ADAPTIVE VEHICLE ENERGY HARVESTING

• US 20100198412A1
• Filed: 11/27/2009
• Published: 08/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: SolarWindow Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: SolarWindow Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Hendrickson, Brian S.
• Application Number:
  US12/626,854
• Publication Number:
  US 20100198412A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/275
• CPC Class Codes: F03G 7/08 recovering energy derived from swinging, rolling, pitching or like movements, e.g. from the vibrations of a machine
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 13/04 for use with a single servomotor

Abstract

A vehicle energy harvester and method of harvesting vehicle energy is provided. The vehicle energy harvester includes a first unit that accepts as an input a measure of mass, speed or velocity of a vehicle, a second unit that accepts or computes a rate of acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle based on the measure of speed or velocity, a third unit that compares at least one of the measure of mass, speed, velocity, and acceleration or deceleration to at least one of an acceleration value, a mass value, or a speed value, and a fourth unit that adjusts a reaction force imparted by the vehicle energy harvester on the vehicle based on the comparison by the third unit.

Claims

1. A vehicle energy harvester controller that accepts as an input at least one of a measure of a vehicle mass, a velocity, and an acceleration and produces an output that can be used to adjust a reaction force imparted by a vehicle energy harvester on a vehicle based on the one or more measures.

2. The vehicle energy harvester controller of claim 1, wherein the controller determines at least one of vehicle mass, velocity or acceleration based on an indirect measure of vehicle mass, velocity, or acceleration.

3. The vehicle energy harvester controller of claim 1, wherein the output based on the one or more measures is determined by a pre-set algorithm.

4. The vehicle energy harvester controller of claim 1, wherein the output based on the one or more measures is determined by a look-up table.

5. The vehicle energy harvester controller of claim 1, wherein the output based on the one or more measures is adjusted one of remotely and in real time.

6. A vehicle energy harvester comprising:

a comparing unit that compares at least one of a measure of mass, velocity, and a rate of change of velocity of a vehicle to at least one of a mass value, a velocity value, and a rate of change of velocity value; and

an output unit that provides an output that allows a device intended to capture or convert energy from the vehicle to adjust a reaction force imparted by said device on the vehicle based on said comparison by the comparing unit.

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

comparing at least one of a measure of mass, velocity, and a rate of change of velocity of a vehicle to at least one of a mass value, a velocity value, and a rate of change of velocity value; and

adjusting a reaction force imparted by a vehicle energy harvester on a vehicle based on the comparing.

8. A method of harvesting vehicle energy, the method comprising:

comparing at least one of a measure of mass, velocity, and a rate of change of velocity of a vehicle to at least one of a mass value, velocity value and a rate of change of velocity value; and

outputting an output that allows a device intended to capture or convert energy from the moving vehicle to adjust a reaction force imparted by said device on the vehicle based on said comparing.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising one of:

receiving an input of the at least one of the measure of mass, velocity, and the rate of change of velocity of the vehicle, and

determining the at least one of the measure of mass, velocity, and the rate of change of velocity of the vehicle.

10. A vehicle energy harvester comprising:

a first unit that accepts as an input at least one of a measure of a mass, a speed and a velocity of a vehicle;

a second unit that computes a rate of one of acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle based on the at least one of the measure of mass, speed, and velocity;

a third unit that compares at least one of the measure of mass, speed, velocity, acceleration, and deceleration to at least one of an acceleration value, a mass value, a speed value, and a target speed of the vehicle upon moving beyond the energy harvester; and

a fourth unit that adjusts a reaction force imparted by the vehicle energy harvester on the vehicle based on the comparison by the third unit.

11. The vehicle energy harvester of claim 10, wherein the at least one of the mass value, the acceleration value, the speed value, and the target speed of the vehicle upon moving beyond the energy harvester is set internal to or remotely from the energy harvester.

12. A vehicle energy harvester comprising:

a first unit that accepts as an input at least one of a measure of mass, speed, velocity, acceleration, and deceleration of a vehicle;

a second unit that compares the at least one of the measure of mass, speed, velocity, acceleration, and deceleration to at least one of an acceleration value, a speed value, and a target speed of vehicle upon moving beyond the energy harvester; and

a third unit that provides an output that allows a device intended to capture or convert energy from a moving vehicle to adjust the reaction force imparted by said device on the vehicle based on said comparison by the third unit.

13. The vehicle energy harvester of claim 12, wherein the at least one of the acceleration value, the speed value, and the target speed of the vehicle upon moving beyond the energy harvester is set internal to or remotely from the energy harvester.

14. The vehicle energy harvester of claim 12, wherein the fourth unit adjusts a reaction force imparted by the vehicle energy harvester on the vehicle based on a direct or indirect measure of vehicle mass.

15. A method of harvesting vehicle energy, the method comprising:

accepting as an input a measure of speed or velocity of a vehicle;

computing a rate of acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle based on the measure of speed or velocity;

comparing at least one of the measure of speed, velocity, and acceleration or deceleration to at least one of an acceleration value and a speed value; and

adjusting a reaction force imparted by the vehicle energy harvester on the vehicle based on the comparing.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least one of the acceleration value, the speed value, and the target speed of the vehicle upon moving beyond the energy harvester is set internal to or remotely from the energy harvester.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein reaction force imparted by the vehicle energy harvester on the vehicle is adjusted based on a direct or indirect measure of vehicle mass.