Energy harvesting mechanism
First Claim
1. An energy harvesting mechanism comprising:
- a central conductive element;
a plurality of transductive elements, each transductive element being positioned to be in contact with a corresponding peripheral length segment of the central conductive element;
wherein each transductive element is deformable in a characteristic radial direction to convert its deformation into a corresponding electrical signal;
wherein at least a portion of the plurality of transductive elements comprise PZT fibers; and
wherein each PZT fiber includes a plurality of peripheral conductive elements provided on a periphery of the fiber, and wherein the central conductive element includes an insulative layer that is layered on a periphery of the central conductive element to partially expose regions of the central conductive element, wherein each PZT fiber is positioned relative to the central conductive element so that individual peripheral conductive elements of the PZT fiber align with a corresponding exposed region of the central conductive element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of the invention provide an energy harvesting mechanism comprising a central conductive element and a plurality of transductive elements. Each transductive element is positioned to be in contact with a corresponding peripheral length segment of the central conductive element. Also each transductive element is deformable in a characteristic radial direction to convert its deformation into a corresponding electrical signal. The plurality of transductive elements are arranged so that any one of the plurality of transductive elements is capable of being deformed in the characteristic radial direction to trigger the corresponding electrical signal. Embodiments of the mechanism can be used for harvesting energy from a variety of bio-kinetic events such as a heartbeat, respiration, muscle contraction or other movement. Such embodiments can be used for powering a variety of implanted medical devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators and various monitoring devices.
144 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An energy harvesting mechanism comprising:
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a central conductive element; a plurality of transductive elements, each transductive element being positioned to be in contact with a corresponding peripheral length segment of the central conductive element; wherein each transductive element is deformable in a characteristic radial direction to convert its deformation into a corresponding electrical signal; wherein at least a portion of the plurality of transductive elements comprise PZT fibers; and wherein each PZT fiber includes a plurality of peripheral conductive elements provided on a periphery of the fiber, and wherein the central conductive element includes an insulative layer that is layered on a periphery of the central conductive element to partially expose regions of the central conductive element, wherein each PZT fiber is positioned relative to the central conductive element so that individual peripheral conductive elements of the PZT fiber align with a corresponding exposed region of the central conductive element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification