DC power harvesting system using streaming electrification and an opposite charge extractor

Smartphone centric ubiquitous sensing applications use a smartphone with external sensors. The 3.5mm audio interface provide a common data interface for communication in different smartphones. The 3.5mm audio interface cannot provide DC power to external sensors. Thus, power needs to be harvested from an earphone channel. The existing technology uses one earphone channel to harvest power. Consequently, for many smartphones the technology cannot harvest enough power to support external sensors. In this paper, based on frequency shift keying (FSK) modulation scheme, the authors have proposed a joint power harvesting and communication technology that can simultaneously harvest power and transfer data with the same earphone channels. Circuit measurements show that, the proposed technology can extract more than two times of power as from one earphone channel. Meanwhile, demodulation tests show that our newly-developed timer-based FSK demodulator can reliably recover the data transferred from a smartphone to external sensors without any error.

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Backscatter Ex-Nihilo: Single-component, Fully-passive Backscattering for Microcontrollers

10.31224/osf.io/p57sr ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Stewart Thomas ◽

Brian P. Degnan ◽

Cristel Callupe ◽

Billy Culver

Keyword(s):

General Purpose ◽

Rf Power ◽

Power Harvesting ◽

Backscatter Communication ◽

Dc Power ◽

Protection Circuits ◽

Ex Nihilo ◽

A Charge ◽

Charge Pump Circuit ◽

Internal Configuration

This paper investigates the harvesting of RF power using the existing electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuits of most ICs. Because of the internal diode configuration, a single off-chip capacitor is enough to create a charge pump circuit for rectifying and storing sufficient DC power to passively operate a microcontroller. This paper explores ESD circuitry and shows the feasibility of ESD-based power harvesting. A proof- of-concept device demonstrates a fully-passive backscatter link created using a MSP430. Backscatter communication is achieved through modulation of the internal configuration of a General Purpose Input Output (GPIO) pin on a microcontroller. This type of circuit enables two types of communication: zombie-links in which data is able to be transferred after a device has had its battery removed, as well as a mechanism for hidden identification or verification data, such as chip dielets.

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Functionalization of Specific Electrostrictive Polymers for High Power Harvesting

Innovative Materials and Systems for Energy Harvesting Applications - Advances in Environmental Engineering and Green Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-8254-2.ch014 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 412-451

Author(s):

Bouchta Sahraoui ◽

Adil Eddiai ◽

Mounir Meddad ◽

Daniel Guyomar ◽

Abdelowahed Hajjaji ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vibrational Energy ◽

Mechanical Strain ◽

Strong Relationship ◽

Electrical Energy ◽

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems ◽

Power Harvesting ◽

Dc Power ◽

Electromechanical Performance ◽

Electromechanical Conversion

The energy harvesting based on electrostrictive polymers has great potential for remote applications such as in vivo sensors, embedded micro-electro-mechanical systems devices. The harvested energy and action are controlled by the permittivity, the Young's modulus and their dependence on frequency and level of stress. One should use a model which takes into account mechanical losses in order to obtain efficient devices. This chapter provides a brief overview of the methods for harvesting mechanical to electrical energy using elestrostrictive polymer. The second paragraph presents two new techniques which enable the improvement of the electromechanical performance of electrostrictive polymers in order to demonstrate their potential for the vibrational energy recovery. Based on the strong relationship between the frequency of operation and the mechanical strain from one could improve the electromechanical conversion. The development of a new prototype based on electrostrictive polymers for increasing the conversion AC–DC power is discussed.

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High Efficiency Electromagnetic Energy Harvester for Railroad Application

Volume 4: 18th Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle Conference; 2013 ASME/IEEE International Conference on Mechatronic and Embedded Systems and Applications ◽

10.1115/detc2013-12770 ◽

2013 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

John Wang ◽

Teng Lin ◽

Lei Zuo

Keyword(s):

Energy Harvester ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Vibration Energy Harvester ◽

Power Harvesting ◽

Speed Regulation ◽

Dc Power ◽

Higher Power ◽

Power Harvester ◽

Health Monitoring Systems ◽

Conversion Technologies

A mechanical motion rectifier (MMR) based energy harvester is designed to harness the vibrational power from railroad track deflections due to passing trains. Whereas typical existing vibration energy harvester technologies are built for low power applications of milliwatts range, the proposed harvester will be designed for higher power applications such as major track-side equipment. This includes warning signals, switches, and health monitoring systems, which typically require a power supply of 10–100 Watts. To achieve this goal we implement the MMR, a newly patented motion conversion mechanism which efficiently transforms irregular pulse-like bidirectional linear vibration into regulated unidirectional rotational motion. The single-shaft MMR design improves previously developed motion conversion technologies, increasing energy harvester efficiency and power harvesting potential. Features of the MMR include bidirectional to unidirectional motion conversion and flywheel speed regulation. Its advantages include improved reliability, efficiency, and steadier output power. Harvester prototype testing results illustrate features and benefits of the MMR based harvester, showing reduction of continual system loading, regulation of generator speed, and capability for continuous DC power generation.

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