US-12617536-B2 - Moving object

US12617536B2US 12617536 B2US12617536 B2US 12617536B2US-12617536-B2

Abstract

A VTOL aircraft (moving object) includes: a first communication path allowing a cabin (passenger compartment) and a component compartment to communicate with each other; and a second communication path for opening the component compartment to the outside of a fuselage. A portion of air in the cabin flows through a first circulation path and returns to the cabin, and the remaining air in the cabin flows through the first communication path and is introduced into the component compartment. A portion of air in the component compartment flows through a second circulation path and returns to the component compartment, and the remaining air in the component compartment flows through the second communication path and is discharged to the outside of the fuselage.

Inventors

Takuya Kubota
Yuichi Fukuchi
Azuki ICHIKAWA
Hikari Hirayanagi

Assignees

HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230829
Priority Date: 20220902

Claims (8)

1 . A moving object comprising: a passenger compartment configured to accommodate a person; a component compartment configured to accommodate a plurality of electric components electrically connected to an electric device; a first introduction opening and a second introduction opening each configured to introduce air from an outside to an inside of a fuselage; a first air conditioning system including a first circulation path connected to the passenger compartment, the first air conditioning system being configured to perform air conditioning of the passenger compartment by circulating, through a first path formed by the passenger compartment and the first circulation path, the air introduced to the inside of the fuselage from the first introduction opening; a second air conditioning system including a second circulation path connected to the component compartment, the second air conditioning system being configured to perform air conditioning of the component compartment by circulating, through a second path formed by the component compartment and the second circulation path, the air introduced to the inside of the fuselage from the second introduction opening; a first communication path configured to allow the passenger compartment and the component compartment to communicate with each other; a second communication path configured to open the component compartment to the outside of the fuselage; a first door that is provided at a merging portion in the first circulation path where inside air flowing from a passenger compartment merges with outside air flowing from the first introduction opening and is configured to adjust a ratio between the inside air flowing from the passenger compartment and the outside air flowing from the first introduction opening in air supplied to the passenger compartment; and a second door that is provided at a merging portion in the second circulation path where inside air flowing from the component compartment merges with outside air flowing from the second introduction opening and is configured to adjust a ratio between the inside air flowing from the component compartment and the outside air flowing from the second introduction opening in air supplied to the component compartment, wherein a portion of air in the passenger compartment flows through the first circulation path and returns to the passenger compartment, and remaining air in the passenger compartment flows through the first communication path and is introduced into the component compartment, and a portion of air in the component compartment flows through the second circulation path and returns to the component compartment, and remaining air in the component compartment flows through the second communication path and is discharged to the outside of the fuselage.
2 . A moving object comprising: a passenger compartment configured to accommodate a person; a component compartment configured to accommodate a plurality of electric components electrically connected to an electric device; a first introduction opening and a second introduction opening each configured to introduce air from an outside to an inside of a fuselage; a first air conditioning system including a first circulation path connected to the passenger compartment, the first air conditioning system being configured to perform air conditioning of the passenger compartment by circulating, through a first path formed by the passenger compartment and the first circulation path, the air introduced to the inside of the fuselage from the first introduction opening; a second air conditioning system including a second circulation path connected to the component compartment, the second air conditioning system being configured to perform air conditioning of the component compartment by circulating, through a second path formed by the component compartment and the second circulation path, the air introduced to the inside of the fuselage from the second introduction opening; a first communication path configured to allow the passenger compartment and the component compartment to communicate with each other; a second communication path configured to open the component compartment to the outside of the fuselage; and a heat utilization circuit configured to heat the passenger compartment with waste heat from the component compartment, wherein a portion of air in the passenger compartment flows through the first circulation path and returns to the passenger compartment, and remaining air in the passenger compartment flows through the first communication path and is introduced into the component compartment, a portion of air in the component compartment flows through the second circulation path and returns to the component compartment, and remaining air in the component compartment flows through the second communication path and is discharged to the outside of the fuselage, the heat utilization circuit includes: an evaporator that is provided in the second circulation path and is configured to absorb heat from the air flowing through the second circulation path; a condenser that is provided in the first circulation path and is configured to release heat to the air flowing through the first circulation path; and a heat transfer flow path configured to transfer heat from the evaporator to the condenser by circulating a heating medium between the evaporator and the condenser.
3 . The moving object according to claim 1 , wherein the electric device is a motor of a rotor configured to generate upward or forward thrust, and the electric components are circuit components connected to the motor.
4 . A moving object comprising: a passenger compartment configured to accommodate a person; a component compartment configured to accommodate a plurality of electric components electrically connected to an electric device; a first introduction opening and a second introduction opening each configured to introduce air from an outside to an inside of a fuselage; a first air conditioning system including a first circulation path connected to the passenger compartment, the first air conditioning system being configured to perform air conditioning of the passenger compartment by circulating, through a first path formed by the passenger compartment and the first circulation path, the air introduced to the inside of the fuselage from the first introduction opening; a second air conditioning system including a second circulation path connected to the component compartment, the second air conditioning system being configured to perform air conditioning of the component compartment by circulating, through a second path formed by the component compartment and the second circulation path, the air introduced to the inside of the fuselage from the second introduction opening; and a heat utilization circuit configured to heat the passenger compartment with waste heat from the component compartment, wherein the heat utilization circuit includes: an evaporator that is provided in the second circulation path and is configured to absorb heat from the air flowing through the second circulation path; a condenser that is provided in the first circulation path and is configured to release heat to the air flowing through the first circulation path; and a heat transfer flow path configured to transfer heat from the evaporator to the condenser by circulating a heating medium between the evaporator and the condenser.
5 . The moving object according to claim 4 , wherein the second air conditioning system includes: a bypass path configured to form a part of the second circulation path and bypass the evaporator; and a flap configured to open and close the bypass path, and the flap closes in a state where the evaporator allows air to pass therethrough, and opens as a pressure on an upstream side of the second circulation path becomes higher than a pressure on a downstream side of the second circulation path due to clogging of the evaporator.
6 . The moving object according to claim 4 , further comprising a cooling circuit configured to cool a battery serving as a power source of the electric device, wherein the cooling circuit includes: a cooling flow path configured to circulate, through a path including a periphery of the battery, a coolant that absorbs heat from the battery; and a chiller included in the heat transfer flow path and the cooling flow path and configured to perform heat exchange between the heating medium and the coolant.
7 . The moving object according to claim 4 , wherein the electric device is a motor of a rotor configured to generate upward or forward thrust, and the electric components are circuit components connected to the motor.
8 . The moving object according to claim 2 , wherein the electric device is a motor of a rotor configured to generate upward or forward thrust, and the electric components are circuit components connected to the motor.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Applications No. 2022-139604 filed on Sep. 2, 2022 and No. 2022-139607 filed on Sep. 2, 2022, the contents all of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a moving object including an air conditioning system. Description of the Related Art U.S. Ser. No. 11/230,384 B2 discloses an aircraft (moving object) including a cabin air conditioning system. In this aircraft, the air in the cabin flows through a discharge flow path and is discharged to the outside of the aircraft. Avionics equipment is disposed on this discharge flow path. The avionics equipment is cooled by the air discharged from the cabin. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the air conditioning system disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 11/230,384 B2, if a failure occurs in the discharge flow path, the avionics equipment may not be able to be cooled. Also, in the air conditioning system disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 11/230,384 B2, the waste heat of the avionics equipment is discharged to the outside. The waste heat is preferably utilized effectively. An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem. According to an aspect of the first invention, there is provided a moving object comprising: a passenger compartment configured to accommodate a person; a component compartment configured to accommodate a plurality of electric components electrically connected to an electric device; a first introduction opening and a second introduction opening each configured to introduce air from an outside to an inside of a fuselage; a first air conditioning system including a first circulation path connected to the passenger compartment, the first air conditioning system being configured to perform air conditioning of the passenger compartment by circulating, through a first path formed by the passenger compartment and the first circulation path, the air introduced to the inside of the fuselage from the first introduction opening; a second air conditioning system including a second circulation path connected to the component compartment, the second air conditioning system being configured to perform air conditioning of the component compartment by circulating, through a second path formed by the component compartment and the second circulation path, the air introduced to the inside of the fuselage from the second introduction opening; a first communication path configured to allow the passenger compartment and the component compartment to communicate with each other; and a second communication path configured to open the component compartment to the outside of the fuselage, wherein a portion of air in the passenger compartment flows through the first circulation path and returns to the passenger compartment, and remaining air in the passenger compartment flows through the first communication path and is introduced into the component compartment, and a portion of air in the component compartment flows through the second circulation path and returns to the component compartment, and remaining air in the component compartment flows through the second communication path and is discharged to the outside of the fuselage. According to an aspect of the second invention, there is provided a moving object comprising: a passenger compartment configured to accommodate a person; a component compartment configured to accommodate a plurality of electric components electrically connected to an electric device; a first introduction opening and a second introduction opening each configured to introduce air from an outside to an inside of a fuselage; a first air conditioning system including a first circulation path connected to the passenger compartment, the first air conditioning system being configured to perform air conditioning of the passenger compartment by circulating, through a first path formed by the passenger compartment and the first circulation path, the air introduced to the inside of the fuselage from the first introduction opening; a second air conditioning system including a second circulation path connected to the component compartment, the second air conditioning system being configured to perform air conditioning of the component compartment by circulating, through a second path formed by the component compartment and the second circulation path, the air introduced to the inside of the fuselage from the second introduction opening; and a heat utilization circuit configured to heat the passenger compartment with waste heat from the component compartment, wherein the heat utilization circuit includes: an evaporator configured to absorb heat from the air flowing through the second circulation path; a condenser configured to release heat to the air flowing through the first circulation path; and a heat transfer flow path configured to transfer heat fro