BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a principal scheme describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention according to FIG. 1 (magnetized body not shown).
FIG. 3 is a principal scheme describing a variant of the energy converting unit when the light source is executed as the light emitting diode.
FIG. 3A is a principal scheme describing a variant of the energy converting unit with the timer and the energy storage means made as the capacitor.
FIG. 3B is a principal scheme describing a variant of the energy converting unit when the energy storage means made as at least one cell of an electrochemical storage device.
FIG. 3C is a principal scheme describing a variant of the energy converting unit has single wave rectification using two diodes as a voltage doubler.
FIG. 3D is a principal scheme describing a variant of the energy converting unit when the pick-up coil includes a ferrite core.
FIG. 4 is a principal scheme describing a variant of the energy converting unit when the electro-mechanical motion device is executed as the solenoid moving flag.
FIG. 5 is a principal scheme describing a variant of the energy converting unit when the electro-mechanical motion device is executed as the sound generator.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a part of the multi-phase linear stator when the coil windings are made as a printed circuit board or stamped upon a dielectric substrate.
FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing a part of the multi-phase linear stator when the coil windings are made as surface mounted coils spaced on a printed circuit board or on a stamped dielectric substrate.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIGS. 1-6A show embodiments of the present invention.
The energy converting system 1 according to the preferred embodiment (FIGS. 1-2) is comprised of a track 2, a controller 3, and at least one magnetized body 4 located on the track 2 and including an energy converting unit 5. The track 2 comprises electrically connected coil windings 6 spaced apart in a series way along the track 2 to form a multi-phase linear stator 7. The controller 3 is electrically connected with the linear stator 7 and generates a combination waveform consisting of a multi-phase propulsion signal 8 and a power signal 9. The stator 7 is executed as at least a 3-phase multi-phase linear stator. The propulsion and power signals 8 and 9 are distant by the corresponding frequencies of the signals. The propulsion signal 8 causes the interaction of the magnetized body 4 with the linear stator 7, thus propelling the magnetized body 4 along the track 2. The energy converting unit 5 comprises electrically connected energy consuming means 10 and at least one pick-up coil 11 (FIGS. 3-5) inductively coupled to the linear stator 7, thus the power signal 9 is available to be consumed by the energy consuming means 10.
The magnetized body 4 placed upon the contact surface of the track 2 is comprised of at least one magnetized object with its magnetic axis substantially perpendicular to the contact surface thus causing interaction with the linear stator 7 when it is powered, creating a force tending to propel the magnetized body 4 along the track 2 in the manner of a linear motor. The magnetized object may be made as at least one permanent magnet 28.
It is preferable that the frequency of the power signal 9 will be higher than the frequency of the propulsion signal 8.
The energy converting unit 5 may further comprise an energy storage means 12. There are two variants of the energy storage means 12. According to the first variant the energy storage means 12 may be executed as at least one capacitor 13, and according to the second variant—as at least one cell of an electrochemical storage device 14.
The energy consuming means 10 may be executed as a light source 15 (FIGS. 1, 3-3D) or an electro-mechanical motion device 18 (FIGS. 4 and 5). The light source 15 may be executed as a light emitting diode (LED) 16 and the energy converting unit may further comprise a timer 17 thus providing control of the LED 16. In one's turn, the electro-mechanical motion device 18 may be executed as a solenoid that moves flag 19 (FIG. 4) or as a sound generator 20 (FIG. 5) and the energy converting unit 5 may further comprise a timer 17 thus providing control of the sound generator 20.
According to the preferred embodiment, the controller 3 comprises a programmable logic device 21 (FIGS. 4 and 5) that governs the power signal 9, thus the energy consuming means 10 operates in accordance with code instructions loaded into the programmable logic device 21.
The controller 3 is comprised of a voltage regulator 22 and/or a propulsion signal regulator 23 (FIGS. 1 and 2) to change the attraction of the magnetized body 4 to the track 2 by modulating voltage and therefore current, and/or speed of the magnetized body 4 by modulating frequency correspondingly. The controller 3 may include a phase sequence commutator 24 thus causing the magnetized body 4 to selectively move in opposite directions (shown by arrow on FIG. 1) along the track 3.
The coil windings 6 of the linear stator 7 may be made as a printed circuit board 25 or stamped upon a dielectric substrate 26. According to another variant, the coil windings 6 are made as surface mounted coils 27 spaced on a printed circuit board 25 or on a stamped dielectric substrate 26.
To further increase the system efficiency the pick-up coil 11 may include the ferrite core 36 (FIG. 3D) and may be electro-magnetically tuned to the frequency of said power signal 9.
The energy converting system 1 operates as follows. When electrical power is supplied from the power source (not shown) to the coils windings 6 of the track 2 that operate together as the stator 7, alternating electromagnetic fields are created. First, the electrical power is supplied to two adjacent coils windings 6 of the linear stator 7 located on a part of the track 2 where the magnetized body 4 is located at the commencement of the process. The electromagnetic field created by two adjacent coils windings 6 interacts with a magnetic field created by the permanent magnets 28 of the magnetized object, which serve as the magnetized body 4. As a result, the magnetized body 4 is propelled along the track 2 to the next segment of coils 6 of the track 2 with two adjacent coils windings 6, where the polarity of electrical power is switched by the controller 3, further propelling the magnetized body 4, and the magnetized body 4 continues to move to subsequent coils windings 6, and so on.
The controllers 3 output uses frequency to control the speed the magnetized body 4 is propelled on the track 2. The higher the frequency the faster the magnetized body 4 travels. This may be augmented by adjusting the output voltage of the frequency wave. A lower voltage allows for a smoother and more efficient slow speed operation. At higher frequencies the voltage is increased to help maintain the magnetized body 4 lock with the track 2 drive. This allows the magnetized body 4 to travel faster and handle curves better.
The principal scheme in FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the 3-phase motor controller 3 employing a high frequency pulse width modulation (PWM) to control the drive current. This type of controller is known to any individual familiar in the art of motor control and particularly 3-Phase DC brushless motor control. The following description is how the controller 3 relates to a linear track drive and the unique properties it offers for the present invention. Current control allows for a more efficient track 2 operation where higher drive currents are only used when required as in moving the magnetized body 4 on curves or hills. This same high frequency PWM also allows a method of transformer coupling of this track 2 energy to the moving magnetized body 4 to power a variety of energy consuming means 10 it may contain as illustrated in FIGS. 3 through 5.
FIG. 2 has two oscillators 32 and 33 illustrated. Oscillator 32 operates at a fixed high frequency and is used to create the PWM to control overall track 2 voltage or drive current by means of the voltage regulator 22 control. The other oscillator 33 operates at a much lower frequency and is used to control the speed of the magnetized body 4 by mean of the propulsion signal regulator 23 control. This lower frequency oscillator 33, clocks a digital counter 34, and is decoded to supply the proper three phase input signal to the 3-phase controller 3. Here this signal is processed and modulated with the high frequency PWM to generate a three phase signal supplied to the drivers (Q1, Q2, and Q3). The 3-phase controller 3 also contains a method to changing the phase sequence commutator 24 to control the direction of the magnetized body 4 on the track 2 by means of the illustrated FWD/REV switch. The PWM can be combined in the 3-phase controller 3 to modulate the upper driver outputs (AT, BT, and CT) or the lower driver outputs (AB, BB, and CB). The preferred embodiment controllers modulate the lower drive outputs. Only two driver outputs are active at a given time. FIG. 1 illustrates driver Q1 is a continuous high state output while driver Q2 is the modulated low state output.
The moving magnetized body 4 has two ways of using the energy collected from the track 2 either directly or by storing the energy. Many different types of electrical devices may be powered from the stored energy including but not limited to those which generate sound, light and motion.
FIG. 3 shows one possible way of using the energy directly. Here the pick-up coil 11 sends the energy directly to a light emitting diode (LED) 16 which creates a moving object with illumination.
In FIG. 3A the pick-up coils 11 energy is rectified by a diode 35 and is stored in energy storage means made as a capacitor 13 or a cell of an electrochemical storage device 14 (FIG. 3B). The DC energy is then used to power a timer 17 which flashes a LED 16 (FIG. 3C).
Many methods of rectification are possible. FIGS. 3A-3C are examples of these methods. FIG. 3A has single wave rectification. FIG. 3B illustrates full wave bridge rectification. FIG. 3C has single wave rectification using two diodes 35 as a voltage doubler.
The energy pick-up coil 11 may have an air, ferrite or ferrous metal core 36 (FIG. 3D) depending on the modulated frequency used. FIG. 3D has the same circuit as FIG. 3B using the ferrite core 36.
Therefore, the claimed invention is employed the more efficient electromagnetic moving system with electric energy conversion to propulsion and auxiliary energy separated by the corresponding frequencies.
Patent Application
20070283841
