Universal aircraft nosewheel cradle and tug assembly
First Claim
1. An aircraft nosewheel cradle assembly for an aircraft tug, comprising:
- a cradle member having an upper surface with a front edge, a transverse axis extending substantially parallel with the front edge, and a longitudinal axis perpendicular to the transverse axis and substantially parallel with the upper surface, pivot attachment means for pivotally attaching the cradle member to the tug for rotatable motion solely about said transverse axis between a lowered aircraft loading position and an elevated aircraft transport position;
means for moving said cradle member between said loading position and said transport position;
a pair of lateral substantially mutually parallel arms adjustably mounted to the upper surface of the cradle member substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis, means for adjustably mounting said lateral arms to provide lateral adjustment in a direction parallel to said transverse axis, each lateral arm having plural rear gate receiving means for mounting a rear gate thereto; and
a rear gate adjustably mounted to one of the plural rear gate receiving means on each of the lateral arms substantially parallel with the transverse axis, said plural rear gate receiving means providing longitudinal adjustment of said rear gate in a direction parallel to said longitudinal axis, so as to define an aircraft nosewheel receiving corral on the upper surface of the cradle member between the lateral arms and the rear gate, with the corral size adjustable to accommodate varying sized aircraft nosewheels.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An aircraft tug assembly is provided for moving an aircraft on the ground. The tug assembly includes a self-propelled chassis responsive to operator control. A cradle assembly is pivotally attached to a front portion of the chassis. The cradle assembly has an adjustable nosewheel receiving apparatus comprising two lateral arms adjustably engaged with a rear gate to define a nosewheel receiving corral therebetween, with the corral sizable to accommodate varying sized aircraft nosewheels. The chassis has a winch for pulling an aircraft nosewheel onto the cradle assembly and into the corral. An optional front gate may be used to enclosed the nosewheel within the corral. Hydraulic actuators lift the cradle assembly with the nosewheel thereon so the tug assembly may move the aircraft without starting the aircraft engine.
34 Citations
17 Claims
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1. An aircraft nosewheel cradle assembly for an aircraft tug, comprising:
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a cradle member having an upper surface with a front edge, a transverse axis extending substantially parallel with the front edge, and a longitudinal axis perpendicular to the transverse axis and substantially parallel with the upper surface, pivot attachment means for pivotally attaching the cradle member to the tug for rotatable motion solely about said transverse axis between a lowered aircraft loading position and an elevated aircraft transport position; means for moving said cradle member between said loading position and said transport position; a pair of lateral substantially mutually parallel arms adjustably mounted to the upper surface of the cradle member substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis, means for adjustably mounting said lateral arms to provide lateral adjustment in a direction parallel to said transverse axis, each lateral arm having plural rear gate receiving means for mounting a rear gate thereto; and a rear gate adjustably mounted to one of the plural rear gate receiving means on each of the lateral arms substantially parallel with the transverse axis, said plural rear gate receiving means providing longitudinal adjustment of said rear gate in a direction parallel to said longitudinal axis, so as to define an aircraft nosewheel receiving corral on the upper surface of the cradle member between the lateral arms and the rear gate, with the corral size adjustable to accommodate varying sized aircraft nosewheels. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An aircraft tug assembly for moving an aircraft having a nosewheel, the tug assembly comprising:
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a self-propelled chassis responsive to operator controlled means, the chassis having a front portion; a nosewheel cradle assembly comprising; a cradle member having an upper surface with a front edge, a transverse axis extending substantially parallel with the front edge, and a longitudinal axis perpendicular to the transverse axis and substantially parallel with the upper surface, pivot attachment means for pivotally attaching the cradle member to the chassis front portion for rotation solely, about said transverse axis between a lowered aircraft loading position and an elevated aircraft transport position; means for moving said cradle member between said loading position and said transport position; a pair of lateral substantially mutually parallel arms adjustably mounted to the upper surface of the cradle member substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis, means for adjustably mounting said lateral arms to provide lateral adjustment in a direction parallel to said transverse axis, each lateral arm having plural rear gate receiving means for mounting a rear gate thereto; a rear gate adjustably mounted to one of the plural rear gate receiving means on each of the lateral arms substantially parallel with the transverse axis, said plural rear gate receiving means providing longitudinal adjustment of said rear gate in a direction parallel to said longitudinal axis, so as to define an aircraft nosewheel receiving corral on the upper surface of the cradle member between the lateral arms and the rear gate, with the corral size adjustable to accommodate varying sized aircraft nosewheels; and winch means secured to the chassis for pulling the aircraft nosewheel onto the cradle member upper surface and into the aircraft nosewheel receiving corral. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification