System for harvesting energy for a vehicle

• US 10,536,038 B1
• Filed: 07/30/2018
• Issued: 01/14/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Boyd, William Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Lee
• Application Number:
  US16/048,604
• Publication Number:
  US 20200036230A1
• Time in Patent Office: 533 Days
• Field of Search: 455271
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/03 for supply of electrical power to vehicle subsystems or for circuit arrangements for charging batteries H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2291 used in bluetooth or WI-FI devices of Wireless Local Area Networks [WLAN] H01Q1/241 takes precedence; WLAN in general H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/248 provided with an AC/DC converting device, e.g. rectennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/3208 characterised by the application wherein the antenna is used
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/3291 mounted in or on other locations inside the vehicle or vehicle body
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 5/30 Arrangements for providing operation on different wavebands
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/001 Energy harvesting or scavenging
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/20 using microwaves or radio frequency waves
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/27 characterised by the type of receiving antennas, e.g. rectennas
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/345 using capacitors as storage or buffering devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/082 to be used in vehicles H04B1/086 takes precedence; holding or mounting accessories B60R11/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1607 Supply circuits converters H02M; filters therefor H02M1/14; voltage stabilisers G05F1/46

Abstract

A system for harvesting energy for a vehicle includes an antenna, a DC bus, a receiver circuit, and an electrical load. The antenna is located on the vehicle and is configured to receive a plurality of signals in at least one of a 2.4 gigahertz band and a 5.9 gigahertz band. The receiver circuit is coupled to the antenna and the DC bus. The receiver circuit is configured to convert the plurality of signals to a DC signal that is transmitted onto the DC bus. The electrical load is coupled to the DC bus and is configured to operate at least when the vehicle is not running using the DC signal supplied by the receiver circuit.

Claims

1. A system for harvesting energy for a vehicle, the system comprising:

an antenna located on the vehicle and configured to receive a plurality of signals in a 2.4 gigahertz band and a 5.9 gigahertz band;

a direct current (DC) bus;

a receiver circuit coupled to the antenna and the DC bus, the receiver circuit configured to convert the plurality of signals to a DC signal that is transmitted onto the DC bus, the receiver circuit comprising;

a matching circuit having a receiver impedance matching a channel impedance for the 2.4 gigahertz band and for the 5.9 gigahertz band; and

a filter configured to filter-out, from the plurality of signals, one or more frequency bands allocated for a keyless entry system for the vehicle, a satellite radio, or a navigation system for the vehicle; and

a quiescent electrical load coupled to the DC bus and configured to operate at least when the vehicle is not running using the DC signal supplied by the receiver circuit.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising an energy storage device coupled to the DC bus and configured to receive the DC signal and store a charge resulting therefrom.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the energy storage device is a battery.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the energy storage device is at least one capacitor.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the antenna comprises a dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) antenna.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the quiescent electrical load comprises a security system.

7. A method of harvesting energy for a vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving, at an antenna on the vehicle, a plurality of signals in a 2.4 gigahertz band and a 5.9 gigahertz band;

matching, by a matching circuit, a channel impedance for the 2.4 gigahertz band and for the 5.9 gigahertz band;

filtering, from the plurality of signals, one or more frequency bands allocated for a keyless entry system for the vehicle, a satellite radio, or a navigation system for the vehicle;

converting the plurality of signals to a direct current (DC) signal;

transmitting the DC signal onto a DC bus for the vehicle; and

supplying the DC signal from the DC bus to a quiescent electrical load for the vehicle, the quiescent electrical load configured to operate at least when the vehicle is not running.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising filtering at least one radio frequency (RF) band from the plurality of signals, the at least one RF band corresponding to at least one communication system for the vehicle.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein supplying the DC signal to the quiescent electrical load comprises supplying the DC signal to a security system.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein receiving the plurality of signals comprises receiving the plurality of signals using a dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) antenna.

11. The method of claim 7 further comprising supplying the DC signal from the DC bus to an energy storage device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein supplying the DC signal to the energy storage device comprises supplying the DC signal to a battery.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein supplying the DC signal to the energy storage device comprises supplying the DC signal to a capacitor.

14. A vehicle, comprising:

a direct current (DC) bus;

a plurality of quiescent electrical loads coupled to the DC bus and configured to operate at least when the vehicle is not running;

an antenna configured to receive a plurality of signals in a 2.4 gigahertz band and a 5.9 gigahertz band; and

a receiver circuit coupled to the antenna and the DC bus, the receiver circuit configured to convert the plurality of signals to a DC signal that is transmitted onto the DC bus to supply the plurality of quiescent electrical loads, the receiver circuit comprising;

a matching circuit having a receiver impedance matching a channel impedance for the 2.4 gigahertz band and for the 5.9 gigahertz band; and

a filter configured to filter-out, from the plurality of signals, one or more frequency bands allocated for a keyless entry system for the vehicle, a satellite radio, or a navigation system for the vehicle.

15. The vehicle of claim 14 further comprising a battery coupled to the DC bus.

16. The vehicle of claim 14 further comprising a second plurality of electrical loads coupled to the DC bus and configured to operate only when the vehicle is running.

17. The vehicle of claim 16, wherein the second plurality of electrical loads comprises an engine management system.

18. The vehicle of claim 14, wherein the antenna comprises a dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) antenna.

19. The vehicle of claim 14 further comprising a satellite radio system, wherein the receiver circuit comprises a filter configured to filter out a radio frequency (RF) band corresponding to the satellite radio system from the plurality of signals.