Apparatus and Method Pertaining to Light-Based Power Distribution in a Vehicle
First Claim
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1. A method comprising:
- in an aircraft;
providing a source of light within the aircraft such that the source of light will accompany the aircraft when the aircraft is in flight;
using an optical conduit to couple the source of light to a light-to-electricity conversion apparatus;
such that light from the source of light is delivered to the light-to-electricity conversion apparatus via the optical conduit and is used to provide a source of electricity in the aircraft to components of the aircraft.
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Abstract
A vehicle (400) such as an aircraft is provided (101) with a source of light (401). An optical conduit is then used to couple (104) this source of light to a light-to-electricity conversion apparatus (408). So configured, the optical conduit delivers light from this source of light to the light-to-electricity conversion apparatus such that the light source then serves as a source of electricity in the vehicle.
67 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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in an aircraft; providing a source of light within the aircraft such that the source of light will accompany the aircraft when the aircraft is in flight; using an optical conduit to couple the source of light to a light-to-electricity conversion apparatus; such that light from the source of light is delivered to the light-to-electricity conversion apparatus via the optical conduit and is used to provide a source of electricity in the aircraft to components of the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
such that the light-to-electricity conversion apparatus receives a redundant supply of light to be converted to electricity.
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5. The method of claim 1 wherein providing a source of light comprises, at least in part, providing a source of infrared light.
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6. The method of claim 1 wherein the light-to-electricity conversion apparatus comprises an infrared light-to-electricity conversion apparatus.
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7. The method of claim 1 wherein the optical conduit comprises, at least in part, an optical fiber.
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8. The method of claim 7 wherein the optical conduit comprises, at least in part, a plurality of the optical fibers.
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9. The method of claim 8 wherein the plurality of the optical fibers comprises a plurality of optical fibers that are each comprised of polymer materials.
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10. The method of claim 9 wherein the plurality of optical fibers comprises a plurality of optical fibers that are each about 0.1 to 5 millimeter in diameter.
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11. The method of claim 10 wherein the plurality of optical fibers comprises from about 2 to about 100 optical fibers.
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12. The method of claim 1 wherein using an optical conduit to couple the source of light to a light-to-electricity conversion apparatus comprises using a plurality of optical conduits to couple the source of light to a corresponding plurality of light-to-electricity conversion apparatuses.
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13. The method of claim 12 wherein using a plurality of optical conduits to couple the source of light to a corresponding plurality of light-to-electricity conversion apparatuses comprises using a star-based architecture to couple the source of light to the plurality of light-to-electricity conversion apparatuses.
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14. The method of claim 13 wherein separate whole sets of light sources and sinks are cross-coupled for fail-functional operation.
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15. The method of claim 1 wherein the light-to-electricity conversion apparatus is further operably coupled to at least one electrically powered aircraft component.
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16. The method of claim 15 wherein the light-to-electricity conversion apparatus comprises an integral part of the electrically powered aircraft component.
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17. The method of claim 15 wherein the aircraft is configured and arranged to optically distribute data to and from the electrically powered aircraft component.
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18. The method of claim 17 wherein the aircraft is configured and arranged to optically distribute data to and from the electrically powered aircraft component independent of the optical conduit.
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19. The method of claim 1 wherein providing a source of light comprises:
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providing a source of a first component of the light; providing a source of a second component of the light, wherein the first and second components are different from one another.
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20. The method of claim 19 wherein the first component of the light comprises a power component and the second component of the light comprises a visible marker.
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21. The method of claim 20 wherein the power component comprises an infrared light component.
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22. The method of claim 21 wherein the visible marker comprises a visible light component.
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23. The method of claim 22 wherein the visible light component comprises a white light component.
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24. The method of claim 20 wherein providing a source of light further comprises providing at least a third component of the light that is different from the first and second components, wherein the third component comprises at least one of:
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a data-bearing component; a heating component; a surface illumination end use component.
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25. An aircraft power distribution system comprising:
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a source of light disposed within an aircraft such that the source of light will accompany the aircraft when the aircraft is in flight; an optical conduit that is operably coupled between the source of light and a light-to-electricity conversion apparatus; such that light from the source of light is delivered to the light-to-electricity conversion apparatus via the optical conduit and is used to provide a source of electricity in the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
such that the light-to-electricity conversion apparatus receives a redundant supply of light to be converted to electricity.
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30. The aircraft power distribution system of claim 25 wherein the source of light comprises, at least in part, a source of infrared light.
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31. The aircraft power distribution system of claim 25 wherein the optical conduit comprises, at least in part, an optical fiber.
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32. The aircraft power distribution system of claim 31 wherein the optical conduit comprises, at least in part, a plurality of the optical fibers.
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33. The aircraft power distribution system of claim 32 wherein the plurality of the optical fibers comprises a plurality of optical fibers that are each comprised of a polymer material.
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34. The aircraft power distribution system of claim 33 wherein the plurality of optical fibers comprises a plurality of optical fibers that are each about 0.1 to 5 millimeter in diameter.
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35. The aircraft power distribution system of claim 34 wherein the plurality of optical fibers comprises from about 2 to about 100 optical fibers.
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36. The aircraft power distribution system of claim 25 wherein the optical conduit that is operably coupled between the source of light and a light-to-electricity conversion apparatus comprises a plurality of optical conduits that are each operably coupled between the source of light and a corresponding plurality of light-to-electricity conversion apparatuses.
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37. The aircraft power distribution system of claim 36 wherein the plurality of optical conduits that are each operably coupled between the source of light and a corresponding plurality of light-to-electricity conversion apparatuses are so coupled using a star-based architecture.
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38. An aircraft comprising:
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a plurality of electrically powered aircraft components; a source of light; a plurality of optical conduits, wherein at least one of the plurality of optical conduits is operably coupled between the source of light and a corresponding light-to-electricity conversion apparatus that is operably coupled to at least one of the plurality of electrically powered aircraft components; such that light from the source of light is delivered to the light-to-electricity conversion apparatus via the optical conduit and is used to provide a source of electricity to the plurality of electrically powered aircraft components.
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39. A method comprising:
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in a vehicle that is configured and arranged to optically distribute data to and from an electrically powered vehicle component via an optical data distribution network; providing a source of light; using an optical conduit that is independent of the optical data distribution network to couple the source of light to a light-to-electricity conversion apparatus that is itself operably coupled to the electrically powered vehicle component; such that light from the source of light is delivered to the light-to-electricity conversion apparatus via the optical conduit, independent of the optical data distribution network, and is used to provide a source of electricity in the vehicle.
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Specification