WO2019098515A1

WO2019098515A1 - Energy harvesting system using two or more types of ambient energy

Info

Publication number: WO2019098515A1
Application number: PCT/KR2018/010451
Authority: WO
Inventors: 안현석; 김영한; 윤창석; 임승옥
Original assignee: 전자부품연구원
Priority date: 2017-11-16
Filing date: 2018-09-07
Publication date: 2019-05-23
Also published as: KR20190055915A; KR20210136955A; KR102327132B1; KR102504806B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an energy harvesting system using two or more types of energy. An energy harvesting system according to the present invention comprises: multiple energy converters which are connected to multiple different energy sources and receive energy as input from the multiple energy sources so as to convert the same into electrical energy, respectively; an electrical energy buffer for receiving and collecting electrical energy from the multiple energy converters, and adding the collected electrical energy up to a set power level; a constant voltage converter for receiving electrical energy from the electrical energy buffer and converting the same into driving power at an additionally available power level; and an electrical energy storage device for receiving and storing driving power from the constant voltage converter and providing the stored driving power to a load.

Description

Energy harvesting system using more than two kinds of peripheral energy

The present invention relates to an energy harvesting system, and more particularly, to an energy harvesting system that collects more energy using two or more peripheral energy sources rather than collecting only one peripheral energy source, To an energy harvesting system using more than two kinds of peripheral energy for operating an electronic device.

With the proliferation of Internet (IoT) technology in a wide range of fields, the market for ultra-small / low-power IoT devices is expected to explode. However, recent limitations of power supply methods such as IoT device battery replacement and power cord connection are one of the obstacles to spread of IoT service.

Energy harvesting technology is attracting attention with the power supply technology of IoT device. Through the convergence of energy harvesting and IoT technology, IoT device is actively researching on the non-power driving technology and the battery use time extension technology. Demand is also increasing.

Typical energy harvesting energy sources include sunlight, vibration, heat, and wind, and there are devices that operate using the energy source. Such conventional energy harvesting technology uses only one energy source in a limited environment, so that it is difficult to utilize if the amount of energy is insufficient.

[Prior Art Literature]

[Patent Literature]

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2017-0101756 (published on September 6, 2017)

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an energy harvesting system using two or more peripheral energy sources, which are capable of collecting more energy in various environments, rather than using only one energy source, have.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an energy conversion system comprising: a plurality of energy converters connected to a plurality of different peripheral energy sources, respectively, for receiving energy from the plurality of peripheral energy sources and converting the energy into electric energy; An electrical energy buffer for receiving and collecting electrical energy from the plurality of energy converters and for summing the collected electrical energy to a set power level; A constant voltage converter for receiving electrical energy from the electrical energy buffer and converting the load into driving power at a usable power level; And an electric energy storage for receiving and storing driving electric power from the constant voltage converter and for supplying driving electric power stored as a load, the energy harvesting system using at least two types of peripheral energies.

The plurality of different peripheral energy sources include at least two peripheral energy sources selected from the group consisting of solar, vibration, heat, and wind.

Wherein the electrical energy buffer comprises: a first switching unit capable of selectively connecting all of the plurality of energy converters to a plurality of buffer blocks; A plurality of buffer blocks for receiving electrical energy from an energy converter connected to the plurality of energy converters by the first switching unit and temporarily storing the electrical energy; And a second switching unit for connecting the plurality of buffer blocks in series to combine the electric energy collected in the plurality of buffer blocks with a predetermined electric energy level and deliver the combined electric energy to the constant voltage converter.

The first switching unit connects the plurality of energy converters to one of the plurality of buffer blocks, respectively.

The second switching unit connects one node of the buffer block to the ground when the buffer block receives and stores electrical energy from the energy converter.

When the specific buffer block collects electric energy up to the set electric energy level, the second switching unit releases the connection between the corresponding buffer block and the energy converter, and does not collect electric energy to the set individual electric energy level, And the energy converter.

When the summed electric energy level of the collected buffer blocks reaches the set summed electric energy, the second switching unit connects the collected buffer blocks in series to sum electric energy, and then transmits the resultant sum to the constant voltage converter.

The present invention may further comprise: a first switching unit capable of selectively connecting all of the plurality of energy converters to the plurality of buffer blocks; The plurality of buffer blocks receiving electric energy from an energy converter connected to the plurality of energy converters by the first switching unit and temporarily storing the electric energy; And a second switching unit for connecting the plurality of buffer blocks in series to combine the electric energy collected in the plurality of buffer blocks with a predetermined electric energy level and deliver the combined electric energy to the constant voltage converter, Providing an electrical energy buffer for the system.

The energy harvesting system according to the present invention collects more energy using two or more peripheral energy sources rather than collecting only one energy source and can operate an electronic device based on the energy.

The energy harvesting system according to the present invention combines the lesser electrical energy collected from each of the surrounding energy sources into a usable electrical energy level.

Since the energy harvesting system according to the present invention is capable of collecting more ambient energy in the same environment, it is possible to expand the kinds of electronic devices that can operate by utilizing energy harvesting technology. Therefore, when the energy harvesting system according to the present invention is used, it can be utilized in the development of sensors and devices capable of operating using an ambient energy source without a battery.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an energy harvesting system using two or more kinds of energy according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the electric energy buffer of FIG.

3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of summing the electrical energy collected in the buffer blocks of the electrical energy buffer of FIG.

In the following description, only parts necessary for understanding embodiments of the present invention will be described, and descriptions of other parts will be omitted to the extent that they do not disturb the gist of the present invention.

The terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as limited to ordinary or dictionary meanings and the inventor is not limited to the meaning of the terms in order to describe his invention in the best way. It should be interpreted as meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments described in the present specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to represent all of the technical ideas of the present invention, so that various equivalents And variations are possible.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, the energy harvesting system 100 according to the present embodiment collects more energy using two or more peripheral energy sources instead of collecting only one surrounding energy source, (80) (electronic device).

The energy harvesting system 100 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of energy converters 10, an electrical energy buffer 20, a constant voltage converter 60, (70) (Electrical Energy Storage). The plurality of energy converters 10 are connected to a plurality of different peripheral energy sources, respectively, and receive energy from a plurality of peripheral energy sources and convert them into electric energy. The electric energy buffer 20 receives and collects electric energy from the plurality of energy converters 10, and combines the collected electric energy with the set power level. The constant voltage converter 60 receives the electric energy from the electric energy buffer 20 and converts the electric energy into the driving electric power of the usable power level. The electric energy reservoir 70 receives and stores drive power from the constant voltage converter 60 and provides the stored drive power to the load 80.

Here, a plurality of different peripheral energy sources include first to n-th surrounding energy sources (n is a natural number of 2 or more). The plurality of different peripheral energy sources may be sunlight, vibration, heat, wind, but is not limited thereto.

The plurality of energy converters 10 are connected to a plurality of different peripheral energy sources on a one-to-one basis, and receive energy from respective peripheral energy sources and convert them into electric energy. The plurality of energy converters 10 includes first to n-

th energy converters

11, 12, and 13. The energy converter 10 uses a generally known technique to convert the energy received from the connected peripheral energy source into electric energy.

The electric energy buffer 20 includes a passive element that temporarily stores electric energy converted by the plurality of energy converters 10 and is capable of storing electric energy such as a capacitor. The electric energy buffer 20 combines the electric energy collected from the plurality of energy converters 10, converts the electric energy into a set power level, and transmits the converted power level to the constant voltage converter 60.

The constant voltage converter 60 receives the electric energy stored in the electric energy buffer 20 and converts the load 80 into drive power at a usable power level.

The electric energy storage device 70 is an energy storage device for storing driving electric power for operating the load 80. For example, a capacitor, a secondary battery, or the like can be used. The electric energy reservoir 70 provides the stored driving power to the load 80. [

The operation principle of the energy harvesting system 100 according to the present embodiment will now be described.

First, the energy converter 10 receives one or more peripheral energy sources and converts them into electric energy.

Next, the electric energy converted in the energy converter 10 is accumulated in the electric energy buffer 20. At this time, since the type and intensity of the surrounding energy source are different depending on the surrounding environment, the amount of electric energy accumulated in the electric energy buffer 20 is also different in each of the energy converters 10. Thus, the electrical energy buffer 20 sums up the accumulated electrical energy.

The electric energy accumulated in the electric energy buffer 20 can not be used as it is for the load 80 because the operable power level (voltage and current level) is fixed in the case of the load 80 such as a general electronic device.

Therefore, the electric energy accumulated in the electric energy buffer 20 is transferred to the constant voltage transformer 60 to convert it into drive power that the load 80 can use, that is, a constant voltage / current and supplies the converted drive power to the constant voltage converter 60. [ To the electric energy storage (70).

The electric energy storage 70 stores the driving power received from the constant voltage transformer 60 and provides the required driving power to the load 80 among the stored driving power.

The electric energy buffer 20 of the energy harvesting system 100 according to the present embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the electric energy buffer 20 of FIG. And FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of summing the electrical energy collected in the buffer blocks 40 of FIG.

The electric energy buffer 20 includes a first switching unit 30, a plurality of buffer blocks 40, and a second switching unit 50. The first switching unit 30 may selectively connect the plurality of energy converters 10 to the plurality of buffer blocks 40, respectively. The plurality of buffer blocks 40 receives the electric energy from the energy converter 10 connected among the plurality of energy converters 10 by the first switching unit 30 and temporarily stores the electric energy. The second switching unit 50 connects the plurality of buffer blocks 40 in series to combine the electric energy collected in the plurality of buffer blocks 40 to a predetermined electric energy level and transmits the sum to the constant voltage converter 60.

Here, EC # 1, EC # 2, ... , And EC # N represent electrical energy output from the first to

nth energy converters

11, 12, and 13, respectively.

The first switching unit 30 connects the plurality of energy converters 10 to one of the plurality of buffer blocks 40, respectively. The first switching unit 30 includes a 1-1 switching unit 31, a 1-2 switching unit 32, , And a first-n switching unit (33).

The 1-1 to 1-

n switching units

31, 32 and 33 include n switches corresponding to the number of the first to

nth energy converters

11, 12 and 13, respectively.

The plurality of buffer blocks 40 include first through n-th buffer blocks 41.42.43. The first through n-th buffer blocks 41, 42, and 43 are connected to the first through n-

th switches

31, 32, and 33, respectively.

The second switching unit 50 stores electric energy in the first to n-th buffer blocks 41, 42 and 43 in cooperation with the first switching unit 30, or integrates the stored electric energy, .

The second switching unit 50 includes a second-1 switching unit 51, a second-2 switching unit 52, A (n-1) th switching unit 53, and a (2-n) th switching unit 54. The second-1 switching unit 51, the second-2 switching unit 52, N-1 switching sections 53 are provided between the first to n-th buffer blocks 41, 42 and 43, respectively, and the second-n switching section 54 is provided between the n-th buffer block 43). The second-1 switching unit 51, the second-2 switching unit 52, And the (2- (n-1) th switching unit 53 includes switches connected to the two neighboring buffer blocks 40, respectively.

That is, the first buffer block 41 is connected to the 1-1 switch 31 at one end and to the ground node and the serial node at the other end by the 2-1 switching unit 51.

The second buffer block 42 is connected to one end of the first-second switching unit 32, the serial node and the connection node by the second-1 switching unit 51 at one end. Here, the connection node is a node connecting to the constant voltage converter 60. The second buffer block 42 is connected to one of the ground node and the serial node by the second-second switching unit 52 at the other end.

The third buffer block to the n-th buffer block 33 are connected in the same manner as the second buffer block 42. At this time, one end of the n-th buffer block 43 is connected to the second (n-1) th switching unit 53 and the other end is connected to the second-n switching unit 54.

The second switching unit 50 connects the other end of the buffer block 40 to the ground node when the buffer block 40 receives and stores electrical energy from the energy converter 10. [ One end of the buffer block 40 receives and stores electrical energy from the energy converter 10 connected through the first switching unit 30 or the second switching unit 50.

The second switching unit 50 disconnects the energy converter 10 connected to the buffer block 40 when the buffer block 40 collects electrical energy to the set individual electric energy level. That is, when charging of the electric energy set in the buffer block 40 is completed, the second switching unit 50 blocks the connection between the buffer block 40 and the energy converter 10, which have been charged. The plurality of energy converters 10 switches to another buffer block 40 that is not charged by the first and

second switching units

30 and 50 to store electrical energy.

When the accumulated electrical energy level of the collected buffer blocks 40 reaches the set total electrical energy, the second switching unit 50 outputs the collected buffer blocks 40 in series as shown in FIG. 3 The electric energy is combined, and the electric energy is transmitted to the constant voltage transformer 60. When the second switching unit 50 connects the plurality of buffer blocks 40 in series after the electric energy is accumulated in the plurality of buffer blocks 40 at a predetermined level, ) To ground. 3, when the first to n-th buffer blocks 41, 42 and 43 are connected in series, the first buffer block 41, the second buffer block 42 to the (n-1) The second to n-

th switching units

51, 52 and 53 of the block switch and connect to the serial node from the ground node, (54) maintains a connection state with the ground node.

At this time, the summed electric energy is transmitted to the rear-end constant voltage transformer 60 through the VB node. In order for the constant voltage converter 60 to operate, the electric energy must be collected at a specific voltage level or higher. The electrical energy buffer 20 can couple the buffer blocks 40 in which the less electrical energy is collected in series to raise the instantaneous VB voltage to a level at which the constant voltage transformer 60 is operable, To a desired electric energy level.

In this embodiment, all of the first to n-th buffer blocks 41, 42 and 43 are electrically connected in series. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Only a certain number of the buffer blocks 40 of the plurality of buffer blocks 40 can reach the summed electrical energy of the summed electrical energy level so that only a corresponding number of the buffer blocks 40 can be selectively connected in series.

As described above, the energy harvesting system 100 according to the present embodiment collects more energy using two or more peripheral energy sources rather than collecting only one energy source, and loads the load 80 on the basis of the energy .

The energy harvesting system 100 according to the present embodiment combines the small amount of electric energy collected from each of the surrounding energy sources into an usable electric energy level.

Since the energy harvesting system 100 according to the present embodiment is capable of collecting more peripheral energy in the same environment, the energy harvesting technique can be utilized to expand the type of the load 80 that can be operated. Accordingly, when the energy harvesting system 100 according to the present embodiment is used, it can be utilized in the development of a load 80, for example, a sensor and a device, which can operate using an ambient energy source without a battery.

It should be noted that the embodiments disclosed in the present specification and drawings are only illustrative of specific examples for the purpose of understanding, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention are possible in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

[Description of Symbols]

10: energy converter

20: Electric energy buffer

30: First switching unit

31, 32, 33: the first to n-th unit switching units

40: buffer block

41, 42, 43: first to nth buffer blocks

50:

51, 52, 53, 54: the second to n-th unit switching units

60: constant voltage converter

70: electric energy reservoir

80: Load

100: Energy Harvesting System

Claims

A plurality of energy converters each connected to a plurality of different peripheral energy sources and receiving energy from the plurality of peripheral energy sources and converting the energy into electrical energy;

An electrical energy buffer for receiving and collecting electrical energy from the plurality of energy converters and for summing the collected electrical energy to a set power level;

A constant voltage converter for receiving electrical energy from the electrical energy buffer and converting the load into driving power at a usable power level; And

An electric energy storage for receiving and storing drive power from the constant voltage transformer and providing drive power stored as a load;

Energy harvesting system using more than two kinds of peripheral energies.
The method according to claim 1,

Wherein the plurality of different peripheral energy sources are at least two peripheral energies selected from the group consisting of solar, vibration, heat and wind.
The electric energy buffer according to claim 1,

A first switching unit capable of selectively connecting all of the plurality of energy converters to a plurality of buffer blocks;

A plurality of buffer blocks for receiving electrical energy from an energy converter connected to the plurality of energy converters by the first switching unit and temporarily storing the electrical energy; And

A second switching unit for connecting the plurality of buffer blocks in series to combine the electric energy collected in the plurality of buffer blocks with a predetermined electric energy level and deliver the combined electric energy to the constant voltage converter;

Energy harvesting system using more than two kinds of peripheral energies.
The method of claim 3,

Wherein the first switching unit uses at least two kinds of peripheral energies that connect the plurality of energy converters to one of the plurality of buffer blocks, respectively.
5. The method of claim 4,

Wherein the second switching unit uses at least two types of peripheral energy that connects one node of the buffer block to the ground when the buffer block receives and stores electrical energy from the energy converter.
6. The method of claim 5,

When the specific buffer block collects electric energy up to the set electric energy level, the second switching unit releases the connection between the corresponding buffer block and the energy converter, and does not collect electric energy to the set individual electric energy level, And an energy harvesting system that uses more than two types of ambient energy to switch to connect energy converters.
The method according to claim 6,

The second switching unit may be configured such that when the summed electrical energy level of the collected buffer blocks reaches a set summed electrical energy, the second switching unit adds the electrical energy to the buffer blocks in which the collection is completed by connecting them in series, Energy harvesting system using.
A first switching unit capable of selectively connecting all of the plurality of energy converters to a plurality of buffer blocks;

The plurality of buffer blocks receiving electric energy from an energy converter connected to the plurality of energy converters by the first switching unit and temporarily storing the electric energy; And

A second switching unit for connecting the plurality of buffer blocks in series to combine the electric energy collected in the plurality of buffer blocks with a predetermined electric energy level and transferring the combined electric energy to a constant voltage converter;

An electrical energy buffer for an energy harvesting system using at least two or more peripheral energies,