阅读说明：本技术 用于飞行器的电力供应系统以及对应的飞行器 (Power supply system for an aircraft and corresponding aircraft ) 是由 S·本德尔 M·福里 于 2019-07-04 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种用于飞行器(10)的电力供应系统,该电力供应系统具有以下特征：该电力供应系统包括能够飞行的无人机(12),该无人机带有多个旋翼(13)、直流变压器(14)、用于驱动这些旋翼(13)的电池(15)、以及用于固定该无人机(12)与该飞行器(10)之间的插接连接(16)的锁定装置(17)；该无人机(12)被配置为,借助该锁定装置(17)来固定该插接连接(16),直到该飞行器(10)达到预定的飞行高度；并且该电力供应系统被配置成使得只要存在该插接连接(16),则该电池(15)借助该直流变压器(14)给该飞行器(10)供电。(The invention provides a power supply system for an aircraft (10), having the following features: the power supply system comprises a flying drone (12) with rotors (13), a direct current transformer (14), a battery (15) for driving the rotors (13), and a locking device (17) for fixing a plug connection (16) between the drone (12) and the aircraft (10); the drone (12) being configured to fix the plug connection (16) by means of the locking device (17) until the aircraft (10) reaches a predetermined flight altitude; and the power supply system is configured such that the battery (15) powers the aircraft (10) by means of the direct current transformer (14) as long as the plug connection (16) is present.)

1. An electrical power supply system for an aircraft (10),

it is characterized by the following features:

-the power supply system comprises a flying drone (12) with a rotor (13), a direct current transformer (14), a battery (15) for driving said rotor (13), and a locking device (17) for fixing a plug connection (16) between the drone (12) and the aircraft (10),

-the drone (12) is arranged to fix the plug connection (16) by means of the locking device (17) until the aircraft (10) reaches a predetermined flight altitude, and

-the power supply system is configured such that the battery (15) supplies power to the aircraft (10) by means of the direct current transformer (14) as long as the plug connection (16) is present.

2. The electric power supply system according to claim 1,

it is characterized by the following features:

-the drone (12) is further arranged to autonomously return to near-ground when the flying height is reached.

3. The electric power supply system according to claim 1 or 2,

it is characterized by the following features:

-the drone (12) is further arranged for forming a communication connection (18) with the aircraft (10) to coordinate a common flight behaviour.

4. An aircraft (10) is described,

it is characterized by the following features:

-the aircraft (10) having an electric power supply system according to one of claims 1 to 3, and

-the aircraft (10) has a fully electric drive.

5. The aircraft (10) according to one of claims 1 to 4,

it is characterized by the following features:

-the aircraft (10) comprises a bent or bendable wing.

6. The aircraft (10) according to one of claims 1 to 5,

it is characterized by the following features:

-the aircraft (10) comprises a battery system capable of being rapidly charged.

7. The aircraft (10) according to one of claims 1 to 6,

it is characterized by the following features:

-the aircraft (10) comprises a horizontally fixed ducted fan propeller (11) for take-off and landing.

8. The aircraft (10) according to claim 7,

it is characterized by the following features:

the aircraft (10) has a plurality of sheets, and

-the horizontally fixed ducted fan propeller (11) can be selectively covered by means of the blades.

9. The aircraft (10) according to one of claims 1 to 8,

it is characterized by the following features:

-the aircraft (10) comprises a vertically fixed ducted fan propeller for generating propulsion.

10. The aircraft (10) according to one of claims 1 to 9,

it is characterized by the following features:

-the aircraft (10) is selectively fully autonomously controllable.

Technical Field

The invention relates to an aircraft, in particular to a fully electric aircraft capable of taking off and landing Vertically (VTOL). The invention further relates to a corresponding power supply system.

Background

VTOL refers in aerospace technology to any type of aircraft, drone or rocket, across languages, capable of being lifted and re-landed substantially vertically and without need for take-off and landing runways. This generic term is used broadly hereinafter to include not only fixed-wing aircraft with wings, but also rotorcraft (e.g., helicopters, autogyres, proprotors) and hybrid aircraft (e.g., compound helicopters or combined gyroplanes) as well as vertically liftable aircraft. Furthermore, aircraft capable of taking off and landing (STOL) within an especially short distance, taking off but landing vertically (STOVL) within a short distance, or taking off but landing horizontally (VTHL) vertically are also included.

The power requirements of the VTOL during the takeoff and landing phases are high. Therefore, the batteries of electrically driven VTOLs according to the prior art must not only take their capacity into account, but also meet the highest requirements in terms of their power density.

WO 2010/031384 a2 discloses a method for taking off an unmanned aerial vehicle by means of a take-off catapult which applies take-off energy, in such a way that the take-off catapult is first oriented before taking off. The takeoff ejector is covered by a peep-proof element, which is removed only after orientation and before the takeoff.

DE 102016219473 a1 relates to a drone for docking with a vehicle. Here, the drone comprises an accumulator and a docking device for docking the drone with the vehicle. Furthermore, the drone comprises at least one communication unit for communicating with the vehicle and/or with external instruments of a user of the vehicle and at least one position determination unit for identifying a position of the user of the vehicle. The drone is designed to determine the position of the user by means of a position determination unit, to undock the vehicle, to go to the user of the vehicle in correspondence with the identified position and to follow the user automatically, on the basis of a predeterminable trigger signal that can be detected by the communication unit.

DE 102007003458 a1 describes a device for automatically supplying energy to battery-operated small flight instruments in order to ensure virtually uninterrupted use of the flight instruments and to avoid the operator standing by. For this purpose, a landing and charging platform is provided, which is equipped with a battery compartment or below which a charging device is provided.

In order to solve the problem outlined above, an alternative energy source is proposed which does not increase the total weight of the aircraft. This proposal is based on the following recognition: the aircraft equipped with an onboard battery has a mass M_eVTOL+M_{Battery with a battery cell}And rotor area A_eVTOL.. Power P required for lift_{eVTOL/battery}Is applicable to

The power P required for the aircraft to lift when the battery is removed from the aircraft_eVTOLIs applicable to

A battery with its own rotor may have a mass M_{Battery with a battery cell}+M_{Upper machine}And rotor area A_{Battery with a battery cell}. In this case, it is appropriate for the power required for the lift to be

The total power required for hovering is reduced, making an electrically driven VTOL with coupled autonomous aircraft batteries potentially advantageous if the following equation is satisfied:

disclosure of Invention

The invention therefore provides, according to a preferred embodiment, an aircraft, in particular a fully electric aircraft which can take off and land vertically as described above, and an electrical power supply system for such an aircraft.

Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are given in the alternative. Thus, for example, the aircraft can be designed with wings that are bent or even selectively bendable. The corresponding variant increases the effective wing area in horizontal flight without extending the footprint of the aircraft.

Furthermore, the aircraft can have a rapidly rechargeable battery system which provides the drive energy for vertical takeoff and landing and for horizontal flight and makes it possible to charge the aircraft briefly.

In this case, for driving the aircraft, instead of the free rotor, a plurality of ducted fan propellers (ducted fans) of different sizes can be used, which are known, for example, from hovercraft or fancraft (sumpfboroten) outside the field of aeronautics. In such an embodiment, the cylindrical housing surrounding the propeller can significantly reduce the propulsion losses due to turbulence at the blade tips. Suitable ducted fan propellers can be oriented horizontally or vertically, be embodied pivotably between these two positions, or be covered by flaps (lovers) in horizontal flight for aerodynamic reasons. Furthermore, it is conceivable to generate a pure level of propulsion by means of a fixed ducted fan propeller.

Finally, in addition to the preferably fully autonomous operation of the aircraft, it is also conceivable to allow manual control by a human pilot in the case of sufficient qualification, which gives the device according to the invention the greatest possible flexibility in handling.

Drawings

Embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings and will be described in more detail below.

Fig. 1 shows the lifting of an aircraft according to the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates the aircraft prior to the aircraft transitioning to cruise flight.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 and 2 show the structural and functional features of a preferred embodiment of the aircraft 10 according to the invention in an overview.

During the takeoff shown in fig. 1, the rotor systems 11, 13, which are coordinated with one another by means of the communication connection 18 between the aircraft 10 and the drone 12, are jointly raised. Here, the aircraft 10 is the master (active) and the drone 12 equipped with its own battery 15 is the slave (slave). Two batteries 15 are connected to each other and power the aircraft 10 and the rotor 13 of the drone 12. The on-board DC transformer (DC-to-DC converter, 14) of the drone 12 ensures voltage consistency and controls energy flow.

When the transition height is reached, the autonomous battery drone 12 is disengaged and flies back to the ground. The aircraft 10 then continues to fly using only its own on-board battery 15.