Integrated flap control unit

Abstract

The present invention relates to an integrated controller unit for controlling at least one engine motor and at least one servo motor, comprising: a power link section for connecting the controller unit to an external power source and for powering individual sections of the controller unit; a data link section for connecting the controller unit to an external data source; a computing section operably connected to the power link section and the data link section for receiving data from the external data source, for performing a computing task based on the received data and for outputting control commands; an engine interface section for driving the at least one engine motor; and a servo interface section for driving the at least one servo motor; wherein the engine interface section and the servo interface section are both operably connected to the computing section and adapted to drive the at least one engine motor and the at least one servo motor, respectively, based on the control commands output by the computing section.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an integrated controller unit for controlling at least one engine motor and at least one servo motor. Background Technology

[0002] Components including engine motors and servo motors can be used in many fields; however, a specific use case for the integrated controller unit according to the invention is in the field of vehicle propulsion, particularly in aircraft with electric propulsion, wherein the engine motor is adapted to generate thrust for propelling the vehicle, while the servo motor is adapted to adjust the position of the engine motor, and thus adjust the direction of the thrust generated by the engine motor relative to external components such as the body of the vehicle. Thus, the aircraft can have short-range / vertical takeoff and hovering capabilities. However, it is clear that in such vehicles, for safety reasons, a high level of redundancy, differentiation, fail-safe design, etc., must be established to prevent catastrophic accidents in the event of failure of some components of the propulsion system. However, in a more general sense of the invention, a drive motor can be understood as a device capable of permanently transmitting mechanical power to external components such as fans, while a servo motor can be understood as a device adapted to control a defined angle or spatial position between two external components and can be implemented, for example, by a stepper motor.

[0003] While the traditional approach to redundancy in aircraft is primarily to provide multiple separate instances of critical control components (such as controller units), future vehicles (such as small to medium-sized electric propulsion aircraft) may employ an alternative approach: providing multiple components including one or more engine motors and a dedicated controller unit, so that redundancy is no longer provided at the controller component level, but rather at the level of the component that includes at least one engine motor and a dedicated controller unit.

[0004] For this new approach, a novel controller unit capable of employing a new design paradigm must be provided. While it was previously thought that some degree of separation should be provided between critical sub-components of the controller unit to allow them to operate as independently as possible, thereby reducing the risk of a cascade of errors that could compromise the operability or at least redundancy of said components, the integrated controller unit can be integrated to a greater degree, based on the new approach of redundancy of the entire assembly cited above, since internal error propagation may still be contained within the redundant component level. By employing such a highly integrated controller unit, a more compact, lighter, and cost-effective controller unit design can be used without compromising the overall safety level of the upper-level vehicle, as the vehicle will remain fully operational even in the event of failure of one or more substantially independent components. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Therefore, the present invention proposes an integrated controller unit for controlling at least one engine motor and at least one servo motor, comprising: a power link section for connecting the controller unit to an external power source and supplying power to various parts of the controller unit; a data link section for connecting the controller unit to an external data source; a computing section operatively connected to the power link section and the data link section for receiving data from the external data source, thereby performing computing tasks and outputting control commands based on the received data; an engine interface section for driving at least one engine motor; and a servo interface section for driving at least one servo motor; wherein both the engine interface section and the servo interface section are operatively connected to the computing section and adapted to drive at least one engine motor and at least one servo motor respectively based on control commands output by the computing section.

[0006] Therefore, by integrating the computing portion of the controller unit with the engine interface portion and the servo interface portion, and relying on a common power link portion and a common data link portion, a highly integrated controller unit with an integral design is achieved. This controller unit can be used as a single replaceable control component at the interface of the upper-level structure, from which power data and input data are provided to the engine motor and servo motor. By avoiding redundancy related to, for example, the computing portion and the power link portion at the controller unit level, it is necessary to reduce the number of overall components, thereby achieving a cost-effective, lightweight, and easy-to-assemble layout for the integrated controller unit according to the invention, wherein multiple identical controller units can be used in a single upper-level device (such as, for example, an aircraft). In alternative variations, the invention allows for redundancy and / or different architectures in the computing portion, which enables common-mode fault tolerance. In such embodiments, dual processing of the same data by two entities independently is foreseeable, thereby improving the safety of the unit by adding common-mode fault tolerance to complex electronics and adding data processing integrity to the integrated unit architecture.

[0007] The computing section itself may include one or more microcontrollers, microchips, and / or storage elements for storing firmware and software, as well as data required to perform its computing tasks. Furthermore, the data link section may be integrated with the computing section, for example, by using a microcontroller or microchip layout with the required communication interfaces and capabilities, or it may employ a physically separate data link section connected to the computing section via a suitable communication link.

[0008] Although the computational and additional portions of the integrated controller unit according to the invention can both be housed on a single board, in other embodiments of the invention, multiple interconnected boards and / or discrete components may be used, arranged according to space and geometric constraints at the unit's mounting point. Furthermore, the various portions may be housed on a single or multiple boards, or as discrete components arranged according to, for example, their expected noise levels, such that high-voltage and high-power portions are located as far away as possible from low-voltage and low-power portions, which may be most susceptible to electromagnetic interference or similar effects.

[0009] While different variations of the data link portion can be envisioned for use in the integrated controller unit according to the invention, including wireless protocols, one possible embodiment may utilize a CAN bus interface, which is commonly used in similar applications, such as in vehicles for controlling peripheral devices and communicating with a central or higher-level control unit.

[0010] In addition to the at least one engine motor and at least one servo motor described above, the integrated controller unit according to the invention may also be adapted to connect to at least one accessory component, and thus may include at least one accessory interface portion for driving said accessory component (particularly a de-icing system), wherein the accessory interface portion is operatively connected to a computing unit and adapted to drive the accessory component based on control commands output by the computing unit. An example of a de-icing system may be provided to ensure that the two components in which the servo motor operates are not blocked by ice or that ice does not form at critical locations (such as the edges of an aircraft wing or air intake).

[0011] Although this de-icing system is an example of a relatively easy-to-control accessory component because its operation mainly relies on providing an electric current, the de-icing system achieves the desired de-icing effect through resistance heating in a dedicated wire, but alternatively or additionally, more sophisticated or complex accessory components can also be driven by means of at least one accessory interface portion in the integrated controller unit of the present invention.

[0012] Furthermore, to enable feedback loops and, more generally, improved control schemes for motors and at least one possible accessory component, the computing unit is also adapted to receive sensor data from at least one external sensor unit, which may be associated with or independently of one of the other parts of the controller unit. Based on the sensor data, the computing unit can be adapted to appropriately employ control strategies for the motor and accessory component, for example, by using the sensor data as input to a suitable algorithm, which subsequently influences the corresponding output control commands issued by the computing unit.

[0013] In some embodiments of the invention, the power link section may be adapted to be supplied with, for example, high-voltage direct current (DC) of about 500V to 900V, and preferably includes a DC-DC converter with an output voltage of about 20V to 48V. Thus, the high voltage required to drive a high-performance engine motor can be easily supplied to the integrated controller unit, while also being supplied to low-voltage components, such as the microprocessor in the computing section, by converting the high voltage to low voltage. However, the power link section may also be adapted to be additionally supplied with, for example, low-voltage DC of about 24V to 48V, so as to directly supply its low-voltage electronic components without operating the DC-DC converter, for example, for testing purposes. Furthermore, the power link section may include a DC link block for providing an energy buffer link from DC to AC. Such a DC link block may also be provided alternatively or additionally to one or more of the engine interface section, servo interface section, and accessory interface section.

[0014] While the engine interface and servo interface sections can be designed in any suitable manner to perform their tasks and may include a variety of electronic and electrical components, in some embodiments, the engine interface and / or servo interface sections may specifically include at least one gate driver and at least one semiconductor switch, such as a power MOSFET, IBGT, or BJT, and preferably also include at least one sensor unit specifically for monitoring voltage and / or current. By providing said at least one sensor unit, the operation and performance of the corresponding motor can be monitored in real time by the computing section, which can then be used to adjust the motor control strategy in a suitable manner. Other parameters that can be monitored by the sensor units integrated in the engine interface and servo interface sections may include the temperature, speed, angular position, vibration, etc. of certain components.

[0015] To decouple the integrated controller unit from external electronic interference and similar noise effects, the integrated controller unit may also include at least one EMI filter, preferably as part of the power link section, engine interface section, and / or servo interface section. Additionally or alternatively, the integrated controller unit according to the invention may also include at least one DC link block provided to the power link section, engine interface section, servo interface section, and / or accessory interface section to provide an energy buffer link.

[0016] Furthermore, the computing portion of the integrated controller unit according to the invention is adapted to transmit feedback and / or status information to at least one external unit via a data link portion. Thus, information can be forwarded by the computing portion of the integrated controller unit to, for example, a higher-level control unit. This information may include, for example, data regarding the performance and operation of at least one engine motor and / or servo motor, information regarding the operating status of the computing portion, and additional sensor data recorded near the integrated controller unit. To transmit such information, the same channel used to connect the controller unit to an external data source, such as the aforementioned CAN bus, can be used, or a separate dedicated channel may be used for this purpose, potentially employing different communication protocols.

[0017] According to a second aspect, the present invention relates to a component comprising an integrated controller unit according to the invention, at least one engine motor, and at least one servo motor, adapted to be driven by an engine interface portion and a servo interface portion of the integrated controller unit, respectively. The component may further include additional components (such as at least one accessory component, particularly a de-icing system) adapted to be driven by an accessory interface portion of the integrated controller unit, at least one sensor unit for providing sensor data to a computing portion of the integrated controller unit, an active cooler unit, or passive components (such as a radiator).

[0018] Although at least one sensor unit can be used as a standalone unit or integrated with any part of the controller unit, it can also be part of at least one engine motor, at least one servo motor, and / or at least one accessory component, and is therefore suitable for monitoring at least one operating parameter of at least one engine motor, at least one servo motor, and / or at least one accessory component and providing the corresponding sensor data to the integrated controller unit. Therefore, typical types of sensor data collected by a suitable sensor unit include, but are not limited to, position data, temperature data, vibration data, and electrical data such as current and voltage.

[0019] In one particular embodiment, the components according to the invention can be designed such that at least one engine motor is part of an electrically driven ducted fan, and the integrated controller unit is preferably at least partially mounted in the rear conical region of the ducted fan. In such ducted fans, the engine motor for generating thrust by means of a rotatable fan is arranged within a cylindrical duct, while a stator with fixed blades is positioned in the direction of airflow moving within the duct behind the fan. A rear cone is provided radially inward and / or axially rearward of the stator to guide airflow through and out of the duct, while providing space for housing electrical and / or electronic components. As air flows along the rear cone at a high local velocity, cooling is essentially provided to components located inside the rear cone, such that components with high thermal activity (such as the engine interface portion of the integrated controller unit of the invention) can be positioned along the inner periphery of the rear cone to provide them with maximum cooling power.

[0020] In certain other embodiments of specific aircraft configurations, the controller unit can be more broadly integrated into the aircraft fuselage. This architectural choice allows for a higher level of integration with the aerodynamic structures of the wings and flaps, enabling the embedding of electronics and optimized wiring harnesses. This assembly can be arranged according to the space and geometric constraints present at the wing and flap structure mounting points, resulting in a distributed configuration of the unit and positioning the engine-driven and servo-driven sections near the engine motors and servo actuators, respectively. Similarly, the corresponding engine motor controller and servo controller functions of the controller unit can be implemented using at least two separate board assemblies, correspondingly distributed near the engine motors and servo actuators.

[0021] Specifically, in such a component, at least one of the power link portion, data link portion, computing portion, engine interface portion, and servo interface portion may be located in a first mounting area and / or on a first circuit board, and at least one of the components may be located in a second mounting area and / or on a second circuit board, wherein the first mounting area and the second mounting area and / or the first circuit board and the second circuit board are spatially distributed and interconnected by dedicated data links and power links.

[0022] In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the engine interface can be located near the engine motor, while the servo interface, including at least one DC-DC converter, can be located near the servo actuator. Similarly, the corresponding engine motor controller and servo controller functions of the controller unit can be implemented using two separate board assemblies, respectively located near the engine motor and servo actuator. The technical effects of this distributed controller unit, driven by increased integration into the aerodynamic aircraft structure due to space and geometric constraints at the unit mounting point, include optimized wiring and weight reduction, reduced electromagnetic / EMI noise by limiting sensitivity to electromagnetic interference or similar effects, and improved thermal / cooling performance.

[0023] The components according to the invention can be particularly used in an aircraft comprising at least a pair of wings, a fuselage, a central computing unit, and a central power supply, wherein at least one engine motor is mounted to the aircraft in a tiltable manner relative to the fuselage and / or at least a pair of wings, and wherein at least one servo motor is arranged to cause said tilting of the at least one engine motor. For example, such an aircraft can be used for vertical / short takeoff and landing because the thrust vector of its engines can be pointed in different directions, from a vertical direction for takeoff and hovering to a horizontal direction for cruise flight conditions. In such embodiments, at least one servo motor will be used to adjust the relative position between at least one engine motor and the aircraft fuselage, thereby controlling the direction of the thrust vector of at least one engine motor by correspondingly driving at least one servo motor, wherein the absolute value of the thrust can be adjusted by controlling the power output of at least one engine motor.

[0024] By providing a suitable majority of such components to a single aircraft, each including at least one servo motor, at least one engine motor, and an integrated controller unit, redundancy can be achieved at the component level, such that an error or problem in one component can be balanced by correspondingly driving the remaining components, for example, those with higher power output and therefore higher thrust. A high level of redundancy can be achieved among the individual components of the aircraft by providing different thrusts among the individual engine motors, provided that the total thrust output of the operating engine motors allows compensation for the inoperable engine motors.

[0025] In one possible embodiment, the aircraft may include a plurality of flap elements, each of which is tiltably disposed relative to the wing of the aircraft by means of a servo motor. Each flap element further comprises at least one engine motor, wherein the servo motor and at least one engine motor of the same flap are driven by the same integrated controller unit, thereby forming the assembly according to the invention as described above. In particular, one or more engine motors may be disposed on a single flap, for example in the ducted fan configuration described above, and a single integrated controller unit may be assigned to each flap element, and preferably the single integrated controller unit is mounted on the flap element, for example in the aft conical region of one of the ducted fans. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer from the following description of its embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are specifically illustrated in the drawings:

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the integrated controller unit according to the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a ducted fan employing components according to the present invention; and

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an aircraft with multiple ducted fan engines mounted on flaps. Detailed Implementation

[0030] exist Figure 1 In the figure, the integrated controller unit according to the invention is shown schematically and is generally indicated by reference numeral 10.

[0031] The controller unit 10 includes a power link section 12 for connecting the controller unit to an external power supply 14 and for supplying power to the various parts of the controller unit 10 discussed below. For this purpose, the power link section 12 includes two inputs 12a1 and 12a2 and four outputs 12b1 to 12b4.

[0032] Internally, the power link section 12 also includes an EMI filter unit 12c for reducing noise and interference, and a DC-DC converter 12d for converting the input high-voltage DC to the output low-voltage DC, wherein the conversion may, for example, result in a voltage reduction from 800V to 28V.

[0033] like Figure 1As shown, a 28V reduced voltage is applied only to one of the output sockets 12b4, while the remaining output sockets 12b1 to 12b3 receive the full 800V input voltage. As described below, the 28V reduced voltage is supplied to low-voltage electronic components, while the high voltage is supplied to high-voltage power components. Furthermore, the second input socket 12a2 can be used to directly supply a low voltage to output socket 12d4, and thus can be used, for example, for testing purposes or as a secondary power input to low-voltage electronic components. Additionally, the power link section 12 may include a DC link block for providing an energy buffer link from DC to AC power.

[0034] Similar to the power link portion 12 for connecting the controller unit 10 to an external power supply 14, a data link portion 16 is provided as an interface to an external data source. For this purpose, the data link portion 16 may include a CAN bus interface or an interface for any other suitable communication standard, wherein wired communication may be preferred over wireless communication for security reasons. It should also be noted that the data link portion may be adapted for unidirectional or bidirectional communication, such that in some embodiments the integrated controller unit 10 may also provide data, such as operational or performance data, to at least a higher-level entity, which may be the same as or separate from the data source. Furthermore, the data link portion 16 may be provided in a redundant and different manner, or may include redundant and different components for the same purpose.

[0035] Connected to the low-voltage output 12b4 of the power link section 12 and the data link section 16 is the computing section 18, which may include, for example, one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers 18a and a storage unit 18b, on which data and program code may be stored for performing computational tasks within the operating environment of the integrated controller unit 10. Specifically, the computing section (18) may include redundant and / or different architectures capable of performing dual independent processing of the same data.

[0036] The computing section 18 is operatively connected to the engine interface section 20, the servo interface section 22, and the accessory interface section 24, which are supplied with high-voltage direct current via the high-voltage outputs 12b1 to 12b3 of the power link section 12. Each of the engine interface section 20, the servo interface section 22, and the accessory interface section 24 may be equipped with gate drivers 20a, 22a, 24a and semiconductor switches 20b, 22b, 24b, such as power MOSFETs, controlled by control commands output from the computing section 18, through which power is output to the engine motor 26, the servo motor 28, and the accessory component 30, respectively, wherein the accessory component may be implemented, for example, by a de-icing system. It should be noted that in some variations of this embodiment, at least one of the engine interface section 20, the servo interface section 22, and the accessory interface section 24 may include a non-fault-tolerant (e.g., three-phase) or multi-phase / fault-tolerant architecture, wherein if a single phase or a small set of phases fails, the corresponding component remains operational, but its performance is degraded.

[0037] In addition to the respective gate drivers 20a, 22a and 24a and the semiconductor switches 20b, 22b and 24b, each of the interface portions 20, 22 and 24 may also include at least one sensor unit 20c, 22c and 24c, which may be adapted, for example, to measure current or voltage or other operating parameters, such as the position of a servo motor, the speed of an engine motor, temperature, vibration or similar quantities.

[0038] During operation of the integrated controller unit 10, it receives high voltage and data for its operation via the power link section 12 and the data link section 16. The data, as well as sensor data provided by sensor units 20c, 22c, and 24c, and possible additional external sensor control commands are output to the engine interface section 20, the servo interface section 22, and the accessory interface section 24, based on which the engine motor 26, the servo motor 28, and the accessory component 30 are driven and operated.

[0039] By means of the integrated controller unit 10 provided by the present invention, the components including the integrated controller unit 10, the engine motor 26, the servo motor 28, and the accessory components 30 can be, for example, made by Figure 2 The electrically driven ducted fan 100 shown is implemented or integrated therein.

[0040] In an alternative embodiment, due to space and geometric constraints at the mounting points in the wing and flap structures, this integrated controller unit can also be distributed into two main sections, thereby allocating a portion of the multiple interconnect boards and / or discrete components of the integrated controller unit to a second mounting area. These two unit sections are then connected via dedicated communication and power links.

[0041] Within the cylindrical duct 102, a rotatable fan 104 is provided, and the rotatable fan 104 is driven by an engine motor 26. The motor 26 is integrated in the radially inward volume of a stator 106 with fixed blades, while an integrated controller unit 10 is at least partially integrated in a rear conical region 108, which also serves as a guide for airflow through the cylindrical duct 102.

[0042] Both the power supply and CAN bus cables are housed in cable harness 110, which extends along a portion of cylindrical conduit 102, passes through one of the blades of stator 106, and enters the rear conical region 108, where it connects to the integrated controller unit 10. In alternative embodiments, the required cables may also be housed in multiple cable harnesses and / or routed through multiple blades to provide physical isolation. Furthermore, additional measures may be provided to ensure their safe operation, such as physical barriers between the individual cables.

[0043] In addition, an additional cable 112 is shown, by means of which power is supplied to the de-icing system used as accessory component 30 to prevent ice from forming on the air intake edge of the ducted fan 100.

[0044] The ducted fan 100 itself can be located on the upper stage of the aircraft ( Figure 2 A portion of the wing or fuselage (not shown) is connected to the portion via a servo motor 28, which allows the cylindrical duct 102 and all components disposed therein to tilt relative to the tilt axis T. Therefore, by means of operating the servo motor 28, the angle between the cylindrical duct 102 and the thrust vector provided during operation of the engine motor 26 can be adjusted relative to the wing or fuselage of the aircraft, enabling the ducted fan engine 100 to move, for example, between a hovering position where its thrust vector is vertical and a cruise position where its thrust vector is substantially horizontal.

[0045] Finally, Figure 3 The image shows a schematic top view of an aircraft 200 having two pairs of wings 202 and 204 and a fuselage 206, wherein a plurality of flaps 210 are provided at the trailing edge of each of the wings 202 and 204. The flaps 210 functionally correspond to... Figure 2 The components 100 shown include a base portion that can be tilted relative to the respective wing 202 or 204 by means of a servo motor, and the base portion also carries at least one propulsion engine in the form of a ducted fan electrically driven by a drive motor. Typically, three such ducted fans can be provided on each flap; however, embodiments with more or fewer ducted fans per flap are also conceivable, and the number of ducted fans can vary among the flaps 210. Each of the flaps 210 is also provided with... Figure 1The integrated controller unit shown is adapted to drive a servo motor associated with the corresponding flap 210 and one or more drive motors located on the corresponding flap 210.

[0046] Each of the integrated controller units in the corresponding flaps 210 is data-connected to the central control unit 212, which provides control data to the central control unit via the aircraft 200's CAN bus system and a central power supply 214 (such as a battery pack) for storing and providing power, as described above. Figure 1 This is discussed in the context of [the previous context].

[0047] By providing a large number of individual flaps, each flap can contribute to the propulsion of the aircraft 200 in different ways. For example, the loss of one or more flaps 210 due to electrical or mechanical failure can be compensated by the remaining flaps 210, thus providing flap-level redundancy.

[0048] For example, if in Figure 3 If the crossed-out flap 210a does not function as expected, the central control unit 214 can adjust the operation of the remaining flap 210 with respect to the angle between the remaining flap and the corresponding wings 202, 204 via its servo motor and with respect to the thrust provided by one or more fans, controlled as by the corresponding engine motor, in order to compensate for the inoperable flap 210a. For this purpose, each flap 210 provides operational and sensor data to the central control unit 212 via its integrated controller unit, enabling the central control unit 212 to identify the current state of each flap 210, thus ensuring the correct operation of the aircraft 200 even if one or more flaps 210 are currently inoperable.

Claims

1. An aircraft (200) comprising at least one pair of wings (202, 204), a fuselage (206), and at least one component (100), said at least one component (100) comprising an integrated controller unit (10) for controlling at least one engine motor (26) and at least one servo motor (28), said integrated controller unit (10) comprising: - Power link section (12) for connecting the integrated controller unit (10) to an external power source (14) and supplying power to the various parts of the integrated controller unit (10); - Data link section (16) for connecting the integrated controller unit (10) to an external data source; - The computing section (18) is operatively connected to the power link section (12) and the data link section (16) for receiving data from the external data source, thereby performing computing tasks and outputting control commands based on the received data; - Engine interface portion (20), for driving the at least one engine motor (26); as well as - Servo interface section (22) for driving the at least one servo motor (28); The engine interface portion (20) and the servo interface portion (22) are both operatively connected to the computing portion (18) and adapted to drive the at least one engine motor (26) and the at least one servo motor (28) respectively based on control commands output by the computing portion (18), wherein the at least one engine motor (26) and the at least one servo motor (28) are adapted to be driven by the engine interface portion (20) and the servo interface portion (22) of the integrated controller unit (10) respectively; It also includes a central computing unit (212) and a central power supply (214), wherein the at least one engine motor (26) is mounted to the aircraft (200) in a tiltable manner relative to the fuselage (206) and / or the at least one pair of wings (202, 204), wherein the at least one servo motor (28) is arranged to cause the tilt of the at least one engine motor (26), wherein a plurality of flap elements (210) are disposed on the wings (202, 204) in a tiltable manner relative to the wings (202, 204) by means of servo motors (28), wherein each of the flap elements (210) is further provided with at least one engine motor (26), wherein the servo motor (28) of the same flap element (210) and the at least one engine motor (26) are driven by the same integrated controller unit (10).

2. The aircraft (200) according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the integrated controller units (10) further comprises: - At least one accessory interface portion (24) for driving accessory components (30), said accessory components including a de-icing system, The accessory interface portion (24) is operatively connected to the computing portion (18) and is adapted to drive the accessory component (30) based on control commands output by the computing portion (18).

3. The aircraft (200) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The computing portion (18) of at least one of the integrated controller units (10) is also adapted to receive sensor data from at least one external sensor unit (20c, 22c, 24c).

4. The aircraft (200) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The computing portion (18) of at least one of the integrated controller units (10) includes a redundant architecture and / or different architectures capable of performing dual independent processing of the same data.

5. The aircraft (200) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The power link portion (12) of at least one of the integrated controller units (10) is adapted to be supplied with high voltage DC power from 500V to 900V and includes a DC-DC converter (12d) having an output voltage from 24V to 48V.

6. The aircraft (200) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the engine interface portion (20) and / or the servo interface portion (22) of at least one of the integrated controller units (10) includes at least one gate driver (20a, 22a) and at least one semiconductor switch (20b, 22b), and includes at least one sensor unit (20c, 22c) for monitoring voltage and / or current.

7. The aircraft (200) of claim 2, wherein, At least one of the integrated controller units (10) further includes at least one EMI filter (12c) as part of the power link section (12), the engine interface section (20) and / or the servo interface section (22), and / or includes at least one DC link block provided to the power link section (12), the engine interface section (20), the servo interface section (22) and / or the accessory interface section (24).

8. The aircraft (200) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the computing portion (18) of at least one of the integrated controller units (10) is further adapted to convey feedback and / or status information by means of the data link portion (16).

9. The aircraft (200) according to claim 2, wherein the at least one component (100) further comprises at least one accessory component (30), the at least one accessory component including a de-icing system, the at least one accessory component being adapted to be driven by the accessory interface portion (24) of the integrated controller unit (10).

10. The aircraft (200) of claim 9, wherein, The at least one engine motor (26), the at least one servo motor (28), and / or the at least one accessory component (30) include a sensor unit adapted to monitor at least one operating parameter of the at least one engine motor (26), the at least one servo motor (28), and / or the at least one accessory component (30) and provide corresponding sensor data to the integrated controller unit (10).

11. The aircraft (200) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The at least one engine motor (26) is part of a ducted fan, and the integrated controller unit (10) is at least partially mounted in the rear cone region (108) of the ducted fan.

12. The aircraft (200) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein At least one of the power link portion (12), the data link portion (16), the computing portion (18), the engine interface portion (20), and the servo interface portion (22) is located in a first mounting area and / or on a first circuit board, and at least one of the power link portion (12), the data link portion (16), the computing portion (18), the engine interface portion (20), and the servo interface portion (22) is located in a second mounting area and / or on a second circuit board, wherein the first mounting area and the second mounting area and / or the first circuit board and the second circuit board are spatially distributed and interconnected by dedicated data links and power links.

13. The aircraft (200) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein A single integrated controller unit (10) is assigned to each flap element (210), and the single integrated controller unit is mounted on each flap element.

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