Electric propulsion system
AssigneeSkybridge U.K . Ltd.
InventorsZvonimir SUCIC, Maxim PAVILAINEN
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electric vehicle propulsion system includes an electric motor and a battery pack formed as a single, integrated unit. It is a self-contained, integrated electric propulsion system. It disrupts the long-established engineering paradigm that the electric motor and the battery pack have to be designed, built and installed as separate systems.
Claims38
An electric propulsion system that includes a power source and a traction system combined into a single unit that is configured for installation into a vehicle, in which the single unit is modular and configured to enable a scalable number of such single units to form a distributed electric propulsion (DEP) system, where the number of such units depends on the size, and/or weight, and/or required traction force and/or required lifting capacity of the vehicle, in which the vehicle is any of the following:
- an aircraft, flying vehicle, air taxi and drone.
(canceled)
7-9. (canceled)
The propulsion system of 1 which is self-contained in that it does not need power from any power source external to the unit.
The propulsion system of 1 which is configured to operate autonomously and to alert the vehicle or a main control unit in the vehicle if it becomes unsafe or malfunctions.
The propulsion system of 1 which is configured to monitor and to report its own status to a central control and/or vehicle.
The propulsion system of 1 which is configured to only shut itself down if there is a critical error.
The propulsion system of 1 which includes a BMS (battery management system) configured to monitor the status of individual battery cells or packs or pouches (e.g., voltage, charge, temperature).
The propulsion system of 1 which is configured for two-way communications with one or more of the vehicle;
- a main control unit;
- other propulsion systems.
The propulsion system of 1 which is configured with authentication or security features and procedures to enable secure communications with one or more of the vehicle;
- a main control unit;
- other propulsion systems.
The propulsion system of 1 which is configured to report performance data back to the vehicle.
The propulsion system of 1 which is configured to autonomously negotiate with other self-powered propulsion systems in the vehicle.
The propulsion system of 1 which is configured to autonomously self-initialise.
The propulsion system of 1 which is configured to autonomously determine its physical position in the vehicle.
The propulsion system of 1 in which the power source includes a battery.
The propulsion system of 24 in which the battery is a rechargeable battery such as a Li-ion battery.
The propulsion system of 24 in which the battery is a solid state battery.
The propulsion system of 1 in which the power source is a fuel cell, such as a hydrogen fuel cell.
The propulsion system of 1 in which the traction system includes an electric motor.
The propulsion system of 1 in which the traction system is a thruster system.
(canceled)
The propulsion system of 29 in which the thruster system includes one or more propellers.
The propulsion system of 29 in which the thruster system is contained within an air duct.
The propulsion system of 32 in which the duct is tubular or cylindrical in shape.
The propulsion system of 32 in which the unit includes power components, such as one or more of inverters, the BMS, and low voltage battery packs, and in which the arrangement of the power components provide structural integrity for the duct.
The propulsion system of 34 in which the power components are convection cooled, by virtue of being part of or in the duct.
36-37. (canceled)
The propulsion system of 1 in which the vehicle is an aircraft and a boundary layer over the propulsion system is maintained by closing or part closing a cover over the propulsion system.
The propulsion system of 29 in which the vehicle is an aircraft and a boundary layer over the propulsion system is maintained using the thrust of the thruster system when the propulsion system is activated.
40-42. (canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.