WO1997013686A1

WO1997013686A1 - Supply culvert at parking sites for airplanes at airports

Info

Publication number: WO1997013686A1
Application number: PCT/SE1995/001171
Authority: WO
Inventors: Torgny Almfeldt
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-10-11
Filing date: 1995-10-11
Publication date: 1997-04-17
Anticipated expiration: 1998-04-11
Also published as: AU3941595A

Abstract

The invention refers to a supply culvert at parking sites for airplanes at airports, particularly passenger aircrafts in airline operation, said culvert housing permanently mounted pipes and leads (7, 8) for electric current, liquids and gases and flexible connection means (6) at desired locations for connecting said pipes and leads to the parked aircraft, the culvert furthermore forming a passageway for required personnel. In order to provide for a less expensive but still very functional culvert, the invention suggests that in the culvert roof (1) lying flush with the ground level are made cover-equipped openings (3) for manual pick-up and connection of the flexible connection means (6) stored thereunder to the aircraft (9).

Description

Supply culvert at parking sites for airplanes at airports

The present invention refers to a supply culvert at parking sites for airplanes at airports, particularly passenger aircrafts in airline operations, said culvert housing permanently mounted pipes and leads for electric current, liquids and gases and flexible connection means at desired locations for connecting said pipes and leads to the parked aircraft, the culvert furthermore forming a passageway for required personnel.

Conventionally, such supply to aircrafts is provided by means of vehicles of many different kinds. In doing so, a disadvantage is the risk of accidents in that the vehicles collide with both people, aircrafts and permanent installa- tions at the airport. Furthermore, environmental problems arise due to exhaust gases and noice and investments are required in the vehicles as mentioned and in workshops and personnel resources in the form of vehicle drivers and opera¬ tors. Efforts have been made to eliminate said problems by installing a permanent ground supply system having pipes and leads put down in the ground. Such ground supply systems now used most often include either connection boxes or connection hoists. The boxes are made of sheet steel in a mostly paral- lelepipedic shape, the upper surface of which being constitu¬ ted of a lid lying flush with the ground level, the pipes and leads for connecting said box with the various sources being laid entirely under the ground level. However, mostly for practical but also for other reasons such boxes can not be made too large and this then leads to problems in that the lengths of hoses and cables which can be stored within said boxes will be restricted. Enlargement of said permanent boxes when desired then also requires digging works over a sub¬ stantial area of the ground adjacent the initial box in order to put down one or more further boxes. Although pipes and leads from central sources to said boxes are located within the ground leakages and other damages still might arise and these are very difficult and expensive to repair. The main- tainance of the boxes and the hoses and cables located there¬ in of course has to be carried out outdoors under the climate influence and under consideration of normal aircraft opera¬ tions .

Recently, supply hoists instead have been used which house the actual hose lengths and which normally are kept stored lowered below the ground level. When the hoses and the supply system are to be used the hoist is raised to a posi¬ tion entirely above the ground surface such that the hoses will be easily accessible to the service personnel. This movement as well as the pay-out of the hoses and cables usually is made by hydraulic power together with required control and guide systems as well as safety systems since there are risks that the personnel be hurt. Alarm systems for supervision are also required due to the risk that the air¬ crafts and vehicles collide with said hoists. Certainly, said hoist supply systems have been found to operate in a satis- factory manner but the investments in such hoist devices now have increased rapidly to an almost prohibitive magnitude.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide primarily a supply culvert of the kind referred to, which is essentially less expensive to construct and which is free of the drawbacks of the other systems used which include boxes . This is achieved by the present invention which is substantially distinguished in that in the culvert roof lying flush with the ground level are made cover-equipped openings for manual pick-up and connection of the flexible connection means stored thereunder to the aircraft.

The improved inventive supply culvert also is easy to expand with new connections and conduits and the maintainance of the culvert equipment can be made "indoors" independent of the aircraft operations. The service life of such an improved supply culvert also will be long owing to the non-sophistica¬ ted equipment used.

By way of example, the invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a cross-section through a culvert accor- ding to the invention in a first embodiment and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section along the line A-A in Fig. 1 through the same culvert, Fig. 3 illustrates another embodiment of the culvert, also in cross-section while Fig. 4 is a correspon¬ ding longitudinal section along the line A-A in Fig. 3 through said second embodiment.

As is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 the culvert in a first embodiment has a roof having thicker supporting por¬ tions 1 and thinner portions 2 in which openings 3 can be made. Said openings 3 are provided with a stationary cover 4 in which in its turn is mounted an openable and preferably circular lid 5. Said lid 5 might be adapted to be removed manually but said lid also might be hinged so as to be swung open or mounted for being angularly pivoted. Connection hoses or cables 6 are connected with the pipe system 7 and cable system 8, respectively, of the culvert. The free end of the respective hoses and cables are adapted to be drawn manually upwardly through the respective adjacent opening 3 after opening of the lid 5 and to be connected with the aircraft 9 parked thereabove. The width of the culvert roof provides for the arrangement of openings 3 in two longitudinal rows at either side of the longitudinal axis of the aircraft.

Preferably the culvert side walls 10 are inclined at an angle substantially equal to the angel 11 of repose of the trench wall of the surrounding ground which provides for a reduced required trench volume in comparison with vertical walls when constructing the culvert. It is also suitable that the culvert floor 12 is relatively narrow since said floor only has to serve as a passageway for personnel and hence the need of expensive trenching in rocky grounds will be reduced. In the first embodiment of the inventive culvert illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 a required number of pipes 7 are mounted in parallel approximately in the center portion of the culvert width longitudinally thereof and suspended in the culvert ceiling in a suitable way obvious to the artisan. Advantageously, electric cables 8 might be suspended on cable ladders and similar carrying systems along one or both outer edges of the culvert cross-section of trapezium shape while other pipe systems for required gases and liquids might be provided in a similar way by means of known securing means such as at the outer edge of the culvert cross-section oppo¬ site the cable ladders. Longitudinally in register with the respective openings 3 located vertically below service points at the aircraft of determined type and manufacture parked above there might be made suitable connections on the respec- tive tubes 7 in order to provide for the mounting of a con¬ nection hose or cable 6 by means of known but not-illustrated couplings .

In Figs. 3 and 4 a second embodiment of the invention has been illustrated, which constitutes a culvert particu¬ larly adapted for being pre-manufactured in predetermined lengths of e.g. 4 meters. In order to make such a pre-fabri¬ cated culvert element not so heavy and more easy to handle it is then possible to insert weight-reducing tubes 15 longitu- dinally within preferably the side walls of the culvert. Said weight-reducing tubes 15 then also might advantageously be utilized also for accomodation of pipes and cables such that the number of pipes located within said culvert will be greatly reduced or entirely eliminated. If desired, insulated tubes 15a might be used for transport of preconditioned air for the cabin. For carrying out maintainance operations when desired on the pipes and cables located in said weight- reducing tubes in the side walls it is preferred to open up the culvert walls internally adjacent the respective culvert element joints into the tubes over a length of e.g. 0,5 meter. Service personnel thus will be given access to the pipes and cables at the element joints for investigation and search for possible leakages or other failures and also when expanding the system in the future. Prefabrication of the culvert in element lengths may be made at en element plant or at the site by means of a pre- manufactured sheet form constituting the internal form at the moulding of the concrete. Said moulding causes no difficul¬ ties since there is no need to arrange any supports for covers to be moulded into the concrete surface . The height position of an under-form for the roof is not either critical in relation to the upper surface when moulding, presupposed the minimum thicknesses of the roof being observed.

Claims

l a i m s

1. A supply culvert at parking sites for airplanes at airports, particularly passenger aircrafts in airline opera- tion, said culvert housing permanently mounted pipes and leads (7, 8) for electric current, liquids and gases and flexible connection means (6) at desired locations for connecting said pipes and leads to the parked aircraft, the culvert furthermore forming a passage way for required personnel, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that in the culvert roof (1) lying flush with the ground level are made cover-equipped openings (3) for manual pick-up and connection of the flexible connection means (6) stored thereunder to the aircraft (9) .

2. A culvert according to claim 1 and manufactured in moulded concrete, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the culvert has an approximately trapezium-like cross-sectional shape with the longer of the parallel sides being located in the ground level or the culvert roof (1) in which portions (2) are made for facilitating the arrangement of desired openings (3) .

3. A culvert according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i - z e d i n that the roof (1) has thicker supporting portions (1) with intermediate thinner portions (2) , through which openings (3) can be made.

4. A culvert according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i ¬ z e d i n that the roof (1) has substantially uniform thickness but is reinforced in such a manner that later manufacture of openings (3) at predetermined portions (2) be facilitated.

5. A culvert according to any of the claims 2-4, c h a - r a c t e r i z e d i n that in the roof (1) is made at least one opening (3) , in which is mounted a stationary cover (4) with an aperture made with a shelf which is adapted to serve as a support for a smaller, openable lid (5) .