IP Library Granted Patent US 9,855,805
Granted Patent B2
US 9,855,805 · App. 14/914,724 · Granted Jan 2, 2018

Buoyancy module for a military vehicle

Inventors: Harald Bachmann (Munich, DE); Rudiger Baus (Munich, DE)
Assignee: KRAUSS-MAFFEI WEGMANN GMBH & CO. KG
B60F3/00B60F3/0007B60F3/0015B60F3/0038F41H7/02
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,855,805
App. No.
14/914,724
Granted
Jan 2, 2018
Kind
B2
Abstract

A buoyancy module ( 10 ) may include a buoyancy body ( 11 ) for a vehicle, in particular, a military vehicle ( 1 ) such as a watercraft, and a land driving unit ( 13 ) for operating the vehicle ( 1 ) as a land vehicle. A vehicle ( 1 ) may include a base module ( 20 ), for accommodating crew members, and a buoyancy module ( 10 ) which can be arranged on the base module for operating the vehicle ( 1 ) as a watercraft.

Claims (28)

1. A flotation module for a vehicle, the vehicle having a main module to accommodate a crew and an engine that drives crawler tracks of the vehicle, the flotation module comprising:

a buoyancy body that renders the vehicle buoyant, the buoyancy body having an inverted U shape in cross section that extends over lateral sides and a roof of the main module such that the flotation module determines a roof contour of the vehicle;

an aperture that is arranged in a region of the rear of the vehicle or in a region of the roof of the vehicle such that, during operation of the vehicle as a watercraft, a hatch of the main module can be opened within the aperture, and

another hatch on the buoyancy body that can be opened within the aperture; and

a land travel subassembly for operation of the vehicle as a land vehicle.

2. The flotation module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the roof contour of the buoyancy body determines a distance between the roof contour and a water line of the vehicle.

3. The flotation module as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising an interface in a portion of the buoyancy body that extends over a roof of the vehicle main module, via which the land travel subassembly interacts with other vehicle components.

4. The flotation module as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a prow-like outer contour.

5. The flotation module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the land travel subassembly is selected from an ABC system, a cooling system, a battery system, a tank, a power-supply unit, a hydraulic pump, and a compressor.

6. A vehicle having a main module for accommodating crew members, the vehicle comprising:

a buoyancy body that renders the vehicle buoyant, the buoyancy body having an inverted U shape in cross section that extends over lateral sides and a roof of the main module such that the flotation module determines a roof contour of the vehicle;

a land travel subassembly for operation of the vehicle as a land vehicle; and

for operation of the vehicle as a watercraft, the buoyancy body is arranged on the main module such that the inverted U shape in cross section of the buoyancy body extends over lateral sides and a roof of the main module such that the flotation module determines a roof contour of the vehicle.

7. The vehicle as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the flotation module encompasses the main module at a prow.

8. The vehicle as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the flotation module includes a mount on a portion of the inverted U shape extending over the roof of the vehicle.

9. The vehicle as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the flotation module has an aperture, which is arranged such that a hatch on the roof of the main module, during operation of the vehicle as a watercraft, can be opened within the aperture.

10. The vehicle as claimed in claim 6 , further comprising a mission module for operation of the vehicle as a land vehicle, which is connected to the main module.

11. The vehicle as claimed in claim 6 , further comprising crawler tracks, an engine located in the main module powering the crawler tracks, and a water drive, for driving the vehicle during water travel, wherein the water drive is arranged on the flotation module adjacent a lateral side of the main module above the crawler tracks.

12. The vehicle as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the flotation module has a first interface and the main module has a second interface that is connected to the first interface, whereby the water drive is supplied with power from the engine.

13. The vehicle as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the main module has a detection device, connected to the second interface, which can detect the module connected to the main module.

14. The vehicle as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the first interface and the second interface form a plug-in connection.

15. The vehicle as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the flotation module includes a land travel subassembly selected from a cooling system, an ABC system, a battery system, a tank, a power-supply unit, a hydraulic pump, and a compressor.

16. The vehicle as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the land travel subassembly is powered by the engine through a first interface in the flotation module that forms a plug-in connection with a second interface in the main module.

17. The vehicle as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the land travel subassembly includes a cooling system that cools the interior of the main module.

18. A flotation module for a vehicle, the vehicle having a main module to accommodate a crew and an engine that drives crawler tracks of the vehicle, the flotation module comprising:

a buoyancy body that renders the vehicle buoyant, the buoyancy body having an inverted U shape in cross section that extends over lateral sides and a roof of the main module such that the flotation module determines a roof contour of the vehicle;

an upper side of the flotation module having a mount, in which is accommodated a remote-control weapon; and

a land travel subassembly for operation of the vehicle as a land vehicle.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Nov 8, 2024
From: KRAUSS-MAFFEI WEGMANN GMBH & CO. KG
To: KNDS DEUTSCHLAND GMBH & CO. KG
Reel/Frame 069211/0087 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 3, 2016
From: BACHMANN, HARALD; BAUS, RÜDIGER
To: KRAUSS-MAFFEI WEGMANN GMBH & CO. KG
Reel/Frame 038442/0436 →
Priority Claims (1)
DE 10 2013 109 500 · Aug 30, 2013 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20160200159A1 · Jul 14, 2016