Actuator-free resilient passenger boarding bridge canopy

Abstract

A passenger boarding bridge for use by passengers in an airport terminal for embarking to and disembarking from a parked aircraft is provided with a resilient canopy that conforms to the shape of the outside surface of a parked aircraft without the aid of any external driving assembly or linkages directly attached thereto. The resilient canopy is useful with a wide range of airplanes sizes and, in contrast to existing steel framed weather shielding bellows, the canopy is particularly suited to the rapidly changing curvature of smaller planes and significantly inexpensive to construct.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A passenger boarding bridge for allowing access to passengers in an airport terminal to and from a parked aircraft comprising: 
 a tunnel section;    a cab section having a first vertical end, a second vertical end, a top horizontal end, and a bottom horizontal end, said cab section connected to said tunnel section; and    a resilient canopy connected to said cab section configured to conform to a shape of an outside surface of said parked aircraft solely by the docking motion of said cab section toward and away from said parked aircraft and the action of gravitational forces acting on said resilient canopy.    
     
     
         2 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 1 , wherein said resilient canopy further comprises: 
 a first vertical section connected to said first vertical end of said cab section and configured to conform to the shape of the outside surface of said parked aircraft;    a second vertical section connected to said second vertical end of said cab section and configured to conform to the shape of the outside surface of said parked aircraft; and    a horizontal top section connected to said top end of said cab section and to said first and second vertical sections and extending there between and configured to conform to the shape of the outside surface of said parked aircraft.    
     
     
         3 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 2 , wherein said first and second vertical sections further comprise: 
 a resilient foam core structure having a main member and a plurality of secondary members securely attached to and extending from said main member, said resilient foam core structure generally defining the shape of said first and second vertical sections; and    a plurality of foam sections wrapped around said resilient foam core structure and supported by and securely attached to said main member and said plurality of secondary members.    
     
     
         4 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 3 , wherein said first and second vertical sections further comprise a vinyl cover over the external surface of said plurality of foam sections.  
     
     
         5 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 4 , wherein said first and second vertical sections further comprise a layer of fire retardant fabric securely attached to said vinyl cover and covering only the surface of said vinyl cover exposed to the inside of said cab section.  
     
     
         6 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 5 , wherein said first and second vertical sections further comprise a vinyl wear pad attached to the leading edges of said first and second vertical sections configured to contact said parked aircraft.  
     
     
         7 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 5  further comprising a plurality of pairs of buttons each of said pairs connected by a cord passing through said vinyl cover, said layer of fire retardant fabric, and said plurality of foam sections, each of said pair of buttons and said cord positioned and configured to control and minimize the amount of collapse when said first and second vertical sections come in contact with said parked aircraft.  
     
     
         8 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 2 , wherein said horizontal top section further comprises: 
 at least two resilient foam elements; and    a foam section wrapped around said at least two resilient foam elements and supported by and securely attached to said at least two resilient foam elements.    
     
     
         9 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 8 , wherein said horizontal top section further comprises a vinyl cover over the external surface of said foam section.  
     
     
         10 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 9 , wherein said horizontal top section further comprises a layer of fire retardant fabric securely attached to said vinyl cover and covering only the surface of said vinyl cover exposed to the inside of said cab section.  
     
     
         11 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 10 , wherein said horizontal top section further comprises a vinyl wear pad attached to the leading edge of said horizontal top section configured to contact said parked aircraft.  
     
     
         12 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 11 , wherein an external surface of said horizontal top section further comprises at least one water diverter configured to minimize water dripping on said passengers whenever said external surface of said horizontal top section gets wet.  
     
     
         13 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 12 , wherein said first and second vertical sections further comprise: 
 a resilient foam core structure having a main member and a plurality of secondary members securely attached to and extending from said main member, said resilient foam core structure generally defining the shape of said first and second vertical sections; and    a plurality of foam sections wrapped around said resilient foam core structure and supported by and securely attached to said main member and said plurality of secondary members.    
     
     
         14 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 13 , wherein said first and second vertical sections further comprise a vinyl cover over the external surface of said plurality of foam sections.  
     
     
         15 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 14 , wherein said first and second vertical sections further comprise a layer of fire retardant fabric securely attached to said vinyl cover and covering only the surface of said vinyl cover exposed to the inside of said cab section.  
     
     
         16 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 15 , wherein said first and second vertical sections further comprise a vinyl wear pad attached to the leading edges of said first and second vertical sections configured to contact said parked aircraft.  
     
     
         17 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 16  further comprising a plurality of pairs of buttons each of said pairs connected by a cord passing through said vinyl cover, said layer of fire retardant fabric, and said plurality of foam sections, each of said pair of buttons and said cord positioned and configured to control and minimize the amount of collapse when said first and second vertical sections come in contact with said parked aircraft.  
     
     
         18 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 17  further comprising at least one hole at the bottom of each said first and second vertical sections, said at least one hole configured to vent and drain the interior of said first and second vertical sections.  
     
     
         19 . The passenger boarding bridge of  claim 18  further comprising at least one hole at each lower extremity of said top horizontal section, said at least one hole configured to vent and drain the interior of said top horizontal section.  
     
     
         20 . A boarding bridge for facilitating passage between an airport terminal and a parked aircraft, said boarding bridge comprising: 
 a passageway having a first end; and    a canopy, secured to said first end of said passageway, said canopy comprising: 
 two upright fabric wall panels, spacedly positioned from one another, each of said fabric wall panels defining a first interior and a vertical leading edge,  
 a plurality of resilient foam blocks positioned within said first interior of each of said fabric wall panels,  
 a fabric cross member, secured to said wall panels and extending there between, said fabric cross member defining a second interior and a horizontal leading edge; and  
 at least one resilient foam element positioned within said second interior of said fabric cross member.  
   
     
     
         21 . The boarding bridge of  claim 20 , wherein said plurality of resilient foam blocks further comprise a resilient foam core structure having a main member and a plurality of secondary members extending from said main member, said resilient foam core structure generally defining the shape of said two upright fabric wall panels.  
     
     
         22 . The boarding bridge of  claim 21 , wherein each of said two upright fabric wall panels further comprises a vinyl cover over the external surface of said fabric wall panels.  
     
     
         23 . The boarding bridge of  claim 22 , wherein each of said two upright fabric wall panels further comprises a layer of fire retardant fabric securely attached to said vinyl cover and covering only the surface of said vinyl cover exposed to the interior of said boarding bridge.  
     
     
         24 . The boarding bridge of  claim 23 , wherein each of said two upright fabric wall panels further comprises a vinyl wear pad attached to the leading edge of each of said two upright fabric wall panels configured to contact said parked aircraft.  
     
     
         25 . The boarding bridge of  claim 23  further comprising a plurality of pairs of buttons, each button from each said pair of buttons connected by a cord passing through said vinyl cover, said layer of fire retardant fabric, and said fabric wall panels, each of said pair of buttons and said cord positioned and configured to control and minimize the amount of collapse when each of said two upright fabric wall panels comes in contact with said parked aircraft.  
     
     
         26 . The boarding bridge of  claim 21 , wherein said fabric cross member further comprises a vinyl cover over the external surface of said fabric cross member.  
     
     
         27 . The boarding bridge of  claim 26 , wherein said fabric cross member further comprises a layer of fire retardant fabric securely attached to said vinyl cover and covering only the surface of said vinyl cover exposed to the interior of said boarding bridge.  
     
     
         28 . The boarding bridge of  claim 27 , wherein said fabric cross member further comprises a vinyl wear pad attached to and configured to protect said leading edge of said fabric cross member when in contact with said parked aircraft.  
     
     
         29 . The boarding bridge of  claim 28 , wherein an external surface of said fabric cross member further comprises at least one water diverter configured to minimize water dripping on said passengers whenever said external surface of said fabric cross member gets wet.  
     
     
         30 . The boarding bridge of  claim 29 , wherein said plurality of resilient foam blocks further comprise a resilient foam core structure having a main member and a plurality of secondary members extending from said main member.  
     
     
         31 . The boarding bridge of  claim 30 , wherein each of said two upright fabric wall panels further comprises a vinyl cover over the external surface of said fabric wall panels.  
     
     
         32 . The boarding bridge of  claim 31 , wherein each of said two upright fabric wall panels further comprises a layer of fire retardant fabric securely attached to said vinyl cover and covering only the surface of said vinyl cover exposed to the interior of said boarding bridge.  
     
     
         33 . The boarding bridge of  claim 32 , wherein each of said two upright fabric wall panels further comprises a vinyl wear pad attached to the leading edge thereof.  
     
     
         34 . The boarding bridge of  claim 33  further comprising a plurality of pairs of buttons, each button from each said pair of buttons connected by a cord passing through said vinyl cover, said layer of fire retardant fabric, and said fabric wall panels, each of said pair of buttons and said cord positioned and configured to control and minimize the amount of collapse when each of said two upright fabric wall panels comes in contact with said parked aircraft.  
     
     
         35 . The boarding bridge of  claim 34  wherein said resilient foam member further comprises vinyl straps tightly and discretely wrapped around said resilient foam member and configured to maintain the overall shape of said fabric cross member when contacting said parked aircraft.