PIEZOELECTRIC ENERGY HARVESTER

• US 20150256118A1
• Filed: 09/24/2012
• Published: 09/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: QorTek, Inc.
• Original Assignee: QorTek, Inc.
• Inventors: Knowles, Gareth J., Bradley, William M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,716,463 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/042 PV modules or arrays of single PV cells supporting structures for PV modules H02S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02N 2/181 Circuits; Control arrangements or methods
• CPC Class Codes: H02N 2/186 Vibration harvesters
• CPC Class Codes: H02S 10/10 including a supplementary source of electric power, e.g. hybrid diesel-PV energy systems combinations with gas-turbine plants F02C6/00
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/304 Beam type
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/306 Cantilevers
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/871 Single-layered electrodes of multilayer piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices, e.g. internal electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/50 Photovoltaic [PV] energy

Abstract

The invention is directed to a piezovoltaic energy harvesting laminate that includes a photovoltaic laminar wafer comprised of a plurality of photovoltaic cells and a dielectric wafer that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A boundary laminate interface is disposed between the photovoltaic laminar wafer and the dielectric wafer. The boundary laminate contains a metallization layer electrical terminal for the photovoltaic cells and a conduction layer of the dielectric wafer.

Claims

1. A piezovoltaic energy harvesting laminate comprising:

a plurality of photovoltaic cells of a laminar wafer format;

a dielectric material of a laminar wafer format capable of converting mechanical energy to electrical energy;

a boundary laminate interface between the photovoltaic wafer and the dielectric material containing the metallization layer electrical terminal of the photovoltaic cells and containing a conduction layer of the dielectric material; and

wherein said energy harvesting laminate outputs a voltage potential as a function of sunlight, and a voltage potential as a function of mechanical stress.

2. The boundary laminate interface of claim 1 wherein a common metallization layer simultaneously acts as an electrical terminal of the photovoltaic cells and a conduction layer of the dielectric material.

3. The boundary laminate interface of claim 1 wherein the metallization layer acting as an electrical terminal of the photovoltaic cells is non-conductively attached to a conduction layer of the dielectric material.

4. The boundary laminate interface of claim 1 wherein the metallization layer acting as an electrical terminal of the photovoltaic cells is non-conductively attached to a conduction layer of the dielectric material via an interposed isolation layer that may stiffen the laminate.

5. A piezovoltaic laminate of claim 1 that forms a cantilevered beam or plate structure.

6. The piezovoltaic laminate of claim 1 wherein the common boundary of the laminate photovoltaic construction is attached to a multilayer mechanical to electrical energy converter.

7. An piezovoltaic module employing an array of cantilever laminate photovoltaic devices comprising:

a housing;

an array of piezovoltaic energy harvesting laminates of claim 1 mechanically installed as cantilever mechanisms;

an individual energy harvesting circuit connected to the output terminals of one or more of said array of piezovoltaic energy harvesting laminates; and

a common controller circuit connected to the outputs of the energy harvesting circuits and connected to an electrical load.

8. A piezovoltaic laminate of claim 1 wherein consisting of a flexible piezovoltaic laminate and a curvilinear semi-rigid mechanical energy converter.

9. A flexible piezovoltaic laminate of claim 1 wherein consisting of a flexible photovoltaic laminate and flexible piezoelectric energy harvesting laminate.

10. A flexible piezovoltaic laminate of claim 1 wherein consisting of a flexible thin film photovoltaic laminate and flexoelectric laminate.