Detachable Power Tethering for eVTOL Aircraft
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current electric VTOL aircraft consume a disproportionate amount of electrical power during takeoff and hover operations, leading to increased weight and cost due to oversized battery arrays, which reduces flight payload and range.
Innovation Solution
An electric power tethering system that provides a detachable power connection between a surface power source and the aircraft, allowing power transmission during takeoff and hover phases and retracting the tether when not needed, thereby reducing battery load and extending flight range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If oversized battery arrays are included to compensate for disproportionate power consumption during takeoff and hover operations, then power availability is improved, but aircraft weight increases and flight payload/range decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the power tether system from the aircraft itself and provides power from an external surface source. The aircraft includes a power inlet and control system to receive and manage external power, separating the heavy battery requirement from the aircraft while maintaining power availability during takeoff and hover operations
Solution Approach 2:
The power inlet and control system are designed to accept power from multiple sources including ground power units, mobile generators, or other external power sources. This multi-functional power reception capability allows the aircraft to operate with reduced or no onboard battery while maintaining power availability across different operational phases
2Power
If oversized battery arrays are included to compensate for disproportionate power consumption during takeoff and hover operations, then power availability is improved, but flight payload decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By extracting power provision from onboard batteries to external surface power sources, the patent removes the weight constraint that limits payload capacity. The aircraft can maintain full power availability during high-demand operations while allocating maximum payload capacity to useful cargo or passengers
3Power
If oversized battery arrays are included to compensate for disproportionate power consumption during takeoff and hover operations, then power availability is improved, but flight range decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the energy storage requirement from the aircraft by providing power externally during critical operations. This allows the aircraft to use minimal or no onboard battery, thereby extending flight range since the limiting factor of battery capacity is removed while power availability is maintained through external tethering during takeoff and hover
Solution Approach 2:
The power system dynamically transitions between external tethered power and onboard battery power based on operational phase. During takeoff and hover, external power is utilized; during cruise flight, the aircraft operates independently on battery or hybrid power, optimizing both range and power availability across the entire flight profile
Data Source
AI summary
An electric power tethering system for an aircraft having a vertical takeoff and landing flight mode including a takeoff phase and/or a hover phase includes a surface power source and a power tether having a surface end configured to couple to the surface power source and an aircraft end configured to couple to the aircraft. The power tether is configured to transmit power from the surface power source to the aircraft in the takeoff phase and/or the hover phase. The power tether is detachable to decouple the surface power source from the aircraft in response to a power tether release event during flight.