초록 ▼

An Extra Electric Energy System that supplies electrical power to an aircraft of the continuous flight duration day/night cycle solar powered type is described where the extra electric energy is generated as static charge by collisions of the aircraft with particles existing in the earth's atmospher

An Extra Electric Energy System that supplies electrical power to an aircraft of the continuous flight duration day/night cycle solar powered type is described where the extra electric energy is generated as static charge by collisions of the aircraft with particles existing in the earth's atmosphere. The manner in which the static charge is collected, stored and used immediately to meet present or future aircraft power needs is considered. An example of the application of the system to a high altitude solar powered Helios type aircraft is offered along with a discussion of how its structure is modified to store static charge.

대표청구항 ▼

I claim: 1. An Extra Electric Energy System for collecting the static charge that forms in flight on the external surfaces of a continuous flight duration, day/night cycle solar powered aircraft when the aircraft collides with particles in the earth's atmosphere including but not limited to dust, fo

I claim: 1. An Extra Electric Energy System for collecting the static charge that forms in flight on the external surfaces of a continuous flight duration, day/night cycle solar powered aircraft when the aircraft collides with particles in the earth's atmosphere including but not limited to dust, fog, rain, sleet, snow, ice and volcanic ash particles, hereafter referred to as particles, and for using a portion of or all of that electrical energy immediately to power aircraft systems requiring electrical power or to store the remaining electrical energy in the aircraft for future use comprising:means to provide a continuous duration day/night cycle solar powered aircraft with extra energy by tapping a previously unrecognized source of energy: the static charge forming on the aircraft due to collisions of the aircraft with particles in the troposphere and stratosphere regions of the earth's atmosphere,means to enhance the production of static charge on the aircraft's surfaces if those surfaces do not normally produce sufficient static charge by substituting surface materials or coatings such as dielectrics that produce enhanced amounts of static charge,means to collect the static charge that is formed on the surfaces of the aircraft by collisions with particles in the earth's atmosphere by equipping those surfaces with electrodes that capture the static charge or by making the surfaces from materials or by coating those surfaces with materials that have sufficient electrical conductivity to allow the static charge to migrate over the surface to static charge collection points which are in turn connected electrically to static charge storage devices within the aircraft,means to store collected static charge in aircraft located static charge storage devices in the form of capacitors and batteries and thru the cyclic formation of consumables during the day for use in an onboard regenerative fuel cell which are then stored and used later or at night in the fuel cell to produce electrical power and for storage as heat in thermal batteries to power heat engines such as Rankine-Brayton and/or Stirling engines,means to store the collected static charge in the structure of the aircraft by transforming the structure where possible into static charge storage devices in the form of flat plate capacitors, cylindrical capacitors, and/or capacitors of different shapes or equivalent storage devices,means to store the collected static charge in the aircraft by mounting multi-sheet flat plate capacitors or equivalent in the aircraft's fuselage and/or wing volume,means to use the electrical power immediately or after storage to meet extra electrical power requirements of a continuous duration, day/night cycle solar powered aircraft including its emergency power needs,means to transform the stored static charge into useful DC and AC electrical power and the use of that electrical power to supply aircraft electrical needs both in the daytime and at night,means to control the collection of static charge, its distribution to static charge storage devices and/or its immediate use, the choice of the most appropriate storage device for storage of the incoming static charge, its conversion to the needed type of electrical power and projections of future electrical usage requirements by an onboard Electrical Load Controller containing a computer with dedicated software which is also provided with information regarding the status of all aircraft systems that might use electricity from the Extra Electric Energy System.