Electric Rotor Drive Layout With Battery-Motor Segmentation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current electric power systems for rotary-wing aircraft, particularly in urban air mobility, face challenges in ensuring safety and reliability due to the lack of redundancy in electrical energy distribution, leading to increased weight, cost, and maintenance requirements, as well as the inability to maintain operational thrust producing units in case of battery or motor failures.
Innovation Solution
The electrically powered rotary-wing aircraft employs a simplified power system architecture with multiple batteries and motors, where each motor is connected to a different battery, ensuring that no electrical drive unit fails due to energy loss from a single battery failure, using a cable harness and fuses for power distribution, and an automatic flight control system to manage power needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple batteries are connected to each motor via complex distribution boxes with diodes and relays to ensure redundancy, then safety and reliability improve, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical distribution system is segmented into simple individual connections where each battery connects directly to specific motors without complex intermediary components. This segmentation eliminates the need for centralized distribution boxes while maintaining redundancy, as each motor can still receive power from multiple batteries through direct cable connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex distribution boxes with diodes and relays are extracted and removed from the system. The patent achieves the same safety function through direct cable connections between batteries and motors, eliminating unnecessary intermediary components that increased system complexity while preserving the essential redundancy function.
2Reliability
If multiple batteries and complex distribution systems are used to ensure power redundancy, then reliability improves, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heavy distribution boxes and unnecessary intermediary components are extracted and removed from the system. The patent achieves power redundancy through direct cable connections between batteries and motors, eliminating the weight of complex distribution infrastructure while maintaining the essential safety function.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrical system is segmented into direct point-to-point connections rather than a centralized heavy distribution network. This segmentation allows power redundancy to be achieved through simple cable routing without the weight penalty of complex distribution boxes and intermediary components.
3Reliability
If complex electrical distribution systems with multiple components are implemented, then power supply reliability improves, but maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The complex intermediary components such as diodes, relays, and distribution boxes are extracted and removed from the system. This leaves only simple direct cable connections between batteries and motors, which significantly reduces maintenance requirements while preserving the essential power supply reliability through redundancy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is designed to be inherently simple and self-sufficient, with direct connections that require minimal intervention for maintenance. The redundancy is achieved through the basic architecture of multiple batteries connecting to multiple motors, eliminating the need for complex active management systems that would increase maintenance needs.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration provides a high level of safety by ensuring continuous power supply to thrust producing units, reducing the number of electrical components and maintenance needs, and enabling safe flight and emergency landing even in case of battery or motor failures, without the need for complex distribution boxes.
Implementation Method 1
a second predetermined number of batteries provides electricity to the at least two electric motors
Implementation Method 2
an electrical drive unit with at least two electric motors for driving the rotor
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present embodiments relate to an electrically powered rotary-wing aircraft 100 with a first predetermined number of thrust producing units 103a, 103b and a second predetermined number of batteries 410a, 410b. Each one of the first predetermined number of thrust producing units may include a rotor 331, and an electrical drive unit 330 with at least two electric motors 380, 383. Each battery of the second predetermined number of batteries 410a, 410b is coupled to at most one electric motor of the at least two electric motors 380, 383 of at least one of the first predetermined number of thrust producing units 103a, 103b, and each electric motor of the at least one of the first predetermined number of thrust producing units 103a, 103b is coupled to at most one of the second predetermined number of batteries 410a, 410b.