Method and apparatus for harvesting energy
First Claim
1. An energy harvesting device, which comprises:
- an antenna for receiving a transmitted radio frequency (RF) signal;
a rectifier circuit operatively coupled to the antenna, the rectifier circuit converting the RF signal received by the antenna to a direct current (DC) voltage; and
an output connector operatively coupled to the rectifier circuit and providing the DC voltage thereon, an electronic device being connectable to the output connector for receiving the DC voltage provided on the output connector.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An energy harvesting circuit includes one or more broadband or narrow band antennas to detect WIFI (wireless fidelity) or other RF (radio frequency) signals. The signals are rectified and voltage multiplied, and the resultant DC voltage is provided to a power management circuit. The output of the power management circuit charges a lithium battery or other storage device within the energy harvesting circuit. The energy stored in the battery or storage device is provided through a DC/DC converter circuit to a USB output connector to power or recharge the batteries of an external electronic device connected to the USB output connector of the energy harvesting circuit.
340 Citations
51 Claims
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1. An energy harvesting device, which comprises:
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an antenna for receiving a transmitted radio frequency (RF) signal; a rectifier circuit operatively coupled to the antenna, the rectifier circuit converting the RF signal received by the antenna to a direct current (DC) voltage; and an output connector operatively coupled to the rectifier circuit and providing the DC voltage thereon, an electronic device being connectable to the output connector for receiving the DC voltage provided on the output connector.
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2. An energy harvesting device, which comprises:
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an antenna for receiving a transmitted radio frequency (RF) signal, the antenna converting the received RF signal to an RF electrical signal; an RF-to-DC rectifier circuit, the RF-to-DC rectifier circuit being operatively connected to the antenna and converting the RF electrical signal to a direct current (DC) voltage; a first storage device, the first storage device being operatively connected to the RF-to-DC rectifier circuit and being provided with the DC voltage and being charged thereby; a microcontroller, the microcontroller having a first signal input operatively connected to the first storage device to monitor the DC voltage on the first storage device, the microcontroller generating a pulsed output signal if the DC voltage on the first storage device is above a first pre-determined voltage level; a first stage DC-to-DC voltage converter circuit, the first stage DC-to-DC voltage converter circuit being operatively connected to the first storage device and generating an output DC voltage which is greater than the DC voltage on the first storage device; a second stage DC-to-DC voltage converter circuit, the second stage DC-to-DC voltage converter circuit being operatively connected to the first stage DC-to-DC voltage converter circuit and generating an output DC voltage which is less than the output DC voltage generated by the first stage DC-to-DC voltage converter circuit; a second storage device, the second storage device being operatively connected to the second stage DC-to-DC voltage converter circuit and being provided with the output DC voltage generated by the second stage DC-to-DC voltage converter circuit and being charged thereby; a third stage DC-to-DC voltage converter circuit, the third stage DC-to-DC voltage converter circuit being operatively connected to the second storage device and generating an output DC voltage which is greater than the DC voltage on the second storage device; and an output connector, the output connector being operatively connected to the third stage DC-to-DC voltage converter circuit and providing the output DC voltage generated by the third stage DC-to-DC voltage converter circuit thereon, an electronic device being connectable to the output connector for receiving thereon the output DC voltage provided to the output connector. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An energy harvesting device, which comprises:
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a plurality of antennas for receiving a transmitted radio frequency (RF) signal, the antennas generating RF electrical signals in response to the transmitted RF signals received thereby; a plurality of multiplier and rectifier circuits, each multiplier and rectifier circuit being responsive to a respective RF electrical signal generated by an antenna of the plurality of antennas and generating a direct current (DC) voltage in response thereto, at least some of the DC voltages being stacked in series to provide a combined DC voltage, the combined DC voltage being greater in magnitude than each individual DC voltage generated by a respective multiplier and rectifier circuit; a temporary storage device, the temporary storage device being responsive to the combined DC voltage and providing a temporarily stored DC voltage in response thereto; a first power management circuit, the first power management circuit being responsive to the temporarily stored DC voltage and generating a DC charging voltage in response thereto; a main energy storage device, the main energy storage device being responsive to the DC charging voltage generated by the first power management circuit and providing a main energy storage DC voltage in response thereto; and an output connector, the output connector providing an output connector DC voltage thereon in response to the main energy storage DC voltage, an electronic device being connectable to the output connector for receiving thereon the output connector DC voltage provided on the output connector. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of harvesting energy, which comprises the steps of:
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receiving a transmitted radio frequency (RF) signal to provide a received RF signal; converting the received RF signal to an RF electrical signal; converting the RF electrical signal to a direct current (DC) voltage; temporarily storing the DC voltage to provide a temporarily stored DC voltage; monitoring the temporarily stored DC voltage and generating a pulsed output signal if the temporarily stored DC voltage is above a first predetermined voltage level; converting the temporarily stored DC voltage to a first converted DC voltage which is greater than the temporarily stored DC voltage; converting the first converted DC voltage to a second converted DC voltage which is less than the first converted DC voltage; storing the second converted DC voltage to provide a stored second converted DC voltage; converting the stored second converted DC voltage to a third converted DC voltage which is greater than the stored second converted DC voltage; and providing the third converted DC voltage to an output connector, an electronic device being connectable to the output connector for receiving thereon the third converted DC voltage provided to the output connector. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method of harvesting energy, which comprises the steps of:
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receiving a transmitted radio frequency (RF) signal to provide a received RF signal; converting the received RF signal to a direct current (DC) voltage; and providing the DC voltage on an output connector, an electronic device being connectable to the output connector for receiving the DC voltage provided to the output connector.
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36. A method of harvesting energy, which comprises the steps of:
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receiving by a plurality of antennas a transmitted radio frequency (RF) signal and generating RF electrical signals in response to the transmitted RF signals received by the plurality of antennas; multiplying and rectifying the RF electrical signals generated by the plurality of antennas and generating a plurality of direct current (DC) voltages in response thereto; combining in series at least some of the DC voltages to provide a combined DC voltage, the combined DC voltage being greater in magnitude than each individual DC voltage; temporarily storing the combined DC voltage thereby providing a temporarily stored DC voltage; generating a DC charging voltage in response to the temporarily stored DC voltage; storing the DC charging voltage to provide a stored DC charging voltage; and generating a DC output connector voltage on an output connector in response to the stored DC charging voltage, an electronic device being connectable to the output connector for receiving thereon the output connector DC voltage provided on the output connector. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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Specification