Electret type vibration detection system, method of creating external vibration information, method of creating transfer function information regarding external vibration, program for creating external vibration information, and program for creating transfer function information regarding external vibration

• US 9,964,434 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2013
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Institute of Technology (National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology), Omron Corporation
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Institute of Technology (National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology), Omron Corporation
• Inventors: Masaki, Tatsuakira, Nakao, Shinichi, Nishida, Hideshi, Sasaki, Eiichi, Yamaguchi, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Alkafawi, Eman
• Application Number:
  US14/404,926
• Publication Number:
  US 20150149123A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,895 Days
• Field of Search: 702198, 310300, 310309, 310324
• CPC Class Codes: G01H 11/06 by electric means
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 5/0008 of bridges
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 7/00 Vibration-testing of structures; Shock-testing of structures G01M9/00 takes precedence

Abstract

An electret type vibration detection system has a vibration-powered generator that performs vibration-induced power generation by displacing on a basis of external vibration an electret group formed of a plurality of electrets and an electrode group having a plurality of electrode pairs in a relative movement direction to output a vibration-induced voltage between electrodes of the electrode pair, and a transfer function memory section that stores transfer function information that defines a correlation between a vibration velocity of the external vibration and an output power voltage of the vibration-powered generator in a range of a predetermined frequency included in the external vibration, wherein the transfer function information contains a transfer coefficient set according to each of a plurality of frequencies belonging to the predetermined frequency range to place the vibration velocity of the external vibration and the output power voltage of the vibration-powered generator in a predetermined proportional relationship.

Claims

1. An electret type vibration detection system comprising:

a vibration-powered generator that performs vibration-induced power generation by displacing on a basis of external vibration an electret group formed of a plurality of electrets and an electrode group having a plurality of electrode pairs in a relative movement direction to output a power voltage between electrodes of the electrode pair;

a transfer function memory section that stores transfer function information that associates transfer coefficients with, respectively, a plurality of frequencies in a predetermined frequency range included in the external vibration,

wherein each of the transfer coefficients is a parameter defining a proportional relationship between a vibration velocity of the external vibration and the output power voltage of the vibration-powered generator with respect to an associated frequency;

an output spectrum information computing section that performs a Fourier transform on the transition information relating to the output power voltage of the vibration-powered generator within a predetermined time period to compute output spectrum information relating to the output power voltage; and

a vibration velocity information creating section that creates vibration velocity information relating to the external vibration in the predetermined time period, based on the output spectrum information relating to the output power voltage of the vibration-powered generator computed by the output spectrum information computing section and the transfer function information stored in the transfer function memory section,

wherein the vibration velocity information creating section creates the vibration velocity information relating to the external vibration in the predetermined time period, by multiplying the output spectrum information for each frequency by an inverse of the transfer coefficient corresponding to each frequency and performing an inverse Fourier transform in consideration of a phase delay corresponding to each frequency.

2. The electret type vibration detection system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a vibration displacement information creating section that creates vibration displacement information relating to the external vibration within the predetermined time period by integrating the vibration velocity information relating to the external vibration in the predetermined time period created by the vibration velocity information creating section.

3. The electret type vibration detection system according to claim 1,

wherein the vibration-powered generator comprises:

a casing that houses the electret group and the electrode group,

a firing member that is provided with the electrode group and fixed to the casing side, and

a movable member that is provided with the electret group and that is capable of relatively moving on the basis of the external vibration while facing the fixing member, and

wherein ends of each electret included in the electret group along the relative movement direction at a possible maximum amplitude assumed when the movable member is vibrated by the external vibration do not cross an electrode-side interval between adjacent electrodes of the electrode group.

4. A method of creating external vibration information, comprising:

obtaining transition information relating to an output power voltage within a predetermined time period from a vibration-powered generator that performs vibration-induced power generation by displacing on a basis of external vibration an electret group formed of a plurality of electrets and an electrode group having a plurality of electrode pairs in a relative movement direction by virtue of external vibration and outputs a vibration-induced voltage between electrodes of the electrode pair;

computing output spectrum information relating to the output power voltage by performing a Fourier transform on the obtained transition information relating to the output power voltage; and

creating vibration velocity information relating to external vibration within the predetermined period based on the computed output spectrum information and transfer function information that associates transfer coefficients with, respectively, a plurality of frequencies in a predetermined frequency range included in the external vibration and the output power voltage of the vibration-powered generator,

wherein each of the transfer coefficients is a parameter defining a proportional relationship between a vibration velocity of the external vibration and the output power voltage of the vibration-powered generator with respect to an associated frequency, and

wherein the vibration velocity information creating step creates the vibration velocity information relating to the external vibration in the predetermined time period, by multiplying the output spectrum information for each frequency by an inverse of the transfer coefficient corresponding to each frequency and performing an inverse Fourier transform in consideration of a phase delay corresponding to each frequency.

5. The method of creating external vibration information according to claim 4, further comprising:

creating vibration displacement information relating to the external vibration within the predetermined time period by integrating the created vibration velocity information relating to the external vibration in the predetermined time period.

6. The method of creating external vibration information according to claim 4,

wherein the vibration-powered generator comprises:

a casing that houses the electret group and the electrode group,

a fixing member that is provided with the electrode group and fixed to the casing side, and

a movable member that is provided with the electret group ant that is capable of relatively moving on the basis of the external vibration while facing the fixing member, and

wherein ends of each electret included in the electret group along the relative movement direction at a possible maximum amplitude assumed when the movable member is vibrated on the basis of the external vibration do not cross an electrode-side interval between adjacent electrodes of the electrode group.

7. A program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium for creating external vibration information, the program causing a computer to create information regarding external vibration applied to a vibration-powered generator that performs vibration-induced power generation by displacing on a basis of external vibration an electret group formed of a plurality of electrets and an electrode group having a plurality of electrode pairs in a relative movement direction and outputs a vibration-induced voltage between electrodes of the electrode pair, the program causing the computer to perform:

obtaining transition information relating to an output power voltage within a predetermined time period from the vibration-powered generator;

computing output spectrum information relating to the output power voltage by performing a Fourier transform on the obtained transition information relating to the output power voltage; and

creating vibration velocity information relating to the external vibration within the predetermined period based on the computed output spectrum information and transfer function information that associates transfer coefficients with, respectively, a plurality of frequencies in a predetermined frequency range included in the external vibration and the output power voltage of the vibration-powered generator,

wherein each of the transfer coefficients is a parameter defining a proportional relationship between a vibration velocity of the external vibration and the output power voltage of the vibration-powered generator with respect to an associated frequency, and

wherein the vibration velocity information creating step creates the vibration velocity information relating to the external vibration in the predetermined time period, by multiplying the output spectrum information for each frequency by an inverse of the transfer coefficient corresponding to each frequency and performing an inverse Fourier transform in consideration of a phase delay corresponding to each frequency.

8. The program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium for creating external vibration information according to claim 7, wherein the program further causes the computer to create vibration displacement information relating to the external vibration within the predetermined time period by integrating the created vibration velocity information relating to the external vibration in the predetermined time period.

9. The program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium for creating external vibration information according to claim 7,

wherein the vibration-powered generator comprises:

a casing that houses the electret group and the electrode group,

a fixing member that is provided with the electrode group and fixed to the casing side, and

a movable member that is provided with the electret group and that is capable of relatively moving on the basis of the external vibration while facing the fixing member, and

wherein ends of each electret included in the electret group along the relative movement direction at a possible maximum amplitude assumed when the movable member is vibrated by the external vibration do not cross an electrode-side interval between adjacent electrodes of the electrode group.