JPH06317680A - Miniature power generating set - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the quantity of power generation by constituting a converter as a generating mechanism in such a way that a stator surrounds the whole periphery of a rotor magnet, with a rotor and the hole of the stator formed into concentric circles. CONSTITUTION:A stator 21 is disposed in such a way as to surround a rotor 20 including a permanent magnet 20a, and electromotive force is generated to a coil 22 by the rotation of the rotor 20. Since the stator 21 is of such constitution as to surround the whole periphery of the magnet 20a with two pole piece parts connected to each other by a thin part, magnetic flux leaks to the other pole piece part from the thin part, so that drag torque (the force going to stay at a certain place of the rotor 20) is lowered remarkably. An unbalance wheel can be thereby rotated up to the rear part by that part to enlarge the turning angle, thus securing a sufficient quantity of power generation. The unbalance wheel and the rotor 20 are connected to each other by an accelerating wheel train. As a result, even a slight increase in the turning angle of the unbalance wheel becomes equivalent to several rotations of the rotor 20 so as to heighten generating efficiency. That is, power enough to move a wrist watch can be accumulated even with the slight movement of the wrist watch.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a small power generator which can be used as a power source for electronic timepieces.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, batteries are almost all energy sources for portable electronic devices such as electronic timepieces. This battery has a battery life determined by the capacity of the battery and the current consumption of the watch body, and the trouble of battery replacement has always been a problem. Therefore, in order to solve this drawback, for example, an attempt has been made to provide a power generation mechanism inside the timepiece. The trial is as in the conventional Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 50-17866.

[0003]

However, all of them have poor power generation efficiency, large size, and durability problems, so that they have not been put into practical use.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks and to provide a power generator having extremely high power generation efficiency, high flexibility in size, and excellent durability.

[0005]

The small power generator of the present invention comprises an unbalanced vehicle having an eccentric center of rotation and a center of gravity, and a rotor having a coil, a plate-shaped stator and a rotor magnet. A mechanical-electrical converter that generates power by motion, and a speed-up train wheel that speeds up the rotation of the unbalanced vehicle and transmits it to the rotor, and the stator made of a high magnetic permeability material has two pole piece parts. Are connected by a thin portion so as to surround the entire circumference of the rotor magnet.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A wristwatch was used as an example of a portable device in which the small power generator is incorporated.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the concept of a quartz wristwatch system in which the present invention is effectively utilized. Reference numeral 1 is a means for generating a rotational torque, which is an unbalanced vehicle in which the center of rotation and the center of gravity are eccentric. The rotational movement of the rotating means 1 is accelerated by the speed increasing train wheel 2 to rotate the rotor of the converter A3 as a power generating mechanism to generate an alternating current. This alternating current is rectified by the rectifier circuit 4 and stored in the storage means 5. In this embodiment, an electric double layer capacitor, which is a large-capacity capacitor, is used as the electricity storage means. Using the large-capacity capacitor as a power source, the control circuit 6 including a crystal serving as a time standard and the drive circuit 7 controlled by the control circuit 6 operate. Energy is supplied by the drive circuit 7 to operate the converter B8, and the movement of the converter B8 is transmitted to the pointer 10 by the reduction gear train 9 to display the time.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the converter A3 as a power generation mechanism. A stator 21 is arranged so as to enclose the rotor 20 including the permanent magnet 20a. The coil 22 is wound around a magnetic core 22a, and the magnetic core 22a and the stator 21 are fixed to each other with screws 23. When the rotor 20 rotates, an electromotive force E and a current I represented by the following equation are generated in the coil.

[0009]

[Equation 1]

This electromotive force is an alternating current having an almost sin curve. Further, the rotor 20 and the hole of the stator 21 that encloses it are concentric circles and enclose the rotor magnet over the entire circumference. As a result, the force (pulling torque) that tends to stop at the rotor is minimized. The explanation that the stator having such a shape reduces the pulling torque will be described in more detail. The stator 21 is formed so as to surround the rotor magnet 20a with two pole piece portions 21a and 21b and a thin portion 21c connecting the respective pole piece portions. For example, when the N magnetic pole of the rotor magnet 20 rotates from one stator pole piece 21a toward the other stator pole piece 21b and reaches the vicinity of a thin portion 21c connecting between the stator pole pieces, a portion 21c having a small magnetic flux is formed. Will leak and flow toward the other stator pole piece 21b. In other words, the stator pole piece 2 on one side of the first
This means that the magnetic flux remaining in 1a is reduced, and as a result, the maximum pulling torque for returning the rotor to the magnetically stable point is correspondingly reduced. For example, a stator that forms an air gap without the thin portion 21c (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
In the case of the stator disclosed in FIG. 1 of −80871 publication, the magnetic resistance of the air gap becomes extremely large, so that the magnetic flux tries to remain on the stator pole piece on the first side until the rotor magnetic pole crosses the air gap. As a result, the pulling torque becomes remarkably large. However, in the structure of the present invention, the thin portion 21c is changed to the other stator pole piece 21b.
Since the magnetic flux leaks to, the pulling torque will be significantly reduced. Therefore, even if the unbalanced vehicle is small, the rotor can be easily started.

When the rotor begins to rotate beyond the initial maximum pulling torque, the unbalanced vehicle continues to rotate due to inertia, but at the latter half of the rotation, the energy is reduced and the pulling torque cannot be exceeded. Unbalanced cars stop. Therefore, the smaller the pulling torque, the wider the rotation angle of the rotor. In the configuration of the present invention, since the pulling torque is small as described above, the unbalanced vehicle can be rotated further by that amount, and the rotation angle can be widened to secure a sufficient amount of power generation. In particular, since the unbalanced vehicle and the rotor are connected by the speed increasing train, even a slight increase in the rotation angle of the unbalanced vehicle corresponds to several rotations with the rotor, and the influence on the small power generator is considerably large. This is a point to increase power generation efficiency. According to the configuration of the present invention, even if the person carrying the wristwatch carries out a slight movement such as deskwork, the unbalanced vehicle is immediately activated, and the inclination of the unbalanced vehicle is linked to the effective rotation of the rotor. Ensuring that enough power is stored to operate.

It is expected that the leakage of the magnetic flux will reduce the amount of change dφ of the magnetic flux, so that the electromotive force E will also decrease. The electromotive force E does not substantially decrease because the rate of change 1 / dt of is increased.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view for explaining the mechanism from the rotating means 1 to the converter A3 via the speed increasing train wheel 2. Reference numeral 31 is an unbalanced vehicle in which the center of rotation and the center of gravity are eccentric, 32 is a base plate, and 33 is a bridge. Unbalanced car 3
The rotational movement caused by the unbalance of 1 is the speed-up gear train 31.
The rotation movement of the rotor magnet 20a is caused by a, 34, and the rotor pinion 20b. Reference numeral 22b is a coil lead board, which is used for terminal treatment of the coil, and the coil lead board 22b and the circuit board 35 are brought into contact with each other to transmit the electric power induced in the coil to the circuit.

As described above, if the pulling torque of the rotor is small, the unbalance amount of the unbalanced wheel 31 may be small. The minimum condition for starting is (rotor pulling torque) <(unbalanced torque of unbalanced vehicle).

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the rectifier circuit 4. The rectifier circuit is composed of four diodes 41, 42, 43 and 44. Reference numeral 5 denotes a storage means, and in this embodiment, an electric double layer capacitor which is a large capacity capacitor is used. When the electric power indicated by the thin line 45 is induced in the coil 22, a current flows as indicated by the thin line and is stored in the capacitor 5.
Further, as indicated by a broken line 46, the flow also flows and is also stored in the capacitor 5 in the same direction as at 45.

The control circuit 6, the drive circuit 7, the converter B8, the reduction wheel train 9, and the pointer 10 from the power storage means 5 are the same as the conventional ones, and well-known mechanisms are used.

In the power generator of the present embodiment, the rotor magnet is a thick-walled cylindrical type and is extremely easy to process, and any magnet such as a rare earth magnet can be used. In addition, since the magnetic circuit is formed by taking out the magnetic flux of the magnet from the high permeability material such as the stator and the magnetic core, the magnetic fluxes N and φ linking the coils are extremely large. Therefore, from this aspect as well, the power generation efficiency is significantly increased. Further, in this embodiment, the magnet and the coil are arranged so as not to be cut on the layout, and the magnet and the coil are magnetically coupled with each other by the plate-shaped stator, so that the magnet and the coil are easily assembled, and a thin power generator is provided. Further, since each element can be arranged in a distributed manner, it is possible to freely arrange other components, for example, a clearance such as a train wheel or a circuit, in consideration of the layout of the entire timepiece, and the space efficiency is extremely good.

Further, in this embodiment, a large-capacity capacitor is used as the electricity storage means. The capacitor is not a chemical reaction such as a battery but a physical phenomenon and the life of the power storage means itself is extremely long.According to the system according to the present embodiment, the same life as that of the conventional mainspring system can be obtained. It is possible to realize a highly accurate timepiece such as a quartz timepiece without any trouble. The unbalanced portion 31b of the unbalanced vehicle as the rotating means is not limited to this structure and can be of course other. For example, if it is arranged on the bridge 33 in FIG. 3, a large amount of unbalance can be easily obtained.

The storage means 5 uses a large-capacity capacitor in this embodiment, but may be any rechargeable power source. For example, rechargeable lithium batteries, solid electrolyte batteries, and the like are being put into practical use in recent years, and these are also power sources suitable for the present invention because of their large capacity and long-term reliability. Further, the silver battery can be used as a power storage means although it has some problems in long-term reliability.

Although the configuration from the control circuit after the storage means to the pointer which is the display means in FIG. 1 is shown as an example of the needle display, the display means may be a digital display such as an LCD instead of the needle.

[0021]

As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, the leakage torque of the magnetic flux generated by connecting the stator pole pieces with each other by the thin portion as described above is skillfully utilized to reduce the pulling torque, and the small unbalance. The size of the power generator is so small that it can be used in a car and can be installed in a small portable device such as a wristwatch. At the same time, even if a small unbalanced vehicle is used, even a slight movement of a mobile device equipped with a power generator will activate the unbalanced vehicle and thus the rotor, and ensure the rotation angle of the unbalanced vehicle. It is an expanded application, and it provides a small-sized power generation device that can improve power generation efficiency and can be put to practical use. When the small power generator of the present invention is incorporated into a wristwatch, it is possible to generate and store electricity enough to drive the watch even with a slight movement such as desk work, and the small power generator can be used in daily life. The device is provided.

In the power generator of the present invention, the magnet and the coil are cut off in the layout, and the magnet and the coil are magnetically coupled by the plate-shaped stator, so that the magnet is easily assembled and the power generator is thin. Further, since each element can be arranged in a distributed manner, it is possible to freely arrange it in other components such as circuit components and the like in consideration of the layout of the portable device, and the space efficiency is extremely good.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the concept of a system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a power generation mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a train wheel portion.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a rectifier circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Rotating means 2 ... Speed increasing means 3 ... Power generation mechanism 4 ... Rectifier circuit 5 ... Storage means 20 ... Rotor 21 ... .... Stator 22 ...

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] February 16, 1994

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be amended] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Claims]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0005

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0005]

The small power generator of the present invention comprises an unbalanced vehicle having an eccentric center of rotation and a center of gravity, and a rotor having a coil, a plate-shaped stator and a rotor magnet. A mechanical-electrical converter that generates power by motion, a speed increasing train wheel that speeds up rotation of the unbalanced vehicle and transmits the rotation to the rotor, and the speed increasing train wheel.
The and a receiving for rotatably supporting said stator consisting of high permeability material is formed so as to connect the two pole pieces portion by a thin portion surrounding the entire periphery of the rotor magnet, the unbalanced signals
The steering wheel is arranged above the bridge .

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0022

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The power generator of the present invention is not applicable to unbalanced vehicles.
When the configuration is to be placed above the receiver, the external shape of the power generator
It can be a car with a large amount of unbalance,
Improving rotor startability by reducing the pulling torque described above.
The effect of increasing the rotating force of the rotor
It is possible to increase the amount of power generation.
It is possible to provide a compact power generation device that is capable of functioning.The magnet and the coil are cut off in the layout , and the magnet and the coil are magnetically coupled by the flat plate-shaped stator, so that it is easy to assemble and a thin power generation device. Become. Further, since each element can be arranged in a distributed manner, it is possible to freely arrange it in other components such as circuit components and the like in consideration of the layout of the portable device, and the space efficiency is extremely good.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A mechanical-electrical converter comprising an unbalanced vehicle having an eccentric center of rotation and a center of gravity, a rotor having a coil, a plate-shaped stator, and a rotor magnet, and generating electricity by rotational motion of the rotor magnet. The stator made of a high magnetic permeability material has a speed increasing train wheel that accelerates the rotation of an unbalanced vehicle and transmits it to the rotor. A small power generator characterized by being formed so as to surround the circumference.