JP2018039310A - Passenger boarding bridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a passenger boarding bridge capable of reducing construction costs, etc., by eliminating a long signal cable.SOLUTION: A passenger boarding bridge is provided with: a rotatable rotunda 4; an expandable tunnel part 5; a cab 6 at the tip of the tunnel part 5; a travel part 12 which is rotatably attached at a lower part of a part near the tip of the tunnel part 5 to travel on the ground; a controller provided at the part near the tip of the tunnel part 5 or the cab 6; and speed detection means for detecting moving speed of two detection object parts apart in a horizontal direction at the travel part 12 in a period of predetermined time. The controller is constituted to calculate coordinates of a current position of a rotational axis CL3 of the travel part 12 by using an XY rectangular coordinate system during a travel operation of the travel part 12, in that case, to sequentially calculate each travel in an X axis direction and a Y axis direction of the rotational axis of the travel part 12 within the predetermined time based on the moving speed of the two detection object parts, and to calculate the coordinates of the current position based on the travel to be sequentially calculated and coordinates of a predetermined initial position of the rotational axis of the travel part 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a passenger boarding bridge.

  When getting on and off an aircraft at an airport, a passenger boarding bridge connecting the terminal building and the aircraft is used. In such a passenger boarding bridge, it has been proposed to automate movement from a standby position to a predetermined target position (for example, a mounting position) (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  FIG. 9 is a schematic side view of a conventional passenger boarding bridge. FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view of a conventional passenger boarding bridge.

  This passenger boarding bridge is connected to the entrance / exit of the terminal building 2 and is supported by the column 7 so as to be rotatable around the vertical rotation axis CL1, and the base end is connected to the rotander 4 and a plurality of tunnels 5a, 5b includes a tunnel portion 5 that is telescopically fitted and can be expanded and contracted, and a cab 6 that is provided at the tip of the tunnel portion 5 and is rotatable about a rotation axis CL2. Further, a drive column 8 is provided near the tip of the tunnel portion 5 as a support leg.

  The drive column 8 is provided with an elevating mechanism 10 that moves the tunnel portion 5 up and down. By moving the tunnel portion 5 up and down by the elevating mechanism 10, the tunnel portion 5 can swing in the vertical direction with the rotander 4 as the base end. In addition, a traveling unit 12 having two drive wheels 9 (the right wheel 9R and the left wheel 9L in FIG. 10) that can be independently driven to rotate forward and reverse is provided below the drive column 8. The traveling unit 12 is configured to freely move forward and backward by driving the two driving wheels 9 and to freely rotate forward and backward around the rotation axis CL3 passing through the center point of the two driving wheels 9. Has been.

The passenger boarding bridge includes an angle sensor 23 for detecting the rotation angle θ ₁ (FIG. 10) of the rotander 4, an angle sensor 25 for detecting the rotation angle θ ₂ (FIG. 10) of the cab 6 with respect to the tunnel portion 5, An angle sensor 26 that detects a rotation angle θ ₃ (FIG. 10) of the traveling unit 12 is provided. Further, the distance L ₁ (the distance from the center point of the rotander 4 (position of the rotation axis CL1) to the center point of the traveling section 12 (position of the rotation axis CL3) is configured by a distance meter or the like that measures the length of the tunnel portion 5. A distance sensor 24 for detecting FIG. 10) is provided. In addition, a height sensor 27 that measures the amount of elevation of the tunnel portion 5 by the elevation mechanism 10 and detects the height of the tunnel portion 5 is also provided.

  An operation panel 31 as shown in FIG. 3 is provided inside the cab 6. The operation panel 31 includes an operation lever 32 for operating the driving wheel 9 and a display in addition to various operation switches 33 for operating the lifting and lowering of the tunnel portion 5 and the cab 6 by the elevating mechanism 10 and rotating the cab 6. A device 34 is provided.

  In addition, a control device 30 that controls the operation of the passenger boarding bridge is provided near the tip of the tunnel portion 5. The control device 30 is connected to the operation panel 31 by an electric circuit, receives information based on the operation of the operation switch 33 and the operation lever 32, and receives the output signals of the sensors 23 to 27, etc. Controls the operation of the boarding bridge and outputs information displayed on the display device 34. Note that the control device 30 may be provided in the cab 6.

  When the passenger gets on and off, the cab 6 is rotated, the tunnel unit 5 is moved up and down by the lifting mechanism 10, and the traveling unit 12 (two drive wheels) is moved so as to move the cab 6 to the vicinity of the door of the aircraft 3. 9), the passenger boarding bridge is moved from the predetermined standby position to the mounting position, and the cab 6 is mounted on the door of the aircraft 3. On the other hand, after the boarding / exit is completed, the cab 6 is removed from the door of the aircraft 3 and the passenger boarding bridge is moved from the mounting position to the standby position.

  In such a passenger boarding bridge, for example, when automatically controlling movement from a standby position to a predetermined target position (a mounting position or a predetermined position away from the mounting position), the control device 30 travels at a predetermined cycle. The current position coordinates of the center point of the section 12 are calculated, and the traveling speed of the two driving wheels 9 is controlled so that the center point of the traveling section 12 can reach the coordinates of the predetermined target position. The direction is finely adjusted. The same applies to the case where the movement to the standby position is automatically controlled after the cab 6 is removed from the door of the aircraft 3.

  Even when the operator manually controls the movement of the passenger boarding bridge by operating the operation lever 32 of the operation panel 31, the control device 30 calculates the current position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12 at a predetermined cycle. ing. Furthermore, the control device 30 calculates the current position coordinates of the center point of the cab 6 and the like based on the calculated current position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12.

The control device 30 always displays current position coordinates such as the center point of the traveling unit 12 and the center point of the cab 6 on the display device 34 so as to be a reference when the operator operates. In addition to the rotation angle θ _{1 of the} rotander 4 detected by the angle sensor 23 and the distance L ₁ detected by the distance sensor 24, the control device 30 rotates the rotation angle θ _{3 of the} traveling unit 12 detected by the angle sensor 26. The height of the tunnel portion 5 detected by the height sensor 27 is also always displayed on the display device 34 so that it can be used as a reference when the operator operates.

  A method for calculating the current position coordinates in the conventional passenger boarding bridge will be described with reference to FIG.

  XY orthogonal coordinates as shown in FIG. 10 are used. That is, as absolute coordinates, the center point of the rotander 4 (the position of the rotation axis CL1) is the origin (0, 0), and the X axis and the Y axis are taken as shown in FIG.

  The reference point for the passenger boarding bridge is the center point of the traveling unit 12 (the position of the rotation axis CL3). The position coordinates such as the center point of the cab 6 (the position of the rotation axis CL2) are calculated from the position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12.

In the control device 30, the coordinates (X _A , Y _A ) of the center point of the traveling unit 12 are the rotation angle θ _{1 of the} rotander 4 detected by the angle sensor 23 and the rotander 4 detected by the distance sensor 24. Calculation is based on the distance L ₁ from the center point to the center point of the traveling unit 12.
X _A = L ₁ · sinθ ₁
Y _A = L ₁・ cosθ ₁
The coordinates of the center point of the cab 6 are on the extension line of the line connecting the center point of the rotander 4 and the center point of the traveling unit 12 and at a position separated from the center point of the traveling unit 12 by a predetermined distance L _2. Can be calculated as the coordinates.

In this way, in the control device 30, the traveling unit is always (based on a predetermined cycle) based on the rotation angle θ _{1 of the} rotander 4 detected by the angle sensor 23 and the distance L ₁ detected by the distance sensor 24. The current position coordinates (X _A , Y _A ) of 12 center points are calculated.

JP 2004-330871 A Japanese Patent No. 4293874

In the conventional passenger boarding bridge, the current position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12 are calculated based on the rotation angle θ ₁ and the distance L ₁ of the rotander 4. Here, since the rotation angle θ ₁ of the rotander 4 is detected by the angle sensor 23 attached to the rotander 4, a signal cable 23 a for transmitting the detection signal of the angle sensor 23 to the control device 30 is required. Become. Since the control device 30 is provided in a portion near the tip of the tunnel portion 5 or in the cab 6, there is a problem that the length of the signal cable 23 a becomes long and the construction cost for installing it increases. Furthermore, the problem of signal delay also occurs.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a passenger boarding bridge that can eliminate a long signal cable, reduce the construction cost, and solve the problem of signal delay. It is aimed.

  In order to achieve the above object, a passenger boarding bridge according to an aspect of the present invention is connected to an entrance / exit of a terminal building, and has a rotander rotatable forward and backward around a vertical axis, and a base end connected to the rotander. A telescopic tunnel part, a cab that is rotatably provided at the tip of the tunnel part, and a part that is rotatably attached around a rotation axis below a part near the tip of the tunnel part and travels on the ground. A traveling unit that rotates the tunnel unit around the vertical axis and expands and contracts the tunnel unit, a controller that is provided in a portion near the tip of the tunnel unit or the cab and controls the traveling unit, and the traveling unit The moving speed of each of the two detection target parts separated in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the traveling unit in the traveling direction with respect to the ground in a predetermined time A speed detecting means for detecting at a cycle, and the control device is configured so that each time the moving speed of each of the two detection target parts is detected by the speed detecting means while the running unit is running, The coordinates of the current position of the rotation axis of the traveling unit are calculated using an XY orthogonal coordinate system with the axis position as the origin, and at that time, the two detection target parts detected at the predetermined time period Based on the moving speed of the traveling portion, the movement amount of the rotation axis of the traveling unit in the X axis direction and the Y axis direction within the predetermined time is sequentially calculated, and the sequentially calculated X axis direction and Y axis direction are calculated. The coordinates of the current position are calculated on the basis of the respective movement amounts and the coordinates of a predetermined initial position of the rotating shaft of the traveling unit.

  According to this configuration, the speed detection unit that detects the movement speed of the two detection target parts of the traveling unit at a predetermined cycle is provided, and the control device detects the two detection target parts that are sequentially detected by the speed detection unit at the predetermined period. Based on the moving speed and the coordinates of the predetermined initial position of the rotating shaft of the traveling unit, the coordinates of the current position of the rotating shaft (center point) of the traveling unit during the traveling operation are calculated. Therefore, the conventional angle sensor 23 and distance sensor 24 of the rotander 4 shown in FIG. 9 are not required, and the long signal cable 23a from the angle sensor 23 of the rotander 4 to the control device 30 can be eliminated. The construction cost can be reduced, and the problem of signal delay caused by using the long signal cable 23a can be solved.

  The traveling unit includes two drive wheels that are arranged in parallel to each other with the rotation shaft interposed therebetween and can be driven to rotate independently of each other, and according to the rotation direction and the rotation angular velocity of the two drive wheels. A moving direction and a moving speed of the rotating shaft of the traveling unit are determined, and the speed detecting unit detects a rotating direction and a rotating angular velocity of the two driving wheels, and based on the rotating angular velocity of the driving wheels. The moving speed of each of the driving wheels relative to the ground may be calculated, and the calculated moving speed of each of the driving wheels may be detected as the moving speed of each of the two detection target portions. .

  The speed detection means may include two speedometers that are attached to the two detection target portions with the rotation shaft sandwiched between the travel units and measure the moving speed in the travel direction.

  The speedometer may be constituted by a Doppler speedometer or an image sensor.

  The control device further calculates the coordinates of the current position of the cab of the traveling unit based on the calculated coordinates of the current position of the rotating shaft of the traveling unit, Data of at least one of the coordinates of the current position of the cab may be output to the display device.

  According to this configuration, the operator can operate the passenger boarding bridge using, for example, the operation panel while referring to or monitoring the coordinates of the current position displayed on the display device.

  The present invention has the configuration described above, and there is an effect that it is possible to provide a passenger boarding bridge that can eliminate a long signal cable, reduce the construction cost, and solve the problem of signal delay. .

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a passenger boarding bridge according to the present embodiment. 2A and 2B are schematic views of the passenger boarding bridge as viewed obliquely from the upper front. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation panel. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation when the passenger boarding bridge is mounted. FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining a method of calculating the current position coordinates of the traveling unit. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram in the case where sensors for detecting the rotational angular velocities of the left and right wheels are provided. FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram when a laser Doppler velocimeter is provided in the traveling unit, and FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram of the laser Doppler velocimeter and wheels viewed from the side. FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram in the case where an optical flow sensor is provided in the traveling unit, and FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram of the optical flow sensor and wheels viewed from the side surface. C) is a diagram showing an example of an image photographed by the optical flow sensor. FIG. 9 is a schematic side view of a conventional passenger boarding bridge. FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view of a conventional passenger boarding bridge.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout all the drawings, and redundant description thereof is omitted. Further, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a passenger boarding bridge according to the present embodiment. The schematic side view of the passenger boarding bridge 1 is the same as that of FIG. 9 except that the rotander angle sensor 23 and its signal cable 23a and the distance sensor 24 are not shown in FIG. This will be described using reference numerals in FIG. 2 (A) and 2 (B) are schematic views of the passenger boarding bridge 1 as viewed obliquely from the upper front.

  The passenger boarding bridge 1 includes a horizontally rotatable rotunda (rear circular chamber) 4 connected to the entrance 2 a of the airport terminal building 2, a tunnel portion 5 whose base end is connected to the rotander 4, A cab (front circular chamber) 6 is provided at the tip so as to be rotatable forward and backward. In addition, on the side of the tunnel portion 5, for example, an auxiliary stair (not shown) used for an operator to enter and exit the cab 6 from the ground (apron) is installed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rotander 4 is supported by a support column 7 (see FIG. 9) so as to be rotatable forward and backward about a rotation axis CL1 (vertical axis). The tunnel portion 5 is a telescopic tubular body that forms a communication passage that connects the entrance 2a of the terminal building 2 and the door 3a of the aircraft 3, and a plurality of tunnels 5a and 5b are telescopic (nested). Combined and stretchable. When the distal-side tunnel 5b slides relative to the proximal-side tunnel 5a, the entire tunnel portion 5 expands and contracts. In addition, although the tunnel part 5 comprised by two tunnels 5a and 5b is illustrated here, the tunnel part 5 may be comprised by three or more tunnels.

  Further, a drive column 8 is provided as a support leg at a portion closer to the tip of the tunnel portion 5 (tunnel 5b on the most tip side). The drive column 8 is provided with an elevating mechanism 10 that moves the tunnel portion 5 up and down. By moving the tunnel portion 5 up and down by the lifting mechanism 10, the tunnel portion 5 can swing in the vertical direction with the rotander 4 as the base end.

  The drive column 8 is provided with a traveling unit 12 having two drive wheels 9 (a right wheel 9R and a left wheel 9L) below the elevating mechanism 10. The traveling unit 12 is configured to freely move forward and backward, and the rotation axis CL3 so that the rudder angle can be changed within a range of −90 ° to + 90 ° with respect to the longitudinal direction of the tunnel unit 5. Forward and reverse rotation is freely configured around the.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the drive column 8 is provided with left and right columnar portions 10 </ b> R and 10 </ b> L that are attached to the left and right sides near the tip of the tunnel portion 5 and constitute the lifting mechanism 10. A lateral member 11 for connecting and supporting these two columnar portions 10R and 10L is attached to the lower portion. A traveling unit 12 is attached to the center of the lateral member 11.

  The traveling unit 12 includes a support base 13, a rotary base 14, two drive wheels 9 (right wheel 9R and left wheel 9L), axles 15R and 15L, and the like. A support base 13 for the traveling unit 12 is provided at the center of the horizontal member 11, and a turntable 14 is rotatably attached to the support base 13. Below the turntable 14, an axle 15R of the right wheel 9R and an axle 15L of the left wheel 9L are respectively attached. The right wheel 9R and the left wheel 9L are arranged in parallel with each other so as to be equidistant from the rotation axis CL3, and a drive unit such as a drive motor (not shown) is provided for each. It is provided, and is configured to be able to drive forward and reverse rotation independently.

  FIG. 2A shows an example of turning the passenger boarding bridge 1 to the right. In this example, as shown by the size of the arrows drawn for each of the right wheel 9R and the left wheel 9L, the rotational speed of the right wheel 9R is made smaller than the rotational speed of the left wheel 9L, so that the traveling unit It is shown that 12 rotates around the rotation axis CL3 and changes its direction to the right. Similarly, FIG. 2 (B) shows an example of turning the passenger boarding bridge 1 to the left. By making the rotational speed of the left wheel 9L smaller than the rotational speed of the right wheel 9R, the traveling unit 12 can be rotated. It is shown that it rotates about CL3 and turns to the left.

  Further, by rotating the right wheel 9R and the left wheel 9L in the opposite directions at the same speed, the traveling unit 12 can perform rotation on the spot (rotation without the rotation axis CL3 moving).

  The cab 6 is provided at the tip of the tunnel portion 5 and is configured to be rotatable forward and backward around a rotation axis CL2 (FIG. 1) by a rotation mechanism (not shown). Since the cab 6 is attached to the tip of the tunnel portion 5 in this way, the cab 6 and the tunnel portion 5 together with the rotander 4 as the base end are moved up and down by the lifting mechanism 10 of the drive column 8. It can swing in the vertical direction.

  The passenger boarding bridge 1 includes an angle sensor 25 for detecting the rotation angle of the cab 6 with respect to the tunnel portion 5, an angle sensor 26 for detecting the rotation angle of the traveling portion 12, and the lifting mechanism 10 shown in FIG. 9. There is provided a height sensor 27 for measuring the height of the tunnel portion 5 by measuring the amount of elevation of the tunnel portion 5 due to. A distance sensor 22 that detects the distance between the cab 6 and the aircraft 3 is attached to the bumper 21 on the front end side of the cab 6.

  An operation panel 31 as shown in FIG. 3 is provided inside the cab 6. The operation panel 31 includes an operation lever 32 for operating the driving wheel 9 and a display in addition to various operation switches 33 for operating the lifting and lowering of the tunnel portion 5 and the cab 6 by the elevating mechanism 10 and rotating the cab 6. A device 34 is provided. The operation lever 32 is configured by a lever-like input device (joystick) having multi-directional degrees of freedom.

  Further, a control device 30 is provided at a portion near the tip of the tunnel portion 5 (the most distal-side tunnel 5b). The control device 30 is connected to the operation panel 31 by an electric circuit, and receives information (operation information) based on the operation of the operation switch 33 and the operation lever 32, as well as output signals of the sensors 22, 25 to 27, and the like. Is input to control the operation of the passenger boarding bridge 1 (the operation of the two drive wheels 9, the elevating mechanism 10, the rotating mechanism of the cab 6, etc.), and the information displayed on the display device 34 is output. Note that the control device 30 may be provided in the cab 6.

  The control device 30 includes an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU and a storage unit such as a ROM and a RAM. In the storage unit, a control program for operating each unit of the passenger boarding bridge 1 and information necessary for the operation are stored in advance, and an arithmetic processing unit (CPU) is based on operation information from the operation panel 31 and the like. The operation of each part of the passenger boarding bridge 1 can be controlled by executing the control program. Information stored during the operation of the passenger boarding bridge 1 is also stored in the storage unit.

  Next, an example of the operation of the passenger boarding bridge 1 will be described. The operation of the passenger boarding bridge 1 is realized by the control of the control device 30.

〔Automatic control〕
First, a case where the passenger boarding bridge 1 is automatically controlled will be described. In this case, the passenger boarding bridge 1 is configured to automatically move from a standby position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 to a predetermined target position indicated by a solid line in FIG. However, it is of course possible to perform part or all of the movement by manual operation by the operator.

  In the present embodiment, the target position of the cab 6 is a position away from the door 3a of the aircraft 3 by a predetermined distance SL (for example, 0.6 m) in front of the door 3a. The target posture of the cab 6 is a posture in which the cab 6 faces the door 3a. That is, the posture is such that the bumper 21 side of the cab 6 faces the door 3a straight. As described above, the target position and the target posture of the cab 6 are the position and posture in which the cab 6 is moved backward from the mounting position, which is the position where the cab 6 is mounted on the door 3a, by the predetermined distance SL. Is set to The control device 30 is configured to forcibly stop the movement of the passenger boarding bridge 1 when the detection distance of the distance sensor 22 is equal to or less than a predetermined safety distance (for example, 0.5 m) smaller than the predetermined distance SL. Yes.

  By the way, since the position and shape of the door 3 a vary depending on the type of the aircraft 3 and the like, the target position and target posture of the cab 6 vary depending on the type of the aircraft 3. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a plurality of target positions and target postures corresponding to the model are set in advance so that a plurality of types of aircraft can be handled, and the cab 6 takes the target position and target posture corresponding to the model. In addition, the cab 6 is rotated, the tunnel unit 5 is moved up and down, the traveling unit 12 (drive wheels 9) is rotated and traveled. These operations are realized by the control of the control device 30.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation when the passenger boarding bridge 1 is mounted.

  First, in step S11, when the operator presses a model selection button (not shown) on the operation panel 31, the model of the aircraft 3 is selected. Based on this model selection, a predetermined target position and target posture corresponding to the model are determined from a plurality of preset target positions and target postures. Next, the start button (one of the operation switches 33) on the operation panel 31 is pressed to start the following automatic control. In this embodiment, in order to improve safety, the start button is formed of a button that is turned on only when the operator presses the button, that is, a so-called deadman switch button. Accordingly, when the operator releases the button, the automatic control is forcibly stopped.

  Automatic control is performed as follows. Specifically, first, in step S12, various control amounts up to the target position and target attitude based on the model selection and the detection results of the angle sensor 25 of the cab 6, the height sensor 27 of the tunnel unit 5, and the like. The calculation of (the rotation angle of the cab 6, the amount of vertical movement of the tunnel portion 5, the rotation angle of the traveling portion 12, etc.) is performed.

  Based on the calculation result, the drive wheel 9 is controlled in step S13, the cab 6 is rotated in step S14, and the tunnel portion 5 is moved up and down in step S15. In step S13, the two driving wheels 9 are reversely rotated so that the direction of the driving wheels 9 is the direction of the target position of the traveling unit 12, and the traveling unit 12 (two driving wheels 9) is rotated on the spot. After that, the traveling unit 12 (two drive wheels 9) travels in the above direction.

  In step S16, it is determined whether or not the cab 6 is in a target state, that is, a state where the cab 6 is positioned at a predetermined distance SL from the front of the door 3a in a posture facing the door 3a.

  When the cab 6 reaches the target state, it is determined in step S17 whether or not the direction of the drive wheels 9 and the direction of the cab 6 match. If they do not coincide with each other, the process proceeds to step S18, where the two drive wheels 9 are reversely rotated so that the directions of the cabs 6 are aligned, and the traveling unit 12 (two drive wheels 9) is rotated on the spot. When the direction of the drive wheel 9 and the direction of the cab 6 coincide with each other, the automatic control of the passenger boarding bridge 1 is terminated (step S19).

  Thereafter, the operator manually moves the cab 6 toward the door 3a to attach the cab 6 to the door 3a, and the mounting is completed.

  When returning the passenger boarding bridge 1 to the standby position, the operator removes the cab 6 from the door 3a by manual operation, and then presses a deadman switch type return button (one of the operation switches 33) on the operation panel 31. Press to start automatic control to return to the standby position. The control for returning to the standby position is performed in substantially the same manner as the control for moving from the standby position to the target position (however, the moving direction and the like are reversed).

  Here, the process of step S12 and step S13 regarding the traveling part 12 is demonstrated in detail.

  Here, XY orthogonal coordinates as shown in FIG. 1 are used. That is, as absolute coordinates, the center point of the rotander 4 (the position of the rotation axis CL1) is the origin (0, 0), and the X and Y axes are taken as shown in FIG. 1, and the position coordinates of each part of the passenger boarding bridge 1 are taken. Is expressed.

  The reference point of the passenger boarding bridge 1 is the center point of the traveling unit 12 (the position of the rotation axis CL3). The position coordinates such as the center point of the cab 6 (the position of the rotation axis CL2) are calculated from the position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12.

  The standby position coordinates P1 (X1, Y1) of the center point of the traveling unit 12 corresponding to the standby position of the passenger boarding bridge 1 are stored in the control device 30 in advance. The target position coordinates P2 (X2, Y2) of the center point of the traveling unit 12 corresponding to the target position of the passenger boarding bridge 1 are also stored in advance in the control device 30 for each aircraft model. Further, when the passenger boarding bridge 1 is in the standby position, the direction of the traveling unit 12 (the direction of the drive wheels 9) is set to be the same as the longitudinal direction of the tunnel unit 5.

  Based on the standby position coordinates P1 and the target position coordinates P2 corresponding to the model, the control device 30 calculates the rotation angle of the traveling unit 12 for setting the traveling direction from the standby position coordinates P1 to the target position coordinates P2, A rotation speed command (a command of the same speed in the reverse rotation direction to each other) for the left wheel 9L and the right wheel 9R for the traveling unit 12 to rotate on the spot by the rotation angle is output to each drive unit, and the drive wheels 9 Is directed to the traveling direction, and a rotational speed command for each of the left wheel 9L and the right wheel 9R is output to each driving unit so that the traveling unit 12 travels straight at a predetermined speed.

  Further, the control device 30 calculates the current position coordinate P3 of the traveling unit 12 at a predetermined time interval (predetermined period) while the traveling unit 12 is traveling, and each time the current position coordinate P3 is calculated, the current position coordinate P3 is calculated. P3 is compared with the target position coordinate P2, and if they do not match, the target direction for proceeding to the target position coordinate P2 is calculated, and the rotational speed for each of the left wheel 9L and the right wheel 9R based on the target direction The command is output to each drive unit.

  For example, when a turning operation in the right direction is necessary to go to the target direction, the rotation speed of the right wheel 9R is made smaller than the rotation speed of the left wheel 9L as shown in FIG. Therefore, when a leftward turning operation is required, the rotational speed of the left wheel 9L is made smaller than the rotational speed of the right wheel 9R as shown in FIG. In this way, the control device 30 controls the rotational speeds of the left wheel 9L and the right wheel 9R as needed so that the traveling unit 12 can reliably reach the target position (coordinate P2) even while the traveling unit 12 is traveling. doing.

  Further, every time the current position coordinate P3 is calculated, the control device 30 calculates the distance between the current position coordinate P3 and the target position coordinate P2, and when this distance becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance (for example, 0.7 m), the driving is performed. The rotation speed of the wheel 9 is set to a predetermined speed that is slower than before (that is, the vehicle is in a preparatory stage for stopping).

  Next, a method for calculating the current position coordinate P3 of the traveling unit 12 will be described.

  FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining a method of calculating the current position coordinates of the traveling unit 12. 5A and 5B, the X-axis and Y-axis are the same as those in FIG. 1, and the center point of the rotander 4 (position of the rotation axis CL1) is the origin (0, 0).

For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the traveling unit 12 turns by the turning angle θ, and the coordinates of the center point thereof change from the previous position coordinates (X _i , Y _i ) to the current position coordinates (X _{i + 1} , Y _{i + 1} ) is considered (i in the coordinates is 0, 1, 2, 3...).

Here, the center-to-center distance (tread) of the left and right wheels 9L and 9R of the traveling unit 12 is 2T (= 2 × T, a known value), the traveling speed of the turning inner wheel (here, the left wheel 9L) is Vi, and turning. When the traveling speed of the outer wheel (here, the right wheel 9R) is Vo, the traveling speed of the central point of the traveling unit 12 is V, the turning angular speed is ω, and the turning radius is R, the following relationship is established.
Vi = (R−T) · ω (1)
Vo = (R + T) · ω (2)
V = (Vo + Vi) / 2 (3)
ω = (Vo−Vi) / 2T (4)
R = V / ω = T. (Vo + Vi) / (Vo-Vi) (5)
Note that equation (4) is derived from equations (1) and (2). Here, since the tread 2T of the traveling unit 12 is a known value, the turning angular velocity ω and the turning radius R can be obtained by deriving the traveling speeds Vi and Vo of the left and right wheels 9L and 9R. A method for deriving the traveling speeds Vi and Vo will be described later.

Also, assuming that the speeds of the left and right wheels 9L and 9R in a minute unit time do not change, the relationship between the turning angle θ of the traveling unit 12 and the turning angular velocity ω, and the X and Y directions of the traveling speed V at the center point of the traveling unit 12 The component is represented by the following formula.
dθ / dt = ω (6)
dx / dt = V · sinθ (7)
dy / dt = V · cos θ (8)
Therefore, by performing numerical integration in a minute unit time, each movement amount in the X and Y directions is calculated, and each movement amount is added to the immediately preceding position coordinates (X _i , Y _i ) to obtain the current position coordinates (X _{i +1} , Y _{i + 1} ) can be estimated.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5B, the current position coordinates (X _{i + 1} , Y _i ) are rotated from the immediately preceding position coordinates (X _i , Y _i ) by Δθ around the turning center during Δt. ₊₁ ). Here, if the traveling direction of the traveling unit 12 is represented by an angle formed with the X coordinate axis, the traveling direction at the immediately preceding position coordinates (X _i , Y _i ) is represented by an angle θ _i and the current position coordinates (X _{i + 1} , Y _{i + 1} ), the traveling direction is represented by the angle θ _{i + 1} ,
θ _{i + 1} = θ _i + Δθ (9)
It becomes.

At this time, the moving distance ΔL (arc length) of the center point of the traveling unit 12 is
ΔL = 2πR · (Δθ / 2π) = R · Δθ (10)
It becomes.

The moving distance ΔL (arc length) between Δt is approximated as a moving distance ΔL ′ (linear distance) when Δθ is sufficiently small. At this time, if the triangle having the vertex at the immediately previous position coordinates (X _i , Y _i ), the coordinates after (Δt) (X _{i + 1} , Y _{i + 1} ), and the turning center is divided into two, The movement distance ΔL ′ (straight line distance) when Δθ is sufficiently small is expressed by the following equation.
ΔL ′ = 2R sin (Δθ / 2) (11)
Therefore, the coordinates (X _{i + 1} , Y _{i + 1} ) after Δt can be considered as follows.
X _{i + 1} = X _i + ΔL ′ · sin (Δθ / 2) (12)
Y _{i + 1} = Y _i + ΔL ′ · cos (Δθ / 2) (13)
Note that Δθ = ω × Δt (Δt is a predetermined value), and ω can be calculated by the above-described equation (4).

Thus, based on the immediately preceding position coordinates (X _i , Y _i ), the detected traveling speeds Vi and Vo of the left and right wheels 9L and 9R, and the center distance (2T) between the left and right wheels 9L and 9R, The current position coordinates (X _{i + 1} , Y _{i + 1} ) can be obtained.

Therefore, the initial coordinates (X ₀ , Y ₀ ) of the immediately preceding position coordinates (X _i , Y _i ) are set to the predetermined standby position coordinates P1, and the movement amount for a minute time period of Δt is continuously added. The current position coordinates (X _{i + 1} , Y _{i + 1} ) are continuously calculated (estimated).

  Next, a method for deriving the traveling speeds Vi and Vo of the left and right wheels 9L and 9R will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram when sensors 41L and 41R for detecting rotational angular velocities ωL and ωR including the rotational directions of the left and right wheels 9L and 9R are provided. As the sensors 41L and 41R, rotary encoders that can identify the rotation direction can be used.

Assuming that the radii of the left and right wheels 9L and 9R are r (known values), the traveling speed Vi of the left wheel 9L and the traveling speed Vo of the right wheel 9R are:
Vi = r · ωL
Vo = r · ωR
Can be calculated as

  As described above, the sensors 41L and 41R for detecting the rotational angular velocities ωL and ωR of the left and right wheels 9L and 9R are provided to calculate the traveling speeds Vi and Vo, and the current position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12 as described above. Can be calculated.

  In the above description, the traveling speeds Vi and Vo of the left and right wheels 9L and 9R are obtained in order to calculate the current position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The traveling speed of each of the two detection target parts (the left and right wheels 9L and 9R are examples) may be obtained. Here, the two detection target parts are two parts that are separated in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the traveling direction in the traveling unit 12, for example, on the center axis of the axles of the left and right wheels 9L and 9R in plan view, And it is a site | part which is equidistant across the rotating shaft CL3 of the traveling part 12. The detection target part is a virtual part in the traveling unit 12, for example, a speedometer described later (laser Doppler velocimeter as a Doppler velocimeter, an optical flow sensor as an image sensor) attached to the traveling unit 12. It is included as a target part.

  An example using traveling speeds other than the left and right wheels 9L and 9R will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram in the case where a known laser Doppler velocimeter is provided as an example of a Doppler velocimeter in the traveling unit 12, and FIG. 7B is a side view of the laser Doppler velocimeter and wheels. It is the schematic diagram seen from.

  The laser Doppler velocimeters 42L and 42R are attached to the traveling unit 12 via appropriate attachment members (not shown) so as to rotate together with the traveling unit 12 that rotates about the rotation axis CL3.

  The laser Doppler velocimeters 42L and 42R are attached on the center axis of the axles of the left and right wheels 9L and 9R in a plan view and at equidistant positions with the rotation axis CL3 of the traveling unit 12 interposed therebetween. The ground is irradiated with laser light, and the moving direction (traveling direction) and the moving speed (traveling speed) with respect to the ground are detected.

  In this case, the distance between the centers of the two laser Doppler velocimeters 42L and 42R is set to “2T”, the speed detected by one laser Doppler velocimeter 42L is set to “Vi”, and the other laser Doppler velocimeter By setting the speed detected by 42R to “Vo” described above, the current position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12 can be obtained in the same manner as described above.

  Next, FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram when a well-known optical flow sensor is provided as an example of an image sensor in the traveling unit 12, and FIG. 8B is a side view of the optical flow sensor and wheels. FIG. 8C is a diagram illustrating an example of an image photographed by the optical flow sensor.

  The optical flow sensors 43L and 43R include a camera (image sensor) and an image processing unit, and an appropriate attachment member (not shown) is attached to the traveling unit 12 so as to rotate together with the traveling unit 12 that rotates about the rotation axis CL3. Z).

  The optical flow sensors 43L and 43R are mounted on the center axis of the axles of the left and right wheels 9L and 9R in a plan view, and at equidistant positions with the rotation axis CL3 of the traveling unit 12 interposed therebetween, respectively. Is arranged to shoot with a camera. Each of the optical flow sensors 43L and 43R has a moving direction (traveling direction) and a moving speed (traveling speed) with respect to the ground from the texture flow (optical flow) of the ground continuously photographed by the camera at predetermined time intervals (predetermined period). Is configured to detect.

  In this case, the distance between the centers of the two optical flow sensors 43L and 43R is “2T”, the speed detected by one optical flow sensor 43L is “Vi”, and the other optical flow sensor 43R detects the speed. By setting the speed to be “Vo” described above, the current position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12 can be obtained in the same manner as described above.

  A stop position mark 44 is provided at the standby position of the traveling unit 12 (drive wheel 9) of the passenger boarding bridge 1. Therefore, when returning to the standby position by automatic control, as shown in FIG. 8C, when the stop position mark 44 is detected by the optical flow sensor 43, the stop position mark 44 is a predetermined position in the image, for example, The traveling unit 12 may be stopped so that the position indicated by “image 4” is reached, and the current position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12 at that time may be replaced with predetermined standby position coordinates. Thereby, the position of the traveling unit 12 in the standby position coordinates can be initialized.

(Manual control)
Next, a case where the operator manually controls the movement of the passenger boarding bridge 1 by operating the operation lever 32 or the like of the operation panel 31 will be described.

  First, when moving the passenger boarding bridge 1 from the standby position to the mounting position, the operator who has entered the cab 6 visually grasps the position of the door 3a of the aircraft 3 and moves the operation lever 32 in the direction of the door 3a. Push down. By operating the operation lever 32, the traveling unit 12 (two drive wheels 9) rotates on the spot until the traveling direction matches the tilting direction of the operating lever 32, and then travels straight toward the tilting direction. To do. By such operation, the passenger boarding bridge 1 is moved from the standby position to the mounting position, the cab 6 is attached to the door 3a, and the mounting is completed. At this time, the rotation angle of the cab 6 and the elevation height of the tunnel portion 5 and the cab 6 are appropriately adjusted by the operation of the operator according to the position of the door 3 a of the aircraft 3.

  Further, the movement of the passenger boarding bridge 1 from the mounting position to the standby position is performed in substantially the same manner as the movement from the standby position to the mounting position.

  When the passenger boarding bridge 1 is moved by this manual control, the control device 30 obtains the current position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12 as in the case of automatic control, and further, the current position of the center point of the cab 6. The position coordinates are obtained, these data are output to the display device 34, and the current position coordinates are displayed on the display device 34. Accordingly, the operator can perform an operation while referring to the current position coordinates displayed on the display device 34 so that the passenger boarding bridge 1 does not enter the movement prohibited area or the like.

  In the present embodiment, also in the case of the above-described automatic control, the control device 30 obtains the current position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12 and the cab 6 and outputs these data to the display device 34, so that the current The position coordinates are displayed on the display device 34. Thus, the operator can continue the automatic control while monitoring the current position coordinates displayed on the display device 34, and can stop the automatic control if there is any inconvenience.

  In the present embodiment, the current position coordinates of the center points of both the traveling unit 12 and the cab 6 are displayed on the display device 34 in both cases of manual control and automatic control, but only one of them is displayed. You may make it display the present position coordinate of the center point of.

  In the present embodiment, the operation panel 31 having the display device 34 is provided inside the cab 6. However, the operation panel 31 is provided at a location away from the passenger boarding bridge 1, and the passenger boarding bridge 1 is remotely connected. You may be comprised so that manual control and / or automatic control may be possible by operation. Also in this case, the current position coordinate data of the central point of at least one of the traveling unit 12 and the cab 6 is output (transmitted by wireless communication or the like) from the control device 30 to the display device 34 provided in the operation panel 31. The display device 34 can be configured to display the current position coordinates. The display device 34 may be provided in the vicinity of the operation panel 31 separately from the operation panel 31.

  In the present embodiment, a speed detection unit that detects the moving speeds of two detection target parts that are equidistant from each other with the center point (rotation axis CL3) of the traveling unit 12 in between is provided, and the control device 30 is a predetermined speed detection unit. The current position coordinate of the center point of the traveling unit 12 during the traveling operation is obtained based on the moving speed (for example, the traveling speed Vi, Vo) detected in the cycle and the predetermined initial position coordinates (standby position coordinates). ing. Therefore, the conventional angle sensor 23 and distance sensor 24 of the rotander 4 shown in FIG. 9 are not required, and the long signal cable 23a from the angle sensor 23 of the rotander 4 to the control device 30 can be eliminated. The construction cost can be reduced, and the problem of signal delay caused by using the long signal cable 23a can be solved.

Further, as in the prior art shown in FIG. 10, based on the rotation angle θ _{1 of the} rotander 4 detected by the angle sensor 23 and the distance L ₁ detected by the distance sensor 24, the center point (rotation axis CL 3 ) Present position coordinates have the following problems (a) to (c).

(A) Since the tunnel portion 5 is configured so that a plurality of tunnels are telescopically fitted to expand and contract, the tunnel at the tip of the tunnel portion 5 travels when the tunnel portion 5 turns around the rotander 4 as a base end. By being pulled by the portion 12, a slight bend occurs in the turning direction at the connection portion between the tunnels. Therefore, a deviation occurs between the center point of the traveling unit 12 based on the angle θ ₁ detected by the angle sensor 23 and the actual center point of the traveling unit 12, and the calculated current position of the center point of the traveling unit 12 is calculated. There is a problem that an error occurs in coordinates.

(B) Furthermore, since the resolution of the angle sensor 23 is constant, the accuracy of the position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12 calculated based on the angle θ ₁ detected by the angle sensor 23 is the center of the traveling unit 12. There is a problem that the lower the point is from the central point of the rotunda 4, the lower the point is.

(C) The tunnel portion 5 is not always horizontal with respect to the ground, and the portion near the distal end of the tunnel portion 5 is raised and lowered by the lifting mechanism 10 according to the height of the door of the aircraft. When the tunnel portion 5 is inclined in the longitudinal direction, the distance L between the center point of the rotander 4 detected by the distance sensor 24 and the center point of the traveling portion 12 is configured. There is a problem that an error occurs in ₁ and an error occurs in the current position coordinates of the calculated center point of the traveling unit 12.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the angle sensor 23 and the distance sensor 24 of the rotander 4 are not used, the above-described problem can be avoided and the current position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12 can be detected with high accuracy. . Therefore, the current position coordinates of the center point of the cab 6 calculated based on the current position coordinates of the center point of the traveling unit 12 can be detected with high accuracy.

  From the foregoing description, many modifications and other embodiments of the present invention are obvious to one skilled in the art. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be construed as illustrative only and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention. The details of the structure and / or function may be substantially changed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful as a passenger boarding bridge that can eliminate a long signal cable, reduce the construction cost, and solve the problem of signal delay.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Passenger boarding bridge 2 Terminal building 3 Aircraft 4 Rotunda 5 Tunnel part 6 Cab 8 Drive column 9 Drive wheel 9R Right wheel 9L Left wheel 10 Lifting mechanism 30 Controller CL1-CL3 Rotating shaft

Claims (5)

A rotander that is connected to the entrance and exit of the terminal building and can rotate forward and backward around the vertical axis.
A telescopic tunnel portion whose proximal end is connected to the rotander;
A cab rotatably provided at the tip of the tunnel part;
A traveling unit that is rotatably mounted around a rotation axis below a portion near the tip of the tunnel unit, travels on the ground, travels to rotate the tunnel unit about the vertical axis and extend and contract the tunnel unit; ,
A control device that is provided in a portion near the tip of the tunnel part or in the cab and controls the traveling part,
A speed detecting means for detecting, in a period of a predetermined time, a moving speed of each of the two detection target parts separated in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the traveling unit in the traveling unit with respect to the ground in the traveling direction;
The controller is
When the traveling unit is traveling, the traveling speed is detected using the XY Cartesian coordinate system with the position of the vertical axis as the origin each time the moving speed of each of the two detection target parts is detected by the speed detecting unit. Calculating the coordinates of the current position of the rotation axis of the unit, and at that time, based on the moving speed of each of the two detection target parts detected in the cycle of the predetermined time, the traveling unit within the predetermined time The respective movement amounts of the rotation axis in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are sequentially calculated, the respective movement amounts in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction that are sequentially calculated, and a predetermined amount of the rotation shaft of the traveling unit Based on the coordinates of the initial position, configured to calculate the coordinates of the current position,
Passenger boarding bridge. The traveling unit is
It has two drive wheels that are arranged parallel to each other across the rotation shaft and can be independently driven to rotate, and the rotation of the traveling unit according to the rotation direction and the angular velocity of each of the two drive wheels It is configured to determine the moving direction and moving speed of the shaft,
The speed detection means includes
The rotational direction and rotational angular velocity of each of the two driving wheels are detected, the moving speed of each of the driving wheels with respect to the ground is calculated based on the rotational angular velocity of each of the driving wheels, and each of the calculated driving wheels is calculated. Is configured to detect the movement speed of each of the two detection target sites.
The passenger boarding bridge according to claim 1. The speed detection means includes
Two speedometers that are attached to the two respective detection target parts with the rotating shaft sandwiched between the traveling parts and measure the moving speed in the traveling direction are provided.
The passenger boarding bridge according to claim 1. The speedometer is constituted by a Doppler speedometer or an image sensor.
The passenger boarding bridge according to claim 3. The controller is
Based on the calculated coordinates of the current position of the rotating shaft of the traveling unit, the coordinates of the current position of the cab are further calculated, and the calculated coordinates of the current position of the rotating shaft of the traveling unit and the current position of the cab are calculated. Configured to output data of at least one of the coordinates to the display device,
The passenger boarding bridge according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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