Patent Grant
10980102
The present application is a National Phase of International Application Number PCT/JP2018/011434 filed Mar. 22, 2018 and claims priority to Japanese Application Number 2017-084631 filed Apr. 21, 2017.
The present invention relates to a radio frequency coupler.
A radio frequency coupler is known as a radio frequency input device for inputting a high frequency into an acceleration cavity or the like of an accelerator. The radio frequency coupler has, for example, a coaxial tubular structure having an outer conductor and an inner conductor. In such a radio frequency coupler, when a high frequency is input to the acceleration cavity, a tip portion of the inner conductor on the acceleration cavity side generates heat. For this reason, for example, a passage tube made of metal is inserted into the inner conductor from the outside of a waveguide and cooling is performed by causing a refrigerant to flow through the passage tube (refer to, for example, PTL 1).
[PTL 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 5-129098
In the radio frequency coupler described above, a T-shaped waveguide is used in order to prevent the passage tube made of metal from crossing a radio frequency transmission space between the outer conductor and the inner conductor. Specifically, a configuration is made in which the outer conductor and the inner conductor protrude to the side opposite to the acceleration cavity side and the inner conductor protrudes to the outside of the waveguide through an end portion in a protruding direction of the outer conductor. In this case, a configuration is made in which the passage tube does not cross the radio frequency transmission space by directly inserting the passage tube into the inner conductor from the protruding portion of the inner conductor. However, in this configuration, a space for the protruding portion which protrudes to the side opposite to the acceleration cavity is required.
The present invention has been made in view of the above and has an object to provide a radio frequency coupler in which it is possible to achieve space-saving.
An aspect of the present invention, there is provided a radio frequency coupler including: a waveguide having an outer conductor and an inner conductor provided in a coaxial tube shape, the waveguide linearly extending from a power supply side, being bent in an L shape at a bend section, and linearly extending toward an acceleration cavity side; and a refrigerant passage part which penetrates the outer conductor and the inner conductor from an outside of the waveguide toward the acceleration cavity side at the bend section and is connected to an interior of the inner conductor, the refrigerant passage part having a passage tube which causes a refrigerant to flow between an interior of a tip portion of the inner conductor on the acceleration cavity side and the outside of the waveguide, and a portion of the passage tube, which is exposed to a radio frequency transmission space which is formed between the outer conductor and the inner conductor, being formed of an insulator.
According to the aspect of the present invention, the portion which is exposed to the radio frequency transmission space which is formed between the outer conductor and the inner conductor in the passage tube of the refrigerant passage part is formed of an insulator, and therefore, a configuration in which an electric conductor crosses the radio frequency transmission space can be avoided. In this way, since the waveguide does not need to be branched to the side opposite to the acceleration cavity and can be formed in an L shape toward the acceleration cavity side at the bend section, space-saving can be achieved.
Further, the waveguide may have an adjustment part which adjusts electrical characteristics of at least one of the outer conductor and the inner conductor.
According to the aspect of the present invention, the electrical characteristics of the waveguide are adjusted by the adjustment part, and therefore, it is possible to alleviate the influence in a case where the insulator which is disposed in the radio frequency transmission space becomes a dielectric.
Further, the passage tube may have a first tube part which is formed of an insulator and connects the outside of the waveguide and the interior of the inner conductor, and a second tube part which is formed of metal, disposed in the interior of the inner conductor, connected to the first tube part in the interior of the inner conductor, and extends to the interior of the tip portion of the inner conductor.
According to the aspect of the present invention, the passage tube is formed by connecting the first tube part that is an insulator which is disposed at the portion crossing the radio frequency transmission space and the second tube part that is made of a high rigidity metal which is disposed in the interior of the inner conductor, whereby it is possible to reduce a work load when installing the passage tube on the inner conductor, and it becomes possible to easily realize a configuration in which an electric conductor does not cross the radio frequency transmission space.
Further, the whole of the passage tube may be formed of an insulator.
According to the aspect of the present invention, the whole of the passage tube is formed of an insulator, and therefore, a configuration in which an electric conductor does not cross the radio frequency transmission space can be easily realized.
Further, the passage tube may have at least a main body portion which is disposed in an interior of the waveguide and formed of metal, and a covering portion which is formed of an insulator and covers a portion of the main body portion, which is exposed to the radio frequency transmission space.
According to the aspect of the present invention, the main body portion of the passage tube is formed of metal, whereby it is possible to reduce a work load when installing the passage tube. Further, the portion which is exposed to the radio frequency transmission space is covered with the covering portion, whereby a configuration in which an electric conductor does not cross the radio frequency transmission space can be easily realized.
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a radio frequency coupler in which it is possible to achieve space-saving.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a radio frequency coupler according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings. The present invention is not limited by this embodiment. Further, in constituent elements in the following embodiment, elements capable of being easily replaced by those skilled in the art or elements that are substantially the same as the constituent elements are included.
The waveguide 10 transmits a radio frequency power from a power supply to the acceleration cavity 40. The waveguide 10 has a first straight section 10a, a bend section 10b, and a second straight section 10c. The first straight section 10a is connected to, for example, the power supply side. The bend section 10b is formed in an L shape and connects the first straight section 10a and the second straight section 10c. The second straight section 10c linearly extends from the bend section 10b toward the acceleration cavity 40.
The waveguide 10 has a coaxial tubular structure having an outer conductor 11 and an inner conductor 12. The outer conductor 11 and the inner conductor 12 are formed using a conductor such as metal. The outer conductor 11 and the inner conductor 12 respectively have first straight sections 11a and 12a, bend sections 11b and 12b, and second straight sections 11c and 12c corresponding to the first straight section 10a, the bend section 10b, and the second straight section 10c. A radio frequency transmission space K is formed between the outer conductor 11 and the inner conductor 12. The radio frequency transmission space K is a radio frequency transmission path through which the radio frequency power is transmitted.
The waveguide 10 has an adjustment part 13. The adjustment part 13 adjusts the electrical characteristics of the waveguide 10 to reduce the influence of fluctuations in the electrical characteristics due to an insulator which will be described later. In this embodiment, the adjustment part 13 is, for example, a protrusion portion which protrudes from the outer surface of the inner conductor 12. However, there is no limitation thereto. The adjustment part 13 may be disposed at the outer conductor 11.
The waveguide 10 has a window part 14. The window part 14 is disposed in the radio frequency transmission space K. The window part 14 is formed using, for example, an insulator such as ceramics. Therefore, the window part allows passage of the radio frequency power. The window part 14 is formed, for example, in a ring shape and is sandwiched between the outer conductor 11 and the inner conductor 12. Due to the window part 14, the positional relationship between the outer conductor 11 and the inner conductor 12 is maintained while enabling the transmission of the radio frequency power.
The refrigerant passage part 20 allows passage of a refrigerant C for cooling a tip portion 12d of the inner conductor 12 on the acceleration cavity 40 side. In the radio frequency coupler 100, when the radio frequency power is input to the acceleration cavity 40, the tip portion 12d of the inner conductor 12 generates heat. For this reason, the tip portion 12d of the inner conductor 12 is cooled by disposing the refrigerant passage part 20.
The refrigerant passage part 20 has a passage tube and a refrigerant supply source (not shown). The passage tube 25 passes through the outer conductor 11 and the inner conductor 12 in a direction parallel to the second straight section 10c from the outside of the waveguide 10 toward the acceleration cavity 40 side at the bend section 10b and is connected to an interior 12K of the inner conductor 12. That is, the passage tube 25 is in a state of being inserted into the interior 12K of the inner conductor 12 from the outside of the waveguide 10.
The passage tube 25 has a first tube part 21, a second tube part 22, and a joint part 23. The first tube part 21 passes through the inner conductor 12 from the outside of the waveguide 10 and is disposed up to a position in the middle of the second straight section 12c in the interior 12K. Therefore, the first tube part 21 is disposed across the radio frequency transmission space K. The first tube part 21 is formed of, for example, an insulator such as ceramics (alumina ceramics or the like), plastic, or mica. As such an insulator, for example, a material having an electric resistance value of 1×1012 [Ω·cm] or more is used.
The second tube part 22 is connected to the first tube part 21. The second tube part 22 is disposed to extend from an end portion of the first tube part 21 to the tip portion 12d of the inner conductor 12. Therefore, the whole of the second tube part 22 is disposed in the interior 12K of the inner conductor 12. The second tube part 22 is formed using metal such as stainless steel. Therefore, the second tube part 22 can be disposed in a state of having desired rigidity in the interior 12K of the inner conductor 12.
In the passage tube 25 described above, the first tube part 21 is disposed across the radio frequency transmission space K of the inner conductor 12, and the entire outer surface which is exposed to the radio frequency transmission space K is an insulator. On the other hand, the second tube part 22 which is formed of a conductor (metal) is not exposed to the radio frequency transmission space K. For this reason, the radio frequency transmission space K is in a state where the metal is not exposed, and can transmit the radio frequency power.
The outer tube 21b is provided to enclose the inner tube 21a. A flow path 21d is formed between the outer tube 21b and the inner tube 21a. In the flow path 21d, the refrigerant C returning from the second tube part 22 flows. A spacer or the like may be disposed at the outer tube 21b such that a space is reliably formed between the outer tube 21b and the inner tube 21a.
The second tube part 22 has a double tube structure at the connection portion with the first tube part 21. The second tube part 22 has an inner tube 22a and an outer tube 22b. The inner tube 22a is connected to the inner tube 21a of the first tube part 21 and is disposed up to the vicinity of the tip portion 12d of the inner conductor 12 by passing through a reduced diameter portion 12e which will be described later. The inner tube 22a has an end portion 22e which is disposed toward the tip portion 12d. The end portion 22e is open. A flow path 22c is formed in the inner tube 22a. In the flow path 22c, the refrigerant C from the flow path 21c of the first tube part 21 flows toward the tip portion 12d of the inner conductor 12.
The outer tube 22b is provided to enclose the inner tube 22a. A flow path 22d is formed between the outer tube 22b and the inner tube 22a. In the flow path 22d, the refrigerant C returning from the tip portion 12d of the inner conductor 12 flows. A spacer or the like may be disposed at the outer tube 22b such that a space is reliably formed between the outer tube 22b and the inner tube 22a. An end portion of the outer tube 22b on the acceleration cavity 40 side is connected to the reduced diameter portion 12e which protrudes to the inside of the inner conductor 12.
In the refrigerant passage part 20 described above, the refrigerant C flows through the flow path 21c of the inner tube 21a of the first tube part 21 from the outside of the waveguide 10 toward the acceleration cavity 40 side and flows into the flow path 22c of the inner tube 22a of the second tube part 22 at the joint part 23 in the interior 12K of the inner conductor 12. The refrigerant C flows through the flow path 22c toward the acceleration cavity 40 side and flows out from the end portion 22e of the second tube part 22 to the interior 12K of the inner conductor 12.
The refrigerant C flows toward the bend section 10b side with the interior 12K of the inner conductor 12 as a flow path, and flows into the flow path 22d through the reduced diameter portion 12e. The refrigerant C flows through the flow path 22d toward the bend section 10b side and flows into the flow path 21d of the outer tube 21b of the first tube part 21 at the joint part 23. Then, the refrigerant C further flows through the flow path 21d to the bend section 10b side and flows out to the outside of the waveguide 10. The flow path 21d may be provided with, for example, a circulation mechanism that releases the heat of the refrigerant C and then returns the refrigerant C to the flow path 21c.
As described above, the radio frequency coupler 100 according to this embodiment includes: the waveguide 10 having the outer conductor 11 and the inner conductor 12 provided in a coaxial tube shape, the waveguide linearly extending from the power supply side, being bent in an L shape at the bend section 10b, and linearly extending toward the acceleration cavity 40 side; and a refrigerant passage part 20 which passes through the outer conductor and the inner conductor 12 from the outside of the waveguide 10 toward the acceleration cavity 40 side at the bend section 10b and is connected to the interior 12K of the inner conductor 12, the refrigerant passage part 20 having a passage tube 25 which causes the refrigerant C to flow between the interior of the tip portion 12d of the inner conductor 12 and the outside of the waveguide 10, and a portion of the passage tube 25, which is exposed to the radio frequency transmission space K, being formed of an insulator.
In this configuration, by disposing the passage tube from the outside of the waveguide 10 toward the interior 12K of the inner conductor 12 and causing the refrigerant C to flow through the passage tube 25, it becomes possible to cool the tip portion 12d of the inner conductor 12. Further, the portion of the passage tube 25, which is exposed to the radio frequency transmission space K which is formed between the outer conductor 11 and the inner conductor 12, is formed of an insulator, and therefore, a configuration in which an electric conductor crosses the radio frequency transmission space K can be avoided. In this way, the waveguide 10 does not need to be branched to the side opposite to the acceleration cavity 40 and can be formed in an L shape toward the acceleration cavity 40 side at the bend section 10b, and therefore, space-saving can be achieved.
Further, in the radio frequency coupler 100 according to this embodiment, the passage tube 25 is formed by connecting the first tube part 21 that is an insulator which is disposed at a portion crossing the radio frequency transmission space K and the second tube part 22 that is made of a high rigidity metal which is disposed in the interior 12K of the inner conductor 12, whereby it is possible to reduce a work load when installing the passage tube 25 on the inner conductor 12, and it becomes possible to easily realize a configuration in which an electric conductor does not cross the radio frequency transmission space K.
The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and changes can be appropriately made within a scope which does not depart from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the embodiment described above, the configuration in which the passage tube 25 is formed by connecting the first tube part 21 that is an insulator which is disposed at a portion crossing the radio frequency transmission space K and the second tube part 22 that is made of a high rigidity metal which is disposed in the interior 12K of the inner conductor 12 has been described as an example. However, there is no limitation thereto.
The outer tube 22b is provided to enclose the inner tube 22a. A flow path 22d is formed between the outer tube 22b and the inner tube 22a. In the flow path 22d, the refrigerant C returning from the tip portion 12d of the inner conductor 12 flows. A spacer or the like may be disposed at the outer tube 22b such that a space is reliably formed between the outer tube 22b and the inner tube 22a.
According to this configuration, by disposing the passage tube 24 from the outside of the waveguide 10 toward the interior of the inner conductor 12 and causing the refrigerant C to flow through the passage tube 24, it becomes possible to cool the tip portion 12d of the inner conductor 12. Further, the whole of the passage tube 24 is formed of an insulator, and therefore, a configuration in which an electric conductor does not cross the radio frequency transmission space K can be easily realized.
The covering portion 28 is formed of an insulator and covers the portion of the main body portion 27, which is exposed to the radio frequency transmission space K. According to this configuration, the main body portion 27 of the passage tube 25B is formed of metal, whereby it is possible to reduce a work load when installing the passage tube 25B. Further, the portion which is exposed to the radio frequency transmission space K is covered with the covering portion 28, whereby a configuration in which an electric conductor does not cross the radio frequency transmission space K can be easily realized.
Further, in the embodiment described above, the configurations are made in which the passage tubes 24, 25, and 25B are inserted from the outside. However, there is no limitation thereto.
In
According to this configuration, the interior 12K of the inner conductor 12 can be effectively used as a flow path for the refrigerant C. Further, the outer surface of the portion of the branch portion 12f of the inner conductor 12, which is disposed in the radio frequency transmission space K, is covered with a covering portion 26 which is an insulator. In this way, a configuration in which an electric conductor does not cross the radio frequency transmission space K can be easily realized.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP2017-084631 | Apr 2017 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2018/011434 | 3/22/2018 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2018/193786 | 10/25/2018 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20080164421 | Tanaka | Jul 2008 | A1 |
| 20190008028 | Okihira | Jan 2019 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| H05129098 | May 1993 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200127355 A1 | Apr 2020 | US |
