Patent Application
20080048817
The present invention relates to a circuit and, more particularly, to a circuit module that may be used, for example, in the energy recovery system disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 11/454,948, filed Jun. 16, 2006, entitled ENERGY RECOVERY SYSTEM, by Imad Mahawili, Ph.D, Attorney Docket No. ENE02 P-105, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The present invention provides a circuit module that includes a flexible sheet of non-conductive material which is sufficiently flexible to permit the sheet to be rolled and which supports a circuit. The circuit has at least one loop and first and second contacts for coupling the loop to an external device.
In one aspect, the circuit includes a plurality of loops. In a further aspect, each of the loops includes a diode.
In another aspect, the loop forms an alternating current circuit when a magnetic field is passed by the loop. Optionally, the circuit may include a rectifier, which converts the alternating current circuit to a direct current circuit. For example, the rectifier may comprise a diode or a diode bridge.
In any of the above circuit modules, the flexible sheet may comprise a polymer sheet, such as a polyester sheet, including a polyethylene sheet, such as a biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate (boPET) sheet. Another suitable polymer sheet includes a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheet. Alternately, the flexible sheet may comprise a paper sheet, including tar paper.
Further, in any of the above circuit modules, the loop may be formed from a conductive path, such as a metal oxide path or a metal path, that is deposited on the flexible sheet.
In another aspect, the flexible sheet may comprise a first side and a second side, with the loop forming a first conductive path on the first side and a second conductive path on the second side.
According to another form of the invention, a circuit is formed by a flexible sheet of non-conductive material, which is sufficiently flexible to permit the sheet to be rolled, and a circuit loop that is formed on the flexible sheet. Contacts for the circuit loop are provided for coupling the circuit loop to an external device.
In one aspect, the circuit loop is formed by depositing a conductive substance on the flexible sheet. Suitable conductive substances include a metal oxide or metal. The conductive substance may be deposited and then etched to form the circuit loop. Alternately, portions of the flexible sheet may be masked when depositing the conductive substance on the flexible sheet so that the unmasked portions are deposited with the conductive substance.
The conductive substance may be deposited using a vacuum deposition or evaporation, or by sputtering the conductive substance onto the flexible sheet.
In a further aspect, when forming the circuit loop, the loop may be configured to form an AC circuit on the flexible sheet.
In another aspect, the circuit loop may be provided with a rectifier to convert the AC circuit to a DC circuit. For example, the circuit may be provided with a diode or diode bridge.
In yet another form of the invention, a circuit module includes a substrate formed from a non-conductive material and a circuit. The substrate includes a plurality of recesses formed therein for receiving at least portions of the circuit.
For example, the substrate may be formed from a ground surface, such as tar, concrete, or from a material that is suitable for use as a ground surface, at least over a limited region, such as a polymer, including a reinforced polymer. The recesses may be preformed in the substrate or may be formed such as by cutting. Alternately, the recesses may be formed by heating and melting the substrate in discrete regions while at the same time the circuit is embedded into the melted portions of the substrate surface.
In one aspect, the portions of the circuit that are located in the recesses may be sealed in the recesses either by the substrate material itself if a melt/embedment process is used or by a sealant, such as a polymer seal. Alternately or in addition, the entire surface of the substrate in the vicinity of the circuit may be covered with a non-magnetic material, such as a layer of a polymeric material or a layer of tar, in the case of a tar or concrete substrate, for example.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a circuit that is flexible, which facilitates installation of the circuit especially when used in conjunction with the energy recovery system described in the above referenced pending application.
These and other objects, advantages, purposes, and features of the invention will become more apparent from the study of the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.
Referring to
As will be more fully described below, circuit module 10 is configured to provide a flexible circuit that can be rolled, for example about a reel or drum or the like, so that the circuit can be stored in a compact arrangement and, further, easily deployed for use for example, in the energy recovery system application referenced above. Furthermore, as will be appreciated from the following description, circuit module 10 may be configured such that it can be adjusted in size to suit the particular application. Alternately, as described more fully below in reference to
Referring to
Circuit 14 may include one or more loops 16 that are arranged on the sheet. In the illustrated embodiment, circuit 14 includes a plurality of loops 16 that are arranged in series and arranged on the sheet in a plane. It should be understood that the number of loops can be varied—increased or decreased—depending on the application, including as noted decreased to a single loop. Circuit 14 includes a pair of contacts 18 and 20 for coupling circuit 14 to an external device 22. Contacts 18 and 20 may be provided on sheet 12 and located within outer perimeter 12a of sheet 12 or may project from perimeter 12a of sheet 12 for coupling to the leads 22a and 22b of external device 22.
Loops 16 are formed from a plurality of conductive paths 24 that are provided on surface 12b of sheet 12. For example, conductive paths 24 may be formed from metal or metal oxide paths, which are formed by deposits of a conductive substance on sheet 12 using conventional deposition methods. In one form, the conductive paths are arranged such that the loops, which as noted above, are arranged in series and, further, are arranged in an array on one side of the sheet, along with the common conductive path that couples to the first loop and forms or couples to contact 18. The other common conductive path that couples to the last loop extends along the other side of the sheet to then form or couple to contact 20 for coupling to the external device. Although only one array is illustrated it should be understood that a sheet may include a plurality of arrays that are interconnected to the common conductive paths of the adjacent array, but with each array then optionally including a diode to control the flow of current from each array through the common conductive paths and then to the common external device. When the sheet supports multiple arrays, it is also contemplated that the length of the sheet, and therefore the number of arrays, maybe adjusted by simply cutting off a section of the sheet between two adjacent arrays. In this manner the circuit can be adjusted to suit a particular application without any significant rework.
The conductive substance may be deposited on sheet 12, for example, using vacuum deposition, evaporation, or sputtering or the like. Further, the circuit may be formed by etching the conductive substance that is deposited on sheet 12. Alternately, the circuit may be formed by masking portions of the flexible sheet when the conductive substance is deposited on the sheet. Suitable conductive substances include metals, such as copper, aluminum, silver, or the like, or metal oxides such as indium tin oxide or the like.
As described in the copending application entitled ENERGY RECOVERY SYSTEM, referenced above, when a magnetic field is passed across a plurality of conductive loops, the change in the magnetic field due to the movement of the magnet across the conductive paths induces current flow through the conductive paths and, in the illustrated embodiment, produces an alternating current through circuit 14. As described in the copending application, the alternating current may be delivered to an external device, such as external device 22, which may comprise an energy storage device, such as a battery or a capacitor, which stores the energy generated by the current flowing through the circuit or may comprise a transformer, which steps up the voltage to directly feed the energy to a power grid. In the case of an energy storage device a direct current is needed; therefore, as described below, the circuit module of the present embodiment may also incorporate a rectifier to convert the alternating current (AC) into a direct current (DC).
Referring to
In the illustrated embodiment, circuit 114 also includes a rectifier 114a in the form of a diode, which only allows one-way flow of current through the diode to device 22. In the illustrated embodiment, rectifier 114a is a half-way rectifier because it only allows one-half of the current wave form to pass through to device 22.
Referring to
In the illustrated embodiment, rectifier 214a comprises a diode bridge, which forms a full wave rectifier circuit so that the full capacity of the circuit 214 is delivered to device 22. Other full wave rectifier circuits that may be used include center tap designs which incorporate a transformer. However, the necessity of the center tapped secondary winding may significantly increase the cost of the circuit and, further, may be limited to low power applications. Although illustrated in reference to a single diode bridge, multiple diode bridges may be used to reduce the ripple effect on the voltage output that is associated with a full wave rectifier circuit.
Alternately, referring to
Referring to
Similar to the previous embodiments, circuit 414 includes one or more loops 416 that are optionally generally arranged in a plane, though as will be more fully described below, portions of the loops may be offset from the plane as a result of the topology of substrate S. For further details of loops 416, contacts 418, 420 and external device 422 reference is made to the previous embodiments. Further, it should be noted that circuit 414 may include one or more rectifiers as described in reference to circuits 114, 214, and 314.
As best seen in
Further, where the recesses are formed by molding or cutting, the portions of the circuit that are embedded in the substrate may be sealed in the recess or recesses by a sealant, such as a polymeric sealant. Where the circuit is embedded using melt/embedment, the circuit may be sealed by the material forming the substrate as the material cools.
Alternately or in addition, the substrate may be covered with a layer, such as a layer of polymeric material or by a layer of tar or the like. Furthermore, the substrate may include a single recess with the circuit arranged in the recess and then covered and, preferably, sealed in the recess by a non-conductive material such as a polymeric material, tar, or concrete that may be poured in and thereafter set to form a surface over the circuit, preferably that is suitable for use in a road or ground surface.
While several forms of the invention have been shown and described, other forms will now be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the conductive paths may be formed on both sides of the sheet to increase the number of loops per linear length of the sheet. Further, as noted above, the circuit may incorporate a single loop. Therefore, it will be understood that the embodiments shown in the drawings and described above are merely for illustrative purposes, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the claims, which follow as interpreted under the principles of patent law including the doctrine of equivalents.
This application claims priority from U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/833,373, filed Jul. 26, 2006, entitled CIRCUIT MODULE, by Applicant Imad Mahawili, Ph.D, and is incorporated herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60833373 | Jul 2006 | US |
