Lightning protection for spaced electrical bundles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9520705-B2
Application number	US-201314136918-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 20, 2013
Priority date	Sep 4, 2012
Publication date	Dec 13, 2016
Grant date	Dec 13, 2016

Abstract

A shielded power feeder system may include at least one unshielded power feeder conductor, and at least one grounded guard wire conductor positioned adjacent to the at least one unshielded power feeder conductor, the at least one unshielded power feeder conductor and the at least one grounded guard wire forming a bundle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A power feeder system shielded for protection from electromagnetic interference, the system comprising:
a bundle, the bundle including
a plurality of unshielded power feeder conductors; and
a plurality of grounded guard wire conductors, each of the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors being grounded at both ends, ones of the plurality of the grounded guard wire conductors spaced individually about the bundle and positioned adjacent and on both sides of each one of the plurality of the unshielded power feeder conductors, wherein each one of the plurality of the unshielded power feeder conductors is adjacent two different ones of the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors, so that during electromagnetic interference, the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors set up differential mode current paths that generate opposite electromagnetic fields that cancel a field from the electromagnetic interference.

2. The shielded power feeder system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors spaced about the bundle are spaced about a periphery of the bundle.

3. The shielded power feeder system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of unshielded power feeder conductors includes three unshielded power feeder conductors, and ones of the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors are positioned on both sides of each of the three unshielded power feeder conductors.

4. The shielded power feeder conductor of claim 3 , further comprising at least one spacer shaped to receive and hold the three power feeder conductors in a fixed, spaced relation to each other.

5. The shielded power feeder conductor of claim 4 , wherein the spacer is shaped to receive and hold the grounded guard wire conductors in a fixed, spaced relation to each other about the periphery of the bundle.

6. The shielded power feeder conductor of claim 5 , wherein the spacer includes a first plurality of rounded notches having constricted openings formed in an outer periphery, the first plurality of rounded notches shaped to receive and hold the three power feeder conductors in a fixed, spaced relation to each other about the periphery of the bundle.

7. The shielded power feeder conductor of claim 6 , wherein the spacer includes a second plurality of rounded notches having constricted openings formed in the outer periphery, the second plurality of rounded notches shaped to receive and hold the ones of the grounded guard wire conductors in a fixed, spaced relation to each other about the periphery of the bundle.

8. The shielded power feeder conductor of claim 7 , wherein the first plurality of rounded notches and the second plurality of rounded notches are spaced evenly about the periphery relative to each other.

9. The shielded power feeder conductor of claim 8 , wherein the rounded notches of the first plurality of rounded notches and the rounded notches of the second plurality of rounded notches are spaced about 40° apart from each other about the periphery of the spacer.

10. The shielded power feeder conductor of claim 5 , further comprising a shielded neutral conductor positioned adjacent at least one of the power feeder conductors at within the periphery of the bundle; and with the spacer including an opening shaped to enclose the neutral conductor.

11. The shielded power feeder conductor of claim 10 , wherein the neutral conductor is positioned in a center of the bundle.

12. The shielded power feeder conductor of claim 11 , wherein the spacer includes a central opening shaped to receive the neutral conductor.

13. The shielded power feeder conductor of claim 12 , wherein the neutral conductor is spaced from the three unshielded power feeder conductors.

14. The shielded power feeder conductor of claim 13 , wherein the three unshielded power feeder conductors are spaced evenly about the neutral conductor.

15. An aircraft, comprising:
a power feeder system shielded for protection from electromagnetic interference, the system forming a bundle, the bundle including
a plurality of unshielded power feeder conductors; and
a plurality of grounded guard wire conductors, each of the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors being grounded at both ends, ones of the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors positioned on both sides of each one of the plurality of unshielded power feeder conductors, wherein each one of the plurality of the unshielded power feeder conductors is adjacent two different ones of the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors, so that during the electromagnetic interference, the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors set up differential mode current paths that generate opposite electromagnetic fields that cancel a field from the electromagnetic interference.

16. The aircraft of claim 15 , further comprising a spacer having a first plurality of rounded notches with restricted openings, the rounded notches of the first plurality of rounded notches shaped to receive and retain the plurality of power feeder conductors therein; and a second plurality of rounded notches with restricted openings, the rounded notches of the second plurality of rounded notches shaped to receive and retain the plurality of grounded guard wires therein; the notches of the first plurality of notches and the second plurality of notches spaced evenly about a periphery of the spacer.

17. A method for forming a power feeder system shielded for protection from electromagnetic interference, the shielded power feeder conductor forming a bundle, the method comprising:
positioning a plurality of unshielded power feeder conductors in a spaced-apart relation;
positioning a plurality of grounded guard wire conductors in a spaced-apart relation, and grounding each of the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors at both ends;
positioning ones of the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors adjacent each of the plurality of unshielded power feeder conductors in a spaced-apart relation about the periphery of the bundle and on both sides of each of the plurality of unshielded power feeder conductors, wherein each one of the plurality of the unshielded power feeder conductors is adjacent two different ones of the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors, so that during the electromagnetic interference, the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors set up differential mode current paths that generate opposite electromagnetic fields that cancel a field from the electromagnetic interference; and
forming the bundle of the plurality of power feeder conductors and the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors by fixing the spacing between the plurality of power feeder conductors and the plurality of grounded guard wire conductors.

18. The shielded power feeder system of claim 1 , wherein each of the grounded guard wire conductors is spaced from its adjacent power feeder conductor.

19. The aircraft of claim 15 , wherein each of the grounded guard wire conductors is spaced from its adjacent power feeder conductor.

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Trifeletti Phillip S
• Erdelyan John Kemp
• Dosch Michael C

Classifications

• B64D2221/00

  Electric power distribution systems onboard aircraft · CPC title

• Y10T29/49117

  Conductor or circuit manufacturing · CPC title

• H02G13/40 Primary

  Connection to earth · CPC title

• B64D45/02 Primary

  Lightning protectors; Static dischargers · CPC title

• H01R43/20

  for assembling or disassembling contact members with insulating base, case or sleeve · CPC title