JP5967396B2 - Power generation device and shock absorber for generating power - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power generation device that is arranged on a vehicle such as a vehicle or a ship or a structure such as a bridge and converts vibration energy generated by vibration into electric energy, and a shock absorber that generates power using the power generation device.

  Conventionally, vehicles such as automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, and the like are equipped with suspensions for reducing vibration of the vehicle body by firmly grounding a plurality of wheels. A typical suspension includes a coil spring and a shock absorber for damping vibration.

  The impact from the wheels applied to the vehicle is temporarily absorbed by the coil spring. The coil spring that has absorbed the shock keeps vibrating for a relatively long time and keeps the vehicle shaken. On the other hand, the shock absorber quickly attenuates the vibration by converting the energy generated by the vibration into heat energy.

  A typical shock absorber has a hydraulic oil damper. The vibration energy received by the vehicle is converted into thermal energy when the viscous oil passes through the orifice in the oil damper. Since the heat energy generated by such a shock absorber cannot be recovered, it is not effectively used. In addition, the oil damper has a problem that oil leaks or the oil leaks to a specified value or less and the function deteriorates.

  Several techniques for recovering vibration energy received by a vehicle as electric energy have been proposed. For example, the following Patent Document 1 discloses a generator that acts as a shock absorber that absorbs up and down reciprocation, vibration, and vibration between an arm supporting a tire and a body. Note that Patent Document 1 does not disclose a specific configuration of such a generator.

  Patent Document 2 below discloses a technique for generating electric power by converting the vertical motion of a coil spring constituting a suspension into a rotational motion by a ball screw nut and rotating the rotating shaft of the generator by this rotational motion.

  Patent Document 3 below transmits a generator provided on the vehicle body, a motion direction conversion mechanism that converts relative movement of the vehicle body with respect to the wheels into rotational motion, and rotational motion transmitted from the motion direction conversion mechanism to the generator. An automobile power generation system including a transmission mechanism is disclosed.

  Patent Document 4 below discloses a vibration power generator that can efficiently convert energy of vibration generated in a structure such as a bridge into electric energy. Specifically, the driven body guided and supported by the structure to be moved up and down by being driven by the weight body that resonates greatly with the vibration of the structure, and the vertical component of the movement of the weight body is driven. A motion transmission means for transmitting to the body, a conversion mechanism for converting the vertical motion of the driven body into a rotational motion, a rotational speed multiplication mechanism for multiplying the rotational speed of the rotational motion generated by the conversion mechanism, and rotation Disclosed is a vibration power generation device including a generator that is rotationally driven by a number multiplication mechanism. Such a vibration power generator has low power generation efficiency because the current direction changes every time the direction of motion reverses.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-343962 JP 2012-191746 A JP 2001-336475 A JP 2012-207646 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a power generator that converts vibration energy into electric energy, and a shock absorber that generates power using the power generator.

One aspect of the present invention, there is provided a power generator for converting the energy of the vibration into electric energy, and two rotary axes that different, two a rotating member rotatable about a respective rotation axis, two rotating members an annular body is stretched, and at least one generator to generate power by rotation of the rotation axis is connected to at least one of the rotary shaft, and a vibration transmitting means for transmitting vibration from the outside to the annular body, the rotation Rotation direction limiting means for transmitting the rotation in only one direction of the member to the generator, and a circuit for flowing an idling current lower than the rotation of the generator in the power generation direction when the amount of current flowing through the generator is less than a predetermined value And a power generation device.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a shock absorber that generates electric power including the power generation device as described above.

  The power generation device according to the present invention absorbs vibration energy and generates power using the absorbed vibration energy. Further, the shock absorber for generating electric power according to the present invention absorbs energy of vibration caused by swinging of a vehicle or the like, and generates electric power using the absorbed energy of vibration.

  The objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the internal structure of the suspension mechanism 100 including the shock absorber 20. (A) is a front view, (b) is a side view. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an automobile 200 provided with the suspension mechanism 100. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the movement of the lower outer cylinder 1b. (A) shows when the lower outer cylinder 1b moves so as to extend with respect to the upper outer cylinder 1a, and (b) shows when the lower outer cylinder 1b moves so as to contract with respect to the upper outer cylinder 1a. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view for explaining a shock absorber provided with a belt tensioner 80. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing an arrangement example of the rotating member and the generator. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing an arrangement example of the rotating member and the generator. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the current voltage control means. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the current-voltage control means. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the current-voltage control means. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the control flow of the CPU of the current / voltage control means of FIG.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a power generator according to the present invention and a shock absorber including the power generator will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the internal structure of the suspension mechanism 100 including the shock absorber 20. (A) is a front view, (b) is a side view. The housing 1 and the coil spring 30 are shown in cross section. Further, (b) also shows an example of a charging circuit. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the automobile 200 equipped with the suspension mechanism 100.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the suspension mechanism 100 includes a shock absorber 20 and a coil spring 30 through which the shock absorber 20 is inserted. The coil spring 30 absorbs an impact applied to the vehicle. The shock absorber 20 attenuates vibration.

  The shock absorber 20 includes a substantially cylindrical housing 1 and a power generation device 10 accommodated in the housing 1. The housing 1 includes an upper outer cylinder 1a and a lower outer cylinder 1b inserted through the upper outer cylinder 1a so as to be able to advance and retreat. The lower outer cylinder 1b can move so as to approach or separate from the upper outer cylinder 1a. The upper outer cylinder 1a includes a bolt-shaped vehicle body side mounting portion 52. The vehicle body side mounting portion 52 is fixed to the vehicle body 40 with a nut 51. The lower outer cylinder 1b includes a wheel side mounting portion 62. The wheel side mounting portion 62 is fixed to the wheel side member 60 with bolts and nuts 61. The wheel side member 60 is provided on a suspension arm (not shown). An upper spring seat 6 is formed on the outer peripheral surface on the upper end side of the upper outer cylinder 1a. A lower spring seat 16 is formed on the lower outer peripheral surface of the lower outer cylinder 1b. The coil spring 30 is sandwiched between the upper spring seat 6 and the lower spring seat 16.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the power generation device 10 is accommodated in the housing 1 and supported by the inner wall of the upper outer cylinder 1 a via the support member 3. The power generation device 10 includes a generator 4, a rotation shaft 5a, a rotation shaft 5b, a rotation member 7, a rotation direction restriction unit 11, a generator 14, a rotation shaft 15a, a rotation shaft 15b, a rotation member 17, a rotation direction restriction unit 21, and And an annular body 8. The generator 4 is disposed on the vehicle body 40 side. The generator 14 is disposed on the wheel side. The rotating shaft 5 a is supported by the generator 4. The rotating shaft 5b is connected to the rotating shaft 5a via the connecting mechanism 22. The rotating member 7 can rotate around the rotating shaft 5b. The rotating member 7 and the rotating shaft 5b are connected via a rotation direction limiting means 11. The rotating shaft 15 a is supported by the generator 14. The rotating shaft 15b is connected to the rotating shaft 15a via the connecting mechanism 23. The rotating member 17 is rotatable about the rotating shaft 15b as a central axis. The rotating member 17 and the rotating shaft 15b are connected via a rotation direction limiting means 21. The annular body 8 is stretched over the rotating member 7 and the rotating member 17 that form a pair.

  The support member 3 is fixed to the inner wall of the upper outer cylinder 1a via a fixed portion 3a. The generator 4 is fixed on the support member 3 via a fixed leg 4a, for example, by welding. Similarly, the generator 14 is being fixed on the support member 3 via the fixed leg 14a.

  The support member 3 accommodated in the casing 1 can secure a space s in the casing 1 that allows the lower outer cylinder 1b to approach or separate from the upper outer cylinder 1a when receiving vibration. If it is a member which has a shape and a magnitude | size, the raw material, a shape, a magnitude | size, etc. will not be limited. Specific examples of the material include a plate-like member formed by processing a plate made of metal, resin, carbon fiber, or the like. The fixing portion 3a is formed by fixing means such as a fastener that can firmly fix the support member 3 to the inner wall of the upper outer cylinder 1a, such as welding, welding, adhesion, or a combination of a bolt and a nut. .

  The generator 4 generates electricity by the rotation of the rotating shaft 5 (5a, 5b). Further, the generator 14 generates power by the rotation of the rotary shaft 15 (15a, 15b). In the following description, the connection between the rotation shaft 5a and the rotation shaft 5b may be referred to as the rotation shaft 5, and the connection between the rotation shaft 15a and the rotation shaft 15b may be referred to as the rotation shaft 15.

  The vibration input part 9 is fixed to the inner wall of the lower outer cylinder 1b through a connecting part 9a. The vibration input unit 9 transmits vibration generated in the vehicle to the annular body 8. For example, when the wheel of the traveling vehicle floats off the ground, the lower outer cylinder 1b moves with respect to the upper outer cylinder 1a so as to extend in the wheel direction due to the elasticity of the coil spring 30. At this time, the downward motion is transmitted to the belt-shaped annular body 8 from the vibration input portion 9 via the connecting portion 9a connected to the lower outer cylinder 1b. As a result, the annular body 8 moves in the direction of the arrow X shown in FIG. As a result, the rotating member 7 and the rotating member 17 that span the annular body 8 rotate in the clockwise direction.

  The rotating member 7 is connected to the rotating shaft 5b via a rotating direction restricting means 11 that allows only rotating in one direction of the rotating shaft 5b and restricts rotation in the other direction. Specifically, as shown by the curved arrow in FIG. 1A, the rotating member 7 rotates the rotating shaft 5b only in one clockwise direction. On the other hand, the rotating member 17 is also connected to the rotating shaft 15b via a rotating direction limiting means 21 for allowing only rotating in one direction of the rotating shaft 15b and limiting rotation in the other direction. Specifically, as shown by the curved arrow in FIG. 1A, the rotating member 17 rotates the rotating shaft 15b only in one counterclockwise direction.

  The rotation direction limiting unit 11 and the rotation direction limiting unit 21 limit rotations in opposite directions. As a result, when the annular body 8 moves in the direction of the arrow X, the rotating member 7 rotates the rotating shaft 5b in the clockwise direction, but the rotating member 17 does not rotate the rotating shaft 15b in the clockwise direction. . On the other hand, when the annular body 8 moves in the direction of the arrow Y, the rotating member 17 rotates the rotating shaft 15b in the counterclockwise direction, but the rotating member 7 rotates the rotating shaft 5b in the counterclockwise direction. I won't let you. By providing such a mechanism, rotation in the direction opposite to the direction allowed by each rotation direction limiting means is not transmitted to each generator. Thereby, the direction of the electric current generated from each generator is limited to only one direction. Specific examples of the rotation direction limiting means include a mechanical one-way clutch, a one-way bearing, and an electromagnetic clutch.

  Next, the operation of the suspension mechanism 100 including the shock absorber 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  When the automobile 200 having the suspension mechanism 100 as shown in FIG. 2 travels, vibration due to an impact from the road surface is transmitted to the suspension mechanism 100 via the wheels. The vibration transmitted to the suspension mechanism 100 is absorbed by the coil spring 30 and the shock absorber 20 of the suspension mechanism 100. The vibration causes the coil spring 30 to expand and contract. Further, the lower outer cylinder 1b constituting the shock absorber 20 fixed to the wheel side extends and contracts with respect to the upper outer cylinder 1a fixed to the vehicle body side so as to be interlocked with the expansion and contraction of the coil spring 30.

  The operation when the lower outer cylinder 1b expands and contracts with respect to the upper outer cylinder 1a will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  (A) of FIG. 3 is explanatory drawing which shows a mode when the lower side outer cylinder 1b moves so that it may extend toward the wheel side with respect to the upper side outer cylinder 1a. (B) is explanatory drawing which shows a mode when the lower outer cylinder 1b moves so that it may shrink toward the vehicle body side with respect to the upper outer cylinder 1a.

  In a state where the wheels are stably in contact with the road surface and the track, the lower outer cylinder 1b is adjusted so as to be positioned substantially at the center of the movable range relative to the upper outer cylinder 1a by the repulsive force of the coil spring 30. On the other hand, in a state where the wheel is lifted from the road surface or the track, as shown in FIG. 3A, the coil spring 30 is extended by the repulsive force so that the lower outer cylinder 1b is extended with respect to the upper outer cylinder 1a. Move to. Then, the lower outer cylinder 1b moves in the direction indicated by the arrow D in (a). In this case, the movement in the direction indicated by the arrow X in (a) is transmitted from the vibration input portion 9 via the connecting portion 9a connected to the lower outer cylinder 1b to the belt-like annular body 8. Then, when the annular body 8 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow X, the rotating member 7 and the rotating member 17 that span the annular body 8 rotate in the clockwise direction.

  The rotating member 7 is connected to the rotating shaft 5b via a rotating direction restricting means 11 for rotating the rotating shaft 5b only in one clockwise direction indicated by the bent arrow in FIG. On the other hand, the rotating member 17 is connected to the rotating shaft 15b via a rotating direction limiting means 21 for rotating the rotating shaft 15b in only one direction counterclockwise. With such a mechanism, when the belt-like annular body 8 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow X in FIG. 5A, the rotating member 7 transmits the rotational motion to the generator 4 via the rotating shaft 5b. On the other hand, since the rotating shaft 15b does not rotate in the clockwise direction, the rotational motion of the rotating member 17 is not transmitted to the generator 14. As a result, only the generator 4 generates power. Further, the energy generated by the vibration is consumed by the power generation of the generator 4, and the vibration is attenuated.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the suspension mechanism 100 receives an impact from the road surface and the coil spring 30 contracts, the lower outer cylinder 1b moves relative to the upper outer cylinder 1a. Then, the lower outer cylinder 1b moves in the direction indicated by the arrow U in FIG. In this case, the movement in the direction indicated by the arrow Y is transmitted to the annular body 8 from the vibration input portion 9 via the connecting portion 9a connected to the lower outer cylinder 1b. Then, when the annular body 8 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow U, the rotating member 7 and the rotating member 17 that span the annular body 8 rotate in the counterclockwise direction.

  The rotating member 17 is connected to the rotating shaft 15b via a rotating direction restricting means 21 for rotating the rotating shaft 15b only in one counterclockwise direction indicated by the curved arrow in FIG. On the other hand, the rotating member 7 is connected to the rotating shaft 5b via a rotating direction limiting means 11 for rotating the rotating shaft 5b in only one clockwise direction. With such a mechanism, when the annular body 8 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow Y in (b), the rotating member 17 transmits the rotational motion to the generator 14 via the rotating shaft 15b. On the other hand, since the rotating shaft 5 b does not rotate in the counterclockwise direction, the rotational motion of the rotating member 7 is not transmitted to the generator 4. As a result, only the generator 14 generates power. Further, the energy generated by the vibration is consumed by the power generation of the generator 14, and the vibration is attenuated.

  As described above, the change in the polarity of electricity is suppressed by transmitting rotation in only one direction to each generator. As a result, energy loss due to power consumption during reverse rotation is suppressed. According to such a power generator, vibration energy can be converted into electric energy with high efficiency.

  As described above, the suspension mechanism 100 including the shock absorber 10 converts energy generated by vehicle vibration into electric energy. The electric power generated by the generator 4 and the generator 14 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 1B, the positive-side wirings 25 and 26, the negative-side wirings 27 and 28, and predetermined rectification and voltage conversion functions. The charging device 70 connected via the control means 69 or the like having a charge is charged. The charging device 70 is not particularly limited as long as it is a device that can charge and discharge the generated power. Specifically, for example, a battery or a lithium ion secondary battery charging device provided in a vehicle can be used.

  When the positive electrodes and negative electrodes of the generator 4 and the generator 14 are connected to each other, the generated power is rectified and charged to a direct current suitable for the vehicle in order to prevent backflow of current. Is preferred. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 1B, rectification such as a rectifier circuit or a rectifier having diodes 69a and 69b between the connection paths of the generator 4 and the generator 14 and the charging device 70. It is preferable to provide means 69. The current and voltage flowing through the generator 4 and the generator 14 are preferably controlled by the current / voltage control means 68.

  By the way, conventionally, a shock absorber having a function of adjusting riding comfort has been known. Also in the shock absorber of this embodiment, the ride comfort can be adjusted as follows by adjusting the amount of current flowing through the generator.

  The torque of the rotating shaft that rotates the generator varies depending on the amount of current flowing through the generator. When the amount of current is small, the torque is small, and when the amount of current is large, the torque is large. Therefore, the hardness and softness of the riding comfort can be adjusted by adjusting the torque of the rotating shaft by controlling the amount of current flowing through the generator. Specifically, when the amount of current flowing through the generator is small, the torque of the rotating shaft is reduced and the ride comfort is softened. On the contrary, when the amount of current is large, the torque of the rotating shaft increases and the ride comfort becomes harder. The ride comfort can be adjusted steplessly by adjusting the torque to be rotated according to the amount of current flowing through the generator. In addition, depending on the type of generator, it may function as a motor that rotates a rotating shaft in a direction opposite to the power generation direction by supplying a current in a direction opposite to the power generation direction.

  Moreover, since the amount of power generation is reduced during stable running with small vehicle swing, the generated voltage may not reach a rechargeable voltage. For example, the voltage of a general lead-acid battery mounted on an automobile is 12V. When the generated voltage is a low voltage that does not reach 12V (for example, about 3V), the lead-acid battery is not charged. On the other hand, the swing of the vehicle may be remarkably increased due to an impact that is too great, such as when a wheel steps on a large curb. When the swing of the vehicle becomes significantly large, the generated voltage rapidly increases. For example, when the generated voltage rapidly rises to about 50V, an overload is given to the lead-acid battery. In such a case, it is preferable to adjust the generated voltage to an appropriate charging voltage by voltage conversion.

  With reference to FIG. 7, an example of a preferable configuration of the current / voltage control means will be described. FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a current / voltage control system including a current / voltage control means 168 including a DC-DC converter 66 and a current limiter 67. The DC-DC converter 66 converts a direct current voltage into a predetermined voltage. The current limiter 67 controls the generated current to a specified charging current.

  The DC-DC converter 66 converts the generated voltage into a voltage suitable for charging. For example, by converting a low power generation voltage of about 3V to a voltage of 12V or more by the DC-DC converter 66, a 12V lead-acid battery can be charged. Further, for example, by converting a high power generation voltage of about 50V to a voltage of about 15-16V by the DC-DC converter 66, the load on the 12V lead-acid battery can be reduced.

  Further, the ride comfort is adjusted by controlling the charging current value by the current limiter 67. For example, the ride comfort is adjusted to be soft by increasing the charging current to decrease the amount of current flowing to the generator. On the other hand, the ride comfort is adjusted to be harder by decreasing the charging current and increasing the amount of current flowing to the generator.

  The control of the current / voltage control means 168 is executed by the CPU 72 having a predetermined control program based on, for example, the vibration amount monitored by the vibration detection means 71 provided in the shock absorber 20 or the vehicle body 200. Further, the charging current value may be controlled by detecting the idling state of the wheel to determine the grounding state of the vehicle.

  Furthermore, when the generator which acts also as a motor is used, it is preferable that the shock absorber 20 is controlled as follows. The direction in which the lower outer cylinder 1b of the shock absorber 20 is extended when the wheel is idling due to the wheel floating from the road surface or the track and becoming unstable, that is, the annular body 8 in FIG. Electric power is supplied to the generator 4 serving as a motor so as to rotate the rotating member 7 so as to move in the direction of the arrow X. By extending the lower outer cylinder 1b, the grounding of the wheel is accelerated. In this case, since the idling time when the wheel is lifted from the ground is shortened, the stability is quickly recovered.

  An example of another preferred configuration of the current / voltage control means will be described with reference to FIG. The DC-DC converter 66 shown in FIG. 7 can increase the amount of charge by converting a low-voltage generated current into a higher voltage. On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, only the current value may be controlled by using only a current limiting circuit including a transistor. In this case, the low-voltage generated current is not used as the charging voltage, and the power is recovered using only the large voltage generated current as the charging voltage. According to such control, the power generation efficiency is reduced, but the control device can be manufactured at low cost.

  Furthermore, an example of another preferable configuration of the current / voltage control means will be described. When the wheel steps on a large curb and the vehicle swings significantly, the rotating shaft connected to the generator is suddenly rotated. When a large rotational force is suddenly input to the generator, a sudden change in torque may cause seizure damage or gear damage to the generator. In such a case, when no vibration is generated and power is not generated, a weak current (idling current) less than the minimum current value for rotating the rotating shaft is passed through the generator in the same direction as the generated current to stand by. A sudden torque change is alleviated. An example of such a method will be described with reference to an example of the current / voltage control circuit of FIG.

The current / voltage control circuit shown in FIG. 9 determines whether the suspension device 20 is receiving vibration or not, and causes the generators 4 and 14 to have the same direction as the generated current when not receiving vibration. Is a circuit for supplying idling currents I ₁ and I ₂ . In FIG. 9, 77 is a CPU, 78 is a current detector, 79 is a DC-DC converter for converting polarity, R ₁ and R ₂ are contacts such as semiconductor contacts, and r ₁ and r ₂ are for reducing current. Current adjustment resistor.

In the circuit of FIG. 9, the generators 4 and 14 generate power when the suspension device 20 receives vibration. The generated power is charged into the charging device 70 via the rectifying means 69. A current detection unit 78 arranged in the middle of the path between the rectifying unit 69 and the charging device 70 detects the amount of current flowing from the rectifying unit 69 and transmits the result to the CPU 77. As shown in FIG. 10, the CPU 77 compares the current amount data received from the current detection unit 78 with a preset specified value (S1). If the detected current amount is equal to or greater than the specified value, the charging device 70 is instructed to close the charging circuit 170 and open the discharging circuit 171 (S2). Further, a command is given to open the contacts R ₁ and R ₂ (S3). As a result, the power generation has been generated current _{I G} is charged in the charging device 70 by the generator 4, 14 (S4). On the other hand, the current amount data received from the current detector 78 is compared with a predetermined value set in advance (S1). If the current amount is less than the predetermined value, the charging circuit is opened in the charging device 70, and the discharging circuit is opened. Is closed (S5). Further, a command is given to close the contacts R ₁ and R ₂ (S6). When the contacts R ₁ and R ₂ are closed, the polarity and voltage are adjusted by the DC-DC converter 79, and then the idling current less than the minimum current value that rotates the rotating shaft in the same direction as the generated current to the generators 4 and 14 I ₁ and I ₂ are supplied (S7). As a result, the generator slightly increases the torque and waits, so that a sudden torque change when an impact is suddenly applied is alleviated.

  The power generator according to the present invention and the shock absorber including such a power generator have been described in detail above. The power generator and the shock absorber according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified and used without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  The generator is not particularly limited as long as it is a generator that generates electricity by rotation of a rotating shaft. Specifically, for example, an electromagnetic induction type DC type or AC type generator such as a generator using a neodymium magnet may be used. In addition, when the generated electric power is charged with a direct current to a charging device such as a battery or a secondary battery, a direct current generator is preferable. However, the DC generator has a drawback that the brush is worn. In order to solve such a problem, a brushless AC generator may be used. However, the AC generator may lose a smooth movement as a suspension mechanism from the point that rotation is stepped by a sine wave or a pulse.

  In addition, the combination of the rotating member and the annular body spanned by the plurality of rotating members is not particularly limited as long as it is a combination that realizes a mechanism capable of converting linear motion into rotational motion. Specific examples of the combination include, for example, a pulley and a timing belt, a combination of a toothed pulley and a toothed belt, a combination of a chain and a sprocket, or a combination of a rack and a pinion.

  In addition, the annular body may deteriorate and grow due to aging and frequency of use. In such a case, it is difficult to accurately transmit vibration to the rotating member. By providing the tensioner, the tension of the annular body is adjusted, and the vibration is accurately transmitted. As the tensioner, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a shaft 83 is connected to a rotating member 81, the shaft 83 is passed through the lower outer cylinder 1b, a spring 84 is inserted into the shaft 83, and the lower outer cylinder 1b. There is a belt tensioner 80 that can adjust the tension by tightening the nut 82 from the outside.

  Moreover, the electric power generating apparatus 10 of this embodiment is provided with the two rotation members 7 and 17 and the two generators 4 and 14 connected to them. The number of rotating members and the number of generators connected to the rotating members are not particularly limited, and may be appropriately adjusted according to the target power generation capacity and the like. For example, in order to enhance power generation capability, a power generation device including three or more rotating members and three or more generators connected to them may be used.

  In the power generation device 10, the generator 4 is connected to the rotating member 7. Similarly, the generator 14 is connected to the rotating member 17. When a generator is connected to each of the two rotating members in this way, the kinetic energy of both forward movement and backward movement due to vibration can be converted into electric energy and recovered. However, depending on the required power generation capacity and shock absorption capacity, instead of connecting a generator to all of the rotating members, a rotating member supported by a bearing that does not have a power generation capacity and is not connected to a generator is provided. May be.

  Moreover, in the electric power generating apparatus 10, the rotating shafts 5 and 15 are each cantilevered. Instead of the cantilever support, the rotary shaft may be a double-sided support in which the rotary shaft is supported by a bearing provided with a bearing on the opposite side to the direction in which each generator is arranged.

  In the power generator 10, the rotating shaft 5 a supported by the generator 4 and the rotating shaft 5 b supporting the rotating member 7 are connected, and the rotating shaft 15 a and the rotating member 17 supported in parallel by the generator 14 are supported. The rotating shaft connected to the rotating shaft 15b is used. Instead of the two rotating shafts connected by the connecting mechanism as described above, a single rotating shaft may be used.

  In addition, when the vehicle 200 including the suspension mechanism 100 according to the present embodiment gets over a high convex portion, the shock absorber 20 may suddenly receive a large impact and the generator may be rotated at a high speed to be overloaded. . In order to suppress such overload, a torque limiter for limiting the load applied to the generator may be provided. Specific examples of the torque limiter include, for example, a mechanical torque limiter that causes the rotating shaft to idle when a torque greater than a predetermined value is applied, and a load applied to the generator according to the amount of electricity consumed. A torque limiter using an electromagnetic force to be changed is exemplified. Further, as a connecting mechanism that connects the rotating shafts, for example, a connecting device having a function of a torque limiter that disconnects the connecting rotating shafts when an overload is applied and interrupts torque transmission may be used.

  Furthermore, a mechanism may be provided as necessary to mechanically suppress the shock absorber from receiving an extremely large impact and the generator from being overloaded. Specifically, by inserting an elastic body such as a high elastic modulus spring or rubber in any part of the path for inputting vibration to the power generation device, for example, at least a part of the coupling part, the vibration input part, or the annular body. A protective mechanism made of an elastic material that relieves the load by stretching when subjected to unexpected vibration may be provided.

  Moreover, when the rotational force by the rotating member is insufficient, the power generation capacity may be enhanced by further providing a speed increasing mechanism. As the speed increasing mechanism, a conventionally known mechanism capable of increasing the number of rotations transmitted to the generator as compared with the number of rotations of the rotating member is used without particular limitation. Specifically, for example, a speed increasing mechanism for connecting the rotating shafts with gears having different gear ratios, and a method for connecting the generator and the rotating shaft through a gear box or the like can be mentioned.

  Further, in the power generation device 10 of the present embodiment, the rotating shaft 5a and the rotating shaft 5b of the generator 4 are connected via the connecting mechanism 22, and the rotating shaft 15a and the rotating shaft 15b of the generator 14 are connected to the connecting mechanism 23. It is connected linearly through. When the generator is connected in a straight line as described above, it is necessary to ensure a large width of the casing for housing the generator, and the width of the casing becomes large. In order to reduce the width of the housing, the following mechanism may be used.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a rotating shaft 5b connected to the rotating member 7, a gear set that converts rotation of the rotating shaft 5b into a right angle direction by bevel gears (bevel gears) 31, 32, and a right angle direction. The generator 34 may be configured to be supplied with the rotational force. Further, instead of using the rotation member 7 connected to the rotation direction limiting means 11, as shown in FIG. 6, a rotation member 17 not connected to the rotation direction restriction means is used to input the rotational force to the generator 34. The configuration may include a rotation direction limiting means 41 for limiting the rotation direction immediately before.

  In the present embodiment, the suspension mechanism 100 having a general configuration in which the shock absorber 20 is inserted into the coil spring 30 is typically described in detail. The shock absorber according to the present invention can be applied to, for example, a trailing arm suspension mechanism in which a shock absorber is disposed independently of a coil spring, or a leaf spring suspension mechanism using a leaf spring.

  In addition, the shock absorber according to the above-described embodiment is exemplified as an example applied to a suspension mechanism of an automobile, but can be applied to a suspension mechanism of a motorcycle, a bicycle, or a train. Furthermore, the types of automobiles can be applied to various automobiles such as gasoline engine cars, electric cars, and hybrid cars. Further, the power generation device according to the present invention is not limited to a vehicle, and vibration energy can be efficiently converted into electric energy by being disposed on a ship that generates vibration, a bridge, or a building.

  In the power generation apparatus described above, external vibration is transmitted to the annular body via the vibration transmitting means. The annular body is reciprocated by the vibration transmitted through the vibration transmitting means. By the reciprocating motion of the annular body, the rotating member around the annular body rotates. Then, the rotational movement of the rotating member is transmitted to the generator via the rotating shaft. The rotation member is provided with rotation direction limiting means for transmitting rotation in only one direction of the rotation shaft to the generator. By transmitting the rotation in only one direction to the generator, the change in the polarity of electricity is suppressed. As a result, energy loss due to power consumption during reverse rotation is suppressed. According to such a power generator, vibration energy can be converted into electric energy with high efficiency.

  The plurality of rotating members are two rotating members, and each of the two rotating members includes a rotation direction limiting unit that allows only rotation in opposite directions to each other, and further includes two rotating members. Are connected to two generators to which rotational force is supplied by the rotation of each rotating shaft, and the two generators generate power by rotating in opposite directions so that the generated power flows only in one direction. It is preferable to further include a rectifying means for rectifying the current. According to such a configuration, all the kinetic energy of the forward motion and the backward motion due to the reciprocating motion of the annular body can be recovered as electric energy. As a result, in the case of vertical vibration, both kinetic energy in the vertical direction can be recovered.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the generator is connected to the rotating member via a torque limiter. According to such a configuration, when a sudden large vibration is received, a load applied to the generator by the torque limiter can be limited, thereby suppressing damage to the generator due to overload. Can do.

  As the combination of the rotating member and the annular body, a combination of a pulley and a timing belt, a combination of a toothed pulley and a toothed belt, a combination of a chain and a sprocket, or a combination of a rack and a pinion is preferably used. It is done.

  Moreover, it is preferable that a power generator is further equipped with the tensioner which adjusts the tension | tensile_strength of an annular body. When the power generation device according to the present invention is used as a shock absorber for a vehicle, the annular body may gradually expand due to a long-term operation, and vibration may not be transmitted. In such a case, accurate transmission of vibration can be maintained by adjusting the tension with the tensioner.

  In addition, since the power generation device further includes speed increasing means between the generator and the rotating member, the power generation capacity can be improved by increasing the number of revolutions of the generator rather than the number of revolutions of the rotating member. preferable.

  In addition, the power generation device includes a housing in which one of the upper outer cylinder and the lower outer cylinder is inserted into the other, and is capable of moving relative to each other while being separated from or approaching the upper outer cylinder or the lower outer cylinder. A plurality of rotating members are directly or indirectly supported by only one of the cylinders, and the vibration transmitting means is supported by only one of the other upper outer cylinder or lower outer cylinder that does not support the plurality of rotating members. It is preferable that According to such a configuration, for example, by fixing the upper outer cylinder to the vehicle body side of the vehicle and fixing the lower outer cylinder to the wheel side of the vehicle, vibration can be efficiently transmitted and power generation The device body can be protected from the outside world.

  When the power generation device as described above is used as a shock absorber for a vehicle, it is possible to absorb the vibration caused by the swing of the vehicle and generate power using the absorbed vibration energy. That is, in a conventional hydraulic shock absorber or the like, vibration energy released to the outside as heat can be recovered as electric energy.

  The power generation apparatus of the present invention can convert the vibration energy into electric energy by being arranged in a structure such as a vehicle or a bridge. Moreover, the shock absorber provided with the electric power generating apparatus of this invention improves the fuel consumption of a vehicle as a shock absorber which generates electric power.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a Upper outer cylinder 1b Lower outer cylinder 1 Case 3 Support member 3a Fixed part 4,14,34 Generator 5 (5a, 5b) Rotating shaft 6 Upper spring seat 7,17 Rotating member 8 Annular body 9 Vibration input part 9a Connecting portion 10 Power generation device 11, 21, 41 Rotation direction limiting means 15 (15a, 15b) Rotating shaft 16 Lower spring seat 20 Shock absorber 22, 23 Connecting mechanism 25, 26, 27, 28 Wiring 30 Coil spring 31, 32 Bulk Gear 40 Car body 51, 61 Bolt 52 Car body side mounting portion 60 Wheel side member 66, 79 DC-DC converter 67 Current limiter 68, 168 Current voltage control means 69 Rectifier means 69a, 69b, 77, 78 Diode 70 Charging device 72, 77 CPU
78 Current detection unit 80 Belt tensioner 100 Suspension mechanism

Claims (10)

A power generator that converts vibration energy into electrical energy,
Two different rotation axes,
Two rotating members that are respectively rotatable about the two rotating shafts;
An annular body spanned between the two rotating members;
At least one generator for power generation by the rotation of the rotation axis is connected to at least one of the previous SL rotary shaft,
Vibration transmitting means for transmitting external vibrations to the annular body;
A rotation direction limiting means for transmitting rotation in only one direction of the rotating member to the generator;
And a circuit for causing an idling current to flow lower than rotating the generator in the power generation direction when the amount of current flowing through the generator is equal to or less than a predetermined value .   2. The power generation device according to claim 1, wherein each of the two rotating members is connected to the rotating shaft via the rotation direction limiting unit that allows only rotation in opposite directions. The two rotating members are respectively connected to the two generators that generate electric power by the rotation of the rotating shafts,
3. The power generator according to claim 2, further comprising a rectifier that rectifies the two power generators so that the power generated by each of the rotary shafts rotates in the opposite direction and flows in only one direction. .   The power generation device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation of the rotation member is transmitted to the generator via a torque limiter.   The combination of the rotating member and the annular body is a combination of a pulley and a timing belt, a combination of a toothed pulley and a toothed belt, a combination of a chain and a sprocket, or a combination of a rack and a pinion. The power generator described in 1.   The power generator according to claim 1, wherein the rotation direction limiting means is a one-way clutch.   The power generator according to claim 1, further comprising a tensioner that adjusts the tension of the annular body.   The power generator according to claim 1, further comprising speed increasing means between the generator and the rotating member. One of the upper outer cylinder and the lower outer cylinder is inserted into the other, and includes a housing that can be moved apart or approached while sliding in the vibration direction.
The plurality of rotating members are directly or indirectly supported by only one of the upper outer cylinder and the lower outer cylinder, and the other upper outer cylinder or the lower that does not support the plurality of rotating members. The power generation device according to claim 1, wherein the vibration transmission unit is supported by only one of the side outer cylinders.   A shock absorber for generating electric power, comprising the power generator according to claim 1.

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