Vehicle for towing aircraft
AssigneeOshkosh Corporation
InventorsRobert Zschoche, William Lunt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A towbarless tractor for towing an airplane having a nose landing gear includes a chassis, a body supported on the chassis, and a capture system. The capture system includes a lift body coupled to at least one of the body or the chassis, and a cradle rotatably coupled to the lift body about a tilt axis. The towbarless tractor further includes a torque sensor configured to measure a torque between the cradle and the nose landing gear.
Claims20
A towbarless tractor for towing an airplane having a nose landing gear, the towbarless tractor comprising:
- a chassis;
- a body supported on the chassis;
- a capture system including:
- a lift body coupled to at least one of the body or the chassis;
- and
- a cradle rotatably coupled to the lift body about a tilt axis;
- and
- a torque sensor configured to measure a torque between the cradle and the nose landing gear.
A towbarless tractor for towing an airplane having a nose landing gear, the towbarless tractor comprising:
- a chassis;
- a body supported on the chassis;
- and
- a capture system including:
- a lift body coupled to at least one of the body or the chassis;
- a cradle rotatably coupled to the lift body about a tilt axis;
- a first tilt actuator coupled to a first side of the cradle;
- and
- a second tilt actuator coupled to a second side of the cradle, the second tilt actuator cross-plumbed with the first tilt actuator;
- wherein the first tilt actuator and the second tilt actuator are configured to facilitate at least partially controlling rotation of the cradle about the tilt axis and, thereby, a torque applied between the cradle and the nose landing gear.
A towbarless tractor for towing an airplane having a nose landing gear, the towbarless tractor comprising:
- a chassis;
- a body supported on the chassis;
- a driveline;
- a brake system;
- a tractive assembly;
- a capture system including:
- a lift body coupled to at least one of the body or the chassis;
- and
- a cradle rotatably coupled to the lift body so that the cradle is rotatable about a tilt axis;
- a first torque sensor configured to measure a torque between the cradle and a front side of the nose landing gear;
- a second torque sensor configured to measure a torque between the cradle and a rear side of the nose landing gear;
- and
- a controller in communication with the driveline, the brake system, the tractive assembly, the first torque sensor, and the second torque sensor, wherein the controller is configured to at least one of limit a speed of the driveline to a speed threshold, limit a turning radius or steering angle of the tractive assembly to a turning threshold, or limit a braking force of the brake system to a brake threshold in response to the torque measured by at least one of the first torque sensor or the second torque sensor being greater than or equal to a torque threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.