WO2013105845A2

WO2013105845A2 - Apparatus and method for metabolic energy harvesting

Info

Publication number: WO2013105845A2
Application number: PCT/MY2013/000002
Authority: WO
Inventors: A.S.M Mukter-Uz-Zaman; Gunawan Witjaksono; Aiman Sajidah Binti ABD AZIZ; Nora'zah Bt ABDUL RASHID
Original assignee: Mimos Berhad
Priority date: 2012-01-13
Filing date: 2013-01-14
Publication date: 2013-07-18
Also published as: WO2013105845A3; MY155585A

Abstract

There is disclosed an apparatus and method for use in energy harvesting, and more particularly metabolic energy harvesting. The apparatus of the present invention allows energy harvesting from a living plant without the need for coupling to the ground by using an energy capsule (12) being removably attached to the plant. A liquid collecting means (5) is inserted into the plant to direct liquid flow from the plant to the capsule (12), which contains energy harvesting components including electrodes (2, 6) and an ion conductive membrane (7). The capsule (12) is secured to the plant at any single point using an adjustable securing means (15).

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR METABOLIC ENERGY HARVESTING

FIELD OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of' the present invention relates generally to bio-energy harvesting, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for use in metabolic energy harvesting from living plants . BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Bio-energy harvesting has been gaining momentum due to growing concern for the environment and desire to conserve resources, thereby much has been written about them. One of the most prevalent energy harvesting approaches is metabolic energy harvesting, which generally, converts living plants metabolic energy to useable electricity.

At present there are torrents of systems and methods many of which may be effective to a certain extent, but a great majority encompass their failure factors and drawbacks. Improperly functioning or failures in the operation of these devices and systems more often would result to reduced productivity albeit the high cost of installation. For instance, in metabolic energy harvesting, various WSN components are required and due to the large amount of components, installation becomes a burden and power source has to be increased. At present, conventional batteries are being used to supply operational power to these devices, however, because batteries has limited life cycle, there is the occurrence of power outage. Further, current metabolic energy harvesting form living plants necessitates coupling electrical conductor on said plant and to the ground. These systems however require complex setup and thus involve tedious work.

Considering the glaring issues related to current metabolic energy harvesting systems, there remains a considerable need for an energy harvesting apparatus that require simplified installation at one attach point on the respective plant without the need for coupling to the ground.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for harvesting energy from a living plant comprising: a plurality of electrodes (2, 6) adapted for energy harvesting; a polymer membrane (7) disposed adjacent to the electrodes (2, 6) ; a housing means (12) to encapsulate at least the plurality of electrodes (2, 6); a liquid collecting means (5) comprising an inlet disposed :· relative to the housing means (12) in manner such that it can be inserted into any point of the plant; and a means for removably securing the housing means (12) to any single point of the plant; wherein the means for securing the housing means (12) has adjustable length.

In another aspect there is provided a method for harvesting metabolic energy from a plant comprising the steps of: providing at least a pair of electrodes (S101); providing an energy harvesting circuit (S102); providing a liquid collecting means (S103) having an inlet for allowing flow of liquid therein; securing the above mentioned components to the plant (S104) ; inserting the sharp, tip into the plant and thus collecting liquid (S105) therefrom to initiate metabolic energy harvesting; and storing (S106) harvested energy to a storage means or directly used to power up a load.

Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components or members. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features of the claimed invention will be apparent from the following description when read with reference to the accompanying drawings :

FIG 1 shows the overall view of the apparatus , in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention; FIG 2 shows the various attachments of the adjustable belt in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention;

FIG 3 shows the techniques in securing the apparatus to a plant and more particularly a tree; and

FIG 4 shows the method involved in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings where, by way of illustration, specific embodiments of the invention are shown. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be used as structural and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, the various embodiments and aspects from each of the various embodiments may be used in any suitable combinations. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

Generally, embodiments of the present invention are directed to an apparatus and method for harvesting energy from a living plant based on a single attachment point.

FIG 1 shows the overall view of the apparatus in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention. The apparatus comprises a housing means (12) to contain or encapsulate a plurality of electrodes (2,6), a means for collecting liquid from the plant (5) , at least one polymer membrane (7); and a means for attachment (15) of the housing means (12) to any point of a plant as shown in Figure 3. The housing means (12) in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention is referred herein as an energy capsule (12) which is formed with predetermined shape and sized to encapsulate the plurality of electrodes (2, 6), a polymer membrane (7) and hold a means for collecting liquid from the plant (5) . It is further adapted to contain circuitry means (1, 9) and storage means (8) .

The electrodes (2, 6) may be in the form of, but not limited to, flexible metal electrodes or air electrodes or a combination thereof. A polymer membrane (7) is provided to allow conductivity and is disposed in between the plurality of electrodes (2, 6) . The means for collecting liquid (5) is preferably in the form of a sharp member comprising an inlet sized to allow flow of liquid from the plant into the capsule (12) during use . The means for securing or attaching the capsule (12) is preferably in the form of an adjustable belt or a member of the likes, whereby the capsule (12) is removably attached to any point of the belt (15) prior to being secured to the plant. The belt (15) may be formed with various types of attaching members, such as buttons, Velcro, hooking members or the likes, which can be used to removably secure the belt (15) together with the capsule (12) to a tree trunk, for instance. The types of attachment can be seen in FIG 2. Now referring to FIG 3, in effect, the belt (15) holding the capsule (12) is secured to one point of a tree or plant. The tip (5) is positioned in a manner such that it is able to be jabbed into the tree trunk and collect liquid therefrom. Liquid from the tree then flows into the inlet of the tip (5) and directed accordingly to be in contact with the membrane (7) . The flow of liquid which is directed to the energy capsule (12) causes the membrane (7) to be activated and thus become ion conductive. Continuous flow of liquid allows energy harvesting devoid of interruption and without the need to be coupled to the ground. In this manner, power can be conserved and installation is less complex. Energy harvested can be stored or immediately used to power up a load.

Accordingly, now referring to FIG 4, the main steps involved in operating the apparatus of the present invention are providing at least a pair of electrodes (S101) ; providing an energy harvesting circuit (S102); providing a liquid collecting means (S103) which can be in the form of a sharp tip having an inlet; securing the above mentioned components to the plant (SI 04) ; inserting the sharp tip into the plant and thus collecting liquid (S105) therefrom to initiate metabolic energy harvesting and storing (S106) harvested energy to a storage means or directly used to power up a load.

Specific arrangements and combinations of an apparatus and method for energy harvesting are disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many ^■ more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the disclosure. Moreover, in interpreting the disclosure, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced.

Claims

1. An apparatus for harvesting energy from a living plant comprising:

a plurality of electrodes (2, 6) adapted for energy harvesting;

a polymer membrane (7) disposed adjacent to the electodes (2, 6) ;

a housing means (12) to encapsulate at least the plurality of electrodes (2, 6) ;

a liquid collecting means (5) comprising an inlet disposed relative to the housing means (12) in manner such that it can be inserted into any point of the plant; and

a means for removably securing the housing means (15) to any single point of the .plant; wherein the means for securing the housing means (12) has adjustable length.

2. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the electrodes is defined by flexible metal electrode, air electrode or a combination thereof.

3. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the means for collecting liquid (5) is in the form of a sharp tip adapted to be connected to the capsule (12) .

4. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the means for securing the capsule (12) to the plant is in form of an adjustable belt (15) .

5. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the apparatus further comprising at least one energy harvesting circuit.

6. A method for harvesting metabolic energy from a plant comprising the steps of:

providing at least a pair of electrodes (S101) ;

providing an energy harvesting circuit (S102) ;

providing a liquid collecting means (S103) having an inlet for allowing flow of liquid therein;

securing the above mentioned components to the plant (S104); inserting the sharp tip into the plant and thus collecting liquid (S105) therefrom to initiate metabolic energy harvesting; and

storing (S106) harvested energy to a storage means or directly used to power up a load.

7. The method as claimed in Claim 6 further comprising the step of contacting the liquid with an ion conductive membrane .