plurality of holes  92  are placed at the lower extremities of the horizontal top section  42  for the purpose of venting and draining the interior thereof. A wear pad  66  (FIG. 12B) may also be used to cover the areas of the top horizontal section  42  in contact with the aircraft when the boarding bridge is in use. A plurality of hooks  82  and loops  84  of hook-and-loop fasteners are used in the wear pad  66  to connect to a plurality of corresponding and opposing loops  84  and hooks  82  placed on the horizontal top section  42  (not illustrated in FIG. 12B).  
         [0038]    As also illustrated in FIG. 12B, a water diverter  78  may be constructed in the outside part of an external cover of the horizontal top section  42  to divert water in order to minimize water dripping on the passengers whenever the external surface of the boarding bridge gets wet. One of the preferred methods of making the water diverter  78  comprises rapping a round foam core with vinyl fabric with enough excess material as to create superimposing tabs to be folded and stiched to an external layer of the horizontal top section  42 . This round foam core for the water diverter  78  is preferably a closed-cell polyethylene foam manufactured by Industrial Thermo Polymers Limited, of Buffalo, N.Y., having a 0.5 in diameter, a density of 2.0 lbs/ft 3 , a compression deflection of 4 psi at 25%, and a minimum tensile strength of 50 psi.  
         [0039]    The details of the internal construction of the top horizontal section  42  are illustrated in FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a view of the horizontal top section  42  taken along section line C-C of FIG. 12B. The horizontal top section has two resilient foam members  74  and  76  providing the structural support thereto. Resilient foam members  74  and  76  may be made of the same resilient foam as the material used for the resilient foam core structure  52  of the vertical sections of the resilient canopy. One of the purposes of the resilient foam members  74  and  76  is to provide structural support and to minimize the amount of collapsing of the horizontal top section  42  when the resilient canopy is placed against a parked aircraft.  
         [0040]    As shown in FIG. 13, besides the resilient members  74  and  76 , the construction of the top horizontal section  42  is similar to that of vertical sections  40  and  44 , including one or a plurality of foam sections  58  used to wrap the resilient foam members  74  and  76 , creating empty spaces  77  and  79  there between and the round tip or leading edge  62  of the foam section  58 . (Question for inventor: is the same foam used here as in the vertical sections? Otherwise, please provide details about the different foam used). The foam section  58  is supported by and firmly attached to both resilient foam members  74  and  76 . A first layer of vinyl material  68  may be used to partially or entirely cover the external surface of the foam sections  58 . Another layer of a fire retardant fabric  70  may be used to partially or entirely cover the external surface of this first layer of vinyl material  68 . A wear pad  66  may also be used to cover the areas of the top horizontal section  42  in contact with the aircraft when the boarding bridge is in use.  
         [0041]    In a preferred embodiment of the horizontal top section  42  of the resilient canopy, a plurality of vinyl support bands or straps  80  placed tightly around the resilient foam members  74  and  76  may be used as illustrated in FIG. 14 (only resilient foam member  76  is illustrated in FIG. 14) in order to provide additional structural integrity.  
         [0042]    In operation, the assembled resilient canopy as shown in FIG. 2 is brought against the parked aircraft upon docking of the boarding bridge to the plane. FIG. 15 illustrated the cross sectional view of a vertical section of the canopy placed against the surface  91  of a parked aircraft. For simplicity the fire retardant fabric  70  and wear pad  66  are not included in FIG. 15. As shown in FIG. 15, the empty region  61  is deformed in order to provide a seal between the leading edge  62  of the vertical section and the surface  91  of the airplane. The buttons  71  and nylon cord  75  minimize the amount of collapse locally experienced by the canopy. As the curvature of the airplane changes locally, the amount of collapse or deformation is controlled by both the flexibility of the empty region  61  and the structural control provided by the buttons  71  and nylon cord  75 . In the horizontal top section  42 , minimum buckling is experienced between the foam members  74  and  76  in the area of empty space  77  (FIG. 13) while the leading edge  62  also deforms similarly to the deformation illustrated in FIG. 15 for the vertical sections, sealing the horizontal top section  42  against the surface of the airplane. Because the structural design of both the vertical and horizontal sections the resilient canopy conforms to the body of small airplanes as well as it does to the body of large ones.  
         [0043]    Although a few typical embodiments and details have been explained herein above with the intention of illustrating several best modes of the present invention, it will be clear to those persons of ordinary skill in the applicable arts that several changes and variations in the resilient canopy apparatuses and systems disclosed herein may be implemented within the scope of the present invention to be used in passenger boarding bridges. The scope of the invention is then appropriately determined by the claims appended below, particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter that the applicant regards as his invention.