Energy management system for an aircraft equipped with a hybrid power source comprising at least one rechargeable source and one electric generation source

Abstract

The present invention relates to a hybrid energy aircraft and to an energy management system for a hybrid energy aircraft. The system comprises at least a charging power source, a generating power source, a detector (200) and a controller (210). The detector is arranged to detect not only status data, but also electrical energy data related to instantaneous electrical power subject to aircraft control and / or to charging state control of the charging power source; the status data being able to show the state of components of the electrical power consumption circuit of the aircraft required by the energy management system; the controller is arranged to receive energy data from the detector (200) and to determine the control state of the power sources; the controller (210) comprises at least three states appearing in groups: a buffer state, in which the required instantaneous electrical power is lower than the capacity of the generating power source and is supplied entirely by the generating power source; a charging state, in which the required instantaneous electrical power is lower than the capacity of the generating power source, is supplied entirely by the generating power source and the generating power source is able to generate the remaining power required to charge the charging power source; and a turbine state, in which the required instantaneous electrical power is higher than the capacity of the generating power source and the charging power source is able to provide the additional power required to meet the instantaneous electrical power requirement. The system also comprises an adapter (220), a driver (230) and a switch (240); the adapter is arranged to receive the status data and, in the event of a fault indicated by the status data, to determine a backup electrical configuration; the driver is arranged to receive the state information of the controller (210) and to determine whether electrical control of the charging power source (50, 60, 80, 90) and of the generating power source (18, 20) is required in accordance with the required instantaneous electrical power; the switch is arranged to issue instructions to the switches of the electrical power consumption circuit of the aircraft subject to control by the energy management system in order to implement the nominal electrical configuration; or, in the event of receiving a backup electrical configuration instruction from the adapter (220), to implement the backup electrical configuration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aircraft, and more specifically, to an energy management system for aircraft equipped with a hybrid power supply comprising at least one rechargeable power source and one power generation power source. Background Technology

[0002] The aviation industry is currently facing many changes, some related to evolving environmental requirements and others to the development of electric aircraft. In particular, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) technology, as a new mode of transportation, is developing rapidly because it offers a variety of quite interesting prospects.

[0003] Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) is not a new field (it has been developing since 1921), but its electrification has led to many new solutions and regulations. In particular, the latest regulations (e.g., the SC-VTOL-01 Special Situation VTOL aircraft issued on July 2, 2019) require redundancy in all systems related to propulsion, flight, motors, and power supply throughout the electrical system to ensure flight continuity (referred to as “continuous safe flight and landing”), rather than just requiring an emergency landing after a power outage. This is also known as “one-time power outage safety,” meaning “only one power outage is tolerable.”

[0004] These regulations have largely encouraged the development of redundant solutions, including rechargeable power sources, generators, motors, and rotors.

[0005] The result of this development is that control systems have become extremely important and complex. Conventionally, aircraft equipped with hybrid power systems can employ three control systems:

[0006] —The flight management system (referred to as the "flight management system" or FMS) manages flight parameters based on external conditions and flight control, in particular determining and controlling the instantaneous electrical power required by the motors and / or rotors, but optionally controlling other parameters such as the orientation of flaps, stabilizers, ailerons, etc.

[0007] —A battery management system (referred to as the "Battery Management System" or BMS) is designed to optimize power management in the rechargeable power source; and

[0008] —The energy management system (referred to as the "energy management system" or EMS) manages the power supplied to the electrical devices according to the requirements of the FMS (in the case of conventional thermal propulsion systems, this can be accomplished by FADEC, which represents "full authority digital engine control").

[0009] These three systems can coexist, but there may also be situations where the battery management system and the energy management system are used in combination, for example, when the battery management system or the energy management system is extremely simplified.

[0010] To address the challenges of redundancy management, namely optimizing power consumption, specialized controllers have been developed and connected to flight management systems, battery management systems, and energy management systems. The addition of power shortage safety management further complicates the situation.

[0011] Given the reliability requirements of the aviation industry, the traditional management approach for these issues is to comprehensively list all possible scenarios for each problem (energy management, redundancy / power shortage management) and provide a management tree for a complete reproduction of each problem. For example, document CN109094790 is an example of this approach.

[0012] However, with technological advancements, the generation and management of these management trees have become increasingly complex, thus posing a source of risk. Furthermore, if even one component in the structure changes, these management trees are rendered obsolete and must be started from scratch. Other solutions seek to manage according to flight phases, such as FR3084 318 or US2011 / 0178648. However, the methods described in these documents are flawed and largely inapplicable.

[0013] For this reason, no system has yet been able to effectively manage the power of hybrid-powered aircraft and control the safety issues during a power outage. Summary of the Invention

[0014] The present invention aims to improve this situation. To this end, the present invention provides an energy management system for an aircraft equipped with a hybrid power supply comprising at least one rechargeable source and one power generator. The energy management system includes detectors configured to, on the one hand, determine state data indicating the element states of power consumption circuits of the aircraft controlled by the energy management system, and on the other hand, determine power data related to the instantaneous electrical power required by the aircraft and / or the charging state of the aircraft's rechargeable source; and an automatic device configured to receive the power data from the detectors and determine the control state of the power supply.

[0015] The automatic device includes at least three states in a group, wherein the group includes:

[0016] *A slow-charging state in which the required instantaneous electrical power is less than the capacity of the at least one power source, and power is thus obtained;

[0017] *A charging state in which the required instantaneous electrical power is less than the capacity of the at least one power source, and the instantaneous electrical power is entirely provided by the at least one power source, wherein the one or more power sources generate surplus electrical energy for charging the at least one rechargeable source; and

[0018] *Fast charging mode, wherein the required instantaneous power is higher than the capacity of the at least one power source, and wherein the at least one rechargeable power source provides supplementary power to meet the required instantaneous power requirement;

[0019] The energy management system further includes an adapter configured to receive the status data and determine a backup power supply configuration when the status data indicates a power shortage; a controller configured to receive status information of the automated device and determine power supply control for the at least one rechargeable power source and the at least one generator power source based on the required instantaneous power; and a switch configured to issue control to a switch of the power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management system to implement the nominal power supply configuration, or to implement the backup power supply configuration upon receiving the backup power supply configuration from the adapter.

[0020] A key advantage of this energy management system is its ability to introduce functionalities and simplify management. In fact, the decoupling of the automated devices / adapters allows for the management of power supply and the utilization of potential structural redundancy during a power outage safety management scenario. Another advantage of the energy management system's architecture is its independence from the hybrid-electric aircraft's structure. By decoupling the energy management system from the circuitry configuration management that enables power consumption, it can manage any level of power supply or mechanical redundancy in the aircraft, as it only requires modifications to the adapter settings. Therefore, the energy management system is highly scalable and can be rapidly deployed on a variety of hybrid-electric aircraft with different architectures.

[0021] According to various embodiments, the present invention may have one or more of the following features:

[0022] —The controller is configured to use the rechargeable power source to power the automatic device when it is in a slow-charging state; during the conversion, the power provided by the at least one power source is increased to the required instantaneous power.

[0023] —The automatic device is preset in the slow charging state and has the following switching rules:

[0024] *When the required instantaneous power exceeds the capacity of the at least one power source, the system switches from the slow charging state or the charging state to the fast charging state.

[0025] *When the required instantaneous power is lower than the capacity of the at least one power source, the system switches from the fast charging state to the slow charging state;

[0026] *When the required instantaneous power is less than the capacity of at least one power source and one or more rechargeable sources are in a charging state below the full charge threshold, the system transitions from the slow-charge state to the charging state; and

[0027] *When the required instantaneous power is less than the capacity of the at least one power source and one or more rechargeable sources are in a charging state equal to the full charging threshold, the process transitions from the charging state to the slow charging state.

[0028] —The automatic device further includes a stationary state, wherein the at least one power source is in a deactivated state.

[0029] —The automatic device further has the following conversion rules:

[0030] *When the detector receives a static mode control, it transitions from the slow charging, charging, or fast charging state to the static state; and

[0031] *When the static mode control is in the disabled state, it transitions from the static state to the slow charging state.

[0032] —The controller is configured to receive a backup power supply configuration from the adapter when a power shortage is detected, and, based on the backup power supply configuration, control the power outage of one or more components of the power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management system.

[0033] —The switch is configured to receive the status of the automatic device and accordingly issue control to the switch of the power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management system.

[0034] The present invention also relates to an energy management method for an aircraft equipped with a hybrid power supply including at least one rechargeable source and one power generator, characterized in that the method includes the following operations:

[0035] a) On the one hand, determine the status data of the components of the power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management method, and on the other hand, determine the power data related to the instantaneous electrical power required by the aircraft and / or the charging status of the rechargeable source of the aircraft.

[0036] b) Transmitting the power data from operation a) to an automatic device, wherein the automatic device is configured to determine the control state of the power supply, the automatic device comprising at least three states from a group, wherein the group comprises:

[0037] *A slow-charging state in which the required instantaneous electrical power is less than the capacity of the at least one power source, and power is thus obtained;

[0038] *A charging state in which the required instantaneous electrical power is less than the capacity of the at least one power source, and the instantaneous electrical power is entirely provided by the at least one power source, wherein the one or more power sources generate surplus electrical energy for charging the at least one rechargeable source; and

[0039] *Fast charging mode, wherein the required instantaneous power is higher than the capacity of the at least one power source, and wherein the at least one rechargeable power source provides supplementary power to meet the required instantaneous power requirement;

[0040] c) Determine power supply control for the at least one rechargeable power source and the at least one generator power source based on the required instantaneous power and the state of the automatic device determined in operation b).

[0041] d) Detect power outages using the aforementioned status data and determine backup power supply configurations; and

[0042] e) Issue control to the switch of the power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management system to achieve the nominal power supply configuration, or, if the backup power supply configuration is determined in operation d), achieve the backup power supply configuration.

[0043] The present invention also relates to a computer program, including instructions for implementing the invention or performing the method of the invention when the computer executes the computer program, and a data storage medium for recording the computer program. Attached Figure Description

[0044] Other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description, which is derived from examples given in the accompanying drawings for illustrative and non-limiting purposes:

[0045] — Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the electrical structure of a hybrid-powered aircraft equipped with an energy management system according to the present invention.

[0046] — Figure 2 It shows Figure 1 A general schematic diagram of the energy management system described herein.

[0047] — Figure 3 It shows Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the state of the automatic device and the transitions between these states.

[0048] — Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrating the control sequence (from the aircraft pilot to the energy management system) and its respective effects is shown.

[0049] — Figure 5 A general control loop for an aircraft equipped with the energy management system described in this invention is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0050] This specification may involve various elements protected by copyright. The rights holder shall not object to anyone reproducing this patent document or its description appearing in the official record in exactly the same manner. In all other respects, he / she may fully reserve his / her rights.

[0051] like Figure 1 As shown, the aircraft 2 of the present invention includes the energy management system 4 of the present invention, two horizontal drive units 6 and 8, four vertical drive units 10, 12, 14 and 16, and two power generation sources 18 and 20.

[0052] This type of aircraft is highly innovative and particularly well-suited for demonstrating the potential of the energy management system 4. However, the aircraft could employ a simpler structure, such as a single horizontal drive unit, one or two vertical drive units, and a single power source. Alternatively, the aircraft could not be a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, but rather another type of aircraft, such as a "conventional" hybrid-electric aircraft.

[0053] In the example described herein, the horizontal drive unit 6 (8 in total) includes a DC-AC converter 22 (32 in total), a motor 24 (34 in total), and a propulsion unit 26 (36 in total), such as a propeller-type propulsion unit. The propulsion unit 26 (36 in total) is configured to enable the aircraft to move in a generally horizontal direction. In the example described herein, the propulsion unit 26 (36 in total) consumes 80 kilowatts of power during flight.

[0054] The input terminal of the horizontal drive unit 6 (8) is connected to the switch 28 (38). The switch 28 can connect the input terminal to the output terminal of the vertical drive unit 10 (14) or 12 (16), as described below.

[0055] The vertical drive units 10 (12, 14, 16) include rotors 42 (46, 72, 76) driven by motors 52 (56, 8, 86) and rotors 44 (48, 74, 78) driven by motors 54 (58, 84, 84, 88). Motors 52 and 54 are powered by DC-AC converters 62 and 64 (66, 68, 92, 94, 96, 98). The DC-AC converters 62 and 64 (66, 68, 92, 94, 96, 98) are connected to the power supply bus of the vertical drive units 10 (12, 14, 16), wherein the power supply bus is connected to batteries 50 (60, 80, 90), the input terminal of the power distribution bus connected to the power generation power source 18, and the input terminal of the power distribution bus connected to the power generation power source 20. Finally, the power supply bus of each vertical drive unit 10, 12 (14, 16 respectively) is connected to its respective output terminal, which is then connected to the switch 28 (38 respectively). As described below, when batteries 50, 60, 80, and 90 provide 100% capacity, their total output power is 600 kW.

[0056] In the example described herein, each power source 18 (20 in total) includes, on one hand, a turbine generator 100 (102 in total) and a DC-AC converter 104 (106 in total). In the example described herein, each turbine generator can output 40 kW of power at 100% capacity. Alternatively, the power source may include other DC or AC power sources followed by AC-DC or DC-DC converters. Thus, these power sources can be provided by turbine generators driven by conventional fuels, biofuels, or synthetic fuels. Alternatively, hydrogen-based power sources, such as fuel cells, can also be used.

[0057] like Figure 2 As shown, the energy management system 4 is configured to control the power generation sources 18 and 20 on one hand, and to control switches 28 and 38 on the other hand, and also to control... Figure 1 Various protective elements not shown in the diagram.

[0058] Through analysis Figure 1 It is known that all motors and power supply components are identical. Therefore, safe management during a power outage can be ensured. In fact, the two horizontal drive units and four vertical drive units themselves form two sub-units connected to the same horizontal drive unit and two generator power sources.

[0059] In addition to this rather traditional replication method, this can also be achieved through dedicated power supply buses for each vertical drive unit and dedicated power distribution buses for each generator.

[0060] In fact, as described below, Figure 1 The unique structure of the aircraft depicted enables true power hybridization, whereas existing solutions simply place them side-by-side. Therefore, the battery and generator can operate collaboratively according to power requirements. Furthermore, the structure allows the battery to be viewed as a pure "energy recharger." The battery is handled in a completely passive manner, requiring no software or hardware intelligent processing beyond the basic intelligent processing needed by the BMS (Battery Management System) itself, such as protection activation and state upscaling. This is in stark contrast to all existing solutions, which either specifically design components to optimize battery operation and act as controls, or provide components to compensate for potential battery shortcomings, but these are used alternately, meaning the battery and components cannot operate simultaneously.

[0061] Figure 2 It shows Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the energy management system 4 described herein. As shown in the figure, the energy management system 4 includes a detector 200, an automatic device 210, an adapter 220, a controller 230, and a switch 240.

[0062] The detector 200 is a system configured to receive various data from the aircraft 2, selectively process the data, and transmit all or part of the data to the automatic device 210 on the one hand, and transmit the data to the adapter 220 on the other hand.

[0063] Therefore, the data received by the detector 200 mainly consists of two types:

[0064] —On the one hand, it represents the status data (load level, temperature, limits, operating status, power shortage status, etc.) of the components of the power consumption circuit controlled by the energy management system 4; and

[0065] —On the other hand, power data relating to the required instantaneous electrical power of motors 52, 54, 56, 58, 82, 84, 86, 88 of rotors 42, 44, 46, 48, 72, 74, 76, 78 and / or motors 24, 34 of propulsion devices 26, 36, and / or the charging status of rechargeable sources of aircraft 50, 60, 80, 90.

[0066] Therefore, the detector 200 can fully understand the functional status of the components related to power consumption, that is, on the one hand, it can understand whether there is a power shortage and the flight phase of the aircraft 2, and on the other hand, it can also understand the energy status of these components, that is, their instantaneous status and the instantaneous power demand related to the flight of the aircraft 2, all of which are determined according to the control of the flight management system.

[0067] From now on, unless another definition is explicitly mentioned, the term “required instantaneous electrical power” will always refer to the electrical power required by motors 52, 54, 56, 58, 82, 84, 86, 88 of rotors 42, 44, 46, 48, 72, 74, 76, 78 and / or motors 24, 34 of propulsion units 26, 36.

[0068] In the example described herein, the automatic device 210 is a limited automatic device, implemented as follows: Figure 3 As shown in the figure, the automatic device 210 has four possible states:

[0069] —The so-called “slow charge” state 300, in which the required instantaneous power is less than the capacity of the at least one power generation source 18, 20, and power is obtained therefrom;

[0070] —The so-called “charging” state 310, wherein the required instantaneous electrical power is less than the capacity of the at least one power generation source, and the instantaneous electrical power is provided entirely by the at least one power generation source, wherein the at least one power generation source generates residual electrical energy for charging the at least one rechargeable source;

[0071] —The so-called "fast charging" state 320, wherein the required instantaneous power is higher than the capacity of the at least one power source, and wherein the at least one rechargeable power source provides supplementary power to meet the required instantaneous power requirement; and

[0072] —An optional so-called “quiet” state 330, in which the power supplies 18, 20 are intentionally shut off to reduce noise emissions, which also allows for a reduction in pollutant emissions.

[0073] The automatic device 210 has the following conversion rules, designed to ensure:

[0074] —On the one hand, determine the minimum risk of state transition in order to limit the risk of power outage associated with automatic device 210 (and energy management system 4);

[0075] —On the other hand, recharge the battery as frequently as possible at 50, 60, 80, and 90.

[0076] Therefore, the state transition is based on two variables:

[0077] —Required instantaneous electrical power;

[0078] — Recharge rates of the battery at 50%, 60%, 80%, and 90%.

[0079] First, once the required instantaneous electrical power exceeds the power capacity of generators 18 and 20, the slow charging or charging state will switch to fast charging state. In fact, in this situation, batteries 50, 60, 80, and 90, as well as generators 18 and 20, must operate simultaneously to provide sufficient electrical power for flight control.

[0080] Secondly, when the required instantaneous power is lower than the power capacity of the power generation sources 18 and 20, the battery is recharged first.

[0081] Therefore, the automatic device 210 can switch from a slow charging state to a charging state or a fast charging state, and from a charging state to a fast charging state, and can also switch from a charging state to a slow charging state or from a fast charging state to a slow charging state. However, it should switch to the slow charging state first and cannot switch from the fast charging state to the charging state.

[0082] The reason for this is that, in this manner, each state transition is regulated by a single conditional change related to the required instantaneous electrical power or the battery's state of charge. This minimizes the risk of several consecutive transitions or non-transitions, thus improving the reliability of the automatic device 210.

[0083] Furthermore, since the automatic device 210 refreshes its state at a frequency of approximately 250Hz, it can switch from fast charging to charging state almost instantaneously throughout the entire slow charging process. Alternatively, for example, the frequency can be between 50Hz and 2kHz.

[0084] Conversely, the idle state 330 is also an option, manually activated by the pilot of aircraft 2. The pilot then issues a control to disconnect the power generation supplies 18 and 20, allowing the aircraft to transition to the idle state from any state. When the control is deactivated, the automatic device 210 transitions back to the slow charging state in the same manner as the charging and fast charging states.

[0085] Therefore, the slow-charge state consists of an activation state and a basic state, making the operation of the automatic device 210 more reliable. It should be noted that the parameters defining the transition can be changed. Thus, the transition from the slow-charge state to the charging state can be adjusted by the charging thresholds of batteries 50, 60, 80, and 90, and these thresholds themselves can be modified according to the operating state and / or flight plan of the aircraft 2. Similarly, the electrical power capacity of the generators 18 and 20 can be modified according to the operating state, functional state, and / or flight procedure of the aircraft 2. For example, in certain power shortage situations, it may be necessary to operate one or more generators 18 and 20 at a capacity higher than their rated capacity, such as 120%. Then, the threshold for transitioning to the fast-charge state should be adjusted accordingly. In the example described herein, this adaptation is achieved by an adapter 220 that adapts to the transition threshold and a controller 230 that sends the information to the control boards of the generators (each to a separate control board of the generator).

[0086] Alternatively, the transition to a stationary state may not be achieved through purely manual operation, but rather by taking into account the environment of aircraft 2, such as one or more parameters including flight altitude and geographical location.

[0087] The adapter 220 is configured to receive status data from the detector 200. Based on this, the adapter 220 can determine a power shortage state and a corresponding backup power supply configuration. For example, if the status data received from the detector 200 indicates that 52 is out of power, then the adapter 220 will determine that the vertical drive unit 10 needs to be isolated, and it will return a power supply configuration indicating that such isolation is required, as well as disconnecting its constituent components.

[0088] Therefore, the adapter 220 includes a table listing all possible power outage configurations, as well as a backup power supply configuration for each power outage configuration. Similarly, if the adapter 220 determines that there is no power outage, it can return to the nominal power supply configuration, for example, the nominal power supply configuration which may take into account the flight phase of aircraft 2. In fact, the adapter 220 includes a table with all possible power outage configurations to ensure that no power outage occurs. Alternatively, the adapter 220 may operate based on logical operations to determine the backup power supply configuration.

[0089] In fact, both the nominal power supply configuration and the backup power supply configuration reflect the requirement to activate the isolating switch and / or disconnect the control. Figure 1 Each element of the circuit shown is connected to the rest of the circuit via a switch (not shown), and the electrical appliances and energy production devices are further controlled when the switches are turned on or off.

[0090] Returning to the example of motor 52 experiencing a power outage, adapter 220 will determine the backup power supply configuration, such as... Figure 4 As shown, the configuration isolates the vertical drive unit 10. This creates a backup power configuration, which indicates that all switches are within the vertical drive unit 10, including the switch between the AC-DC converter 104 and the input of the vertical drive unit 10 connected to the DC-AC converter 62, the switch between the AC-DC converter 106 and the input of the vertical drive unit 10 connected to the DC-AC converter 64, the switch between the battery 50 and the rest of the vertical drive unit 10, and the control to disconnect motors 52, 54. The backup power configuration also indicates that all switches within the vertical drive unit 12 should be enabled to switch power to the vertical drive unit, and the switch 28 that switches power to the vertical drive unit 12.

[0091] The controller 230 receives the status of the automatic device 210 and the power supply configuration of the adapter 220. Based on this, the controller 230 can control the rechargeable power sources 50, 60, 80, 90 and / or the generator power sources 18, 20 according to the energy status corresponding to the status of the automatic device 210 and the power outage information indicated by the power supply configuration of the adapter 220.

[0092] For example:

[0093] —During takeoff, in the activated stationary state, the controller 230 sends a control to disconnect the power generation sources 18 and 20. By disconnecting the power generation sources, it should be understood that the controller 230 has issued a control to disconnect the power supply to the components considered in the power supply system.

[0094] In practice, this control can lead to what is called an over-idle state, in which the power supply under consideration spins at an over-idle speed, thus avoiding disconnecting them for safety reasons (risk of restart issues).

[0095] Alternatively, this power outage could literally mean a complete disconnection of the power supply.

[0096] —During takeoff, while charging, the controller 230 sends a control signal to increase the power output of the generators 18 and 20, thereby reducing the power output of batteries 50, 60, 80, and 90 to zero.

[0097] —During takeoff, in fast charging mode, the controller 230 sends a control to increase the power of the generators 18 and 20 to their maximum capacity.

[0098] —During the cruise flight phase, while in charging mode, the controller 230 sends a control signal to increase the power output of the generators 18 and 20 until the power output by the batteries 50, 60, 80, and 90 equals the reciprocal of the recharge power indicated by the battery management system (i.e., the actual recharge power received by the batteries).

[0099] —During the cruise flight phase, in a slow-charging state, the controller 230 sends a control signal to increase the power output of the generators 18 and 20, so as to reduce the power output of batteries 50, 60, 80, and 90 to zero.

[0100] —During the descent phase, in a slow-charging state, the controller 230 sends a control signal to increase the power output of the generators 18 and 20, thereby reducing the power output of batteries 50, 60, 80, and 90 to 0.

[0101] —During the landing phase, in a slow-charging state, the controller 230 sends a control signal to increase the power output of the generators 18 and 20, thereby reducing the power output of batteries 50, 60, 80, and 90 to zero.

[0102] —During the landing phase, in fast charging mode, the controller 230 sends a control to increase the power of the generators 18 and 20 to their maximum capacity.

[0103] Finally, the switch 240 is configured to perform an AND-type binary operation between the configuration issued by the adapter 220 and the power supply configuration caused by the state of the automatic device 210. Therefore, returning to the example of the motor 52 being out of power, when the automatic device 210 is in a fast-charging state, for the switches of the vertical drive unit 10, this operation will be 0 (generated by the backup power supply configuration command issued by the adapter 220) x 1 (generated by the fast-charging state), and for these switches, the operation will return to 0. Once the switch 240 has determined the state of all switches in the circuit, the corresponding control is sent to all switches in the circuit, and the loop of the detector 200 is restored.

[0104] Therefore, it can be seen that:

[0105] —All components in the circuit that consume or generate power are connected to detectors 200 to indicate their status;

[0106] —All components of the power supply circuit are controlled by the controller 230;

[0107] —All switches and on / off controls are controlled by switch 240.

[0108] Therefore, the energy management system of the present invention completely separates the management of the power production mode (via the automatic device 210) from the management of the power supply configuration of the circuit consuming the power (via the adapter 220). The controller 230 and the switch 240 are intentionally simplified elements such that each receives the outputs of the automatic device 210 and the adapter 220, and can take these outputs into account to control the power supply and the switch separately.

[0109] This circuit-controlled decorrelation is particularly innovative and advantageous because it provides a structure that can be quickly and reliably deployed on all types of hybrid-powered aircraft, regardless of whether their design is redundant.

[0110] Alternatively, the controller 230 may be configured to receive data only from the automatic device 210, and the switch 240 may be configured to receive data only from the adapter 220.

[0111] Figure 5 A high-level operational flowchart of the aircraft structure implementing the energy management system of the present invention is shown. Thus, the aircraft's control loop continuously occurs, wherein the flight management system receives control from the cockpit and pilot aids via its function () during operation 500.

[0112] Subsequently, in operation 510, the data generated by the function of the flight management system is transmitted to the energy management system according to the invention via the function of the energy management system, in which the system according to the invention described above is implemented. Finally, in operation 520, the control issued by the controller 230 is implemented by controlling the DRV function of each component. The loop is restored from operation 500.

[0113] It goes without saying that, compared to the actual operation of the aircraft, this loop is simplified and may be interrupted in the event of a power shortage or when a feedback table is required for other reasons. Its purpose is to disclose the level at which the hardware structure of this invention is positioned, meaning that the flight management system cannot be considered an energy management system, nor can the reactor controller itself be considered an energy management system.

Claims

1. An aircraft energy management system equipped with a hybrid power supply comprising at least one rechargeable power source and at least one generator power source, characterized in that, The system includes: —The detector (200) is configured to determine, on the one hand, status data indicating the element status of the power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management system, and on the other hand, power data related to the instantaneous electrical power required by the aircraft and / or the charging status of the rechargeable source of the aircraft; —An automatic device (210) is configured to receive power data from the detector (200) and determine the control state of the at least one rechargeable source and the at least one power generation source, the automatic device (210) comprising at least three states from a group, wherein the group comprises: In a slow-charging state, the required instantaneous electrical power is less than the capacity of the at least one power source, and power is thus obtained; A charging state in which the required instantaneous electrical power is less than the capacity of the at least one power source, and the instantaneous electrical power is entirely provided by the at least one power source, wherein the at least one power source generates surplus electrical energy for charging the at least one rechargeable source; and In fast charging mode, the required instantaneous power is higher than the capacity of the at least one power source, and the at least one rechargeable power source provides supplementary power to meet the required instantaneous power requirement. —Adapter (220) is configured to receive the status data and determine a backup power supply configuration when the status data indicates a power shortage; —A controller (230) is configured to receive status information from the automatic device (210) and determine power supply control for the at least one rechargeable power source (50, 60, 80, 90) and the at least one generator power source (18, 20) based on the required instantaneous power; and —Switch (240) is configured to control the power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management system to achieve the nominal power supply configuration, or to achieve the backup power supply configuration upon receiving the backup power supply configuration from the adapter (220); The controller (230) is configured to receive a backup power supply configuration from the adapter (220) when a power shortage is detected, and, based on the backup power supply configuration, control the power outage of one or more components of the power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management system.

2. The energy management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The controller (230) is configured to use the rechargeable power source to power the automatic device (210) when it is in a slow-charging state; during the conversion, the power supplied by the at least one power source is increased to the required instantaneous power.

3. The energy management system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The automatic device (210) is preset in the slow charging state and has the following switching rules: —When the required instantaneous power exceeds the capacity of the at least one power source, the system switches from the slow charging state or the charging state to the fast charging state; —When the required instantaneous power is lower than the capacity of the at least one power source, the system switches from the fast charging state to the slow charging state; —When the required instantaneous power is less than the capacity of the at least one power source and one or more rechargeable sources are in a charging state below the full charge threshold, the process transitions from the slow charging state to the charging state. as well as —When the required instantaneous power is less than the capacity of the at least one power source and one or more rechargeable sources are in a charging state equal to the full charging threshold, the charging state is switched to the slow charging state.

4. The energy management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The automatic device (210) further includes a stationary state, wherein the at least one power source (18, 20) is in a deactivated state.

5. The energy management system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The automatic device (210) further has the following conversion rules: —When the detector (200) receives a rest mode control, it transitions from the slow charging, charging, or fast charging state to the rest state; and —When the static mode control is in the disabled state, the system transitions from the static state to the slow charging state.

6. The energy management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The switch (240) is configured to receive the status of the automatic device (210) and accordingly issue control to the switch of the power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management system.

7. An energy management method for an aircraft equipped with a hybrid power supply comprising at least one rechargeable power source and at least one generator power source, characterized in that, The method includes the following operations: a) On the one hand, determine state data indicating the state of the elements of the power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management method; on the other hand, determine power data related to the instantaneous electrical power required by the aircraft and / or the charging state of the aircraft's rechargeable source. b) Transmitting the power data from operation a) to an automatic device (210), wherein the automatic device is configured to determine the control states of the at least one rechargeable source and the at least one power generation source, the automatic device (210) comprising at least three states from a group, wherein the group comprises: In a slow-charging state, the required instantaneous electrical power is less than the capacity of the at least one power source, and power is thus obtained; A charging state in which the required instantaneous electrical power is less than the capacity of the at least one power source, and the instantaneous electrical power is entirely provided by the at least one power source, wherein the at least one power source generates surplus electrical energy for charging the at least one rechargeable source; and In fast charging mode, the required instantaneous power is higher than the capacity of the at least one power source, and the at least one rechargeable power source provides supplementary power to meet the required instantaneous power requirement. c) Determine the power supply control for the at least one rechargeable power source (50, 60, 80, 90) and the at least one generator power source (18, 20) based on the required instantaneous power and the state of the automatic device determined in operation b). d) Detect power outages using the aforementioned status data and determine backup power supply configurations; and e) Controlling the switch of the power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management method to achieve a nominal power supply configuration, or, if a backup power supply configuration is determined in operation d), controlling the de-energization of one or more components of the power consumption circuit of the aircraft controlled by the energy management method according to the backup power supply configuration.

Images