JP2009189120A - Power generation mechanism for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power generation mechanism for a vehicle simplified in constitution different from a power supply at a vehicle body side. <P>SOLUTION: The power generation mechanism 100 for the vehicle is mounted to the vehicle having wheels, and includes coils 110 and magnets 120. One of the coil 110 and the magnet 120 is mounted to the wheel H of the vehicle. The other of the coil 110 and the magnet 120 is mounted to a brake mechanism which does not rotate with respect to the wheel H of the vehicle. Then, the power generation mechanism is constituted so as to generate an induction current at the coil 110 by the relative movement of the coil 110 and the magnet 120 with the traveling of the vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a power generation mechanism that generates power as a vehicle travels.

  If the vehicle travels with the tire pressure lowered, there is a risk of puncture, and monitoring of the air pressure is required for safety. For example, in the United States, vehicles over 4.5t are required to be equipped with an air pressure monitoring device. However, normally, the air pressure monitoring device merely notifies or warns the driver of the air pressure state, and the actual air pressure adjustment operation is left to the driver. Therefore, due to the driver's forgetfulness and the like, although the air pressure needs to be replenished, it may be left as it is and an unexpected trouble may occur. For this reason, tires and wheels that can automatically fill the tire with air have been proposed.

  For example, a pump unit that pressurizes or depressurizes the gas in the tire and a pressure detection unit that detects the pressure in the tire are provided on the wheel, and the operation of the pump unit is controlled based on an output signal from the pressure detection unit. An air pressure adjusting device provided with a control means has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1). As a pump means of this air pressure adjusting device, a pump cell in which electrodes are formed on both the front and back surfaces of a solid electrolyte body or a piezoelectric pump is used.

JP 2004-299645 A

  However, in the invention of Patent Document 1, a power source for supplying electric power to these components is provided on the vehicle body side in addition to a pump cell, a piezoelectric pump, and control means for controlling the operation thereof. Therefore, the power of the power source on the vehicle body side is consumed for adjusting the tire air pressure. Furthermore, it is not possible to provide a wheel with a power generation function that can be used for automatic adjustment of air pressure, etc., with a simple work of exchanging the wheel for an existing vehicle.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and one of its purposes is to provide a vehicular power generation mechanism having a simple configuration separately from the power supply on the vehicle body side.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle power generation mechanism that can reduce the structural changes on the vehicle body side as much as possible, and can provide a power generation function mainly by exchanging the wheel even for existing vehicles. is there.

  The vehicle power generation mechanism according to the present invention is a vehicle power generation mechanism mounted on a vehicle including a wheel, and includes a magnet and a coil. One of the magnet and the coil is attached to a vehicle wheel. The other of the magnet and the coil is attached to a non-rotating brake mechanism with respect to the vehicle wheel. And it is characterized by the fact that an induction current is generated in the coil by the relative movement of the coil and the magnet as the vehicle travels.

  According to this structure, since it is a simple structure of a coil and a magnet, a power generation mechanism can be constructed with almost no change in the structure on the vehicle side. In addition, an induction current can be generated in the coil by the relative movement of the coil and the magnet by utilizing the rotation of the wheel during vehicle travel. Therefore, the electric power obtained by the power generation mechanism of the present invention can be used for various on-vehicle electric devices without consuming electric power from a power source mounted on the vehicle side.

  In the vehicular power generation mechanism of the present invention, a plurality of the coils are arranged in parallel on the outer periphery of the rim constituting the wheel, and the magnets are brake calipers so as to generate interlinkage magnetic fluxes for the respective coils. It is preferable that it is comprised so that it may be fixed to.

  According to this configuration, since the coil can be stored in the tire by arranging the coil on the outer periphery of the wheel, the coil can be protected from the external environment. Further, since the magnet can be fixed to the brake caliper, the structural change on the vehicle side can be minimized.

  In the vehicle power generation mechanism of the present invention, a plurality of the coils are arranged in parallel in the circumferential direction of the wheel inside the spokes constituting the wheel, and the magnet has an interlinkage magnetic flux with respect to each coil. It is also preferable to be configured to be fixed to the brake caliper so as to be generated.

  According to this configuration, by arranging the coil inside the spoke, the interval between the coil and the magnet can be reduced, and more efficient power generation can be performed. Further, since the magnet can be fixed to the brake caliper, the structural change on the vehicle side can be minimized.

  The power generation mechanism for a vehicle according to the present invention can perform efficient power generation with a simple configuration using electromagnetic induction accompanying rotation of a wheel during vehicle travel.

  Hereinafter, a power generation mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment 1>
Here, the power generation mechanism of the present invention is illustrated by taking as an example a case where power is generated by electromagnetic induction of a coil and a magnet using rotation of a tire during traveling, and the power is used for driving an air filling mechanism for the tire. It demonstrates based on 1-3. In FIG. 1, the wheel H and the tire T are indicated by a one-dot chain line, and the power generation mechanism, the air filling mechanism, the brake caliper BC, and the disc rotor D of the present invention are indicated by bold lines.

  1 and 2 show a state in which the power generation mechanism 100 of this embodiment is attached to a wheel H, and a tire T is attached to the wheel H. The coil 110 is mounted on the wheel H, and the magnet 120 is mounted on the brake caliper BC. The wheel controls the battery 2 (power storage means) that stores the power generated by the power generation mechanism 100, the motor 31 and the piston pump 32 (air supply means 3) that are driven by the power from the battery 2, and the operation of the motor. Control means 4 and pressure reducing valve 5 are provided.

  First, the power generation mechanism 100 converts the rotational kinetic energy of the wheel H into electric energy and outputs it. Among the coils 110 and magnets 120 constituting the power generation mechanism 100, a plurality of coils 110 are fixed to the outer periphery of the wheel rim HL. By arranging each coil 110 on the outer periphery of the rim HL of the wheel, a larger number of coils 110 can be used than in the second embodiment described later. Each coil 110 is formed by spirally forming a copper wire having an insulating coating, and is arranged on the outer periphery of the rim HL at substantially constant intervals so that the axial direction thereof is along the radial direction of the wheel H. For example, a coil 110 formed by forming a round copper wire of φ0.5 mm into a length of φ40 mm and a length of 10 mm can be used. On the other hand, one magnet 120 is fixed to the outer peripheral side of the wheel H in the brake caliper BC that does not rotate with respect to the wheel H. That is, the magnet 120 is arranged so as to generate an interlinkage magnetic flux in the coil 110 via the wheel H. For fixing the magnet 120 to the brake caliper BC, appropriate means such as screwing can be used. With such an arrangement of the coil 110 and the magnet 120, when the wheel H rotates during traveling, each coil 110 is circulated with respect to the magnet 120, and an induced current is generated in the coil 110 by electromagnetic induction. Here, the magnet 120 may be an electromagnet or a permanent magnet. In this example, the magnet 12 is a permanent magnet, but in the case of an electromagnet, the power for excitation may be supplied from a battery (not shown) on the vehicle body side, or a movable coupler or the like may be supplied from the battery 2 on the wheel side. You may supply via. The brake is a disc brake that drives the piston Pi of the caliper BC and clamps the disc rotor D with the brake pad Pa (FIG. 2), but the configuration of the brake is not limited to the disc brake.

  The battery 2 stores electric energy obtained from the power generation mechanism 100 (FIGS. 1 to 3). A secondary battery can be suitably used for the battery 2. For example, even about three AA batteries can supply power necessary for driving the motor 31 and the control means 4. In addition to the battery 2, if a predetermined capacity is obtained, a capacitor, an electric double layer capacitor, or the like may be used as the power storage means.

  The piston pump 32 compresses the outside air and supplies the compressed air into the tire. For example, a small one having an inner diameter of φ6 mm and a length of about 10 mm can be suitably used. In this example, the motor 31 is used to drive the piston pump 32. The motor 31 used here may be a small motor whose output is about several W (10 W or less). Of course, other than the piston pump 32 can be used as air supply means as long as it can compress air and supply it to the tire T and can be mounted on the wheel H.

  The control means 4 includes a CPU and controls the operation of the piston pump 32 by controlling the drive of the motor 31. Since it is not necessary to frequently adjust the air pressure of the tire T, air filling is performed at regular intervals, for example, once every three days or once a week. That is, the control means 4 includes a timer unit and a drive command unit that drives the motor 31 (piston pump 32) at each interval set in advance by a program.

  When the air pressure in the tire T exceeds an appropriate pressure, the pressure reducing valve 5 automatically releases the air in the tire T to the outside, thereby suppressing the inside of the tire T from being overpressurized.

  The plurality of coils 110, the battery 2, the motor 31, the piston pump 32, the control unit 4, and the pressure reducing valve 5 are all fixed to the rim HL, and the pressure reducing valve 5 can communicate with the inner and outer circumferences of the rim HL. In addition, all other components are fixed to the outer periphery of the rim HL, that is, inside the tire T.

  According to such a power generation mechanism, when the vehicle travels, the wheel H (tire T) rotates, so that an induction current is generated in the coil 110 by electromagnetic induction, and the electric energy can be stored in the battery 2. And according to said air filling mechanism, the motor 31 (piston pump 32) is driven appropriately using the electric power from the battery 2 for every fixed period, and the air pressure of the tire T is automatically adjusted appropriately. be able to. When the air is excessively filled in the tire T, the pressure reducing valve 5 is operated to automatically release the air in the tire to the outside, so that the inside of the tire is not overpressurized.

  Further, since the plurality of coils 110, the battery 2, the motor 31, the piston pump 32, the control means 4 and the pressure reducing valve 5 are all fixed to the wheel H, an existing vehicle wheel is added to the power generation mechanism of the present invention. A power generation function and an automatic air filling function can be added to an existing vehicle by simply replacing the wheel H equipped with an air filling mechanism and attaching the magnet 120 to the brake caliper BC. In particular, since the plurality of coils 110, the battery 2, the motor 31, the piston pump 32, the control means 4, and the pressure reducing valve 5 are housed in the tire T, they are also protected from the external environment.

  Furthermore, since all the current paths until the induced current generated in the coil 110 is used for the operation of the control means 4 and the motor 31 via the battery 2 can be performed on the wheel H side, the vehicle body side and the wheel H side Is not required to be electrically connected via a movable coupler or the like.

  Since a plurality of inexpensive coils 110 and a single expensive magnet 120 are used, a power generation mechanism that is economically superior to the case of using a plurality of magnets and a single coil can be provided.

  In addition, as a modified example of this example, a battery charge state detection means is further provided on the wheel, and not a simple charge of air every fixed period, but a fixed period has elapsed and the charged state of the battery is constant. The air may be filled when the specified state is exceeded. For example, a battery voltage sensor is provided as a charging state detection unit, and a determination unit included in the control unit determines whether the detection result of the voltage sensor is equal to or greater than a certain threshold value. Then, when the detection result is equal to or greater than the threshold value, power may be supplied from the battery to the motor for air filling, and when the detection result is less than the threshold value, the air filling may be forgotten.

  As another modified example, a coil, a battery, a motor, a piston pump, and a control means are all integrated with a belt-like connecting member. By wrapping the connecting member around the outer periphery of the wheel and connecting both ends of the connecting member, a part of the power generation mechanism and each component of the air filling mechanism can be easily attached to the wheel. The material of the connecting member is preferably a non-conductive material such as plastic so that it is flexible and does not generate eddy currents during electromagnetic induction of the coil and magnet.

  As yet another modification, when the power generation voltage of the power generation mechanism is low, it is preferable to provide boosting means as necessary and charge the battery with the boosted voltage (the same applies to the following second and third embodiments). .

  In this embodiment, the power of the power generation mechanism is used to drive the air filling mechanism to the tire, but the device that receives power supply from the power generation mechanism of the present invention is not limited to the air filling mechanism. For example, the power of the power generation mechanism of the present invention may be stored in a battery on the vehicle body side via a movable coupler and used to assist in driving in-vehicle electrical components such as an air conditioner, a car stereo, and a wiper.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, an embodiment of the present invention in which the arrangement of coils and magnets is different from that of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This example is the same as the first embodiment except that the arrangement of the coil and the magnet is different. The following description will focus on the differences.

  Here, the plurality of coils 110 are fixed so as to be juxtaposed in the circumferential direction of the wheel H inside the spoke HS of the wheel H. That is, the coil 110 is arranged so that the axial direction of the coil 110 is along the axial direction of the wheel H. The arrangement of the coils 110 on the wheel H is performed by, for example, using a plate (not shown) made of an annular non-conductive material for each coil 110 and fixing the coils 110 connected in series on the plate in advance. It is preferable to fix the plate to the spoke HS. On the other hand, the single magnet 120 is fixed to the outside of the brake caliper BC so as to face each other with the gap in the axial direction of each coil 110 that has rotated.

  According to the configuration of this example, there is only a gap between the coil 110 and the magnet 120, and it is easier to manage the gap than in the first embodiment in which the wheel H is interposed between the two. In particular, since both the coil 110 and the magnet 120 are arranged outside the tire, the gap between the coil 110 and the magnet 120 can be easily confirmed visually. Further, since the arrangement location of the coils 110 is on the inner peripheral side of the wheel H as compared with the first embodiment, the number of arrangement of the coils 110 can be reduced as compared with the first embodiment. Furthermore, the distance between the two can be made narrower than in the first embodiment. Here, the generated power can be increased as the gap between the coil 110 and the magnet 120 is smaller. Therefore, more efficient power generation can be performed.

(Example calculation)
The generated power was estimated using the power generation mechanism of the first embodiment and the power generation mechanism of the second embodiment. Here, the distance between the coil and the magnet is 30 mm as the first embodiment, the distance between the coil and the magnet is 10 mm and 5 mm as the second embodiment, and the relationship between the vehicle speed and the generated power is examined for each. The result is shown in FIG.

  As is apparent from this graph, the smaller the distance between the coil and the magnet, the greater the generated power. In particular, it can be seen that the generated power increases progressively as the vehicle speed increases. In the first embodiment, the number of coils is 18 and the distance between the coils and the magnet is 30 mm. In the second embodiment, the number of coils is 10 and the distance between the coils and the magnet is 5 mm. Then, the generated power was larger in the second embodiment.

<Embodiment 3>
In Embodiments 1 and 2 above, a plurality of coils are provided on the wheel and a single magnet is provided on the brake caliper. Conversely, a plurality of magnets are provided on the wheel and a single coil is provided on the brake caliper. Also good. In that case, a plurality of magnets may be provided on the outer periphery of the wheel rim or on the inside of the spoke. Since the coil is provided in the brake caliper, the induced current generated in the coil is supplied from the vehicle body side to the wheel side battery via a movable coupler or the like. According to this configuration, high output power generation can be performed by using a large number of magnets.

  The scope of the present invention is not limited to the various embodiments described above, and it goes without saying that various modifications are possible.

  The power generation mechanism of the present invention can efficiently generate power using the rotating operation of the wheel while traveling, and can be suitably used as a power generation mechanism for a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the power generation mechanism according to Embodiment 1 is mounted on a wheel with a tire. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where the power generation mechanism according to Embodiment 1 is mounted on a wheel with tires. 2 is a functional block diagram of a power generation mechanism and an air filling mechanism according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a partial longitudinal sectional view showing a state where the power generation mechanism according to the second embodiment is mounted on a wheel with a tire. It is the graph which showed how the relationship between a vehicle speed and generated electric power changes with the space | interval of a coil and a magnet.

Explanation of symbols

100 Power generation mechanism
110 Coil 120 Magnet
2 Battery
3 Air supply means
31 Motor 32 Piston pump
4 Control means
5 Pressure reducing valve
H wheel
HL rim HS spoke
T tire
BC Brake Caliper Pi Piston Pa Brake Pad
D disk rotor

Claims (3)

A vehicle power generation mechanism mounted on a vehicle having a wheel,
Either a magnet or a coil mounted on the wheel of the vehicle;
A magnet and a coil mounted on a non-rotating brake mechanism with respect to a vehicle wheel,
A power generation mechanism for a vehicle, characterized in that an induced current is generated in the coil by relative movement of the coil and the magnet as the vehicle travels. A plurality of the coils are arranged in parallel on the outer periphery of the rim constituting the wheel;
2. The vehicle power generation mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the magnet is configured to be fixed to a brake caliper so as to generate an interlinkage magnetic flux with respect to each coil. The coil is configured to be arranged in parallel in the circumferential direction of the wheel inside the spokes constituting the wheel,
2. The vehicle power generation mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the magnet is configured to be fixed to a brake caliper so as to generate an interlinkage magnetic flux with respect to each coil.

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