Technology Available for Licensing

Case 14516

Passive Self-tuning Energy Harvester for Rotational Motion

Keywords:

Self-tuning energy harvester, resonance, rotational motion with variable speed

Applications:

Energy harvester for variable rotational speed systems, such as tire pressure-monitoring systems.

Problem:

Conventional resonant vibrational energy harvesters have fixed resonant frequencies and have limited applicability to time-dependent vibrational environments, such as automobile engines or wheels.

Technology:

This invention proposes an energy harvester for rotational motion that is self-tuned to resonate with the rotational frequency. As the rotation frequency changes, the resonant frequency of the energy harvester is adjusted by passively varying tension on a the vibrating beam. A prototype on a simulated rotating car wheel demonstrated significantly improved performance compared with untuned harvester performance.

Advantages:

Significantly increases the bandwidth of harvesters for rotating systems, especially well suited for variable speed systems

Inventors:

• Professor Carol Livermore-Clifford (Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT)
• Lei Gu (Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT)

Intellectual Property:

PCT Patent Application PCT/US2011/051721, filed on September 15, 2011

Publications:

Applied Physics Letters, 97.081904-1, 24 August 2010 Proceedings of the The 10th International Workshop on Micro and Nanotechnology for Power Generation and Energy Conversion Applications (PowerMEMS 2010), December 2010, p. 215-218.

Please contact: Christopher R. Noble MIT Technology Licensing Officer 1 Cambridge Center, Kendall Square, NE18-501 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142-1601

Email: crn@mit.edu Tel: 617-253-6966 Fax: 617–258-6790 Website: http://tlo.mit.edu