Patents by Inventor Wilhelm Franken

Wilhelm Franken has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5480274
    Abstract: An aircraft tug without draw tongue, with a chassis divided by means of an axially parallel buckling axle. The pickup device for the nose landing gear (nose wheels 27) of an aircraft is arranged within the fork-shaped recess of the chassis, which is formed by the lifting rockers. This pickup device includes a lifting platform, a pendulum tie-bar, telescopic arms with gripping arms, a push-out tie-bar, a crossbar, longitudinal swinging arms, and a pendulum pin. The pendulum tie-bar, the lifting platform with the telescopic arms, including the push-out tie-bar and the longitudinal swinging arms, are connected to the lifting rockers of the chassis rear part via coupling members. The pendulum tie-bar has a pendular mounting, and pendular movement of the lifting platform and of the pendulum tie-bar is guaranteed in conjunction with the pivotably mounted lifting platform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 2, 1996
    Assignee: Man Gutehoffnungshutte
    Inventors: Wilhelm Franken, Gerhard Weigardt, Lars T. Michaelsen
  • Patent number: 5259572
    Abstract: A vehicle with its own traveling gear for towing an aircraft without draw tongue, has a U-shaped chassis frame recess that is open in the forward direction with a clamping and lifting device arranged therein for the nose wheels of an aircraft. The clamping and lifting device, which is oscillatingly suspended on the chassis frame 1, includes a pivoting and lifting ramp 8, as well as two parallel telescoping arms 10 arranged rigidly on the pivoting and lifting ramp 8, with telescoping cylinders 11 and with gripping arms 14, which can be pivoted in and whose nose wheel contact surfaces 18 are rigidly attached to the gripping arms 14, and of telescopingly adjustable holddown devices 12, 13, which are hinged to the support 7.FIG. 3 shows the clamping and lifting devices with the nose wheels 17 lifted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1993
    Assignee: Man Gutehoffnungshutte Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Wilhelm Franken, Ernest Kretschmann, Gerhard Weigardt, Heinrich Goris, Torsten L. Michaelsen, Dieter Pohe
  • Patent number: 5054714
    Abstract: The aircraft tractor arrangement maintains a uniform degree of reliability with which the nose wheel landing gear, which is standing on a lifting platform that is arranged on the front part and extends into a recess (26), is held down on the surface of the lifting platform which supports the nose wheel landing gear at different nose wheel diameters.Each telescoping rod (30) is hinged (40, 44, 46) to the front part (10.1) directly in the front. A connecting hydraulic cylinder (42) is provided in the rear. The hydraulic cylinder (46) for longitudinal adjustment, and also the hydraulic cylinder (36) for moving the holder (34) on the fixed part (30.1) of the telescoping rod (30) associated with it are arranged ridgedly.This arrangement allows an adjustability in height of the two rear tow arms and at the same time of the front holders, which can come into contact with the two desired zones of the wheel circumference, regardless of the nose wheel diameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 8, 1991
    Assignee: Man Gutehoffnungshutte Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Wilhelm Franken, Dieter Pohe, Lars T. Michaelsen
  • Patent number: 5051052
    Abstract: The present invention pertains to an aircraft tractor without tow-bar. The arrangement avoids relative movement between the nose wheel of the aircraft and the tractor lifting platform by making the lifting platform (24) rotatable around a longitudinal axis (30) of the chassis, which axis is horizontal when the chassis is extended, and by making displaceable the transverse tow arms (38) and/or the holders (42) at right angles to this longitudinal axis (30). The tires of an oblique nose wheel landing gear of an aircraft being towed in a curve are handled very gently, because the tractor parts (24, 38, and 42) that are in contact with the nose wheel landing gear are able to follow the movements of the nose wheel landing gear and to adjust to its instantaneous position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 1990
    Date of Patent: September 24, 1991
    Assignee: Man Gutehoffnungshutte Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Wilhelm Franken, Dieter Pohe, Lars T. Michaelsen
  • Patent number: 4975264
    Abstract: A process and system for purifying flue gases containing sulfur dioxide therein by scrubbing the flue gas with sulfuric acid and subsequently removing sulfur dioxide by moist activated carbon within a catalytic oxidation reactor. An improvement is achieved by the inclusion of a heat exchanger with tow flow paths; one connected to direct flow of clean gas saturated with water vapor from the catalytic oxidation reactor and the other flow path connected between the scrubber and the catalytic oxidation reactor permitting scrubbed flute gas to pass through. The scrubbed flue gas has a higher temperature than the clean gas, and the heat exchange results in the cooling of the scrubbed gas to the process temperature for the catalytic oxidation reaction and the warming of the clean gas above its dew point to facilitate rising of the clean gas in a chimney or like structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1989
    Date of Patent: December 4, 1990
    Assignee: Gesthuysen & von Rohr
    Inventor: Wilhelm Franken