The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 27, 2005
Filed:
Jul. 09, 2003
John Robert Beattie, Westlake Village, CA (US);
Prakash C. Soni, Hawthorne, CA (US);
John Robert Beattie, Westlake Village, CA (US);
Prakash C. Soni, Hawthorne, CA (US);
The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL (US);
Abstract
An apparatus and method for balancing the emission current of neutralizers in ion thruster arrays is disclosed that allows a single power processing unit (PPU) to be used to drive the array. A typical embodiment includes at least one voltage-regulated power supply, each voltage-regulated power supply for driving a common element in each of the plurality of ion thrusters, the common element in each of the plurality of ion thrusters being coupled together at a common point, and a current balance circuit for providing a substantially balanced current to each neutralizer cathode of the plurality of ion thrusters by providing a voltage to the neutralizer cathodes relative to the common point.