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AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsThomas Skyler Sartorius, Robert E. Grip, Eric Daniel Davidson
Estimating the term…
Height adjustment devices can temporarily and selectively adjust a height of at least a first portion of a first aircraft while the first aircraft is engaged with the height adjustment device by tilting, lifting, and/or lowering the first aircraft and/or a second, adjacent aircraft. The height adjustment device is at least partially integrated into an apron of an airport where the aircraft are located, and the height adjustment device is configured to guide the first aircraft to transition the first aircraft from an entering position to a final position. The height adjustment device may be configured to position the first aircraft in a level orientation in the final position and prevent interference with the adjacent aircraft while the first aircraft travels such that a wing of the first aircraft passes by an adjacent wing of the adjacent aircraft.
A height adjustment device configured to temporarily and selectively adjust a height of at least a portion of an aircraft while the aircraft is engaged with the height adjustment device, wherein the height adjustment device is at least partially integrated into an apron of an airport where the aircraft is located, wherein the height adjustment device is configured to guide the aircraft to transition the aircraft from an entering position to a final position, wherein the height adjustment device is configured to position the aircraft in a level orientation in the final position, and wherein the height adjustment device is configured to prevent interference with an adjacent aircraft while the aircraft travels such that a wing of the aircraft passes by an adjacent wing of the adjacent aircraft, wherein the height adjustment device is configured to tilt the aircraft such that the wing of the aircraft is vertically offset from an opposite wing of the aircraft while the aircraft is engaged with the height adjustment device while the aircraft travels such that the wing of the aircraft passes by the adjacent wing of the adjacent aircraft.
A method, comprising:
A height adjustment device configured to temporarily and selectively adjust a height of at least a portion of an aircraft while the aircraft is engaged with the height adjustment device, wherein the height adjustment device is at least partially integrated into an apron of an airport where the aircraft is located, wherein the height adjustment device is configured to guide the aircraft to transition the aircraft from an entering position to a final position, wherein the height adjustment device is configured to position the aircraft in a level orientation in the final position, and wherein the height adjustment device is configured to prevent interference with an adjacent aircraft while the aircraft travels such that a wing of the aircraft passes by an adjacent wing of the adjacent aircraft, wherein the height adjustment device comprises a trench formed in the apron of the airport, wherein the trench has a footprint positioned lower than a surrounding ground surface, wherein the footprint is large enough to receive at least one truck of at least one landing gear of the aircraft, wherein the footprint is large enough to receive all landing gear of the aircraft, and wherein the trench is configured to position the aircraft at a lower elevation in the final position than the aircraft was positioned at in the entering position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.