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:
Mar. 06, 2018
Filed:
Jan. 15, 2014
The University of Akron, Akron, OH (US);
Erik D. Engeberg, Cuyahoga Falls, OH (US);
Subramaniya I. Hariharan, Akron, OH (US);
Benjamin A. Kent, Hudson, OH (US);
The University of Akron, Akron, OH (US);
Abstract
A thermal energy harvesting system includes a pair of shape memory sections formed of shape memory alloy (SMA) material that are each disposed within a tube. The shape memory sections are fixed in position at one end and are attached at another end to a rotating shaft that is in mechanical communication with a power generator. Fluid inlet valves are provided in each housing and are each controlled to alternatingly supply hot and cold fluid to the tubes to selectively heat and cool the shape memory sections. This results in the cyclical contraction and expansion of the shape memory sections, which causes oscillating rotation of the shaft that is converted by the power generator into electrical power.