SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING A SURFACE WAVE OVER A SINGLE CONDUCTOR

• US 20090284435A1
• Filed: 07/27/2009
• Published: 11/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Corridor Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Corridor Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: ELMORE, GLENN E.
• Granted Patent: US 8,497,749 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/850
• CPC Class Codes: H01P 3/10 Wire waveguides, i.e. with a single solid longitudinal conductor

Abstract

A low attenuation surface wave transmission line system for launching surface waves on a bare and unconditioned conductor, such as are found in abundance in the power transmission lines of the existing power grids. The conductors within the power grid typically lack dielectric and special conditioning. Accordingly, the present invention includes a first launcher, preferably including a mode converter and an adapter, for receiving an incident wave of electromagnetic energy and propagating a surface wave longitudinally on the power lines. The system includes at least one other launcher, and more likely a number of other launchers, spaced apart from one another along the constellation of transmission lines. The system and associated electric fields along any given conductor are radially and longitudinally symmetrical.

Claims

1. A surface wave transmission line system, comprising:

a single conductor having a cross-sectional dimension;

a first launcher for receiving incident electromagnetic energy and propagating a surface wave longitudinally along and in the region immediately around said conductor; and

a second launcher spaced apart from said first launcher on said conductor;

wherein when a surface wave is launched on said conductor, in regions removed from said first and second launchers at least several hundred times the greatest cross-sectional dimension of said conductor, all E-field lines emanating from said conductor terminate at E-field termination points located along said conductor.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said conductor is radially symmetrical and has a generally uniform longitudinal cross section such that in regions far from said conductor, E-field lines emanating from or terminating onto said conductor from opposite sides cancel one another.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said conductor is non-uniform radially.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said conductor has a cross-sectional shape that is polygonal and has an even number of sides.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said conductor sides are unequal in dimension and said conductor shape varies longitudinally, but wherein such variations in longitudinal shape are small compared to a wavelength of the transmitted wave.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said conductor is bare and unconditioned, lacking dielectric or special conditioning.

7. The system of claim 1, further including at least two kinds of dielectric media surrounding said conductor.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein at least one of said at least two kinds of dielectric media are non-uniform radially.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said conductor has a cross-sectional shape that is polygonal and has an even number of sides.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said at least two kinds of dielectric media are disposed along said conductor in such a way as to produce radial symmetry of said E-field lines.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmitted wave is of a frequency between 20 MHz and 20 GHz.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said system provides continuous low attenuation transmission over three or more logarithmic decades of frequency range.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein said launchers are mode converters and have a maximum dimension measured in a plane at right angles to said conductor which is greater than or equal to two percent (2%) of the wavelength of a transmitted wave.

14. The system of claim 13, further including a compensator for reducing radiation away from said at least one mode converter.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein at least one of said first and second launchers further includes an adapter for coupling each of said at least one mode converters to a conventional transmission line type or antenna.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein in operation said at least one mode converter initiates propagation along said conductor.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein in operation said at least one of said first and second mode converters modify the termination points of the E-field lines along said conductor.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein in operation the incident electromagnetic energy is an incident wave directed to said first launcher via radiation through free space.

19. The system of claim 18, further including an antenna to convert an incident wave directly to radiated power.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein said antenna is tethered to said system and is supported aerially with an aerial supporting device.