US4078747A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Orbiting solar power station
Assignee: PHASER TELEPROPULSION Inc
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Filing: 1975-06-02
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Granted: 1978-03-14
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Expires: 1995-06-02
Abstract
Abstract The invention described herein is an orbiting solar powered, energy collecting, storage and transmitting station. Initially, a large array of solar cells collects and transforms radiant solar energy into moderate amounts of electrical current. This electrical current is fed into a large superconducting coil where it is gradually built up to very high values. The electrical energy is thereby converted and stored in the resulting magnetic field. This magnetic energy is extracted by drawing off the current at very high rates and used to energize a laser or microwave generator for wireless power transmission. Since the discharge of the superconducting coil can proceed at rates many times greater than the charging rate, the resulting beamed power can, over short time intervals, be many times greater than the rate of solar radiation falling on the solar array. Alternatively, the energy can be stored gradually in rotating flywheels for fast rate beaming.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael A. Minovitch
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 03:59
CPC Classifications
B; B64; B64G; B64G1/00; B64G1/22; B64G1/42; B64G1/425; B64G1/426; B64G1/428; B64G1/4282; B64G1/44; B64G1/443; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S136/00; Y10S136/291; Y10S136/292
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
84 words
An orbiting solar powered space station comprising: a structural frame; energy gathering assembly means mounted on the frame for continuously collecting and converting incident solar radiation into electrical power; a superconducting magnet for inductive energy storage mounted on the frame; means for charging said superconducting magnet by current generated by said energy gathering assembly means; means for discharging said superconducting magnet; transmitter means for intermittently coverting electrical power generated by dishcarging said superconducting magnet into unmodulated coherent electromagnetic radiation for beamed wireless power transmission.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
84 words
An orbiting solar powered space station comprising: a structural frame; energy gathering assembly means mounted on the frame for continuously collecting and converting incident solar radiation into electrical power; a superconducting magnet for inductive energy storage mounted on the frame; means for charging said superconducting magnet by current generated by said energy gathering assembly means; means for discharging said superconducting magnet; transmitter means for intermittently coverting electrical power generated by dishcarging said superconducting magnet into unmodulated coherent electromagnetic radiation for beamed wireless power transmission.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
40 words
An orbiting solar power space station as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for discharging said superconducting magnet discharges the magnet at a rate that is larger than the rate of generation from said energy gathering assembly means.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
35 words
A station as defined in claim 1 wherein the transmitter means for converting power into radiation comprises means for transmitting power to a receiver in the near field of an antenna of the transmitter means
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
18 words
A station as set forth in claim 1 wherein the superconducting energy storage magnet is a self-supporting dipole.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
90 words
A station as set forth in claim 4 wherein the supeconducting energy storage dipole comprises a plurality of high strength superconducting cables fabricated from a multi-filament collection of thin fibers having high tensile strength to density ratio and coated with a thin layer of superconducting material; said cables being reinforced by additional fibers having a higher tensile strength to density ratio than said coated fibers; said cables each having an equilteral triangular transverse cross-section; and said dipole having a solid hexagonal cross section with no empty spaces between adjacent cables.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
61 words
A superconducting dipole as set forth in claim 5 wherein the surface of said dipole is surrounded by superfuid helium bounded between the dipole's external surface and the internal side of a larger, co-centric torus; the external surface of said torus being coated with a material having a low coefficient of absorption for solar radiation and a high coefficient of emissivity.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
62 words
An orbiting solar power space station as set forth in claim 1 wherein said superconducting magnet is mounted on said frame by two mutually perpendicular pivot trunnions, said trunnions comprising two perpendicular rotation axes which allows said magnet to assume any attitude relative to said frame thereby obviating any torque that would be generated by interacting with the earth's natural magnetic field.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
35 words
An orbiting solar power station as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a plurality of solar radiation pressure vanes for maintaining the energy gathering assembly means in an attitude perpendicular to incident solar radiation.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
98 words
An orbiting solar power station as set forth in claim 1 wherein said transmitter means is maintained in a remote, spaced apart attitude from the structural frame supporting the energy gathering assembly means and superconducting magnet; and further comprising a flexible superconducting power transmission cable for conveying power from said superconducting magnetic energy storage system to said transmitter; and an attitude control system for said transmitter for maintaining attitude of the transmitter independent from the attitude of said energy gathering assembly means; said beam of radiation being propagated by a phased array transmitting antenna with electronic beam steering.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
102 words
A method of operating an orbiting solar power station comprising the steps of: continuously collecting solar radiation and transforming it into electric power; charging an energy storage system with said electric power at a relatively low rate over extended time periods and thereby accumulating large amounts of energy; intermittently discharging the energy storage system at a rate higher than the charging rate for generating a power greater than that generated by said energy gathering assembly means and converting the resulting electric power into unmodulated electromagnetic radiation for beamed wireless power transmission to a receiver in the near field of a transmitter antenna.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
102 words
A method of operating an orbiting solar power station comprising the steps of: continuously collecting solar radiation and transforming it into electric power; charging an energy storage system with said electric power at a relatively low rate over extended time periods and thereby accumulating large amounts of energy; intermittently discharging the energy storage system at a rate higher than the charging rate for generating a power greater than that generated by said energy gathering assembly means and converting the resulting electric power into unmodulated electromagnetic radiation for beamed wireless power transmission to a receiver in the near field of a transmitter antenna.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method as defined in claim 10 wherein the step of charging comprises generating a magnetic field in a superconducting magnetic dipole.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method as defined in claim 10 wherein the step of charging comprises spinning flywheel inertial energy storage units.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
80 words
A superconducting energy storage dipole comprising: a plurality of high strength superconducting cablesfabricated from a multi-filament collection of thin fibers having high tensile strength to density ratio and coated with a thin layer of superconducting material; said cables being reinforced by additional fibers having a higher tensile strength to density ratio than said coated fibers; said cables each having an equilateral triangular transverse cross-section; and said dipole having a solid hexagonal cross section with no empty spaces between adjacent cables.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
80 words
A superconducting energy storage dipole comprising: a plurality of high strength superconducting cablesfabricated from a multi-filament collection of thin fibers having high tensile strength to density ratio and coated with a thin layer of superconducting material; said cables being reinforced by additional fibers having a higher tensile strength to density ratio than said coated fibers; said cables each having an equilateral triangular transverse cross-section; and said dipole having a solid hexagonal cross section with no empty spaces between adjacent cables.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
61 words
A superconducting dipole as set forth in claim 13 wherein the surface of said dipole is surrounded by superfluid helium bounded between the dipole's external surface and the internal side of a larger, co-centric torus; the external surface of said torus being coated with a material having a low coefficient of absorption for solar radiation and a high coefficient of emissivity.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1981-03-13 | 1981-09-12 | 1982-03-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1985-03-13 | 1985-09-12 | 1986-03-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1989-03-13 | 1989-09-12 | 1990-03-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |