Lightning detection and prediction alarm device
US6828911B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 20, 2003 |
| Grant date | Dec 7, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 30, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01W1/16
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention features a system and method for detecting and predicting lightning strikes via specialized electrostatic detection using highly sensitive atmospheric static electric detection, interpretation, and alarm signal distribution. The system employs a detection means which includes a designated lightning sensor having a surface which carries a high impedance static voltage reference charge. This reference charge, called the pilot voltage, is a static charge delivered to the lightning sensor at very low currents. The pilot voltage influences the relative charge in the molecules found in the atmosphere immediately surrounding the lightning sensor. There is a gradual transition in the charge between the lightning sensor's surface and the molecules in the atmosphere that surrounds the sensor. It is this varying molecular state that creates a modulation process which the present invention uses to determine a lighting strike.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.