The present invention relates to producing rotational motion in a rotor through the generation of a field, such as a gravity field. More specifically, the present invention relates to using a novel winding geometry of superconducting coils to generate a field that operates on the mass of a rotor to induce rotation, which in turn can be used to drive a generator to generate electricity.
Various attempts have been made to design systems that manipulate gravitational effects to produce electricity. Such attempts have not proven successful.
The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the appended drawings, is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The various components are preferably aligned as follows. The rotor 230 is mounted within an internal axial cavity of inner container 220, and the combination of rotor 230 and inner container 220 are mounted within outer casing 210. Two end plates 260 and 280 seal both ends of the outer casing 210 with inner container 220 and rotor 230 inside. Shaft 250 extends through at least one of the side plates 260 and 280 through a bearing 240 with a vacuum seal (only one side of shaft 250 so emerging from plate 280 is shown in the figures).
The various components may be assembled and/or mounted together through various support plates, welds, nuts/bolts, etc. The invention is not limited to any particular mounting and/or assembly methodology.
Referring now to
A group of toroid winding support elements 330 (five are shown in
Lateral and longitudinal spacers 340 may be provided between adjacent toroid winding support elements 330 and at the lateral ends adjacent plates 320 and 322 to such that each toroid winding support element 330 is separated from other toroid winding support elements 330 and shell 310. As discussed more fully below, this gap will allow cooling fluid to circulate around toroid winding support elements 330.
Referring now to
A coordinate system is useful for discussing certain aspects of toroid winding support element 330. As noted above, there is a central axis Z 510. There is a radial axis R that extends through and perpendicular to the central axis Z all directions, such as 520. There is a poloidal angle 525 around the radial axis r, referred to herein as theta (“θ”). There is also a toroidal angle 530 around the central axis 510, referred to herein as phi (“φ”). Finally, there is a toroidal angle 535 around the radial axis 520, referred to herein as alpha (“α”).
As discussed above, each toroid winding support element 330 supports a superconductor material. Referring now to
Referring now to
For ease of reference, the two ends 810 and 890 of the superconductor 710 are shown at the juncture of the C and D surfaces of support 330, but it should be understood that superconductor 710 may continue beyond those points, such as for additional turns and/or to connect to other circuitry not shown.
In the embodiment of
At the transition of the faces D and A at 820, wire 710 is laid in a zone 825 along face A to define a curve. Non-limiting examples of mathematics that may define the particular path of the curve are discussed below. For purposes of illustration, the pathway preferably has a changing slope as viewed in the planar illustration, based on a relationship φ=θi, where i>1. A parabolic curve (i=2) may be used, but other functions may be used with greater values of i preferred. In the coordinate system illustrated in
The curved pathway of zone 825 continues across from face A and into face B. In the toroidal coordinate system illustrated in
Over the length of zone 825, the curve may hold to a specific mathematical formula, or may vary.
Within face B, at 830 the pathway of wire 710 transitions from the curve in zone 825 to a substantially linear pathway in zone 835, i.e., i=1. In the toroidal coordinate system illustrated in
At the transition of the wire pathway from face B to face C at 840, the wire 710 returns to a substantially linear pathway along zone 845. This continues along the entire surface of face C. In the toroidal coordinate system illustrated in
In the above, the transition points, such as transition point 840 may be small zones with a small but non-zero length, for example, to accommodate a minimum wire bend radius, although they are preferably significantly smaller than the other zones A, B, C and D.
The wire 710 then continues into a second turn (connected at k) onto surface of face A for a new zone 815. The winding of wire 710 continues as discussed above.
As discussed above, toroid winding support element 330 preferably has rounded corners rather than sharp ones, which facilitates winding of wire 710 around toroid winding support element 330.
The rationale for the specific layout relates to how a particle pair—particularly a cooper pair within the superconducting wire 710 under proper environmental conditions—moves along a pathway described above. Due to the nature of a superconductor, once a power supply is applied to the wire 710, cooper pairs within wire 710 under appropriate superconducting environmental conditions will continue to move through the superconducting wire 710 at a substantially constant velocity and substantially zero acceleration with respect to the entire length of wire 710.
However, the velocity and acceleration are not constant with respect to the toroidal angle φ. Referring now to
As discussed above, a characteristic of a single turn is that cumulative acceleration along a 360° turn of the toroidal angle φ remains at substantially zero. Thus, whatever acceleration created in zone 825 is offset by the deceleration in zone 840. Since zone 825 in the above embodiments is much longer than zone 840, the deceleration is particularly acute (<<0).
The winding pattern is based on a principle that the acceleration of cooper pairs within the superconducting windings induces a force on a nearby mass as illustrated generically in
Referring back to
In the above embodiment, the winding may only be one layer deep. However, the invention is not so limited, and windings may continue for several layers. Also, in the above embodiment the wire 710 is a single wire, but again the invention is not so limited, as several different wires could be so wound; provided that they would be independently actuated.
It may be desirable to provide various mechanical structures to support the laying of wire 710 in the desired pattern. One such reason for this is the effect of the Lorenz law, per which the passage of electrons though the superconducting wire in the presence of a magnetic field will generate forces that may move wire 710 from its desired position.
Referring to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Returning to
Referring now to
Inner container 220 is filled with a liquid and/or gaseous refrigerant, which can circulate around the gaps between the supporting elements 330 established by the spacers 370. The refrigerant is of a low enough temperature to achieve the critical temperature for superconducting wire 710 to enter a superconducting state; liquid helium is suitable for this purpose, although other refrigerants as may be appropriate for the selected superconductive material of superconductor wire 710 may also be used. A cooling device 1320 may connect to inner container 220 to remove evaporating refrigerant, cool the same and return the refrigerant back to inner container 220.
Referring now to
The operation of the energy transfer motor will now be discussed. The cooper pairs are energized within superconductive wire 710 as discussed above. As is known in the art, superconducting wire 710—which is below its critical temperature due to the refrigerant—will allow the cooper pairs to circulate indefinitely within the windings around toroid winding support element 330.
When the cooper pairs are in a geometric zone in which they are accelerating with respect to phi, such as for example zone 825, the cooper pairs will generate a corresponding gravitational field. This field exerts a torque on rotor 230 causing it to rotate around axis 510, which coincides with shaft 250.
Similarly, when the cooper pairs are in a zone in which they are decelerating such as zone 840, the cooper pairs will generate a corresponding field in the opposite direction to zone 825.
Since the total acceleration of the cooper pairs around a turn is equal to zero, the acceleration-induced torque could offset the deceleration. Further, the field generated by the deceleration, by virtue of its opposite direction, counteracts the effects applied by the field generated by acceleration.
However, while the field created by acceleration and deceleration of the cooper pairs are equal, they do not have equal effects on rotor 230. This is because the zone of acceleration 825 is primarily on the internal face A of toroid winding support element 330, which is closest to rotor 203. In contrast, the zone of deceleration 840 is at the transition of face D and C, which is further away from the rotor than the zone of acceleration. Based on a principle that the effect of the field component is proportional to 1/r2 (where r is the distance from the point of cooper-pair acceleration to a mass element), the further a zone is from the rotor 230, the less influence it will have. As a result, the torque induced by the proximate zone of acceleration 825 is greater than the counter torque induced by the zone of deceleration 840. Thus, there is a non-zero net effect on the rotor 230, which exerts a torque to rotate rotor 230.
The embodiment of
Further, the layout of wires 710 does not require perfection in mechanical accuracy to produce this result. There may be an optimal layout that will generate the greatest overall torque, and mechanical accuracy may yield the most perfect implementation of that design. Yet the design still works absent that accuracy, and relaxation of the accuracy may allow for more wire 710 to be laid (e.g., wire 710 laid in fences 1220 is less accurate than grooves 1230, but fences 1220 may allow for more wire 710) to generate higher overall torque yield.
All of the above being said, the velocity of movement of the cooper pair through wire 710 in and of itself may not be sufficient to generate a desired amount of torque on rotor 230. A velocity component may be exploited to contribute to the field.
Such a velocity component is in fact available, as the cooper pairs are moving relative to Earth, which is in turn moving relative to a position in space. More specifically, the Earth as a celestial body is moving away from the origin point of the universe. The Earth is moving through space in a direction approximate to the true north-south axis of the Earth, and at a speed of approximately 1.3% of the speed of light. For discussion purposes this is referred to herein as Earth velocity. Although the foundation of the same is not necessary for implementation of the embodiments discussed herein, by way of reference the underlying physics is discussed in more detail in Applicants' incorporated by reference U.S. Provisional Patent Application entitled PSTA THEORETICAL APPROACH TO POWER GENERATION TECHNOLOGY.
Under theories of relativity, energy from the Earth velocity ordinarily cannot be harnessed because any particle from which it would be harnessed is moving in the same speed and direction as the environment that supports the particle; relative to each other, the particle and the environment do not have such energy to capture. However, such relativistic relationship breaks down in the environment of operating superconductors.
Since the energy of Earth velocity is not omni-directional, but rather in the specific direction of approximately the true north-south axis of the Earth, energy transfer device 110 benefits from an orientation to capture the effect of the Earth's velocity on the cooper pairs. (By way of analogy, a boat sail must be in a particular orientation to capture the wind, although the underlying physics is different.) To capture that energy, the central axis 510, and thus shaft 250, is preferably aligned perpendicular to the direction of Earth velocity, i.e., approximately on an east-west orientation.
When in this orientation and under superconducting environmental conditions, the velocity of the cooper pairs as measured relative to the Earth becomes only a portion of the overall kinetic energy, in that the Earth velocity is approximately 1.3% of the speed of light. The effect of the cooper pairs is proportional to the product of their velocity (as measured with respect to the Earth) and the relatively large absolute velocity of the Earth (as measured in a frame of reference attached to the universe point of origin). The field generated from cooper-pair acceleration that is aligned with the Earth's velocity is significantly greater, and sufficient to effectuate a rotational torque on rotor 230.
An angular variation off that alignment reduces the harnessable energy. Thus, minor variations within 20 degrees may not result in much loss, although higher amounts will begin to have more impact. Orienting the shaft 250 parallel with the direction of Earth velocity would fail to harness any of the Earth velocity.
Returning now to
The above considerations in some cases drive various design parameter and options of the embodiments, while others are not. Several examples are as follows.
Rotor 230 is the disclosed embodiment is a hollow cylinder to which shaft 250 is attached via end plates. However, the invention is not so limited. Rotor 230 could be solid or hollow. Rotor 230 and shaft 250 could be integral or separate components. Rotor 230 and/or shaft 250 may be made of the same materials or different materials.
The material composition of rotor 230 and/or shaft 250 can be any suitable material for the environmental conditions under which these components rotate. A dense metal such as stainless steel may be used. A combination of carbon fiber exterior around a lead interior is a non-limiting example of composite materials that can be used for the rotor.
The external shape of rotor 230 has no particular design limits other than efficiency, and would typically (but not necessarily) be cylindrical. As discussed above, the torque applied by the superconducting wire 710 is strongest proximate to the wire and drops off by a factor of 1/r2 as the distance increases. So the outer portion of the rotor 230 is preferably (a) as close as possible to inner container 220 while still allowing for a gap there between with sufficient tolerance that rotor 230 can freely rotate, and (b) match the shape of the inner container 220 as closely as possible. From an efficiency standpoint, this is preferably achieved with a cylindrical rotor mounted within a toroid shape inner container 220, and the toroid winding support elements 330 having a flat surface A as discussed above. However, the invention is not so limited, and other designs may be used. A toroid having an inner diameter of 100 cm, and outer diameter of 140 cm, and an axial length of 100 cm may be appropriate.
Toroid winding support element 330 may be any material that can provide the structural support for wire 710 and withstand the operating conditions (e.g., low temperatures) under which superconductors operate. Carbon fiber is a non-limiting example of such a material. The scope of appropriate materials is known to those of skill in the art of superconductors and is not further discussed herein.
The shape of toroid winding support element 330 has no particular design limits other than efficiency. The portion of the wire 710 that is closest to the rotor 230 provides the maximum torque, and thus for efficiency the corresponding area of toroid winding support element 330 (face A) in the toroidal angle direction is preferably cylindrical in the φ direction to provide uniform application. The overall rounded rectangular shape discussed herein with respect to
However, the invention is not so limited, and other shapes could be used, such as pentagons, hexagons, ring (a very thin rectangle) etc., whether of uniform shape or non-uniform shape. Toroid winding support element 330 may be a single uniform structure, several connected structures, and/or several unconnected structures in proximity to each other. Thickness may be uniform around the central axis, or non-uniform.
As discussed above, any corners of toroid winding support element 330 are preferably rounded to facilitate winding. However, there may be situations, particularly with the use of grooves 1230, where the grooves 1230 have a different shape than the outermost portion of toroid winding support element 330. For example, even though toroid winding support element 330 may have sharp corners, the grooves may be formed to a different depth around the corners, such that the bottom of the grooves provided a rounded surface.
Toroid winding support elements 330 are shown herein as of the same shape and size. While this design promotes efficient operation, the invention is not so limited, and different toroid winding support elements may of different size, shape, and/or material composition.
Further, while toroid are described herein as having various shapes, e.g., square or rectangular, this does not imply and should not be defined to require precision to such shapes. As noted herein, the outer surface of the toroid may have various modifications, e.g., rounded corners, grooves, fences, etc. The discussion of any particular shape or size herein carries a “generally” or “substantially” modifier, e.g., a “rectangular toroid” is a generally rectangular cross section toroid, and includes allowance for surface modifications as discussed herein, imperfections and other minor variances from ideal.
Toroid winding support elements 330 are preferably separated from themselves and the walls of inner container 220 by spacers 370 to allow refrigerant to circulate around superconducting wire 310. Spacers 370 are made of any material that can withstand the operating conditions. Ceramic may be appropriate for this, although the invention is not limited thereto. Spacers 370 may be individually placed around the various components, although as an alternative spaces 370 may be one large rack that holds supports 330 and is loaded into inner container 220 as a unit.
The embodiments herein show five toroid winding support elements 330. However, the invention is not so limited. The design is scalable, and can have less or more toroid winding support elements. The number would be based on the shape of each toroid winding support element and the size of the shell 310, all of which would be at least partially based on the desired ultimate output power of 100.
Superconducting wire 710 is described above as a single wire winding around a toroid winding support element 330. However, the invention is not so limited, and multiple wires may be used so long as each has some initial driving force 1410 discussed herein. In the alternative, the same wire could be wound around multiple toroid winding support elements 330. Different wires 710 are preferably of the same material and thickness, although this need not be the case.
The device power can be scaled by increasing the diameter of the rotor 230 with corresponding increases in size of the surrounding components. The larger the rotor, the greater the torque generated.
The device can be further scaled by increasing the rotation rate of the rotor at any given diameter, within the constraints of the material properties of the rotor.
As is known in the art, superconducting wires include filaments of superconducting materials, along with various other non-superconducting materials that provide strength and/or insulation that collectively provide a medium of near zero electrical resistance when in the superconducting state. Niobium compounds, such as Niobium-tin or Niobium titanium are preferable for wire 710, but the invention is not so limited. The wire 710 is preferably on the order of 1 mm in diameter, but other sizes could be used. The wire is preferably made from 25 k filaments on the order of 3 microns each, but other numbers of filaments and sizes could be used. Any type of superconductor could be used.
Another non-limiting example is a thin film wire, such as yttrium barium copper oxide found in for example SuperPower® 2G HTS Wire. Such wire could be laid as described herein. As a thin film product, the structure could also be grown on the support directly. In such case this is to be considered a form of winding as discussed herein.
The scope of appropriate materials and designs of superconducting wire is known to those of skill in the art of superconductors and is not further discussed herein.
For a wire 710 made from a Niobium compound, an extremely low temperature refrigerant is preferred, such as liquid helium. However, the invention is not so limited, and any refrigerant as appropriate to induce the superconducting properties (e.g. establish a temperature below approximately 10 degrees Kelvin) in the wire 710 may be used. The scope of appropriate refrigerants is known to those of skill in the art of superconductors and is not further discussed herein.
Wire 710 as shown in
The winding pattern of wire 710 as shown in
Shell 310 of inner container 220 is designed to hold toroid winding support elements 330 in the refrigerant. Inner wall 314 will generally conform to the shapes dictated by the toroid winding support elements 330 and the rotor 230. One end of the shell will be attachable to seal (e.g., via welding) inner container 220 after toroid winding support elements 330 are loaded therein. The other end of the shell can be either attachable or integrally formed with inner wall 314 and outer wall 312. Outer wall 312 can have any shape, but to minimize the volume of refrigerant preferably follows the outer shape of the toroid winding support elements 330. Shell 310 may be made of any material that can survive the environmental conditions, such as by non-limiting example stainless steel.
Outer casing 210 surrounds inner container 220. Outer container 210 is preferably made from a material that can withstand the surrounding conditions (e.g., an interior vacuum), such as stainless steel. The shape of outer counter 210 is preferably dimensioned to allow for sufficient insulation, but any design could be used.
As noted above, the architecture herein is scalable. Overall, the design considerations prefer the largest maximum current of cooper pairs, which may entail a balance between selection of superconducting wire for maximum critical current vs. diameter and winding geometry. Other design consideration include increasing total number of turns for windings, making toroid winding support elements 330 thinner to increase effective acceleration in φ (which may requires more but smaller toroid winding support elements to extend to length of rotor), and increasing the radius of the toroid winding support element 330 and rotor 230. Fences 1220 or grooves 1230 could be made higher/deeper to allow for multiple overlapping windings, such as shown ion
The rotational torque on rotor 230 can induce a rotational acceleration that may require some level of control, by way of non-limiting example to limit the rotation rate of the rotor or to match the frequency of an electrical grid. There are a variety of options for such control. Once such method is to generate a counter torque by controlling the generator field that results in the generator opposing rotation of shaft 250 in accordance with the field current. Alternatively, a physical or magnetic brake can be used to counter the torque generated by the rotor. These are all generically represented by speed control mechanism 1710 in
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now of
Each groove 1910 preferably has several characteristics. One such characteristic is that each groove 1940 is at a substantially equal angle to a radial extending from the central axis of the toroid winding support element 1930 (which as described above is coaxial with the rotor 230). As can be seen in
Referring now to
Referring now also to
For ease of reference, the two ends 2310 and 2390 of the superconductor 710 are shown at the juncture of the C and D surfaces of support 1930.
In the embodiment of
The rationale for the specific layout relates to how a particle—particularly a cooper pair within the superconducting wire 710 under proper environmental conditions—moves along a pathway described above. Due to the nature of a superconductor, once a force is applied the cooper pair, it will continue to move through the superconducting wire at a substantially constant velocity and substantially zero acceleration with respect to the entire length of wire 710.
However, the velocity and acceleration are not constant with respect to the toroidal angle φ. Referring now to
Overall, the net acceleration with respect to toroidal angle φ around the entire winding of wire 710 is zero. Since the total acceleration with respect to toroidal angle φ around the turn is equal to zero, the field generated by the cooper pair acceleration is equal to the field generated by the cooper pair deceleration; thus again a net zero.
However, while the fields may be equal, they do not have equal effects on rotor 230. Specifically, the face A defines a zone of acceleration that is proximate to rotor 230. In contrast, the face C defines a zone of deceleration that is further away from rotor 230. Since the influence of the induced fields on rotor 230 drops off based on the square of distance, the torque applied by the proximate zone of acceleration on face A is far greater than the counter torque applied by the zone of deceleration on face C. Thus, while the total fields are opposite, there is a non-zero net effect on the rotor 230, which exerts a torque to rotate rotor 230.
An approximately 45 degrees angle in grooves 1940 potentially optimizes the acceleration and deceleration of cooper pairs. Specifically, the total torque applied to rotor 230 is based on the number of wires turns on face A and the gravitational forces generated by each individual turn of the wire. A larger angle would have a more pronounced curve on face A that creates a larger force individual force per wire, but the architecture would reduce the number of wire turns that could fit on toroid winding support element 1930. Conversely, a smaller angle provides more wire turns, but each turn has a less pronounced angle with respect to phi and thus generates less force. That being said, the invention is not limited to any particular angle and angles of approximately 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, and 85 can be used, with each ±5 degree variance.
As noted above,
Toroid winding support element 1930 preferably has an inner radius of 50 cm, an outer radius of 70 cm, and a thickness of 5 mm. Grooves 1940 are preferably recessed by a distance w into the outer skin of toroid winding support element 1930. These dimensions are only exemplary, and other configurations could be used.
The above embodiments are discussed in relation to a scientific postulate that deceleration of cooper pairs induces a field which is opposite that of the acceleration, and thus induces a counter-torque on the rotor. This postulate is based on a perception that acceleration with respect to the angle φ is a primary component of the formation of the fields. However under an alternative scientific postulate the radial acceleration with respect to the radial angle θ is also a primary component of the formation of the fields. Under this postulate there is no deceleration of the cooper pairs with respect to θ, but rather only areas of inward radial acceleration that induce a common field that combines in the torque effect on the rotor. The structure of the embodiments above are the same regardless of which postulate is considered, although under the alternative postulate the resulting power may be higher because there may be more torque.
According to another embodiment of the invention shown in
Preferably only one toroid 2802 would be used, although several toroids could be connected together and/or adjacent over the length of the rotor to form a collective overall toroid 2802. The configuration of the support architecture and motor would be the same as shown in e.g.,
The superconducting wire 2804 is wrapped around the outer surface of toroid 2802 in a pattern for the conductive portion that that resembles a meandering line, in that the conductive pattern has a back and forth, zig-zag, or wave shape rather than a straight line.
Relative to each back and forth in the meander, there is a radial axis r (
The wire 2804 is preferably wound as a helix in one direction as shown in
Wire 2804 may be a typically superconducting wire made from materials as discussed herein and laid in the noted patterns, and the conductive pattern follows the shape of the wire itself. In another embodiment that employs thin films as in
In the symmetrical wave meander of the conductive pattern in
In implementation, for thin film wires, the thickness of the wire (including insulators and support metals) is preferably about 100 microns, the width is preferably about 4 mm, and the conductive pattern within the thin film is preferably about 1 micron thick and preferably about 1.5 mm wide. Preferably there is no space between the wires, although this need not be the case. As a practical matter, the wires could be laid as close as possible in as many turns as possible from one end to the other of the toroid 2802, and then overlapped in multiple layers as many times as possible subject to physical limitations of the materials. For example, for a 1 meter toroid 2802, there could be 250 turns per layer end to end, with 100 or more layers.
If the entire winding assembly has the current going in a common direction, it may generate an undesirable magnetic field that could limit performance. To address this, at least some portion of the wiring pattern, and preferably substantially half of the pattern, carries current in an opposite direction from the remainder of the wiring pattern. One way this could be done is to repeatedly lay two sets of wires in alternative layers in the same wiring pattern. The ends of the two wires are then connected to different terminals of the current source, such that one each of the two layers provide the same wiring pathway but in opposite direction. The extent of the opposite direction offsets the creation of the undesirable magnet field; and this can be minimized if not outright eliminated by proper balancing of the wire layout.
Alternate geometries of superconductive material may be used to the ones discussed above.
The trace pattern 3202 of
The nine trace segments 3304 may optionally be electrically connected in parallel to one another by a landing 3303. An additional set of trace segments 3308 also connect to the landing 3308. The landing 3303 electrically connects the first set of segments 3304 in series with the second set of segments 3308. Landings 3308 are optional but offer a benefit in case of a defect in any trace segment that causes an open circuit or otherwise impedes current flow. In such a case, current will be carried in undamaged parallel segments and, at a landing 3303, the current will be redistributed in the following set of trace segments.
Landing 3303 will preferably be made of the same superconducting material as the trace segments 3304. Spacing between landings 3303 maybe based on quality of the manufacturing process, such as to be spaced sufficiently that the likelihood of two failed segments between landings 3303 is sufficiently low. Landings 3303 preferably would be provided at least once each meter of trace length, although the invention is not limited to the presence and/or placement of landings.
Superconducting traces made with the motif shown in
By way of non-limiting example, an embodiment containing 10 serpentine traces of 100 micron width and 100 micron spacing across a 4 mm substrate may generates a field significantly stronger (potentially 10 times larger) than a single trace of 1 millimeter width. Similarly, the field can be scaled by reducing the trace conductor width and spacing to 10 microns or to 1000× by reducing the patterned width and spacing to 1 micron.
The trace patterns of
The substrate 3804 is wrapped (or mapped) with the envelope axis along a helical path so that, after a full wrap around the cylinder, the substrate becomes slightly offset from the starting point and can be extended in additional wraps without overlap; the envelope axis is accordingly helical. This conceptual process of wrapping and mapping is only for ease of explanation. It should be understood that the structure may be formed in other ways, and the exact process of forming the structure is not limiting. For example, the trace may also be formed directly onto a cylinder without first forming a planar trace. The helical structure may be based on other trace patterns, such as the trace patterns of
Each of
In the above embodiments, the traces have an elongate, non-linear trace pattern characterized by (i) a trace pattern thickness, (ii) a trace pattern width greater than the trace pattern thickness, (iii) a trace pattern length greater than the trace pattern width, (iv) a trace pattern axis extending along the trace length, and (v) an instantaneous alignment tangential to the trace pattern axis.
The tape structure 4302 may be fabricated on a substrate 4306 preferably made of Hastelloy, a nickel alloy. Other substrate materials can be used. A series of thin-film barrier metals 4308 may be deposited on the Hastelloy to provide a bonding surface for depositing the superconducting film 4304 and to align the grain structure of the superconducting film. A thin film of superconductor, preferably YBCO or other Rare Earth (RE)CBO is deposited on the barrier-metal stack. The YBCO ceramic material preferably has a thickness on the order of 1 micron, although other thicknesses could be used. A silver layer 4311 may be deposited on top of the superconductor to serve as a conductive path for small defects with a second silver layer 4311 below the substrate. The assembly made of the substrate 4306, barrier stack 4308, superconductor 4304, and silver 4310, 4311, is plated above and below with copper layers 4312 to form a metal tape with embedded, patterned superconductor. The metal tape may be formed initially in widths of about 4 mm, or formed in larger (e.g., 12 mm widths) and cut to about 4 mm. Other widths can be used.
The superconductor layer can be patterned photolithographically or by direct write. For purposes of this application, direct write laser processing is preferred. The trace may be patterned by using a laser to ablate the silver, superconductor and barrier-metal layers to remove unwanted material in the voids between traces. An insulator may then be deposited to fill voids, and the assembly then plated by copper. The superconductive traces all would be internal to the copper and not seen by visual inspection.
A winding 4410 made of superconductive material patterned with traces as discussed above forms a cylindrical solenoid outside of, and concentric with the rotor 4402. Winding leads 4416, preferably made of copper, connect the solenoid to a power supply (not shown). Endplates 4414, 4415 and case 4422 form a hermetically sealed cryostat.
A liquid helium container 4417 having a generally toroidal shape encapsulates the solenoid winding 4410. Liquid helium from a cryogenic cooler (not shown) fills a reservoir 4418 and the helium container 4417, thus cooling the windings 4410 to 4 degrees kelvin. The liquid helium container 4417 mounts through a helium container to endplate 4419 and ceramic standoffs 4424 to a cryostat endplate 4414. Winding centering rings 4413 position the winding 4410 within the liquid helium container 4417.
A gas container 4424 wraps around and encompasses the liquid helium container 4417 both on the interior side (between the liquid helium container 4417 and the rotor 4402) and on the exterior side (between the liquid helium container 4417 and the case 4422). The gas container 4424 also extends around the liquid helium reservoir 4418. MLI insulation batting 4420 within the gas container 4424 insulates the liquid helium container 4417 and reservoir 4418. The batting insulation 4420 may be clad on both sides by one or more layers of Mylar for additional thermal protection. The gas container 4424 mounts to an endplate 4414 through a cantilever support 4421 that extends partially as an arc around a portion of the bottom of the gas container 4424. Spacer rings 4423 center the liquid helium container 4417 within the gas container 4424.
The cryostat endplates 4414, 4415 and case 4422 form a hermetic chamber which preferably is evacuated. The first shaft 4405 and a second shaft 4428 pass through vacuum seals 4426 to maintain the integrity of the chamber. The vacuum seals are preferably Ferrofluid vacuum seals utilizing magnetic fluid. The rotor 4402 turns within this vacuum, so that vacuum separates the rotor 4402 from the gas container 4424. The vacuum impedes heat transfer from the rotor 4402 to the gas container 4424. The vacuum also impedes heat transfer from the gas container 4424 to the liquid helium container 4417. Similarly, vacuum impedes heat transfer from the case 4422 to the gas container 4424.
A chimney structure 4430 on top of the case 4422 houses the liquid helium reservoir 4418 and portions of the gas container 4424. An electrical connector 4432 penetrates the chimney 4430 for connections to the winding leads 4416.
The embodiment of
A cryogenic refrigerator (not shown) maintains cryogenic temperatures required for superconducting operation. Preferably, a two-stage refrigerator may be used for cooling the helium to a liquid state and maintaining the temperature of the 40 degree kelvin gas container. However, other configurations may be used, such as ones having larger cryogenic reservoirs for meeting shorter term mobile requirements.
The assembly is depicted in
The embodiments herein are directed toward the application of generating fields to induce torque in the rotor that is used to drive a power generator. However, the invention is not so limited. Any environment could represent a possible application, including but not limited. to energy generation, communications, or remote imaging.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations may be made in the systems and methods of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. It is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
This document is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/208,610 entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING ELECTRICITY FROM GRAVITATIONAL FORCES filed Mar. 14, 2014, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Applications 61/783,025 entitled PSTA THEORETICAL APPROACH TO POWER GENERATION TECHNOLOGY and 61/782,954 entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING ELECTRICITY FROM GRAVITATIONAL FORCES, by Michael A. Graff and Douglas Torr both filed Mar. 14, 2013, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.
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61782954 | Mar 2013 | US | |
61783025 | Mar 2013 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14208610 | Mar 2014 | US |
Child | 14484363 | US |