Aircraft and MaaS providing method

Abstract

The invention relates to a battery-driven aircraft and a MaaS providing method. The battery-driven aircraft includes a control unit and a battery charged by a power supply device. The control unit controls a charging speed of the battery based on flight information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a battery-powered aircraft and a method for providing MaaS. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a technology has been disclosed for providing an electric rotor unmanned aircraft with a multi-aircraft connection method that can ensure the operating power and operating time of the operating unmanned aircraft by connecting the operating unmanned aircraft and the power supply unmanned aircraft with a cable (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-62324).

[0003] In the technology of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-62324, the control of the charging speed has not been studied. That is, there is room for improvement in the control technology related to the charging speed of battery-powered aircraft. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to improve the control technology related to the charging speed of battery-powered aircraft.

[0005] An aircraft according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a battery-powered aircraft, comprising:

[0006] a control unit; and

[0007] a battery that is charged by a power supply device;

[0008] The control unit controls the charging speed of the battery based on flight information.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the control technology related to the charging speed of battery-powered aircraft can be improved. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010] Hereinafter, the features, advantages, technology, and industrial importance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, in which the same reference numerals denote the same components, where:

[0011] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an aircraft.

[0013] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of an aircraft. Detailed Description of the Embodiments

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described.

[0015] Refer to Figure 1The outline of the system 1 according to this embodiment will be described. The system 1 includes an aircraft 10 and a power supply device 20.

[0016] The aircraft 10 according to this embodiment has an electric rotor and flies by battery drive. For example, the aircraft 10 is an eVTOL (electric Vertical Take Off and Landing). The eVTOL has a cabin approximately the same size as a passenger car capable of accommodating one or more passengers and a mechanism including one or more electric rotors for generating lift and thrust. The eVTOL is at least partially maneuvered by the Visual Flight Rules (VFR). In addition, the aircraft 10 is not limited to the eVTOL and includes helicopters, unmanned aircraft, etc. The aircraft 10 has a drive mechanism including a motor and its control unit for driving the electric rotor, and a battery for supplying power to the drive mechanism. The battery is, for example, a lithium-ion battery. The aircraft 10 can also be maneuvered based on the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), for example.

[0017] The aircraft 10 is connected to the power supply device 20 during flight, and the battery of the aircraft 10 is charged by the power supply device 20.

[0018] The power supply device 20 is a device that supplies power for charging the battery of the aircraft 10. The power supply device 20 can include, for example, a generator, a battery, etc. When the power supply device 20 includes a generator, the power supply device 20 includes fuel. The above fuel can be, for example, gasoline, diesel, natural gas, etc.

[0019] The power supply device 20 is connected to the aircraft 10 through a power supply cable 30 for power supply to charge the battery of the aircraft 10. The power supply cable 30 can include a refrigerant pipe through which a refrigerant for cooling the battery circulates. The power supply device 20 and the aircraft 10 are connected by a plurality of wires 40 and held by the wires 40 during the flight of the aircraft 10. In other words, the power supply device 20 is held in the air by the wires 40. Thus, the aircraft 10 is charged by the power supply device 20 during flight.

[0020] First, the outline of this embodiment will be described, and the detailed content will be described later. The aircraft 10 according to this embodiment is driven by a battery and is characterized in that the charging speed of the battery is controlled based on flight information.

[0021] Thus, according to this embodiment, the aircraft 10 controls the charging speed of the battery based on flight information. Therefore, the control technology related to the charging speed of a battery-powered aircraft can be improved in that the charging speed of the battery can be adaptively controlled according to flight information.

[0022] Next, each component of the aircraft 10 will be described in detail.

[0023] Configuration of the Aircraft

[0024] As Figure 2 shown, the aircraft 10 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, an input unit 13, an output unit 14, a communication unit 15, a positioning unit 16, a detection unit 17, and a battery 18.

[0025] The control unit 11 includes at least one processor, at least one dedicated circuit, or a combination thereof. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (central processing unit) or a GPU (graphics processing unit), or a dedicated processor customized for specific processing. The dedicated circuit is, for example, an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). While controlling each part of the aircraft 10, the control unit 11 executes processing related to the operation of the aircraft 10. For example, the control unit 11 controls a drive mechanism including a motor for driving an electric rotor.

[0026] The storage unit 12 includes at least one semiconductor memory, at least one magnetic memory, at least one optical memory, or a combination of at least two of them. The semiconductor memory is, for example, a RAM (random access memory) or a ROM (read only memory). The RAM is, for example, an SRAM (static random access memory) or a DRAM (dynamic random access memory). The ROM is, for example, an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory). The storage unit 12 functions as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. Data used in the operation of the aircraft 10 and data obtained through the operation of the aircraft 10 are stored in the storage unit 12.

[0027] The input unit 13 includes at least one input interface. The input interface is, for example, a physical key, a capacitive key, a pointing device, or a touch screen provided integrally with the display. Additionally, the input interface can be, for example, a sound sensor that accepts voice input, or a camera that accepts gesture input. The input unit 13 accepts operations for inputting data used in the operation of the aircraft 10. The input unit 13 can also be connected to the aircraft 10 as an external input device instead of being equipped on the aircraft 10. As a connection method, for example, any method such as USB (Universal Serial Bus), HDMI (registered trademark) (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), or Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used.

[0028] The output unit 14 includes at least one output interface. The output interface is, for example, a display that outputs image information, or a speaker that outputs sound information. The display is, for example, an LCD (liquid crystal display) or an organic EL (electroluminescence) display. The output unit 14 performs display output of data obtained through the operation of the aircraft 10. The output unit 14 can also be connected to the aircraft 10 as an external output device instead of being equipped on the aircraft 10. As a connection method, for example, any method such as USB, HDMI (registered trademark), or Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used.

[0029] The communication unit 15 includes at least one external communication interface. The communication interface can be either a wired communication or a wireless communication interface. In the case of wired communication, the communication interface is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) interface, USB (Universal Serial Bus). In the case of wireless communication, the communication interface is, for example, an interface corresponding to mobile communication standards such as LTE (LongTerm Evolution), 4G (4th generation), or 5G (5th generation), or an interface corresponding to short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). The communication unit 15 receives data used in the operation of the aircraft 10, and also transmits data obtained through the operation of the aircraft 10.

[0030] The positioning unit 16 includes sensors or receivers for obtaining the position of the aircraft 10 through autonomous navigation, electronic navigation, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), etc. Sensors for autonomous navigation include, for example, acceleration sensors, gyro sensors, compasses, altimeters, etc. Receivers for electronic navigation include, for example, receivers for receiving radio waves from ground-based radio facilities such as VOR (VHF omni-directional radio range) and ILS (Instrument Landing System). Also, GNSS receivers include at least any one of GPS (Global Positioning System), QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System), BeiDou, GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System), and Galileo. The positioning unit 16 obtains the position information of the aircraft 10 and transmits the position information to the control unit 11. Here, the position information includes the altitude information of the aircraft 10.

[0031] The detection unit 17 has one or more sensors or interfaces with sensors for detecting the states or operations of the respective parts of the aircraft 10, and transmits information indicating the detection results of the sensors to the control unit 11. The sensors include sensors for detecting states or operations such as the drive mechanism including the motor, the rotational speed of the propeller, the remaining charge of the battery 18, temperature, charging speed, etc. In addition, the sensors include a wind speed sensor, a wind direction sensor, an air temperature sensor, a barometric pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, an illuminance sensor, a rainfall sensor, a camera, etc. for detecting the state of the external environment of the aircraft 10.

[0032] The battery 18 supplies power to the drive mechanism of the aircraft 10. The battery 18 can be, for example, a lithium-ion battery, a solid electrolyte battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery, etc. The battery 18 can be charged by the power supply device 20.

[0033] Operation of the aircraft

[0034] Refer to Figure 3 The operation of the system 1 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0035] S10: The control unit 11 of the aircraft 10 obtains flight information. For example, the flight information can include at least any one of flight speed, flight altitude, and rotational speed of the propeller.

[0036] The flight information can be obtained by any method. For example, the control unit 11 can obtain the flight information from the positioning unit 16.

[0037] S20: The control unit 11 controls the charging speed of the battery 18 based on the flight information.

[0038] Any method can be adopted to control the charging speed. For example, the control unit 11 can control the charging speed by sending an instruction for controlling the charging speed to the power supply device 20 via the communication unit 15, etc.

[0039] Here, the charging speed is adaptively controlled according to the flight information. For example, when the flight information includes the flight speed, the higher the flight speed, the higher the charging speed that the control unit 11 can make the battery 18 have. Since the higher the flight speed, the more the temperature rise during the charging of the battery 18 is suppressed, the charging speed can be made higher. Thus, the battery 18 can be charged efficiently.

[0040] In addition, for example, when the flight information includes the flight altitude, the higher the flight altitude, the higher the charging speed that the control unit 11 can make the battery 18 have. Similarly to the above, since the higher the flight altitude, the more the temperature rise during the charging of the battery 18 is suppressed, the charging speed can be made higher. Thus, the battery 18 can be charged efficiently.

[0041] In addition, for example, when the flight information includes the rotational speed of the propeller, the higher the rotational speed of the propeller, the higher the charging speed that the control unit 11 can make the battery 18 have. Similarly to the above, since the higher the rotational speed of the propeller, the faster the flight speed and the more the temperature rise during the charging of the battery 18 is suppressed, the charging speed can be made higher. Thus, the battery 18 can be charged efficiently.

[0042] As described above, the control unit 11 of the aircraft 10 according to the present embodiment controls the charging speed of the battery 18 based on the flight information of the aircraft 10. Therefore, in terms of being able to adaptively control the charging speed of the battery 18 according to the flight information, the control technology related to the charging speed of the battery-driven aircraft 10 can be improved.

[0043] The present disclosure has been described based on the respective drawings and embodiments, but it should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various deformations and changes based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these deformations and changes are also included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the functions, etc. included in each component or each step, etc. can be reconfigured in a logically non-contradictory manner, and multiple components or steps, etc. can be combined into one or divided.

[0044] For example, the flight information may include environmental information at the flight altitude. The environmental information may include at least any one of the external air temperature, wind speed, meteorological information, and air pressure. The temperature rise during charging of the battery 18 may vary depending on the external air temperature, wind speed, meteorological information, air pressure, etc. The control unit 11 may control the charging speed of the battery 18 based on the environmental information. For example, when the external air temperature at the flight altitude is low, since the temperature rise during charging of the battery 18 is suppressed, the control unit 11 may control in such a manner that the lower the external air temperature at the flight altitude, the higher the charging speed. Thereby, the battery 18 can be charged efficiently.

[0045] In addition, for example, in the present embodiment, one aircraft 10 and the power supply device 20 are connected by a metal wire 40 to maintain the power supply device 20 during flight, but it is not limited thereto. For example, the power supply device 20 can also be maintained during flight by connecting multiple aircraft 10 and the power supply device 20 with a metal wire 40. By doing so, the load of the power supply device 20 can be dispersed to multiple aircraft 10. When the power supply device 20 is maintained by multiple aircraft 10, the charging speeds of the multiple aircraft 10 can be the same or different. When the charging speeds of the multiple aircraft 10 are the same, the control unit 11 of one of the multiple aircraft 10 (hereinafter, also referred to as the master aircraft) may obtain flight information to determine the charging speed. In addition, the control unit 11 of the master aircraft 10 may transmit information on the determined charging speed to other aircraft 10 (hereinafter, also referred to as slave aircraft) via the communication unit 15. The control unit 11 of the slave aircraft 10 may charge its own battery based on the charging speed received from the master aircraft.

[0046] In addition, for example, the aircraft 10 and the power supply device 20 may not be connected by a metal wire 40. For example, the power supply device 20 can be installed outside the aircraft 10. Or the power supply device 20 can be equipped inside the aircraft 10.

[0047] In addition, for example, in the above-described embodiment, an embodiment in which the configuration and operation of the aircraft 10 are also distributed to a plurality of computers capable of communicating with each other can also be realized. For example, an embodiment in which a part of the constituent elements of the aircraft 10 are provided in an external server device can also be realized.

[0048] In one example, the aircraft 10 can be used in the provision of a service that makes flexible use of a moving body, that is, MaaS (Mobility as a Service). In one example, it can be executed when providing a service (MaaS) that uses the aircraft 10 Figure 3The processing steps in the flowchart. In this case, the information processing method based on the above processing steps is an example of a method for providing Mobility as a Service (MaaS) using the aircraft 10.

Claims

1. An aircraft, which is a battery-powered aircraft, wherein, Comprising: a control unit; and a battery that is charged by a power supply device, wherein the control unit controls a charging speed of the battery based on flight information.

2. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the flight information includes at least any one of a flight speed, a flight altitude, and a rotational speed of a propeller.

3. The aircraft according to claim 2, wherein the flight information includes a flight speed, and the higher the flight speed is, the faster the control unit makes the charging speed of the battery.

4. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the flight information includes environmental information at a flight altitude.

5. The aircraft according to claim 4, wherein the environmental information includes at least any one of an external air temperature, a wind speed, weather information, and an atmospheric pressure.

6. A method for providing MaaS, wherein the aircraft according to claim 1 is used, and the MaaS is mobility as a service.

Images