Aircraft docking system

• US 4,249,159 A
• Filed: 10/17/1977
• Issued: 02/03/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Thomas A. Stasko
• Original Assignee: Thomas A. Stasko
• Inventors: Stasko, Thomas A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Groody, James J.
• Application Number:
  US05/842,468
• Time in Patent Office: 1,205 Days
• Field of Search: 340/23, 340/47, 340/26, 340/51, 340/27 NA, 340/31 R, 340/41 A, 340/22, 340/38 R, 340/38 P, 250/203 R, 244/114 R, 356/138, 356/153, 246/187 B, 114/261, 364/424
• US Class Current: 340/958
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 1/002 Taxiing aids
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 located on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/065 Navigation or guidance aids, e.g. for taxiing or rolling

Abstract

An aircraft ground guidance and parking system consisting of a lighting display unit adapted to be mounted at a parking station pointing directly down the on-course center line to be followed by the incoming taxying aircraft and at an elevation for viewing from the cockpit of the aircraft, the lighting display unit including an array of traffic lights, a scanning system for reading successive indicia on the side of the aircraft as it passes by a location at the parking station and thereby generating successive signals, and a control unit responsive to the signals to illuminate the traffic lights in successively different modes of operation to signal the pilot of the aircraft when to slow and to halt the aircraft, the lighting display unit further including an optical system for emitting narrow beams of light visible to the pilot of the aircraft through predetermined sectors at angles on both sides of the on-course center line and which selectively appear to extinguish or illuminate to indicate to the pilot his lateral relationship to the center line as he taxies toward the parking station.

Claims

1. An aircraft ground guidance and parking system comprising a lighting display unit adapted to be mounted at a parking station pointing directly down the on-course center line to be followed by the incoming taxying aircraft and at an elevation for viewing from the cockpit of the aircraft, said lighting display unit comprising:

an array of more than one traffic light of different characteristics facing the incoming aircraft,

a control unit for selectively controlling said lights,

means for scanning a series of successive indicia on a lateral surface of the aircraft as it passes by a predetermined location at said parking station and thereby generating successive positions of the aircraft as it closes on said parking station, and

means for transmitting said signals to said control unit,

said control unit being responsive to said signals selectively to illuminate one or more of said traffic lights in predetermined modes of operation to signal the pilot of the aircraft when to slow and to halt the aircraft.

2. The system of claim 1 including a manual control associated with said control unit to permit ground personnel to override the signals generated by said scanning means.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said lighting display unit includes means on either side of said array for emitting narrow beams of light visible as distinct light bars to the pilot of the aircraft only through predetermined sectors at angles on both sides of said on-course center line and which selectively appear to extinguish or illuminate to indicate to the pilot his lateral relationship to said line as he taxies toward said parking station.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said narrow beams of light are vertical light bars located on either side of said array, some of which are of different lengths than others, only the two most closely adjacent to said array being visible to the pilot when the taxying aircraft is on course on said center line.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said two most closely adjacent light bars are distinctly longer than the other light bars and wherein there are two sets of three other light bars each set being adjacent and outboard of a longer light bar.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein said light emitting means is so disposed and arranged that additional bars of said sets of lights appear to illuminate successively the further off course the aircraft to the corresponding side of said center line and to extinguish successively as the course is corrected.

7. The system of claim 3 wherein said light emitting means is so disposed and arranged that said narrow beams of light are visible through only a narrow sector in the horizontal plane while being visible through a wide sector in the vertical plane so as to be viewable from the ground in front of said display unit.

8. The system of claim 3 wherein said lighting display unit includes a housing, a light source, a translucent screen illuminated by said source, and baffles and slotted openings arranged to limit visibility of said screen to said predetermined sectors.

9. The system of claim 1 including means coupling said control unit to an existing computerized air traffic control system whereby said traffic lights may be automatically activated to signal the pilot when to start engines and leave said parking station without the intervention of voice commands.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said array comprises a set of traffic lights, one red, one amber and one green.