Patent ID: 7926763

Claim:
An ice management system for an aircraft having at least one rotor, each rotor having a plurality of blades, the system comprising: an alternating-current (AC) electrical power supply for supplying AC power, the AC power supply being adapted to be carried by the aircraft remote from the rotor; a converter for converting the AC power to direct-current (DC) power; a solid-state relay AC switch for controlling the flow of AC power to the converter, the solid-state relay being adapted to activate only during a zero crossing of an AC waveform; at least one ice protection device carried by the rotor and operated using the DC power; a distributor carried by the rotor for distributing the DC power to the at least one ice protection device; a solid-state DC switch for controlling the flow of DC power to the at least one ice protection device; and a detector for detecting icing conditions during flight, the detector being operably associated with a processor, the processor being adapted to selectively activate the solid-state DC switch, thereby allowing the flow of DC power to the at least one ice protection device affected by icing conditions.