System for optimal energy harvesting and storage from an electromechanical transducer
First Claim
1. An apparatus for harvesting energy from a transducer comprising:
- an input storage element, connected to receive an energy signal originated by the transducer and to store electrical energy received therefrom;
a controlled conversion element, connected to the input storage element and to provide a converted signal therefrom, and to constrain an input storage element voltage value to vary only within a controlled operating voltage range that varies from a low operating voltage value to a high operating voltage value, the high operating voltage value being less than a peak open-circuit voltage value that corresponds to an input storage element voltage value to which the input storage element would rise under excitation if no other circuit elements were attached to it;
an output storage element, connected to the controlled conversion element, and to store energy received from the converted signal; and
a load circuit, connected to receive energy from the output storage element,wherein the controlled operating voltage range is derived by determining a maximum average power throughput from the transducer to the load circuit.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A device for collection of energy from mechanical disturbances and distribution of that energy to an electrical load. A transducer converts mechanical energy in the form of forces and displacements into electrical energy in the form of charge pulses. The charge pulses are rectified into a Direct Current (DC) power signal and accumulated and stored in an input storage element. A controlled conversion circuit assures that the voltage on the storage element is maintained within a predetermined optimal range for energy harvesting from the transducer, avoiding the application of peak voltages. The controlled conversion circuit can be hard wired and/or controllably adjustable to match a given disturbance characteristic. Only when the voltage is within the optimal range for a given type of disturbance will the controlled conversion circuit enable a DC/DC converter to further convert the stored energy to a voltage that is coupled to an output storage element. This technique optimizes power conversion by controlling the high voltage to low version conversion process by, for example, sensing the disturbance with external sensor or internal voltage of the system, and then using this information about the disturbance to control how and when the electrical conversion process will occur.
116 Citations
27 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for harvesting energy from a transducer comprising:
-
an input storage element, connected to receive an energy signal originated by the transducer and to store electrical energy received therefrom; a controlled conversion element, connected to the input storage element and to provide a converted signal therefrom, and to constrain an input storage element voltage value to vary only within a controlled operating voltage range that varies from a low operating voltage value to a high operating voltage value, the high operating voltage value being less than a peak open-circuit voltage value that corresponds to an input storage element voltage value to which the input storage element would rise under excitation if no other circuit elements were attached to it; an output storage element, connected to the controlled conversion element, and to store energy received from the converted signal; and a load circuit, connected to receive energy from the output storage element, wherein the controlled operating voltage range is derived by determining a maximum average power throughput from the transducer to the load circuit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. An apparatus for harvesting energy from a transducer comprising:
-
an input storage element, connected to receive an energy signal originated by the transducer and to store electrical energy received therefrom; a controlled conversion element, connected to the input storage element and to provide a converted signal therefrom, and to constrain an input storage element voltage value to vary only within a controlled operating voltage range that varies from a low operating voltage value to a high operating voltage value, the high operating voltage value being less than a peak open-circuit voltage value that corresponds to an input storage element voltage value to which the input storage element would rise under excitation if no other circuit elements were attached to it; and an output storage element, connected to the controlled conversion element, and to store energy received from the converted signal, wherein the controlled operating voltage range is programmable.
-
-
13. An apparatus for harvesting energy from a transducer comprising:
-
an input storage element, connected to receive an energy signal originated by the transducer and to store electrical energy received therefrom; a controlled conversion element, connected to the input storage element and to provide a converted signal therefrom, and to constrain an input storage element voltage value to vary only within a controlled operating voltage range that varies from a low operating voltage value to a high operating voltage value, the high operating voltage value being less than a peak open-circuit voltage value that corresponds to an input storage element voltage value to which the input storage element would rise under excitation if no other circuit elements were attached to it; and an output storage element, connected to the controlled conversion element, and to store energy received from the converted signal, wherein the controlled operating voltage range is set by bias points in an electronic circuit. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
-
-
16. A method for harvesting energy from a transducer comprising:
-
storing electrical energy received from an energy signal originated by the transducer in an input storage element; converting the energy stored by the input storage element in a controlled fashion to provide a converted signal therefrom, the conversion constraining an input storage element voltage value to vary only within a controlled operating voltage range that varies from a low operating voltage value to a high operating voltage value, the high operating voltage value being less than a peak open-circuit voltage value that corresponds to an input voltage value to which the input storage element would rise if not other circuit elements were attached to it; further storing energy in the converted signal in an output storage element; and connecting a load circuit to receive energy from the output storage element, wherein the controlled operating voltage range is derived by determining a maximum average power throughput from the transducer to the load circuit. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
-
Specification