Patent ID: 8645004

Claim:
A method of automatically docking a passenger bridge or a goods handling bridge to a door of an airplane at an airport gate, comprising: bringing the airplane ( 5 ) to a pre-determined position and stopped in said position by contactless measuring of a distance between the airplane and a fixed point; indicating the distance on a display ( 6 ) mounted in front of a pilot of the airplane or on an airport structure ( 26 ); causing the display ( 6 ) to show to the pilot the position of the airplane ( 5 ) relative to the airplane pre-determined position, and to show a type and a version of the type of airplane concerned; activating said distance measuring and display functions by an airport installed data system ( 17 ); and controlling movements of the passenger bridge with a control computer ( 14 ), wherein subsequent to activation of a distance meter ( 13 ) for measuring said distance and of the display ( 6 ) for positioning an arriving airplane there is received from a person, a start signal ( 24 ), said start signal received subsequent to having established that the correct type of airplane and the correct version of the airplane type has been set to enable the control computer ( 14 ) to cause the passenger bridge ( 1 ; 2 ) to be moved for docking with the airplane ( 5 ), provided that the airplane has stopped within a given pre-determined position interval, and the distance meter ( 13 ) sends a signal to said control computer ( 14 ), which has access to data relating to the positions of the airplane doors on different airplane types and versions of airplane types, to guide movement of the passenger bridge ( 1 ; 2 ) to a position in which the cabin ( 15 ; 16 ) of the passenger bridge connects with the door ( 3 ; 4 ) of the airplane ( 5 ) in the absence of the influence of a driver.