Aircraft drag reduction system including an internally cooled motor system and aircraft using same
US11912393B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 28, 2022 |
| Grant date | Feb 27, 2024 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 9, 2042 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02T50/60
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An aircraft propulsion system with a drag reduction portion adapted to reduce skin friction on at least a portion of the external surface of an aircraft. The drag reduction portion may include an inlet to ingest airflow. The aircraft may also have an internally cooled electric motor adapted for use in an aerial vehicle. The motor may have its stator towards the center and have an external rotor. The rotor structure may be air cooled and may be a complex structure with an internal lattice adapted for airflow. The stator structure may be liquid cooled and may be a complex structure with an internal lattice adapted for liquid to flow through. A fluid pump may pump a liquid coolant through non-rotating portions of the motor stator and then through heat exchangers cooled in part by air which has flowed through the rotating portions of the motor rotor. The drag reduction portion and the cooled electric motor portion may share the same inlet.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.