EXCITATION AND USE OF GUIDED SURFACE WAVES

• US 20160359335A1
• Filed: 06/02/2015
• Published: 12/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cpg Technologies, LLC
• Original Assignee: Cpg Technologies, LLC
• Inventors: Corum, James F., Corum, Kenneth L.
• Granted Patent: US 9,923,385 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/00 Beacons or beacon systems transmitting signals having a characteristic or characteristics capable of being detected by non-directional receivers and defining directions, positions, or position lines fixed relatively to the beacon transmitters; Receivers co-operating therewith position fixing by co-ordinating a plurality of determinations of direction or position lines G01S5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/20 using microwaves or radio frequency waves
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/52 Systems for transmission between fixed stations via waveguides

Abstract

Disclosed are various embodiments for transmitting and receiving energy conveyed in the form of a guided surface-waveguide mode along the surface of a lossy medium such as, e.g., a terrestrial medium excited by a guided surface waveguide probe.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

coupling a receiving structure to a lossy conducting medium; and

mode-matching with a guided surface wave established on the lossy conducting medium, where a traveling wave phase delay (φ

) of the receiving structure is matched to a wave tilt angle (Ψ

) associated with the guided surface wave, the wave tilt angle (Ψ

) based at least in part upon characteristics of the lossy conducting medium in a vicinity of the receiving structure.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising suspending a charge terminal of the receiving structure at a defined height over a surface of the lossy conducting medium.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the receiving structure comprises a receiver network coupled between the charge terminal and the lossy conducting medium.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the receiver network comprises a coil coupled to the lossy conducting medium and a supply line conductor coupled between the coil and the charge terminal, where the traveling wave phase delay (φ

) is based upon a phase delay (θ

_c) of the coil and a phase delay (θ

_y) of the supply line conductor.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein adjusting the traveling wave phase delay (φ

) comprises adjusting a position of a tap on the coil to vary the phase delay (θ

_c) of the coil.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the supply line conductor is coupled to the coil via the tap.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the charge terminal has an effective spherical diameter, and the defined height of the charge terminal is at least four times the effective spherical diameter to reduce bound capacitance.

8. The method of claim 2, comprising resonating the receiving structure relative to an image plane at a complex depth below the surface of the lossy conducting medium.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein resonating the receiving structure comprises adjusting a load impedance (Z_L) of the charge terminal based upon an image ground plane impedance (Z_in) associated with the lossy conducting medium.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein resonating the receiving structure establishes a standing wave on the receiving structure by exploiting phase delays from transmission line sections of the receiving structure plus phase jumps arising from discontinuities in characteristic impedances of the transmission line sections, the standing wave superposed with a traveling wave on the receiving structure.

11. The method of claim 1, comprising extracting electrical power from the receiving structure via a coil.

12. A receiving structure for mode-matching with a guided surface wave established on a lossy conducting medium, the receiving structure comprising:

a charge terminal elevated over the lossy conducting medium; and

a receiver network coupled between the charge terminal and the lossy conducting medium, the receiver network having a phase delay (φ

) that matches a wave tilt angle (Ψ

) associated with the guided surface wave, the wave tilt angle (Ψ

) based at least in part upon characteristics of the lossy conducting medium in a vicinity of the receiving structure.

13. The receiving structure of claim 12, wherein the charge terminal has a variable load impedance (Z_L).

14. The receiving structure of claim 13, wherein the variable load impedance (Z_L) is determined based upon an image ground plane impedance (Z_in) associated with the lossy conducting medium in the vicinity of the receiving structure.

15. The receiving structure of claim 14, wherein the load impedance (Z_L) is adjusted to resonate the receiving structure relative to an image plane at a complex depth below a surface of the lossy conducting medium.

16. The receiving structure of claim 15, wherein resonating the receiving structure establishes a standing wave on the receiving structure by exploiting phase delays from transmission line sections of the receiver network plus phase jumps arising from discontinuities in characteristic impedances of the transmission line sections.

17. The receiving structure of claim 12, wherein the receiver network comprises a coil coupled to the lossy conducting medium and a supply line conductor coupled between the coil and the charge terminal, where the phase delay (Φ

) of the receiver network is based upon a phase delay (θ

_c) of the coil and a phase delay (θ

_y) of the supply line conductor.

18. The receiving structure of claim 17, further comprising a variable tap configured to adjust the phase delay (θ

_c) of the coil.

19. The receiving structure of claim 12, comprising an impedance matching network coupled to a coil.

20. The receiving structure of claim 19, wherein the impedance matching network is inductively coupled to the coil.

21. A method, comprising:

positioning a receive structure relative to a terrestrial medium; and

receiving, via the receive structure, energy conveyed in a form of a guided surface wave on a surface of the terrestrial medium.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the receive structure loads an excitation source coupled to a guided surface waveguide probe that generates the guided surface wave.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the energy further comprises electrical power, and the method further comprises applying the electrical power to an electrical load coupled to the receive structure, where the electrical power is used as a power source for the electrical load.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising impedance matching an electrical load to the receive structure.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising establishing a maximum power transfer from the receive structure to the electrical load.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the receive structure further comprises a magnetic coil.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the receive structure further comprises a linear probe.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein the receive structure further comprises a tuned resonator coupled to the terrestrial medium.

29. An apparatus, comprising:

a receive structure that receives energy conveyed in a form of a guided surface wave along a surface of a terrestrial medium.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the receive structure is configured to load an excitation source coupled to a guided surface waveguide probe that generates the guided surface wave.

31. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the energy further comprises electrical power, and the receive structure is coupled to an electrical load, and wherein the electrical power is applied to the electrical load, the electrical power being employed as a power source for the electrical load.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the electrical load is impedance matched with the receive structure.

33. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the receive structure further comprises a magnetic coil.

34. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the receive structure further comprises a linear probe.

35. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the receive structure further comprises a tuned resonator.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the tuned resonator comprises a series tuned resonator.

37. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the tuned resonator comprises a parallel tuned resonator.

38. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the tuned resonator comprises a distributed tuned resonator.

39. A power transmission system, comprising:

a guided surface waveguide probe that transmits electrical energy in a form of a guided surface wave along a surface of a terrestrial medium; and

a receive structure that receives the electrical energy.

40. The power transmission system of claim 39, wherein the receive structure loads the guided surface waveguide probe.

41. The power transmission system of claim 39, wherein an electrical load is coupled to the receive structure and the electrical energy is used as a power source for the electrical load.

42. The power transmission system of claim 41, wherein the electrical load is impedance matched to the receive circuit.

43. The power transmission system of claim 41, wherein a maximum power transfer is established from the receive structure to the electrical load.