Gas supply system for flight vehicle

Abstract

To provide a gas supply system for a flight vehicle that can control concentrations of oxygen in a flight vehicle.SOLUTION: A gas supply system 10 for a flight vehicle is provided with: an adsorbent 14, arranged in an airplane 12, which adsorbs moisture included in air and is configured to include a porous coordination polymer having photocatalytic action that is irradiated with light to decompose water and generate oxygen; an oxygen concentration sensor 16, arranged in the airplane 12, which can measure concentrations of oxygen in the airplane 12; and a lighting device 18, arranged in the airplane 12, which can emit light to the adsorbent 14 and adjust amounts of light.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a gas supply system for an aircraft. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 below discloses an invention relating to an aircraft cabin atmosphere composition control method. In this aircraft cabin atmosphere composition control method, oxygen is separated from the outside air on board the aircraft to secure a high-concentration oxygen supply source, and oxygen is supplied from this high-concentration oxygen supply source to the aircraft cabin, thereby ensuring oxygen within the cabin. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4490963 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, although Patent Document 1 discloses that the oxygen concentration inside the cabin is controlled by increasing the oxygen content of the air heading to the cabin, it does not disclose a specific configuration for controlling the oxygen concentration inside the cabin. In other words, the above prior art has room for improvement in terms of controlling the oxygen concentration inside the aircraft.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In consideration of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a gas supply system for an aircraft that can control the oxygen concentration inside the aircraft. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The gas supply system for an aircraft described in claim 1 comprises an adsorbent that is placed inside the aircraft and is composed of a porous coordination polymer that has photocatalytic activity, adsorbs moisture contained in the air, and decomposes water when irradiated with light to generate oxygen; an oxygen concentration sensor that is placed inside the aircraft and can measure the oxygen concentration inside the aircraft; and a light irradiation unit that is placed inside the aircraft and is capable of irradiating light onto the adsorbent and adjusting the amount of light.

[0007] In the gas supply system for an aircraft described in claim 1, an adsorbent is placed inside the aircraft, and this adsorbent contains a porous coordination polymer that has photocatalytic properties, adsorbing moisture contained in the air and decomposing water to generate oxygen when irradiated with light.

[0008] Therefore, when the adsorbent is irradiated with light, water contained in the air near the adsorbent is decomposed by the photocatalytic action of the porous coordination polymer, generating oxygen.

[0009] Incidentally, there is an appropriate range of oxygen concentration within a flying vehicle for the crew members inside the flying vehicle, and it is preferable to be able to control the oxygen concentration within the flying vehicle.

[0010] In the present invention, an oxygen concentration sensor capable of measuring the oxygen concentration and a light irradiator capable of irradiating the adsorbent with light and adjusting the amount of light are disposed within the flying object, so that the amount of light irradiated from the light irradiator to the adsorbent can be adjusted based on the oxygen concentration within the flying object.

[0011] The gas supply system for an aircraft described in claim 2 is an invention described in claim 1, in which the aircraft is equipped with an engine that uses hydrogen as fuel, and hydrogen generated when the water is decomposed by the photocatalytic action in the adsorbent can be supplied to the engine.

[0012] In the gas supply system for an aircraft described in claim 2, the aircraft is equipped with an engine that uses hydrogen as fuel. The hydrogen generated during the decomposition of water by photocatalysis in the adsorbent is supplied to the engine. Therefore, in this invention, not only oxygen generated by the decomposition of water but also hydrogen can be utilized. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] As described above, the gas supply system for an aircraft according to the present invention has the excellent effect of being able to control the oxygen concentration inside the aircraft. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of an airplane equipped with a gas supply system for an aircraft according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a gas supply system for an aircraft according to an embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] An example of an embodiment of a gas supply system for an aircraft according to the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Note that unless otherwise specified in the specification, each element is not limited to one, and multiple elements may be present. Furthermore, in the drawings, substantially identical elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations in the specification will be omitted.

[0016] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the "gas supply system 10 for an aircraft" according to this embodiment is installed on an "airplane 12" as an aircraft, and includes an "adsorbent 14," an "oxygen concentration sensor 16," an "illumination device 18" as a light irradiation unit, and a control unit 20.

[0017] The adsorbent 14 is provided, for example, on the surface of an overhead compartment 22 located in the upper part of the cabin 12A of the airplane 12, and the adsorbent 14 is composed of a porous coordination polymer (PCP).

[0018] Specifically, porous coordination polymers, also known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), are formed from metal ions and organic ligands and have a highly regular lattice structure. These porous coordination polymers can occlude (adsorb) fine particles such as gas molecules within their lattice structure and release them under specific conditions. These properties allow porous coordination polymers to perform functions such as storing specific gas molecules, separating specific gas molecules from a gas mixture, and performing transformations using metal ions in the porous coordination polymer as a catalyst.

[0019] The metal ions may be extracted from inorganic metal compounds such as metal oxides or metal salts of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), zirconium (Zr), etc. The organic ligands may be those having functional groups capable of coordinating with metal atoms, such as carboxyl groups, imidazole groups, and amide groups.

[0020] In this embodiment, the porous coordination polymer contained in the adsorbent 14 has a photocatalytic effect of adsorbing moisture contained in the air and decomposing water to generate oxygen when irradiated with light. When water is decomposed in the porous coordination polymer of the adsorbent 14 to generate oxygen, theoretically, twice as much hydrogen as oxygen (molar ratio) is generated.

[0021] The oxygen concentration sensor 16 is disposed near a seat 24 disposed in the cabin 12A, and is capable of measuring the oxygen concentration within the cabin 12A. The measurement result by the oxygen concentration sensor 16 is transmitted to the control unit 20.

[0022] The lighting device 18 is provided on the ceiling of the cabin 12A and is capable of irradiating light onto the adsorptive material 14. The lighting device 18 is controlled by a control unit 20, so that the amount of light emitted by the lighting device 18 can be adjusted.

[0023] Specifically, the control unit 20 increases the light intensity of the lighting device 18 above the reference light intensity when the measurement result from the oxygen concentration sensor 16 is lower than a predetermined lower limit (e.g., an oxygen concentration of 20%), and decreases the light intensity of the lighting device 18 below the reference light intensity when the measurement result from the oxygen concentration sensor 16 is higher than a predetermined upper limit (e.g., an oxygen concentration of 60%). Note that the control unit 20 maintains the light intensity of the lighting device 18 at the reference light intensity when the measurement result from the oxygen concentration sensor 16 is equal to or higher than a predetermined lower limit and equal to or lower than a predetermined upper limit, in a state where no other control with a higher priority is being performed on the lighting device 18.

[0024] Furthermore, an "engine 26" that uses hydrogen as fuel is mounted on the main wing 12B of the airplane 12. The airplane 12 is also provided with a flow path 28 that can connect the ceiling of the cabin 12A with the engine 26. As a result, in this embodiment, hydrogen generated during the decomposition of water by photocatalysis in the adsorbent 14 is supplied to the engine 26 via the flow path 28.

[0025] <Actions and Effects of This Embodiment> Next, the operation and effects of this embodiment will be described.

[0026] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an adsorbent 14 is placed inside an airplane 12, and this adsorbent 14 contains a porous coordination polymer that has a photocatalytic effect of adsorbing moisture contained in the air and decomposing water to generate oxygen when irradiated with light.

[0027] Therefore, when the adsorbent 14 is irradiated with light, water contained in the air near the adsorbent 14 is decomposed by the photocatalytic action of the porous coordination polymer, generating oxygen.

[0028] Incidentally, there is an appropriate range of oxygen concentration inside the airplane 12 for the crew members inside the airplane 12, and it is preferable to be able to control the oxygen concentration inside the airplane 12.

[0029] In this embodiment, an oxygen concentration sensor 16 capable of measuring the oxygen concentration and a lighting device 18 capable of irradiating the adsorbent 14 with light and capable of adjusting the amount of light are disposed inside the airplane 12. Therefore, the amount of light irradiated from the lighting device 18 to the adsorbent 14 can be adjusted based on the oxygen concentration inside the airplane 12.

[0030] In this embodiment, the airplane 12 is equipped with an engine 26 that uses hydrogen as fuel. The hydrogen generated during the decomposition of water by photocatalysis in the adsorbent 14 is supplied to the engine 26. Therefore, in this embodiment, not only the oxygen generated by the decomposition of water but also the hydrogen can be utilized.

[0031] As described above, the gas supply system 10 for an aircraft can control the oxygen concentration inside the airplane 12. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 10 Aircraft Gas Supply System 12 Airplane (flying object) 12A Inner surface 14 Adsorbent 16 Oxygen concentration sensor 18 Lighting device (light irradiation part)

Claims

1. an adsorbent disposed within the aircraft body, which adsorbs moisture contained in the air and includes a porous coordination polymer having a photocatalytic activity that decomposes water to generate oxygen when irradiated with light; an oxygen concentration sensor disposed within the flying object and capable of measuring the oxygen concentration within the flying object; a light irradiator disposed within the flying object, capable of irradiating the attracting object with light and capable of adjusting the amount of light; A gas supply system for an aircraft comprising:

2. the aircraft is equipped with an engine that uses hydrogen as fuel; The hydrogen generated during the decomposition of water by the photocatalytic action in the adsorbent can be supplied to the engine.

2. A gas supply system for an aircraft according to claim 1.

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