Abstract:
The present invention discloses a three-dimensional (3-D) airport. In a 3-D airport, the airplanes are parked in an interleaved manner on at least two levels of parking surfaces. Portions of the wings of adjacently parked airplanes overlap.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority of a provisional application entitled “Three-Dimensional Airport”, Application Ser. No. 61/718,701, filed Oct. 25, 2012; this application also claims priority of another provisional application entitled “Three-Dimensional Airport”, Application Ser. No. 61/713,499, filed Oct. 13, 2012; this application further claims priority of a provisional application entitled “Three-Dimensional Airport”, Application Ser. No. 61/713,475, filed Oct. 12, 2012. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Technical Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to the field of airport, and more particularly to airplane parking structures. 
         [0004]    2. Prior Arts 
         [0005]    An airport comprises at least a terminal building, which can accommodate a plurality of airplanes.  FIG. 1A  is a top view of a conventional terminal building  10  accommodating three airplanes  30 A- 30 C in prior art. The terminal building comprises a security gate  12  and three boarding gates  16 A- 16 C. Three airplanes  30 A- 30 C are parked in their respective designated parking spaces A 1 -C 1  and docked to their respective boarding bridges  14 A- 14 C. These boarding bridges  14 A- 14 C are coupled to the terminal building  10  at the boarding gates  16 A- 16 C, respectively. For the terminal building  10 , its length L is roughly equal to the product of its one-side docking capacity (i.e. the number of airplanes that can be docked on one side of the terminal building) and the width of the parking space W.  FIG. 1B  is a front view of three parked airplanes  30 A- 30 C in prior art. The conventional airport is a two-dimensional airport, i.e. all airplanes  30 A- 30 C are parked at the same level of parking surface, e.g. on the ground  16 . To ensure safety, the width of the parking space W should be wider than the wingspan of the airplane. Because of the large wingspan of the airplanes, the width of the parking space W is generally large. Accordingly, a passenger needs to walk a long distance from the security gate  12  to the airplane (e.g.  30 C). Furthermore, because the docking capacity of the terminal building  10  is limited, a large number of terminal buildings have to be constructed for a large airport. 
       OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
       [0006]    It is a principle object of the present invention to shorten the walking distance of a passenger to board an airplane in a terminal building at an airport. 
         [0007]    It is a further object of the present invention to increase the docking capacity of a terminal building at an airport. 
         [0008]    It is a further object of the present invention to minimize the number of terminal buildings in an airport. 
         [0009]    It is a further object of the present invention to minimize the construction cost of an airport. 
         [0010]    It is a further object of the present invention to increase the capacity of an airplane hangar. 
         [0011]    It is a further object of the present invention to increase the capacity of an aircraft carrier. 
         [0012]    In accordance with these and other objects of the present invention, the present invention discloses a three-dimensional (3-D) airport. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    The present invention discloses a three-dimensional (3-D) airport. In a 3-D airport, airplanes are parked in an interleaved manner on at least two levels of parking surfaces: a first parking surface and a second parking surface. The first parking surface is typically the ground, while the second parking surface is on top of an elevated parking structure. Airplanes can be parked closer by overlapping portions of the wings thereof. In one preferred embodiment, the elevated parking structure is fixed. Preferably, a sloping surface connects the first and second parking surfaces. In another preferred embodiment, the elevated parking structure is movable. When it is not used for parking, the movable elevated parking structure is cleared off the parking space in such a way that this parking space has a flat surface with surrounding areas and can be used for taxiing or other purposes. The concept of the 3-D airport can also be applied to airplane hangars and/or aircraft carriers. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1A  is a top view of a terminal building accommodating three airplanes at a conventional airport in prior art;  FIG. 1B  is a front view of three parked airplanes at the conventional airport in prior art; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2A  is a top view of a preferred terminal building accommodating three airplanes in a preferred 3-D airport;  FIG. 2B  is its front view; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a top view of another preferred terminal building accommodating five airplanes in another preferred 3-D airport; 
           [0017]      FIGS. 4A-4C  are side views of a preferred elevated parking structure in the first type of the 3-D airport;  FIGS. 4A-4C  also illustrate three means for moving an airplane onto/off the preferred elevated parking structure; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5A  is a front view of three parked airplanes in the second type of the 3-D airport; and  FIG. 5B  is its side view; 
           [0019]      FIGS. 6A-6C  illustrate three parking steps used by a first preferred airplane parking method in the second type of the 3-D airport. These figures are front views of the parked airplanes; 
           [0020]      FIGS. 7A-7C  illustrate three parking steps used by a second preferred airplane parking method in the second type of the 3-D airport. These figures are side views of the parked airplanes; 
           [0021]      FIGS. 8A and 8B  are top views of the airplanes corresponding to the parking steps of  FIGS. 7A and 7C , respectively; 
           [0022]      FIGS. 9A-9C  illustrate three parking steps used by a third preferred airplane parking method in the second type of the 3-D airport. These figures are side views of the parked airplanes; 
           [0023]      FIGS. 10A-10C  illustrate three parking steps used by a fourth preferred airplane parking method in the second type of the 3-D airport. These figures are side views of the parked airplanes; 
           [0024]      FIGS. 11A-11C  illustrate three parking steps used by a fifth preferred airplane parking method in the second type of the 3-D airport. These figures are side views of the parked airplanes. 
       
    
    
       [0025]    It should be noted that all the drawings are schematic and not drawn to scale. Relative dimensions and proportions of parts of the device structures in the figures have been shown exaggerated or reduced in size for the sake of clarity and convenience in the drawings. The same reference symbols are generally used to refer to corresponding or similar features in the different embodiments. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0026]    Those of ordinary skills in the art will realize that the following description of the present invention is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments of the invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons from an examination of the within disclosure. 
         [0027]    Referring now to  FIGS. 2A-2B , a preferred terminal building  20  of a preferred 3-D airport is shown. It comprises a security gate  22  and three boarding gates  26 A- 26 C. Three airplanes  40 A- 40 C are parked in their respective designated parking spaces A 2 -C 2  and docked to their respective boarding bridges  24 A- 24 C. These boarding bridges  24 A- 24 C are coupled to the terminal building  20  at the boarding gates  26 A- 26 C, respectively ( FIG. 2A ). In this preferred embodiment, the airplanes  40 A- 40 C are not parked at the same level of parking surface, but on at least two levels of parking surfaces: a first parking surface  16  and a second parking surface  18  ( FIG. 2B ). The first parking surface  16  is typically the ground, while the second parking surface  18  is on top of an elevated parking structure  19 . The airplane (e.g.  40 A,  40 C) parked on the first parking surface  16  is referred to as the first-level airplane, while the airplane (e.g.  40 B) parked on the second parking surface  18  is referred to as the second-level airplane. These airplanes  40 A- 40 C are parked in an interleaved manner in such a way that at least a portion of a wing  42 B of the airplane  40 B overlaps at least another portion of a wing  42 C of the airplane  40 C. This overlap can shorten the width Wx of the parking space B 2  to less than the wingspan of the airplane  40 B. For the same docking capacity (three for both  FIGS. 1A-1B  and  FIGS. 2A-2B ), the length Lx of the terminal building  20  at a 3-D airport can be much shorter than the length L of the conventional terminal building  10  from prior art. As a result, a passenger walks a shorter distance to board an airplane (e.g.  40 C). 
         [0028]    In  FIG. 2A , all boarding gates  24 A- 24 C are located on the same boarding floor with respect to the ground. Alternatively, the terminal building  20  comprises at least two boarding floors: a first boarding floor and a second boarding floor, with the second boarding floor located above the first boarding floor. The boarding gates (e.g.  26 B) for the second-level airplanes (e.g.  40 B) are located on the second boarding floor, while the boarding gates (e.g.  26 A,  26 C) for the first-level airplanes (e.g.  40 A,  40 C) are located on the first boarding floor. As a result, the boarding bridges for the all airplanes (e.g.  40 A- 40 C) are substantially level, which facilitates emplaning and deplaning. 
         [0029]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , another preferred terminal building  20   x  is shown. It has the same length L as that of  FIG. 1A . This terminal building  20   x  can accommodate five airplanes  40 A- 40 E. They are parked in their respective designated parking spaces A 3 -E 3  and docked to their respective boarding bridges  24 A- 24 E. By arranging the airplanes in an interleaved manner as those in  FIGS. 2A-2B , this preferred terminal building  20   x  has a docking capacity almost twice (five vs. three) as much as the conventional terminal building  10  in prior art. For a given airport capacity, the 3-D airport uses fewer terminal buildings than prior art and has a lower construction cost. In addition, it is relatively easy to convert a conventional airport into a 3-D airport. The only additions are elevated parking structures and extra boarding bridges. This leads to a minimal conversion cost. 
         [0030]    Referring now to  FIGS. 4A-4C , side views of a preferred elevated parking structure in the first type of the 3-D airport are disclosed. In the first type of the 3-D airport, the elevated parking structure  19  is fixed, preferably on the ground  16 . The elevated parking structure  19  further comprises a sloping surface  17  connecting the first parking surface  16  and the second parking surface  18 . The inclination of this sloping surface  17  with respect to the ground  16  is preferably less than 45 degree. A less inclined sloping surface  17  will make it easier to move an airplane  40  onto/off the elevated parking structure  19 . 
         [0031]      FIGS. 4A-4C  also illustrate three means for moving an airplane  40  onto/off the elevated parking structure  19 . In  FIG. 4A , the airplane  40  is self-propelled onto the elevated parking structure  19 . In  FIGS. 4B-4C , the airplane  40  is moved by an external means. The external means of  FIG. 4B  is a tug or a tractor  50 . The tug or tractor  50  can also push the airplane  40  off the elevated parking structure  19 . The external means of  FIG. 4C  is a cable system, which comprises at least a cable  60 , a pulley  62  and a motor  64 . When lowering the airplane  40  onto the ground  16 , the cable system is particularly advantageous because it can do so in a controlled manner. In the preferred embodiment of  FIG. 4C , the cable  60  is located out in the open. Alternatively, the cable  60  can be located inside a channel underneath the parking surfaces. This under-the-surface cable system can be realized in a way similar to the cable car of San Francisco and its implementation should be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
         [0032]    Referring now to  FIG. 5A-5B , a preferred elevated parking structure in the second type of the 3-D airport is disclosed. In the second type of the 3-D airport, the elevated parking structure is movable. Similar to  FIGS. 2A-2B , three airplanes  80 A- 80 C are parked in their respective designated parking spaces A 4 -C 4  and on at least two levels of parking surfaces: a first parking surface  86  and a second parking surface  88 . The first parking surface  86  is typically the ground, while the second parking surface  88  is on top of an elevated parking structure  89 . The airplanes  80 A- 80 C are parked in an interleaved manner in such a way that at least a portion of a wing  82 B of the airplane  80 B overlaps at least another portion of a wing  82 C of the airplane  80 C. 
         [0033]    The elevated parking structure  89  is movable. It has two modes including parking mode and non-parking mode. In the parking mode (i.e. when an airplane  80 B is parked in the parking space B 4 ), the elevated parking structure  89  supports the airplane  80 B on the second parking surface  88 . In the non-parking mode (i.e. when no airplane is parked in the parking space B 4 ), the elevated parking structure  89  is cleared off the parking space  84  in such a way that this parking space B 4  has a flat surface with surrounding areas and can be used for taxiing or other purposes. Being movable, the sidewalls  85 ,  87  of the elevated parking structure  89  are plotted with dotted lines ( FIGS. 5A-5B ) to indicate their movability. Because it does not require a sloping surface connecting two parking surfaces  86 ,  88 , the second type of the 3-D airport requires less apron area. In the following  FIGS. 6A-11C , several preferred parking methods for the movable parking structure  89  are disclosed: the movable parking structure  89  of  FIGS. 6A-9C  can be moved vertically; the movable parking structure  89  of  FIGS. 10A-11C  can be moved horizontally. 
         [0034]      FIGS. 6A-6C  illustrate three parking steps used by a first preferred airplane parking method. This preferred 3-D airport comprises a stationary lifting means (e.g. a hydraulic jack)  84   x,  which can be moved vertically (i.e. retracted) into the first parking surface  86  in the non-parking mode and extended outside the first parking surface  86  in the parking mode. At the first step of  FIG. 6A , the parking space B 4  is in the non-parking mode. The top surface  88  of the lifting means  84   x  is level with the first parking surface  86  and can be used for taxiing or other purposes. At the second step of  FIG. 6B , an airplane  80 B is taxied onto the lifting means  84   x.  The lifting means  84   x  extends and lifts the airplane  80 B to a designated height. At this time, the extended cylinder of the lifting means  84   x  becomes the elevated parking structure  89  and the airplane  80 B is parked on its top surface  88 . At the third step of  FIG. 6C , another airplane  80 C is taxied into an adjacent parking space C 4 , whose surface is the first parking surface  86 . Because the airplane  80 B is parked higher than the airplane  80 C, at least a portion of a wing  82 B of the airplane  80 B can overlap at least another portion of a wing  82 C of the airplane  80 C. In this preferred embodiment, the airplane (e.g.  80 B) that goes in first comes out last. 
         [0035]      FIGS. 7A-7C  and  FIGS. 8A-8B  illustrate three parking steps used by a second preferred airplane parking method. This preferred 3-D airport comprises another stationary lifting means (e.g. hydraulic jack)  84   y.  This lifting means  84   y  is longer than that of  FIG. 6A-6C . It extends from the position x2 to position x1 . At the first step of  FIG. 7A  (side view) and  FIG. 8A  (top view), an airplane  80 C (in dotted lines) is already parked in the parking space C 4 , while an airplane  80 B to be parked at B 4 . At this time, the lifting means  84   y  is retracted and its top surface  88  is level with the first parking surface  86 . The position x1 of the airplane  80 B should be such that its wing  82 B would not collide with a wing  82 C of the airplane  80 C. Because the position x1 is the beginning position of the lifting means  84   y,  the lifting means  84   y  is longer than that of  FIGS. 6A-6C . At the second step of  FIG. 7B  (side view, the airplane  80 C is not shown in  FIGS. 7B-7C ), the lifting means  84   y  extends and lifts the airplane  80 B to a designated height. The extended cylinder of the lifting means  84   y  becomes the elevated parking structure  89 . At the third step of  FIG. 7C  (side view) and  FIG. 8B  (top view), the airplane  80 B taxis to position x2 on the top surface  88  of the elevated parking structure  89 . Because the airplane  80 B is parked higher than the airplane  80 C, at least a portion of a wing  82 B of the airplane  80 B can overlap at least a portion of a wing  82 C of the airplane  80 C ( FIG. 8B ). In this preferred embodiment, the airplane (e.g.  80 B) that goes in first comes out first. 
         [0036]      FIGS. 9A-9C  illustrate three parking steps used by a third preferred airplane parking method. This preferred 3-D airport comprises a first stationary lifting means (e.g. a first hydraulic jack)  84   a  and a second stationary lifting means (e.g. a second hydraulic jack)  84   b.  The first lifting means  84   a  is located at position xl and the second lifting means  84   b  is located at position x2. Similar to  FIGS. 7A-7C , at the first step of  FIG. 9A , the airplane  80 B to be parked is positioned at x1 and both lifting means  84   a,    84   b  are retracted and their top surfaces  88   x,    88  are level with the first parking surface  86 . At the second step of  FIG. 9B  (the airplane  80 C is not shown in  FIGS. 9B-9C ), the first lifting means  84   a  extends and lifts the airplane  80 B to a designated height. The second lifting means  84   b  also extends to the same height and its top surface  88  mates with the top surface  88   x  of the first lifting means  84   a.  At the third step of  FIG. 9C , the airplane  80 B taxis to position x2 on the top surface  88  of the second lifting means  84   b.  Because the airplane  80 B is parked on an elevated surface  88 , at least a portion of a wing  82 B of the airplane  80 B can overlap at least a portion of a wing  82 C of the airplane  80 C. At this moment, the first lifting means  84   a  can be retracted in such a way that its surface can be used for taxiing or other purposes. In this preferred embodiment, the airplane (e.g.  80 B) that goes in first comes out first. 
         [0037]      FIGS. 10A-10C  illustrate three parking steps used by a fourth preferred airplane parking method. Its movable parking structure  98  can be moved away horizontally from the parking space B 4  in the non-parking mode and moved horizontally into the parking space B 4  in the parking mode. At the first step of  FIG. 10A , the airplane  80 B to be parked is positioned at x1 . The preferred 3-D airport further comprises a stationary lifting means (e.g. hydraulic jack)  84   z  at x1 . At this time, the lifting means  84   z  is retracted and its top surface  88   z  is level with the first parking surface  86 . At the second step of  FIG. 10B , the lifting means  84   z  extends and lifts the airplane  80 B to a designated height. A movable parking structure  98  is moved into position x2 and its top surface  88  mates with the top surface  88   z  of the lifting means  84   z.  The movable parking structure  98  may comprise caster wheels or other moving means, which engage the first parking surface  86  when no airplane is parked thereon, and disengage the first parking surface  86  when an airplane is parked thereon. At the third step of  FIG. 10C , the airplane  80 B taxis onto the top surface  88  of the movable parking structure  98  (i.e. the elevated parking structure  89 ) and is supported thereon. At this moment, the lifting means  84   z  is retracted. Because the airplane  80 B is parked on an elevated surface  88 , at least a portion of a wing  82 B of the airplane  80 B can overlap at least a portion of a wing  82 C of the airplane  80 C. The preferred methods disclosed in  FIGS. 10A-10C , the airplane (e.g.  80 B) that goes in first comes out first. 
         [0038]      FIGS. 11A-11C  illustrate three parking steps used by a fifth preferred airplane parking method. It comprises a mobile lifting means  90 , which comprises at least a lifting means (e.g. hydraulic jack)  92 , moving means (e.g. mechanized wheels)  94  and steering means (e.g. steering wheel)  96 . At the first step of  FIG. 11A , the mobile lifting means  90  addresses the airplane  80 B from the rear. Once it is underneath the airplane  80 B, the mobile lifting means  90  engages the airplane  80  and lifts the airplane  80 B to a designated height with the lifting means  92 . At the second step of  FIG. 11B , the mobile lifting means  90  moves the airplane  80 B into position x2. Because the airplane  80 B is now lifted, at least a portion of a wing  82 B of the airplane  80 B can overlap at least a portion of a wing  82 C of the airplane  80 C. At the third step of  FIG. 11C , a movable parking structure  98  similar to that of  FIG. 10B  is moved underneath the airplane  80 B. After the mobile lifting means  90  disengages the airplane  80 B, the airplane  80 B is supported by the movable parking structure  98 . It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the step of  FIG. 11C  is optional and the airplane  80 B can be supported by the mobile lifting means  90  in the parking space B 4 . The preferred methods disclosed in  FIGS. 11A-11C , the airplane (e.g.  80 B) that goes in first comes out first. 
         [0039]    While illustrative embodiments have been shown and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that may more modifications than that have been mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts set forth therein. For example, the elevated parking structure can be used not only in an airport, but also in an airplane hangar. Besides this, the elevated parking structure can also be used in an aircraft carrier, where the first parking surface is the flight deck thereof. The invention, therefore, is not to be limited except in the spirit of the appended claims.