US 12,312,074 B2
Method for cooling a tilter motor including a tilt-actuated nacelle door
Bharat Tulsyan, San Jose, CA (US); Christopher M. Heath, Avon, OH (US); Kerry Manning, Parker, CO (US); Giovanni Droandi, San Jose, CA (US); and Michael Schwekutsch, Los Gatos, CA (US)
Assigned to Archer Aviation Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by Archer Aviation Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on May 3, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/311,288.
Application 18/311,288 is a continuation of application No. 18/064,538, filed on Dec. 12, 2022, granted, now 11,679,872.
Prior Publication US 2024/0190566 A1, Jun. 13, 2024
Int. Cl. B64C 29/00 (2006.01); B64D 33/08 (2006.01)
CPC B64C 29/0033 (2013.01) [B64D 33/08 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of operating a tilt apparatus of a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) craft, comprising:
tilting a motor assembly, a nacelle, and a propeller with respect to a body into a lift configuration by a tilt actuator, the motor assembly being coupled to the propeller and to the nacelle, the nacelle comprising a door;
actuating the door to a first position with the tilting of the nacelle and the propeller into the lift configuration;
directing propwash from the propeller to an air inlet of the nacelle and further to a thermal transfer device that is thermally coupled to the motor assembly when the propeller is in the lift configuration;
tilting the motor assembly, the nacelle, and the propeller from the lift configuration to a cruise configuration; and
actuating the door to a second position with the tilting of the nacelle and the propeller into the cruise configuration,
wherein actuating the door to the first position or the second position causes an opening size of the air inlet of the nacelle to be larger in the first position than in the second position.