TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to protecting against impact between a moving vehicle and a facility for housing the vehicle, and more particularly, to systems and methods that protect the structural integrity of both aircraft and aircraft facilities, such as hangars, as aircraft are moved around within such facilities.

BACKGROUND

Aviation ground handlers move aircraft of all shapes and sizes hundreds of thousands of times each day; across ramps, in and out of hangars, and to and from maintenance facilities. While usually done safely, aircraft under tow occasionally impact buildings, hangars, other aircraft, or equipment. “Hangar rash,” as it is commonly referred to, is thought to be the largest source of damage to the worlds fleet of aircraft. Insurance company claims easily extend into the hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages per incident. Many more incidents go unclaimed.

With reference toFIG. 1A, an aircraft located within a hangar may be towed about the hangar by an aircraft tug under control of an aircraft tug operator. The aircraft tug and operator are situated at the nose of the airplane. As such, the view of the operator in the direction of the tail of the airplane is partially obstructed is areas between the nose and the wings, and fully obstructed in areas beyond the wings. In addition, depth perception is difficult at the distances associated with the size of larger aircraft, all of which makes it difficult to see the wings and tail.

With reference toFIG. 1B, because of the obstructed views the aircraft tug operator may inadvertently over tow the airplane toward the back wall of the hangar thereby causing the tail to impact the back wall. Such impact may result in damage to one or both of the aircraft and the hangar wall.

It is therefore desirable to assist aircraft tug operators to prevent incidents of over towing and protect against impact between aircraft and the facilities that house aircraft. The concepts disclosed below address these needs and others.

SUMMARY

The system and method described herein are designed to provide advanced notice to ground crew members, moving aircraft under tow within a facility, when a collision with a structure of the facility or an object within the facility is imminent. The system and method act as an early detection and warning system to notify ground crew members when a part of the aircraft under tow is within a pre-determined distance of a structure or object. The system and method provides both visual and aural warnings to alert ground crew members of an impending collision.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a method of protecting against impact between a vehicle and a physical structure, e.g., a wall, of a facility having an opening or doorway for the vehicle to pass through, includes defining a monitored plane relative to one or more edges of the opening. The monitored plane is defined by a plurality of baseline measurements, wherein each of the plurality of baseline measurements: 1) corresponds to a distance between a sensor spaced apart from the edge and one of a plurality of virtual ends of the monitored plane, and 2) is identified by an angle parameter. The method also includes obtaining a subsequent measurement; evaluating the subsequent measurement relative to a corresponding baseline measurement to determine if a criterion indicative of an intrusion of the monitored plane is satisfied; and activating an alarm when the criterion is satisfied.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a system for protecting against impact between a vehicle and a physical structure of a facility having an opening or doorway for the vehicle to pass through includes a measurement module and a detection module. The opening is defined by a plurality of edges of the physical structure and measurement module is configured to be spaced apart from one of the plurality of edges. The measurement module is further configured to rotate relative to the edge, and obtain a plurality of measurements, wherein each of the plurality of measurements corresponds to a distance from the measurement module.

The detection module is coupled to the measurement module and comprises a definition module that defines a monitored plane relative to the edge. The monitored plane is defined by a plurality of baseline measurements, wherein each of the plurality of baseline measurements: 1) corresponds to a distance between the measurement module and one of a plurality of virtual ends of the monitored plane, and 2) is identified by an angle parameter. The detection module is configured to obtain a subsequent measurement from the measurement module; associate an angle parameter with the subsequent measurement; evaluate the subsequent measurement relative to a corresponding baseline measurement having a same angle parameter to determine if a criterion indicative of an intrusion of the monitored plane is satisfied; and output an alarm activation signal when the criterion is satisfied.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a method of protecting against impact between a vehicle and a physical structure, e.g., wall, of a facility having an opening or doorway for the vehicle to pass through includes defining a monitored frame relative to at least one of the inside surface and the outside surface the physical structure. The monitored frame is defined by a plurality of sets of baseline measurements, wherein each of the plurality of sets of baseline measurements is identified by an angle parameter and includes at least one baseline measurement that corresponds to a distance between a sensor spaced apart from the surface and one of a plurality of virtual ends of the monitored frame. The method also includes obtaining a subsequent measurement; evaluating the subsequent measurement relative to a corresponding set of baseline measurements to determine if a criterion indicative of an intrusion of the monitored frame is satisfied; and activating an alarm when the criterion is satisfied.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a system for protecting against impact between a vehicle and a physical structure of a facility having an opening for the vehicle to pass through includes a measurement module and a detection module. The measurement module is configured to be spaced apart from at least one of an inside surface and an outside surface of the physical structure. The measurement module is further configured to rotate relative to the surface; and obtain a plurality of measurements, wherein each of the plurality of measurements corresponds to a distance from the measurement module.

The detection module is coupled to the measurement module and comprises a definition module that defines a monitored frame relative to the surface. The monitored frame is defined by a plurality of sets of baseline measurements, wherein each of the plurality of sets of baseline measurements is identified by an angle parameter and includes at least one baseline measurement that corresponds to a distance between a sensor spaced apart from the surface and one of a plurality of virtual ends of the monitored frame. The detection module is configured to obtain a subsequent measurement from the measurement module; associate an angle parameter with the subsequent measurement; evaluate the subsequent measurement relative to the set of baseline measurements identified by the angle parameter associated with the subsequent measurement to determine if a criterion indicative of an intrusion of the monitored frame is satisfied; and output an alarm activation signal when the criterion is satisfied.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a method of protecting against impact between a vehicle and a physical structure, e.g., a wall, of a facility having an opening or doorway for the vehicle to pass through, includes defining a monitored area, e.g., a “monitored plane” as previously described or a “monitored frame” as previously described, relative to the opening. The monitored area is defined by a plurality of baseline measurements, wherein each of the plurality of baseline measurements: 1) corresponds to a distance between a sensor spaced apart from a structure, e.g., wall edge or wall surface, that defines the opening and one of a plurality of virtual ends of the monitored area, and 2) is identified by an angle parameter. The method also includes obtaining a subsequent measurement; evaluating the subsequent measurement relative to a corresponding baseline measurement to determine if a criterion indicative of an intrusion of the monitored area is satisfied; and activating an alarm when the criterion is satisfied.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a system for protecting against impact between a vehicle and a physical structure of a facility having an opening or doorway for the vehicle to pass through includes a measurement module and a detection module. The measurement module is configured to be spaced apart from a structure, e.g., wall edge or wall surface, that defines the opening. The measurement module is further configured to rotate relative to the structure, and obtain a plurality of measurements, wherein each of the plurality of measurements corresponds to a distance from the measurement module.

The detection module is coupled to the measurement module and comprises a definition module that defines a monitored area, e.g., a “monitored plane” or a “monitored frame”, relative to the structure. The monitored area is defined by a plurality of baseline measurements, wherein each of the plurality of baseline measurements: 1) corresponds to a distance between the measurement module and one of a plurality of virtual ends of the monitored area, and 2) is identified by an angle parameter. The detection module is configured to obtain a subsequent measurement from the measurement module; associate an angle parameter with the subsequent measurement; evaluate the subsequent measurement relative to a corresponding baseline measurement having a same angle parameter to determine if a criterion indicative of an intrusion of the monitored area is satisfied; and output an alarm activation signal when the criterion is satisfied.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a method of protecting against impact between a vehicle and a facility configured to house the vehicle includes automatically entering a protection system into a learning mode. The learning mode may be entered by detecting at a first sensor, a signal transmitted by a second sensor associated with a supplemental vehicle configured to couple with the vehicle and move the vehicle relative to the facility, and responsive to detecting the signal, outputting a control signal that causes the protection system to enter the learning mode. The method also includes creating a first monitored plane relative to a first physical surface of the facility while in the learning mode. The first monitored plane is defined by a plurality of baseline measurements. Each baseline measurement corresponds to a distance between a sensor spaced apart from the first physical surface and an object impeding a beam transmitted by the sensor, and is identified by an angle parameter. The method further includes obtaining subsequent measurements of the plurality of baseline measurements; and evaluating one or more subsequent measurements relative to corresponding one or more baseline measurements to determine if a criterion indicative of an intrusion of the first monitored plane is satisfied.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a system for protecting against impact between a vehicle and a facility configured to house the vehicle, includes a measurement module, a learning module, and a detection module. The measurement module is adapted to be spaced apart from a first physical surface of the facility and is configured to rotate relative to the first physical surface, and obtain a plurality of measurements, wherein each measurement corresponds to a distance between the measurement module and an object impeding a beam transmitted by the measurement module.

The learning module is coupled to the measurement module and is configured to automatically enter a learning mode. While in the learning mode, the learning module is further configured to receive a plurality of measurements from the measurement module corresponding to a plurality of baseline measurements; associate an angle parameter with each of the plurality of baseline measurements; and create a first monitored plane relative to the first physical surface. The first monitored plane is defined by the plurality of baseline measurements and corresponding angle parameters.

The detection module is coupled to the measurement module and is configured to automatically enter a detection mode after creation of the first monitored plane by the learning module. While in the detection mode, the detection module is further configured to obtain one or more measurements from the measurement module, each corresponding to a subsequent measurement; associate an angle parameter with each of the one or more subsequent measurements; and evaluate the one or more subsequent measurements relative to one or more baseline measurements having a same angle parameter to determine if a criteria indicative of an intrusion of the first monitored plane is satisfied.

