Granted Patent B2

US 12,630,034 · App. 18/578,175 · Granted May 19, 2026

Inventor: Peter Hunkel (Taufkirchen, DE)

Assignee: Airbus Defence and Space GmbH

B60L53/35B60L53/16B64F1/352B60L2200/10

Abstract

Claims (48)

1 . A driverless ground vehicle for coupling to an aircraft on the ground, comprising:

a vehicle base,

a chassis with a plurality of wheels, the chassis arranged on the vehicle base,

a control unit,

a drive,

a navigation unit coupled to the control unit,

an electrical energy store, and

a coupling unit,

wherein the drive is coupled to the chassis for moving the plurality of wheels,

wherein the coupling unit is arranged on the vehicle base and carries an electrical line configured to be connected to the electric energy store and has a first electrical connector at a distal end,

wherein the coupling unit is configured to move the first electrical connector for coupling to a second electrical connector relative to the vehicle base,

wherein the control unit is connected to the drive and the coupling unit and is configured to control the drive to move the ground vehicle to the aircraft and to control the coupling unit to move the first connector into a predefinable position on the aircraft to establish an electrical connection to the second electrical connector located at the predefinable position, and

wherein the ground vehicle is configured to accompany the aircraft, independent of the aircraft, throughout the entire ground phase from taxiing to takeoff in a self-propelling manner relying on the navigation unit and to continuously supply the aircraft with electrical energy.

2 . The ground vehicle as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the coupling unit comprises an arm having at least two elongated members configured to be moved independently of each other and relative to each other.

3 . The ground vehicle as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the first electrical connector is arranged via a joint unit at the distal end of the coupling unit.

4 . The ground vehicle as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the control unit is configured to dynamically track the position of the first connector to the predefinable position.

5 . The ground vehicle as claimed in claim 1 ,

further comprising a sensor unit coupled to the control unit and configured to monitor an environment of the ground vehicle for obstacles and, in the event of a detected obstacle, to control the drive to bypass the detected obstacle.

6 . The ground vehicle as claimed claim 1 ,

further comprising a navigation unit coupled to the control unit and is configured to provide the control unit with position data for navigation on the ground.

7 . The ground vehicle as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the ground vehicle is self-propelled to drive from a charging station on the ground to the relevant aircraft.

8 . The ground vehicle as claimed in claim 1 ,

wherein the electric energy store is configured to provide an aircraft with an electrical energy of at least 1000 kWh via the first electrical connector.

9 . An energy transmission system comprising:

at least one ground vehicle as claimed in claim 1 , and

at least one charging station configured to charge the electrical energy store of the at least one ground vehicle.

10 . The energy transmission system as claimed in claim 9 ,

further comprising the second electrical connector configured to be integrated into the aircraft, wherein the first electrical connector and the second electrical connector are configured to be complementary to each other.

11 . The energy transmission system as claimed in claim 9 ,

wherein the at least one charging station comprises a third electrical connector and the ground vehicle is configured to couple the first electrical connector to the third electrical connector on the charging station for the purpose of charging the electrical energy store.

12 . A method for transmitting energy from a ground vehicle to an aircraft, comprising:

driving the ground vehicle to the aircraft by a drive,

actuating a coupling unit on the ground vehicle for moving a first electrical connector arranged at a distal end of the coupling unit to a second electrical connector arranged on the aircraft at a predefinable position,

coupling the first electrical connector and the second electrical connector, and

outputting electrical energy from an electrical energy store arranged in the ground vehicle to the aircraft,

wherein the ground vehicle accompanies the aircraft, independent of the aircraft, throughout the entire ground phase from taxiing to takeoff in a self-propelling manner relying on a navigation unit and continuously supplies the aircraft with electrical energy.

13 . The method as claimed in claim 12 ,

further comprising dynamic tracking of the position of the first connector to the predefinable position.

14 . The method as claimed in claim 12 ,

further comprising a taxiing of the aircraft,

wherein the ground vehicle follows the taxiing of the aircraft.

15 . The method as claimed in claim 12 ,

further comprising uncoupling the first electrical connector from the second electrical connector after electrical energy has been output, and

moving the ground vehicle back to the charging station.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (16)