JPH10309036A - Motor-generator set - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To store the energy generated by mechanical rotations as electric energy and discharge the stored energy as mechanical rotational energy. SOLUTION: A direct current is generated across a pair of terminals 1a and 1b by rotating the rotating shaft of a DC motor-generator 1 in one direction by applying an external force to the shaft and DC electric energy is stored in an electrical double layer capacitor 2 through a pair of conductors 3. In addition, the rotating shaft of the generator 1 is rotated in the direction of the external force by supplying a direct current across the terminals 1a and 1b of the generator 1 in the opposite direction. Therefore, a motor-generator set can be constructed in a single durable structure in which no circuit is provided between the electrical energy generating device and electricity storing device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power assist device in which a rotating shaft continues to rotate even after externally applying a mechanical torque and then stopping the externally applied torque. The present invention relates to an electric power unit that is equivalent to a mechanical flywheel for one rotation axis. INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention can be utilized as an auxiliary power unit of a bicycle as an example. The present invention relates to a new electric double layer capacitor application technique.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is known a power supply device which combines a generator which can be rotationally driven by human power and a large-capacity electrolytic capacitor, and temporarily stores generated electric energy in the capacitor (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 59-5959). No. 21228).

In an electric vehicle, a storage battery and an electric motor are mounted on the vehicle. The electric current is taken out of the storage battery and the electric motor is driven to drive the vehicle. When the vehicle is braked, the electric motor temporarily operates as a generator. A technique for regenerating electric energy generated in the generator to a storage battery is widely known.

[0004] An electric bicycle is equipped with a storage battery and an auxiliary motor, and runs as a normal human-powered bicycle on level ground. However, when traveling on a road that requires a large amount of human power, such as uphill, the storage battery and the auxiliary motor are temporarily used. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a technique for reducing the required human power by connecting an auxiliary motor.

On the other hand, an electric double layer capacitor capable of storing a large amount of electric energy has been developed. This is to form an electric double layer using a solid activated carbon electrode and realize a larger capacitance by making the equivalent area of the electrode extremely large. Moreover, the series resistance component of the electric double layer capacitor can be extremely reduced by selecting the electrolyte. The structure, operation principle, and manufacturing method are described in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 7-91449, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 7-201677, Saito et al., "Development of High Power Electric Double Layer Capacitor," NEC Technical Report, Vol. 47, No. 10 (1994). October, pp. 91-96, Saito et al., "High Power Capacitors Using Solid Activated Carbon Electrodes," New Ceramics Monthly 9
Volume 12 (December 1996), pp. 21-25. An example of an electric double-layer capacitor prototyped by the inventors and already announced is a 15 V, 470 F (Farad), an equivalent series resistance of 4 mΩ, and a maximum discharge current of 600 A.
This can store about 15 Wh (watt-hour) of power when charged to the maximum terminal voltage.

Further, a technique for mechanically storing energy in a flywheel is known. For example, it is widely known that an internal combustion engine connects a flywheel to a rotating shaft of the internal combustion engine in order to smooth intermittent energy generated by an explosion in a cylinder. There is also known a three-engine device in which a large flywheel is driven by an electric motor, and when a power failure occurs in the electric motor, a spare internal combustion engine is started using rotational energy accumulated in the flywheel. ing.

[0007]

The above-described conventional device stores electric energy in a storage battery or a capacitance,
In order to utilize the stored electric energy as power, a complicated control circuit and a large-sized converter are required. For example, in a device installed in an electric vehicle, when a storage battery is used, the storage battery (the terminal voltage is a standard value E, for example, 160
When the vehicle is driven by connecting the terminal (approximately V) to the motor, it is necessary to insert a control circuit for adjusting the current between the terminal of the storage battery and the motor. Further, when the electric motor is operated as a generator at the time of braking to regenerate electric energy generated by the electric power generation to the storage battery, the output of the generator becomes higher than the standard value E of the terminal voltage, for example, E An inverter circuit that becomes × 1.5 is required. Such an inverter circuit requires a control circuit for controlling the voltage and current at a changing speed and as time elapses in order to perform effective regeneration in accordance with a change in rotation speed during braking.

[0008] Such an inverter circuit and a control circuit include:
The hardware is large and heavy, requires space for mounting, and the mechanical structure for it must be robust. Sensors for detecting voltage and speed are also required. Such an inverter circuit and a control circuit naturally involve an energy loss, and even with proper design, the energy that can be regenerated is only about 50 to 70% of the generated energy. Furthermore, the storage battery has a limited number of charge / discharge cycles, and thus has a short life and requires maintenance.

Even with an electric bicycle equipped with an auxiliary electric motor, a device that regenerates braking energy generated when descending a hill or braking during a braking operation to a battery or a capacitance is practical because the inverter device and the control circuit become large in size. Has not reached a typical stage.

In a device using a flywheel, since a rotating body having a large mass rotates at a high speed, it is also important to ensure safety, and it is necessary to ensure that the device is robust and heavy. I can't avoid it.

The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electric power unit using an electric double layer capacitor which has recently been developed and a practical device has been obtained. And The present invention stores energy generated by mechanical rotation as electric energy,
It is an object of the invention to provide a device for releasing stored electrical energy again as mechanical rotational energy. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a device having a simple structure in which all circuits between a device for generating electric energy and a power storage device are omitted. An object of the present invention is to provide a device that is robust and has few failures. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric energy storage device which does not require any complicated electric circuit or control circuit. An object of the present invention is to provide an energy storage device in which energy to be stored is electric energy, and energy is transferred to and from the outside mechanically. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a small and lightweight electric flywheel device.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, DC electric energy is generated and stored by a rotating force (for example, manually or by foot motion) and stored even if the externally applied rotating force is stopped. It is characterized by being emitted as mechanical rotational energy by electric energy.

That is, the present invention provides a generator which generates a DC current at a pair of terminals when the rotating shaft is rotated in one direction by an external force, and supplies a DC current in a direction opposite to the DC current to the pair of terminals. A DC motor generator serving as a motor for rotating the rotating shaft in the one direction; and an electric double layer capacitor, wherein the pair of terminals and the terminal of the electric double layer capacitor are fixedly directly connected by a pair of conductors. It is characterized by having been done.

It is preferable that mechanical means for permitting rotation in only one direction is connected to the rotating shaft, and a voltage limiting circuit is connected between the two terminals.

When a means (for example, a handle) for transmitting an external force is provided on the rotating shaft of the DC motor generator and the rotating shaft is rotated in one direction, the DC motor generator operates as a generator, and a pair of terminals is connected to the pair of terminals. DC current is generated. Since the pair of terminals of the DC motor generator and the pair of terminals of the electric double layer capacitor are fixedly and directly connected by conductors, the generated DC current is stored as DC electric energy in the electric double layer capacitor.

If the DC motor generator is given a rotational force by external force for a certain period of time (for example, several tens of seconds) to stop driving (for example, release your hand), the DC electric energy stored in the electric double layer capacitor is converted into a DC current. The DC motor generator is supplied to a pair of terminals of the DC motor generator in a direction opposite to the charging direction, and the DC motor generator is rotationally driven as the motor in the same direction as the direction in which the external force is applied. At this time, the rotation speed is slightly lower than during charging.

If mechanical means for allowing rotation in one direction only, such as a gear with a ratchet or a chain gear, is connected to the rotating shaft of the DC motor generator, the driving force generated by the DC motor generator as the motor can be externally applied. Can be communicated to
It can be used as auxiliary power for electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles.

In order to prevent the terminal voltage applied to the electric double layer capacitor from exceeding a predetermined value when the DC motor generator is given a rotational force and driven as a generator, a voltage limiting circuit is provided between its two terminals. Can prevent an unexpected accident caused by an overvoltage.

By directly connecting the DC motor generator and the electric double layer capacitor with a pair of conductors, energy generated by mechanical rotation can be stored as electric energy, and the stored electric energy can be stored. Can be used again as mechanical rotational energy. Furthermore, since no circuit is required between the DC motor generator and the electric double layer capacitor, the structure can be extremely simple and robust, thus realizing a highly reliable device with few failures. can do.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Here, the basic configuration of the device of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic electric circuit configuration of the device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a mechanical configuration of the device of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a configuration of mechanical means for transmitting external force of the device of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view showing an example, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration example of a mechanical means for transmitting an external force of the device of the present invention.

The device according to the present invention is, as a basic configuration, a generator which generates a DC current at a pair of terminals 1a when the rotating shaft is rotated in one direction by an external force.
And a DC motor generator 1 serving as a motor for rotating its rotating shaft in the same direction as the direction in which an external force is applied when a DC current is supplied in the opposite direction to the current generation direction, and the DC motor generated by the DC motor generator 1 An electric double layer capacitor 2 for storing electric energy and supplying the stored DC electric energy to the DC motor generator 1 is provided. A pair of terminals 1 a of the DC motor generator 1 and a pair of terminals 2 a of the electric double layer capacitor 2 are fixedly and directly connected by a pair of conductors 3.

The mechanical means for transmitting the external force of the apparatus of the present invention is, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, as one structural example, a handle 4, and the center of rotation of the handle 4 Handles that match and are detachably mounted
A gear 5, a flywheel gear 6 meshing with the handle gear 5 to transmit a rotational force, and a flywheel 7 fixed to the same rotation shaft as the flywheel gear 6
And a handle gear 5 fixed to the rotating shaft of the DC motor 1
And a drive gear 8 that meshes with the drive gear. The flywheel 7 can be removed if it is not needed.

As described above, the electric double layer capacitor has been prototyped by the inventors and has already been announced. In this type of capacitor, by combining a conductor (electrode) and an electrolytic solution, ions are polarized at the interface and charges are accumulated. In order to obtain a large capacity, activated carbon powder or activated carbon fiber having a large surface area and conductivity is used as an electrode.

The electric double layer capacitor is characterized in that the elution and deposition of the substance are not performed as in a storage battery only by the movement of ions, so that the electrode is less deteriorated and high reliability can be obtained, and maintenance is not required for a long time. have.

One example of the electric double layer capacitor used in the test of the present invention has a volume of about 300 cc (cubic centimeter), a weight of about 500 g (gram), a capacitance of 15 F (Farad), a maximum terminal voltage of 15 V (volt), Equivalent series resistance 7
0mΩ (milli-ohm), maximum stored energy 0.5Wh
(Watt hours).

When the handle 4 is manually rotated in one direction, the device of the present invention having the above-described structure can handle the handle.
The gear 5 rotates by receiving the driving force, and the drive gear 8 meshed with the handle gear 5 rotates. Since the drive gear 8 is fixed to the rotating shaft of the DC motor generator 1, the rotor of the DC motor generator 1 is rotationally driven with the rotation of the drive gear 8, and operates as a generator to operate as a DC electric energy. Occurs. The generated DC electric energy is supplied from the conductor 3 to the electric double layer capacitor 2 and stored.

On the other hand, since the flywheel gear 6 is meshed with the handle gear 5, the flywheel 7 fixed to the rotating shaft of the flywheel gear 6 is driven to rotate, and the DC motor generator 1 The resulting uneven rotation is smoothed.

When the rotation of the DC motor generator 1 is stopped in a state where a predetermined amount of DC electric energy is stored in the electric double layer capacitor 2 and the hand is released from the handle 4, the electric double layer capacitor 2 The stored DC electric energy is supplied to the DC motor generator 1 via the conductor 3 and driven as a motor. At this time, the current flowing through the motor generator 1 is set to be in the opposite direction to that at the time of power generation, but the rotation direction of the rotating shaft is set to be the same as that of the generator. This can be realized by configuring the connection between the field winding and the armature winding (that is, the brush terminal) to be a straight winding.

The handle to which the handle 4 is attached
If the rotating shaft of the gear 5 is provided with a mechanical means allowing rotation in only one direction, for example, a gear with a ratchet or a chain gear, the driving force of the DC motor generator 1 can be transmitted to the outside. Examples of such applications include electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and electric bicycles.

[0030]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) In the first embodiment of the present invention, the DC motor generator 1 is driven manually by using the above-described apparatus with a flywheel shown in FIGS. The current value and the voltage value at the time of discharging were measured. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration in this actual measurement. The rated voltage DC12V is used for the DC motor generator 1,
The electric double layer capacitor 2 has a capacitance of 15V15F, and is in a state where no load resistance is connected. The series resistance of the ammeter 9 is sufficiently small and substantially zero, and the voltmeter 10 has substantially no series resistance. The actual measurement was performed assuming that it would be infinite. FIG. 6 (a) shows a change in current during charging and discharging measured in this experiment, and FIG. 6 (b) shows a change in voltage during charging and discharging on the same time axis. is there.

When the handle 4 is manually rotated in a predetermined direction, a handle directly connected to the handle 4
The driving force is transmitted from the gear 5 to the drive gear 8 to rotate the DC motor generator 1, and the driving force is also transmitted to the flywheel gear 6 to rotate the flywheel 7.

After the start of the rotation, the DC motor generator 1
Starts to rotate, it is driven as a generator and the current value rises sharply to about 8A. The electric double layer capacitor 2 is gradually charged, and the terminal voltage gradually increases. When the rotation drive of the DC motor generator 1 is further continued,
As the electric double layer capacitor 2 is charged, the current value decreases and the voltage value increases. That is, the generated DC electric energy is stored in the electric double layer capacitor 2.

When about 30 seconds have elapsed since the start of the rotation of the handle 4, the rotation is stopped, that is, when the hand is released from the handle 4, the DC motor generator 1 becomes an electric motor here, and its rotation speed is slightly reduced. . That is,
The DC electric energy stored in the electric double layer capacitor 2 is supplied to the DC motor generator 1, and the DC motor generator 1 is driven as a motor. Since there is almost no load, the current value at this time is about 0.5 A and remains almost constant, and the voltage value gradually decreases from about 15.5 V as energy is lost.

About 60 seconds have elapsed since the rotation of the handle 4 was stopped, and the voltage dropped to about 10 V.
As a test, the rotational drive of the DC motor generator 2 was forcibly stopped. As a result, the motor generator 1 is short-circuited, a large current (about 8 A) is released from the electric double layer capacitor 2 at a time, and about 60 seconds after the forced stop, all the DC electric energy stored in the electric double layer capacitor 2 is released. Was done.

According to this experiment, when the DC motor generator 1 is rotated by an external force, a DC current is generated as a generator and the electric double layer capacitor 2 is charged. When the rotation by the external force is stopped, the DC motor generator It was proved that a direct current was supplied to the machine 1 and the machine 1 was driven as a motor. Furthermore, it has been shown that even when a large current is released momentarily when a large load is suddenly applied, a large driving force can be obtained without causing any abnormality.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an electric circuit of a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, a voltage limiting circuit 11 is connected between a pair of terminals 1a of the DC motor generator 1 and a pair of terminals 2a of the electric double layer capacitor 2 of the first embodiment.

In the case of the apparatus of the second embodiment, the DC voltage generated by the DC motor generator 1 is limited so as not to exceed a predetermined value, so that the apparatus is prevented from being damaged due to an increase in voltage. be able to. When the terminal voltage of the electric double layer capacitor 2 increases and the voltage limiting circuit 11 conducts, the handle 4 suddenly becomes heavier.

At a terminal voltage lower than the voltage limit of the voltage limiting circuit 11, charging of the DC motor generator 1 to the electric double layer capacitor 2 and power supply from the electric double layer capacitor 2 to the DC motor generator 1 are performed in the first embodiment. The operation is performed in the same manner as the device.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to accumulate, as electric energy, energy generated by a rotational force generated on a downhill or a mechanical rotational force caused by manual or foot motion. The stored electric energy can be used again as mechanical rotational energy. Further, the structure can eliminate an inverter circuit and any circuit including a control circuit for controlling the inverter circuit and the like between the device for generating electric energy and the device for storing electricity, so that the structure is extremely simple and robust. Thus, a highly reliable product with few failures can be realized.

The device of the present invention can be used for electric bicycles, electric vehicles,
It can be applied to various machines as a hybrid vehicle and other electric flywheels.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a basic electric circuit of a device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a mechanical configuration example of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a mechanical means for transmitting an external force of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration example of a mechanical means for transmitting an external force of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration in an experiment of the first embodiment of the present invention.

6A is a diagram showing a change in current during charging and discharging in an experiment using the apparatus of the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a change in voltage during charging and discharging.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an electric circuit of the device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 DC motor generator 1a, 2a terminal 2 electric double layer capacitor 3 conductor 4 handle 5 handle gear 6 flywheel gear 7 flywheel 8 drive gear 9 ammeter 10 voltmeter 11 voltage limiting circuit

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI H02K 7/00 H02P 9/00 Z // H02P 9/00 H01G 9/00 301Z

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A generator for generating a DC current to a pair of terminals when rotating a rotating shaft in one direction by an external force, and for supplying a DC current in a direction opposite to the DC current to the pair of terminals, the rotating shaft is A DC motor generator serving as a motor for rotating the motor in one direction, and an electric double layer capacitor, wherein the pair of terminals and the terminal of the electric double layer capacitor are fixedly directly connected by a pair of conductors. Characteristic motor generator. 2. The motor generator according to claim 1, wherein mechanical means for permitting rotation in only one direction is connected to the rotating shaft. 3. The motor generator according to claim 1, wherein a voltage limiting circuit is connected between the two terminals.