Energy Extraction
First Claim
1. A system for extracting energy from an endocochlear potential of an animal, the system comprising:
- a first electrode having an end to contact endolymph within a cochlea of an animal;
a second electrode having an end to contact perilymph within the cochlea of the animal; and
an energy harvesting circuit comprising;
a boost converter that transforms an endocochlear potential across the first electrode and the second electrode to a higher potential;
an energy buffer component connected to the boost converter to store electrical energy transformed by the boost converter;
a control component providing control signals to the boost converter and powered by the energy buffer;
an antenna; and
a start-up rectifier that receives an external signal via the antenna to provide an initial voltage to the energy buffer component.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This disclosure describes techniques and systems for extracting energy from the endocochlear potential (EP) in animal subjects (e.g., human subjects) and using the extracted energy to operate circuits (e.g., electronic device, sensors, and transmitters). The subject matter of this disclosure is embodied, for example, in a system for extracting energy from an endocochlear potential of an animal, wherein the system includes a pair of electrodes, and a circuit coupled to the pair of electrodes. The circuit includes a boost converter, an energy buffer component configured to receive voltage from the boost converter, a start-up rectifier configured to provide voltage to the energy buffer component, and a control component configured to provide control signals to the boost converter. The power extracted from the endocochlear potential is equal or larger than the quiescent power of the circuit.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for extracting energy from an endocochlear potential of an animal, the system comprising:
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a first electrode having an end to contact endolymph within a cochlea of an animal; a second electrode having an end to contact perilymph within the cochlea of the animal; and an energy harvesting circuit comprising; a boost converter that transforms an endocochlear potential across the first electrode and the second electrode to a higher potential; an energy buffer component connected to the boost converter to store electrical energy transformed by the boost converter; a control component providing control signals to the boost converter and powered by the energy buffer; an antenna; and a start-up rectifier that receives an external signal via the antenna to provide an initial voltage to the energy buffer component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of using an endocochlear potential of an animal as an energy source, the method comprising:
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contacting a first electrode to endolymph within a cochlea of the animal and a second electrode to perilymph within the cochlea of the animal, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are coupled to an energy harvesting circuit and an endocochlear potential across the first electrode and the second electrode applies an input voltage to the energy harvesting circuit, wherein the energy harvesting circuit comprises; a boost converter that transforms the endocochlear potential across the first electrode and the second electrode to a higher potential; an energy buffer component connected to the boost converter to store electrical energy transformed by the boost converter; a control component providing control signals to the boost converter and powered by the energy buffer; an antenna; and a start-up rectifier that receives an external signal via the antenna to provide an initial voltage to the energy buffer component; applying the external signal to initiate operation of the energy harvesting circuit; converting the input voltage to the higher voltage within the energy harvesting circuit; and storing, at the energy buffer component, electrical energy based on the higher voltage. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of extracting energy from an endocochlear potential of an animal, the method comprising:
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initiating extraction of energy from the endocochlear potential of the animal upon an application of an external power source; transforming the endocochlear potential across a first electrode connected to endolymph within a cochlea of the animal and a second electrode connected to perilymph within the cochlea of the animal to a higher potential; and storing electrical energy based on the higher potential. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification