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US4032959A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Shielded superconducting inductor device

Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
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Filing: 1974-12-18
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Granted: 1977-06-28
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Expires: 1994-12-18
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Abstract

Abstract An inductor device having a superconducting coil winding capable of maintaining a relatively large current flowing therethrough, and a normal conducting shield winding surrounding the superconducting coil. The superconducting coil and the shield are electrically connected in parallel with the shield functioning to maintain the current and the magnetic field in the superconducting coil substantially constant. The superconducting inductor device can be used to store energy and to return the stored energy to an energy consuming load over a relatively short period without incurring large losses in the superconducting material. This result is obtained by making the self inductance of the shield substantially equal to the mutual inductance between the shield and the superconducting coil, or by inserting a controlled compensating voltage source in series with the shield, so that pulse currents are conducted by the shield. Proper spacing of the shield windings around the superconducting coil will result in substantially no magnetic field present in the coil due to current in the shield.

Inventors

  • 👤 Roger W. Boom
  • 👤 Ronald W. Moses, Jr.
  • 👤 Harold A. Peterson
  • 👤 Warren C. Young

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-23 21:54
CPC Classifications
H; H02; H02J; H02J15/00; H01; H01F; H01F27/00; H01F27/34; H01F27/36; H01F27/363; H01F27/42; H01F6/00; H01F6/006; H01F6/008; Y; Y02; Y02E; Y02E40/00; Y02E40/60; Y10; Y10S; Y10S336/00; Y10S336/01; Y10S505/00; Y10S505/825; Y10S505/872; Y10S505/88

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim 111 words
A shielded superconducting inductor device comprising: (a) an inductive coil having at least one turn of conductor, said conductor being composed of a superconducting material; (b) a magnetic shield having at least one turn of normal conducting material, said magnetic shield and said inductive coil being electrically connected together in parallel so as to be mutually aiding; and (c) the self inductance of said magnetic shield being substantially equal to the mutual inductance between said magnetic shield and said inductive coil, substantially all of the time-varying currents impressed on the shielded superconducting inductor device being conducted by said shield and the time-varying current conducted by said superconducting inductor being substantially zero.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 111 words
A shielded superconducting inductor device comprising: (a) an inductive coil having at least one turn of conductor, said conductor being composed of a superconducting material; (b) a magnetic shield having at least one turn of normal conducting material, said magnetic shield and said inductive coil being electrically connected together in parallel so as to be mutually aiding; and (c) the self inductance of said magnetic shield being substantially equal to the mutual inductance between said magnetic shield and said inductive coil, substantially all of the time-varying currents impressed on the shielded superconducting inductor device being conducted by said shield and the time-varying current conducted by said superconducting inductor being substantially zero.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 29 words
The shielded superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 1, including means for maintaining said inductive coil at superconducting temperatures and for maintaining said magnetic shield at cryogenic temperatures.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 77 words
The shielded superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 1, wherein said inductive coil has a plurality of turns of superconducting material and said shield has a plurality of turns of normal conducting material, the turns of said magnetic shield being disposed in spaced relationship substantially surrounding said inductive coil, and wherein the spacing between said magnetic shield turns is selected to minimize the magnetic field in said inductive coil due to current in said magnetic shield.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 78 words
The shielded superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 3, wherein the turns of said magnetic shield are substantially parallel to and substantially surround the turns of said inductive coil, and wherein the spacing between said shield turns, at any portion of the shield, is inversely proportional to the magnitude of the magnetic field due to current in the shield which is tangential to the portion of the shield and substantially normal to the turns of the shield.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 30 words
The shielded superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 1, wherein the conductor of said inductive coil comprises a composite conductor having a superconducting material embedded in a normal conductor.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 55 words
The shielded superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 1, including a compensating voltage source electrically connected in series with said shield, the voltage across said voltage source in the direction of shield current being controlled by the shield current to be substantially equal to the negative of the resistive voltage drop across said shield.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 47 words
The shielded superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 1, including a compensating voltage source electrically connected in series with said shield, the voltage across said voltage source being controlled by the current in said inductive coil to minimize changes in the current in said inductive coil.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 179 words
A shielded superconducting inductor device comprising: (a) an inductive coil having a plurality of turns of conductor wound substantially parallel to one another to form a coil, said conductor being composed of a superconducting material; (b) a magnetic shield composed of a plurality of turns of normal conducting material disposed substantially parallel to the turns of said inductive coil and being spaced surrounding said inductive coil with the spacing between said turns in said magnetic shield being selected to minimize the magnetic field in said inductive coil due to current in said shield, said magnetic shield and said inductive coil being electrically connected together in parallel so as to be mutually aiding; and (c) said magnetic shield having the same number of turns as said inductive coil to make the self inductance of said magnetic shield substantially equal to the mutual inductance between said shield and said inductive coil, substantially all of the time-varying currents impressed on the shielded superconducting inductor device being conducted by said shield and the time-varying current conducted by said superconducting inductor being substantially zero.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 179 words
A shielded superconducting inductor device comprising: (a) an inductive coil having a plurality of turns of conductor wound substantially parallel to one another to form a coil, said conductor being composed of a superconducting material; (b) a magnetic shield composed of a plurality of turns of normal conducting material disposed substantially parallel to the turns of said inductive coil and being spaced surrounding said inductive coil with the spacing between said turns in said magnetic shield being selected to minimize the magnetic field in said inductive coil due to current in said shield, said magnetic shield and said inductive coil being electrically connected together in parallel so as to be mutually aiding; and (c) said magnetic shield having the same number of turns as said inductive coil to make the self inductance of said magnetic shield substantially equal to the mutual inductance between said shield and said inductive coil, substantially all of the time-varying currents impressed on the shielded superconducting inductor device being conducted by said shield and the time-varying current conducted by said superconducting inductor being substantially zero.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 58 words
The superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 8, wherein the spacing between said shield turns, at any portion of the shield, is inversely proportional to the magnitude of the magnetic field tangential to the portion of the shield and substantially normal to the turns of the shield and which is due to the current in the shield.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 29 words
The shielded superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 8, including means for maintaining said inductive coil at superconducting temperatures and for maintaining said magnetic shield at cryogenic temperatures.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 30 words
The shielded superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 8, wherein the conductor of said inductive coil comprises a composite conductor having a superconducting material embedded in a normal conductor.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 55 words
The shielded superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 8, including a compensating voltage source electrically connected in series with said shield, the voltage across said voltage source in the direction of shield current being controlled by the shield current to be substantially equal to the negative of the resistive voltage drop across said shield.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 47 words
The shielded superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 8, including a compensating voltage source electrically connected in series with said shield, the voltage across said voltage source being controlled by the current in said inductive coil to minimize changes in the current in said inductive coil.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim 137 words
A shielded superconducting inductor device comprising: (a) an inductive coil having a plurality of turns of conductor wound substantially parallel to one another to form a coil, said conductor being composed of a superconducting material; (b) a magnetic shield composed of a plurality of turns of normal conductive material disposed substantially parallel to the turns of said inductive coil and being spaced surrounding said inductive coil, with the spacing between said turns in said magnetic shield being selected to minimize the magnetic field in said inductive coil due to current in said shield, said magnetic shield and said inductive coil being electrically connected together in parallel; and (c) a compensating voltage source electrically connected in series with said shield, the voltage across said voltage source being controlled to minimize changes in the current in said inductive coil.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim 137 words
A shielded superconducting inductor device comprising: (a) an inductive coil having a plurality of turns of conductor wound substantially parallel to one another to form a coil, said conductor being composed of a superconducting material; (b) a magnetic shield composed of a plurality of turns of normal conductive material disposed substantially parallel to the turns of said inductive coil and being spaced surrounding said inductive coil, with the spacing between said turns in said magnetic shield being selected to minimize the magnetic field in said inductive coil due to current in said shield, said magnetic shield and said inductive coil being electrically connected together in parallel; and (c) a compensating voltage source electrically connected in series with said shield, the voltage across said voltage source being controlled to minimize changes in the current in said inductive coil.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim 36 words
The shielded superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 14, wherein the voltage across said voltage source is controlled by the current in said inductive coil to minimize changes in the current in said inductive coil.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim 33 words
The shielded superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 14, wherein the voltage across said voltage source is controlled by the shield current to minimize changes in the current in said inductive coil.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim 30 words
The shielded superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 14, wherein the conductor of said inductive coil comprises a composite conductor having a superconducting material embedded in a normal conductor.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim 29 words
The shielded superconducting inductor device as specified in claim 14, including means for maintaining said inductive coil at superconducting temperatures and for maintaining said magnetic shield at cryogenic temperatures.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US3443255A Cited
US3579035A Cited
US3671902A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1980-06-27 1980-12-27 1981-06-28 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1984-06-27 1984-12-27 1985-06-28 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1988-06-27 1988-12-27 1989-06-28 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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