Vehicle refueling
AssigneeModern Technology Solutions, Inc.
InventorMarinus Bernard Bosma
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A refueling system has a first vehicle having a fuel tank connected to a deployable fuel hose with a nozzle on the deployable end, a second vehicle carrying a supply of fuel, having a refueling panel with a refueling port adapted to connect to the nozzle on the deployed end of the fuel hose, an end effector joined to the fuel hose proximate the nozzle, the end effector having a plurality of thrusters providing thrust in a plurality of directions; and control circuitry in the first vehicle and in the end effector enabling an operative to vary direction and thrust of the thrusters. The operative controls the thrusters through the control circuitry to direct the nozzle toward and to connect the nozzle to the refueling port on the refueling panel of the second vehicle.
Claims19
A refueling system, comprising:
- a first vehicle having a fuel tank connected to a deployable fuel hose with a nozzle on the deployable end;
- a second vehicle carrying a supply of fuel, having a refueling panel with a refueling port adapted to connect to the nozzle on the deployed end of the fuel hose;
- an end effector joined to the fuel hose proximate the nozzle, the end effector having a plurality of thrusters providing thrust in a plurality of directions;
- and
- control circuitry in the first vehicle and in the end effector enabling an operative to vary direction and thrust of the thrusters;
- wherein the operative controls the thrusters through the control circuitry to direct the nozzle toward and to connect the nozzle to the refueling port on the refueling panel of the second vehicle.
A refueling method, comprising:
- deploying a deployable fuel hose having a nozzle on a deployable end and an end effector joined to the fuel hose proximate the nozzle, the end effector having a plurality of thrusters providing thrust in a plurality of directions, from a first vehicle having a fuel tank connected to the deployable fuel hose;
- directing the thrusters in thrust and direction through control circuitry in the first vehicle and in the end effector enabling an operative in the first vehicle to vary direction and thrust of the thrusters;
- guiding the nozzle to a refueling port at a refueling panel of a second vehicle carrying a supply of fuel;
- and
- causing the nozzle to connect to the refueling port, enabling fuel to be transferred from the supply of fuel in the second vehicle to the fuel tank of the first vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.