Energy device with integral collector surface for electromagnetic energy harvesting and method thereof

• US 8,906,523 B2
• Filed: 08/11/2009
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sapurast Research LLC
• Original Assignee: Infinite Power Solutions, Inc. (Apple Inc.)
• Inventors: Brantner, Paul C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cullen, Sean P
• Application Number:
  US12/539,327
• Publication Number:
  US 20100032001A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,946 Days
• Field of Search: 136/244, 136/252, 136/256, 136/259, 429/7, 429/124, 429/233, 320/137
• US Class Current: 429/7
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/46 Accumulators structurally combined with charging apparatus circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/465 with solar battery as charging system
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/248 provided with an AC/DC converting device, e.g. rectennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/44 using equipment having another main function to serve additionally as an antenna , e.g. means for giving an antenna an aesthetic aspectH01Q1/27 - H01Q1/34 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/001 Energy harvesting or scavenging
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/005 Mechanical details of housing or structure aiming to accommodate the power transfer means, e.g. mechanical integration of coils, antennas or transducers into emitting or receiving devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/27 characterised by the type of receiving antennas, e.g. rectennas
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/30 using light, e.g. lasers
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/402 the two or more transmitting or the two or more receiving devices being integrated in the same unit, e.g. power mats with several coils or antennas with several sub-antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: H02S 40/38 Energy storage means, e.g. batteries, structurally associated with PV modules
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/50 Photovoltaic [PV] energy
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 70/30 Systems combining energy storage with energy generation of non-fossil origin
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Abstract

An apparatus, method, and system to harvest and store electromagnetic energy is disclosed. The present invention uses, for example, conductive surfaces within the energy storage component itself as a means of electromagnetic energy collection. The surface may be an integral portion of the energy device, such as a charge collection surface within a battery or a capacitor that mainly provides the battery or a capacitor with a necessary function. In another embodiment of the invention a metallic or conductive surface is added to and specifically built into the energy device during manufacturing for the main purpose of collecting electromagnetic energy for the energy device but is otherwise not necessary for the energy storage component. Once the energy is collected, it can be rectified either via rectification components that were built directly into the energy storage component during its manufacture or connected external to the energy storage component but within the energy device. The so-designed energy device may represent a self-sustaining, autonomous electromagnetic energy harvesting—energy storage device.

Claims

1. An energy device comprising:

an energy storage component comprising an electrochemical cell having a plurality of component layers;

at least one electrically conductive surface layer that is provided by an anode current collector of said energy storage component,

wherein said at least one electrically conductive surface layer is adapted to collect electromagnetic energy thereby enabling a current to be induced within the at least one electrically conductive surface layer, and wherein the energy storage component is adapted to collect and store at least a portion of the current, wherein said at least one electrically conductive surface layer comprises an electrically conductive protrusion extending in a direction parallel to the plurality of component layers of the electrochemical cell and said at least one electrically conductive surface layer extends beyond a dimension of the plurality of component layers of the electrochemical cell; and

a substrate that is provided by a cathode current collector of said energy storage component, wherein the substrate extends beyond a dimension of said at least one electrically conductive surface layer.

2. The energy device of claim 1, wherein said energy storage component comprising components selected from the group of:

a battery, or a thin-film battery.

3. The energy device of claim 1, wherein said electrically conductive surface comprises a suitable electromagnetic impedance that is adapted to frequencies of the collected electromagnetic energies such that the dimensions of said electrically conductive surface are sized to create signal gains in the wavelength targeted for harvesting.

4. The energy device of claim 3, wherein said electrically conductive surface layer comprises a height of a dielectric (h), and a dielectric constant (∈

_r), and said dimensions of said electrically conductive surface layer for harvesting energy frequency(f_r) comprises width

W=½

f_r√

{square root over (μ

₀∈

₀)}*√

{square root over (2/(∈

_r−

1))}=v₀/2f_r*√

{square root over (2/(∈

_r+1))} and length

L=[1/(2f_r√

{square root over (∈

_reff)}√

{square root over (μ

₀∈

₀)}−

2Δ

L where v₀=1/√

{square root over (μ

₀∈

₀)}=a velocity of light in free space,

Δ

L=change in length, and ∈

_reff is the effective dielectric;

∈

_reff=[(∈

_r+1)/2]+[(∈

_r−

1)/2]*[1+12h/W]<sup>−

1/2</sup>.

5. The energy device of claim 1, wherein said at least one electrically conductive surface is structurally or chemically modified beyond the primary functional need by said energy storage component, whereby said modification causes an increase in the ability of said electrically conductive surface layer to collect electromagnetic energy.

6. The energy device of claim 5, wherein the electrically conductive protrusion is a first electrically conductive protrusion, wherein said at least one electrically conductive surface layer further comprises a second electrically conductive protrusion extending in the direction orthogonal to the energy storage component layers.

7. The energy device of claim 5, wherein said electrically conductive surface comprises a height of a dielectric (h), and a dielectric constant (∈

_r), and said dimensions of said electrically conductive surface layer for harvesting energy frequency (f_r) comprises width

W=½

f_r√

{square root over (μ

₀∈

₀)}*√

{square root over (2/(∈

_r+1) )}=v₀/2f_r*√

{square root over (2/(∈

_r+1))} and length

L=[1/(2f_r√

{square root over (∈

_reff)}√

{square root over (μ

₀∈

₀)}−

2Δ

L where v₀=1/√

{square root over (μ

₀∈

₀)}=a velocity of light in free space,

Δ

L=change in length, and ∈

_reff is the effective dielectric;

∈

_reff=[(∈

_r+1)/2]+[(∈

_r−

1)/2]*[1+12h/W]<sup>−

1/2</sup>.

8. The energy device of claim 5 wherein said electrically conductive surface is adapted to affect the RF conductive properties in regions of the electrically conductive surface layer to provide for isolated, conductive and semicondutive areas.

9. The energy device of claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive protrusion is a first electrically conductive protrusion, wherein said at least one electrically conductive surface layer further comprises a second electrically conductive protrusion extending in a direction orthogonal to the energy storage component.

10. The energy device of claim 1, further comprising said electrically conductive surface incorporated into said device during the fabrication of said energy storage component.

11. The energy device of claim 10 wherein a conductive layer and an associated insulating layer are added to said device during the fabrication of said energy storage component.

12. The energy device of claim 1, wherein said electrically conductive surface comprises a material selected from the group of:

metals, alloys, semiconductors, conductive organics and polymers, and conductive composites.

13. The energy device of claim 1, wherein the shape of said device is selected from the group of:

square, rectangular, triangular, multi-sided polygonal, round, curved, wavy, and non-uniform in thickness.

14. The energy device of claim 1, wherein the collected electromagnetic energy comprises energy selected from the group of:

electrical field coupled energy, magnetic field coupled energy, light wave direct coupled energy, light wave thermally coupled energy, laser or coherent light coupled energy, and sub-millimeter wavelength radiation coupled energy.

15. The energy device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of electrically conductive surfaces.

16. The energy device of claim 15, wherein said electrically conductive surfaces are adapted to form an array that improves the collection of power of the electromagnetic energy in an omni-directional response.

17. The energy device of claim 15, wherein said electrically conductive surfaces are adapted to form an array that improves the collection of power of the electromagnetic energy in an uni-directional response.

18. The energy device of claim 15, wherein said plurality of electrically conductive surfaces comprises a connection in series or in parallel that are adapted to collect electromagnetic energy.

19. The energy device of claim 18, wherein all electrically conductive surfaces comprise substantially equal size and shape.

20. The energy device of claim 18, wherein at least one of said electrically conductive surfaces comprises a substantially different size and shape than other electrically conductive surfaces.

21. The energy device of claim 1, further comprising at least one external rectification element adapted to rectify the collected electromagnetic energy.

22. The energy device of claim 21, wherein said at least one rectification element is selected from the group of external diode, rectenna comprising said external diode and said electrically conductive surface, external full bridge rectifier, external half bridge rectifier, and external reactive components, wherein said external reactive components comprise any combination of capacitors, coils, diodes, transistors, RF chokes, and integrated devices.

23. The energy device of claim 1, wherein said at least one electrically conductive surface layer comprises at least two electrically conductive surfaces of differing sizes.

24. The energy device of claim 1, wherein said at least one electrically conductive surface layer comprising at least two electrically conductive surfaces of similar sizes.

25. The energy device of claim 1, wherein said energy storage component comprises a geometrical shape selected from the group of square, rectangular, triangular, multi-sided polygonal, round, curved, wavy, and non-uniform in thickness.

26. The energy device of claim 1, further comprising more than one energy storage component.

27. The energy device of claim 1, wherein said energy storage components comprises two or more energy storage components connected in series or in parallel and wherein at least one of said energy storage components is adapted for said at least one electrically conductive surface layer to be adapted to collect electromagnetic energy.

28. The energy device of claim 27, wherein said energy storage components all comprise substantially the same size and shape.

29. The energy device of claim 27, wherein at least one of said energy storage components comprise a substantially different size and shape than the other energy storage components.

30. The energy device of claim 1 further comprising one or more layers between a plurality of conductive surfaces, said layers comprising an insulating layer.

31. An array comprising a plurality of energy devices of claim 1.

32. The array of claim 31, further comprising electrically conductive surfaces adapted to collect electromagnetic energy in an omni-directional response.

33. The array of claim 32, comprising a substrate element and at least two collection surfaces, each said collection surface located on opposite sides of said substrate element.

34. The array of claim 31, further comprising electrically conductive surfaces adapted to collect electromagnetic energy in a uni-directional response.

35. The array of claim 31, wherein said array of energy devices comprise a connection in series or in parallel and wherein at least one of said energy devices provides an electrically conductive surface that is adapted to collect electromagnetic energy.

36. The energy device of claim 35, wherein said energy devices all comprise substantially equal size and shape.

37. The energy device of claim 35, wherein at least one of said energy devices comprise a substantially different size and shape than the other energy devices.

38. A method of collecting electromagnetic energy within an environment containing electromagnetic energy comprising:

providing at least one energy harvesting device within the environment,

said device comprising an electrically conductive surface, a substrate, and an energy storage component,

wherein the electrically conductive surface is provided by an anode current collector of the energy storage component,

wherein the electrically conductive surface is adapted to collect the electromagnetic energy thereby enabling a current to be induced within the electrically conductive surface,

wherein the energy storage component comprises and electrochemical cell having a plurality of component layers,

wherein the electrically conductive surface comprises an electrically conductive protrusion extending in a direction parallel to the plurality of component layers of the electrochemical cell and the electrically conductive surface extends beyond a dimension of the plurality of component layers of the electrochemical cell,

wherein the substrate is provided by a cathode current collector of the energy storage component and extends beyond a dimension of the electrically conductive surface;

collecting the electromagnetic energy from the environment across said electrically conductive surface; and

storing the energy in said energy storage component.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising modifying the geometry of said electrically conductive surface to improve the collection of electromagnetic energy.

40. The method of claim 38, further comprising rectifying the collected electromagnetic energy before storing the energy in said energy storage component.

41. The method of claim 38, further comprising powering an autonomous electrical device.

42. The method of claim 38 further comprising incorporating said electrically conductive surface into said device during -fabrication of said energy storage component.