Multi-rotor aircraft comprising a system for propulsion and for non-propulsive electricity generation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11312256-B2
Application number	US-201917259991-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 15, 2019
Priority date	Jul 16, 2018
Publication date	Apr 26, 2022
Grant date	Apr 26, 2022

Abstract

A propulsion and non-propulsive electrical generation system for an aircraft having at least one turbomachine and at least two pairs of rotors, the rotors of the same pair of rotors being symmetrically opposite on the aircraft with respect to the same center of symmetry, at least four motors each driving a rotor, at least one generator coupled to a turbomachine, an even number of power lines and at most equal to the number of rotors, each power line having at least one propulsion branch coupled to a motor, a battery coupled at the output to the propulsion branch, and an AC-DC converter coupled between an output of a generator and the propulsion branch.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An aircraft comprising a propulsion and non-propulsive electrical generation system, the system comprising at least one turbomachine and at least two pairs of rotors, and the rotors of the same pair of rotors having symmetrically opposite locations on the aircraft with respect to a same center of symmetry,
wherein the system further comprises:
at least four electrical motors each driving a rotor,
at least one electrical generator coupled to a turbomachine,
at least two power supply lines, the number of power lines being at most equal to the number of rotors of said system, each power line comprising at least one electrical propulsion branch coupled to one of said electrical motors, a battery coupled at the output to said at least one propulsion branch, and an AC-DC converter coupled between an output of an electrical generator and said at least one propulsion branch.

2. The aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises control means configured to cut off the power supply to the motors of the same pair of rotors when at least one motor of said pair of rotors is defected.

3. The aircraft according to claim 2 , wherein the system further comprises high-speed and high-integrity serial digital buses coupled between the control means and the motors.

4. The aircraft according to claim 2 , wherein the control means comprise a control card per power line, the control cards being in communication with each other, each control card comprising a module for monitoring the voltage of the power line with which it is associated, configured to control the voltage to be provided by the AC-DC converter and the voltage to be provided by the battery based on the charge level of the battery and on the voltage required by the motors supplied by the power line.

5. The aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein at least one power supply line further comprises a non-propulsive electrical components supply branch.

6. The aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein the or each electrical generator comprises an electrical machine provided with at least two electrically and electromagnetically independent three-phase windings, an independent and isolated AC-DC rectifier for each three-phase winding integrated into the electrical machine, and a rapid electromechanical disconnection device connected between the turbomachine and the electrical generator, the AC-DC converter of each power line being formed by an AC-DC rectifier of an electrical machine.

7. The aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein said electrical generator is a permanent-magnet electrical machine.

8. The aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein each power line further comprises a DC-DC electrical converter connected between the AC-DC converter and the battery to allow recharging of the battery from the electrical generator.

9. The aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein the system comprises twice as many motors as rotors, each power line comprising two propulsion branches, and each pair of rotors being associated with two separate power lines, the first motor of the first rotor and the first motor of the second rotor of the same pair of rotors being supplied by a first power line and the second motor of the first rotor and the second motor of the second rotor of said same pair of rotors being supplied by a second power line.

Assignees

• Safran Electrical & Power

Inventors

• Vinson Garance
• Nierlich Florent
• Garcia Jean-Pierre

Classifications

• H02J2105/32

  for aircrafts · CPC title

• H02J4/25

  for transfer of electric power between AC and DC networks, e.g. for supplying the DC section within a load from an AC mains system · CPC title

• B64D27/33 Primary

  Hybrid electric aircraft · CPC title

• B64D31/18

  for hybrid-electric power plants · CPC title

• B64D27/357

  using batteries · CPC title