Helicopter landing pad

• US 8,297,552 B2
• Filed: 01/21/2010
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: I/O Controls Corporation
• Original Assignee: I/O Controls Corporation
• Inventors: Ying, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Ellis, Christopher P
• Assistant Examiner(s): Badawi, Medhat
• Application Number:
  US12/691,558
• Publication Number:
  US 20110174925A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,013 Days
• Field of Search: 244/114.R, 244/110.F, 244/110.E, 244/115, 244/116, 244/137.1, 244/137.4, 244/138, 244/1.R, 52/66, 52/69, 52/17, 410/12, 410/77, 294/82.3
• US Class Current: 244/114.R
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 1/005 Protective coverings for aircraft not in use
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 1/007 Helicopter portable landing pads
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 1/18 Visual or acoustic landing aids taxiing aids B64F1/002
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 1/222 for storing aircraft, e.g. in hangars

Abstract

A mobile helicopter landing pad comprises a platform with one or more elongate, concave guiding channels for aligning a helicopter on the landing pad by forcing the helicopter'"'"'s skates into a specific alignment upon landing. The guiding channels may have laterally disposed rollers or else be made of slick material to allow the helicopter to slide towards the base of the guiding channel under the helicopter'"'"'s own weight. Additional crosswise rollers at the bottom of the guiding channel(s) may be provided to allow the helicopter to be moved forward or backward after landing. A blade locking arm swings upward and secures the top rotor. The pad may include a foldable enclosure that protects the helicopter after landing, and an electronic guidance system that assists the pilot during landing by providing instructions to the pilot or visual indications of the prevailing wind direction and velocity, through illuminated signals on the platform.

Claims

1. A helicopter landing pad, comprising:

a platform; and

at least one guiding channel atop said platform, said at least one guiding channel having a pair of opposing tapered or concave sidewalls meeting at a channel base, said guiding channel configured to receive a landing strut of a helicopter whereby the helicopter'"'"'s weight self-aligns the landing strut along the channel base.

2. The helicopter landing pad of claim 1, wherein said at least one guiding channel is V-shaped.

3. The helicopter landing pad of claim 1, wherein said at least one guiding channel is bowl-shaped.

4. The helicopter landing pad of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of rollers disposed laterally on each of sidewalls configured to slidably engage the landing strut of the helicopter upon touchdown.

5. The helicopter landing pad of claim 1, wherein said tapered or concave sidewalls are made from a slick material so that when a helicopter touches down, its landing strut slides down one of the tapered walls towards the channel base due to the weight of the helicopter.

6. The helicopter landing pad of claim 1, wherein said at least one guiding channel comprises a left guiding channel and a right guiding channel disposed in parallel.

7. The helicopter landing pad of claim 6, wherein said left and right guiding channels are mechanically adjustable to alter their distance of separation to accommodate different width spreads of helicopter landing gear.

8. The helicopter landing pad of claim 7, further comprising a threaded shaft coupled to said left and right guiding channels for mechanically adjusting their relative distance of separation when the threaded shaft is rotated.

9. The helicopter landing pad of claim 1, wherein said at least one guiding channel is rotatable atop said platform.

10. The helicopter landing pad of claim 9, wherein platform is mechanized to allow rotation of said at least one guiding channel atop said platform.

11. The helicopter landing pad of claim 10, further comprising a wind direction sensor input, wherein said at least one guiding channel automatically rotates to face a prevailing wind direction based at least in part on said wind direction sensor input.

12. The helicopter landing pad of claim 11, wherein said at least one guiding channel is configured to lock into a fixed direction when an approaching helicopter reaches a predetermined distance from the platform.

13. The helicopter landing pad of claim 1, further comprising a guidance system including visual indicators providing alignment information for an approaching helicopter, in response to a detected direction of approach of the helicopter.

14. The helicopter landing pad of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of wheels disposed beneath the platform to allow towing or transportation of the helicopter landing pad.

15. The helicopter landing pad of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of rollers transversely disposed across the channel base, said rollers configured to permit forward or rearward movement of the helicopter after landing and after the helicopter landing strut has settled in the channel base.

16. The helicopter landing pad of claim 1, further comprising a blade locking arm coupled to said platform, said blade locking arm configured to engage with a top rotor of the helicopter after landing.

17. The helicopter landing pad of claim 16, wherein said blade locking arm is retractable beneath said platform.

18. The helicopter landing pad of claim 17, wherein said blade locking arm is hingably coupled to said platform, whereby said blade locking arm swings upward from a disengaged position to an engaged position to secure the top rotor of the helicopter into a fixed position aligned with a center axis of the platform parallel with said at least one guiding channel.

19. The helicopter landing pad of claim 16, wherein said blade locking arm comprises visual display indicia indicating one or both of a wind direction and wind speed.

20. The helicopter landing pad of claim 19, further comprising a wind speed detector and a wind direction sensor having sensor outputs coupled to an onboard controller, said controller controlling said visual display indicia of said blade locking arm.

21. The helicopter landing pad of claim 1, further comprising a folding housing shell attached to said platform.

22. The helicopter landing pad of claim 21, wherein said folding housing shell comprises right and left outer enclosure members that unfold from a flattened position to an unfurled position to form an enclosure surrounding the helicopter after landing.

23. The helicopter landing pad of claim 22, wherein each of said outer enclosure members comprises at least two folding panels.

24. The helicopter landing pad of claim 22, wherein said folding housing shell further comprises a front door and a rear door coupled to said platform, said front door and said rear door movable from an open position to a closed position covering front and rear openings respectively of the folding housing shell.

25. The helicopter landing pad of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of beacons electrically coupled to an onboard processor disposed on said helicopter landing pad, said beacons each comprising a receiver for receiving wireless transmissions from the helicopter whereby said onboard processor determines a relative orientation of the helicopter with respect to the helicopter landing pad.

26. The helicopter landing pad of claim 25, wherein said onboard processor activates visual indicia to guide the helicopter towards the helicopter landing pad based upon the relative orientation of the helicopter with respect to the helicopter landing pad.

27. The helicopter landing pad of claim 25, wherein at least one of said beacons further comprises a transmitter, and wherein said onboard processor transmits positional information to the helicopter via said beacon.