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US 9,038,364 B2Granted
Thruster grid clear circuits and methods to clear thruster grids
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsJohn F. Stickelmaier, Philip D. Nguyen
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Abstract
Thruster grid clear circuits and methods to clear thruster grids are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a low voltage grid clear circuit to apply first energy to a grid at a first voltage, and a high voltage grid clear circuit to detect a failure of the applied energy to clear a short circuit condition of the grid and to apply second energy to the grid at a second voltage higher than the first voltage.
Claims14
An ion propulsion system comprising:
- a first ion propulsion system thruster grid and a second ion propulsion system thruster grid;
- and
- a grid clear circuit for clearing a short circuit between the first ion propulsion system thruster grid and the second ion propulsion system thruster grid, the grid clear circuit comprising:
- a low-voltage grid clear circuit configured to apply a first energy by applying a first voltage between the first ion propulsion system thruster grid and the second ion propulsion system thruster grid;
- and
- a high-voltage grid clear circuit configured to apply a second energy by applying a second voltage between the first ion propulsion system thruster grid and the second ion propulsion system thruster grid, the second voltage being higher than the first voltage.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.