Energy-harvesting apparatus with plural mechanical amplifiers
First Claim
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1. An energy harvester for harvesting energy from an input vibration, comprising:
- a first mechanical amplifier responsive to the input vibration; and
a second mechanical amplifier coupled to and driven with an output of the first mechanical amplifier;
in which at least one of the first and second mechanical amplifiers comprises a parametric resonator driven in parametric resonance;
and in which an energy harvester power output is generated by electrically damping the second mechanical amplifier.
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Abstract
An energy harvester is provided for harvesting energy, and in particular electrical energy from an input vibration such as an ambient vibration. The energy harvester comprises a first mechanical amplifier responsive to the input vibration and a second mechanical amplifier coupled to the first mechanical amplifier. At least one of the first and second mechanical amplifiers comprises a parametric resonator, and a power output of the energy harvester is generated by damping the second mechanical amplifier.
12 Citations
23 Claims
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1. An energy harvester for harvesting energy from an input vibration, comprising:
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a first mechanical amplifier responsive to the input vibration; and a second mechanical amplifier coupled to and driven with an output of the first mechanical amplifier; in which at least one of the first and second mechanical amplifiers comprises a parametric resonator driven in parametric resonance; and in which an energy harvester power output is generated by electrically damping the second mechanical amplifier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An energy harvester for harvesting energy from an input vibration, comprising:
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a first mechanical amplifier responsive to the input vibration; and a second mechanical amplifier coupled to and driven with an output of the first mechanical amplifier driven in parametric resonance; in which at least one of the first and second mechanical amplifiers comprises a parametric resonator; and an electrical damping mechanism for generating an energy harvester power output, in which the electrical damping mechanism does not act directly on the first mechanical amplifier.
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21. A method for harvesting mechanical vibration, comprising the steps of:
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driving a first mechanical amplifier with the vibration; driving a second mechanical amplifier with an output of the first mechanical amplifier; and extracting a power output by electrically damping the second mechanical amplifier; in which at least one of the first and second mechanical amplifiers is a resonator driven in parametric resonance.
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22. An energy harvester for harvesting energy from an input vibration, comprising:
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a first mechanical amplifier comprising a direct resonator responsive to the input vibration; and a second mechanical amplifier coupled to the first mechanical amplifier and comprising a parametric resonator; in which a resonant frequency ω
of the direct resonator is a sub-multiple of a resonant frequency ω
the parametric resonator, such that ω
=2 ω
0ln, where n is the order of the sub-multiple; and
in which an energy harvester power output is generated by electrically damping the second mechanical amplifier. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification