GB2264469A - Mooring tower for dirigibles. - Google Patents

Abstract

A dirigible mooring tower comprises a base structure and a tower structure. The base structure includes an apparatus 4, 4a for supplying helium into a dirigible moored by the mooring tower, an apparatus 5, 5a for supplying fuel into engines of the dirigible, a bus terminal 3, and an inspection/repair room 6. The tower structure includes a tower proper T. A boarding unit 7 is connected to the lower portion of the 10b tower proper for pivotal motion about the tower proper. The boarding unit has a passenger loading bridge 7a. Above the boarding unit is located a mooring unit 8 capable of attracting the bow of a dirigible. The mooring unit 8 is also rotatable about the tower proper. A waiting hall 9 is located above the mooring unit 8. Illuminators 11 are connected to the bottom of the waiting hall 9. A control room 10 is located above the waiting hall. A dome 10a housing an airport surveillance radar and a weather radar is located on the control room. Also, VHF antennas 10b proiect from the top of the control room 10. <IMAGE>

Description

Dirigible Mooring Tower FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a dirigible mooring tower.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When modern aviation started around the beginning of the 20th century, airplanes took off and landed on grass land, river beaches, or open grounds. When air transportation started, airports with simple runways and simple facilities for passengers were constructed. During 30 years thereafter, many regular air routes, domestic and international, were established. Then, the old airports were changed into new ones with modern facilities.

Such new airports were constructed one after another in Europe.

With regard to Japan, the first air stations were Ohsaka Air Station and Fukuoka Air Station, both of which were opened in 1929. Her first modern airport is Haneda Airport (New Tokyo International Airport). The early airports had only facilities indispensably necessary for airplanes to take off and land. As air transportation became popular, however, airports came to be equipped with additional facilities.

Basically an airport is a place where airplanes take off and land and freight and passengers go in and out. In modern airports, however, airplane repair, meteorological observation, security, and availability of traffic facilities to and from towns and cities and other airports have become more and more important.

The facilities of an airport chiefly include those for passengers, those for taking off and landing, those for navigation aid facilities, and repairing facilities. The passenger facilities include a terminal building to accommodate passengers and freight and gates. To get on an airplane, passengers walk there on foot, use a bus, or use a loading bridge connected to the terminal building. In particular, more and more airports have come to employ loading bridges.

The taking off/landing facilities include a runway,. a taxiway, an apron, and an air traffic control tower. Although there are airports using unpaved flat lands as runways, most of the runways consist of an asphalt layer (lower layer) and a cement concrete layer (upper layer). The taxiway connects the runway and the apron. The runway is the greatest in width and physical strength, and the taxiway is second. In the apron, passengers and freight are loaded and unloaded into and from an airplane, and the airplane is fueled and inspected and repaired.

In many small and medium airports, a tank truck is used to fuel the airplanes. In large airports, on the other hand, a fuel tank is provided underground in the apron, and fuel is directly supplied therefrom. The air traffic control tower prevents airplanes from colliding in or around the airport, and ensures that airplanes take off and land smoothly and safely.

Modern aviation largely depends upon navigation aid facilities such as radio apparatus, radars, and illuminators.

To perform well, an airport must have such facilities that perform well. The radio apparatus provided in the airport include NDC (non-directional radio beacon), VOR (very-high-frequency omnirange), DME (distance-measuring equipment), and ILS (instrument landing system) using VHF, UHF or microwaves. The radars include ASR (airport surveillance radar), PAR (precision approach radar), and ASDE (airport surface detection equipment).

The illuminators include an airport beacon, runway lights, runway centerline lights, touch-down zone lights, runway threshold light, approach lights, glide slope indicators, taxiway lights, apron light, and obstruction light.

Also, airports are usually provided with facilities for repairing airplanes.

Airports of our time not only are important for traffic and physical distribution, but also are closely connected with the politics, diplomacy, industry, and culture of the nation. Thus, the construction of airports have come to be planned on a national basis or as a means for developing particular regions.

One condition required of a site for an airport is that it must be near to towns or cities. Another condition is that it must be as large as possible, particularly because it may become necessary to expand the airport in the future. In addition, the surroundings of the site must not be densely populated. Also, large obstructionsmust not be present near the site. Moreover, sufficient aerial space must be available. Also, the site must not be subject to sudden changes in weather. In our time, however, it is very difficult to find such a site in places near large cities. Thus, airports of our time are constructed remote from large cities. In numerous cases, it takes 1 or 2 hours for ur ban people to go to airports.

Under these circumstances an air taxi has been proposed.

It is a small aircraft operated on a scheduled or nonscheduled basis along short routes not serviced by large airlines. It is a convenient means for conveying people between a city and an airport remote therefrom. It considerably reduces the time required to go to the airport. However it can carry only a small number of passengers at a time. Therefore such a service is unprofitable. A helicopter is also used as an air taxi. In particular, it is used to carry people from the center of a city. The helicopter, however, makes a loud noise. Also it may crash.

Accordingly the inventor proposes that a dirigible be used as an air taxi. A dirigible is lifted by a lighter-than-air gas, and is driven forward by propellers. It developed around the year 1900 particularly in Germany, and once became the lead ing means of air traffic and transportation. In 1937, however, the German dirigible Hindenburg burst into flame, and was destroyed. After that, dirigibles were less and less used. In our time they are used only for advertisement and for the relay ing of certain television programs. However, a dirigible has several advantages over usual aircraft. Its greatest advantage is that it can be driven by small engines, since it can lift by itself. So it has a higher fuel efficiency that usual aircraft, and is less noisy than the latter.In addition, it is very easy to increase the size of a dirigible to increase its capacity to accommodate passengers. It is not impossible to produce a dirigible capable of accommodating over 100 passengers.

Moreover, a dirigible is very unlikely to crash, since it is lifted by a lighter-than-air gas. Thus a dirigible is very suitable as an air taxi. So the inventor has invented airport facilities for a dirigible used as an air taxi.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly the object of the invention is to provide a dirigible mooring tower.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Fig. 1 shows a dirigible mooring tower of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A dirigible mooring tower which embodies the invention in one preferred form will now be described with reference to the drawing. The mooring tower of the invention comprises a base structure and a tower structure. The base structure includes the following: 3: bus terminal 4: helium tank 4a: helium supply boom 5: fuel tank 5a: fuel supply boom 6: inspection/repair room Dirigible passengers who are going to board a dirigible 2 or have got off it are carried to or from the bus terminal 3 by bus 2. Helium in the helium tank 4 is supplied through the boom 4 into the dirigible 1. Fuel in the tank 5 is supplied through the boom 5a into the engines of the dirigible 1. In the inspection/repair room 6, parts of the dirigible are inspected and repaired. In addition the crew members of the dirigible can take a rest in the room 6.

The tower structure includes a tower proper T. Inside the tower proper T are provided elevators, stairs, a power room, a machinery room, a generator, and computers (not shown). The tower proper T is provided at its lower portion with a boarding unit 7 rotatable for 360 degrees about the tower proper T. The boarding unit 7 has an extensible and retractable loading bridge 7a. Above the boarding unit 7 is located a mooring unit 8 which is also rotatable for 360 degrees about the tower proper T. The mooring unit 8 has an electromagnet 8b and a holding cap 8a.

The mooring unit 8 attracts a mooring attachment la of the dirigible 1 with its electromagnet 8b. The mooring unit 8 changes its orientation in response to wind direction. Above the mooring unit 8 is located a waiting hall 9. The waiting hall 9 is provided with illuminators 11 on its bottom, and is provided on its top with weather survey units 12 to sense wind direction, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, temperature, and the like. A check-in counter, a coffee shop, rest rooms, telephones, and other facilities may be provided in the hall 9.

Dirigible passengers wait in the hall until they can board the dirigible. Above the hall 9 is located a control room 10 where operators indicate by radio communication to the pilot of the dirigible when and how to land and take off. On the top of the control room 10 is located a dome 10a housing an airport surveillance radar and a weather radar. VHF antennas 10b project from the top of the control room 10.

In use, when the dirigible approaches tshe mooring tower, the operators recognize the dirigible both visually and by the airport surveillance radar. Then, the operators indicate to the pilot which way is the best course he should take to land. The weather survey units 12 send wind direction data to the mooring unit 8. Thereupon the mooring unit 8 analyzes the data by a computer, and rotates to an orientation in which the unit 8 can moor the dirigible most stably. When the dirigible comes very near to the mooring tower, the electromagnet 8b attracts the mooring attachment la of the dirigible 1. Thus the bow of the dirigible is held by the cap 8a. Thus the mooring tower of the invention enables the pilot to land and take off without being seriously affected by bad weather. After the dirigible 1 has been moored in this manner, the boarding unit 7 rotates near to the gondola (not shown) of the dirigible, and then the loading bridge 7a is extended and coupled with the gondola. Thus, the passengers in the dirigible can go to the bus terminal 3 through the boarding unit 7, and people who have been waiting in the hall 9 can board the dirigible through the boarding unit 7.

Also, while the dirigible is moored, helium and engine fuel can be supplied through the booms 4a and 5a, respectively, into the dirigible. Both booms 4a and 5a are extensible and retractable.

Claims (2)

What is claimed is:

1. A dirigible mooring tower comprising a base structure and a tower structure, said base structure including (i) an apparatus for supplying helium into a dirigible moored by the mooring tower, (ii) an apparatus for supplying fuel into engines of the dirigible, (iii) a bus terminal, and (iv) a room where parts of the dirigible can be inspected and repaired, and said tower structure including (v) a tower proper, (vi) a boarding unit connected to a lower portion of the tower proper for pivotal motion about the tower proper and having a passenger loading bridge, (vii) a mooring unit connected, above the boarding unit, to the tower proper for pivotal motion about the tower proper, rotating automatically to an orientation in which the mooring unit can moor a dirigible most stably, and having means for electromagnetically attracting a mooring attachment of a dirigible, (viii) a waiting hall located above the mooring unit for accommodating people who are going to board a dirigible moored by the mooring unit, (ix) illuminators connected to the bottom of the waiting hall, (x) weather survey units mounted on the top of the waiting hall for sensing wind direction, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, temperature, and other conditions, (xi) a control room located above the waiting hall, where operators indicate by radio communication to the pilot of a dirigible when and how to land and take off, (xii) a dome located on the control room and housing an airport surveillance radar and a weather radar, and (xiii) VHF antennas projecting from the top of the control room.

2. A dirigible mooring tower substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.