US 12,233,728 B2
Conveyor arrangement for aerial vehicles
Wojciech Potentas, Lodz (PL); and Grzegorz Bem, Lodz (PL)
Assigned to Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ), Stockholm (SE)
Appl. No. 18/030,885
Filed by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ), Stockholm (SE)
PCT Filed Oct. 8, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/078340
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Apr. 7, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/073616, PCT Pub. Date Apr. 14, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0373664 A1, Nov. 23, 2023
Int. Cl. B60L 53/18 (2019.01); B60L 53/80 (2019.01); B64U 50/34 (2023.01); B64U 50/39 (2023.01); B64U 101/60 (2023.01); B65G 13/04 (2006.01)
CPC B60L 53/18 (2019.02) [B60L 53/80 (2019.02); B64U 50/34 (2023.01); B64U 50/39 (2023.01); B65G 13/04 (2013.01); B60L 2200/10 (2013.01); B64U 2101/60 (2023.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A conveyor arrangement for airborne battery replacement between an aerial supply vehicle having a store of replacement batteries suitable to power electric aerial vehicles and an electric aerial vehicle powered by a set of replaceable batteries, wherein the conveyor arrangement is configured to convey batteries between the aerial supply vehicle and the electric aerial vehicle during flight to replace a replaceable battery from the set of the electric aerial vehicle by a replacement battery from the store of replacement batteries of the aerial supply vehicle,
wherein the conveyor arrangement comprises a plurality of rollers subsequently arranged to form a flexible conveyor on which batteries can be conveyed, and
wherein the conveyor arrangement is further configured to convey batteries on the conveyor by a conveyor unit movable on the plurality of rollers, wherein the conveyor unit comprises an interface arrangement configured to releasably couple a battery to be conveyed to the conveyor unit.