Ground support device

Abstract

To provide a ground support device that supplies electric power to an aircraft on the ground and comprises a solid state converter configured to supply electric power to an aircraft on the ground from an airport power source having a predetermined maximum power, and a battery charging unit configured to charge an external battery from the airport power supply, the solid state converter being configured to measure an instance power drawn by the aircraft.SOLUTION: A solid state converter is configured to generate a control signal indicating a maximum power available for a battery charging unit on the basis of a difference between a predetermined maximum power of an airport power supply and an instance power drawn by the aircraft in order to control the battery charging unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to ground support equipment. In particular, the present invention relates to ground support equipment for supplying power to an aircraft on the ground.

Background Art

[0002] At an airport, ground support equipment such as a ground power unit is provided to supply power to an aircraft when it is parked next to an airport building. With this ground-based power source, the aircraft's electronic systems can remain on without the need to operate the aircraft engines that require additional aviation fuel.

[0003] In addition, at an airport, a large number of powered and non-powered devices that provide various functions are provided on the taxiway. Powered devices such as fuel trucks, tractors, eGPUs, and buses are regularly required throughout the day to move fuel, aircraft, and passengers. However, one barrier to more widespread adoption of electrification of these vehicles is the lack of battery charging capacity at airports.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The present invention seeks to address at least some of these problems.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] According to a first aspect, the present invention provides ground support equipment for supplying power to an aircraft on the ground, the ground support equipment comprising a solid-state converter configured to supply power to the aircraft on the ground from an airport power source having a predetermined maximum power, and a battery charging unit configured to charge an external battery from the airport power source. The solid-state converter is configured to measure the instantaneous power drawn by the aircraft. The solid-state converter is configured to generate a control signal indicating the maximum power available to the battery charging unit based on the difference between a predetermined maximum power of the airport power source and the instantaneous power drawn by the aircraft, in order to control the battery charging unit.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention provides ground support equipment that can function as a ground power unit supplying power to an aircraft on the ground, while simultaneously diverting surplus power to a charging port for charging electric vehicle batteries. Thus, when the aircraft does not require maximum power from the ground support equipment, or when the aircraft does not require power supply, such as at night or when the aircraft is not at the gate, batteries of different ground handling equipment or vehicles can be charged. Since the solid-state converter has a controller that monitors the power drawn by the aircraft, the present invention eliminates the need for an additional power controller to determine how much power can be diverted to the charging port. A further advantage of this ground support equipment is that it utilizes the same airport power source, either new or existing, to power the aircraft's equipment and mobile battery-powered equipment located near where they are used. This is in contrast to providing twice the power equipment to power the charging port, which would add considerable costs to the airport.

[0007] The solid-state converter controller and the battery charging unit controller can be operably connected to each other. This provides a communication channel between the solid-state converter controller and the battery charging unit controller so that the battery charging unit controller can receive control signals from the solid-state converter controller. Thus, the battery charging unit can supply power to the charging port in a manner limited based on the power drawn by the aircraft and based on the known maximum power output of the airport power supply. Since the airport power supply has a known power output (i.e., the maximum power output of the airport power supply is predetermined or set for the airport), the ground support equipment can be predetermined, pre-programmed, or manually set to work in conjunction with the known airport power supply. Thus, the ground support equipment does not have a separate converter to measure the total amount of power drawn by the ground support equipment and determine how much power the battery charging unit can draw.

[0008] The solid-state converter can be configured to accept user input for setting a predetermined maximum power. Therefore, ground operators can easily set or adjust a predetermined maximum power level at the gate based on aircraft requirements and / or known output of airport power supplies.

[0009] The control signal can be based on the difference between a predetermined maximum power level and the current power level drawn by the aircraft. In some cases, power to the battery charging unit is reduced when power is needed for the aircraft. This is advantageous because it reduces the risk of any component being overloaded when the aircraft has a high power demand.

[0010] The battery charging unit may comprise multiple power modules configured to receive power from the airport power source. These power charging modules can be connected in parallel.

[0011] At least one of the multiple power charging modules can be configured to provide an output of 30kW.

[0012] At least one of the multiple charging modules is configured to convert an AC input to a DC output. The battery charging unit can be configured to provide a DC power output. In some cases, the DC power output is a high-voltage output.

[0013] The ground support equipment may include a common rectifier configured to convert AC input to DC output. This is advantageous as it provides a DC bus that can be used to power the battery charging unit and any other components of the ground support equipment, such as solid-state converters for powering the aircraft. The DC bus can be configured to provide power to each of several power charging modules.

[0014] The solid-state converter can be configured to provide a 400Hz output. The solid-state converter can be configured to receive power from an AC power source. The solid-state converter can be configured to provide an output power of up to 180kW. The solid-state converter may be pre-fuse.

[0015] The battery charging unit can be configured to provide 120kW of output power. The battery charging unit can also be configured to provide DC power output.

[0016] The ground support equipment may include multiple solid-state converters configured to supply power to the aircraft. These multiple solid-state converters can be connected in parallel.

[0017] Embodiments of the present invention are further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] [Figure 1] It is a figure showing a first side of an exemplary ground support device. [Figure 2] It is a cross-sectional view of the first side shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] It is a figure showing a second side of the ground support device of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] It is a cross-sectional view of the second side shown in FIG. 3. [Figure 5] It is a schematic diagram of an exemplary electric circuit. [Figure 6] It is a schematic diagram of an exemplary electric circuit. [Figure 7] It is a schematic diagram of an exemplary electric circuit. [Figure 8] It is a schematic diagram of an exemplary electric circuit. [Figure 9] It is a schematic diagram of an exemplary electric circuit.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] An exemplary ground support device 20 is shown in FIG. 1. The ground support device 20 is typically installed as a fixed unit on the ground near where an aircraft is parked on the ground.

[0020] The ground support device 20 has a cabinet 40 having a first side 42 of the ground support device, including a user interface 9 for a charging port shown in FIG. 1 connected to a CCS2 connector 8. As an example, only a single charging port is shown, but it will be apparent that two or more charging ports can be provided for each ground support device 20. The charging port can be configured to connect to a CCS2 connector or a CHAdeMO connector as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. Both the CCS2 and CHAdeMO connectors can provide DC charging. These are merely exemplary connectors, and it will be apparent that other connectors may also be suitable for use with this ground support device.

[0021] FIG. 2 shows a state in which the panel of the first side 42 is removed to show an exemplary electrical circuit of a charging unit that provides a battery charging function described in this specification. The charger control unit 1 is operably connected to four 30 kW charging modules 2. The charging module 2 can be either of the charging modules 70, 72 described below with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9. The molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) 3 is provided to provide overload protection for the electrical circuit. The charger input contactor 4 is provided adjacent to the leakage monitoring relay 5. Two DC fuses 6 each having a DC contactor 7 provide output power to the connector 8. Accordingly, a ground support device or a vehicle battery (not shown) can be charged via the connector 8.

[0022] On the second side 44 of the cabinet 40, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a ground power unit (GPU) section for supplying power to an aircraft is provided. The second side 44 of the cabinet 40 has a user interface 16 for the GPU section. Inside the cabinet 40, there are an input breaker 10, an output contactor 11, and an auxiliary power supply 12 for supplying power to the aircraft. The auxiliary power supply 12 is connected to a miniature circuit breaker (MCB) 14. A control unit 13 provided inside the cabinet 40 controls the operation of the GPU section. A converter section 15 for providing an output to the aircraft is also provided. The converter section 15 can be either of the solid state converters 60, 62 described below with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9.

[0023] The GPU section includes a solid-state converter for controlling the power supplied to the battery charging unit. The solid-state converter has a preset maximum power that can be drawn from the airport power source and can monitor the power drawn by the aircraft (if any). Therefore, the solid-state converter can determine how much of the airport power source is surplus to current requirements and divert the surplus power to the battery charging unit. This can be achieved, for example, based on a control signal indicating the maximum power available to the battery charging unit based on the difference between the known maximum power of the airport power source and the instantaneous power drawn by the aircraft. This provides near-instantaneous power management within the ground support equipment to ensure that power to the aircraft is always prioritized and that the electrical circuits are not overloaded. This is advantageous because it does not require a current converter or a separate load-sharing controller as in the prior art. Thus, the design is simpler because the ground support equipment 20 can use the solid-state converter's controller to detect the overall input current of the ground support equipment and generate a control signal based on the input current drawn by the solid-state converter to determine any remaining power capacity of the airport power source. This control signal can then be delivered or transmitted to the battery charging unit, for example, from the DC bus 57 if present, to control the amount of power drawn by the charging module 2, as described below.

[0024] In one example, the ground support equipment 20 is pre-fused by an external 200A fuse in the power supply line of the ground support equipment 20, which corresponds to approximately 138kW with a 400V mains power supply. In some cases, the GPU section can provide 90kW of power. In the illustrated example, four 30kW constant power charging modules 2 are used to generate a total of 120kW. However, it is clear that by using a different arrangement of the charging modules 2, other predetermined maximum power levels, such as 180kW, can be provided.

[0025] The battery charging unit section is shown with charging module 2 connected in parallel, which is powered by an airport power source, such as a 50 / 60Hz AC power source. In some cases, it is possible to use a DC / DC module powered by an internal 400Hz DC bus that provides AC power output to the aircraft.

[0026] The control unit 13 can reduce the power consumption of the battery charging unit to avoid overloading the power supply circuit when there is a high power demand from the GPU section. Since the aircraft rarely draws maximum power from the GPU section, there is typically capacity to charge battery-powered ground support equipment or vehicles while the aircraft is supplied with 400Hz power when on the ground. DC charging is combined with the GPU section in the ground support equipment 20 to further utilize the existing electrical circuits present in the GPU. Specifically, it is a solid-state converter that can monitor the power drawn by the aircraft and control the amount of power that can be drawn by the charging module 2.

[0027] Figures 5 to 9 are schematic diagrams of exemplary electrical circuits suitable for implementing the ground support equipment described above. Figure 5 shows the electrical circuit within the cabinet 40 described above. The cabinet 40 has an input to the airport power source 50, an output 64 to the aircraft 65, and a separate output 74 for DC charging battery-powered ground support equipment 75 such as an electric vehicle in the manner described above. The input 50 is connected to a rectifier 55 that provides a DC bus 57 to a solid-state converter 60. The solid-state converter 60 has a built-in inverter that provides an appropriate output 64 to the aircraft 65, for example, 200V AC at 400Hz. The input 50 is also connected to a battery charging unit 70 which has a series of charging modules 70A to 70D, each having its own rectifier. The charging modules 70A to 70D are connected in parallel and arranged to provide DC outputs 74 for charging as described above. The controller of the solid-state converter 60 is operably connected to the battery charging unit 70 and can transmit control signals 59 to the battery charging unit 70 in the manner described above.

[0028] Figure 6 shows an alternative circuit in which the rectifier 55 is connected to both the solid-state converter 60 and the battery charging unit 72, the battery charging unit comprising a parallel arrangement of charging modules 72A to 72D. In the electrical circuit of Figure 6, the arrangement of charging modules 72A to 72D does not require an internal rectifier, as AC-DC conversion is provided by the rectifier 55. In this example, the DC bus 57 can supply power to the charging modules 72A to 72D of the battery charging unit 72, the solid-state converter 60, and any other components in the ground support equipment. The controller of the solid-state converter 60 is operably connected to the battery charging unit 72 and can transmit control signals 59 to the battery charging unit 72 in the manner described above.

[0029] In some cases, solid-state converters and / or charging modules may have their own built-in rectifiers. This is advantageous because it eliminates the need for a separate rectifier 55 to provide a DC bus 57 for powering each component. Similarly, it is possible to provide multiple smaller solid-state converter modules instead of a single large component. This is advantageous because it allows for better use of space within the cabinet 40. Figure 7 shows an example where there are no separate rectifiers and a single solid-state converter is replaced by smaller solid-state converter modules 62A-62D, each having a built-in rectifier. The airport power source 50 is connected to the parallel arrangement of solid-state converter modules 62A-62D, and also to the parallel arrangement of charging modules 70A-70D of the battery charging unit 70. The charging modules 70A-70D provide power for DC charging as described above, and the solid-state converter modules 62A-62D provide outputs 64 for powering the aircraft 65 as described above. It will be clear that the control signal 59 can be provided to the battery charging unit 70 in the manner described above using one of the controllers from the solid-state converter modules 62A to 62D.

[0030] In some cases, the rectifiers can be implemented as a series of smaller rectifier modules 55A-55D, as shown in Figure 8. This is advantageous as it allows for better use of space within the cabinet 40. The rectifier modules 55A-55D are connected in parallel to provide a DC bus 57 to the power components within the cabinet 40. Figure 8 shows a parallel arrangement of solid-state converter modules 60A-60D to provide an output 64 for powering the aircraft 65. In this case, the function of the rectifiers is separated from the solid-state converter modules 60A-60D, and as a result, solid-state converter modules 60A-60D without built-in rectifiers can be used with the ground support equipment. Similar to Figure 6, the charging modules 72A-72D of the battery charging unit 72 also do not have built-in rectifiers. It will be apparent that a controller from any of the solid-state converter modules 62A-62D can be used to provide control signals 59 to the battery charging unit 72 in the manner described above.

[0031] Further electrical circuits are shown in Figure 9. The cabinet 40 includes an input for receiving the airport power source 50 and output ports 64, 74 for the aircraft 65 and the battery charger 75, respectively. In this circuit, a separate rectifier 55 is connected to the airport power source 50 and provides a DC bus 57 for supplying power to the charging modules 72A-72D of the battery charging unit 72 independently of the solid-state converter 62. In this case, a single solid-state converter 62 is directly connected to the airport power source 50 and includes an integrated rectifier and inverter for providing the output 64 to the aircraft 65. The controller of the solid-state converter 62 is operably connected to the battery charging unit 72 and can transmit control signals 59 to the battery charging unit 72 in the manner described above.

[0032] As can be understood from the exemplary circuits shown in Figures 5 to 9, it is possible, though not required, to use multiple smaller modules instead of a single larger solid-state converter, rectifier, and / or charging module. Similarly, it is possible, though not required, for a solid-state converter and / or charging module(s) to include an integrated rectifier. In some cases, the inverter may be provided as a separate component from the solid-state converter.

[0033] Throughout this description and claims, the terms “comprise” and “contain,” and their variations, mean “include but not limited,” and they are not intended (and do not exclude) other parts, additional elements, components, integers, or steps. Throughout this description and claims, singular forms encompass plural forms unless the context should otherwise indicate otherwise. In particular, where the indefinite article is used, this specification should be understood to mean both singular and plural unless the context should otherwise indicate otherwise.

[0034] Features, integers, characteristics, or groups described in relation to a particular aspect, embodiment, or example of the present invention should be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, embodiment, or example described herein, insofar as they do not conflict therewith. All features disclosed herein (including any appended claims, abstract, and drawings) and / or all steps of any method or process so so disclosed may be combined in any combination, except for any combination in which at least some of such features and / or steps are mutually exclusive. The present invention is not limited to the details of the embodiments described above. The present invention extends to any novel features or any novel combination of features disclosed herein (including any of the appended claims, abstract, and drawings), or any novel steps or any novel combination of any method or process so so disclosed.

Claims

1. Ground support equipment that supplies power to aircraft on the ground, A solid-state converter configured to supply power to an aircraft on the ground from an airport power source having a predetermined maximum power, A battery charging unit configured to charge an external battery from the aforementioned airport power source, Equipped with, The solid-state converter is configured to measure the instantaneous power drawn by the aircraft. Ground support equipment comprising a solid-state converter configured to generate a control signal for controlling the battery charging unit, the control signal indicating the maximum power available to the battery charging unit based on the difference between the predetermined maximum power of the airport power source and the instantaneous power drawn by the aircraft.

2. The ground support device according to claim 1, wherein the solid-state converter is configured to accept a user input for setting the predetermined maximum power.

3. The ground support equipment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the battery charging unit comprises a plurality of charging modules configured to receive power from the airport power source.

4. The ground support equipment according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of charging modules are connected in parallel.

5. The ground support equipment according to claim 3, wherein at least one of the plurality of charging modules is configured to provide an output of 30 kW.

6. The ground support equipment according to claim 3, wherein at least one of the plurality of charging modules is configured to convert an AC input to a DC output.

7. The ground support device according to claim 3, further comprising a common rectifier configured to convert an AC input to a DC output in order to provide a DC bus for supplying power to the battery charging unit.

8. The ground support equipment according to claim 7, wherein the DC bus is configured to provide power to each of the plurality of charging modules.

9. The ground support equipment according to claim 1, wherein the solid-state converter is configured to provide an output of 400 Hz.

10. The ground support equipment according to any one of claims 1, wherein the solid-state converter is configured to receive power from an AC power source.

11. The ground support equipment according to claim 1, wherein the solid-state converter is configured to provide an output power of up to 180 kW.

12. The ground support equipment according to claim 1, wherein the battery charging unit is configured to provide an output power of 120 kW.

13. The ground support equipment according to claim 1, wherein the battery charging unit is configured to provide a DC power output.

14. The ground support equipment according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of solid-state converters configured to supply power to the aircraft.

15. The ground support equipment according to claim 14, wherein the plurality of solid-state converters are connected in parallel.

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