JP2572287B2 - Boarding bridge - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a boarding bridge connecting an airport building and an aircraft, and more particularly, to a cab leveling device provided at a tip of a passage body thereof.

(Prior art) In general, in a boarding bridge connecting an airport building and an aircraft, a passage body whose length can be extended or retracted can be moved in and out of the aircraft by a drive column and can be moved up and down according to the height of the aircraft. It is supported by. In addition, a cab, which is a connection room with an aircraft, is connected to the end of the passage body, and a level maintaining device for keeping the cab level regardless of the inclination of the passage body is provided.

Such a horizontal maintenance device includes a driving means such as a cylinder for rotating the cab around a connecting hinge (horizontal axis) for connecting the cab to the passage body, and a pendulum attached to the cab. It is known to control the driving means to level the cab based on the relative angle of the cab (see US Pat. No. 3,561,030).

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-described conventional horizontal maintenance device, the sensitivity of angle detection by a pendulum is poor, and there is a tendency to lack responsiveness and the like.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to use a highly sensitive detection means instead of a pendulum, and to always keep the cab horizontal regardless of the inclination of the passage body. Is to do so.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, a solution of the present invention is to provide a passage body whose length can be changed in length so that it can advance and retreat with respect to the aircraft by a drive column and according to the height of the aircraft. It is assumed that a boarding bridge is provided so as to be able to move up and down, and a cab is provided at the end of the passage body so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis by a driving means.

A length detecting means for detecting a length of the passage body; a height detecting means for detecting a height above the ground of the passage body at the support position of the drive column; And control means for controlling the driving means so that the cab is always horizontal regardless of the inclination.

(Operation) With the above configuration, in the present invention, the length of the passage body is detected by the length detection means, and the height of the passage body at the support position of the drive column is detected by the height detection means, respectively.
The control means calculates the inclination of the passage body from these detection results, and controls the operation of the driving means to bend the cab and the passage body from the linearly connected state by the inclination. Thereby, the cab is always kept horizontal regardless of the inclination of the passage body.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an entire configuration of a boarding bridge A according to an embodiment of the present invention. This boarding bridge A
Connects the aerial building B and the airframe P of the aircraft, and the passage body 1 has a first passage body 2 on the base end side (airport building B side) and a second passage on the distal end side (aircraft side). The entire length is configured to be expanded and contracted by being inserted into the body 3 and pulling out the second passage body 3. The base end of the first passage body 2 is
It is rotatably connected via a hinge 5 to a rotor 4 connected to the airport building B, and the rotor 4 is rotatably supported on a rotor column 6 erected on the ground G. .

The second passage body 3 is supported by a drive column 7 capable of self-running on the ground G. The length of the second passage body 3 is such that the passage body 1 advances and retreats with respect to the aircraft P as the drive column 7 self-runs. Is expanded and contracted, and the passage body 1 is moved up and down with the hinge 5 as a fulcrum according to the height of the machine body P by the operation of a later-described elevating device 44 of the drive column 7. A cab 8 is connected to a tip of the second passage body 3.

The structure of the drive column 7 is shown in FIGS. That is, the drive column 7 includes an upper frame 16 that supports the second passage body 3 and a pair of left and right wheels.
And a bogie 18 for pivotally supporting 17,17. Forward and reverse rotation motors 19, 19 with reduction gears for independently rotating the right and left wheels 17, 17 are installed on the carriage 18, and the carriage 18
The upper frame 16 is rotatable around a vertical axis on the carriage 18 via a swivel member 20. It is supported by.

The upper frame 16 is provided on a gantry 21 with a pair of left and right hollow pillars 22,2.
2 is erected to form a U-shape surrounding the passage body 3. Each of the hollow columns 22 is formed by connecting the front and rear two square pipes 23a, 23b with an outer wall plate 24, and inside thereof, reinforcing members 25a, 25b fixed to the respective square pipes 23a, 23b.
And edge members 26a, 26b fixed to the side edges of the reinforcing members 25a, 25b. A long groove 27 is formed between the edge members 26a and 26b, and a space surrounded by the constituent members of the hollow column 22 (the square pipes 23a and 23b and the outer wall 24) is an elevating chamber 28. Guide members 29a and 29b are provided on the walls of the square pipes 23a and 23b in the lift chamber 28 so as to be position-adjustable.
Groove-shaped guides 30a, 30b are formed between a, 29b and the edge members 26a, 26b.

A ball screw 31 extending in the vertical direction is arranged in the elevating chamber 28, and the ball screw 31 is rotatably supported by a bearing portion 32 such as a thrust bearing provided at a lower portion of the hollow column 22, At the lower end of the ball screw 31, a sprocket 33 is mounted. On the other hand, at the center of the upper surface of the gantry 21, a motor 34 with a speed reducer is disposed with its drive shaft 34a facing downward, and two sprockets 35, 35 are mounted on the drive shaft 34a of the motor 34, A chain 36 is wound around each sprocket 35 and the sprocket 33 at the lower end of the ball screw 31.

A connecting member 37 is fixed to the lower surface of the passage body 3, and the ball screw is provided at both ends of the connecting member 37.
An elevating member 38 (only the right side is shown in the figure) screwed to 31 is fixed. On both sides of the passage body 3, mounting members 39a, 39b are provided vertically above and below the connecting member 37, and the mounting members 39a, 39b are provided with rollers 41a, 41 via support shafts 40a, 40b.
The roller b is rotatably mounted, and the rollers 41a and 41b are fitted in the long groove 27. Also, the upper mounting member 39
a pair of rollers 43a, 4a at the center of
3b is rotatably mounted on each of the rollers 43a, 43b.
Are fitted in the groove guides 30a and 30b, respectively.

As described above, the elevating device 44 that supports the passage body 1 so as to be able to move up and down is configured. The ball screw 31 is rotated by the driving of the motor 34, and the elevating member 38 is moved up and down by screw feed. It moves up and down around the hinge 5. At this time, the upper and lower rollers 41a, 41b move along the long groove 27 while regulating the displacement in the front-rear direction, and the rollers 43a,
43b moves along the groove guides 30a, 30b while restricting displacement in the left-right direction.

Further, at the upper part and the lower part of each of the hollow columns 22, curtain-shaped body winding devices 46, 47 are provided, respectively, and each of the curtain-shaped body winding devices 46, 47 is a spring having a built-in curtain-shaped body 46a, 47a. It is built in such that it can be wound by elastic force and can be extended toward the center along the inner wall of the hollow column 22. The ends of the two curtains 46a, 47a are connected to each other via a rectangular plate 48, and the plate 48 is attached to the support shafts 40a, 40b and the bracket 4a.
2 are inserted respectively. Corresponding to the curtains 46a, 47a and the plate member 48, the inner wall of the hollow column 22 (the reinforcing members 25a, 25a
In b), a pair of L-shaped guide members 49a and 49b for guiding the side edges of the curtains 46a and 47a and the plate member 48 are fixed. Thus, the curtains 46a, 47a and the plate 48 are formed by the ball screw 31, the long groove 27, and the groove guides 30a, 30b in the hollow column 22.
And the rollers 41a, 41b, 43a, 43b are shielded from the outside, and when the passage body 1 is moved up and down by the operation of the elevating device 44, the plate member 48 and the curtains 46a, 47a are vertically moved together with the elevating member 38 while keeping this shielded state. Move, and the curtain winding devices 46 and 47 move the curtain 4
6a and 47 are configured to be wound in and fed out, respectively.

On the other hand, the cab 8 has a hinge 51 at the tip of the passage body 1 (second passage body 3) supported by the drive column 7.
Are connected rotatably via the
Cylinder device as driving means for rotating the cab 8 around the hinge 51 as a horizontal axis
52 are arranged. The operation of the cylinder device 52 is controlled by a controller 53 as a control means having a CPU and the like. The controller 53 has the length of the passage body 1 (between the front and rear hinges 5, 51). Length) L
, And a detection signal from a height detecting means 55 for detecting the ground height H1 of the passage body 1 at the position where the drive column 7 is supported.

The specific configuration of the length detecting means 54 is shown in FIGS.
This is shown in FIG. 7 and 8 are a plan view and a side view, respectively, showing a floor portion of the first passage body 2, and FIG.
FIG. 10 and FIG. 10 are a plan view and a side view, respectively, showing a floor portion of the second passage body 3, FIG. 11 is a view taken along the line XI-XI in FIG. 9, FIG. The figure is an arrow view taken along the line XII-XII and the line XIII-XIII in FIG. 7, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the floor panel 61 constituting the floor of the first passage body 2 has a large number of projections 62a, 62a,. A striker 62 is attached. 9 and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of limit switches 64,... Corresponding to the strikers 62 are provided on a floor panel 63 constituting a floor portion of the second passage body 3. As shown in detail in FIG. 11, each of the limit switches 61 has an arm 65 as a contact, and the arm 65 contacts the protrusion 62a of the striker 62 to output a pulse signal. is there. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, the two limit switches 64, 64
If the floor panel 63 of the second passage body 3 moves leftward in the drawing with respect to the floor panel 61 of the first passage body 2 if the space panel is provided at a slightly wider space than the space between 2a and 62a, By sequentially outputting a pulse signal from the limit switch 64, it is detected that the passage body 1 is in the shortening direction, and the length L of the passage body 1 expanded and contracted according to the number of times of contact is detected.
When the passage body 1 is in the most extended state, as shown in FIG. 13, the right limit switch 64 does not come into contact with the projection 62a of the striker 62 and does not output a pulse signal. Is detected. The length detecting means 54 is configured as described above.

Further, the height detecting means 55 is provided with the motor 34 of the lifting device 44.
The height above the passage body 1 at the support position of the drive column 2 is detected from the rotation of the drive column 2. That is,
As shown in detail in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, the rotational force of the motor 34 is attached to the tip of the drive shaft 34a with respect to the rotary shaft 72 which is supported on the gantry 21 via a pair of bearings 71, 71. The transmission is performed via the sprocket 73, the chain 74, and the sprocket 75 that are provided. The rotary shaft 72 has a detection rotary plate 76 having a plurality of teeth 76a, 76a,... Are mutually rotating detection plates 76
Are arranged with a space slightly larger than the space between adjacent tooth portions 76a, 76a. Both proximity switches 7
7, 77 detects the approach of the tooth portion 76a of the rotation detection plate 76 and outputs a pulse signal.
From the pulse signal output from 7, the vertical change amount of the drive column 7 and the ground height H1 of the passage body 1 at the support position of the drive column 7 are detected through the rotation of the motor 34.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. When the aircraft stops at a position near the airport building B, in the boarding bridge A, the drive column 7 moves so as to approach the fuselage P of the aircraft. The path body 1 expands and contracts with the movement of 7. In addition, immediately before and after the movement of the drive column 7, the lifting / lowering device 44 of the drive column 7 is operated, and the passage body 1 is moved up and down around the hinge 5 in accordance with the height of the aircraft, and the inclination changes.

At this time, the length L of the passage body 1 is detected by the length detecting means 54, and the ground height H1 of the passage body 1 at the support position of the drive column 7 is detected by the height detecting means 55. Then, in the controller 53 receiving the detection signals from the two detecting means 54 and 55, the ground height H2 at the position of the hinge 7 of the passage body 1 stored in advance and the two detection values (the length L of the passage body 1 and the ground height) are stored. From the height H1), the inclination angle θ of the passage body 1 with respect to the horizontal line is calculated, and the cylinder device 52 is bent so that the cab 8 corresponding to the inclination angle θ is bent from the linearly connected state to the passage body 1 around the hinge 51. Is controlled. Accordingly, the cab 8 is always kept horizontal regardless of the inclination of the passage body 1, and the connection of the boarding bridge A to the fuselage P of the aircraft is performed well.

In addition, the length detecting means 54 and the height detecting means 55
Is composed of a limit switch 64 or a proximity switch 76 with good performance which is widely used in other devices. Therefore, the horizontal control of the cab 8 based on the detection results of the two detection means 54 and 55 (the cylinder The accuracy and responsiveness of the operation control of the device 52) can be improved.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the boarding bridge of the present invention, the length of the passage body and the height above the ground are each accurately detected by the detecting means, and the inclination cab and the passage of the passage body calculated from these detection results. Since the operation of the driving means is controlled so as to bend the body from the linearly connected state, the cab can always be maintained horizontally with good responsiveness regardless of the inclination of the passage body.

[Brief description of the drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view showing the entire structure of a boarding bridge, FIG. 2 is a front view of a drive column seen partially cut away, and FIG. FIG. 4, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6 are views taken along the line III-III in FIG.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line VI-VI, and FIG. 7 and FIG.
9 and 10 are a plan view and a side view, respectively, showing the floor portion of the second passage body, FIG. 11 is a view taken along the line XI-XI in FIG. 9, FIG. 12 and FIG. Figure 13 shows ninth
FIG. 3 is an arrow view as viewed along the lines XII-XII and XIII-XIII in the figure. FIG. 14 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line XIV-XIV in FIG. 2, and FIG. 15 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line XV-XV in FIG. A: Boarding bridge 1: Passage 7: Drive column 8: Cab 51: Hinge (horizontal axis) 52: Cylinder device (driving means) 53: Controller (control means) 54: Length detection Means 55 ... Height detection means

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A passage body whose length can be changed in length is supported by a drive column so as to be able to advance and retreat with respect to an aircraft and to be able to ascend and descend according to the height of the aircraft, and a cab is provided at a tip of the passage body. In a boarding bridge rotatably provided around a horizontal axis by a driving means, a length detecting means for detecting a length of the passage body, and a height for detecting a ground height of the passage body at a support position of the drive column. Detection means, and control means for calculating the inclination of the passage body from the detection results of the two detection means, and controlling the driving means so that the cab is always horizontal regardless of the inclination. Boarding bridge.