Vehicle refueling system

• Main Author: PALMER; MILES R
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 07.11.2000
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: AEROPLANES; AIRCRAFT; AMMUNITION; ARRANGEMENTS OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSIONTRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; BLASTING; COSMONAUTICS; EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; EXPLOSIVE CHARGES, e.g. FOR BLASTING, FIREWORKS, AMMUNITION; FLYING SUITS; HEATING; HELICOPTERS; LIGHTING; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; PARACHUTES; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING; WEAPONS

A vehicle refueling system includes an aero vehicle and a fuel bladder system. The fuel bladder system includes a fuel bladder, a pickup loop of a predetermined loop size, a reel mechanism to retract at least one side of the pickup loop to reduce the loop size, a snag sensor to sense when the pickup loop has been hooked by the retractable hook, the snag sensor initiating the reel mechanism, a compass to sense the random orientation of the loop, a radio navigation receiver to sense a location of the loop, and a transmitter to transmit the random orientation and the location. The vehicle includes a fuselage, a retractable hook with a hook sensor to detect when a fuel bladder is hooked and the loop size has been reduced by the reel mechanism, a fuel bladder stowage chamber within the fuselage, a fuel intake tube capable of drawing fuel from the fuel bladder stowed in the stowage chamber, a retraction mechanism to retract the retractable hook, a fuel transfer mechanism to transfer fuel from the fuel bladder into an internal fuel tank, and a fuel bladder discard mechanism to discard the fuel bladder after the fuel has been drawn from the fuel bladder.