Regenerative integrated actuation system and associated method

An air vehicle comprising:

• a vehicle body including a plurality of flight control surfaces;
• a power distribution system extending through at least a portion of the vehicle body;
• a plurality of actuators in communication with a power distribution system, each actuator including an energy storage element associated therewith;
• and
• a controller for determining if a respective actuator is in a consumption mode or a regenerative mode, wherein, if the controller determines the respective actuator to be in a consumption mode, the controller is configured to determine whether the respective actuator should draw power from one of the plurality of actuators or from the power distribution system, and wherein, if the controller determines the respective actuator to be in a regenerative mode, the controller is configured to determine whether any excess power from the respective actuator should be provided to one of the plurality of actuators.

A method comprising:

• determining if a respective one of a plurality of actuators is in a consumption mode or a regenerative mode;
• if the respective actuator is determined to be in a consumption mode, determining a power source from which the respective actuator should draw power from among the plurality of actuators or a power distribution system with which the plurality of actuators are in communication and thereafter providing power to the respective actuator from the power source;
• and
• if the respective actuator is determined to be in a regenerative mode, determining whether any excess power from the respective actuator should be provided to one of the plurality of actuators.