US 12,269,612 B1
Systems and methods for autonomous aircraft capturing, lifting, and pushback
Axel Schickling, Visbek (DE); and Tobias Strobl, Las Vegas, NV (US)
Assigned to TowFLEXX MilTech, Inc., New Castle, DE (US)
Filed by TowFLEXX MilTech, Inc., New Castle, DE (US)
Filed on Oct. 18, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/920,075.
Int. Cl. B64F 1/228 (2024.01); G05D 1/437 (2024.01); B64F 1/02 (2006.01); B64F 1/24 (2006.01)
CPC B64F 1/228 (2013.01) [B64F 1/02 (2013.01); B64F 1/24 (2013.01); G05D 1/437 (2024.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A tow vehicle configured to automatically perform aircraft towing operations, the tow vehicle comprising:
a turntable lifting unit configured to automatically rotate and lift for attachment to a nose landing gear of an aircraft;
a gate coupled to the turntable lifting unit, the gate configured to automatically unlock, open to receive the nose landing gear, close to secure the nose landing gear, and lock;
a sensor system comprising one or more sensors configured to detect the nose landing gear;
a controller configured to:
receive data from the sensor system,
process the data to determine a position of the nose landing gear,
process the data to detect a pushback line;
process the data to determine a position of the nose landing gear relative to the pushback line; and
control the turntable lifting unit while automatically adjusting a position of the tow vehicle relative to the nose landing gear;
a moving floor coupled to the turntable lifting unit, the moving floor configured to automatically adjust to accommodate different nose wheel sizes during a pushback operation to maintain alignment of the aircraft with the pushback line; and
a nose wheel adapter configured to automatically position itself to hold down the nose landing gear when weight is detected on the moving floor.