Mobile guided surface waveguide probes and receivers

• US 10,141,622 B2
• Filed: 08/17/2016
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cpg Technologies, LLC
• Original Assignee: Cpg Technologies, LLC
• Inventors: Corum, James F., Corum, Kenneth L., Miller, Michael W., Carlton, Jr., Paul Kendall, D'Aurelio, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Takaoka, Dean
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wong, Alan
• Application Number:
  US15/238,960
• Publication Number:
  US 20170077583A1
• Time in Patent Office: 832 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 1/182 Waveguide phase-shifters H01P1/181, H01P1/185, H01P1/19 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 5/04 with variable factor of coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/20 Non-resonant leaky-waveguide or transmission-line antennas; Equivalent structures causing radiation along the transmission path of a guided wave
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/00 Circuit arrangements or systems for wireless supply or distribution of electric power
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed to mobile guided surface waveguide probes and receivers. In a representative embodiment, an excitation source such as a generator is coupled to a guided surface waveguide probe. The excitation source and the guided surface waveguide probe mounted to a rigid frame for transport.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a guided surface waveguide probe comprising at least one charge terminal elevated over a lossy conducting medium, the guided surface waveguide probe being configured to launch a Zenneck surface wave by generating at least one resultant field that synthesizes a wave front incident at a complex Brewster angle of incidence (θ

_i,B) of the lossy conducting medium;

an excitation source coupled to the guided surface waveguide probe, the excitation source being configured to excite the at least one charge terminal of the guided surface waveguide probe, and the excitation source and the guided surface waveguide probe being mounted to a rigid frame for transport; and

at least one fuel storage tank mounted to the rigid frame, wherein the at least one fuel storage tank contains fuel used to generate the excitation by the excitation source.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rigid frame comprises at least one of a railroad car, a truck bed, a trailer, or a pallet.

3. The mobile power transmitter of claim 1, wherein the at least one charge terminal is one of a plurality of charge terminals.

4. The mobile power transmitter of claim 1, further comprising a feed network electrically coupled to the at least one charge terminal, the feed network providing a phase delay (Φ

) that matches a wave tilt angle (Ψ

) associated with the complex Brewster angle of incidence (θ

_i,B) associated with the lossy conducting medium in the vicinity of the guided surface waveguide probe.

5. The mobile power transmitter of claim 4, wherein the at least one charge terminal is one of a plurality of charge terminals.

6. The mobile power transmitter of claim 1, wherein the at least one charge terminal is elevated over the lossy conducting medium by a compactable support.

7. The mobile power transmitter of claim 1, wherein the rigid frame comprises an intermodal container.

8. The mobile power transmitter of claim 1, wherein the rigid frame comprises a Faraday cage.

9. A method, comprising:

mounting an excitation source and a guided surface waveguide probe to a mobile rigid frame, the guided surface waveguide probe comprising at least one charge terminal;

coupling the excitation source to the guided surface waveguide probe; and

generating a Zenneck surface wave by exciting the guided surface waveguide probe, wherein exciting the guided surface wave probe generates at least one resultant field that synthesizes a wave front incident at a complex Brewster angle of incidence (θ

_i,B) of a lossy conducting medium, and a field strength of the guided surface wave decays exponentially as a function of a distance from the guided surface waveguide probe

wherein the rigid frame comprises at least one of an intermodal container, a railroad car, a truck bed, a trailer, or a pallet.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein generating the Zenneck surface wave further comprises:

elevating the at least one charge terminal over a lossy conducting medium; and

exciting the at least one charge terminal with a charge having a phase delay (Φ

) that matches a wave tilt angle (Ψ

) associated with the complex Brewster angle of incidence (θ

_i,B) associated with the lossy conducting medium in the vicinity of the guided surface waveguide probe.

11. A mobile power repeater, comprising:

a guided surface wave receive structure mounted to a rigid frame, the guided surface wave receive structure configured to obtain electrical energy from a Zenneck surface wave traveling along a terrestrial medium, the Zenneck surface wave generated by a remotely-located guided surface waveguide probe coupled to an excitation source that experiences power drawn at the guided surface wave receive structure as a load;

a locally-located guided surface waveguide probe, mounted to the rigid frame, the locally-located guided surface waveguide probe comprising at least one charge terminal elevated over the terrestrial medium and being configured to generate at least one resultant field that synthesizes a wave front incident at a complex Brewster angle of incidence (θ

_i,B) of the terrestrial medium; and

a matching network mounted to the rigid frame, coupling the guided surface wave receive structure to the locally located guided surface waveguide probe, the matching network configured to effect a conjugate match for maximum power transfer,

wherein the rigid frame comprises at least one of an intermodal container, a railroad car, a truck bed, a trailer, or a pallet.

12. The mobile power repeater of claim 11, wherein the at least one charge terminal is one of a plurality of charge terminals.

13. The mobile power repeater of claim 11, further comprising a feed network electrically coupled to the at least one charge terminal, the feed network providing a phase delay (Φ

) that matches a wave tilt angle (Ψ

) associated with a complex Brewster angle of incidence (θ

_i,B) associated with the terrestrial medium in the vicinity of the locally-located guided surface waveguide probe.

14. The mobile power repeater of claim 13, wherein the at least one charge terminal is one of a plurality of charge terminals.

15. The mobile power repeater of claim 11, wherein the locally-located guided surface waveguide probe is elevated over the terrestrial medium by a compactable support.

16. The mobile power repeater of claim 11, wherein the rigid frame comprises a Faraday cage.