System and method for generating electric power from a rotating tire's mechanical energy
First Claim
1. A tire assembly with integrated power generation features, said tire assembly comprising:
- a tire structure characterized by a crown having an exterior tread portion for making contact with a ground surface, bead portions for seating said tire to a wheel rim, and sidewall portions extending between each bead portion and the crown;
a piezoelectric device comprising a layer of piezoceramic material characterized by first and second opposing sides and first and second conductive layers provided adjacent to respective said first and second opposing sides of said layer of piezoceramic material and secured thereto with respective adhesive layers configured to generate electric charge therein upon said tire structure being subjected to mechanical strains;
an energy storage device coupled to said piezoelectric device for receiving said electric charge from said piezoelectric device and for storing selected amounts of said electric charge therein; and
an electronics assembly coupled to said energy storage device such that selected electronic components of said electronics assembly are powered by electric charge stored in said energy storage device.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tire assembly with integrated power generation features includes one or more piezoelectric devices and power conditioning modules. Piezoelectric devices may include a plurality of piezoelectric fibers embedded in a generally unidirectional fashion within an epoxy matrix, a piezoceramic wafer provided on a substrate and substantially surrounded by a protective casing, or a piezoceramic unimorph structure adhered with a thermoplastic polyimide to respective top and bottom conductive layers. Each piezoelectric device may include multiple piezoelectric elements connected in series and/or parallel arrangements, configured with respective poling directions in opposing or in-phase arrangements and/or configured in d33 or d31 displacement modes. Piezoelectric devices are preferably mounted within a tire or wheel assembly such that electric charge is generated therein as the wheel assembly moves along a ground surface and is subsequently stored in one or more energy storage devices. Stored energy may then be used to power electronics such as a tire monitoring system that wirelessly transmits such information as tire pressure, temperature and identification variables to a remote receiver location.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A tire assembly with integrated power generation features, said tire assembly comprising:
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a tire structure characterized by a crown having an exterior tread portion for making contact with a ground surface, bead portions for seating said tire to a wheel rim, and sidewall portions extending between each bead portion and the crown; a piezoelectric device comprising a layer of piezoceramic material characterized by first and second opposing sides and first and second conductive layers provided adjacent to respective said first and second opposing sides of said layer of piezoceramic material and secured thereto with respective adhesive layers configured to generate electric charge therein upon said tire structure being subjected to mechanical strains; an energy storage device coupled to said piezoelectric device for receiving said electric charge from said piezoelectric device and for storing selected amounts of said electric charge therein; and an electronics assembly coupled to said energy storage device such that selected electronic components of said electronics assembly are powered by electric charge stored in said energy storage device. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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2. A tire assembly with integrated power generation features, said tire assembly comprising:
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a tire structure characterized by a crown having an exterior tread portion for making contact with a ground surface, bead portions for seating said tire to a wheel rim, and sidewall portions extending between each bead portion and the crown; a piezoelectric device configured to generate electric charge therein upon said tire structure being subjected to mechanical strains; an energy storage device coupled to said piezoelectric device for receiving said electric charge from said piezoelectric device and for storing selected amounts of said electric charge therein; and an electronics assembly coupled to said energy storage device such that selected electronic components of said electronics assembly are powered by electric charge stored in said energy storage device, wherein said piezoelectric device comprises a fiber composite structure with a plurality of piezoelectric fibers embedded in an epoxy matrix.
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6. A tire assembly with integrated power generation features, said tire assembly comprising:
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a tire structure characterized by a crown having an exterior tread portion for making contact with a ground surface, bead portions for seating said tire to a wheel rim, and sidewall portions extending between each bead portion and the crown; a piezoelectric device configured to generate electric charge therein upon said tire structure being subjected to mechanical strains; an energy storage device coupled to said piezoelectric device for receiving said electric charge from said piezoelectric device and for storing selected amounts of said electric charge therein; and an electronics assembly coupled to said energy storage device such that selected electronic components of said electronics assembly are powered by electric charge stored in said energy storage device, wherein said piezoelectric device comprises multiple piezoceramic elements connected in either series or parallel. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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15. An electronics assembly for integration with a predetermined physical environment, said electronics assembly comprising:
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a piezoelectric device comprising a layer of piezoceramic material characterized by first and second opposing sides and first and second conductive layers provided adjacent to respective said first and second opposing sides of said layer of piezoceramic material and secured thereto with respective adhesive layers configured to generate electric charge upon being subjected to mechanical forces, said piezoelectric device comprising at least one piezoceramic wafer; at least one sensor for determining information about preselected characteristics of said predetermined physical environment, wherein said at least one sensor is powered by the electric charge generated within said piezoelectric device; and an antenna coupled to said at least one sensor for radiating RF signals representative of said information about preselected characteristics determined by said at least one sensor. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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19. An electronics assembly for integration with a predetermined physical environment, said electronics assembly comprising:
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a piezoelectric device configured to generate electric charge upon being subjected to mechanical forces, said piezoelectric device comprising at least one piezoceramic wafer; at least one sensor for determining information about preselected characteristics of said predetermined physical environment, wherein said at least one sensor is powered by the electric charge generated within said piezoelectric device; and an antenna coupled to said at least one sensor for radiating RF signals representative of said information about preselected characteristics determined by said at least one sensor, wherein said piezoelectric device comprises multiple piezoceramic elements connected in series or parallel. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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27. A tire assembly with integrated power generation features, comprising:
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a tire structure characterized by a crown having an exterior tread portion for making contact with a ground surface, bead portions for seating said tire to a wheel rim, and sidewall portions extending between each bead portion and the crown; a plurality of piezoelectric devices integrated at distributed locations throughout said tire structure and respectively configured to generate electric charge therein upon said tire structure being subjected to mechanical strains; and at least one energy storage device coupled to selected of said plurality of piezoelectric devices for receiving said electric charge from said selected of said piurality of piezoelectric device and for storing selected amounts of said electric charge therein, wherein selected of said plurality of piezoelectric devices comprise a layer of piezoceramic material characterized by first and second opposing sides and first and second conductive layers provided adjacent to respective said first and second opposing sides of said layer of piezoceramic material and secured thereto with respective adhesive layers. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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31. A tire assembly with integrated power generation features, comprising:
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a tire structure characterized by a crown having an exterior tread portion for making contact with a ground surface, bead portions for seating said tire to a wheel rim, and sidewall portions extending between each bead portion and the crown; a plurality of piezoelectric devices integrated at distributed locations throughout said tire structure and respectively configured to generate electric charge therein upon said tire structure being subjected to mechanical strains; and at least one energy storage device coupled to selected of said plurality of piezoelectric devices for receiving said electric charge from said selected of said plurality of piezoelectric device and for storing selected amounts of said electric charge therein, wherein selected of said plurality of piezoelectric devices comprises a fiber composite structure with a plurality of piezoelectric fibers embedded in an epoxy matrix.
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Specification