Foot-Powered Footwear-Embedded Sensor-Transceiver

• US 20100090477A1
• Filed: 10/07/2009
• Published: 04/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sapurast Research LLC
• Original Assignee: Sapurast Research LLC
• Inventors: KEATING, Joseph A., Bradow, Timothy N., Johnson, Raymond R., Narayan, Prativadi B.
• Application Number:
  US12/575,115
• Publication Number:
  US 20100090477A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 290/1.00R
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 3/34 with electrical or electronic arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: F03G 5/06 other than of endless-walk type
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation

Abstract

A user-powered apparatus, system, and method of providing a pedestrian with information is disclosed. The present invention harvests energy created by a moving pedestrian and takes the harvested energy and uses it to recharge an energy storage device that is embedded in the same footwear. Also built into the footwear may be a microcontroller and sensor, and a transmitter/receiver mechanism by which signals may be transmitted to and received from a wrist watch, iPod®, cell phone and/or any similar portable device on the pedestrian. The footwear may be capable of receiving signals transmitted by the portable device or GPS satellite. The GPS satellite may provide information about the geographical location of the pedestrian. Since the energy storage device may be flexible, it can survive on footwear that gets flexed a significant amount. The energy harvester may harvest energy from the footsteps of the pedestrian or some other source and recharge the energy storage device so that there is no need to replace the energy storage device that is an integral and inseparable part of the footwear.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an accessory adapted to be associated with an animal;

an energy harvesting mechanism embedded within said accessory;

an energy storage device connected to said energy-harvesting mechanism;

a power management unit connected to said energy storage device; and

a microprocessor connected to said energy storage device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said animal comprises any organism selected from the group of:

fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, marsupials, primates, rodents, cetaceans.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said accessory comprises any article selected from the group of:

shoe, sandal, slipper, boot, alpine ski, water ski, surf board, snow board, roller skate, inline skate, sled, horse shoe, horse saddle, harness, leash, collar.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one sensor connected to said microprocessor.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one signal transmitter connected to said microprocessor.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one signal receiver connected to said microprocessor.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said energy-harvesting mechanism comprises any device selected from the group of:

piezoelectric transducer, radio-frequency transducer, solar cell, wind turbine, vibration energy scavenger, water movement-to-electric energy converter, rotational movement-to-electric energy converter, and temperature variation-to-electric energy converter.

8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said at least one sensor comprises any device selected from the group of:

altimeter, pressure gauge, thermometer, barometer, hygrometer, accelerometer, anemometer.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said energy storage device comprises any device selected from the group of:

battery, thin-film battery, capacitor, thin-film capacitor, magneto-electric element, piezoelectric element, thermal mass container, flywheel, micro-flywheel, micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS), mechanical spring, hydrogen generator with hydrogen container, ozone generator with ozone storage container.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an energy conversion component connected to the energy-harvesting mechanism.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said energy storage device comprises a thin-film battery with a total thickness that does not exceed 1 centimeter.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the lateral area of said thin-film battery does not exceed 10 square inches.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the lateral area of said thin-film battery does not exceed 0.25 square centimeters.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said thin-film battery contains a heat and pressure-resilient separation layer.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said thin-film battery contains a metallic lithium anode.

16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the electroactive element within said thin-film battery comprises lithium.

17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said thin-film battery comprises a lithium-ion battery.

18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said thin-film battery comprises a lithium-free battery.

19. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said signal transmitter transmits a message to a portable device.

20. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said signal receiver is adapted to receive GPS signals.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein said signal receiver receives a message from a portable device.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein said portable device comprises any device selected from the group of:

wristwatch, iPod®

, MP3 player, computer, cell phone, and personal digital assistant.

23. A method for communicating information associated with a moving animal comprising:

converting energy into a useful form;

storing said useful form of energy;

powering a processing unit with said stored energy; and

monitoring at least one parameter with at least one sensor.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

communicating monitored parameters to said processing unit;

processing said monitored parameters into user data; and

transmitting said user data.

25. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

receiving GPS signals from one or more GPS satellites;

determining location information from said GPS signals; and

transmitting location information.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

transmitting signals to a portable device.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

receiving signals from a portable device;

processing said signals into user data;

transmitting said user data.