Patent Application
20240030846
An alternator turns mechanical energy into electrical energy. The generated electrical energy is alternating current (AC). An automotive alternator (hereinafter called “alternator”) converts the alternating current to direct current (DC) by rectifying it. The DC power activates a car's electrical systems and recharges a rechargeable battery. An automobile engine turns the alternator's rotor shaft providing the mechanical energy. However, the speed of an automobile engine varies during driving. The varying speed produces varying levels of electricity causing issues with electrical systems that require constant levels of electricity. A voltage regulator is used to even out the fluctuation of DC power so that constant DC power is provided to the electrical systems and the battery.
Heavy industrial or commercial vehicles require large capacity alternators because of higher electrical load requirements. The cost of ever larger vehicular alternators is not linear with larger power capacities. Larger capacity alternators are exponentially larger, heavier, and costlier than smaller capacity alternators. Bigger mechanical parts of the larger capacity alternators cause more friction and heat. Thicker gauge wires to carry larger current makes the mass and size of the alternator greater. In fact, heavy vehicles do not have alternators of such capacity, but instead draw significant power from their batteries during heavy electrical loads. This power draw increases the size of the batteries, increasing vehicle cost, weight, and operational cost. A frequent charge and discharge of the batteries shortens their operational life as well.
Thus, there is a need for a high-capacity alternator system that does not add disproportionate procurement cost or operational cost of putting a heavy burden on batteries. One such solution would be utilizing several cost-effective alternators operating in a tandem parallel connection as in the present invention. Such utilization of a plurality of alternators also provides fail-safe features of overcoming partial failure of some of the several alternators.
In view of the foregoing background, the present invention offers an apparatus and system to provide electrical power to a wide range of systems.
Two electronic motors on both sides of the alternator pack drive the several alternators by turning the alternators' rotor shaft. The several alternators are electrically connected in tandem-parallel across a battery or a load. A regulator monitors the operation of each alternator and maintains comparable levels of voltage output by controlling the voltage regulator of each corresponding alternator. This regulator also controls the speed of the driving motors to maintain a steady stream of electrical power.
Failure of some of alternators or voltage regulators can be overcome by controlling the speed of the motors that drive the remaining functional alternators. Such a fault tolerant scheme is possible because this invention uses a plurality of cost-effective alternators. A programmable logic controller monitors and controls the operation of the system. The entire system is economically realized, reliably operated, and entirely enclosed in a cylinder. Such a configuration makes this invention to be used in a wide range of applications and locations.
Alternative embodiment of the invention is replacing the electronic motors with free spinning wheels. The wheels bolted onto the rotor shaft of the alternators are to provide the motion and torque to run the plurality of alternators. An external device that turns the wheel drives the alternators in this embodiment.
The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
Using variable speed electronic motors that operate at 1000 RPM to 6000 RPM, the electronic motors power four multistage alternators 15 of
The device is made into a long cylinder 25 with a motor 10 on both ends mounted inside the box 30, along with a 12V battery and/or directly to a 120V power source 20. Inside the cylinder 25 of
An alternative embodiment of the present invention is to replace the electronic motors with free spinning wheels 40 of
The programmable logic controller 5 of
All embodiments can keep a 12V battery fully charged during operation without impeding the output required to provide. This device provides auxiliary power to power electronic devices that have an occasional strong amperage draw. According to an embodiment, the box 30 of
One skilled in the art, after being exposed to the teachings provided in the preceding descriptions and associated drawings, will likely conceive various modifications and alternative embodiments of the invention. Hence, it is important to note that the invention is not limited to the disclosed specific embodiments, and that modifications and alternative embodiments are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the appended claims.
Thus, the scope of the present disclosure is to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation to the maximum extent allowed by law, of the following claims, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing description.
This application claims benefit to the provisional application U.S. 63/389,920 filed on Jul. 17, 2022, and is incorporated in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63389920 | Jul 2022 | US |
