Air cooling system for an unmanned aerial vehicle

• US 9,784,171 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2012
• Issued: 10/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Orbital Australia Pty Limited (Orbital Corporation Limited)
• Original Assignee: Orbital Australia Pty Limited (Orbital Corporation Limited)
• Inventors: Bleechmore, Callan Murray, Tubb, John Howard, Railton, Donald Andrew, Karay, Stephen John, Mehrani, Pouria
• Primary Examiner(s): McAllister, Steven B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lin, Ko-Wei
• Application Number:
  US14/127,163
• Publication Number:
  US 20140220873A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,929 Days
• Field of Search: 123 4156, 123 417, 244 53 R, 244 53 B, 244 57, 244 55
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 33/08 of power plant cooling systems cooling of internal-combustion engines per se F01P; cooling of gas-turbine plants or jet-propulsion plants per se F02C, F02K
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 20/20 for noise reduction
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 20/90 Cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 20/92 of avionics
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/11 using internal combustion piston engines
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 70/70 Launching or landing using catapults, tracks or rails launching from storage containers B64U70/50
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 1/02 Arrangements for cooling cylinders or cylinder heads, e.g. ducting cooling-air from its pressure source to cylinders or along cylinders
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 1/06 Arrangements for cooling other engine or machine parts
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2050/20 Aircraft engines

Abstract

An air cooling system for an unmanned aerial vehicle including a propeller (14) driven by an engine (12) has at least one cooling air duct (22) to direct cooling air to cool a vehicle component e.g. a cylinder head. The duct has at least one air inlet and at least one air outlet. Operation of the propeller causes a pressure differential between the air outlet (24,124) and the air inlet (23,123) which draws air through said cooling air duct (22). A cowling (16) can cover at least part of the engine, and can form a plenum and have the supply of cooling air through a front face aperture (164) or side walls (17) of the engine cowl (16).

Claims

1. An air cooling system for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that operates without a person occupying the UAV, including a propeller driven by an air cooled engine, said air cooling system comprising:

an engine cooling cowl that at least partially encloses the air cooled engine, the engine cooling cowl including a plurality of side walls which in part define at least one cooling air duct for directing cooling air to the air cooled engine, the engine cooling cowl defining at least one side wall inlet aperture providing the cooling air to the cooling air duct, the engine cooling cowl defining at least one air outlet for the passage of the cooling air after the cooling air has passed over the air cooled engine, wherein the at least one air outlet of the cooling air duct is between the at least one side wall inlet aperture and the propeller,

wherein operation of said propeller causes a pressure differential which draws air through the cooling air duct and across the air cooled engine.

2. The air cooling system of claim 1, wherein said cooling air duct is forward of the propeller relative to a front of the UAV.

3. The air cooling system of claim 1 wherein the engine cooling cowl includes one or more apertures for intake and exhaust of air for the air cooling system.

4. The air cooling system of claim 1, wherein the engine cooling cowl extends in a direction from the propeller towards a front of the UAV and wherein the plurality of side walls are connected by an upper surface.

5. The air cooling system of claim 1, wherein the cooling air duct includes a first cooling air duct portion extending through a plenum portion of said engine cooling cowl for supplying the cooling air for circulation around a cylinder head of the air cooled engine.

6. The air cooling system of claim 5, wherein said first cooling air duct portion communicates with a cylinder head cooling air duct portion extending between an inner surface of a cylinder head portion of the engine cooling cowl and the cylinder head.

7. The air cooling system of claim 1, wherein said air outlet is adjacent a radially inward part of the propeller.

8. The air cooling system of claim 1, wherein a cylinder head cooling air duct portion of the cooling air duct is arranged to direct air towards a plurality of cooling fins of a cylinder head.

10. The air cooling system of claim 1, wherein an air inlet is provided towards a front of the engine cooling cowl and supplied with air through a front aperture formed in a front face of the engine cooling cowl, wherein the cooling air is caused to flow through the front aperture, into a plenum portion of the engine cooling cowl and through to the air inlet of the cooling air duct.

11. The air cooling system of claim 1, wherein the cooling air duct has a first portion extending through the engine cooling cowl proximate to a cylinder head and a second portion configured to direct air towards a plurality of cooling fins of the cylinder head.

12. The air cooling system of claim 1, wherein a front face of the engine cooling cowl does not include an air inlet.

13. The air cooling system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of side walls of the engine cooling cowl converge towards each other to join at the front face of the engine cooling cowl.

14. The air cooling system of claim 1, wherein the at least one side wall air inlet aperture opens to a plenum portion of the engine cooling cowl and allows an air supply to the cooling air duct extending within, and having an air inlet located within, the plenum portion.

15. The air cooling system of claim 1, wherein an air inlet of the cooling air duct opens in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which said at least one side wall air inlet aperture of the engine cooling cowl faces.

16. The air cooling system of claim 1, wherein the air cooled engine is a dual fluid direct injection fueled engine.

17. The air cooling system of claim 1, wherein the air cooling system is the only air cooling system for the air cooled engine.

18. The air cooling system of claim 1, wherein each side wall from the plurality of side walls of said engine cowl includes at least one side wall air inlet aperture.

19. The air cooling system of claim 1, wherein the cooling air duct includes a plurality of air inlets.

9. The air cooling system of 8 wherein the cooling air duct has a portion closely adjacent to the plurality of cooling fins of the cylinder head and has a cylinder head cooling portion extending outward of, and surrounding the plurality of cooling fins thereby forming a cooling air gallery between an inner surface of the engine cooling cowl and the cylinder head.