Ion engine power supply
AssigneeL-3 Communications Electron Technologies, Inc.
InventorSteven Wiseman
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Abstract
A power supply for an ion engine comprises a multiphase alternator and a power converter comprising a voltage multiplier coupled to each phase of the alternator. Each voltage multiplier comprises one or more staged voltage doublers. The alternator phases may be coupled to each other in a Y configuration such that no common return line is required, and each phase of the alternator provides equal amounts of constant power in a balanced, sequential flow. The converter corrects for the alternator's inherent internal reactance, thereby minimizing the required output of the alternator and reducing the overall power required of the system. A controllable impedance can be inserted into a low voltage portion of the multiplier for selectably varying the output voltage and power of the supply.
Claims16
A power supply, comprising:
- an alternator having a plurality of phases, each phase having an output terminal;
- and,
- a plurality of voltage multipliers, each having an input terminal coupled to a respective one of the output terminals of the alternator phases, and an output terminal coupled to the output terminals of the other voltage multipliers.
A method of providing high voltage DC power to an ion thruster engine, the method comprising:
- providing an alternator having a plurality of phases, each phase having an output terminal;
- and,
- coupling an input terminal of a voltage multiplier to respective ones of the output terminals of the alternator phases;
- and,
- coupling an output terminal of the voltage multipliers to each other and to an input terminal of the ion engine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.