Passenger boarding bridge incorporating air barriers
OwnerBret D. Picainventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved passenger boarding bridge comprises a proximal section such as a rotunda which is connectable to a doored exit of an airport concourse, a distal section such as a cab adapted to dock with a parked aircraft, and at least one tunnel section interposed therebetween. A plurality seals are associated with the various sections and their junctures to extend an environmental envelope of the airport concourse to the parked aircraft. For example, a first plurality of seals may be provided for sealing a juncture of the rotunda section and the tunnel section, and a second plurality of seals may be provided for sealing a juncture of the cab section and the tunnel section. Seals are also associated with each of the rotunda and cab sections.
Claims22
A passenger boarding bridge for extending an environmental envelope of an airport concourse to a parked aircraft, comprising:
- a rotunda section connectable to a doored exit of the airport concourse, said rotunda section comprising:
- a horizontal rotunda air barrier situated below the rotunda roof, said horizontal air barrier including at least:
- a first horizontal rotunda member adapted to be fixed in position when the rotunda section is connected to the doored exit, and
- a second horizontal rotunda member that is rotatable relative to said first horizontal rotunda member about a rotunda section vertical axis;
- a cab section adapted to dock with the parked aircraft, said cab section comprising:
- a horizontal cab air barrier including at least:
- a first horizontal cab member adapted to be fixed in position when the cab section is docked with the parked aircraft, and
- a second horizontal cab member that is rotatable relative to said first horizontal cab member about a cab section rotation axis;
- a cab awning including an awning pad with at least one awning expandable bladder seal attached thereto;
- and
- a cab floor having an underside with an associated cab floor seal adapted to contact a fuselage of the parked aircraft;
- and
- at least one tunnel section located between the rotunda section and the movable cab, there being a first surrounding and expandable air barrier seal at a first juncture region between said rotunda section and said at least one tunnel section, and a second surrounding and expandable air barrier seal at a second juncture region between said at least one tunnel section and said cab section.
A passenger boarding bridge for extending an environmental envelope of an airport concourse to a parked aircraft, comprising:
- a proximal section connectable to a doored exit of the airport concourse, said proximal section comprising a proximal section air barrier including at least a first proximal section air barrier member that is fixed in position when the proximal section is connected to the door exit, and a second proximal section air barrier member that is rotatable relative to said first proximal section air barrier member about a proximal section vertical axis;
- a distal section adapted to dock with the parked aircraft, said distal section comprising a distal section air barrier including at least a first distal section cab member that is fixed in position when the distal section is docked with the parked aircraft, and a second distal section air barrier member that is rotatable relative to said distal section air barrier member about a distal section rotational axis;
- and
- at least one tunnel section interposed between the proximal section and the distal section;
- a plurality of distal section seals associated with said distal section and adapted to contact said parked aircraft when the distal section is docked with the parked aircraft;
- a first plurality of seals for sealing a juncture of said proximal section and said tunnel section;
- and
- a second plurality of seals for sealing a juncture of said distal section and said tunnel section.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.