TW202340754A - Lightning protection system - Google Patents

Abstract

A lightning protection system (100) for protecting electric equipment (5) from lightning strikes comprises at least one processor and a memory that stores a program to be executed by the at least one processor. The at least one processor receives, in accordance with the program, information regarding at least one thundercloud approaching the electric equipment to be protected. The at least one processor uses the received information and sets the position where a conductive channel will develop in each thundercloud and the order of lightning clouds where the conductive channel will develop.

Description

Lightning protection system

This disclosure is about lightning protection systems.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-151866 (Patent Document 1) discloses a lightning detection method that predicts the probability of thunder based on the charge distribution in the thundercloud and the ground potential change distribution of the thundercloud, becoming the largest location on the ground and among the clouds at that time. The location of the discharge target and the direction of the discharge current. ＜Prior technical documents＞ ＜Patent documents＞

<Patent Document 1> Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-151866

＜Problem to be solved by the invention＞

According to the method described in Patent Document 1, although information such as the location where lightning is most likely to occur can be obtained, there is still a concern that lightning on electrical equipment cannot be prevented before it happens.

The present disclosure was developed to solve the above problems. The purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a lightning protection system that can prevent lightning strikes on electrical equipment before they occur by neutralizing the charges of thunder clouds approaching the electrical equipment. ＜Means used to solve the problem＞

A lightning protection system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is used to protect electrical equipment during lightning strikes. The lightning protection system includes: at least one processor; and a memory storing a program executed by the at least one processor. At least one processor is programmed to receive information about at least one thundercloud approaching the electrical equipment of the protected object. At least one processor uses the received information to set the position of each thundercloud to expand the conductive channel and the order of the thunderclouds to expand the conductive channel. ＜Effects of the invention＞

According to the present disclosure, thunderclouds approaching electrical equipment develop conductive channels and induce lightning discharges, so that lightning strikes on electrical equipment can be prevented before they occur.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same part or the corresponding part in the figure is attached with the same reference numeral, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

First embodiment ＜System configuration＞ Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall structure of the lightning protection system 100 according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the lightning protection system 100 of the first embodiment is a system for protecting electrical equipment to be protected from lightning. FIG. 1 illustrates a wind farm 5 installed offshore as electrical equipment to be protected. The lightning protection system 100 is configured to neutralize the charges accumulated in each thundercloud 6 by inducing lightning discharge when at least one thundercloud 6 occurring at sea approaches the wind farm 5 . Thereby, each thundercloud 6 can be prevented from reaching the wind farm 5, so that lightning strikes to the wind farm 5 can be prevented before they occur.

As shown in Figure 1, the lightning protection system 100 includes: an aircraft 4, a control device 1, and a server 2. The aircraft 4 is connected to the control device 1 and the server 2 through wireless communication, thereby being able to communicate with the control device 1 and the server 2 .

Aircraft 4 typically includes an airplane. The so-called aircraft refers to a fixed-wing aircraft including a power plant for propulsion. However, the so-called "aircraft" in this specification is not limited to an airplane, but broadly refers to a concept that includes all mobile objects that can fly in the atmosphere. Therefore, the aircraft 4 may also be a rotary wing aircraft such as a helicopter or a compound helicopter including a fixed wing and a rotary wing.

The aircraft 4 is configured to fly in an unmanned state. Specifically, if the aircraft 4 receives various instructions S2 from the control device 1 through wireless communication, it controls the propulsion power device according to the received instructions S2, thereby generating propulsion force. The instruction S2 given by the control device 1 includes instructions regarding the flight path 7 of the aircraft 4 . Aircraft 4 is an embodiment corresponding to the "first aircraft".

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the schematic structure of the aircraft 4. As shown in Figure 2, the aircraft 4 includes: a wire 401, a charge detector 402, and at least one lightning rod 403.

The wire 401 is formed of conductive material. The wire 401 is usually stored inside the aircraft body and can be deployed to the outside of the aircraft body while the aircraft 4 is in flight. By the expansion of the wire 401, a conductive channel is developed in the atmosphere. As will be described later, the conductive channel is configured to destroy insulation in the atmosphere and induce lightning discharges within the thundercloud 6 or between the thundercloud 6 and the sea.

At least one lightning rod 403 is provided on the body of the aircraft 4 . In the example in Figure 2, a plurality of lightning rods 403 are respectively installed on the main body, main wing and tail wing of the aircraft body.

Thundercloud 6 is a cloud that induces strong charge separation inside, and has a layer in which positive charges are accumulated and a layer in which negative charges are accumulated. In the example in Figure 1, Thundercloud 6 has a three-layer structure. Specifically, there is a positively charged layer on the sea, a negatively charged layer above it, and a positively charged layer above it.

The charge detector 402 is installed at the front end of the body of the aircraft 4 and is configured to detect the charge distribution inside the thundercloud 6 while the aircraft 4 is flying. For example, the charge detector 402 measures the electric field of space and infers the charge distribution within the thundercloud 6 based on the measurement results. It is not limited to this, and the charge distribution can be detected using a conventional technique described in Patent Document 1 and the like. The charge detector 402 outputs the estimation result of the charge distribution to the control unit (not shown) of the aircraft 4 . In addition, the charge detector 402 includes the function of a lightning rod. In addition, the installation location of the charge detector 402 is not limited to the front end portion of the body.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the aircraft 4. As shown in FIG. 3 , the aircraft 4 further includes a control unit 400 , a wireless communication device 405 , a driving unit 406 , and a propulsion mechanism 407 .

The wireless communication device 405 exchanges various data with the control device 1 and the server 2 respectively through wireless communication. Specifically, the wireless communication device 405 receives various instructions transmitted by the control device 1 . The wireless communication device 405 transmits various information including the identification information of the aircraft 4 and the position information of the aircraft 4 to the control device 1 . In addition, the wireless communication device 405 transmits the information about the charge distribution of the thundercloud 6 (charge distribution information) detected by the charge detector 402 to the server 2 .

The propulsion mechanism 407 is a mechanism for generating propulsion force of the aircraft 4, and includes a fixed wing, including a main wing and a tail wing, and a power device for propulsion. The drive unit 406 is controlled by the control unit 400 and drives the propulsion mechanism 407 .

The control unit 400 receives various instructions given by the control device 1 via the wireless communication device 405 . The instructions given by the control device 1 include not only instructions regarding the flight path 7 of the aircraft 4 but also instructions regarding the position of the deployment wire 401 .

The control unit 400 controls the drive unit 406 in a manner to follow the flight path 7 instructed by the aircraft 4 flight control device 1 . In addition, the control unit 400 controls the lead wire 401 so that the lead wire 401 is deployed at the position instructed by the control device 1 .

The control unit 400 obtains the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 detected by the charge detector 402, and transmits the obtained charge distribution information to the server 2 via the wireless communication device 405.

Returning to Figure 1, the server 2 is configured to communicate wirelessly with the aircraft 4 and the control device 1 respectively. If the server 2 receives the charge distribution information S1 of the thundercloud 6 from the aircraft 4, it will transmit the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 to the control device 1.

The server 2 is further configured to communicate with the server 3 external to the lightning protection system 100 via the communication network NW. The communication network NW is representatively the Internet. The server 3 includes, for example, a weather data server that provides weather information. The server 2 can obtain weather information near the wind farm 5 that is the electrical equipment to be protected from the server 3 via the communication network NW.

The weather information includes information on the position and moving speed of the thundercloud 6 approaching the wind farm 5 . In the example in Figure 1 , the weather information obtained by the server 2 includes information about a plurality of thunderclouds 6 that exist at sea and are moving toward the wind farm 5 .

The server 2 transmits the weather information obtained from the server 3 to the control device 1 . In addition, the server 2 may also be configured to obtain the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 from the server 3 via the communication network NW instead of obtaining it from the aircraft 4 .

The control device 1 is installed at sea or on the ground, and exchanges various data with the server 2 and the aircraft 4 through wireless communication. Specifically, the control device 1 receives weather information around the wind farm 5 and charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 from the server 2 . The control device 1 uses the received weather information and the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 to set the flight path 7 of the aircraft 4 and set the position of the deployment wire 401 . The setting of the flight path 7 and the position of the deployment wire 401 will be described in detail later.

The control device 1 transmits various instructions to the aircraft 4 through wireless communication with the aircraft 4. The various instructions include the set flight path 7 and the position of the deployment wire 401. Thereby, the flight path 7 of the aircraft 4 is indicated by the flight control device 1 . As shown in FIG. 1 , according to the flight path 7 , the aircraft 4 flies to tour a plurality of thunderclouds 6 approaching the wind farm 5 . During flight, the aircraft 4 deploys the conductor 401 at the position indicated by the control device 1 .

Figure 4 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the control device 1, the server 2 and the aircraft 4. As shown in Figure 4, the control device 1 includes: a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, also referred to as CPU) 101, a read-only memory (Read Only Memory, also referred to as ROM) 102, a random access memory (Random Access Memory, also referred to as RAM) 103, communication interface (Communication Interface, also referred to as communication IF) 104, and memory device 105. The CPU 101, ROM 102, RAM 103, communication IF 104, and memory device 105 exchange various data via a communication bus.

The CPU 101 expands and executes the program stored in the ROM 102 in the RAM 103 . The program stored in the ROM 102 describes the processing executed by the control device 1 .

The communication IF 104 is an input and output device for exchanging signals and data with the aircraft 4 and the server 2 . The communication IF 104 receives the weather information around the wind farm 5 and the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 from the server 2 . The communication IF 104 transmits various instructions to the aircraft 4 including the flight path 7 of the aircraft 4 and the deployment position of the conductor 401 .

The memory device 105 is a storage that stores various types of information, including information about the wind farm 5 , information about the aircraft 4 , position information about the aircraft 4 , and the flight path 7 of the aircraft 4 . The memory device 105 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD: Hard Disk Drive) or a solid state drive (SSD: Solid State Drive).

Server 2 includes: CPU 201, ROM 202, RAM 203, communication IF 204 and memory device 205. The CPU 201, ROM 202, RAM 203, communication IF 204 and memory device 205 exchange various data via the communication bus.

The CPU 201 expands and executes the program stored in the ROM 202 in the RAM 203 . The process executed by the server 2 is recorded in the program stored in the ROM 202 .

The communication IF 204 is an input and output device used to exchange signals and data with the aircraft 4 and the control device 1 . The communication IF 204 receives weather information near the wind farm 5 from the server 3 via the communication network NW. The communication IF 204 receives the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 from the aircraft 4 . The communication IF 204 transmits the received meteorological information and the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 to the control device 1 .

The memory device 105 is a storage that stores various information, and stores information about the wind farm 5 , information about the aircraft 4 , and information about the server 3 . The memory device 105 is, for example, HDD or SSD.

The control unit 400 of the aircraft 4 includes a CPU 410, a ROM 411, a RAM 412, a communication IF 413, and a memory device 414. The CPU 410, ROM 411, RAM 412, communication IF 413 and memory device 414 exchange various data via the communication bus.

The CPU 410 expands and executes the program stored in the ROM 411 in the RAM 412 . The process executed by the control unit 400 is described in the program stored in the ROM 411 .

The communication IF 413 is an input and output device used to exchange signals and data with the control device 1 and the server 2 . The communication IF 413 transmits the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 detected by the charge detector 402 to the server 2 . The communication IF 413 receives various instructions including the flight path 7 and the position of the deployment wire 401 from the control device 1 .

The memory device 414 is a storage that stores various information, including the information of the aircraft 4, the position information of the aircraft 4, the flight path 7 of the aircraft 4, the information of the position of the deployment wire 401, the information of the wind farm 5, and the server 2 information, etc. The memory device 414 is, for example, HDD or SSD.

＜Operation principle＞ Next, the operation principle of the lightning protection system 100 of the first embodiment will be described using FIG. 5 .

As shown in Figure 1, the flight path 7 of the aircraft 4 is indicated by the flight control device 1. The flight path 7 is set to tour at least one thundercloud 6 in proximity to the wind farm 5 . When a plurality of thunderclouds 6 are approaching, the aircraft 4 sequentially tours the plurality of thunderclouds 6 along the flight path 7 .

As shown in Figure 5, the aircraft 4 is flying inside each thundercloud 6 and deploys the conductor 401 at the position indicated by the control device 1. The wire 401 is unfolded toward the lower part of the body of the aircraft 4 .

Thundercloud 6 is a cloud that induces strong charge separation inside, and has a three-layer structure composed of a layer Q1 in which positive charges are accumulated, a layer Q2 in which negative charges are accumulated, and a layer Q3 in which positive charges are accumulated. Layer Q2 is located above layer Q1, and layer Q3 is located above layer Q2. Aircraft 4 deploys wire 401 next to layer Q2. The layer Q2 and the layer Q1 are electrically connected using the unfolded wire 401 (conductive channel) as a medium.

Since the wire 401 is a conductor, the inside of the wire 401 has an equal potential. On the other hand, a large potential difference is generated between layer Q1 and layer Q2. Therefore, the electric field between the conductor 401 and the layer Q1 becomes stronger, and a lightning discharge occurs from the layer Q1 to the conductor 401 . At the same time, since the electric field between the layer Q2 and the conductor 401 also becomes stronger, a lightning discharge occurs from the layer Q2 to the conductor 401.

Due to these lightning discharges, current j flows from layer Q1 to layer Q2 via wire 401. The positive charges of layer Q1 and the negative charges of layer Q2 are neutralized and eliminated by the current j. As described above, the thundercloud 6 reaches the wind farm 5 unprecedentedly, and the charges accumulated in the layers Q1 and Q2 of the thundercloud 6 are eliminated, thereby preventing lightning from striking the wind farm 5 .

In addition, FIG. 5 illustrates the case where positive charges are accumulated in layer Q1 and negative charges are accumulated in layer Q2. However, even in the case where negative charges are accumulated in layer Q1 and positive charges are accumulated in layer Q2, the method can be used. The same effect is obtained by unfolding the wire 401.

＜Processing flow＞ FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of the flow of lightning protection processing executed by the aircraft 4, the control device 1, and the server 2.

In the figure, the processing executed by the aircraft 4 is shown on the left side, the processing executed by the control device 1 is shown in the center, and the processing executed by the server 2 is shown on the right side. Although each step can be implemented by software processing performed by the CPU 410 in the aircraft 4, the CPU 101 in the control device 1, and the CPU 201 in the server 2, it can also be implemented by the aircraft 4, the control device 1, and the server. It is realized by the hardware (electronic circuit) configured respectively by the device 2. Hereinafter, the step is abbreviated as S.

In S01, the aircraft 4 flies along the flight path 7 indicated by the control device 1. During flight, in S02, the aircraft 4 obtains the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 detected by the charge detector 402. When a plurality of thunderclouds 6 approach the wind farm 5, the aircraft 4 obtains the charge distribution information of each thundercloud 6.

In S03, the aircraft 4 transmits the obtained charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 to the server 2.

In S21, the server 2 obtains weather information around the wind farm 5 from the external server 3 via the communication network NW. The weather information includes information on the position and moving speed of the thundercloud 6 approaching the wind farm 5 . Furthermore, the server 2 receives the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 from the aircraft 4 in S22.

In S23 , the server 2 transmits the weather information around the wind farm 5 and the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 to the control device 1 .

The control device 1 receives the weather information near the wind farm 5 and the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 from the server 2 in S11.

In S12, the control device 1 uses the received weather information and the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 to set the flight path of the aircraft 4. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a first example of the flow of the flight path setting process (S12).

As shown in FIG. 7 , the control device 1 uses the weather information received from the server 2 in S121 to predict the arrival time to the sky above the wind farm 5 for each thundercloud 6 approaching the wind farm 5 . When a plurality of thunderclouds 6 approach the wind farm 5, the control device 1 predicts the arrival time of each thundercloud 6. Specifically, the control device 1 calculates the predicted arrival time of each thundercloud 6 above the wind farm 5 using the current position of each thundercloud 6 included in the weather information and the moving speed of each thundercloud 6 .

In S122, the control device 1 determines the order of the tour of the plurality of thunderclouds 6 carried out by the aircraft 4 based on the predicted arrival time of each thundercloud 6 calculated in S121. In S122, the control device 1 calculates the order in which the thunderclouds 6 arrive above the wind farm 5. Specifically, the control device 1 sorts the predicted arrival times of the plurality of thunderclouds 6 in order, thereby calculating the arrival order of the plurality of thunderclouds 6 . Then, the control device 1 determines the order of the tour so that the thundercloud 6 that arrives earlier in the order of arrival will tour first. That is, the determined tour order is consistent with the arrival order of the plurality of Thunderclouds 6.

In S123, the control device 1 sets the flight path 7 of the aircraft 4 according to the tour sequence determined in S122. The control device 1 sets the flight path 7 so that the aircraft 4 preferentially patrols from the thundercloud 6 that is first in the patrol order.

Returning to Figure 6, if the flight path 7 is set in S12, then in S13, the control device 1 sets the position of the deployment wire 401. In S13 , the control device 1 sets the position of the deployed wire 401 (conductive channel) of each thundercloud 6 based on the charge distribution information of each thundercloud 6 . As shown in FIG. 5 , the control device 1 sets the position of the deployed wire 401 for each thundercloud 6 so that the layer storing positive charges and the layer storing negative charges are electrically connected through the wire 401 as a medium.

In S14, the control device 1 transmits the information indicating the flight path 7 set in S12 and the position of the deployment wire 401 set in S13 to the aircraft 4.

In S04, if the aircraft 4 receives the information indicating the flight path 7 and the position of the deployment wire 401 from the control device 1, then in S05, the propulsion mechanism 407 is controlled to fly according to the received flight path 7. As described above, the flight path is set based on the arrival order of each thundercloud 6 toward the wind farm 5 . Therefore, the aircraft 4 tours a plurality of thunderclouds 6 in order starting from the thundercloud 6 that arrives first.

In S06, the aircraft 4 deploys the conductor 401 at the position set by the control device 1. The position of the unfolded wire 401 is set for each thundercloud 6 according to its charge distribution information. While flying inside each thundercloud 6, the aircraft 4 deploys the conductor 401 at a set position. By unfolding the wire 401, lightning discharge occurs inside each thundercloud 6. The electric charge accumulated in the thundercloud 6 is destroyed by this lightning discharge.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the aircraft 4 tours a plurality of thunderclouds 6 according to the flight path set in the order in which the thunderclouds 6 arrive at the wind farm 5, and inserts the conductive wire 401 (conductive wire 401) into each thundercloud 6. channel) expands and causes lightning discharges to occur. This prevents each thundercloud 6 from reaching the wind farm 5 and prevents lightning from striking the wind farm 5 .

Second embodiment In the second embodiment, a second example of the setting process (S12) of the flight path of the aircraft 4 shown in FIG. 6 will be described.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a second example of the flow of the flight path setting process (S12 in FIG. 6).

As shown in FIG. 8 , in S131 , the control device 1 uses the charge distribution information of each thundercloud 6 received from the server 2 to calculate the amount of charge accumulated in each thundercloud 6 approaching the wind farm 5 . The amount of charge accumulated in the thundercloud 6 corresponds to the amount of positive charge or negative charge accumulated in each of layers Q1 to Q3 as shown in FIG. 5 .

As the amount of charge accumulated in each layer of the thundercloud 6 increases, the electric field intensity between the layers will become larger, so the potential difference between the layers will also become larger. Therefore, the possibility of causing a major blackout at the wind farm 5 due to thunder becomes higher. In order to avoid a major blackout accident, it is necessary to prioritize lightning discharge starting from thunderclouds 6 with a large amount of charge, and to neutralize the charges accumulated in thunderclouds 6.

In S132, the control device 1 determines the order of the tour of the plurality of thunderclouds 6 carried out by the aircraft 4 based on the charge amount of each thundercloud 6 calculated in S131. In S132, the control device 1 sorts the plurality of thunderclouds 6 in order according to the amount of charge. Then, the control device 1 determines the order of the tour so that the thunderclouds 6 with a large amount of charge preferentially tour. That is, the determined order of the tours is consistent with the order of the charge amounts of the plurality of thunderclouds 6 .

In S133, the control device 1 sets the flight path of the aircraft 4 according to the tour sequence determined in S132. The control device 1 sets the flight path 7 so that the aircraft 4 preferentially patrols from the thundercloud 6 that is first in the patrol order.

If the flight path 7 is set, the control device 1 transmits the information indicating the set flight path 7 and the position of the deployment wire 401 to the aircraft 4 by executing the processes of S13 and S14 in FIG. 6 .

The aircraft 4 executes the processing of S04 to S06 in FIG. 6 to sequentially tour a plurality of thunderclouds 6 starting from the thundercloud 6 with a large amount of electric charge, and deploys the wire 401 inside each thundercloud 6 . Lightning discharge is induced through the wire 401 to neutralize the charge of each thundercloud 6 .

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the aircraft 4 tours a plurality of thunderclouds 6 according to the flight path set in the order of the charge amount of each thundercloud 6, and generates lightning discharge in each thundercloud 6. Since thunderclouds 6 with a large amount of charge preferentially cause lightning discharge, the thunderclouds 6 can be prevented from reaching the wind farm 5 . Therefore, major accidents caused by thunder at wind farms can be prevented before they occur.

Third embodiment In the third embodiment, a third example of the setting process (S12) of the flight path of the aircraft 4 shown in FIG. 6 will be described.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a third example of the flow of the flight path setting process (S12 in FIG. 6).

As shown in FIG. 9 , the control device 1 uses the weather information received from the server 2 in S141 to calculate the probability of thunder to the sea or the surface for each thundercloud 6 approaching the wind farm 5 . The lower the thundercloud is from the sea or the surface, the higher the probability of thunder. Therefore, in S141, the control device 1 calculates the height of each thundercloud 6 from the sea or the surface based on the position information of each thundercloud 6, and uses the calculated height to calculate the probability of thunder. In the example in Figure 1, the control device 1 calculates the probability of thunder based on the height of each thundercloud 6 from the sea surface 8.

In S142, the control device 1 determines the order of the tour of the plurality of thunderclouds 6 carried out by the aircraft 4 based on the probability of thunder of each thundercloud 6 calculated in S141. In S142, the control device 1 sorts the plurality of thunderclouds 6 in ascending order according to the probability of thunder. Then, the control device 1 determines the order of the tour so that thunderclouds 6 with a high probability of thunder will tour first. In other words, the determined order of the tours is consistent with the order of the thundering probabilities of a plurality of thunderclouds 6.

In S143, the control device 1 sets the flight path 7 of the aircraft 4 according to the tour sequence determined in S142. The control device 1 sets the flight path 7 so that the aircraft 4 preferentially patrols from the thundercloud 6 that is first in the patrol order.

If the flight path 7 is set, the control device 1 transmits the information indicating the flight path 7 and the deployment position of the conductor 401 to the aircraft 4 by executing the processes of S13 and S14 in FIG. 6 .

By executing the processes S04 to S06 in Figure 6, the aircraft 4 sequentially tours a plurality of thunderclouds 6 starting from the thundercloud 6 with a high probability of thunder, and deploys the conductor 401 inside each thundercloud 6.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the aircraft 4 tours a plurality of thunderclouds 6 according to the flight path 7 set in order of the probability of occurrence of thunder in each thundercloud 6, and generates lightning discharge in each thundercloud 6. Since the lightning discharge is generated preferentially from the thundercloud 6 which has a high probability of thunder, it is possible to prevent the thundercloud 6 from reaching the wind farm 5 . Therefore, lightning strikes on the wind farm 5 can be prevented before they occur.

Fourth embodiment In the first embodiment, the configuration example (see FIG. 5 ) in which the aircraft 4 deploys the wire 401 so as to electrically connect the layer Q1 storing positive charges and the layer Q2 storing negative charges inside the thundercloud 6 has been described. . In the fourth embodiment, another configuration example of the deployment position of the lead wire 401 will be described. In addition, the lightning protection system 100 of the fourth embodiment has the same structure as the lightning protection system 100 of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 , so the same elements are assigned the same reference numerals and do not overlap. its description.

＜Operation principle＞ The operation principle of the lightning protection system 100 of the fourth embodiment will be described using FIG. 10 .

The aircraft 4 follows the flight path 7 indicated by the control device 1 and sequentially tours a plurality of thunderclouds 6 approaching the wind farm 5 . In addition, the flight path 7 is set using any one of the setting processes of the above-described first to third examples (see FIGS. 7 to 9 ).

As shown in FIG. 10 , the thundercloud 6 has a three-layer structure composed of a layer Q1 that accumulates positive charges, a layer Q2 that accumulates negative charges, and a layer Q3 that accumulates positive charges. Layer Q2 is located above layer Q1, and layer Q3 is located above layer Q2.

The aircraft 4 deploys the conductor 401 at the position indicated by the control device 1 during the tour of each thundercloud 6 . In the fourth embodiment, the aircraft 4 is flying below the thundercloud 6, that is, below the layer Q1, and the wire 401 is deployed at this position. The conductor 401 is deployed between the cloud base of the thundercloud 6 and the sea surface 8 . In addition, the lower end of the conductor 401 does not contact the sea surface 8 .

In the fourth embodiment, the wire 401 is electrically connected to the lightning rod 403 provided on the body of the aircraft 4 . Therefore, the conductor 401 and the lightning rod 403 have the same potential. Furthermore, since the conductive wire 401 is a conductor, the inside thereof has an equal potential.

On the other hand, there is a large potential difference between layer Q1 and sea surface 8 . Therefore, the electric field between the lightning rod 403 and the layer Q1 becomes stronger, and a lightning discharge occurs from the layer Q1 to the lightning rod 403 . At the same time, since the electric field between the conductor 401 and the sea surface 8 also becomes stronger, a lightning discharge occurs from the conductor 401 to the sea surface 8 .

Due to these lightning discharges, current j flows from layer Q1 to sea surface 8 via lightning rod 403 and conductor 401. Since the positive charges of layer Q1 are neutralized by the current j, the positive charges are eliminated. As described above, the thundercloud 6 reaches the wind farm 5 as never before, and the charge accumulated in the layer Q1 of the thundercloud 6 is eliminated, thereby preventing lightning from striking the wind farm 5 .

In addition, in the fourth embodiment, since the lightning discharge is generated between the thundercloud 6 and the sea surface 8, the lightning discharge can be generated using the conductor 401 with a short overall length for the thundercloud 6 with a low cloud base.

In addition, in FIG. 10 , although the case where positive charges are accumulated in layer Q1 is illustrated, the same effect can be obtained by developing the wire 401 even in the case where negative charges are accumulated in layer Q1 .

Fifth embodiment In the first to fourth embodiments described above, the structure in which lightning discharge is generated by spreading the conductive wire 401 inside the thundercloud 6 or between the cloud base of the thundercloud 6 and the sea surface 8 has been described. In the fifth embodiment, a structure in which lightning discharge is generated using laser light will be described. In addition, since the structure of the lightning protection system 100 of the fifth embodiment is the same as that of the lightning protection system 100 of the first embodiment except for the structure of the aircraft 4, the same elements are assigned the same reference numerals and description thereof will not be repeated.

＜Operation principle＞ First, the operating principle of the lightning protection system 100 of the fifth embodiment will be described using FIG. 11 .

The aircraft 4 sequentially patrols a plurality of thunderclouds 6 approaching the wind farm 5 along the flight path indicated by the control device 1 . In addition, the flight path is set using any one of the setting processes of the first to third examples described above (refer to FIGS. 7 to 9 ).

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the aircraft 4 included in the lightning protection system 100 according to the fifth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12 , the aircraft 4 includes a charge detector 402 , a lightning rod 403 , a laser oscillator 404 , a control unit 400 , a wireless communication device 405 , a drive unit 406 , and a propulsion mechanism 407 . The aircraft 4 of the fifth embodiment is different from the aircraft 4 of the first embodiment (see FIG. 2 ) in that it has a laser oscillator 404 instead of the wire 401 .

The laser oscillator 404 generates laser light. Although omitted in the drawing, the laser oscillator 404 is configured to include an excitation source, a laser medium, and a resonator.

The control unit 400 receives various instructions given by the control device 1 via the wireless communication device 405 . The instructions given by the control device 1 include instructions regarding the flight path 7 of the aircraft 4 and instructions regarding the location where the laser light occurs.

The control unit 400 controls the drive unit 406 in a manner to follow the flight path 7 instructed by the aircraft 4 flight control device 1 . In addition, the control unit 400 controls the laser oscillator 404 so that laser light is generated at the position instructed by the control device 1 .

Returning to FIG. 11 , the thundercloud 6 has a three-layer structure composed of a layer Q1 that accumulates positive charges, a layer Q2 that accumulates negative charges, and a layer Q3 that accumulates positive charges. Layer Q2 is located above layer Q1, and layer Q3 is located above layer Q2. There is a large potential difference between layer Q1 and layer Q2.

When the aircraft 4 flies inside the thundercloud 6, it generates laser light at the position indicated by the control device 1. In the example in Figure 11, the aircraft 4 emits laser light to the layer Q1 next to the layer Q2.

Laser light ionizes the atmosphere (electrodissociation) to generate plasma (plasma). Therefore, a plasma channel L is formed between layer Q2 and layer Q1. The plasma channel L is an embodiment corresponding to the "conductive channel".

Since the plasma channel L is conductive, the plasma channel L is used as a medium to electrically connect the layer Q2 and the layer Q1. The electric field between the plasma channel L and the layer Q1 becomes stronger, and a lightning discharge occurs from the layer Q1 to the wire 401 . At the same time, the electric field between layer Q2 and plasma channel L also becomes stronger, so a lightning discharge occurs from layer Q2 to plasma channel L.

By these lightning discharges, current j flows from layer Q1 to layer Q2 via plasma channel L. Since the positive charges of layer Q1 and the negative charges of layer Q2 are neutralized by current j, these charges are eliminated. As described above, the thundercloud 6 reaches the wind farm 5 unprecedentedly, and the charges accumulated in the layers Q1 and Q2 of the thundercloud 6 are eliminated, thereby preventing lightning from striking the wind farm 5 .

In addition, in FIG. 11, although the case where positive charges are accumulated in layer Q1 and negative charges are accumulated in layer Q2 is illustrated, even in the case where negative charges are accumulated in layer Q1 and positive charges are accumulated in layer Q2, the method can be used. The same effect is obtained by generating laser light.

＜Processing flow＞ FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of lightning protection processing executed by the aircraft 4, the control device 1, and the server 2. In the figure, the processing executed by the aircraft 4 is shown on the left side, the processing executed by the control device 1 is shown in the center, and the processing executed by the server 2 is shown on the right side.

The flowchart of the processing executed by the control device 1 shown in FIG. 13 is obtained by replacing S13 and S14 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 with S13A and S14A, respectively. The flowchart of the processing performed by the aircraft 4 shown in FIG. 13 is obtained by replacing S04 and S06 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 with S04A and S06A respectively.

If the control device 1 receives the weather information near the wind farm 5 and the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 from the server 2 in S11, then in S12, the control device 1 uses the received weather information and the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6, Set the flight path 7 of aircraft 4. The flight path 7 is set using any one of the setting processes of the first to third examples described above (refer to FIGS. 7 to 9 ).

If the flight path 7 is set in S12, in S13A, the control device 1 sets the position where the laser light is generated. In S13A, the control device 1 sets the laser light generation position in each thundercloud 6 based on the charge distribution information of each thundercloud 6 . As shown in FIG. 11 , the control device 1 sets the laser light generation position for each thundercloud 6 so that the layer storing positive charges and the layer storing negative charges are electrically connected using the plasma channel L as a medium.

In S14A, the control device 1 transmits to the aircraft 4 information indicating the flight path 7 set in S12 and the location of the laser light set in S13A.

In S04A, if the aircraft 4 receives the information indicating the flight path 7 and the occurrence position of the laser light from the control device 1, then in S05, the propulsion mechanism 407 is controlled to fly according to the received flight path 7. When the flight path 7 is set based on the arrival order of each thundercloud 6 toward the wind farm 5, the aircraft 4 tours a plurality of thunderclouds 6 in sequence starting from the thundercloud 6 with the first arrival order.

In S06A, the aircraft 4 generates laser light from the laser oscillator 404 at the generation position set by the control device 1 . The location where the laser light occurs is set for each thundercloud 6 based on its charge distribution information. When the aircraft 4 flies inside each thundercloud 6, laser light is generated at the set generation position and a plasma channel L is formed. Because the plasma channel L is formed, lightning discharge occurs inside each thundercloud 6 . The electric charge accumulated in the thundercloud 6 is destroyed by this lightning discharge.

As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, lightning discharge can be generated by controlling the generation position of the laser light by the laser oscillator 404. Therefore, lightning discharge can be generated more easily compared to the configuration in which the lead wire 401 is deployed. happen.

In addition, in FIG. 11, although the structure example in which the aircraft 4 generates laser light is electrically connected to the layer Q1 storing positive charges and the layer Q2 storing negative charges inside the thundercloud 6, the laser light is generated. The location is not limited to this. Even if the laser light is generated between the cloud base of the thundercloud 6 and the sea surface 8 following the structural example shown in Figure 10, lightning discharge can still be generated.

Sixth embodiment In the above-mentioned first to fourth embodiments, a configuration in which one aircraft 4 is flown and a lightning discharge is generated has been described. In the sixth embodiment, a configuration in which two aircraft 4 are flown and lightning discharge is generated will be described.

＜System configuration＞ Fig. 14 is a diagram showing the overall structure of the lightning protection system 100 according to the sixth embodiment. The lightning protection system 100 of the sixth embodiment is different from the lightning protection system 100 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in that it includes two aircraft 4A and 4B. In addition, each of the aircraft 4A and 4B has basically the same structure as the aircraft 4 .

As shown in Figure 14, aircraft 4A and aircraft 4B are connected through wires 401. The first end of the wire 401 is connected to the aircraft 4A, and the second end of the wire 401 is connected to the aircraft 4B. In addition, the length of the wire 401 becomes adjustable by controlling the distance between the aircraft 4A and the aircraft 4B. Aircraft 4A is an embodiment corresponding to the "first aircraft", and aircraft 4B is an embodiment corresponding to the "second aircraft".

If the server 2 receives the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 from the aircraft 4A and 4B respectively, it transmits the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 to the control device 1 . The server 2 further obtains weather information near the wind farm 5 from the server 3 via the communication network NW and transmits it to the control device 1 . In addition, the server 2 may be configured to obtain the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 from the server 3 instead of obtaining it from the aircraft 4A and 4B.

The control device 1 uses the weather information near the wind farm 5 and the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 received from the server 2 to set the flight path 7 of the aircraft 4A and 4B, and sets the deployment position of the conductor 401. The control device 1 transmits various instructions to the aircraft 4A and 4B by wireless communication with the aircraft 4A and 4B. The various instructions include the set flight path 7 and the deployment position of the conductor 401 .

Aircraft 4A, 4B each fly a flight path 7 indicated by the control device 1 . As shown in FIG. 14 , according to the flight path 7 , the aircraft 4A and 4B fly so as to patrol the thundercloud 6 approaching the wind farm 5 . During flight, the aircraft 4A and 4B deploy the wire 401 at the position indicated by the control device 1 .

＜Operation principle＞ Next, the operation principle of the lightning protection system 100 of the sixth embodiment will be described using FIG. 15 .

As shown in Figure 14, the flight path 7 indicated by the flight control device 1 of the aircraft 4A and 4B is shown. When a plurality of thunderclouds 6 approach the wind farm 5 , the aircraft 4 sequentially tours the plurality of thunderclouds 6 along the flight path 7 .

As shown in Figure 15, the aircraft 4A and 4B are flying inside each thundercloud 6 and deploy the conductor 401 at the position indicated by the control device 1. The wire 401 is deployed between the aircraft 4A and the aircraft 4B.

The thundercloud 6 has a three-layer structure composed of a layer Q1 in which positive charges are accumulated, a layer Q2 in which negative charges are accumulated, and a layer Q3 in which positive charges are accumulated. Layer Q2 is located above layer Q1, and layer Q3 is located above layer Q2. Aircraft 4A flies next to level Q2. Aircraft 4B flies next to level Q1.

Thereby, the layer Q2 and the layer Q1 are electrically connected through the wire 401 as a medium. The electric field between the conductor 401 and the layer Q1 becomes stronger, and a lightning discharge occurs from the layer Q1 to the conductor 401 . At the same time, since the electric field between the layer Q2 and the conductor 401 also becomes stronger, a lightning discharge occurs from the layer Q2 to the conductor 401.

Due to these lightning discharges, current flows from layer Q1 to layer Q2 via wire 401 . This current neutralizes and eliminates the positive charges in layer Q1 and the negative charges in layer Q2. As described above, the thundercloud 6 reaches the wind farm 5 as never before, and the charges accumulated in the layers Q1 and Q2 of the thundercloud 6 are eliminated, thereby preventing lightning from striking the wind farm 5 .

In addition, FIG. 15 illustrates the case where positive charges are accumulated in layer Q1 and negative charges are accumulated in layer Q2. However, even in the case where negative charges are accumulated in layer Q1 and positive charges are accumulated in layer Q2, the method can be used. The same effect is obtained by unfolding the wire 401.

＜Processing flow＞ FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of lightning protection processing executed by the aircraft 4, the control device 1, and the server 2. In the figure, the processing executed by the aircraft 4 is shown on the left side, the processing executed by the control device 1 is shown in the center, and the processing executed by the server 2 is shown on the right side.

The flowchart of the processing executed by the control device 1 shown in FIG. 16 is obtained by replacing S12 and S14 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 with S12B and S14B respectively. The flowchart of the processing executed by the aircraft 4 shown in FIG. 16 is obtained by replacing S01 and S04 to S06 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 with S01B and S04B to S06B respectively.

If the control device 1 receives the weather information near the wind farm 5 and the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 from the server 2 in S11, then in S12B, the control device 1 uses the received weather information and the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6, Set the flight path of each aircraft7. Since the aircraft 4A and the aircraft 4B are connected by the wire 401 during flight, the flight path 7 of each aircraft is set to maintain a distance equivalent to the length of the wire 401 from the other aircraft. Furthermore, the flight path 7 can be set using any one of the setting processes of the above-described first to third examples (see FIGS. 7 to 9 ).

If the flight path 7 of each aircraft is set in S12B, the control device 1 sets the position of the deployment wire 401 in S13. In S13 , the control device 1 sets the deployment position of the wire 401 at each thundercloud 6 based on the charge distribution information of each thundercloud 6 . As shown in FIG. 15 , the control device 1 sets the deployment position of the wire 401 for each thundercloud 6 so that the layer storing positive charges and the layer storing negative charges are electrically connected through the wire 401 as a medium.

In S14B, the control device 1 transmits information indicating the flight path 7 set in S12B and the deployment position of the conductor 401 set in S13 to each of the aircraft 4A and 4B.

In S04B, if each aircraft receives the information indicating the flight path 7 and the deployment position of the conductor 401 from the control device 1, then in S05B, the propulsion mechanism 407 is controlled to fly according to the received flight path 7. When the flight path 7 is set based on the arrival order of each thundercloud 6 toward the wind farm 5, the aircraft 4A and 4B sequentially tour a plurality of thunderclouds 6 starting from the thundercloud 6 with the first arrival order.

In S06B, the aircraft 4A and 4B are flying inside each thundercloud 6 and deploy the wire 401 at the position set by the control device 1 . The deployed wire 401 is towed by the aircraft 4A, 4B. Thereby, lightning discharge occurs inside each thundercloud 6, and the electric charge accumulated in the thundercloud 6 is destroyed.

As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, the two aircraft 4A and 4B are used to spread the wire 401 inside the thundercloud 6 and pull the wire 401, so that the moving speed of the wire 401 can be accelerated. Therefore, even if the time until the scheduled time for the thundercloud 6 to arrive at the wind farm 5 is short, the charges can be eliminated before the thundercloud 6 reaches the wind farm 5 , thereby preventing lightning from striking the wind farm 5 .

Seventh embodiment In the seventh embodiment, a configuration in which lightning discharge is generated using one aircraft 4 and a rocket will be described.

In addition, the structure of the lightning protection system 100 of the seventh embodiment is the same as that of the lightning protection system 100 of the first embodiment except for the structure of the aircraft 4, so the same elements are assigned the same reference numerals and description thereof will not be repeated.

＜Operation principle＞ First, the operating principle of the lightning protection system 100 of the seventh embodiment will be described using FIG. 17 .

The aircraft 4 sequentially patrols a plurality of thunderclouds 6 approaching the wind farm 5 along the flight path indicated by the control device 1 . In addition, the flight path is set using any one of the setting processes of the first to third examples described above (refer to FIGS. 7 to 9 ).

Fig. 18 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the aircraft 4 included in the lightning protection system 100 according to the seventh embodiment. As shown in FIG. 18 , the aircraft 4 includes a wire 401 , a charge detector 402 , a lightning rod 403 , a control unit 400 , a wireless communication device 405 , a drive unit 406 , a propulsion mechanism 407 , and a rocket 408 . The aircraft 4 of the seventh embodiment is different from the aircraft 4 of the first embodiment (see FIG. 2 ) in that it has a rocket 408 .

The first end of the wire 401 is connected to the body of the aircraft 4 , and the second end of the wire 401 is connected to the rocket 408 . The rocket 408 is usually stored inside the aircraft body together with the wire 401, and can be launched outside the aircraft body while the aircraft 4 is in flight. The wire 401 is expanded by the launch of the rocket 408, and as a result, the conductive channel is easily expanded in the atmosphere.

The control unit 400 receives various instructions given by the control device 1 via the wireless communication device 405 . The instructions given by the control device 1 include instructions regarding the flight path 7 of the aircraft 4 and instructions regarding the position of the launch rocket 408 .

The control unit 400 controls the drive unit 406 in a manner to follow the flight path 7 instructed by the aircraft 4 flight control device 1 . In addition, the control unit 400 controls the rocket 408 to release the rocket 408 from the aircraft 4 at the position instructed by the control device 1 .

Returning to FIG. 17 , the thundercloud 6 has a three-layer structure composed of a layer Q1 that accumulates positive charges, a layer Q2 that accumulates negative charges, and a layer Q3 that accumulates positive charges. Layer Q2 is located above layer Q1, and layer Q3 is located above layer Q2. There is a large potential difference between layer Q1 and layer Q2.

The aircraft 4 is flying inside the thundercloud 6 and releases the rocket 408 at the position indicated by the control device 1 . In the example in Figure 17, aircraft 4 releases rocket 408 to layer Q1 next to layer Q2. As rocket 408 is released, the second end of wire 401 moves toward layer Q1. As a result, the wire 401 is spread out between the layer Q2 and the layer Q1, and the layer Q2 and the layer Q1 are electrically connected using the wire 401 as a medium.

The electric field between the conductor 401 and the layer Q1 becomes stronger, and a lightning discharge occurs from the layer Q1 to the conductor 401 . At the same time, since the electric field between the layer Q2 and the conductor 401 also becomes stronger, a lightning discharge occurs from the layer Q2 to the conductor 401. Due to these lightning discharges, current flows from layer Q1 to layer Q2 via wire 401 . By this current, the positive charges of layer Q1 and the negative charges of layer Q2 are neutralized. As described above, the thundercloud 6 reaches the wind farm 5 as never before, and the electric charge accumulated in the thundercloud 6 is eliminated, thereby preventing lightning from striking the wind farm 5 .

In addition, FIG. 17 illustrates the case where positive charges are accumulated in layer Q1 and negative charges are accumulated in layer Q2. However, even in the case where negative charges are accumulated in layer Q1 and positive charges are accumulated in layer Q2, the method can be used. Rocket 408 is released to achieve the same effect.

＜Processing flow＞ FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing an example of the flow of lightning protection processing executed by the aircraft 4, the control device 1, and the server 2. In the figure, the processing executed by the aircraft 4 is shown on the left side, the processing executed by the control device 1 is shown in the center, and the processing executed by the server 2 is shown on the right side.

In the flowchart of the processing executed by the control device 1 shown in FIG. 19, S06 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is replaced with S06C.

If the control device 1 receives the weather information near the wind farm 5 and the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6 from the server 2 in S11, then in S12, the control device 1 uses the received weather information and the charge distribution information of the thundercloud 6, Set the flight path 7 of aircraft 4. The flight path 7 can be set using any one of the setting processes of the first to third examples described above (refer to FIGS. 7 to 9 ).

If the flight path 7 is set in S12, in S13, the control device 1 sets the position where the conductor 401 is deployed. In S13 , the control device 1 sets the position of the deployment wire 401 in each thundercloud 6 based on the charge distribution information of each thundercloud 6 . As shown in FIG. 17 , the control device 1 sets the position of the deployed wire 401 for each thundercloud 6 so that the layer storing positive charges and the layer storing negative charges are electrically connected through the wire 401 as a medium.

In S14, the control device 1 transmits the information indicating the flight path 7 set in S12 and the position of the deployment wire 401 set in S13 to the aircraft 4.

In S04, if the aircraft 4 receives the information indicating the flight path 7 and the position of the deployment wire 401 from the control device 1, then in S05, the propulsion mechanism 407 is controlled to fly according to the received flight path 7. When the flight path is set based on the arrival order of each thundercloud 6 toward the wind farm 5, the aircraft 4 tours a plurality of thunderclouds 6 in sequence starting from the thundercloud 6 with the first arrival order.

In S06C, the aircraft 4 deploys the wire 401 by releasing the rocket 408 at the position set by the control device 1 . The position of the launch rocket 408 is set for each thundercloud 6 according to its charge distribution information. While flying inside each thundercloud 6, the aircraft 4 releases the rocket 408 at the set occurrence position and deploys the wire 401 (conductive channel). Lightning discharge occurs inside each thundercloud 6, and the electric charge accumulated in the thundercloud 6 is destroyed.

As described above, according to the seventh embodiment, the wire 401 connected to the rocket 408 is deployed in response to the launch of the rocket 408, so the wire 401 can be deployed at high speed. This allows lightning discharge to occur in a short time.

In addition, in FIG. 17 , although the configuration example in which the aircraft 4 deploys the conductor 401 inside the thundercloud 6 so as to electrically connect the layer Q1 accumulating positive charges and the layer Q2 accumulating negative charges is described, the conductor 401 is deployed. The location of 401 is not limited to this. Even if the conductor 401 is deployed between the cloud base of the thundercloud 6 and the sea surface 8 following the structural example shown in FIG. 10, lightning discharge can still be generated.

Eighth embodiment In the above-described first embodiment, the configuration example in which the control device 1 and the aircraft 4 directly communicate wirelessly has been described. However, a configuration in which the control device 1 and the aircraft 4 wirelessly communicate via a radio station may also be used.

Fig. 20 is a diagram showing the overall structure of the lightning protection system 100 according to the eighth embodiment. The lightning protection system 100 of the eighth embodiment is different from the lightning protection system 100 shown in FIG. 1 in that it includes a radio station 10 .

The radio station 10 is configured to perform wireless communication with the aircraft 4 . Furthermore, the radio station 10 has a function of communicating with the control device 1 and the server 2 via the communication network NW. Thereby, the control device 1 and the server 2 can communicate with the aircraft 4 via the communication network NW and the radio station 10 .

Specifically, the radio station 10 receives the charge distribution information S1 of the thundercloud 6 from the aircraft 4, and then transmits the charge distribution information S1 to the server 2 via the communication network NW. In addition, the radio station 10 receives various instructions S2 from the control device 1 via the communication network NW, and then transmits the various instructions S2 to the aircraft 4 .

In addition, in the above-mentioned first embodiment, although the configuration in which the control device 1 gives various instructions S2 including the flight path 7 and the position where the conductive channel is deployed to the aircraft 4 in flight has been described, the following configuration may also be used: At least the instructions regarding the flight path 7 are given to the aircraft 4 before it takes off.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned first embodiment, the structure in which the charge detector 402 is installed in the aircraft 4 in which the conductive channel is deployed is exemplified. However, the structure may be such that the charge detector 402 is installed in an aircraft different from the aircraft 4. The aircraft obtains information about the charge distribution of Thundercloud 6.

Ninth embodiment In the above-mentioned first to eighth embodiments, the following configuration example has been described: the server 2 performs the following processing: obtaining information on the current position, moving speed, and charge distribution of each thundercloud approaching the electrical equipment to be protected. The information is transmitted to the control device 1; the control device 1 performs the following processing: using the information received from the server 2, it sets the position of each thundercloud to expand the conductive channel and the order of the thunderclouds to expand the conductive channel.

However, the above-mentioned information acquisition process and the above-mentioned position and sequence setting process may be performed by either the server 2 or the control device 1 . For example, the server 2 may be configured such that the server 2 executes the above-described process of obtaining information and the above-described process of setting the position and sequence, and gives an instruction including the set position and sequence to the control device 1 . Alternatively, the control device 1 may be configured such that the control device 1 executes the above-described process of obtaining information and the above-described process of setting the position and sequence without passing through the server 2, and controls the aircraft 4 in accordance with the set position and sequence.

In other words, the lightning protection system 100 may be configured to include at least one processor and a memory that stores a program executed by the at least one processor, by causing the program stored in the memory to be executed by the at least one processor, Thereby, the above-mentioned acquisition process and the above-mentioned setting process are executed.

In addition, the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications include combinations not mentioned in the specification. It was anticipated at the time of application that the configurations described in the embodiments can be appropriately combined within the scope that does not cause disadvantages or contradictions.

All points of the implementation forms disclosed this time are only examples and not limitations. The technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure is disclosed not by the description of the above-mentioned embodiments but by the patent application scope, and is meant to include all changes within the equivalent meaning and scope of the patent application scope.

1: Control device 2,3:Server 4,4A,4B: Aircraft 5: Wind farm 6:Thunder Cloud 7:Flight path 8:Sea surface 10:Radio station 100:Lightning protection system 101,201,410:CPU 102,202,411:ROM 103,203,412: RAM 104,204,413: Communication IF 105,205,414:Memory device 400:Control Department 401:Wire 402: Charge detector 403:Lightning rod 404:Laser oscillator 405:Wireless communication machine 406:Drive Department 407:Promotion mechanism 408: Rockets S1: Charge distribution information S2: Instructions NW: Communication Network L: Plasma channel Q1~Q3: Layer j: current

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall structure of the lightning protection system according to the first embodiment. Figure 2 is a diagram showing the schematic structure of the aircraft. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an aircraft. Figure 4 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the control device, server, and aircraft. Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operating principle of the lightning protection system of the first embodiment. Figure 6 is a flow chart showing an example of a lightning protection process performed by an aircraft, a control device, and a server. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a first example of the flight path setting process. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a second example of the flight path setting process. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a third example of the flight path setting process. Fig. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operating principle of the lightning protection system of the fourth embodiment. Fig. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operating principle of the lightning protection system of the fifth embodiment. Fig. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an aircraft according to the fifth embodiment. Figure 13 is a flow chart showing an example of a lightning protection process performed by an aircraft, a control device, and a server. Fig. 14 is a diagram showing the overall structure of the lightning protection system according to the sixth embodiment. Fig. 15 is a diagram for explaining the operating principle of the lightning protection system of the sixth embodiment. Figure 16 is a flow chart showing an example of a lightning protection process performed by an aircraft, a control device, and a server. Fig. 17 is a diagram for explaining the operating principle of the lightning protection system of the seventh embodiment. Fig. 18 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an aircraft according to the seventh embodiment. Figure 19 is a flow chart showing an example of a lightning protection process performed by an aircraft, a control device, and a server. Fig. 20 is a diagram showing the overall structure of the lightning protection system according to the eighth embodiment.

1: Control device

2,3:Server

4:Aircraft

5: Wind farm

6:Thunder Cloud

7:Flight path

8:Sea surface

100:Lightning protection system

S1: Charge distribution information

S2: Instructions

NW: Communication Network

Claims (16)

A lightning protection system used to protect electrical equipment during lightning strikes. The aforementioned lightning protection system includes: at least one processor; and A memory that stores programs executed by at least one of the aforementioned processors; Wherein, the aforementioned at least one processor follows the aforementioned program, Receive and obtain information about at least one thundercloud approaching the electrical equipment being protected; Using the received and acquired information, the position of each thundercloud to expand the conductive channel and the order of the thunderclouds to expand the conductive channel are set. Such as the lightning protection system of claim 1, wherein the aforementioned information includes information about the current location, moving speed and charge distribution of each thundercloud; Wherein, the at least one processor is set at a position where each thundercloud expands the conductive channel according to the charge distribution of each thundercloud. Such as the lightning protection system of claim 2, wherein the aforementioned at least one processor uses the aforementioned information to predict the arrival time of each thundercloud to the sky above the aforementioned electrical equipment; and the aforementioned thunderclouds with early arrival time preferentially expand the aforementioned conductive channel. , set the sequence of thunderclouds that expand the aforementioned conductive channels. Such as the lightning protection system of claim 2, wherein the aforementioned at least one processor is, Use the aforementioned information to calculate the charge of each thundercloud; The order of the thunderclouds that expand the conductive channels is set so that the thunderclouds with a larger amount of charge preferentially expand the conductive channels. The lightning protection system of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor uses the information to calculate the probability of lightning occurrence in each thundercloud; and sets the conductivity in such a way that thunderclouds with a high probability preferentially expand the conductive channel. The sequence of thunderclouds unfolding through the passage. Such as the lightning protection system of claim 2, wherein the position where the at least one processor is set to expand the conductive channel is located inside or under each thundercloud. The lightning protection system of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor sets the position where the conductive channel is deployed to be between the layer where positive charges are accumulated and the layer where negative charges are accumulated in each thundercloud. Such as the lightning protection system of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor sets the position where the conductive channel is deployed to be between each thundercloud and the surface or the sea. The lightning protection system of any one of claims 1 to 8 further includes a first aircraft configured to be communicatively connected to the at least one processor and to develop the conductive channel in the atmosphere; Wherein, the at least one processor sets the touring sequence of the first aircraft to tour a plurality of thunderclouds according to the set sequence; and the first aircraft flies according to the touring sequence and deploys the conductive channel at the set position. method to control the aforementioned first aircraft. The lightning protection system of claim 9, wherein the first aircraft contains conductive wires; The first aircraft deploys the wire at the set position. For example, the lightning protection system of claim 10 further includes a second aircraft connected to the first aircraft through the aforementioned wire; The aforementioned second aircraft is communicatively connected to the aforementioned at least one processor; Wherein, the first aircraft and the second aircraft deploy the wire at the set position. The lightning protection system of claim 10, wherein the first aircraft further includes a rocket connected to the end of the wire; The aforementioned first aircraft releases the aforementioned rocket at the aforementioned set location. The lightning protection system of claim 9, wherein the first aircraft contains a laser oscillator; The aforementioned laser oscillator generates laser light at the aforementioned set position. The lightning protection system of claim 9, wherein the first aircraft contains a charge detector that measures the electric field in space and infers the charge distribution of each thundercloud based on the measurement results; The first aircraft transmits the information about the charge distribution of each thundercloud estimated by the charge detector to the at least one processor. The lightning protection system of claim 14, wherein the first aircraft further includes at least one lightning rod provided on the aircraft body; The aforementioned at least one lightning rod at least contains the aforementioned charge detector. Such as the lightning protection system of claim 1, wherein the aforementioned at least one processor receives the aforementioned information from an external server through a communication network.