Granted Patent B2

US 12,497,185 · App. 18/398,841 · Granted Dec 16, 2025

Inventors: Gregor Veble Mikic (Santa Cruz, CA); Benjamin Brelje (Ann Arbor, MI); Jeffrey Allen Lotterman (Los Angeles, CA); Robert Gulliver Lynn (Auckland, NZ)

Assignee: Joby Aero, Inc.

B64D33/08B60L58/33B64C3/38B64D27/31B64D27/355H01M8/04029H01M8/04067H01M8/04768B60L2200/10H01M2250/20

Abstract

Claims (49)

1 . A method of managing cooling of a fuel cell on an aerodynamic vehicle, the method comprising:

transferring heat generated by operation of the fuel cell to a coolant;

circulating the coolant to a radiator located in a conduit;

cooling the fuel cell by transferring heat from the coolant to a cooling airflow passing through the conduit and over the radiator; and

adjusting the cooling of the fuel cell by varying a geometry of at least one opening to the conduit to adjust an amount of cooling airflow over the radiator,

wherein the aerodynamic vehicle is an aircraft that comprises a propulsion system that is rotatable between a vertical flight orientation and a horizontal flight orientation, wherein the at least one opening comprises at least one of: (a) a variable-geometry inlet; and (b) a variable-geometry outlet, and further comprising varying a size of at least one of: (c) the variable-geometry inlet; and, (d) the variable-geometry outlet, based on an orientation of the propulsion system.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the cooling of the fuel cell further comprises:

determining operational parameters of the aircraft; and

varying the geometry of the at least one opening to the conduit based on the operational parameters of the aircraft.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least one opening comprises a variable-geometry outlet, and further comprising varying a size of the variable-geometry outlet based on an airspeed of the aircraft.

4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least one opening comprises a variable-geometry inlet, and further comprising varying a size of the variable-geometry inlet based on an airspeed of the aircraft.

5 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least one opening comprises a variable-geometry inlet and a variable-geometry outlet, the method further comprising:

varying a size of the variable-geometry inlet based on the operational parameters;

varying a size of the variable-geometry outlet based on the operational parameters; and

adjusting a speed of a fan located in the conduit based on the operational parameters.

6 . The method of claim 2 , wherein operational parameters comprise a temperature of the coolant downstream from the fuel cell.

7 . An aircraft, comprising:

a propulsion system;

a fuel cell system including a fuel cell powered by hydrogen received from a supply of hydrogen;

a first heat exchanger for transferring heat from the fuel cell to a coolant fluid located in a coolant loop;

a second heat exchanger located in a conduit in the aircraft for transferring heat to a cooling airflow passing through the conduit;

at least one variable-geometry opening to allow the cooling airflow to pass into or out of the conduit; and

a control system for varying a size of the at least one variable-geometry opening based on operational parameters of the aircraft;

wherein the propulsion system is rotatable between a vertical flight orientation and a horizontal flight orientation;

wherein the at least one variable-geometry opening comprises at least one of: (a) a variable-geometry inlet; and (b) a variable-geometry outlet;

wherein the control system is configured to vary the size of at least one of: (c) the variable-geometry inlet; and, (d) the variable-geometry outlet, based on an orientation of the propulsion system.

8 . The aircraft of claim 7 , further comprising:

a fan located in the conduit, wherein the control system is also configured to vary a speed of the fan based on the operational parameters of the aircraft.

9 . The aircraft of claim 7 , wherein the at least one variable-geometry opening comprises a variable-geometry outlet and wherein the control system is also configured to vary the size of the variable-geometry outlet based on an airspeed of the aircraft.

10 . The aircraft of claim 7 , further comprising:

a control system configured to vary a size of the at least one variable-geometry opening based on operational parameters of the aircraft; and

a fan located in the conduit,

wherein the at least one variable-geometry opening comprises a variable-geometry inlet and a variable-geometry outlet, and wherein the control system controls the size of the variable-geometry inlet, the size of the variable-geometry outlet, and a speed of the fan based on the operational parameters.

11 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform operations for managing a cooling airflow to cool a fuel cell on an aircraft, the operations comprising:

circulating a coolant fluid from the fuel cell to a radiator located in a conduit;

cooling the fuel cell by transferring heat from the coolant fluid to the cooling airflow flowing through the conduit and over the radiator;

determining operational parameters of the aircraft; and

managing an amount of cooling airflow passing over the radiator by adjusting a size of at least one variable-geometry opening to the conduit, wherein the size of the at least one variable-geometry opening to the conduit is adjusted based on the operational parameters;

wherein the instructions, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to perform the operations for managing the cooling airflow to cool the fuel cell on the aircraft having a propulsion system that is rotatable between a vertical flight orientation and a horizontal flight orientation;

wherein the at least one variable-geometry opening comprises a variable-geometry inlet, and the operations further comprise varying a size of the variable-geometry inlet based on an orientation of the propulsion system.

12 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the at least one variable-geometry opening comprises a variable-geometry outlet, and the size of the variable-geometry outlet is varied based on an airspeed of the aircraft.

13 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 , the operations further comprising:

adjusting a speed of a fan located in the conduit based on the operational parameters.

14 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the at least one variable-geometry opening comprises a variable-geometry inlet and a size of the variable-geometry inlet is varied based on an airspeed of the aircraft.

15 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the operational parameters comprise a temperature of the coolant fluid downstream from the fuel cell.

16 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the at least one variable-geometry opening comprises a variable-geometry inlet and a variable-geometry outlet, the operations further comprising:

adjusting a size of the variable-geometry inlet based on the operational parameters;

adjusting a size of the variable-geometry outlet based on the operational parameters; and

adjusting a speed of a fan located in the conduit based on the operational parameters.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (11)