GENERATORS (ELECTROMECHANICAL POWER SUPPLIES) FOR MINIATURE RECIPROCATING ENGINES (MODEL AIRCRAFT ...)

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR RUGGEDNESS, HIGH RELIABILITY, AND SCALABILITY IN A LOW POWER ELECTROMECHANICAL POWER SUPPLY WERE THE SELECTION CRITERIA USED IN CHOOSING THE HIDRIVE ADJUSTABLE SPEED MOTOR DESIGN FOR ADAPTATION TO OPERATION AS A GENERATOR AND FOR EXPLORATORY DEVELOPMENT DOWN TO THE SIZE RANGE REQUIRED TO ADDRESS DARPA'S NEEDS. WITH HIDRIVE, THE MOTOR SHAFT IS SOLID AND HAS NO WINDINGS OR LAMINATIONS. THIS PERMITS SCALING FOR OPERATION AT VERY HIGH SPEEDS (THE PHASE I DEMONSTRATION IS TO BE AT 28,000 RPM), RESULTING IN A HIGH POWER DENSITY AND EFFICIENCY WHILE OFFERING RUGGEDNESS AND SMOOTH OPERATION, DESIREABLE QUALITIES FOR AIRBORNE APPLICATIONS. THE HIGH FREQUENCY POWER GENERATED PERMITS CONVERSION TO A VERY SMOOTH DC VOLTAGE OUTPUT. ALL LAMINATIONS AND WINDINGS ARE STATIONARY AND NO BRUSHES ARE USED, THEREBY ELIMINATING TRADITIONAL MECHANICAL INTEGRITY PROBLEMS DUE TO DYNAMIC FORCES. ENCOTECH, INC. PROPOSED TO ADAPT A HIDRIVE SYSTEM SCALED TO PRODUCE 10 WATTS OF 12-15 VDC ELECTRIC POWER WHEN DRIVEN BY A MODEL AIRPLANE ENGINE. THE PHASE I EFFORT WILL BE TO PRODUCE A DEMONSTRATION BENCH TEST RIG. PHASE II ACTIVITIES WILL ADDRESS THE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OF TWO DIFFERENT SIZE FLYABLE PROTOTYPE SYSTEMS TO DEMONSTRATE BOTH THE SOUNDNESS OF THE DESIGN AND ITS SCALABILITY. DARPA OR APPROPRIATE OTHER AGENCY INTENDED MISSION EQUIVALENT SPECIFICATIONS ARE TO BE ESTABLISHED AND MET. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS - THE FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY OF THE HIDRIVE DESIGN CONCEPT PERMITS ITS USE AS BOTH ELEMENTS OF A LONG-DURATION MOTOR-GENERATOR SET. IT ALSO MAY BE USED AS A SOURCE OF GENERATION OF ELECTRIC POWER HAVING UNUSUAL OR SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS. IT IS APPLICABLE TO AIRCRAFT, SONOBOUYS, DRONES, SURVEILLANCE VEHICLES, OR OTHER SIMILAR REMOTE OR HOSTILE APPLICATIONS IN A WIDE RANGE OF SIZES.