Phased array tesla coil air defense system

Abstract

To provide an air defense system capable of efficiently destroying flying objects.SOLUTION: Tesla coils 41 are arranged in an array, and a phase-controlled high-frequency signal and an input power from a gap switch 13 are formed into a beam of sparks, which are then emitted onto a target. The Tesla coils 41 may be made of a superconducting material, and in this case, they are cooled using a liquid rake agent such as liquid heim. The phase of the input power from the gap switch 13 may be aligned using a phase shifter 31A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an air defense system.

Background Art

[0002] Currently, war never ceases on Earth. And in many wars, explosives are sent into the enemy's territory through the air and detonated to destroy the enemy's equipment and buildings. As a result, many ordinary civilians who have nothing to do with the wars are sacrificed.

[0003] Regarding this point, Nikola Tesla (July 10, 1856 - January 7, 1943) once proposed to use his invented so-called Tesla coil to irradiate an enemy's flying object with an electron beam to destroy the flying object. Nikola Tesla presumably assumed that only one Tesla coil would be used to form a beam (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0004] However, it is actually difficult to form a beam using only one Tesla coil.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Non-Patent Document 1

[0006] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an air defense system capable of efficiently destroying flying objects.

[0007] The contents of the above "Background Art" and "Problems to be Solved by the Invention" indicate the opportunity (trigger) that led to the invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the invention, nor do they permit a limited interpretation of the technical scope of the invention (see Heisei 17 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10042 and the Japan Patent Office Examination Guidelines as of the filing date, Part II, Chapter 2, Section 2, 3.2.1). [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention relates to a power supply unit that supplies AC power, a high frequency signal generator that generates a high frequency signal using the power supplied from the power supply unit, a gap switch that is connected to one of a pair of output terminals from the high frequency signal generator and has two conductor ends spaced apart in the atmosphere, a capacitor that is connected to both of the pair of output terminals from the high frequency signal generator, and a coil-specific control unit having a phase shifter that changes the phase of the high frequency generated by the high frequency signal generator by a specified amount, and a coil control unit having a phase shifter that changes the phase of the high frequency generated by the high frequency signal generator by a specified amount, and a primary coil, a secondary coil, and a tertiary coil, in which the number of turns of the coils increases in that order, and the output from the high frequency signal generator is the output of the gap switch is input to a first connection point which is a connection portion between the primary coil and the secondary coil, and a spherical antenna is connected to the output side end of the tertiary coil via a rod-shaped lead delay; a phase control device which generates a phase change amount required for beam formation in a desired direction for each of the Tesla coils and outputs the amount to the corresponding phase shifter; and a main control unit which generates and outputs a control signal for the high frequency signal generation device and a control signal for the phase control device.

Advantages of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, an air defense system capable of efficiently destroying a flying object can be provided.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, a phased array Tesla coil air defense system (hereinafter referred to as the air defense system 1) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0012] (First Embodiment)

[0013] (System Configuration) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the air defense system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the air defense system 1 includes a power supply unit 11, a high-frequency signal generator 12, a gap switch 13, a capacitor 20, a coil control unit 30, an array Tesla coil 40 arranged in an array (two-dimensional), a main control unit 19, a phase control device 15, a synthesizer 17, and a signal processing device 18.

[0014] The power supply unit 11 supplies AC power.

[0015] The high-frequency signal generator 12 generates a high-frequency signal in the MHz to GHz range using the power input from the power supply unit 11. As the generation method, for example, a known method that has been used in conventional phased array radars can be used. The details of this technology are described in, for example, "Introduction to Radar Systems", Merrill I. Skolnik (original), Kenki Ogura (translation), Pleiades Publishing, July 25, 2023. Hereinafter, it is referred to as Reference 1.) and the like.

[0016] The output signal from the high-frequency signal generator 12 is branched into two. One is output to the gap switch 13, and the other is output to each phase shifter 31 of the coil-by-coil control unit 30 via the first branch point 14.

[0017] The gap switch 13 has two conductor ends, for example, spheres formed of conductor metal, arranged at intervals in the air, and the output side is connected to the second connection point B (see Figure 2.) of each Tesla coil 41 of the array Tesla coil 40 via the second branch point 16.

[0018] Capacitors 20 are provided on the input side of the gap switch 13 and the output side of the high-frequency signal generator 12, and connection terminals are respectively connected to the input side of the gap switch 13 and the output side of the high-frequency signal generator 12.

[0019] The coil-by-coil control unit 30 includes a phase shifter 31, an amplifier 32, a circulator 33, and a limiter 34.

[0020] The phase shifter 31 shifts the phase of the input high-frequency signal by the phase shift amount set by the phase control device 15 and outputs it.

[0021] The amplifier 32 amplifies the high-frequency signal input from the phase shifter 31.

[0022] The circulator 33 outputs the input signal from the next output terminal in the clockwise direction. Therefore, the output signal from the amplifier 32 is input to the first connection point A (see Fig. 2) of each Tesla coil 41 of the array Tesla coil 40.

[0023] Also, the circulator 33 outputs the received signal input from the first connection point A of each Tesla coil 41 of the array Tesla coil 40 to the limiter 34.

[0024] The limiter 34 filters excessive power and frequencies harmful to subsequent devices. The output signal from the limiter 34 is input to the synthesizer 17.

[0025] The synthesizer 17 synthesizes the frequency signals from the limiter 34 of each coil-specific control unit 30 and outputs them to the signal processing device 18.

[0026] The signal processing device 18 demodulates the modulation applied to the synthesized received signal, converts it into a signal that the main control unit 19 can process, and outputs it to the main control unit 19.

[0027] The main control unit 19 can use a so-called computer equipped with an arithmetic unit, a storage device, an input / output device, etc. The main control unit 19 outputs a control signal for the high-frequency signal generator 12 and a control signal for the phase control device 15, and uses the input signal from the signal processing device 18 to output an image to the input / output device and perform operations such as a vertical dive to the next attack posture.

[0028] Note that for the formation method, operation, control method, etc. of each of the above components, known methods and the like described in detail in the above Reference 1 can be used.

[0029] (Tesla coil) 1. Configuration of the Tesla coil Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram showing the Tesla coil 41. Fig. 3 is an exploded side view of the Tesla coil 41. Fig. 4 is a side view of the Tesla coil 41.

[0030] As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the Tesla coil 41 includes a primary coil 41A having one end connected to the first connection point A and the other end connected to the gap switch 13 and the secondary coil 41B via the second connection point B; a secondary coil 41B having one end connected to the gap switch 13 and the secondary coil 41B and the other end connected to the tertiary coil 41C; a tertiary coil 41C having one end connected to the other end of the secondary coil 41B and the other end connected to the spherical antenna 41E via the lead delay 41D; a lead delay 41D having one end connected to the other end of the tertiary coil 41C and the other end connected to the spherical antenna 41E; and a spherical antenna 41E connected to the other end of the lead delay 41D.

[0031] For the primary coil 41A, secondary coil 41B, tertiary coil 41C, lead delay 41D, spherical antenna 41E, which are the energized parts of the Tesla coil 41, and the connection lines connecting them, a single or alloy of conductor metals such as copper and gold can be used. Each wire used for the primary coil 41A, secondary coil 41B, tertiary coil 41C, and lead delay 41D is insulated.

[0032] In addition to the commonly used conductor materials, the primary coil 41A, secondary coil 41B, tertiary coil 41C, lead delay 41D, spherical antenna 41E, and the connection lines connecting them can also be formed using superconducting materials. As the superconducting material, for example, a rare earth-based high-temperature superconducting wire can be used.

[0033] As the rare earth-based high-temperature superconducting substance, for example, HgBaCaCuO, TlBaCaCuO, BiSrCaCuO, YBaCuO, etc. can be used. The rare earth-based high-temperature superconducting substance also shows a superconducting state even when cooled by liquid nitrogen. Also, conventional superconducting substances such as MgB2, Nb3Sn, etc. can be used. Conventional superconducting substances show a superconducting state when cooled by liquid helium. These wires can use, for example, known ones already commercially available from Fujikura Ltd.

[0034] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, it is desirable from the viewpoint of efficiency that the height L4H of the primary coil 41A, the height L3H of the secondary coil 41B, and the height L2H of the tertiary coil 41C be approximately the same as the diameter of the spherical antenna 41E, but they may be different from each other.

[0035] The primary coil 41A, the secondary coil 41B, and the tertiary coil 41C have a cylindrical shape. The diameter L4D of the primary coil 41A is larger than the diameter L3D of the secondary coil 41B and smaller than a size where electromagnetic induction does not occur between them. The diameter L3D of the secondary coil 41B is larger than the diameter L2D of the tertiary coil 41C and smaller than a size where electromagnetic induction does not occur between them. The diameter L2D of the tertiary coil 41C is larger than the diameter in plan view of the horizontal cross-section of the lead delay 41D.

[0036] The height of the lead delay 41D is higher by a height H1 than the height L4H of the primary coil 41A, the height L3H of the secondary coil 41B, and the height L2H of the tertiary coil 41C. Therefore, the spherical antenna 41E is entirely exposed outside the primary coil 41A, the secondary coil 41B, and the tertiary coil 41C.

[0037] The number of turns of the tertiary coil 41C is more than the number of turns of the secondary coil 41B. For example, the number of turns of the tertiary coil 41C can be made 10 to 100 times more than the number of turns of the secondary coil 41B.

[0038] The number of turns of the secondary coil 41B is more than the number of turns of the primary coil 41A. For example, the number of turns of the secondary coil 41B can be made 10 to 100 times more than the number of turns of the primary coil 41A.

[0039] The number of turns of the primary coil 41A may be, for example, one turn.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 4, when the primary coil 41A, the secondary coil 41B, the tertiary coil 41C, the lead delay 41D, the spherical antenna 41E, and the connection lines connecting them are formed using a superconducting material, a cooling machine 50 for accommodating all these members is installed.

[0041] The cooling device 50 houses, inside thereof, as shown in FIG. 4, all of the primary coil 41A, secondary coil 41B, tertiary coil 41C, lead delay 41D, and the connection wires connecting these, and at least the upper half of the spherical antenna 41E. The cooling device 50 is provided with an inflow hole 51 for allowing a liquid coolant to flow in and a pressure valve 52 for discharging the vaporized liquid refrigerant.

[0042] As the liquid coolant, a liquid that can cool a superconducting material to a low temperature until it reaches the superconducting state, such as liquid helium, liquid nitrogen, etc., can be used.

[0043] 2. Operation of the Tesla Coil The Tesla coil 41 boosts the high-frequency signal input to the primary coil 41A by electromagnetic induction using the secondary coil 41B and the tertiary coil 41C, and makes the frequency higher.

[0044] By the way, a gap switch 13 and a capacitor 20 are connected to the Tesla coil 41, and this operation is as follows.

[0045] The core of the Earth's crust contains iron (Fe). That is to say, the Earth can be said to be a sphere of iron which is a conductor. And the Earth revolves around the Sun while rotating, and the Sun has a magnetic field, and moreover, this magnetic field often changes like a magnetic storm.

[0046] When the Earth, which is a sphere of iron, moves through this magnetic field, an induced current is generated inside the Earth. And the Earth is covered with an atmosphere which is an insulator and has a capacitance.

[0047] That is to say, the Earth is in a state like a large capacitor, there is an electric current in the crust, and the atmosphere stores capacitance.

[0048] Nikola Tesla discovered this current in the crust and called it a standing wave.

[0049] Here, when the input power to the capacitor 20 reaches its capacitance, the capacitor 20 discharges in the direction of the gap switch 13.

[0050] Due to this discharge, the air between the two conductor ends of the gap switch 13 is ionized and becomes conductive.

[0051] At this time, a part of the capacitance that the air had flows into the Tesla coil 41 through the gap switch 13.

[0052] Therefore, since the Tesla coil 41 also receives power input from the gap switch 13, it is possible to discharge a spark much larger than the power supplied from the power supply unit 11.

[0053] (Beam output) The air defense system 1 of the present embodiment irradiates a beam spark in a desired direction by a method similar to the method for generating a beam transmission signal of a phased array radar.

[0054] Regarding the method of beamforming, for example, detailed examples are described in Reference 1, and these known methods can be used.

[0055] (Supplementary of beam irradiation target) The air defense system 1 of the present embodiment identifies the position of the beam irradiation target by a method similar to the target supplementary method of a phased array radar.

[0056] Regarding the target supplementary method of a phased array radar, for example, detailed examples are described in Reference 1, and these known methods can be used.

[0057] (Equipment destruction method of object to be destroyed) Flying objects equipped with explosives usually carry a blasting device to destroy the flying object itself in order to prevent misfiring within the country.

[0058] When the flying object fails to start as desired, a signal is sent to the flying object to cause it to explode.

[0059] Here, an antenna is required to receive this signal. And this antenna has a length that is an integer multiple of λ / 4 with respect to the frequency λ of the high-frequency signal used in the internal circuit. This antenna receives high-frequency signals of frequency λ and reflects other frequencies.

[0060] Therefore, if the spark is irradiated at this frequency λ, strong power can be input from the antenna, and the flying object can be effectively destroyed.

[0061] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the main control unit 19 of the air defense system 1. As shown in Figure 5, in step S101, the main control unit 19 instructs the high-frequency signal generator 12 to sweep the frequency. The sweep range is within the frequency band used for normal communication.

[0062] In step S102, the main control unit 19 monitors the intensity of the received signal for each swept frequency and detects the reflection gap frequency at which the intensity of the received signal becomes lower than other frequencies.

[0063] In step S103, the main control unit 19 sets the reflection gap frequency as the output frequency of the spark.

[0064] In step S104, the main control unit 19 tracks the object to be destroyed using the reflection frequency, which is a frequency other than the reflection gap frequency.

[0065] In step S105, the main control unit 19 determines whether there is a launch instruction. If the main control unit 19 determines that there is a launch instruction (Y in step S105), it proceeds to step S106. If it determines that there is no launch instruction (N in step S105), it returns to step S105.

[0066] In step S105, the main control unit 19 causes the phase control device 15 to calculate a phase for generating a beam in the spark irradiation direction, and transmits a phase change amount to the phase shifter 31 of each coil-specific control unit 30. Then, the main control unit 19 instructs the high-frequency signal generator 12 to output a high-frequency signal at the high-power reflection gap frequency.

[0067] The generated high-frequency signal at the high-power reflection gap frequency is input to each Tesla coil 41 with its phase adjusted via the coil-specific control unit 30. At the same time, the discharge of the capacitor 20 causes the gap switch 13 to turn ON (energizable state), and the power stored in the atmosphere flows in from the gap switch 13.

[0068] Then, the Tesla coil 41 irradiates the object with a phase-adjusted spark in a beam shape, and the object is destroyed.

[0069] As described above, the air defense system 1 of the present embodiment includes a power supply unit 11 that supplies alternating current power, a high-frequency signal generator 12 that generates a high-frequency signal using the power supplied from the power supply unit 11, a gap switch 13 that is connected to one of a pair of output terminals from the high-frequency signal generator 12 and has two conductor ends arranged at intervals in the atmosphere, a capacitor 20 that is connected to both of the pair of output terminals from the high-frequency signal generator 12, a coil separate control unit 30 having a phase shifter 31 that changes the phase of the high-frequency signal generated by the high-frequency signal generator 12 by a specified amount, a Tesla coil 41 in which the number of turns of the coil increases in the order of the primary coil 41A, the secondary coil 41B, and the tertiary coil 41C, the output from the high-frequency signal generator 12 is input to the first connection point A which is one end of the primary coil 41A, the output from the gap switch 13 is input to the second connection point B which is the connection part between the primary coil 41A and the secondary coil 41B, and a spherical sphere antenna 41E is connected to the output side end of the tertiary coil 41C via a rod-shaped lead delay 41D, an array Tesla coil 40 arranged in an array, a phase control device 15 that generates the amount of phase change required for beam formation in a desired direction for each Tesla coil 41 and outputs it to the corresponding phase shifter 31, and a main control unit 19 that generates and outputs a control signal for the high-frequency signal generator 12 and a control signal for the phase control device 15.

[0070] Therefore, according to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to provide an air defense system that can efficiently destroy a flying object.

[0071] (Second Embodiment) FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the air defense system 1 according to the second embodiment. Hereinafter, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described.

[0072] In the present embodiment, after the second branch point 16 between the output side of the gap switch 13 and the input terminal to the second connection point B of each Tesla coil 41, a phase shifter 31A is further provided that inputs the amount of phase change instructed by the phase shifter 31 from the phase control device 15 and changes the phase of the high-frequency signal input from the gap switch 13 based on the instructed amount of phase change.

[0073] Therefore, according to the air defense system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, since the input signals from the gap switch 13 can also be phase-aligned, there is an effect that an object can be destroyed more efficiently.

Explanation of Signs

[0074] 1 Air defense system 11 Power supply unit 12 High-frequency signal generator 13 Gap switch 14 First branch point 15 Phase control device 16 Second branch point 17 Combiner 18 Signal processing device 19 Main control unit 20 Capacitor 30 Coil-by-coil control unit 31 Phase shifter 31A Phase shifter 32 Amplifier 33 Circulator 34 Limiter 40 Array Tesla coil 41 Tesla coil 41A Primary coil 41B Secondary coil 41C Tertiary coil 41D Lead delay 41E Spherical antenna 50 Cooling machine 51 Inflow hole 52 Pressure valve A First connection point B Second connection point

Claims

【Claim 1】 A power supply unit that supplies alternating current power; A high-frequency signal generator that generates a high-frequency signal using the power supplied from the power supply unit; A gap switch connected to one of a pair of output terminals from the high-frequency signal generator, with two conductor ends spaced apart in the air; A capacitor connected to both of a pair of output terminals from the high-frequency signal generator; A coil-by-coil control unit having a phase shifter that changes the phase of the high frequency generated by the high-frequency signal generator by a specified amount; An array Tesla coil in which the number of turns of the coil increases in the order of the primary coil, the secondary coil, and the tertiary coil, the output from the high-frequency signal generator is input to a first connection point that is one end of the primary coil, the output from the gap switch is input to a second connection point that is the connection portion between the primary coil and the secondary coil, and a spherical sphere antenna is connected to the output side end of the tertiary coil via a rod-shaped lead delay; A phase control device that generates a phase change amount required for beam formation in a desired direction for each Tesla coil and outputs it to the corresponding phase shifter; A main control unit that generates and outputs a control signal for the high-frequency signal generator and a control signal for the phase control device; A phased array Tesla coil air defense system comprising the above.

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