 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
US Patent #6,130,377Thermoelectric battery and power plant using the same
Thermoelectric battery and power plant using the same
|
| Inventors: | Rivera; Carlos Avila (P.O. Box 14, Angeles, PR 00611) |
| Assignee: | Rivera; Carlos Avila (Angeles, PR) |
| Appl. No.: | 009553 |
| Filed: | January 20, 1998 |
| Current U.S. Class: | 136/206; 136/208; 136/209; 136/230 |
| Intern'l Class: | H01L 035/00 |
| Field of Search: | 136/205,206,209,225,230,243,251,208 |
| 4284838 | Aug., 1981 | Indech | 136/205. |
Fig. as listed in US Patent:
* * * *
Corrected Fig. 1 as received by fax from Carlos:
FIG. 1 shows the pendulum power system using the thermoelectric battery, the pacemaker circuit, and the pendulum with the ionic chemical mixture.
FIG. 2 shows a side view of a thermoelectric battery using a series arrangement of two different metal pipes connected in an alternating manner.
FIG. 3 shows another arrangement for connecting a series of two different metal pipes in an alternating manner.
FIG. 4 shows the pipe connections of the battery in FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 shows a graph of the relationship between the number of pipes used in the thermoelectric battery and the current or electrical power generated by the battery.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The power system of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. A thermoelectric battery 10 is
partially submerged in a body of water 15. The thermoelectric battery includes a copper plate 12 and
an aluminum plate 14 separated by an electrically conductive plate 13 made of nickel. The nickel
plate 13 binds the two outer plates 12 and 14 together. The nickel plate could be made of other
materials that have high electrical conductivity. Electrical conducting wires 17 and 18 are
connected the respective plates 12 and 14 to a pacemaker circuit 20. The thermoelectric battery 10
can be partially submerged halfway in fresh water or salt water, or can be partially submerged
underground halfway. The size of the plates of the thermoelectric battery 10 would depend on the
amount of electric power needed for the pacemaker circuit 20 and the pendulum 30.
The pacemaker circuit 20 includes a 6-volt battery 22, a first resistor 21, a switch 25, a capacitor
23, a second resistor 24, and a transformer 26. The pacemaker circuit 20 makes use of the electrical
energy stored in the internal battery 22 and the electrical energy supplied by the thermoelectric
battery 10 to charge the capacitor 23. The internal battery 22 would supply the pacemaker circuit
with the necessary electrical power to charge the capacitor 23 when the thermoelectric battery 10 is
producing less electrical power than usual such as when a cloud blocks the sunlight 16. When a
charge on the capacitor reaches a predetermined electrical potential, the built-up charge in the
capacitor 23 is released into the transformer 26 and an electrical current is released through wires
43 and 44. The charge in the capacitor 23 is released when the switch 25 is moved to the right side
position in FIG. 1. The switch is a well known self-acting switch that moves to the discharge
position when a certain potential voltage is reached, and returns to the charge position when the
voltage drops below a certain level. The values for the battery, resistors, capacitor and
transformer can vary depending on the characteristics of the pendulum (which is described below).
The output of the pacemaker circuit 20 is connected by the wires 43 and 44 to a bar magnet 41. The
bar is approximately 1 inch in diameter and 12 inches in length. The wires 43 and 44 coil around the
bar magnet 41 a number of times to form an impulse device 40 for generating a timed pulse (force) or
"kick" that acts on the swinging pendulum at specified points in the motion of the
pendulum in order to keep the pendulum swinging. The number of coils 42 would depend upon the amount
of magnetic field to be generated by the bar magnet. When a current from the pacemaker circuit 20 is
induced in the wires 43 and 44, a magnetic field is generated by the coils 42 and the bar magnet 41.
The resulting magnetic field generated is used to apply a pushing or pulling force on a magnet 50
located near the top of a pendulum 30. The direction of the current generated in the wires 43 and 44
would determine in which direction the magnetic force generated in the coils 42 would act. To
produce the correct direction of force, the wires 43 and 44 could be reversed in their connection to
the pacemaker circuit 20, or the magnet 50 on the pendulum 30 could be turned so that the other pole
faces the bar magnet 41.
The electrical parts of the pacemaker circuit 20 can be chosen such that the natural frequency at
which the pacemaker circuit discharges would be synchronized with the natural frequency of the
swinging pendulum. Another embodiment would provide a sensor (not shown) near the pendulum 30 to
determine when the pendulum 30 is in a certain position. When the pendulum is in a certain
position--such as all the way to the right in FIG. 1--a control system (not shown) connected to the
sensor would allow discharge of the pacemaker circuit 20 to provide the electrical current to the
wires 43 and 44 to produce the "kick" in a timed relation to the motion of the pendulum
30.
The pendulum 30 includes a hollow sphere 33 made of an electrically conductive material such as
aluminum having a diameter in this embodiment of about 1 1/2 feet. A pendulum arm 32 connects the
sphere 33 to a fixed pivot point 31. The length of the entire pendulum in the preferred embodiment
is about 70 feet. Inside the hollow sphere 33 is a non-conductive insulator 34 dividing the hollow
sphere into two equal volumes 35 and 36. The insulator 34 can be a vegetable membrane. Inside the
hollow sphere are chemical ionic substances, which function as an electrochemical battery to
generate an electric current. The chemical ionic substances could be a mixture of 5% to 10% water
and the rest vinegar, or a mixture of 20% sodium, 20% potassium and 60% chlorine. The ionic compound
is placed in both halves of the sphere 32 in equal proportions. Movement of the sphere causes the
ionic chemicals to agitate. The ionic mixture includes compounds of different charges. In the water
and vinegar mixture, the vinegar includes an OH compound having a negative charge. The smallest ion
will pass through the membrane 34. This flow of charged ions through the membrane 34 would result in
a voltage potential being established within the hollow sphere. Also located in the sphere are two
metallic electrodes 37 and 38. One electrode 37 is made of gold while the other electrode 38 is made
of silver. Other materials could be aluminum and iron. The electrodes 37 and 38 carry an electric
current developed by the ionic chemicals in the sphere 33 through wires 53 and 54 to a capacitor 52.
A voltage is developed in the capacitor 52, which can be used for electrical power.
In order for the timed pulses from the pacemaker circuit 20 to be effective in maintaining the
swinging motion of the pendulum 30, the values of the resistors 21 and 24 and capacitor 23 must be
related to the length of the pendulum. The frequency of the pacemaker circuit must be equal to or
proportional to the natural frequency of the pendulum. The voltage in the capacitor 23 is V.sub.c
=.epsilon.(1-e.sup.-t/RC) where .epsilon. is the voltage in the battery 22, R is the value of the
resistor 21, and C is the value of the capacitor 23. The thermoelectric battery 10 is required to
provide at least 120 volts of electrical power to the pacemaker circuit 20. For the pulsed force
applied to the pendulum 30 to be effective, .tau..sub.c =100*.tau..sub.p or the characteristic time
constant of the pacemaker circuit 20 should be 100 times the value of the period of oscillation of
the pendulum. When this occurs, the voltage in the capacitor 23 will be 0.63.epsilon. or 75.6 volts.
Letting the value of the capacitor 23 to be 100 micro-farads, and the length of the pendulum is 70
feet (or 21.34 meters), the value for the resistor 21 becomes R=9,267,000 ohms. The discharge of the
pacemaker circuit 20 will occur when the switch 25 is in the left side position of FIG. 1, which is
after 100 oscillations of the pendulum. Since V.sub.c =V.sub.MAX *e.sup.-t/rC and I=V.sub.MAX /r*e.sup.-t/rC,
and if I.sub.0 =10 amps, then r=75.6 volts/10 amps or 7.56 ohms. The resistor 24 is r=7.56 ohms.
Then, the discharge time of the pacemaker circuit 20 is .tau.=rC=0.000756 seconds or about 1
micro-second.
When the stored chemical energy in the ionic compound is used up, the mixture in the sphere 33 is
replaced with a new mixture for the next operation of the pendulum system.
FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the thermoelectric battery 110 used to convert sunlight into electrical power. The thermoelectric battery 110 includes a series of galvanized iron pipes 117 and copper pipes 118 arranged in an alternating pattern. The pipes are connected together in the middle of a sunlight accumulation tank by a metal joiner 114 such as a metal tube. The metal tube could be made from the same material in which one of the pipes 117 or 118 is made from. Two pipes can be connected to the connector 114 by welds or threads cut into the connector 114 and the pipes 117 and 118. Outside the accumulation tank 110, the pipes are connected together by elbow joints 115. The accumulation has a Plexiglas layer 112 for structural support, and an insulation layer of Styrofoam 116. Covering the top of the accumulation tank is a glass pane or window 113. The window allows the sunlight to pass into the interior of the accumulation tank but does not allow the ultraviolet energy to escape (the greenhouse effect). The rise in temperature inside the accumulation tank heats up the pipes and produces the desired electrical voltage and current in the series of pipes. The outside ends of the pipes are buried into the ground 15 or submerged halfway into a body of water to cool the ends of the pipes in relation to the pipes inside the accumulation tank. The series of pipes are connected together by wires 121 such that an alternating series of pipes in formed (as in FIG. 4). The first and last pipes in the alternating series would be connected to the wires 17 and 18 leading to the pacemaker circuit 20.
FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the thermoelectric battery 110 in which a series of pipes are connected together. The galvanized iron pipes 117 and copper pipes 118 arranged in an alternating pattern and together inside the accumulation tank by the connectors 114. Outside the accumulation tank the pipes are connected together in the alternating pattern by wires 121. Also, the pipe sections extending on the outside of the accumulation tank would be submerged in water or placed in the ground to maintain the outside ends of the pipes at a lower temperature to that inside the accumulation tank.
FIG. 4 shows the alternating pipe connection arrangement. The ends of the series of pipes are
connected to the pacemaker circuit by wires 17 and 18. As shown in FIG. 5, increasing the number of
pipes produces a linear increase in the power supplied by the pipe arrangement.
In order for the thermoelectric battery of the present invention to produce the largest amount of
power, the pipes inside the accumulation tank should be as hot as possible while the ends of the
pipes outside the accumulation tank should be as cold as possible.
The use of the thermoelectric battery and the pendulum system will now be described. The two halves
35 and 36 of the hollow sphere 33 are first filled with the desired ionic chemical compounds. If the
water and vinegar mixture is desired, a fully mixed solution of the vinegar and water are placed in
both halves in equal proportions. The pendulum 30 is manually positioned at an angle of about 30
degrees off center and held by a latch (not shown) or the like until ready for release. While the
pendulum 30 is in this positive potential energy state, the thermoelectric battery 10 is collecting
sunlight 16 and producing electrical power. The electric power is delivered through wires 17 and 18
to the pacemaker circuit 20, which charges the capacitor 23 while the switch 25 is in the left side
or charge position. The electrical output of the thermoelectric battery 10 is also used to supply
power to a user (not shown). Under low load situations, the power supplied by the thermoelectric
battery 10 would be enough to power the user. In the situation where the supplied power is not
enough--such as in high demands or a loss of sunlight--the pendulum can be released to produce the
required agitation of the ionic chemicals and thus the electrical power therefrom. As the pendulum
is swinging, the pacemaker circuit--in synchronized operation with the pendulum--will provide an
electrical current or pulse to the wire coils 42 around the bar 41 such that a magnetic field is
generated. The magnetic field will produce an impulse force (the "kick") on the magnet 50
connected to the pendulum arm 32 and thus add enough energy to the swinging pendulum to make up for
the normal losses therein to keep the pendulum swinging. The power developed in the ionic chemicals
in the hollow sphere 33 can be used to charge a capacitor 52 or used to supply power to the user of
the thermoelectric battery 10. When the ionic chemicals have been fully used up and no more
electrical power is generated in the sphere, the used chemicals can be drained and the sphere
refilled. The pendulum is then positioned at about 30 degrees and locked in place awaiting another
instance when the potential energy of the pendulum is required.
The bar magnet 40 and pacemaker circuit 20 can supply the "kick" to the pendulum 30 after
100 cycles of the pendulum 30, or any other number of cycles depending on the amount of energy the
pendulum losses during its swinging motion. The purpose of the "kick" is to make up for
losses in the movement of the pendulum. Also, the timing of the pacemaker circuit 20 can be done
through a position sensor and capacitor 23 discharge system that will detect a predefined number of
oscillations of the pendulum and the proper position of the pendulum before releasing the
"kick".
Page posted by Sterling
D. Allan, January 18, 2004
Last updated October 22, 2005
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
