The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 04, 1994
Filed:
Apr. 20, 1993
Kevin P McGonigle, Milford, CT (US);
James A Monson, Waterbury, CT (US);
Timothy R Budd, Trumbull, CT (US);
United Technologies Corporation, Hartford, CT (US);
Abstract
A control system for automatically loading and unloading a vehicle (10) from a cargo compartment comprises a plurality of distance measuring sensors (31,32,33,34) attached to specified locations on the exterior surfaces of the vehicle (54,56,57) and the cargo compartment (55). The sensors provide distance signals, indicative of the distance between each sensor and the nearest obstruction, to a microprocessor which compares each of the distance signals to reference signals indicative of the minimum allowable clearance between each specified location and an obstruction. During activation of an automatic loading/unloading switch (70), a winch (39) is activated to move the vehicle into or out of a cargo compartment if each of the distances is greater than the corresponding minimum allowable clearance. If any clearance is less than the minimum allowable clearance while the vehicle is being moved, movement of the vehicle is automatically stopped and the height of the vehicle is adjusted (800-815) until all of the distances are greater than the corresponding minimum allowable clearances, after which the winch is reactivated to continue moving the vehicle. The cycle is repeated until the helicopter is in its final position or the automatic loading/unloading switch is released.