# US 12,015,325 B2 · Universal shaft with a generator for generating electricity > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,015,325 B2 - Document ID: US12015325B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/361,867 - Filed: 2021-06-29 - Published: 2021-12-30 - Granted: 2024-06-18 - Earliest claimed: 2020-06-30 - Assignees: Off-Highway Powertrain Services Germany GmbH - Applicants: Off-Highway Powertrain Services Germany GmbH - Inventors: Max Krüger; Timur Mehmet Kisla; Mike Mildenberger - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12015325B2 ## CPC - F16D 3/26: Hooke's joints or other joints with an equivalent intermediate member to which each coupling part is pivotally or slidably connected (F16D3/18, F16D3/20 take precedence) - H02K 7/003: {Couplings; Details of shafts (means for mounting rotors on shafts H02K1/28)} - H02K 7/006: {Structural association of a motor or generator with the drive train of a motor vehicle} - H02K 7/1853: {driven by intermittent forces} - H02K 7/1892: {Generators with parts oscillating or vibrating about an axis} - H02K 35/02: with moving magnets and stationary coil systems - F16C 2361/41: Couplings - F16C 2380/26: Dynamo-electric machines or combinations therewith, e.g. electro-motors and generators - F16D: COUPLINGS FOR TRANSMITTING ROTATION; CLUTCHES; BRAKES - H02K: DYNAMO-ELECTRIC MACHINES (dynamo-electric relays H01H53/00; conversion of DC or AC input power into surge output power {H03K3/53}) - F16C: SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS ## Abstract A universal shaft with a generator for generating electricity with the generator being driven by a cardan error occurring with a rotation of the universal shaft. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A shaft with a shaft body and a generator comprising a secondary part and a primary part arranged within said secondary part and movable relative to said secondary part, wherein said generator is provided within said shaft body in a rotationally fixed manner and that said primary part is movable along a direction of longitudinal extension of said secondary part, wherein said direction of longitudinal extension of said secondary part is at a radial distance to a longitudinal axis of said shaft body, wherein said secondary part comprises a coil connected in a rotationally fixed manner to said shaft body and said primary part comprises a magnet mounted in a spring-loaded manner deflectable within said coil in the circumferential direction of said shaft body, wherein said magnet is provided on a carrier of said primary part, wherein a first end of said carrier is coupled to a first leaf spring of a plurality of leaf springs and a second end of said carrier is coupled to a second leaf spring of the plurality of leaf springs, and wherein the first leaf spring and the second leaf spring of the plurality of leaf springs extend in a radial direction to a web provided at the radial center of said shaft body. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The shaft according to claim 1, wherein said primary and said secondary part in a cross-sectional view of said shaft body in the region of an outer jacket of said shaft body extend in a circumferential direction that is tangential to the radial direction. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The shaft according to claim 1, wherein windings of said coil are arranged eccentrically in said shaft body. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The shaft according to claim 1, wherein said generator extends substantially over an entire circumference of said shaft body in the cross-sectional view. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The shaft according to claim 1, wherein several generators are provided, each generator comprising a respective primary part with a natural frequency. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The shaft according to claim 5, wherein, in a cross-sectional view of said shaft body, at least one generator is provided in each half of said shaft body. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The shaft according to claim 1, wherein said generator is coupled to a logic unit, wherein said logic unit evaluates an electrical output of said generator for determining an operating parameter of said shaft mounted to be rotatable. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The shaft according to claim 1, wherein said generator is provided in a structural unit with a cylindrical jacket introduced into said shaft body. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) A drive train of a vehicle or a machine, comprising the shaft according to claim 1. ### Claim 10 A method for operating a shaft with a shaft body and a generator, the method comprising: moving a primary part of said generator, comprising a magnet and a carrier, relative to a secondary part of said generator, comprising a coil connected in a rotationally fixed manner to said shaft body, said magnet mounted in a spring-loaded manner deflectable within said coil in a circumferential direction of said shaft body, and said magnet provided on said carrier, wherein a first end of said carrier is coupled to a first leaf spring of a plurality of leaf springs and a second end of said carrier is coupled to a second leaf spring of the plurality of leaf springs; and swinging the primary part to and fro in a circumferential direction that is tangential to a radial direction of said shaft body by way of the first leaf spring and the second leaf spring, wherein the first leaf spring and the second leaf spring extend in the radial direction to a web provided at the radial center of said shaft body when said shaft rotates or vibrates, wherein said generator is provided within said shaft body in a rotationally fixed manner. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method according to claim 10, wherein said primary part is excited in its natural frequency by the rotation of said shaft. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The method according to claim 10, wherein said shaft is a universal shaft and said primary part is excited in its natural frequency by a cardan error of said universal shaft.