High voltage multiple phase power supply
AssigneeAerojet Rocketdyne, Inc.
InventorsGeoffrey N. Drummond, Jeffery M. Monheiser
Life of this patent
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Abstract
To explore deeper expanses of space, rocket ships need rockets that can last twice as long as conventional rockets. Modern rockets use the electric field to attract and accelerate charged particles out and away from the combustion chamber. Space qualified components to increase the electric field are difficult to obtain. Various embodiments of the present subject matter use multiple phases of an input signal into the power supply to cause the output DC voltage signal to be substantially smooth. These smoother signals reduce the voltage requirements of the output diodes and capacitors thereby making them easier to obtain.
Claims5
A circuit for powering an electric rocket, comprising:
- a set of anodes and cathodes adjacent a combustion chamber of the electric rocket;
- multiple phase inverter stages for generating multiple phase square wave signals;
- a multiple phase resonant network for receiving the square wave signals with multiple phases for generating sinusoidal signals with multiple phases;
- and multiple phase rectifier stages for receiving the sinusoidal signals with multiple phases and further for generating a DC voltage output signal to power the set of anodes and cathodes to provide particle acceleration and a propulsive force for the electric rocket.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.