Patent Publication Number: US-2021184392-A1

Title: Vehicle provided with a hydrogen tank, containing at least one electrical connection device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to French patent application number 19 14460 filed on Dec. 16, 2019, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The disclosure herein relates to the field of electrical connection devices as applied to a vehicle, and more particularly an aircraft, comprising a hydrogen tank. 
     BACKGROUND 
     An aircraft contains many electrical circuits, and more particularly commutators, switches, circuit breakers or the like. In the event of heavy overloads for example, an ionization of the air can occur creating a field in which the electricity can circulate and cause undesirable electrical arcs between the contactors of the circuit. 
     U.S. Ser. No. 10/102,991 discloses a contactor having a fixed contact and a movable contact disposed in a hermetically sealed receptacle filled with hydrogen. In the case of application to an aircraft, it would be advantageous to provide certain contactors with such a receptacle but that would result in a significant weight increase which is precisely a parameter that is sought to be reduced, notably because of the increase in fuel consumption which increases with the weight of the aircraft. 
     An aim of the disclosure herein is a system that makes it possible to avoid electrical arcs in such electrical circuits, even more widely in connection devices as described below that are sought to be protected while avoiding increasing the weight of the vehicle. 
     To this end, the disclosure herein relates to a vehicle provided with at least one hydrogen tank comprising at least one electrical connection device linked to at least one electrical device, wherein at least one connection device is placed in a hydrogen tank or in a sealed enclosure supplied with hydrogen by a tank or by any other source of hydrogen supply of the vehicle. 
     The use of a tank that already exists in the vehicle or of an enclosure supplied with hydrogen makes it possible to avoid having to use specific chambers incorporated in a complex manner with the connection device. 
     SUMMARY 
     The disclosure herein provides at least one of the following optional features, taken alone or in combination. 
     At least one module is placed in the tank or in the enclosure. 
     The set of connection devices constituting an electrical system is placed in the tank or the enclosure. 
     Apertures are provided respectively in the tank or the enclosure for the passage of elements allowing the link between the connection device and, directly or indirectly, the devices. 
     The vehicle is an aircraft. 
     The connection devices are distribution and protection components of an electrical core of the aircraft. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other aims, features and advantages will emerge from the following description of the disclosure herein, a description given as a purely nonlimiting example, with reference to the attached drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a connection device between two electrical conductors each associated with several devices of a vehicle, which is, in the example illustrated, an aircraft, the connection device being immersed in a hydrogen tank of the aircraft; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of several connection devices between, respectively, two electrical conductors or one conductor and a power source, each conductor being associated with several devices of a vehicle, which is, in the example illustrated, an aircraft, the connection devices being immersed in a sealed enclosure supplied by a hydrogen tank; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view of several connection devices between, respectively, two electrical conductors or one conductor and a power source, each conductor being associated with several devices of a vehicle, which is, in the example illustrated, an aircraft, the connection devices and the electrical conductors being immersed in a hydrogen tank of the aircraft; and 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view of several connection devices between, respectively, two electrical conductors or one conductor and a power source, each conductor being associated with several devices of a vehicle, which is, in the example illustrated, an aircraft, the connection devices and the electrical conductors being immersed in a sealed enclosure supplied by a hydrogen tank of the aircraft. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The disclosure herein is illustrated hereinbelow with the example of an aircraft with hydrogen tank  2 . However, it is not limited to that application and can relate to any type of vehicle with a hydrogen tank of motor vehicle, ship, train or other type. Hydrogen is used to supply engines that propel the aircraft or even for the operation of fuel cells ensuring the supply of electrical energy to multiple onboard devices or any other application. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the concept of the disclosure herein is to use the hydrogen tank or tanks  2  of the aircraft that already exist as receptacle filled with hydrogen to protect connection devices  4 . Throughout the rest of the description, the term “connection device” covers any electrical connection device between devices, a device being taken in the broad sense, namely any system directly or indirectly connected with an electrical power source, the device encompassing the power source itself. In the application illustrated, the devices are those of an aircraft and are therefore very numerous and varied; to give a few examples thereof, they can include a computer embedded in the cockpit, a display screen, an auxiliary power unit, etc. The connection devices also vary widely and comprise devices that make it possible to make or break an electrical connection of commutator, switch, circuit breaker, contactor, relay or other type; these will be referred to by the term “connection control device”. The connection devices can also make it possible to conduct and distribute the electrical current, such as, for example, a busbar, an electrical cable, and will, more particularly hereinbelow, be termed conductors. Also hereinbelow, a set of connection devices, namely at least two, will be called an electrical module  5 . That can for example be a connection control device and a conductor. In the figures, the connection devices  4  and electrical modules  5  illustrated are those allowing electrical distribution and protection onboard an aircraft: the entire assembly to which these connection devices belong in this application is called electrical core. 
     The connection devices, individual or in module form, are introduced into at least one sealed enclosure supplied with hydrogen without having to modify them as in the prior art cited above. There is no need to provide each connection device  4  with a hermetic switching chamber filled with hydrogen and therefore to have to modify the conventional devices. They simply have to be immersed in the environment of the already existing tank without having to make modifications thereto or only slight modifications as will be seen in certain embodiments hereinafter in the description, namely only as applied to the tank and much less numerous and complex. 
     As represented in  FIGS. 1 through 4 , the electrical devices  6  and  8  are linked by conductors  10  and  12  such as cables, busbar or the like to electrical power sources  14 ,  16 . Between the conductors  10  and  12  there is a connection control device  4 . As seen above, the connection control device  4  is a generic term encompassing any device that makes it possible to make or break an electrical connection bearing in mind that the connection control device can have different additional functions depending on the configuration case. If the purpose is to break or restore the connection on demand, the connection control device corresponds to a switch. If the function is to cut, establish, restore, reverse, distribute, switch the current, the connection control device corresponds to a commutator. If the function is to break a current in the event of an incident, the connection control device corresponds to a circuit breaker. The common function is to connect or disconnect two electrical devices, here the two conductors  10 ,  12 . 
     According to a first embodiment, at least one connection control device  4  is immersed in a hydrogen tank  2  (first embodiment) proper of the aircraft or in several of them if such exist. It is also possible to provide at least one sealed enclosure  20  supplied with hydrogen by the tank or tanks  2  or any other possible source of hydrogen supply in the aircraft (second embodiment). The enclosures are then for example placed in determined zones of the aircraft within which there are one or more devices  4 . The connection control devices  4  to be protected can be selected according to the desired level of safety and their location. 
     According to an example of the first embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a connection control device  4  of the vehicle, here the aircraft (or connection devices bearing in mind that, in the example illustrated, it is a single device), is placed in a hydrogen tank  2  of the aircraft. The hydrogen tank  2  of the aircraft can be, for example, that used to supply an engine. It is necessary to provide at least one aperture  13  in the tank  2  for the tight passage of the elements  18  allowing the link between the connection device  4  and the conductors  10  and  12 . The way in which the aperture  13  is produced so that the tank remains sealed will be not described because it is known. 
     According to the second embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the connection control devices  4  are placed in sealed enclosures  20  supplied with hydrogen by the tank  2 . In order to optimize the architecture, it is possible to determine the location of each enclosure  20  in the aircraft so that the enclosure is positioned as close as possible to the location of the device  4  or, in the case of a plurality of devices  4 , optimally with respect to the locations thereof. In the same way as previously, the enclosure  20  is provided with apertures  13  of known type for the tight passage of the elements  18  allowing the link between the connection control device  4  and, respectively, the conductors  10 ,  12  and the power sources  14 ,  16 . 
     According to a second embodiment, so as to limit the number of apertures  13  in the tank  2  or in several of them if such exist, or the number of enclosures  20  to be provided, at least one module  5  and, optimally, a complete set of connection devices like that consisting of or comprising the distribution and protection components of the electrical core, is placed in a tank  2  (first embodiment) of the aircraft or a sealed enclosure  20  supplied with hydrogen (second embodiment) by a tank  2  or any other embedded source of hydrogen supply. 
     As represented in  FIG. 3  (first embodiment), a module  5  comprising two conductors  10 ,  12  and three connection control devices  4  is disposed inside a hydrogen tank  2  of the aircraft. The devices  6 ,  8  linked to the conductors  10 ,  12  and the power sources  14 ,  16  linked to the connection control devices  4  remain outside the tank. Apertures  13  are provided in the tank  2  for the tight passage of the elements  18  allowing the link between the conductors  10 ,  12  and the devices  6 ,  8  and, indirectly, via the connection control devices, the power sources  14 ,  16  or, more specifically, directly between the connection control devices  4  and the power sources  14 ,  16 . 
     As represented in  FIG. 4  (second embodiment), it is alternatively possible to provide a sealed enclosure  20  supplied with hydrogen. In the same way as in  FIG. 3 , a module  5  comprising two conductors  10 ,  12  and three connection control devices  4  is disposed in one and the same sealed enclosure  20  supplied with hydrogen by the tank  2 . Apertures  13  are produced in the enclosure  20  for the tight passage of the elements  18  allowing the link between the conductors  10 ,  12  and the devices  6 ,  8  and also allowing the link between the conductors  10 ,  12  and the power sources  14 ,  16 . 
     In all the embodiments, all of the connection device is immersed in the tank  2  or the enclosure  20 . The unit formed by the connection device is placed in this tank or this enclosure. Thus, often, components, most of them or even all of the components of a connection device, are housed in a housing, receptacle or equivalent, called housing hereinbelow. The tank or the enclosure concerned is not the housing of the connection device: the connection device including its housing if such exists is all introduced into the tank. 
     While at least one example embodiment of the invention(s) is disclosed herein, it should be understood that modifications, substitutions and alternatives may be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This disclosure is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the example embodiment(s). In addition, in this disclosure, the terms “comprise” or “comprising” do not exclude other elements or steps, the terms “a”, “an” or “one” do not exclude a plural number, and the term “or” means either or both. Furthermore, characteristics or steps which have been described may also be used in combination with other characteristics or steps and in any order unless the disclosure or context suggests otherwise. This disclosure hereby incorporates by reference the complete disclosure of any patent or application from which it claims benefit or priority.