FLUID DRAWING INDUCTION MOTOR

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electrical aircraft engine. The engine includes a stator with windings for generating a rotating magnetic field. The engine further includes a rotor for rotating inside or outside the stator. The rotor has a fan or propeller including thrust blades. The fan or propeller defines a closed-loop conductor. Advantageously, the thrust blades may generate direct thrust by moving fluid (i.e. gas or liquid), instead of driving a drive shaft, in turn, coupled to thrust blades.

Claims

1. An electrical aircraft engine including: a stator with windings for generating a rotating magnetic field; and a rotor for rotating inside or outside the stator, the rotor having a fan or propeller including thrust blades, the fan or propeller defining a closed-loop conductor.

2. An electrical aircraft engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thrust blades generate direct thrust by moving fluid, instead of driving a drive shaft, in turn, coupled to thrust blades.

3. An electrical aircraft engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thrust blades are substantially located inside or outside the stator to form a compact design.

4. An electrical aircraft engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tip or base of the blades define a skew angle of the rotor.

5. An electrical aircraft engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the blades include aluminum, composite material, graphene coating, titanium material with silver coating fan blades or any combination of conductive and ferromagnetic materials.

6. An electrical aircraft engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fan is integrally formed as a single piece.

7. An electrical aircraft engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fan includes a ferromagnetic material, conductive material or a combination of both.

8. An electrical aircraft engine as claimed in claim 1, further including at least one electrical short for shorting the blades or any part of the fan.

9. An electrical aircraft engine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the short includes a hub from which the base of the blades extends.

10. An electrical aircraft engine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the short includes a link for linking the blades.

11. An electrical aircraft engine as claimed in claim 10, wherein the link is located proximal the tips or the base of the blades.

12. An electrical aircraft engine as claimed in claim 10, wherein the link includes a ring made of a conductive material, amplified by a ferromagnetic material.

13. An electrical aircraft engine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the engine includes at least one short, the shorts preferably being concentric with the fan in-between or at the base of the fan.

14. An electrical aircraft engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotating magnetic field can be generated via a 1-phase, 2-phase, 3-phase or multiple-phase electricity supply.

15. An aircraft including one or more of the engines as claimed in claim 1, arranged to change the pressure of a fluid and induce movement of the aircraft.

16. An aircraft as claimed in claim 15, wherein the engines are arranged in series, or cascade or parallel with the fans directly adjacent each other.

17. A fan for a rotor, the fan including thrust blades and defining a closed-loop conductor.

18. A fan as claimed in claim 17, further including at least one electrical short for shorting the blades, the shorts including a hub from which the base of the blades extends and a link for linking the blades proximal the tips of the blades.

19. A fan as claimed in claim 18, wherein the shorts are concentric.

20. A fluid drawing induction motor including: a stator with windings for generating a rotating magnetic field; and a rotor for rotating inside or outside the stator, the rotor having a fan or propeller including thrust blades, the fan or propeller defining a closed-loop conductor.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows:

[0025] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an electrical aircraft engine in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] FIG. 2 shows (a) front and (b) side views of a composite fan of the engine of FIG. 1; and

[0027] FIG. 3, shows (a) whole fan and (b) the hub of the fan, where the fan blades or primarily the base of the fan blade is made of a conductive material and is shorted via a hub connection where the hub consists of both ferromagnetic and conductive materials.

[0028] FIG. 4, shows (a) internal stator and (b) external stator. The internal stator will have a rotor rotating around it while the external stator will have a rotor rotating within it.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lightweight electrical aircraft engine 100 as shown in FIG. 1. The engine 100 includes a stator consisting of thin steel laminations 102 with induction windings for generating a rotating magnetic field 104. The engine 100 further includes a rotor 106 for rotating inside or outside the stator 102 responsive to the magnetic field 104. The rotor 106 has a fan 108 including thrust blades 110. The fan 108 defines a closed-loop conductor.

[0030] Advantageously, the thrust blades 110 generate direct thrust by moving fluid (i.e. gas or liquid), instead of otherwise driving a drive shaft (not present), in turn, coupled to thrust blades. The thrust blades 110 are located within the stator 102 but can also be located around the stator 102 to form a compact design.

[0031] FIG. 2 shows a composite fan 108 of the engine 100 of FIG. 1. The conductive fan 108 is assembled of multiple parts, combining both ferromagnetic material and conductive materials. The blades 110 could be made of aluminum, composite material with graphene coating, titanium material with silver coating fan blades, composites, or any combination of conductive and ferromagnetic materials.

[0032] As can best be seen in FIG. 2(b), the tip of the blades 110 can define a skew angle 200 of the rotor 106.

[0033] The electrical aircraft engine 100 further includes two concentric electrical shorts 202 for shorting the conductive blades 110 of the fan 108 to form the closed-loop conductor. The fan 108 is located between the spaced apart shorts 202.

[0034] An outer short 202 includes a shroud (i.e. link) for linking the tips of the blades 110. The outer short 202 includes a ring made of a conductive material. In particular, the fan 108 is shroud shorted at the blade tips with a conductive material in this case being two copper rings separated by ferromagnetic material in the form of multiple steel laminations 204. The two copper rings 202 will have multiple conductor bars 201 and will act like a squirrel cage induction motor.

[0035] Turning to FIG. 3, the inner short includes a hub made of two rings made of a conductive material 202 separated by a lamination of ferromagnetic sheets 204 which will also act as base of the blades 110 extend from. In effect, the conductive rings 202 acts as means of shorting out the fan 108, and the base of the fan itself will act as conductor bars 201. When the hub 202, 204 and the conductor bars 201 in addition to the blades, this will act as a new form of squirrel cage induction motor.

[0036] Turning to FIG. 4, the rotating magnetic field 104 can be generated via a 1-phase, 2-phase, 3-phase or multiple-phase electricity supply. The rotating magnetic field 104 can either be an external magnetic rotating field 401 or an internal rotating magnetic field 402. The external rotating magnetic field will have a more concentrated magnetic field radiating outwards of the stator, while the internal rotating magnetic field 402 will have a more concentrated magnetic field radiating inward. By using this form of induction motor, it allows more control when compared to a DC motor. The revolutions produced by an induction motor can be regulated by the frequency, while the torque can be controlled via the current in the windings. Hence the motor can have constant revolutions, while the torque can be changed. As a result, the fan 108 will operate with higher efficiency. In essence, instead of using the electric rotor 106 to produce shaft work, the rotor 106 directly moves any form of fluid (both gas and liquid) to create thrust.

[0037] In practice, an aircraft can include one or more of the engines 100 arranged to change the pressure of a fluid (i.e. gas or liquid) and induce movement of the aircraft. The engines 100 can be arranged in series, or cascade or parallel with the fans 108 directly adjacent each other.

[0038] Throughout the description, the term conductor means electrical conductor.

[0039] A person skilled in the art will appreciate that many embodiments and variations can be made without departing from the ambit of the present invention.

[0040] In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features and applications shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect.

[0041] Reference throughout this specification to ‘one embodiment’ or ‘an embodiment’ means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearance of the phrases ‘in one embodiment’ or ‘in an embodiment’ in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more combinations.