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US 2006/0130589 A1Published application
Method and apparatus for scavenging and using energy caused by changes in pressure
AssigneePalo Alto Research Center Incorporated
InventorsStephen Jackson, Gregory Schmitz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus to scavenge energy caused by changes in interior pressure of a container, including at least one flexible chamber containing a fluid at a predetermined pressure; a piezoelectric element coupled to the flexible chamber so as to generate electricity when the flexible chamber is flexed by a change in pressure of the container.
Claims20
An apparatus to scavenge energy caused by changes in interior pressure of a container, comprising:
- at least one flexible chamber containing a fluid at a predetermined pressure;
- a piezoelectric element coupled to the flexible chamber so as to generate electricity when the flexible chamber is flexed by a change in interior pressure of the container.
An apparatus to scavenge energy caused by changes in interior pressure of a container, comprising:
- at least one bourdon tube;
- a piezoelectric element coupled to the bourdon tube so as to generate electricity when the bourdon tube is flexed by a change in interior pressure of the container.
A pneumatic tire for a vehicle, comprising:
- a wall defining an interior portion and an exterior portion, the interior portion having a fluctuating pressure when the vehicle is moving;
- a valve formed in the wall to connect the interim portion to the exterior portion;
- at least one flexible chamber containing a fluid at a predetermined pressure;
- a piezoelectric element coupled to the flexible chamber so as to generate electricity when the flexible chamber is flexed by the fluctuating pressure of the interior portion;
- an electricity storage device to store electricity generated by the piezoelectric element;
- at least one sensor to measure a condition relevant to the pneumatic tire and powered by the electricity storage device;
- a transmitter to transmit data related to the sensed condition;
- a receiver to receive the transmitted data;
- and
- a user interface to communicate the received data to a user of the vehicle.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.