U.S. patent application number 09/793279 was filed with the patent office on 2002-01-24 for power regenerating device and system.
Invention is credited to Tajima, Shigeru.
Application Number | 20020008978 09/793279 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 18571871 |
Filed Date | 2002-01-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020008978 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tajima, Shigeru |
January 24, 2002 |
Power regenerating device and system
Abstract
A power regenerating device for regenerating the power readily
in homes or offices. A jumper wire has one end engaged with a metal
frame of a door and has its other end connected to a junction of
first and second diodes. When the potential of the metal frame is
positive, the stray current of the metal frame flows to the jumper
wire, to the first diode and to the capacitor so as to charge the
capacitor. When the potential of the metal frame is negative, the
stray current flows to the capacitor, second diode and to the
jumper wire to charge the capacitor. An output voltage may be taken
at both ends of the capacitor.
Inventors: |
Tajima, Shigeru; (Kanagawa,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLC
P.O. Box 1135
Chicago
IL
60690
US
|
Family ID: |
18571871 |
Appl. No.: |
09/793279 |
Filed: |
February 26, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
363/44 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H02K 1/16 20130101; H02J
15/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
363/44 |
International
Class: |
H02M 001/12 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 25, 2000 |
JP |
P2000-05044 |
Claims
I claim as my invention:
1. A power regenerating device, comprising: an electrically
conductive connection wire having a first end engaged by an
external good conductor; a unidirectional element having a first
end connected to a second end of the electrically conductive
connection wire; and a capacitor connected at a first end to a
second end of the unidirectional element to constitute a current
path; wherein the power is taken at both first and second ends of
the capacitor.
2. A power regenerating device as claimed in claim 1, wherein an
electrically conductive connection wire for grounding is connected
to a second end of the capacitor opposite to the first end
connected to the unidirectional element.
3. A power regenerating device, comprising: an electrically
conductive connection wire having a first end engaged by an
external good conductor; a diode series circuit made up of a pair
of diodes connected in a same direction of current conduction, a
second end of the electrically conductive connection wire being
connected to a junction of the pair of diodes; and a capacitor
connected in parallel with both first and second ends of the diode
series circuit; wherein the power is taken at both first and second
ends of the capacitor.
4. A power regenerating device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
electrically conductive connection wire for grounding is connected
to an end of the capacitor.
5. A power regenerating device according to claim 3, wherein the
diode series circuit constitutes a portion of a diode bridge.
6. A power regenerating device as claimed in claim 1, wherein there
is not provided a resonance circuit.
7. A power regenerating device, comprising: a diode series circuit
made up of a pair of diodes connected in a same direction of
current conduction, and a capacitor connected in parallel with both
first and second ends of the diode series circuit; wherein a
take-out part for taking out stray current of the diode series
circuit is connected to a junction of the pair of diodes of the
diode series circuit to take the power at both first and second
ends of said capacitor.
8. A power regenerating system, comprising: a plurality of power
regenerating devices as claimed in claim 1, with the capacitors of
the respective power regenerating devices being connected in series
with one another.
9. A power supplying system, comprising: the power regenerating
devices according to claims 1, another DC power source and a switch
for connecting the power regenerating devices and the DC power
source to a load.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a power regenerating
device, and system, for regenerating the stray power of the
commercial power source in homes or offices to render its
utilization as a new power source possible.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] In homes or offices, power lines as the commercial power
source are laid and connected to a variety of pieces of electrical
equipment. The commercial power source in Japan, which is usually
50 or 60 Hz AC, is subjected to leakage from the interconnections
to a main power source of the electrical equipment even though the
main power source of the electrical equipment is turned off. Such
leakage of the commercial AC power source may be readily identified
by observing a casing, say for each piece of equipment by, for
example, an oscilloscope.
[0005] As the equipment becomes smaller in size and diversified,
power is required in a variety of situations. There is a battery as
a power source which is not dependent on the wiring of the
commercial power source. Although higher in the degree of freedom
in mounting, the battery is consumed sooner or later. This
represents a significant drawback of the battery as compared to the
commercial power source as long as the energy as the power source
is concerned. If this point is improved, the battery proves a
highly convenient power source. A solar cell represents one
solution and is put to practical use in, for example, an electronic
calculator. This system, however, has a major drawback in that it
cannot be operated in the absence of light, such that the solar
battery cannot be used safely in equipment which is used all day
long. On the other hand, there are many occasions where the power
is required in places, such as in a room, where it is difficult or
undesirable to lay the commercial wiring. It would be convenient if
local power generation were possible, even if the power generated
is small.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to
provide a power regenerating device which is able to regenerate
power easily, even in a room.
[0007] Thus, the present invention provides a power regenerating
device including an electrically conductive connection wire having
its one end engaged by an external good conductor, a unidirectional
element having one end connected to the other end of the
electrically conductive connection wire, and a capacitor connected
to the other end of the unidirectional element to constitute a
current path, wherein the power is taken at both ends of the
capacitor.
[0008] With the above-described configuration, the power can be
taken from the capacitor by a simplified structure. Of course, the
voltage produced at both ends of the capacitor may be divided to
use the so-produced fractionated voltage.
[0009] The present invention also provides a power regenerating
device including an electrically conductive connection wire having
its one end engaged by an external good conductor, a diode series
circuit made up of a pair of diodes connected in the same direction
of current conduction, the other end of the electrically conductive
connection wire being connected to a junction of the paired diodes,
and a capacitor connected in parallel with both ends of the diode
series circuit, wherein the power is taken at both ends of the
capacitor.
[0010] With the above-described configuration, the power can be
readily taken from the capacitor. The diode series circuit used may
be a commercially available diode bridge type product.
[0011] With the configuration of the present invention, the power
straying from the ac power source may be recovered by a simplified
structure for re-utilization.
[0012] Additional features and advantages of the present invention
are described in, and will be apparent from, the Detailed
Description of the Preferred Embodiments and the Drawings
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 shows the structure of a first embodiment of the
present invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of the first embodiment
shown in FIG. 1;
[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates a modification of the first
embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates another modification of the first
embodiment;
[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates a second embodiment of the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 6 illustrates a third embodiment of the present
invention;
[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates the operation of the third embodiment
shown in FIG. 6;
[0020] FIG. 8 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the present
invention;
[0021] FIG. 9 illustrates a fifth embodiment of the present
invention;
[0022] FIG. 10 illustrates a sixth embodiment of the present
invention;
[0023] FIG. 11 illustrates the operation of the sixth embodiment
shown in FIG. 10; and
[0024] FIG. 12 illustrates a seventh embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0025] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment 1 of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, a power regenerating device 100 is made up of diodes 1,
2, a capacitor 3, and jumper wires 4, 5. The jumper wire 4 is used
for deriving the induction power and is engaged with a door 200,
having a metal frame 201, or with a sash window. The object for
engagement may be a frame of a heating unit, a casing of a
refrigerator or any object not explicitly grounded. The object for
engagement explicitly grounded also may be applied depending on the
degree of the grounding effect. The jumper wire 5, used for
grounding, also may be omitted, if desired. The capacitor 3 may,
for example, be an electrolytic capacitor.
[0026] The diodes 1, 2 are connected in tandem in the same
direction, with the junction point thereof being connected over the
jumper wire 4 to the metal frame 201, with the serial connection
circuit being connected in parallel with the capacitor 3.
[0027] Across both ends of the capacitor 3 is connected a probe 301
of an oscilloscope 300 for measuring the induced power. In actual
use of the power regenerating device 100, the oscilloscope 300 is
not indispensable.
[0028] In the above structure, the current flowing in, for example,
the metal frame 201 is full-wave rectified through a forward path
of the diode 1 or 2 to flow through the capacitor 3 for charging.
Across both ends of the capacitor 3 is produced a DC voltage of 2
to several volts, depending on the magnitude of the induced
voltage.
[0029] FIG. 2 shows voltage charging characteristics with a
capacitance of the capacitor 3 of 22 .mu.F and with the use as a
diode of 1S953 for silicon switching. In this case, the load is 10
M of a probe 301 of the oscilloscope 300, and a DC voltage of 1V
was obtained in one minute.
[0030] The operation of the power regenerating device 100 of FIG. 1
is as follows: First, if the positive potential is generated over
the jumper wire 4, the diode 2 is reverse biased, with the
impedance being extremely high. So, the induced voltage undergoes
only little attenuation. On the other hand, since the diode 1 is
forward-biased, it is turned on to charge the capacitor 3. If a
negative voltage is induced in the jumper wire 4, the operation is
reversed from that described above.
[0031] Although the efficiency is halved, similar operations may be
achieved by a combination of the diode 1 and a high resistance 6a,
which takes the place of the diode 2, as shown in FIG. 3, or with a
combination of the diode 2 and a high resistance 6b, which takes
the place of the diode 1, as shown in FIG. 4.
[0032] A second embodiment 2 of the present invention is now
explained. The second embodiment 2 uses a pre-existing diode stack
(diode bridge) product. FIG. 5 shows a power regenerating device
100 of the second embodiment 2. In FIG. 5, to one input end of a
diode stack 7 is connected the jumper wire 4, with the other input
end of the diode stack 7 being opened. To an output end of the
diode stack 7 is connected the capacitor 3 in parallel. In this
case, diodes 7a and 7b of the diode stack 7 are used, while diodes
7c, 7cd are not used. The diodes 7a, 7b correspond to the diodes 2,
1 of FIG. 1, respectively.
[0033] Using D3SBA10, manufactured by SHINDENGEN, as the diode
stack 7, and the capacitor 3 with the capacitance of 22 .mu.F, the
voltage across both ends of the capacitor 3 was measured with an
oscilloscope in the same way as in FIG. 1. It was found that the
voltage across both ends of the capacitor 3 reached 1030 mV in one
minute.
[0034] A third embodiment 3 of the present invention is hereinafter
explained. The third embodiment 3 drives an oscillator circuit by
the power regenerating device of the present invention to generate
an oscillation output. FIG. 6 shows a structure of the third
embodiment 3. In this figure, an oscillator circuit 20 is connected
in parallel across both ends of the capacitor 3. The oscillator
circuit 20 is made up of a CMOS Schmidt trigger inverter (MC14584),
a resistor 9 of 33 k and a capacitor 10 of 1500 pF. This oscillator
circuit 20 starts its oscillation at an operating voltage of 1.6V
to give pulses with a period of approximately 24 mS. These output
pulses are shown in FIG. 7. Meanwhile, by reason of the circuit
structure of the third embodiment 3, the oscillation frequency and
the waveform depend on the induced voltage.
[0035] A fourth embodiment 4 is hereinafter explained. The fourth
embodiment 4 is similar in structure to the third embodiment 3
except that the jumper wire 4 is connected to a frame of an
ungrounded piece of routine equipment 13 (equipment with
double-poles receptacles). FIG. 8 shows the fourth embodiment, in
which the voltage induced across the equipment 13 and the
oscilloscope 300 is large and even reaches 120 Vpp as observed
simply with a 100:1 probe. The oscillator circuit 20 oscillated
with a rectangular waveform as when a customary power source is
applied. The voltage applied to an IC (Schmidt trigger inverter 8)
also reached 2.4 V and oscillated with sufficient stability as an
IC.
[0036] A fifth embodiment 5 is now explained. The fifth embodiment
uses a tester 400 in place of the oscilloscope of the embodiment 4.
The oscilloscope 200, used in the previous embodiments, is
grounded, such grounding possibly giving rise to the effect so far
discussed. So, in the fifth present embodiment 5, the tester 300 is
used in place of the oscilloscope 200. In this illustrative
structure, the voltage on reaching the equilibrium is 1.6 V, it
being felt that the oscillation is occurring in this state, as in
the embodiment 3. That is, the voltage can be taken out even if
powerful grounding is not connected, thus confirming that the power
can be generated in the absence of the grounding line. However, it
is preferable to provide a grounding line.
[0037] A sixth embodiment 6 of the present invention is hereinafter
explained. In the sixth embodiment 6, the power regenerating device
of the present invention is combined with other DC power sources,
such as a dry battery or a charging cell. The sixth embodiment 6 is
shown in FIG. 10, in which the voltage of the power regenerating
device 100 or that of a battery 500 is selectively applied through
a switch 600 to a load 700. A processor 800 monitors the output
voltage of the power regenerating device 100 over a signal line 801
to control the switching of the switch 600. As the switch 600, a
universal analog switch, such as CMOS IC MC14016 by MOTOROLA may be
used. Although the power is supplied to the processor 800, it also
may be supplied from the power regenerating device 100, or
selectively supplied by the switch 600 from the battery 500 or from
the power regenerating device 100. Although the constant voltage is
not supplied to the processor 600, a constant voltage circuit may
be used in case the constant voltage is required.
[0038] The operation of the sixth embodiment 6 is shown in FIG. 11,
in which voltages v1, v2 are determined based on the
charging/discharging time constant of the capacitor 3 of the power
regenerating device 100 or the voltage required for a load. It is
here assumed that the switch 600 has been set to the side of the
battery 500. When the output voltage of the power regenerating
device 100, that is the voltage across both terminals of the
capacitor 3, is gradually increased to reach a voltage level v2 at
time t0, this state is discriminated by the processor 800 to set
the switch to the side of the power regenerating device 100. As a
result, the power is now supplied from the power regenerating
device 100 to the load. If the capacitor 3 is discharged in a
larger extent than it is charged, the output voltage of the power
regenerating device 100 is decreased gradually. If the output
voltage is lowered at time t2 to a level v1, this state is
discriminated by the processor 800 to set the switch 600 to the
side of the battery 500. As a result, the power is applied from the
battery 500 to the load 700. From this time on, the power
regenerating device 100 ceases to consume the power, as a result of
which the output voltage is gradually increased. If the output
voltage reaches the voltage level v2 at time t2, the switch 600 is
set to the side of the power regenerating device 100. The
above-described sequence of operations is repeated.
[0039] If, in the above-described structure, the voltage of the
battery 500 is v1, an output voltage ranging between v1 and v2 is
applied to the load.
[0040] A seventh embodiment 7 of the present invention is now
explained. In the seventh present embodiment 7, plural power
regenerating devices are combined to develop a power of a higher
voltage. The seventh embodiment 7 is shown in FIG. 12 in which two
power regenerating devices 100 are connected in tandem. In this
structure, capacitors 3 of the power regenerating devices 100 are
connected in series with each other and an output voltage is taken
at both ends of the series circuit. In the present structure, the
sum of output voltages v3, v4 of the two power regenerating devices
100, that is v3+v4, is taken as the output voltage. Of course,
three or more power regenerating devices 100 may be combined to
form a larger voltage output.
[0041] In the seventh embodiment 7, the power of the commercial
frequency, induced in homes and offices, may be accumulated to
generate the power. In a site where the laying of the power source
wiring is difficult or undesirable, a power source which is small
but durable may be furnished. Because of the extremely simple
circuit structure, the power source of a low cost may be utilized.
In addition, the power may be generated without incurring
substantial cost, while maintenance is virtually unnecessary.
Moreover, the power source which is not in need of light can be
furnished permanently.
[0042] Although the present invention has been described with
reference to specific embodiments, those of skill in the art will
recognize that changes may be made thereto without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the hereafter
appended claims.
* * * * *