U.S. patent application number 11/477120 was filed with the patent office on 2007-11-15 for crushing power generator.
Invention is credited to Ming-Chin Chiu.
Application Number | 20070264081 11/477120 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38221792 |
Filed Date | 2007-11-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070264081 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chiu; Ming-Chin |
November 15, 2007 |
Crushing power generator
Abstract
A crushing power generator is capable of being installed below a
road surface. The crushing power generator includes a hollow casing
installed below a road surface and having an upward opening; a
resetable pressing unit installed in the hollow casing and part of
the resetable pressing unit protruded out of the hollow casing from
the opening the hollow casing for receiving pressure from the road
surface to descend into the hollow casing so as to generate a
downward pressure; a generator unit received in the hollow casing;
and a power converter received in the hollow casing and connected
to the resetable pressing unit and the generator unit so as to
convert the downward pressure from the resetable pressing unit into
mechanic power to drive the power generator unit to generate
power.
Inventors: |
Chiu; Ming-Chin; (Taipei
Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Ming-Chin Chiu
235 Chung-Ho, Box 8-24
Taipei
omitted
|
Family ID: |
38221792 |
Appl. No.: |
11/477120 |
Filed: |
June 29, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
404/71 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E01C 9/007 20130101;
E01C 9/00 20130101; E01F 13/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
404/71 |
International
Class: |
E01C 7/00 20060101
E01C007/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 12, 2006 |
TW |
095208135 |
Claims
1. A crushing power generator capable of being installed below a
road surface; comprising: a hollow casing installed below a road
surface and having an upward opening; a resetable pressing unit
installed in the hollow casing and part of the resetable pressing
unit protruded out of the hollow casing from the opening the hollow
casing for receiving pressure from the road surface to descend into
the hollow casing so as to generate a downward pressure; a
generator unit received in the hollow casing; and a power converter
received in the hollow casing and connected to the resetable
pressing unit and the generator unit so as to convert the downward
pressure from the resetable pressing unit into mechanic power to
drive the power generator unit to generate power.
2. The crushing power generator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
resetable pressing unit includes a first inclined plate, a second
inclined plate and an elastic element; each inclined plate has a
first end and a second end; the second plates of the first inclined
plate and the second inclined plate are installed at two opposite
sides of the hollow casing; the first ends of the first inclined
plate and the second inclined plate are overlapped to have an
approximate V shape structure which protrudes from the road
surface; and the elastic element resists against a lower side of
the first inclined plate.
3. The crushing power generator as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
power converter has a pressure cylinder and a driving shaft
connected to the pressure cylinder; when the V shape structure is
pressed downwards, the driving shaft descends to drive the pressure
cylinder to output pressure.
4. The crushing power generator as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
hollow casing has a spacer to divide the hollow casing into an
upper space and a lower space; the upper space is communicated to
the opening of the hollow casing; and the resetable pressing unit
is installed in the upper space; the power converter is installed
in the lower space; the driving shaft passes through the spacer to
be in the upper space; and the elastic element encloses the driving
shaft; and two ends of the elastic element are positioned at the
spacer and a top end of the driving shaft.
5. The crushing power generator as claimed in claim 4, wherein the
resetable pressing unit includes a roller set having a connecting
rod and two rollers at two ends of the connecting rod; one end of
the connecting rod is approximately connected to the first end of
the first inclined plate and has a roller; another end of the
connecting rod faces toward the hollow casing and is connected with
another roller; the resisting plate is connected at one end of the
driving shaft and is in contact with the roller; the elastic
element is a spring enclosing the driving shaft and is placed
between the resisting plate and the spacer; when the first inclined
plate and the second inclined plate are pressed, the second ends of
two plates are pivotally rotated downwards to drive the roller set
to push the driving shaft to moves downwards so that the pressure
cylinder can output pressure.
6. The crushing power generator as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
power converter further includes a tube set and a pressure motor;
the pressure motor is connected to a power generator unit through a
speed change unit so that the output pressure from the pressure
cylinder is transferred to the pressure motor through the tube set
to drive the pressure motor to generate mechanic power; the
generator is driven by the mechanic power to generate electric
power.
7. The crushing power generator as claimed in claim 6, wherein the
pressure motor is an air compressing motor; and the tube set
includes an air pressure tubes connected to the pressure cylinder
and the air compressing motor.
8. The crushing power generator as claimed in claim 6, wherein the
pressure motor is an oil pressure motor and the pressure cylinder
is an oil pressure cylinder; the tube set are oil tubes connected
the oil pressure cylinder and the oil pressure motor.
9. The crushing power generator as claimed in claim 6, wherein the
power converter includes a gear change unit connected the power
generator unit and the pressure motor for converting mechanic power
from the pressure motor to be transferred to the power generator
unit.
10. The crushing power generator as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
power converter includes a rack and an unidirectional gear set and
a driving shaft; a top of the driving shaft is located below the
connection of the first inclined plate and the second inclined
plate; the rack is located at a lower end of the driving shaft; the
unidirectional gear set is installed at the power generator unit
and is engaged to the rack at the lower end of the driving shaft;
when the first inclined plate and the second inclined plate are
pressed downwards, the driving shaft is pushed downwards to drive
the rack to rotate the unidirectional gear set so that the power is
transferred to the power generator unit to drive the power
generator unit to generate power.
11. The crushing power generator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
power generator unit is an induction power generator.
12. The crushing power generator as claimed in claim 11, wherein
the power generator unit further includes a battery set for storing
power from the generator.
13. The crushing power generator as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
power converter further includes a pressure storage device for
storing pressure from the power converter.
14. The crushing power generator as claimed in claim 5, wherein a
roller set has a connecting rod and two rollers at two ends of the
connecting rod; one end of the connecting rod is approximately
connected to the first end of the first inclined plate and has a
roller; another end of the connecting rod faces toward the hollow
casing has another roller which is in contact with a lower end of
the second inclined plate.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to powers, and in particular
to a crushing power generator which uses power of cars passing
through a road surface; the power is supplied to traffic lights or
indicators so as to save energy consumption.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Since energy in earth is reduced day after day. More and
more natural powers are used, such as electric power can be
generated from water force and wind force instead of nuclear power.
The object is to reduce the power consumption, but not affect the
daily life of human.
[0003] Water power generation or wind power generation are confined
by positions, which cannot be realized everywhere. Thereby there is
an eager demand for novel devices which generate power from
environments. For example the treading action for treading a
bicycle can generate electric power to the supply the lights of the
bicycles without extra batteries.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is
to provide a crushing power generator which uses the power of car
passing through a road surface; the power is supplied to traffic
lights or indicators so as to save power.
[0005] To achieve above object, the present invention provides a
crushing power generator capable of being installed below a road
surface. The crushing power generator includes a hollow casing
installed below a road surface and having an upward opening; a
resetable pressing unit installed in the hollow casing and part of
the resetable pressing unit protruded out of the hollow casing from
the opening the hollow casing for receiving pressure from the road
surface to descend into the hollow casing so as to generate a
downward pressure; a generator unit received in the hollow casing;
and a power converter received in the hollow casing and connected
to the resetable pressing unit and the generator unit so as to
convert the downward pressure from the resetable pressing unit into
mechanic power to drive the power generator unit to generate
power.
[0006] When a car passes through the first inclined plate and the
second inclined plate, the first inclined plate and second inclined
plate pivotally rotate along the pivotal connection of the ends to
a position flushing with the surface of the road. Thereby the ends
of the two plates will overlap and apply a pressure to the roller
set so as to push the driving shaft so that the pressure cylinder
will generate air pressure. The air pressure will be transferred to
the pressure motor 43 to drive the blade wheel of the pressure
motor to rotate. Then, the gear change unit increase speed and then
the power is outputted to the generator to increase the rotation
speed of the generator so as to generate power. The power is
directly outputted to the traffic indicator or traffic lights on
the road 6. The various objects and advantages of the present
invention will be more readily understood from the following
detailed description when read in conjunction with the appended
drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic view about the first embodiment of the
present invention, wherein the crushing power generator is
installed below a road surface.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a partial cross sectional view, wherein the
embodiment in FIG. 1 is added with a resetable pressing unit and a
power converter.
[0009] FIG. 3 is an elevational view showing that the power
converter in the first embodiment has a plurality of pressure
cylinders, a pressure motor, a gear change unit and a power
generator unit.
[0010] FIG. 4 shows the actions of the two plates which are pressed
by a car.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a partial cross sectional view about the second
embodiment of the present invention, where a rack and a
unidirectional gear set are installed to replace the pressure
cylinders and the pressure motor.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0012] In order that those skilled in the art can further
understand the present invention, a description will be described
in the following in details. However, these descriptions and the
appended drawings are only used to cause those skilled in the art
to understand the objects, features, and characteristics of the
present invention, but not to be used to confine the scope and
spirit of the present invention defined in the appended claims.
[0013] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the crushing power generator 1 of
the first preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a
hollow casing 2, a resetable pressing unit 3, a power converter 4,
and a power generator unit 5. The crushing power generator 1 of the
present invention is used in a road 6. The power from the crushing
power generator 1 is provided to traffic indicators 7 or traffic
lights.
[0014] In use, the hollow casing 2 of the crushing power generator
1 is embedded into a groove 60 of a road 6. The hollow casing 2 has
an upward opening 21, a peripheral wall 20 and a spacer 31. The
spacer 31 is installed within the peripheral wall 20 and spaces the
hollow casing 2 into an upper space 311 and a lower space 312.
[0015] It should be noted that in this the present invention, the
power converter 4 includes a plurality of pressure cylinders 41
located in the lower space 312. Each pressure cylinder 41 has a
respective driving shaft 411. Each driving shaft 411 passes through
the spacer 34 and a top thereof faces toward the opening 21 at the
upper side of the hollow casing 2.
[0016] In this embodiment, the resetable pressing unit 3 includes a
first inclined plate 32, a second inclined plate 33, at least one
resisting plate 34, at least one roller set 35 and at least one
elastic element 36. In FIG. 2, only one resisting plate 34, one
roller set 35, and one elastic element 36 are illustrated. However
each pressure cylinder 41 has a resisting plate 34, a roller set 35
and an elastic element 36 on the driving shaft 411)
[0017] The first inclined plate 32 has a first end 321 and a second
end 322. The second inclined plate 33 has a first end 331 and a
second end 332. The second end 322 of the first inclined plate 32
and the second end 332 of the second inclined plate 33 are
pivotally installed at two opposite ends of the opening 21 of the
hollow casing 2. The first end 321 of the first inclined plate 32
is located below and in contact with the second end 331 of the
second inclined plate 33. The connection of the first inclined
plate 32 and the second inclined plate 33 are formed as a V shape
top portion 8 which can protrude from a surface of the road 6.
[0018] The roller set 35 includes a connecting rod 351 and two
rollers 352, 353 at two ends of the connecting rod 351. One end of
the connecting rod 351 is approximately connected to the first end
321 of the first inclined plate 32 and has a roller 352. Another
end of the connecting rod 351 faces toward the hollow casing 2 and
is connected with a roller 353. The resisting plate 34 is connected
at one end of the driving shaft 411 and is in contact with the
roller 353. The elastic element 36 is a spring enclosing the
driving shaft 411 and is placed between the resisting plate 34 and
the spacer 31.
[0019] Other than the pressure cylinder 41 and the driving shaft
411, the power converter 4 further includes a tube set 42, a
pressure motor 43 and a gear change unit 44. In this embodiment,
the pressure cylinder 41 is a pneumatic cylinder. The pressure
motor 43 is an air compressing motor which has a blade wheel 431.
The pressure motor 43 is connected to a power generator unit 5
through a speed change unit 44 (such as a gear change box). The
power generator unit 5 has a generator 51 which is an induction
generator with a rotor (not shown). The tube set 42 includes a
plurality of pressure tubes. One end of each tube is connected to
the pressure cylinders 41 and another end thereof is connected to
the pressure motor 43.
[0020] Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, when a car passes through
the first inclined plate 32 and the second inclined plate 33, the
first inclined plate 32 and second inclined plate 33 pivotally
rotate along the pivotal connection of the ends 322, 332 thereof to
a position flushing with the surface of the road 6. Thus the car 71
will not vibrate. The angle between the first inclined plate 32 and
the second inclined plate 33 is approximately 180 degrees. Thereby
the ends 321, 331 of the two plates 32, 33 will overlap and apply a
pressure to the roller set 35 so as to push the driving shaft 411
so that the pressure cylinder 41 will generate air pressure. The
air pressure will be transferred to the pressure motor 43 through
an air pressure tube so as to drive the blade wheel 431 of the
pressure motor 43 to rotate. Thereby the air pressure from the
pressure cylinder 41 will be converted into mechanic energy of the
blade wheel 431. Then, the gear change unit 44 increase speed and
then the power is outputted to the generator 51 to increase the
rotation speed of the generator 51 so as to generate power. The
power is directly outputted to the traffic indicator 7 or traffic
lights on the road 6. When the car 71 leaves from the resetable
pressing unit 3, the two plates 32, 33 return to the original
position by the resilient force of the spring 36 so as to return to
a state of protruding from the surface of the road 6 for next
use.
[0021] When the output pressure from the pressure cylinder 41 is
sufficient to drive the pressure motor 43 to drive the generator
51, the gear change unit 44 can be neglected. Moreover the tube set
42 can be added with an air pressure accumulation tank 40. When
more cars pass, the air pressure can be accumulated in the tank 40
for being use as fewer cars passes.
[0022] In the present invention, the crushing power generator 1 can
be added with an electric power storage device 52 for storage
surplus power from the generator 51. Besides in this embodiment,
the pressure motor 43 is driven by air pressure, but it can be
replaced by an oil pressure motor and the pressure cylinder 41 is
replaced by an oil pressure cylinder. The tube set 42 includes a
plurality of oil tubes. This can achieve the same effect.
[0023] Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, and 6, the second embodiment of the
present invention is illustrated. Those identical to the first
embodiment will not be described. Only those differences are
described. In this embodiment, a rack 61 and a unidirectional gear
set 82 are used to replace the pressure cylinder 41 and the
pressure motor 43 of the power converter 4. The unidirectional gear
set 82 rotates unidirectionally. It is idle as rotates along a
reverse direction. When car passes through the resetable pressing
unit 3, the rack 82 moves downwards to drive the unidirectional
gear set 82 to rotate so as to drive the rotor of the generator 51.
When the car 71 moves away, by the resilient force of the elastic
element 36, the rack 81 moves upwards so as to drive the
unidirectional gear set 82 to rotate reversely, however this is
idle rotation. The generator 51 will not drive to move. The two
plates 32, 33 will return to the original positions to protrude
from the road 6 for next use.
[0024] Moreover as shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, each of the
two opposite walls of the lower space 312 of the hollow casing 2 is
connected to an ventilation channel 30 to retain air ventilation in
the lower space 312 so as to avoid the blade wheel 431 of the
pressure motor 43 cannot rotate due to over pressure of the lower
space 312. The spacer 31 has a further effect to prevent the water
flowing into the upper space 311 to flow to the lower space 312 so
as to destroy the generator 5 and the power converter 4.
Furthermore, if the space under the road 6 is insufficient, the
pressure motor 43, gear change unit 44 and the generator 51 can be
separated from the resetable pressing unit 3 and the pressure
cylinders 41 to be installed on the road 6 and then are connected
to the pressure cylinder 41 through tubes.
[0025] In summary, in the present invention, the resetable pressing
unit 3 moves downwards by the pressure of cars, and then the power
converter 4 will convert the pressure into mechanic power so as to
drive the power generator 5 to generate power. The crushing power
generator 1 can be installed on a railway or a subway. By the
pressure from the train, the same effect can be achieved.
Furthermore, since part of the resetable pressing unit 3 protrudes
from the road 6, the crushing power generator 1 has the affect of
deceleration of cars to reduce the possibility of vehicle
accidents.
[0026] This, in the present invention, by a car 71 to pass through
the resetable pressing unit 3 to generate a pressure, the pressure
is converted into mechanic power by the power converter 4 to drive
the generator 5 to generate power so as to provide power to traffic
indications 7 or traffic lights. No extra power is necessary to
generate power.
[0027] The present invention is thus described, it will be obvious
that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not
to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the
present invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious
to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the
scope of the following claims.
* * * * *