Electron beam electrical power transmission system

• US 3,916,246 A
• Filed: 08/20/1973
• Issued: 10/28/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Donald Henry Preist
• Original Assignee: Donald Henry Preist
• Inventors: Preist, Donald Henry
• Primary Examiner(s): Chatmon, Jr., Saxfield
• Application Number:
  US05/389,915
• Time in Patent Office: 799 Days
• Field of Search: 315/3.5,3.6,4,5 328/233,227,228 321/8,22,32,37
• US Class Current: 315/5
• CPC Class Codes: G21K 1/093 by magnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 25/02 Tubes with electron stream modulated in velocity or density in a modulator zone and thereafter giving up energy in an inducing zone, the zones being associated with one or more resonators
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/30 using light, e.g. lasers
• CPC Class Codes: H02N 3/00 Generators in which thermal or kinetic energy is converted into electrical energy by ionisation of a fluid and removal of the charge therefrom discharge tubes functioning as thermionic generators H01J45/00
• CPC Class Codes: H05H 9/00 Linear accelerators

Abstract

Electrical power is transmitted from a transmitting location to a remote receiving location by means of an electron beam injected into an evacuated magnetically shielded pipe extending between the transmitting location and the receiving location. The beam is magnetically focused within the evacuated pipe. Electrical power to be transmitted is put into the beam in the form of kinetic energy by accelerating the beam to a high kinetic energy. The kinetic energy is extracted from the beam at the receiving location and converted into potential electrical energy for application to the load. In one embodiment, the kinetic energy is extracted from the beam by collecting the beam current at a potential substantially equal to the potential of the source of the electrons, i.e. cathode potential, and causing the collected beam current to flow through the load to develop the depressed collector potential. In another embodiment, radio frequency accelerator means are utilized for r.f. current density modulating and accelerating the beam. The radio frequency current modulation on the beam is extracted at the receiving end by means of a radio frequency circuits coupled to the beam. The extracted radio frequency energy is rectified for application to the load. In another embodiment, AC power at conventional AC power frequencies, as of 60 Hertz, is extracted from the beam by sequentially directing the beam into a plurality of depressed collectors coupled to respective primary windings of power transformers for deriving AC output power for application to a load.

Claims

1. In an electron beam power transmission system for transmitting electrical power from a transmitting location to a receiving location remote from the transmitting location:

elongated evacuated envelope means extending from the transmitting location to a geographically removed receiving location;

transmitter means at the transmitting location for forming, accelerating, and projecting electrons over an elongated beam path extending within and along said evacuated envelope from the transmitting location to the receiving location; and

transmiTter means at the transmitting location for accelerating and projecting electrons through said evacuated envelope means from the transmitting location to the receiving location;

receiver means at the receiving location for collecting the electrons and converting the kinetic energy thereof to electrical power for application to a power load;

said transmitter means including first and second electron guns having first and second cathode emitters respectively for emitting electrons and first and second apertured anode electrodes respectively for drawing first and second streams of emitted electrons from said first and second cathode emitters to form respective first and second electron beams;

first and second converging evacuated envelope portions opening into a common portion of said elongated envelope means which extends from the transmitting location to the receiving location, said first and second convergent envelope portions being disposed to receive said first and second electron beams from said first and second electron guns, respectively, and to direct said respective beams via convergent first and second beam paths into a common beam path within said common portion of said elongated envelope means, and first and second beam focus means for focusing said first and second beams into said first and second convergent beam paths within said first and second envelope portions, respectively.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for supplying and applying the alternating potentials between said cathodes and anodes of said first and second guns includes, a transformer, and wherein said inductive means is a secondary winding means of said transformer having a centertap, and wherein said first and second anodes are connected to said centertap of said secondary transformer winding mean.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for supplying and applying the alternating potentials between said cathodes and anodes of said guns includes, a transformer having a core with primary and secondary windings thereon, said secondary windings including first and second secondary windings connected for applying said first and second alternating potentials to said respective first and second guns in the 180* out of phase relation, and wherein said first and second secondary windings are balanced and bucking wound on said transformer core as connected for conduction of cathode current drawn from said respective secondary windings by each of said first and second guns.

4. In a power transmission system for transmitting electrical power from a transmitting location to a remote receiving location;

elongated evacuated envelope means extending from the transmitting location to the receiving location geographically removed from the transmitting location;

elongated evacuated envelope means extending from the transmitting location to a geographically removed receiving location;

transmitter means at the transmitting location for forming, accelerating and projecting electrons over an elongated beam path extending within and along said evacuated envelope from the transmitting location to the receiving location; and

receiver means at the receiving location for collecting the electrons of the beam and for converting the kinetic energy of the beam to electrical power for application to a power load;

said transmitter means including an electron gun having a cathode emitter for emitting electrons and an apertured anode electrode for drawing a stream of electrons through said envelope means;

inductive means connected between said cathode emitter and said anode electrode for supplying and applying an alternating potential between said cathode emitter and said anode electrode for causing said gun to produce an electron beam from said gun during only every other half-cycle of the applied alternating potential;

control electrode means interposed between said cathode and anode means for controlling the flow of beam current from said Gun during each beam forming half-cycle of the applied alternating potential; and

means for supplying and applying a control potential to said control electrode for limiting the flow of beam current from said gun to less than the full half-cycle of the applied alternating potential.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said first and second beam focus means each includes at least a quadrupole magnetic beam focusing structure.

6. In an electron beam power transmission system for transmitting electrical power from a transmitting location to a receiving location remote from the transmitting location;

receiver means at the receiving location for collecting the electrons of the beam and for converting the kinetic energy of the beam to electrical power for application to a power load;

said transmitter means including first and second electron guns having first and second cathode emitters respectively for emitting electrons and first and second apertured anode electrodes respectively for drawing first and second streams of emitted electrons from said first and second cathode emitters to form respective first and second electron beams;

means for supplying and applying an alternating potential between said cathode emitter and said anode electrode of each of said first and second guns in 180* out of phase relation such that the potential of said first cathode of said first gun is negative relative to the potential of said first anode electrode when the potential of said second cathode of said second gun is positive relative to the potential of said second anode electrode and vice versa;

said means for supplying and applying the alternating potential to said first and second guns including an inductive means connected between said first and second cathode emitters, and said first and second anodes being connected to said inductive means intermediate said connections of said first and second cathode emitters.

7. The apparatus of claim l wherein said control potential supplying and applying means supplies and applies a control potential of a value and waveform such as to limit conduction of beam current to that portion of the cycle of applied alternating potential corresponding to a beam current of not less than Imax/6, where Imax is the peak beam current during the beam conductive half-cycle of the applied alternating potential.

8. In a power transmission system for transmitting electrical power from a transmitting location to a remote receiving location:

elongated evacuated envelope means extending from the transmitting location to the geographically removed receiving location;

transmitter means at the transmitting location for accelerating and projecting electrons through said evacuated envelope means from the transmitting location to the receiving location;

receiver means at the receiving location for collecting the electrons and for converting the kinetic energy thereof to electrical power for application to a power load;

said receiver means including first and second electron collectors for collecting the electrons, electrical insulator means for insulating said first and second collectors from said evacuated envelope means to permit independent potentials to be established on said collectors relative to said envelope means, means for causing electrons to be collected in an alternating sequence in said first and second electron collectors, in 180* phase relation at the fundamental frequency of a power frequency for the electrical power to be delivered to the load first and second bucking wound balanced inductive winding means connected to said first and second collectors for flow of collected beam current therethrough in 180* out of phase relation at the power frequency.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said receiver means includes, an output power transformer means and said first and second inductive winding means comprises primary winding means of said transFormer.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the power transmission system is a three phase system and said receiver means includes an output power transformer means, said first and second inductive winding means comprises primary winding means of said transformer, and wherein said transformer includes secondary winding means, said secondary winding means being connected in a delta configuration.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 including first and second series resonant circuits connected in shunt with respective ones of said first and second winding means, said series tuned circuits each being resonant for an odd harmonic of the power frequency.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said series tuned circuits are each resonant at the fifth harmonic of the power frequency.

13. In a power transmission system for transmitting electrical power from a transmitting location to a receiving location remote from said transmitting location:

elongated evacuated envelope means extending from the transmitting location to the receiving location geographically removed from the transmitting location;

transmitter means at the transmitting, location for accelerating and projecting electrons through said evacuated envelope means from the transmitting location to the receiving location;

receiver means at the receiving location for collecting the electrons and for converting the kinetic energy thereof to electrical power for application to a power load;

said transmitter means including an electron gun having a cathode emitter for emitting electrons and an apertured anode for drawing the stream of electrons from said cathode emitter;

inductive means connected between said cathode emitter and said anode electrode for supplying and applying an alternating potential between said cathode emitter and said anode electrode at a power frequency for causing said gun to produce an electron beam from said gun during only every other half-cycle of the applied alternating potential;

control electrode means interposed between said cathode emitter and said anode electrode means for controlling the flow of beam current from said gun during the beam conductive half-cycle of the applied alternating potential; and

means for supplying and applying a train of control potential pulses to said control electrode for shaping the flow of beam current from said gun during the beam conductive half-cycle of the applied alternating potential to suppress at least one odd order harmonic of the power frequency of the collected beam current.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said control potential is shaped by said supplying means to provide a beam conductive phase angle to suppress the odd order harmonics of the beam current.

15. In a power transmission system for transmitting electrical power from a transmitting location to a remote receiving location:

elongated evacuated envelope means extending from the transmitting location to the receiving location geographically removed from the transmitting location;

transmitter means at the transmitting location for accelerating and projecting electrons through said evacuated envelope means from the transmitting location to the receiving location;

receiver means at the receiving location for collecting the electrons and for converting the kinetic energy thereof to electrical power for application to a power load;

said receiver means including electron collector means for collecting the electrons, electrical insulator means for insulating said collector means from said evacuated envelope to permit independent potentials to be established on said collector means relative to said envelope, means for causing electrons to be collected in a sequence of pulses of beam current in said collector means, output transformer means coupled to said collector means for supplying a current to the power load in response to collected beam current, said transformer means including a primary winding means connected to said collector means foR conduction of collected beam current therethrough;

means for sensing an output proportional to the collected beam current, means for sensing an output proportional to the collector potential;

means for comparing the phase of the collected current signal with the phase of the collector voltage signal to derive a power factor load correction signal; and

means connected to the secondary of said power transformer means for controlling the power factor of the current delivered to the load in response to the error signal derived from said comparator means, whereby the phase of the collected beam current is brought into coincidence with the phase of the collector potential established on said beam collector means.