Guiding method for aircraft docking process

A guiding method for an aircraft docking process, for detecting an aircraft along a J-line of an apron ready to dock at a stop line, comprising:

• providing a laser scanner for scanning the aircraft;
• providing a stepper motor for driving the laser scanner to rotate with respect to the x axis and the y axis;
• providing a data display panel, for displaying signals to a pilot;
• controlling the orientation of the stepper motor for adjusting a detection position of the laser scanner;
• based on the distances reported from different positions scanned by the laser scanner, detecting the distance between the aircraft and the stop line and the offset angle of the aircraft;
• displaying said distance and offset data on the data display panel for providing the pilot reference when operating the aircraft;
• conducting a waiting stage, waiting for the aircraft to enter J-line, wherein the scanning detection points reporting predetermined heights and distances are considered to be points whereat the aircraft has been detected;
• conducting a positioning stage, determining whether the portion of the aircraft closest to the stop line has been located, and when the portion of the aircraft closest to the stop line has been located entering the next stage, wherein the portion of the aircraft closest to the stop line is an airplane nose;
• wherein the positioning stage includes:
• vertically scanning along the direction of the J-line;
• setting a predetermined number of vertical scanning points;
• successively checking the height positions of each scanning points;
• when the difference between the height of each scanning point and the airplane nose height is greater than a predetermined allowable distance, considering the scanning point to not be the position of the airplane nose;
• when the difference between the height of each scanning point and the airplane nose height is smaller than a predetermined allowable distance, considering the scanning point to be the position of the airplane nose;
• and
• repeating the vertical scanning process, if the airplane nose is identified on three consecutive tries, the aircraft is successively positioned and prepared to enter the identification stage;
• wherein the step of setting the number of vertical scanning points is set according to the distance of the aircraft away from the stop line,
• when the aircraft is more than 30 meters away from the stop line, setting the distance between consecutive scanning points to 12 steps;
• when the aircraft is less than 30 meters away from the stop line, setting the distance between consecutive scanning points to 14 steps;
• for 11 scanning points, set 6 scanning points behind the airplane nose and 4 scanning points ahead of the airplane nose;
• conducting an identification stage, regarding the physical features of the aircraft, identify a plurality of features to verify that the aircraft model is consistent with the aircraft model inputted;
• and
• conducting a guiding stage, through providing the distance between the portion of the aircraft closest to the stop line and the stop line, and the offset data of the aircraft offset from the J-line, guiding the aircraft to a predetermined docking position.