Device for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy

• US 20050253486A1
• Filed: 05/07/2003
• Published: 11/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EnOcean GmbH
• Original Assignee: EnOcean GmbH
• Inventors: Schmidt, Frank
• Granted Patent: US 7,245,062 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 310/329
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/306 Cantilevers

Abstract

An apparatus for conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy having a piezo transducer (1), which is formed from two or more layers, and having a mass/spring system (2, 3, 4), which can oscillate, in a holder (5), which is caused (6) to oscillate mechanically when stimulated, which oscillations periodically deform the piezo transducer such that an alternating voltage occurs on the connecting wires (7) of the transducer.

Claims

1. An apparatus for conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy, which has

an electrovolumetric transducer element (1),

a mass (3) which can oscillate

at least one transmission element (2) for transmission of oscillations, with the transducer element (1) being in engagement with the transmission element (2) such that any oscillation of the mass (3) can be transformed at least partially to a change in the volume of the transducer element (1), producing an electrical voltage.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the transmission element is an elastic element, in particular a spring element.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, in which the transmission element (2) is in the form of a lever, in particular in the form of a bending beam.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the mass (3) is at least part of the transmission element (2).

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the transducer element (1) is held by a holder (5).

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the transducer element (1) is prestressed in compression, in particular by means of a second elastic element (4).

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the electrovolumetric transducer element (1) is a piezoelectric element or a magnetostrictive element.

8. A method for conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy, in which the apparatus as claimed in claim 1 is used, wherein any movement of a mass (3) is transmitted via a transmission element (2) to an electrovolumetric transducer element (1), which converts the the movement to voltages.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, in which the movement of the mass (3) is an oscillation which is picked-up by the transmission element (2), and this oscillation is transmitted to the electrovolumetric element (1).

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, in which the movement of the mass (3) is transmitted via the transmission element (2) to a second transmission element (4) and to the electrovolumetric transducer element (1), and the transmission element (2) and the second transmission element (4) together produce an oscillation which is transmitted to the electromechanical transducer element (1).

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the engagement between said transducer element (1) and said transmission element (2) is an attachment.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the engagement between said transducer element (1) and said transmission element (2) is a touching engagement.