Aircraft cooling system including parallel cooling circuits with common pipe

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12325528-B2
Application number	US-202217697011-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 17, 2022
Priority date	Mar 31, 2021
Publication date	Jun 10, 2025
Grant date	Jun 10, 2025

Abstract

A cooling system includes a rotor (VTOL rotor, cruise rotor) for generating at least one of lift or thrust of an aircraft, a component group formed of a plurality of electrical components for rotating the rotor, and a cooling circuit for cooling the component group, wherein a plurality of the component groups corresponding to a plurality of the rotors are provided, and the plurality of component groups are cooled by the same cooling circuit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An aircraft comprising:
a first rotor configured to generate at least one of lift or thrust;
a second rotor configured to generate at least one of lift or thrust;
a first component group formed of a plurality of electrical components each configured to rotate the first rotor;
a second component group formed of a plurality of electrical components each configured to rotate the second rotor; and
a cooling circuit configured to cool the first component group and the second component group,
wherein
the cooling circuit includes
piping,
a radiator,
a first pump, and
a second pump, and

the piping includes
a first pipe provided with the first pump and arranged so as to cool the first component group,
a second pipe provided with the second pump and arranged so as to cool the second component group, and
a common pipe provided with the radiator and connected to an upstream-side end and a downstream-side end of each of the first pipe and the second pipe.

2. The aircraft according to claim 1 , further comprising a fuselage,
wherein
the first rotor includes a rotation axis fixed along a direction perpendicular to a central axis of the fuselage and is configured to generate thrust only in an axial direction of the rotation axis, and
the second rotor includes a rotation axis fixed along a direction parallel to the central axis of the fuselage and is configured to generate thrust only in an axial direction of the rotation axis.

3. The aircraft according to claim 1 , further comprising a fuselage,
wherein the first rotor and the second rotor each include a rotation axis fixed along a direction perpendicular to a central axis of the fuselage, and wherein the first rotor and the second rotor are configured to generate thrust only in an axial direction of the rotation axis.

4. The aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first component group and the second component group includes a drive circuit for an electric motor.

5. The aircraft according to claim 4 , wherein at least one of the first component group or the second component group includes a battery configured to supply power to the electric motor via the drive circuit.

6. The aircraft according to claim 1 , further comprising a wing configured to generate lift when the aircraft moves forward.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Fukuchi Yuichi

Classifications

• B64U50/19

  using electrically powered motors · CPC title

• B64U30/20

  Rotors; Rotor supports · CPC title

• B64U30/10

  Wings · CPC title

• B64U50/33

  generated by combustion engines · CPC title

• B64U20/94

  of rotors or rotor motors · CPC title