Patent ID: 6069314
Filing Date: 2000-05-30
Classification: H02G

Abstract:
An apparatus for protecting objects in the vicinity of said apparatus from being struck by lightning, said apparatus comprising:a lightning rod having a tip and a base opposite said tip, said lightning rod being electrically connected to ground at said base;an ionizer comprising said lightning rod and a plurality of spaced-apart metallic points held at a fixed potential and electrically insulated from said lightning rod, said plurality of spaced-apart metallic points forming an array substantially coextensive with a length of said lightning rod and cylindrically disposed about the length of said lightning rod; andan ion accelerator having an upper metallic structure and a lower metallic structure, said upper metallic structure being closer to said tip of said lightning rod than said lower metallic structure, said ionizer disposed between said upper metallic structure of said ion accelerator and said lower metallic structure of said ion accelerator, said ionizer being disposed near and about said lightning rod.