Piezoelectric micromechanical energy harvesters
First Claim
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1. A micromechanical device, comprising:
- an energy harvester comprising;
a proof mass that receives ambient mechanical energy at a first frequency in a first plane;
a transducer comprising piezoelectric material; and
a transfer mechanism that transfers the received ambient mechanical energy to the transducer, causing the transducer to vibrate at its resonance frequency to create an electrical output energy at the resonance frequency to upconvert the frequency of the ambient mechanical energy to harvest energy,wherein the proof mass, transducer, and transfer mechanism are monolithically integrated on a single substrate, andwherein the transducer and proof mass are in common plane with the single substrate.
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Abstract
The present invention comprises systems, apparatuses, and methods for harvesting ambient mechanical energy at a lower frequency and transforming the harvested energy into electrical energy at a higher frequency. Transforming the energy from relatively lower input frequency energy to relatively higher output frequency energy can help realize greater efficiencies found at higher frequencies. Because the input plane of the ambient mechanical energy is not always predictable, some embodiments of the present invention comprise both in-plane and out-of-plane energy harvesters that produce an electrical output in multiple planes.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A micromechanical device, comprising:
an energy harvester comprising; a proof mass that receives ambient mechanical energy at a first frequency in a first plane; a transducer comprising piezoelectric material; and a transfer mechanism that transfers the received ambient mechanical energy to the transducer, causing the transducer to vibrate at its resonance frequency to create an electrical output energy at the resonance frequency to upconvert the frequency of the ambient mechanical energy to harvest energy, wherein the proof mass, transducer, and transfer mechanism are monolithically integrated on a single substrate, and wherein the transducer and proof mass are in common plane with the single substrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 23, 24)
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3. A micromechanical device comprising:
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a sensor component; and an energy harvester comprising; a proof mass that receives ambient mechanical energy at a first frequency in a first plane; a transducer comprising piezoelectric material; and a transfer mechanism that transfers the received ambient mechanical energy to the transducer, causing the transducer to vibrate at its resonance frequency to create an electrical output energy at the resonance frequency to upconvert the frequency of the ambient mechanical energy to harvest energy. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A micromechanical device comprising:
an energy harvester comprising; a proof mass that receives ambient mechanical energy at a first frequency in a first plane, wherein the proof mass comprises a beam having a first mass at a first end of the beam and a second mass at a second, opposite end of the beam, wherein the first mass is greater than the second mass; a transducer comprising piezoelectric material; and a transfer mechanism that transfers the received ambient mechanical energy to the transducer, causing the transducer to vibrate at its resonance frequency to create an electrical output energy at the resonance frequency to upconvert the frequency of the ambient mechanical energy to harvest energy. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A micromechanical device, comprising:
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an energy harvester comprising; a proof mass that receives ambient mechanical energy at a first frequency in a first plane, wherein the proof mass is a seismic mass that vibrates within the first plane upon receiving the ambient mechanical energy; a transducer comprising piezoelectric material; and a transfer mechanism that transfers the received ambient mechanical energy to the transducer, causing the transducer to vibrate at its resonance frequency to create an electrical output energy at the resonance frequency to upconvert the frequency of the ambient mechanical energy to harvest energy; a proof mass micro-pick attached to the proof mass; a transducer micro-pick attached to the transducer; and wherein proof mass micro-pick causes the transducer to vibrate at the resonance frequency by striking the transducer micro-pick when the received ambient mechanical energy is of a predetermined value. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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25. An electrical energy generation device, comprising:
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a mechanical energy harvester; and an electrical system connected to the mechanical energy harvester to receive electrical energy from the mechanical energy harvester, wherein the mechanical energy harvester comprises; a proof mass that receives ambient mechanical energy at a first frequency in a first plane, wherein the proof mass comprises a beam having a first mass at a first end of the beam and a second mass at a second, opposite end of the beam, wherein the first mass is greater than the second mass; a transducer comprising piezoelectric material; and a transfer mechanism that transfers the received ambient mechanical energy to the transducer, causing the transducer to vibrate at its resonance frequency to create an output voltage at the resonance frequency to upconvert the ambient mechanical energy. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 33)
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31. An electrical energy generation device, comprising:
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a mechanical energy harvester; an electrical system connected to the mechanical energy harvester to receive electrical energy from the mechanical energy harvester, wherein the mechanical energy harvester comprises; a proof mass that receives ambient mechanical energy at a first frequency in a first plane, wherein the proof mass is a seismic mass that vibrates within the first plane upon receiving the ambient mechanical energy; a transducer comprising piezoelectric material; and a transfer mechanism that transfers the received ambient mechanical energy to the transducer, causing the transducer to vibrate at its resonance frequency to create an output voltage at the resonance frequency to upconvert the ambient mechanical energy; a proof mass micro-pick attached to the proof mass; a transducer micro-pick attached to the transducer; and wherein proof mass micro-pick causes the transducer to vibrate at the resonance frequency by striking the transducer micro-pick when the received ambient mechanical energy is of a predetermined value.
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32. An electrical energy generation device, comprising:
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a mechanical energy harvester; and an electrical system connected to the mechanical energy harvester to receive electrical energy from the mechanical energy harvester, wherein the mechanical energy harvester comprises; a proof mass that receives ambient mechanical energy at a first frequency in a first plane; a transducer comprising piezoelectric material; and a transfer mechanism that transfers the received ambient mechanical energy to the transducer, causing the transducer to vibrate at its resonance frequency to create an output voltage at the resonance frequency to upconvert the ambient mechanical energy, wherein the transducer and transfer mechanism comprise a plurality of beam transducers attached to the proof mass, wherein the proof mass vibrates at the first frequency and one or more of the beam transducers vibrate at the resonance frequency.
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Specification