Apparatus for controlling aircraft ground movement

A method for controlling a direction of ground travel and speed of an aircraft equipped with a self-propelled undercarriage comprising

• a. equipping an aircraft with at least one self-propelled undercarriage wheel capable of driving the aircraft on the ground and at least one undercarriage wheel drive means controllable to drive the at least one self-propelled undercarriage wheel to move the aircraft on the ground mounted on an axle of said at least one self-propelled undercarriage wheel;
• b. providing an aircraft moving apparatus at a location exterior to and remote from said at least one self-propelled undercarriage wheel comprising a control unit with integral ground speed and direction controls in remote operative communication with a corresponding receiver located on said at least one undercarriage wheel drive means, a movable control arm in operative communication with said control unit having an operating length selected to correspond to a selected location of the aircraft moving apparatus exterior to and remote from said aircraft, and a transmitter adapted to transmit information from said ground speed and direction controls to said corresponding receiver when said movable control arm is activated by an operator;
• c. positioning said aircraft moving apparatus at said selected exterior location remote from said aircraft so that said speed and direction controls are in remote operative communication with said corresponding receiver;
• d. moving the movable control arm to activate the ground speed and direction controls from the selected exterior location remote from the aircraft, causing the transmitter to transmit speed and direction information to said at least one undercarriage wheel drive means through the corresponding receiver to control operation of the at least one undercarriage wheel drive means, further causing the at least one undercarriage wheel drive means to drive the at least one self-propelled undercarriage wheel and to drive the aircraft on the ground at a desired speed and in a desired direction determined by the operator's movement of the movable control arm;
• and
• e. providing said movable control arm with an aircraft or arrow shape selected to enable the operator to easily orient the movable control arm with respect to the aircraft and said movable control arm includes a motion sensor, wherein the method further comprises providing a ground plan configured and sized proportionally to represent an aircraft ground environment where aircraft movement is to be controlled, and said ground plan contains motion sensing equipment to sense the motion of said movable control arm, whereby said ground plan senses the motion of said movable control arm as the operator moves the movable control arm relative to the ground plan and communicates the sensed motion of the movable control arm to said transmitter to cause the aircraft to move within the ground environment according to the operator's movements of the movable control arm relative to the ground plan.

A method for controlling a direction of ground travel and speed of an aircraft equipped with a self-propelled undercarriage comprising

• a. providing an aircraft with at least one self-propelled undercarriage wheel capable of driving the aircraft on the ground;
• b. providing an undercarriage wheel drive means controllable to drive the self-propelled undercarriage wheel to move the aircraft on the ground;
• c. providing an aircraft moving apparatus comprising a structural unit with integral ground speed and direction controls within said unit in operative communication directly with a corresponding receiver located on said undercarriage wheel drive means and activatable by an operator in operative contact with said structural unit to drive the aircraft in a forward or a reverse direction;
• d. positioning said aircraft moving apparatus at a selected ground or other location exterior to the aircraft so that said speed and direction controls are in direct operative communication with said corresponding receiver;
• and
• e. activating the ground speed and direction controls from the selected location to control the operation of the undercarriage wheel drive means and cause the self-propelled undercarriage wheel to move the aircraft in a forward or reverse direction on the ground at a desired speed;
• wherein said aircraft is moved by said self-propelled undercarriage wheel in a reverse direction by reversing direction of rotation of said undercarriage wheel drive means by a method comprising:
• wherein when said drive means is a three phase electric induction motor having a power source and connections to said power source, swapping any two connections to a power source;
• or
• wherein when said drive means is an electric induction motor having a power source, connections to said power source, more than one phase having relative phase angles, and an inverter having output terminals, reversing relative phase angles of phases by electronically changing a phase angle associated with an inverter output terminal connected to each phase;
• or
• wherein when said drive means is an electric induction motor, using a decrementing rolling phase accumulator in conjunction with a waveform lookup table, whereby said aircraft is moved by said self-propelled undercarriage wheel in a reverse direction.

A method for controlling a direction of ground travel and speed of an aircraft equipped with a self-propelled undercarriage comprising

• a. equipping an aircraft with at least one self-propelled undercarriage wheel capable of driving the aircraft on the ground and at least one undercarriage wheel drive means controllable to drive the at least one self-propelled undercarriage wheel to move the aircraft on the ground mounted on an axle of said at least one self-propelled undercarriage wheel;
• b. providing an aircraft moving apparatus at a location exterior to and remote from said at least one self-propelled undercarriage wheel comprising a control unit with integral ground speed and direction controls in remote operative communication with a corresponding receiver located on said at least one undercarriage wheel drive means, a movable control arm in operative communication with said control unit having an operating length selected to correspond to a selected location of the aircraft moving apparatus exterior to and remote from said aircraft, and a transmitter adapted to transmit information from said ground speed and direction controls to said corresponding receiver when said movable control arm is activated by an operator;
• c. positioning said aircraft moving apparatus at said selected exterior location remote from said aircraft so that said speed and direction controls are in remote operative communication with said corresponding receiver;
• d. moving the movable control arm to activate the ground speed and direction controls from the selected exterior location remote from the aircraft, causing the transmitter to transmit speed and direction information to said at least one undercarriage wheel drive means through the corresponding receiver to control operation of the at least one undercarriage wheel drive means, further causing the at least one undercarriage wheel drive means to drive the at least one self-propelled undercarriage wheel and to drive the aircraft on the ground at a desired speed and in a desired direction determined by the operator's movement of the movable control arm;
• and
• e. when the aircraft is located at a departure location, positioning said aircraft moving apparatus at a selected ground location remote from said aircraft at said departure location, and moving said movable control arm by the operator to activate said speed and direction controls to communicate with said at least one undercarriage wheel drive means receiver to cause the at least one undercarriage wheel drive means to drive the at least one self-propelled undercarriage wheel to move the aircraft in a reverse direction on the ground to push back from the departure location;
• wherein said undercarriage wheel drive means comprises an electric induction motor and further comprising activating said speed and direction controls to cause the at least one undercarriage wheel drive means to be reversed by reversing a direction of a rotating magnetic field, thereby rotating said the at least one self-propelled undercarriage wheel in a reverse direction and driving the aircraft in the reverse direction.