Abstract:
The subject matter of the invention is an aircraft boarding bridge or aircraft boarding stairs with a gangway bottom plate ( 30 ), said aircraft boarding bridge or said aircraft boarding stairs comprising a bellows ( 1 ), more specifically a U-shaped bellows, that spans said gangway bottom plate, wherein the clear height (arrow  50 ) between the upper edge of the gangway bottom plate ( 30 ) and the roof of the bellows ( 1 ) may be varied.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to an aircraft boarding bridge or to aircraft boarding stairs with a gangway bottom plate, said aircraft boarding bridge or said aircraft boarding stairs comprising a bellows, more specifically a U-shaped bellows, that spans said gangway bottom plate.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART  
       [0002]     Aircraft boarding stairs or aircraft boarding bridges are well known, for example from DE 30 23 885 A1, EP 0 277 648 A1 and DE 33 06 109 C2. These aircraft boarding stairs or aircraft boarding bridges serve for boarding a plane. Such type aircraft boarding stairs or boarding bridges have an extendable bellows that spans the space between the aircraft boarding stairs or the aircraft boarding bridge and the aircraft in order to protect from weather passengers boarding the plane. The bellows is of a substantially U-configuration type, with the bellows being closed at its bottom by the bottom plate of a gangway. At its end side, the bellows comprises a flexible frame with a shock buffer made from a resilient elastic material, said bellows resting at this shock buffer on the outer skin of the aircraft. The flexibility of the frame is needed insofar as the frame must ensure that the aircraft boarding bridge or the aircraft boarding stairs snugly conform to the shape of the aircraft fuselage. A rigid frame would not be able to do so. The shock buffer is intended to prevent the outer skin of the aircraft from being damaged when the flexible frame is fit thereagainst.  
         [0003]     Such type aircraft boarding stairs or aircraft boarding bridges are intended to ensure access to the most varied types of aircrafts. This means that such aircraft boarding stairs or aircraft boarding bridges are intended to ensure access to a small machine and to an Airbus A380 alike. The Airbus has upper access doors that extend into the roof of the aircraft fuselage. This means that the bellows of such an aircraft boarding bridge or aircraft boarding stairs must have a very large dimension in height since, due to the outer contour of the door opening, the entire door opening can be completely encompassed only with such a very high bellows.  
         [0004]     On the other side, as already discussed above, there are aircrafts the access door of which extends substantially only over the vertical part of the aircraft fuselage. Here, a large vertical dimension is a hindrance since the shock buffer could then extend beyond the zenith of the aircraft. As a result, the shock buffer would not fit the entire surface in the upper region so that there is a risk of water penetration. Another hazard is damage to roof structures such as antennae, sensors, etc., on aircrafts having a small fuselage diameter. Moreover, the arm deflecting the bellows would come into direct contact with the aircraft fuselage.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIION  
       [0005]     In order to allow for wide application of such aircraft boarding stairs or aircraft boarding bridges, which are quite expensive to acquire, meaning both on small and on large aircrafts, it is suggested, in accordance with the invention, that the clear height between the upper edge of the gangway bottom plate and the roof of the bellows be variable. If such aircraft boarding stairs or such an aircraft boarding bridge is to be utilized at the upper boarding access to an A380, the width of the opening needs to be large. In this case, the selected clear height between the upper edge of the gangway bottom plate and the roof of the bellows needs to be very large whilst if the bridge is intended to allow access to a small aircraft, in which the door opening is substantially located in the vertical region of the aircraft fuselage and in which the bellows is not intended to project substantially beyond the contour of the door, the clear height of the bellows needs only to be small. It appears therefrom that an aircraft boarding bridge or aircraft boarding stairs in which the clear height between the upper edge of the gangway bottom plate and the roof of the bellows is variable is much more versatile.  
         [0006]     More specifically, there is provided that the aircraft boarding stairs or the aircraft boarding bridge comprises a frame apparatus that receives the bellows for height adjustment relative to the gangway bottom plate. This means that the gangway bottom plate remains fixed, that only the bellows moves in the vertical direction relative to the gangway bottom plate so as to widen or reduce the clear width of the opening. In this context, there is more specifically provided that the frame apparatus comprises two relatively movable frame parts, said two frame parts being connected together through longitudinal guides such as Rollon® guides. It appears therefrom that the frame part, which is located on the aircraft boarding bridge or on the aircraft boarding stairs, is fixedly disposed there, whilst the other movable frame part, which receives the bellows, is movable in height, thus providing the required variability in the clear height of the passage. In this context, there is provided that the one frame part is movable relative to the other frame part through a motor drive, a spindle drive for example. Said spindle drive is more specifically disposed on the two long sides of the aircraft boarding stairs or of the aircraft boarding bridge.  
         [0007]     In order to prevent moisture from penetrating between the two relatively movable frame parts of the frame apparatus, a ceiling cloth covering the gap between the two frame parts is stretched over the two frame parts at the upper horizontal struts. The length of the ceiling cloth corresponds to the maximum distance the frame parts can move relative to each other in the vertical direction.  
         [0008]     It may also be envisaged that the gangway bottom plate be height-adjustable. In this case, there is provided that the U-shaped bellows is connected to the aircraft boarding bridge or the aircraft boarding stairs through a coupling frame. The gangway bottom plate is hereby movable in height through a motor drive such as a spindle or piston-and-cylinder drive disposed on the coupling frame. If the gangway bottom plate is height-adjustable relative to the bottom of the aircraft boarding bridge, a step forcibly forms between the gangway bottom plate on the one side and the bottom of the aircraft boarding stairs or the aircraft boarding bridge on the other side, which can be levelled with a bridging member. Such a bridging member forms a ramp over the step for wheelchair users for example to negotiate this step.  
         [0009]     The invention will be explained in closer detail herein after with reference to the drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DRAWING  
       [0010]      FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b  schematically show the problem of fitting the bellows with the shock buffer to an aircraft having a large diameter fuselage ( FIG. 1   a ) and to an aircraft having a small diameter fuselage ( FIG. 1   b );  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  schematically shows the front part of aircraft boarding stairs or of an aircraft boarding bridge in a perspective representation;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  shows a side view according to  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  shows a view according to  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  shows a front view of the frame apparatus;  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  shows the bellows of the aircraft boarding stairs or of the aircraft boarding bridge in the retracted position in a side view on an enlarged scale, the drive having been removed for increased clarity, along the section line A-A in  FIG. 5 ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 7  shows an illustration according to  FIG. 5 , in which the bellows is deployed upward, that is to say that it has adopted an upper end position, along the section line A-A in  FIG. 5 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 8  shows the two frame parts of the aircraft boarding stairs or of the aircraft boarding bridge in an exploded view, the bellows and also the connection of the stairs or the bridge on the end side being removed for clarity;  
         [0018]      FIG. 9  schematically shows the upper region of the bellows with the arms for adjusting the bellows;  
         [0019]      FIG. 10  shows an embodiment of an aircraft boarding bridge with pivotal gangway bottom plate;  
         [0020]      FIG. 11   a  shows an aircraft boarding bridge with a height adjustable gangway bottom plate in a bottom position;  
         [0021]      FIG. 11   b  shows an illustration according to  FIG. 11   a , the gangway bottom plate being now in the top position;  
         [0022]      FIG. 11   c  shows a view taken along the section line XIb/XIb in  FIG. 11   b.    
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0023]      FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b  schematically show the bellows fitting, at its shock buffer disposed on the end side thereof, against a large diameter aircraft fuselage, the door opening being located far in the roof ( FIG. 1   a ) as well as the bellows fitting, at its shock buffer, against a smaller diameter aircraft fuselage, with the door opening being located in the vertical region of the aircraft fuselage.. It appears directly therefrom that, when the pleated bellows is fit at its shock buffer disposed on the end side thereof against a large diameter aircraft fuselage, the height dimension of the bellows must be larger than when the bellows is fit against a smaller diameter aircraft fuselage. If a bellows with a large clear width opening were to be fit against a small aircraft fuselage in the region of the shock buffer, there would be the risk that the shock buffer projects beyond the zenith of the aircraft fuselage with all the consequences described herein above.  
         [0024]     The front part of an aircraft boarding bridge or stairs can be seen from the perspective illustration in  FIG. 2 , said front part including the bellows  1  that is connected to the housing  20  of the aircraft boarding bridge or stairs through the frame apparatus  10 . The bellows  1  is stretched over the gangway bottom plate indicated at  30 . The bottom plate may hereby be configured to be made from lamellae so that the bottom may be contracted or expanded according to the bellows  1 .  FIG. 9  in particular shows how to expand the bellows  1 , an arm  2  being especially formed for this purpose, which consists of two arm parts  2   a  and  3   a  that are linked together, the arm parts ensuring that the bellows fits against the aircraft fuselage via piston-and-cylinder drives  4   a ,  5   a  together with a cable guide  6 . On the end side of the bellows  1  there is located a shock buffer la that is removed in  FIG. 2  for the sake of clarity. The bottom  30  is not connected to the bellows  1 .  
         [0025]     The subject matter of the invention now is how to vertically move the bellows  1 , which, as can be seen from  FIG. 2 , projects downward beyond the bottom  30 , pursuant to arrow  40  in order to vary the clear width of the opening, indicated by the arrow  50 . In order to relatively displace the bellows  1  in height out of the housing  20  of the aircraft boarding stairs or bridge, there is provided what is referred to as a frame apparatus  10 , the configuration of said frame apparatus  10  being particularly obvious from  FIG. 8 .  FIG. 8  shows the two frame parts  11  and  12  that are relatively movable in the vertical direction through the so-called Rollon® guides  13 . For displacing the two frame parts  11  and  12  relative to each other, there is provided a drive, which is indicated generally at  14 , on either side of the frame part  11 , said drive  14  being shown as a spindle drive. The drive motor  15  of the spindle drive  14  is disposed on the frame part  11 , said spindle having on its end side a catch  16  for connection with the frame part  12 . This means that, upon actuation of the drive  14 , the frame part  12  is movable in the vertical direction pursuant to the arrow  40  so that the bellows increases or reduces the vertical distance from the bottom.  
         [0026]     Referring now to the  FIGS. 6 and 7 , which are sectional views along A-A in  FIG. 5 , one can see two relative positions of the frame elements  11  and  12 . In the illustration shown in  FIG. 6 , the two frame parts  11  and  12  are almost in one plane, i.e., the two frame parts adopt a bottom end position relative to each other. The two frame parts  11  and  12  hereby possess at their upper end an angle  11   a ,  12   a , said angle  12   a  being disposed on a frame tube  12   b  of the frame part  12 . Between the angle  12   a  and the angle  11   a  there is located a seal  16 , e.g. a cellular rubber, for sealing. As already mentioned,  FIG. 6  represents the bottom end position.  
         [0027]     In the top end position shown in  FIG. 7 , the frame element  12  is displaced pursuant to arrow  40 , the angle  12   a  then adopting a position in which this angle  12   a  fits above the seal  11   b  of the other leg  11   c  of the frame  11 . In order to prevent moisture from penetrating into the thus forming clearance  17 , there is provided the ceiling cloth  18 , which covers this opening, as can be best seen from  FIG. 7 . In the upper end position shown in  FIG. 7 , the passage has the greatest clear height between the upper edge of the gangway bottom plate and the inner edge of the bellows ceiling.  
         [0028]     The subject matter of the  FIGS. 10, 11   a  and  11   b  is the configuration of a height-adjustable gangway bottom plate  30 , said gangway bottom plate  30  being configured to be pivotal in accordance with  FIG. 10  in order to bridge different heights when boarding an aircraft using the aircraft boarding bridge. A drive, for example a piston-and-cylinder drive  45 , may be provided for pivoting the gangway bottom plate  30 . Another embodiment as it can be seen from the  FIGS. 11   a  and  11   b  is characterized by a substantially vertically height-adjustable gangway bottom plate  30 , the connection between the gangway bottom plate  30  and the actual aircraft boarding bridge occurring through a receiving beam  46 , the connection between the gangway bottom plate  40  and the beam  46  occurring through a guide rail ( FIG. 11   c ) that is configured like a dovetail guide  47 . A piston-and-cylinder drive  45  is provided for vertical adjustment of the gangway bottom plate  40 .