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US 10,814,991 B2Granted
Propulsion system and methods of use thereof
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsManoj Ramprasad Shah, Narendra Digamber Joshi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments of a propulsion system are provided herein. In some embodiments, a propulsion system for an aircraft may include an electrical power supply; a motor coupled to the electrical power supply, wherein the electrical power supply provides power to the motor; and a fan disposed proximate a rear portion of an aircraft and rotatably coupled to the motor, wherein the fan is driven by the motor.
Claims25
A propulsion system for an aircraft, comprising:
- an electrical power supply;
- a motor coupled to the electrical power supply, wherein the electrical power supply provides power to the motor;
- and
- a fan disposed proximate a rear portion of the aircraft and rotatably coupled to the motor, wherein the fan is driven by the motor to facilitate ingestion of a boundary layer flowing along surfaces of the aircraft, thereby reducing or eliminating drag on surfaces of the aircraft;
- wherein the electrical power supply includes at least one generator, at least one battery, and a switch for selectively supplying power from the battery to the motor;
- wherein the at least one generator is coupled to one of a high pressure spool or a low pressure spool of one or more aircraft engines, wherein rotation of the high pressure spool or the low pressure spool facilitates rotation of the at least one generator;
- and
- wherein at least one power supply bypass is configured bypassing one or more converters, inverters, or amplifiers, and electrically coupling the at least one generator to selectively directly power the motor to drive the fan to propel the aircraft during a portion of a trip and not directly power the motor when the one or more aircraft engines propel the aircraft during one or more other portions of the trip.
5 more elements
An aircraft, comprising:
- at least one engine;
- an electrical power supply having a generator, the generator coupled to the at least one engine;
- a motor coupled to the electrical power supply, wherein the electrical power supply provides power to the motor;
- a fan disposed proximate a rear portion of the aircraft and rotatably coupled to the motor, wherein the fan is driven by the motor to facilitate ingestion of a boundary layer flowing along surfaces of the aircraft, thereby reducing or eliminating drag on surfaces of the aircraft;
- and
- at least one gearbox rotatably coupling the at least one engine to the generator or rotatably coupling the fan to the motor;
- wherein the electrical power supply includes at least one generator, at least one battery, and a switch for selectively supplying power from the battery to the motor;
- wherein the at least one generator is coupled to one of a high pressure spool or a low pressure spool of the at least one engine, wherein rotation of the high pressure spool or the low pressure spool facilitates rotation of the at least one generator;
- and
- wherein at least one power supply bypass is configured bypassing one or more converters, inverters, or amplifiers, and electrically coupling the at least one generator to selectively directly power the motor to drive the fan to propel the aircraft during a portion of a trip and not directly power the motor when the one or more aircraft engines propel the aircraft during one or more other portions of the trip.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.