A control system is configured for use with an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft having multiple electric propulsion units 34, each powered by multiple batteries 30. Each propulsion unit has an electric motor 60 with multiple windings, each connected to a power level controller 82, connected to a respective battery via a respective power distribution assembly 32. For each propulsion unit the control system monitors the discharge rate of each battery connected to it, and for the battery with the highest discharge rate, operates the power controller according to a regenerative regime, causing the battery’s winding to regeneratively harvest energy from the motor and supply it to the power distribution assembly, reducing the difference in discharge rates between the batteries. Preferably, the control system comprises a number of individual controllers, with a controller for each propulsion system; the system may also operate in a proportional regime where power delivered to a winding is varied in proportion to the difference in discharge rates. Also claimed is a multi-lane inverter apparatus where the power level controller is an inverter 82, and the motor is an alternating current (AC) electric motor.
An electrical vertical take-off and landing aircraft
2025-03-12
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
IPC: | B64D Ausrüstung für Flugzeuge , EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT |