Aircraft landing gear snow ski tow bar
First Claim
1. An aircraft tow bar that is adapted for attachment to an aircraft wheel with a snow ski attached to landing gear structure associated with the aircraft wheel, the tow bar comprising:
- a pair of prongs that are positioned relative to each other with a lateral spacing between the prongs, the lateral spacing being dimensioned to receive the aircraft wheel with its associated said snow ski in the lateral spacing between the pair of prongs;
at least one longitudinally extending rod connected to one of the pair of prongs, the rod having a proximal end that is adapted for connection to a motive source to move the rod and its said one prong;
at least one tow bar wheel connected to the prongs for supporting the prongs on a surface for movement of the prongs over the surface in response to moving the rod;
a first pair of connectors on the pair of prongs, the first pair of connectors being positioned laterally opposite each other on laterally opposite sides of the lateral spacing between the pair of prongs, the first pair of connectors being adapted for connection to the aircraft wheel on laterally opposite sides of the aircraft wheel; and
a second pair of connectors on the pair of prongs, the second pair of connectors being positioned laterally opposite each other on laterally opposite sides of the lateral spacing between the pair of prongs, the second pair of connectors being adapted for connection to the aircraft wheel on laterally opposite sides of the aircraft wheel.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A snow ski tow bar adapts a prior art aircraft tow bar for attachment to a landing gear of an aircraft to which a snow ski has been attached. The snow ski tow bar modifies an existing tow bar with a second set of connectors that adapt the snow ski tow bar for connection to the landing gear of the aircraft having the snow ski. In addition, the existing wheels of the prior art tow bar are replaced with a second set of wheels that are spaced outwardly from the original wheels. This positions the second set of wheels on the snow ski tow bar where they are extended outside the lateral width of the snow ski on the landing gear. The second set of wheels support the tow bar in a position above the snow ski with the second set of tow bar connectors connected to the aircraft landing gear.
11 Citations
14 Claims
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1. An aircraft tow bar that is adapted for attachment to an aircraft wheel with a snow ski attached to landing gear structure associated with the aircraft wheel, the tow bar comprising:
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a pair of prongs that are positioned relative to each other with a lateral spacing between the prongs, the lateral spacing being dimensioned to receive the aircraft wheel with its associated said snow ski in the lateral spacing between the pair of prongs; at least one longitudinally extending rod connected to one of the pair of prongs, the rod having a proximal end that is adapted for connection to a motive source to move the rod and its said one prong; at least one tow bar wheel connected to the prongs for supporting the prongs on a surface for movement of the prongs over the surface in response to moving the rod; a first pair of connectors on the pair of prongs, the first pair of connectors being positioned laterally opposite each other on laterally opposite sides of the lateral spacing between the pair of prongs, the first pair of connectors being adapted for connection to the aircraft wheel on laterally opposite sides of the aircraft wheel; and a second pair of connectors on the pair of prongs, the second pair of connectors being positioned laterally opposite each other on laterally opposite sides of the lateral spacing between the pair of prongs, the second pair of connectors being adapted for connection to the aircraft wheel on laterally opposite sides of the aircraft wheel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An aircraft tow bar that is adapted for attachment to an aircraft wheel with a snow ski attached to the landing gear associated with the aircraft wheel, the tow bar comprising:
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a pair of prongs that are positioned relative to each other with a lateral spacing between the pair of prongs, the lateral spacing being dimensioned to receive the aircraft wheel in the lateral spacing between the pair of prongs with the snow ski attached to the aircraft wheel; a plurality of longitudinally extending rods connected to the pair of prongs and extending from the pair of prongs to proximal ends of the rods adapted for attachment to a motive source for moving the rods and thereby moving the pair of prongs; first and second pairs of connectors on the pair of prongs for enabling removable attachment of the prongs to the aircraft wheel when the snow ski is attached to the landing gear structure of the aircraft wheel, and when the snow ski is not attached to the landing gear structure; and
,at least one tow bar wheel operably associated with one of the prongs for supporting the tow bar above a ground surface. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification