The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 14, 2015
Filed:
Dec. 30, 2011
Alan L. Browne, Grosse Pointe, MI (US);
Nancy L. Johnson, Northville, MI (US);
Paul W. Alexander, Ypsilanti, MI (US);
John Andrew Shaw, Dexter, MI (US);
Christopher Burton Churchill, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Andrew C. Keefe, Encino, CA (US);
Geoffrey P. Mcknight, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Guillermo A. Herrera, Winnetka, CA (US);
Nilesh D. Mankame, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Richard J. Skurkis, Lake Orion, MI (US);
Wayne Brown, Costa Mesa, CA (US);
Alan L. Browne, Grosse Pointe, MI (US);
Nancy L. Johnson, Northville, MI (US);
Paul W. Alexander, Ypsilanti, MI (US);
John Andrew Shaw, Dexter, MI (US);
Christopher Burton Churchill, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Andrew C. Keefe, Encino, CA (US);
Geoffrey P. McKnight, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Guillermo A. Herrera, Winnetka, CA (US);
Nilesh D. Mankame, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Richard J. Skurkis, Lake Orion, MI (US);
Wayne Brown, Costa Mesa, CA (US);
GM Global Technology Operations LLC, Detroit, MI (US);
Dynalloy, Inc., Tustin, CA (US);
The Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Abstract
An energy harvesting system for converting thermal energy to mechanical energy includes a heat engine that operates using a shape memory alloy active material. The shape memory alloy member may be in thermal communication with a hot region at a first temperature and a cold region at a second temperature lower than the first temperature. The shape memory alloy material may be configured to selectively change crystallographic phase between martensite to austenite and thereby one of contract and expand in response to the first and second temperatures. A thermal conduction element may be in direct contact with the SMA material, where the thermal conduction element is configured to receive thermal energy from the hot region and to transfer a portion of the received thermal energy to the SMA material through conduction.