Method and apparatus for determining weight and center of gravity of a vehicle
First Claim
1. An apparatus for use in determining the respective weight and center of gravity of different types of aircraft rapidly prior to their successively taking off, each aircraft including at least a pair of laterally spaced main undercarriage wheels and a tail or nose wheel longitudinally spaced from said main under-carriage wheels with the lateral spacing between the main undercarriage wheels as well as the longitudinal spacing between the nose or tail wheels and the main undercarriage wheels varying substantially from one type of aircraft to another, said apparatus comprising in combination:
- (a) a plurality of load measuring devices secured to a roadway in spaced relation one to another and integrally forming part of said roadway, ones of said devices each comprising an elongated aircraft wheel supporting platform extending transversely of said roadway for respectively receiving and supporting the respective varyingly spaced main undercarriage wheels of said different types of aircraft as said aircraft are moved along a common path of travel upon said roadway, said path extending in a direction generally normal to the length of each platform, a further one of said devices comprising an aircraft wheel supporting platform positioned in said path of travel for receiving and supporting the respective nose or tail wheel of said different types of aircraft as said aircraft are moved along said common path of travel;
(b) aircraft weight readout means linked to said load measuring devices for displaying load data measured thereby upon said platforms receiving and supporting thereon said respective aircraft nose or tail and main undercarriage wheels; and
(c) computer means operatively connected in the link between said load measuring devices and said aircraft weight readout means, for use in computing the respective center of gravity of said different types of aircraft following successive arrival of the wheels thereof on said platforms, said computing of said centerof gravity of each respective aircraft utilizing data entered into said computer means, said data comprising nose or tail wheel to main undercarriage wheel spacing and the loads measured by said load measuring devices, whereby following said computing, center of gravity data for the aircraft may be is displayed on said readout means.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for use in determining the weight and the location of the center of gravity of a vehicle, particularly an aircraft prior to its taking off, comprising in combination at least one load-measuring device secured in a roadway and adapted for contacting load-supporting members of the vehicle when such is moved thereover; computer means linked to the load-measuring devices and adapted to receive data therefrom; means for relaying to the operator of the vehicle data computed by the computer means, and sensor means linked to the computer means, the sensor means adapted to read characteristics of the vehicle as it observes the same and alert the computer, programmed for such characteristics. Also disclosed are methods based on use of the disclosed apparatus.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. An apparatus for use in determining the respective weight and center of gravity of different types of aircraft rapidly prior to their successively taking off, each aircraft including at least a pair of laterally spaced main undercarriage wheels and a tail or nose wheel longitudinally spaced from said main under-carriage wheels with the lateral spacing between the main undercarriage wheels as well as the longitudinal spacing between the nose or tail wheels and the main undercarriage wheels varying substantially from one type of aircraft to another, said apparatus comprising in combination:
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(a) a plurality of load measuring devices secured to a roadway in spaced relation one to another and integrally forming part of said roadway, ones of said devices each comprising an elongated aircraft wheel supporting platform extending transversely of said roadway for respectively receiving and supporting the respective varyingly spaced main undercarriage wheels of said different types of aircraft as said aircraft are moved along a common path of travel upon said roadway, said path extending in a direction generally normal to the length of each platform, a further one of said devices comprising an aircraft wheel supporting platform positioned in said path of travel for receiving and supporting the respective nose or tail wheel of said different types of aircraft as said aircraft are moved along said common path of travel; (b) aircraft weight readout means linked to said load measuring devices for displaying load data measured thereby upon said platforms receiving and supporting thereon said respective aircraft nose or tail and main undercarriage wheels; and (c) computer means operatively connected in the link between said load measuring devices and said aircraft weight readout means, for use in computing the respective center of gravity of said different types of aircraft following successive arrival of the wheels thereof on said platforms, said computing of said centerof gravity of each respective aircraft utilizing data entered into said computer means, said data comprising nose or tail wheel to main undercarriage wheel spacing and the loads measured by said load measuring devices, whereby following said computing, center of gravity data for the aircraft may be is displayed on said readout means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for determining the location of the center of gravity of an aircraft, prior to its taking off, said aircraft including a nose or tail wheel and at least a pair of laterally spaced main undercarriage wheels, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) moving the aircraft upon said wheels along a path of travel upon a roadway lengthwise thereof in preparation for take-off, which path of travel is common with other aircraft using said roadway for take-off, said other aircraft having nose or tail wheels whose spacing with respect to their main undercarriage wheels varies substantially as does the lateral spacing of the main undercarriage wheels one to another; (b) maintaining said movement along said path of travel, including passing the wheels of the aircraft over a load measuring means secured to and forming part of said aircraft roadway, said load measuring means comprising a single elongated platform extending transversely of said roadway for contact by all the wheels of said aircraft, as well as those of said other aircraft, as said wheels are received and supported upon said platform for registering the loads carried thereby; (c) registering said loads and entering registered loads data into a computer means linked to said load measuring means; (d) computing the location of the center of gravity of said aircraft utilizing said entered loads data and wheel spacing data of said aircraft also entered into said computer means; and (e) displaying said computed location of center of gravity on a readout means. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A method for determining the location of the center of gravity of an aircraft, prior to its taking off, said aircraft including a nose or tail wheel and at least a pair of laterally spaced main undercarriage wheels, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) moving the aircraft upon said wheels along a path of travel upon a roadway lengthwise thereof in preparation for take-off, which path of travel is common with other aircraft using said roadway for take-off, said other aircraft having nose or tail wheels whose spacing with respect to their main undercarriage wheels varies substantially as does the lateral spacing of the main undercarriage wheels one to another; (b) maintaining said movement along said path of travel including passing the wheels of the aircraft over a load measuring means secured to and forming part of said aircraft roadway, said load measuring means being elongated to extend tranversely of said roadway for contact by all the wheels of said aircraft as well as of said other aircraft, as said wheels are received and supported upon said load measuring means for registering the loads carried thereby; (c) registering said loads and entering registered loads data into a computer means linked to said load measuring means; (d) computing the location of the center of gravity of said aircraft utilizing said entered loads data and wheel spacing data of said aircraft also entered into said computer means; and (e) displaying said computed location of center of gravity on a readout means.
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20. A method for determining the center of gravity and the static weight of aircraft respectively one after another while each in turn is parked prior to preparation for take-off, said aircraft including a nose or tail wheel and at least a pair of laterally spaced main undercarriage wheels providing a three-point support for the aircraft and wherein the spacing between said nose or tail wheels and the main undercarriage wheels may vary substantially from one aircraft to another, and wherein the lateral spacing between said main undercarriage wheels may vary substantially from one aircraft to another, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) moving a first one of said aircraft upon its wheels along a path of travel upon a roadway therefor, said path of travel being in common with that of other different aircraft using said roadway; (b) maintaining said movement of said first of said aircraft along said path of travel, including placing and parking the respective wheels thereof upon respective load measuring devices positioned in spaced relation one to another and forming part of said roadway for registering the respective loads carried by said respective wheels, said load measuring devices secured to said roadway and each including an aircraft wheel supporting platform whose top surface area is sufficient to receive and support the respective wheels of said respective aircraft as they pass along said common path of travel; (c) registering said respective wheel loads as said aircraft wheels rest upon said platform; (d) computing with a computer means the center of gravity of said first one of said aircraft, said computing utilizing at least the load data registered in step (c) and nose or tail wheel to main undercarriage wheel spacing data pertaining to said aircraft; (e) moving said first one of said aircraft to remove the wheels thereof from said platforms; (f) moving a second one of said aircraft upon its wheels along said path of travel upon said roadway; (g) maintaining said movement of said second one of said aircraft along said path of travel and while maintaining said load measuring devices in position in said spaced relation one to another, placing and parking the respective wheels of said second one of said aircraft upon said respective wheel supporting platforms for registering the respective wheel loads of said second one of said aircraft; (h) registering said respective wheel loads of said second one of said aircraft as the wheels thereof rest upon said platforms; and (i) computing with a computer means the center of gravity of said second one of said aircraft, said computing utilizing at least the load data registered in step (h) and nose or tail wheel to main undercarriage wheel spacing data pertaining to said second one of said aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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24. An apparatus for use in determining the respective dynamic weight and center of gravity of different types of aircraft rapidly prior to their successively taking off, each aircraft including at least a pair of laterally spaced main undercarriage wheels and a tail or nose wheel longitudinally spaced from said main undercarrige wheels with the lateral spacing between the main undercarriage wheels as well as the longitudinal spacing between the nose or tail wheels and the main undercarriage wheels varying substantially from one type of aircraft to another, said apparatus comprising in combination:
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(a) a single load measuring device secured to a roadway and including an elongated aircraft wheel supporting platform extending transversely of said roadway for successively receiving and supporting the respective nose or tail wheel and varying spaced main undercarriage wheels of said different types of aircraft as said aircraft are moved along a common path of travel upon said roadway, said path extending in a direction generally normal to the length of said platform; (b) aircraft weight readout means linked to said load measuring device for displaying load data measured thereby upon said platform receiving and supporting thereon said respective aircraft nose or tail and main undercarriage wheels; and (c) computer means operatively connected in the link between said load measuring device and said aircraft weight readout means for computing the respective center of gravity of said different aircraft following successive arrival of the wheels thereof on said platform, said computing of the respective center of gravity of each aircraft utilizing data entered into said computer means, said data comprising nose or tail wheel to main undercarriage wheel spacing and the loads measured by said load measuring device, whereby following said computing, center of gravity data for the aircraft is displayed on said readout means. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification