General aviation portable electric towbar
AssigneeScott Jonathan Ketcham
InventorScott Jonathan Ketcham
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A general aviation portable electric towbar that uses a frame to couple to the aircraft on one end, has a handle on the other end for the operator to press a drive roller against the wheel to be driven. The chuck of a drill directly mounts to a drive roller shaft without any other method of motion transfer. Since the drill is mounted on the opposite end as the handle, the drill is controlled by a remote trigger mechanism. Since this configuration can use a drill that is commonly available that directly drives a drive roller without any other method of motion transfer, this device has few parts which reduces weight, costs and complexity, making for a simple, reliable, lightweight and affordable portable electric towbar for general aviation use.
Claims12
A general aviation portable electric towbar apparatus for moving an aircraft, comprising:
- a frame having an attachment mechanism configured to detachably couple to an aircraft wheel, the frame configured to allow lateral movement to control the direction of tow and vertical movement to apply a force for pressing a drive roller into the wheel being driven;
- a drive roller supported by the frame that is configured to push against the wheel being driven, the drive roller having an axis of rotation parallel to that of an axis of rotation of the wheel being driven;
- a drill with a chuck and a drill trigger, the chuck that mounts directly to a shaft of the drive roller without any other method of motion transfer between the two;
- a handle coupled to the frame such that the handle is used to apply a vertical force to press the drive roller into the wheel being driven and a lateral force to move the wheel from side to side for steering;
- and
- a remote trigger mechanism configured to activate the drill trigger from the handle end of the frame.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.