Method and system for converting mechanical energy of an oscillating body into electrical energy

A method for converting mechanical energy from oscillations of an oscillating body into electrical energy, the method comprising:

• adjusting a displacement of a mass mechanically coupled to an electrical machine, the coupling being such that the electrical machine generates the electrical energy from the displacement of the mass in the oscillations, the displacement being a displacement with respect to the oscillating body,
• the mass being mechanically coupled to the body, the mechanical coupling of the mass with the body allowing the displacement of the mass caused by a gravitational force and by a force of the electrical machine applied to the mass in the oscillations,
• the oscillations causing variations of an angle of inclination of the oscillating body with respect to a direction of the gravitational force,
• the displacement being adjusted by an adjustment of the force applied by the electrical machine to the mass,
• the force applied by the electrical machine being adjusted by means-of-a controller on the basis of a measurement of an instantaneous angle of inclination of the oscillating body and on the basis of at least one of:
• a measurement of an instantaneous position of the mass with respect to the oscillating body or a measurement of an instantaneous velocity of the displacement of the mass,
• the controller being configured so that a control objective of the adjustment of the force applied by the electrical machine is to achieve that an instantaneous velocity of the displacement of the mass is positively accelerated by the gravitational force applied to the mass at all instants of the oscillations in which:
• a subtraction of the instantaneous angle of inclination of the oscillating body minus the angle of inclination of the body at rest has opposite sign to the sign of the angle of inclination of the body at rest, and an absolute value of the subtraction of the instantaneous angle of inclination of the oscillating body minus the angle of inclination of the body at rest is greater than the absolute value of the angle of inclination of the body at rest;
• and/or
• a subtraction of the instantaneous angle of inclination of the oscillating body minus the angle of inclination of the body at rest has the same sign as the angle of inclination of the body at rest, and
• the instantaneous angle of inclination being an angle with respect to a plane perpendicular to the direction of the gravitational force, and the angle of inclination of the body at rest being an angle with respect to the plane perpendicular to the direction of the gravitational force.