Patent Publication Number: US-2016228894-A1

Title: Insulating electrification plate ferrite applicator for a dipole lightning rod

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2015-0018674 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Feb. 6, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to an insulating electrification plate ferrite applicator for a dipole lightning rod and, more particularly, to an insulating electrification plate ferrite applicator for a dipole lightning rod, wherein a ferrite coating layer for increasing a corona pre-discharge current and lowering a corona discharge starting voltage with respect to a specific element forming the dipole lightning rod is formed. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In general, a lightning protection device is installed at the top of a building in order to safely discharge charges, accumulated on a thundercloud, to the earth by forming a discharge path between the thundercloud and the earth. 
     A conventional dipole lightning protection device is described below with reference to  FIG. 1 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the conventional dipole lightning protection device includes a fixing unit  31  installed at the top of a building and connected to earth means, a rod  30  configured to have one end fixed to the fixing unit  31  electrically charged by the charges of the earth, a rod cap  32  coupled with the other end of the rod  30  and configured to guide the falling of a thunderbolt, an insulator  34  and metallic electrification plates  37  and  38  coupled with one side of the rod  30  in the length direction thereof, and electrification means  45  disposed under the electrification plates  37  and  38 . The rod  30  is embedded at the center of an electrification tube  45   a.    
     The electrification means  45  includes the electrification tube  45   a  configured to have a tubular shape, have the rod  30  penetrate the center of the electrification tube  45   a,  and have a needle-shaped tip  45   b  formed on the part of the rod  30  and a first cap  45   c  and a second cap  45   d  configured to couple both ends of the electrification tube  45   a  with the rod  30 . The second cap  45   d  is closely fixed to the insulator  34  by a stopper  46 . 
     A dipole lightning protection device, such as that illustrated in  FIG. 1 , is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 0856719 that was invented by Jung Yong-ki who is the same inventor as that of the present invention. 
     However, the conventional dipole lightning protection device configured as described above is problematic in that a preliminary discharge corona discharge start voltage is irregularly generated between the electrification plates  37  and  38  (also called “discharge-assistant members”) electrically charges when a thundercloud approaches and the rod  30  connected to charges accumulated on the electrification tube  45   a  and the earth. 
     In particular, it was found that the conventional dipole lightning protection device is limited in increasing a preliminary discharge current after the preliminary discharge start.
     Accordingly, the inventor has developed a plurality of technologies related to the dipole lightning protection device and had some patent rights regarding the dipole lightning protection device. In a process of developing various structures for rapidly discharging charges accumulated on a thundercloud to the earth after a preliminary discharge is started in a lightning protection device using a dipole, the inventor has published that the effect of “a magnetic field on the start voltage and current of a corona discharge is based on a cyclone motion according to a Lorentz force” through a collection of papers called “The effect of the magnetic fields on the corona discharge” in the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers Thesis Vol. 15 No. 3 (published on May 2001, a writer Jae-yun Park including 2 persons). Furthermore, the inventor has discovered that a magnetic field affects a corona discharge through “Analysis of the electromagnetic phenomena in vacuum interrupter with axial magnetic field type, Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Vol. 16. 2003. 10. 10” to which a technology for extinguishing an arc generated between electrodes from which a corona discharge is generated when magnetic fields are applied between the electrodes has been applied. Furthermore, the inventor discovered that a magnetic field is generated when the falling of a thunderbolt is introduced into a flat plate through “Certification of aircraft system and avionics equipment against lightning indirect effect” (Aerospace Engineering and Technology Vol. 4 No. 1, Sang-ho Han).   

     Furthermore, the inventor has discovered that phenomenon is generated in which assuming that the size of an electrical dipole according to an electric dual layer between electrification electrodes having a dielectric interposed therebetween is “d” and a dipole moment is P(t)=q(t)d, a current considers a dipole having a current of I=q=p/d to be as a pair of dot charges and thus flows from one dot charge to the other dot charge. 
     Under the aforementioned theoretical backgrounds, the inventor has discovered that in such a magnetic field and dielectric, an electric dipole generated by the electric dual layer is one of factors that affect the corona preliminary discharge generated in the dipole lightning rod when a thundercloud approaches. In order to increase the corona pre-discharge current and lower the corona discharge voltage in the dipole lightning protection devices invented by and issued to the inventor, the inventor has developed and manufactured a coating layer or film made of magnetic material powder having a dielectric property and binder resin, such as epoxy. Accordingly, the inventor has discovered through several hundreds of experiments that if the coating layer is coated on the electrostatic induction body (e.g., the electrification plate or the electrification tube or both) of the dipole lightning protection device or a film layer is formed using the coating layer, the corona pre-discharge current and the corona preliminary discharge voltage are reduced. Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus capable of uniformly automating a coating task for the electrostatic induction body. 
     PRIOR ART DOCUMENT 
     Patent Document 
     Korean Patent No. 0856719 (Aug. 29, 2008) 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an insulating electrification plate ferrite applicator for a dipole lightning rod, wherein a ferrite coating layer for increasing a corona pre-discharge current and lowering a corona discharge starting voltage with respect to a specific element forming the dipole lightning rod is formed. 
     In an embodiment, an insulating electrification plate ferrite applicator for a dipole lightning rod includes a compression air generation unit configured to generate and charge compressed air, a storage tank connected to the compression air generation unit and configured to store a ferrite coating material, an applicator body equipped with a turntable configured to rotatably support an electrification plate and an operation control unit, a spray nozzle unit installed on top of the applicator body and configured to spray and supply the ferrite coating material, and a location tracking unit configured to guide the spray nozzle unit so that the spray nozzle unit performs a straight-line reciprocating motion horizontally and vertically. 
     The spray nozzle unit may include a nozzle body configured to have spray units formed at the bottom of the nozzle body, injection valves installed on both sides of the nozzle body and configured to have the ferrite coating material injected into the injection valves, and an injection control unit installed in the nozzle body and configured to control the amount of injection and spray intensity of an injected ferrite coating material. 
     The location tracking unit may include an elevation movement member installed in the rear of the spray nozzle unit and configured to move the spray nozzle unit up and down, a horizontal movement member installed in the rear of the elevation movement member and configured to horizontally move the elevation movement member in a straight line, and a fixing support post configured to support the horizontal movement member. 
     A driving motor may be installed at one end of each of the elevation movement member and the horizontal movement member. 
     When the applicator body is viewed at the front, the turntable may be installed on top of the applicator body on one side of the applicator body, and the spray nozzle unit may be placed at the center of the applicator body. 
     The storage tank may include a first tank and second tank which are separately configured and in which the ferrite coating material is formed of a mixture of powder and a resin material. 
     The operation control unit may include a power switch, a plurality of switches for manipulating operation mode, an emergency stop, and valve control mode, and a monitor for displaying the operating state of the switches. 
     The ferrite applicator may further include a press for pressurization installed at a location spaced apart from the applicator body at a specific interval and configured to pressurize two electrification plates that overlap with each other in a surface contact state in an integrated structure. In this case, the ferrite coating material is interposed between the two electrification plates. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of a conventional dipole lightning protection device; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an insulating electrification plate ferrite applicator for a dipole lightning rod according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the insulating electrification plate ferrite applicator of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of a partial enlarged view illustrating a press for pressurization illustrated in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  a partial enlarged view illustrating the configuration of a spray nozzle unit and location tracking unit of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a front view illustrating the action of the location tracking unit of  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 7  is a front view illustrating the action of the spray nozzle unit of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
       
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 100: compression air generation unit 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 200: storage tank 
                 210: first tank 
               
               
                   
                 220: second tank 
                 300: applicator body 
               
               
                   
                 310: turntable 
                 320: operation control unit 
               
               
                   
                 400: spray nozzle unit 
                 500: location tracking unit 
               
               
                   
                 600: press for pressurization 
                 700: shelf frame 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 11, 12: electrification plate 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 2 to 7 . 
     Prior to a description, in the present invention, a term “coating” should be construed as including all of terms “cladding”, “stacking”, and “adhesion” which are collectively called “coating”, for convenience of description. A layer formed by “coating”, “cladding”, “stacking”, or “adhesion” is called a “coating layer.” 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2 to 7 , the insulating electrification plate ferrite applicator for a dipole lightning rod according to an embodiment of the present invention is used to previously coat a ferrite coating material on a metal electrification plate  11  before two metal electrification plates  11  and  12  of elements that form the dipole lightning rod are coalesced. The ferrite applicator may be configured to include a compression air generation unit  100  configured to generate and charge compressed air, a storage tank  200  connected to the compression air generation unit  100  and configured to store a ferrite coating material, an applicator body  300  equipped with a turntable  310  for rotatably supporting the electrification plate  11  and an operation control unit  320 , a spray nozzle unit  400  installed on top of the applicator body  300  and configured to spray and supply the ferrite coating material, and a location tracking unit  500  configured to guide the spray nozzle unit  400  so that it performs a straight-line reciprocating motion horizontally and vertically. 
     First, the compression air generation unit  100  generates compressed air using an externally electrified current. The generated compressed air is used to drive an apparatus using a force of pressure. 
     The compression air generation unit  100  may be configured to have a box-shaped cabinet structure having a specific size. The cabinet may include a compressor (not illustrated) for compressing air, an air storage unit (not illustrated) for storing the compressed air, and a pressure check valve (not illustrated) for checking a change of pressure within the air storage unit in real time. 
     The storage tank  200  is connected to the compression air generation unit  100 , and functions to store a ferrite coating material. 
     The storage tank  200  may include a first tank  210  and a second tank  220  for storing the ferrite coating material in a mixed state of powder and a resin material. 
     More specifically, in the first tank  210 , ferrite powder, that is, magnetic material powder that has a particle size of 0.95 μm and includes Fe2O3, Ni, and Zn as major components wherein Fe2O3, Ni, Zn, and other impurities respectively have optimal composition ratios of 90 wt %, 8 wt %, 1 wt %, and 1 wt %, general-purpose epoxy resin for a binder, and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), that is, a solvent, are sufficiently agitated for 20 minutes, thereby manufacturing a first coating solution. 
     When the first coating solution is manufactured, in the mixture ratio of the general-purpose epoxy resin, the ferrite powder, and MEK, the general-purpose epoxy resin is 22.7 wt %, the ferrite powder is 68.2 wt %, and MEK is 9.1 wt %. 
     Furthermore, in the second tank  220 , ferrite powder, that is, magnetic material powder that has a particle size of 0.95 and includes Fe2O3, Ni, and Zn as major components wherein Fe2O3, Ni, Zn, and other impurities respectively have composition ratios of 90 wt %, 8 wt %, 1 wt %, and 1 wt %, bisphenol A type epoxy resin, and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) are sufficiently agitated for 20 minutes, thereby manufacturing a second coating solution 
     When the second coating solution is manufactured, in the mixture ratio of the bisphenol A type epoxy resin, the ferrite powder, and MEK, the general-purpose epoxy resin is 22.7 wt %, the ferrite powder is 68.2 wt %, and MEK is 9.1 wt %. 
     The storage tank  200  according to an embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated as including the first tank  210  and the second tank  220  that are separately configured, and the first coating solution and the second coating solution have been illustrated as being manufactured with different composition ratios. This is for efficiency of a ferrite coating layer work, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, only one of the first coating solution and the second coating solution may be selected and used. 
     The ferrite coating material stored in the storage tank  200  is supplied to the spray nozzle unit  400  by air pressure supplied by the compression air generation unit  100 . 
     The applicator body  300  is a work structure for forming a ferrite coating layer with respect to the metal electrification plate  11  of the dipole lightning rod. The turntable  310  for rotatably supporting the electrification plate  11  and the spray nozzle unit  400  are installed on top of the applicator body  300 . The operation control unit  320  for controlling the operations of the elements is formed on the front of the applicator body  300 . 
     The turntable  310  is a structure corresponding to the formation of the electrification plate  11  and is rotated by a motor (not illustrated) installed within the applicator body  300  (refer to  FIG. 7 ) 
     That is, when the electrification plate  11  is placed on the turntable  310 , the turntable  310  rotates at constant rotating speed. In this case, while the spray nozzle unit  400  installed over the turntable  310  moves, it sprays the ferrite coating material so that a coating layer is formed on the entire circumference of the electrification plate  11  in the circumferential direction thereof. 
     Furthermore, when the applicator body  300  is viewed at the front, the turntable  310  may be installed on top of the applicator body  300  on one side thereof, and the spray nozzle unit  400  may be placed at the center of the applicator body  300 . 
     The reason for this is to prevent a defective product and damage to devices attributable to an impact of a collision between the electrification plate  11  and the spray nozzle unit  400  that is generated when the electrification plate  11  approaches the spray nozzle unit  400  in a process of placing the electrification plate  11  on the turntable  310  or detaching the electrification plate  11  from the turntable  310  if the turntable  310  and the spray nozzle unit  400  are placed in the same line. 
     The operation control unit  320  may be configured to include power switch, a plurality of switches for manipulating operation mode, an emergency stop, and valve control mode, and a monitor  321  for displaying the operating state of the switches. 
     Furthermore, the ferrite applicator may further include a press for pressurization  600  placed at a location spaced apart from the applicator body  300  at a specific interval and configured to pressurize specific electrification plate  12  using constant pressure in the state in which the specific electrification plate  12  has been placed on the ferrite coating material coated on the electrification plate  11 . 
     That is, the press for pressurization  600  is installed at a location spaced apart from the applicator body  300  at a specific interval. The press for pressurization  600  pressurizes the two electrification plates  11  and  12 , overlapping with each other in a surface contact state, in an integrated structure. In this case, the ferrite coating material is interposed between the two electrification plates  11  and  12 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the press for pressurization  600  may include a table  610  configured to support the electrification plates  11  and  12 , an upper mold  620  disposed over the table  610 , a cylinder rod  630  configured to move the upper mold  620  up and down using constant pressure, and an operation switch  640  configured to drive the cylinder rod  630 . 
     The cylinder rod  630  is driven by pressure supplied by the compression air generation unit  100 . 
     The ferrite applicator may be configured to further include a shelf frame  700  for supporting the applicator body  300  and the press for pressurization  600  as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     The spray nozzle unit  400  is disposed on top of the applicator body  300 , and functions to spray the ferrite coating material from the storage tank  200  on the electrification plate  11 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the spray nozzle unit  400  may include a nozzle body  410  configured to have spray units  411  formed at the bottom thereof, injection valves  420  disposed in the ends of the nozzle body  410  on both sides thereof and configured to have the ferrite coating material injected therein, and an injection control unit  430  installed in the nozzle body  410  and configured to control the amount of injection and spray intensity of an injected ferrite coating material. 
     That is, when the ferrite coating material is injected into the nozzle body  410  through the injection valves  420 , the injection control unit  430  operates and controls the amount of injection and spray intensity of the ferrite coating material in accordance with the size of the electrification plate  11 . The ferrite coating material controlled as described above is discharged with constant pressure through the spray units  411  of the nozzle body  410 . 
     The injection control unit  430  also performs its control action by pressure supplied by the compression air generation unit  100 . 
     Furthermore, the location tracking unit  500  is disposed in the rear of the spray nozzle unit  400 , and functions to guide the spray nozzle unit  400  so that it performs a straight-line reciprocating motion horizontally and vertically. 
     That is, the location tracking unit  500  moves the spray nozzle unit  400  to the turntable  310  that supports the electrification plate  11  and also moves the spray nozzle unit  400  downward from the location, spaced apart from the electrification plate  11  at a specific height, in the tilt direction of the electrification plate  11 . 
     More specifically, the location tracking unit  500  may be configured to include an elevation movement member  510  disposed in the rear of the spray nozzle unit  400  and configured to move the spray nozzle unit  400  up and down, a horizontal movement member  520  disposed in the rear of the elevation movement member  510  and configured to horizontally move the elevation movement member  510  in a straight line, and a fixing support post  530  configured to support the horizontal movement member  520 . 
     Furthermore, driving motors  511  and  521  are respectively installed at the ends of the elevation movement member  510  and the horizontal movement member  520 . 
     That is, the driving motor  521  installed in the horizontal movement member  520  functions to horizontally move the elevation movement member  510  in a straight line. The driving motor  511  installed in the elevation movement member  510  functions to move the spray nozzle unit  400  up and down in a straight line. 
     As described above, the ferrite applicator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the applicator body  300  equipped with the turntable  310 , the spray nozzle unit configured to guide the ferrite coating material so that it is sprayed on the electrification plate  11 , and the location tracking unit. Accordingly, there are advantages in that a ferrite coating task for increasing a corona pre-discharge current and lowering a corona preliminary discharge voltage can be automated and uniformly performed and the reliability and productivity of a task can be significantly improved.