Wireless network having a local electrical power supply in aircraft

• US 10,035,476 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2014
• Issued: 07/31/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Operations GmbH (Airbus SE)
• Original Assignee: Airbus Operations GmbH (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Mueller, Jan
• Primary Examiner(s): Fureman, Jared
• Assistant Examiner(s): Htun, Win
• Application Number:
  US14/332,122
• Publication Number:
  US 20140327300A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,477 Days
• Field of Search: 307 91, 307104
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0207 Wire harnesses
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0215 Protecting, fastening and routing means therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0231 Circuits relating to the driving or the functioning of the vehicle monitoring tyres B60C23/00; indicating overspeed B60K31/00; for dash boards B60K37/00, B60Q3/10; for indicating emergencies B60Q1/52; brake control systems B60T; registering or indicating the working of vehicles G07C5/00; measuring distance G01C, e.g. combinations of speed and distance G01C23/00; engine indicators G01L; measuring speed or acceleration G01P
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/14 Balancing the load in a network
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/44 for aircrafts
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/05 using capacitive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/345 using capacitors as storage or buffering devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/22 Capacitive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/24 Inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer

Abstract

A network node for a network provided in a transport means, in particular in an aircraft, the network node being coupleable to a supply line provided for supplying electrical energy to the transport means, in particular the aircraft, in such a way that it can draw a leakage current of the supply line, the network node comprising an energy buffer storage that is chargeable with electrical energy, the energy buffer storage being chargeable by the drawn leakage current with electrical energy.

Claims

1. A network node for a network provided in a transport device, the network node being coupleable to a supply line provided for supplying electrical energy to the transport device in such a way that it can draw a leakage current of the supply line, the network node comprising an energy buffer storage that is chargeable with electrical energy, the energy buffer storage being chargeable by the drawn leakage current with electrical energy,

wherein the network node is a sensor node,

wherein the network node comprises a coupling unit to contactlessly transfer electrical energy from the associated supply line to the network node,

wherein the coupling unit transfers electrical energy one of inductively and capacitively, and

wherein a current of the electrical energy supplied to the transport device via the supply line has a current intensity that is at least one hundred times higher than the leakage current.

2. The network node according to claim 1, further comprising a protective circuit, the protective circuit being configured to prevent electrical faults caused by the network node from being forwarded in the direction of the supply line.

3. The network node according to claim 2, where the protective circuit is configured to prevent electrical faults from being forwarded to other electronic devices connected to the supply line.

4. The network node according to claim 1, further comprising a protective circuit, the protective circuit being configured to prevent the input of electrical faults, coming from the direction of the supply line.

5. The network node according to claim 4, wherein the protective circuit is configured to prevent the input of electrical faults caused by other electronic devices connected to the supply line, into the network node.

6. The network node according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the energy buffer storage and the protective circuit are integrated into the network node.

7. The network node according to claim 1, wherein the energy buffer storage comprises at least one of an accumulator and a capacitor.

8. The network node according to claim 7, wherein the capacitor comprises a super-capacitor.

9. The network node according to claim 1, wherein the network node is configured to draw leakage current from the supply line continuously over time and to charge the energy buffer storage with the drawn leakage current.

10. The network node according to claim 1, wherein the energy buffer storage is configured to deliver electrical energy, stored in the energy buffer storage for the purpose of supplying the network node, when the network node requires electrical energy.

11. The network node according to claim 1, further comprising a transformation component to transform the drawn leakage current into a quantity suitable for supplying the network node.

12. The network node according to claim 1, further comprising a communication module for at least one of wireless and wired communication with other network nodes provided in the network of the transport device.

18. The network node according to claim 1, wherein the current intensity of the current is one thousand times to ten thousand times higher than the leakage current.

13. A network for a transport device, the network comprising:

a fuse-protected central feed-in point leading separately to one or more supply lines for supplying electrical energy to a respective transport device,

a multiplicity of network nodes and a corresponding multiplicity of coupling units, at least a subset of the multiplicity of coupling units being configured for contactless, in particular indicative or capacitive, transfer of electrical energy to the network nodes from the associated supply lines,

wherein each network node is coupled to the supply line provided for supplying electrical energy to the transport device in such a way that it can draw a leakage current of the supply line at a point which is downstream of the central feed-in point, the network node comprising an energy buffer storage that is chargeable with electrical energy, the energy buffer storage being chargeable by the drawn leakage current with electrical energy,

wherein the network nodes are coupleable to one or more supply lines for supplying electrical energy to the transport device, each of the one or more network nodes being coupleable, respectively, to at least one associated supply line of the one or more supply lines, for the purpose of drawing leakage current, and

wherein a current of the electrical energy supplied to the transport device via the supply line has a current intensity that is at least one hundred times higher than the leakage current.

14. The network according to claim 13, wherein the network is configured as a sensor network wherein one or more nodes are sensor nodes.

15. The network according to claim 13, further comprising one or more coupling units, each of the one or more network nodes being coupleable to the same associated supply line by means of one of the one or more coupling units.

16. The network according to claim 13, at least a subset of the network nodes comprising a communication module for at least one of wireless and wired communication with other network nodes provided in the network.

17. A network node for a network, the network node being coupled to a plurality of supply lines provided for supplying electrical energy to a plurality of respective transport devices in such a way that the network node can draw leakage currents from each of the plurality of supply lines, the network node comprising an energy buffer storage that is chargeable with electrical energy, the energy buffer storage being chargeable by the drawn leakage currents with electrical energy,

wherein the network node comprises a coupling unit to contactlessly transfer electrical energy from the plurality of supply lines to the network node,

wherein the coupling unit transfers electrical energy one of inductively and capacitively, and

wherein a current of the electrical energy supplied to the plurality of transport devices via the plurality of supply lines has a current intensity that is at least one hundred times higher than the leakage current.