Pneumatic energy harvesting and monitoring

• US 9,146,141 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2009
• Issued: 09/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Fonda, James W., Slesinski, Raymond J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Satanovsky, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US12/565,116
• Publication Number:
  US 20110071774A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,197 Days
• Field of Search: 702/50, 702/60, 702/61, 702/62, 702/63, 290/43
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 15/10 Adaptations for driving, or combinations with, electric generators
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 2205/04 Pressure in the outlet chamber
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 51/00 Testing machines, pumps, or pumping installations
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 19/005 Fault detection or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 21/00 Measuring or testing not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 19/0007 Fluidic connecting means
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 9/00 Measuring steady of quasi-steady pressure of fluid or fluent solid material by electric or magnetic pressure-sensitive elements G01L11/004 takes precedence; Transmitting or indicating the displacement of mechanical pressure-sensitive elements, used to measure the steady or quasi-steady pressure of a fluid or fluent solid material, by electric or magnetic means measuring differences of two or more pressure values G01L13/00; measuring two or more pressure values simultaneously G01L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02S 10/20 Systems characterised by their energy storage means H02S40/38 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/50 Photovoltaic [PV] energy
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 70/30 Systems combining energy storage with energy generation of non-fossil origin

Abstract

A method and apparatus for monitoring a pneumatic system. A number of parameters are monitored using a monitoring device connected to the pneumatic system, an energy harvesting unit configured to generate electrical energy from a gas in the pneumatic system, and a controller. The monitoring device comprises a number of sensors configured to detect the number of parameters. The controller is in communication with the number of sensors and the energy harvesting unit and is configured to process measurements for the number of parameters detected by the number of sensors and control operation of the energy harvesting unit. The number of sensors and the controller are powered by the energy harvesting unit. The monitoring device is powered using the electrical energy generated by the energy harvesting unit.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a number of sensors configured to detect a number of parameters;

an energy harvesting unit configured to generate electrical energy by converting mechanical energy into the electrical energy, the mechanical energy obtained from at least one of the expansion and the movement of a compressed gas in a pneumatic system, and wherein the electrical energy is in the form of electrical current;

an energy storage device configured to receive and store the electrical energy, the energy storage device further configured to distribute the electrical energy to a controller;

the controller connected to the number of sensors and the energy harvesting unit, wherein the controller is configured to process measurements for the number of parameters detected by the number of sensors, and wherein the number of sensors and the controller are powered by the energy harvesting unit; and

a housing, wherein the number of sensors, the energy harvesting unit, the energy storage device, and the controller are located within the housing, the housing having an input and an output, wherein the input is configured to receive the compressed gas in a first section of a gas line and the output is configured to send the compressed gas into a second section in the gas line;

the housing further comprising;

a first channel in communication with the input;

a second channel in communication with the output;

a third channel in communication with the energy harvesting unit; and

a valve connected to the first channel, the second channel, and the third channel, wherein the valve is configured to direct a flow of the compressed gas in the first channel to at least one of the second channel and the third channel, the valve further configured to change a pressure of the compressed gas in the gas line.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the energy storage device is a battery system.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the energy harvesting unit comprises:

a turbine unit configured to generate an electrical current from the flow of the compressed gas through the turbine unit.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to communicate with a computer system using at least one of a wireless communications link and a wired communications link.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to control charging of the battery system using a policy.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the policy is configured to cause the controller to start charging the battery system if a charge level in the battery system falls below a lower limit and stops charging the battery system when the charge level in the battery system exceeds an upper limit.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the controller is directly connected to the energy harvesting unit.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the policy is configured to cause the controller to charge and discharge the battery system using a number of charge and discharge curves for the battery system in the policy.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to process the measurements by sending the measurements to a computer system.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to process the measurements by analyzing the measurements.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the number of parameters is for at least one of the pneumatic system and an environment in which the pneumatic system is located.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises at least one of an application specific integrated circuit, a central processing unit, and a processor unit.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the number of sensors comprises at least one of a moisture sensor, a flow sensor, a pressure sensor, a particulate sensor, a temperature sensor, a carbon dioxide sensor, a microphone, a hydrogen sensor, a particle detector, and a video camera.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

the pneumatic system.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising the controller making measurements based upon performing at least one of processing digital signals, processing flash signals, processing analog signals, processing image data, filtering, sampling, and collecting additional measurement data.

16. An apparatus comprising:

a number of sensors configured to detect a number of parameters in a fluid system;

an energy harvesting unit configured to generate electrical energy from at least one of the expansion and the movement of a fluid in the fluid system;

an energy storage device configured to receive and store the electrical energy, the energy storage device further configured to distribute the electrical energy to a controller;

a controller in communication with the number of sensors and the energy harvesting unit, wherein the controller is configured to process measurements for the number of parameters detected by the number of sensors and control operation of the energy harvesting unit and wherein the number of sensors and the controller are powered by the electrical energy generated by the energy harvesting unit; and

a housing, wherein the number of sensors, the energy harvesting unit, the energy storage device, and the controller are located within the housing, the housing having an input and an output, wherein the input is configured to receive the fluid in a first section of a line and the output is configured to send the fluid into a second section in the line;

the housing further comprising;

a first channel in communication with the input;

a second channel in communication with the output;

a third channel in communication with the energy harvesting unit; and

a valve connected to the first channel, the second channel, and the third channel, wherein the valve is configured to direct a flow of the fluid in the first channel to at least one of the second channel and the third channel, the valve further configured to change a pressure of the fluid in the line.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the fluid system is selected from one of a hydraulic system and a pneumatic system.

18. A method for monitoring a pneumatic system, the method comprising:

monitoring for a number of parameters using a monitoring device connected to the pneumatic system, wherein the monitoring device comprises a number of sensors configured to detect the number of parameters;

an energy harvesting unit configured to generate electrical energy by converting mechanical energy into the electrical energy, the mechanical energy obtained from at least one of the expansion and the movement of a compressed gas in a pneumatic system, and wherein the electrical energy is in the form of electrical current;

an energy storage device configured to receive and store the electrical energy, the energy storage device further configured to distribute the electrical energy to a controller;

the controller in communication with the number of sensors and the energy harvesting unit, wherein the controller is configured to process measurements for the number of parameters detected by the number of sensors and control operation of the energy harvesting unit; and

a housing, wherein the number of sensors, the energy harvesting unit, the energy storage device, and the controller are located within the housing, the housing having an input and an output, wherein the input is configured to receive the compressed gas in a first section of a gas line and the output is configured to send the compressed gas into a second section in the gas line;

the housing further comprising a first channel in communication with the input;

a second channel in communication with the output;

a third channel in communication with the energy harvesting unit; and

a valve connected to the first channel, the second channel, and the third channel, wherein the valve is configured to direct a flow of the compressed gas in the first channel to at least one of the second channel and the third channel, the valve further configured to change a pressure of the compressed gas in the gas line; and

powering the monitoring device using the electrical energy generated by the energy harvesting unit.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

sending the measurements to a remote location.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the measurements are received from the number of sensors as analog signals and the controller converts the analog signals into digital signals.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the measurements are sent to the remote location over a wireless communications link.

22. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

installing the monitoring device in the pneumatic system.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the energy storage device is a battery system, the method further comprising:

charging the battery system in the monitoring device using the energy harvesting unit, and

distributing the energy stored in the battery system back into the pneumatic system via distributing the energy to the controller, wherein the distributing of the stored energy previously received and stored using the energy harvesting unit creates a cyclical system wherein energy is reused and energy waste is minimized.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein the number of sensors and the controller are powered by the energy harvesting unit.