Electrostatic power generation method using charge carrier with potential control layer

Abstract

To provide a charge carrier having a potential control layer adjacent to a charge retention layer, which reduces the thrust required to transport the charge carrier and eliminates the backward mirror image force generated during the initial transport phase.SOLUTION: A potential control layer is provided adjacent to a charge retention layer, which forms upper and lower horizontal plates of a charge carrier formed on a printed circuit board (PCB), and charges of opposite polarity to the charge retention layer are introduced into this layer, thereby the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier is substantially eliminated, and furthermore, by maintaining the charges in the charge retention layer during the initial transport phase, the generation of a backward mirror image force is eliminated, thereby achieving the desired result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a novel electrostatic generation method for a charge carrier having a potential control layer adjacent to a charge retention layer. The method involves introducing charges of opposite polarity to those of the charge retention layer into the potential control layer, thereby reducing the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier to nearly zero and transporting the charge carrier with a low thrust. The invention also relates to an electrostatic generation method for eliminating the receding electrostatic force generated in the first half of transport by erasing the charges in the potential control layer during transport. [Background technology]

[0002] In order to solve global warming and other environmental problems, various carbon dioxide-free power generation methods have been implemented. Examples include nuclear power generation, solar power generation, and wind power generation. However, these methods have problems in terms of safety, stability, cost, durability, and miniaturization. On the other hand, electrostatic generators are not dangerous throughout their manufacture, use, and disposal, and are not affected by weather or the time of generation, providing a constant and stable amount of power generation. Furthermore, they are easy to miniaturize, eliminating the need for capacitors or power transmission lines. Furthermore, they require almost no energy replenishment or maintenance, have a long lifespan (approximately 100 years), and are a low-cost power source.

[0003] In such an electrostatic generator, a charge is injected into a charge carrier by a low-potential charge charging electrode (hereinafter referred to as the charging electrode), and the charge carrier is transported and lifted up against the electrostatic force acting on it in an electric field to a high-potential charge recovery electrode (hereinafter referred to as the recovery electrode), where the transported charge is recovered. (old electrostatic generator)

[0004] A stronger force is required to resist this electrostatic force and raise the charge carrier to a higher potential. In the Van de Graaff electrostatic generator, which is currently the most widely used electrostatic generator, this force is obtained by an electric motor. However, in this case, the electrical energy consumed by the motor is greater than the electrical energy generated, so it is not exactly a generator but a high-voltage generator. Small electrostatic generators that use wave power have also been developed, but their output is small and they are currently not widely used. (New electrostatic generator)

[0005] In response to this, the applicant has devised a new type of electrostatic generator that uses a newly discovered asymmetric electrostatic force as the transport force of the charge carrier. Here, asymmetric electrostatic force is an electrostatic force characterized by the fact that the absolute value of the electrostatic force acting on a charged non-spherical conductor is different before and after the direction of the electric field is reversed. Furthermore, a non-spherical shape refers to a three-dimensional shape with a longitudinal cross section that is asymmetric between the front and rear of the traveling direction, such as a horizontally placed gutter or box. (asymmetric electrostatic force)

[0006] There are three types of electrostatic forces: Coulomb force (electric field force), which acts on charges placed in an electric field; image force, which acts on charges placed near a conductor even in the absence of an electric field; and gradient force, which acts on an object placed in a converging electric field even in the absence of an electric charge. Similarly, there are three types of asymmetric electrostatic forces (Non-Patent Document 2). Of these, asymmetric electric field force and asymmetric image force are used in new electrostatic generators. As asymmetric image force electrostatic generators have a simpler structure and are considered to be the most widely used, the following explanation will focus on asymmetric image force. The detailed principles, structures, etc. of asymmetric image force-driven electrostatic generators are described in related prior patents (Patent Documents 1 to 5) and papers (Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2). (Two-dimensional difference method)

[0007] As shown in Figure 1, when a point charge 1 is at a distance r from a grounded conductive plate 2, an electrostatic force calculated by the following equation (1) acts on the point charge 1. This corresponds to the image force. F=q 2 / 4πε0(2r) 2 (1) Although the electric charge is explained as a point charge or a spherical charged body, the image force is also generated in a non-spherical charged body. If the shape of the charged body is symmetrical, the strength of the image force acting on the charge does not change even if the direction of the charged body is reversed. However, if the shape is asymmetrical, the strength changes significantly when the direction is reversed (Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2). (electric field-driven electrostatic generator)

[0008] For example, a two-dimensional finite difference simulation revealed that when the charge amount of the horizontally placed gutter-shaped charged body 11 shown in Figure 2 is 1 μC and the distance from the grounded conductor plate 2 is 1.0 mm, the image force acting on the charged body 11 is 32.4 N when the opening faces the grounded conductor plate 2, and conversely, it is 69.0 N when the bottom faces the grounded conductor plate 2. Hereinafter, this phenomenon will be referred to as the asymmetric image force.

[0009] In an image-force-driven electrostatic generator, which uses such asymmetric image forces as the driving force for the charge carrier, the charge carrier is charged by electrostatic induction at a potential of 0 V, and then transported to the recovery electrode by the image force. When the energy required for transport is smaller than the image force, the charge carrier has excess kinetic energy remaining when it reaches the recovery electrode. This excess energy can be used to raise the transported charge to a higher potential than ground potential. In other words, the energy of the image force acting on the charge held in the charge carrier is used in two ways: mechanical energy to transport the charge carrier, and electrical energy to raise the transported charge to a higher potential.

[0010] FIG. 3 is a front view of a basic unit of such an image force driven electrostatic generator. The main components are a charging potential source 3 (e.g., a charging electrode or a charging electret; hereafter, the term "charging electrode" also includes a charging electret; in the following explanation, simulations are performed using an electrode with an applied voltage, but similar results are obtained with an electret at the same potential. Although the explanation in this patent mainly uses electrodes, in commercial production, all will be replaced with electrets), a horizontally placed gutter-shaped charge carrier 4, and a recovery electrode (referred to as a charge recovery section depending on the device configuration) 5. The charge carrier 4 consists of upper and lower horizontal plates 42 parallel to its direction of movement and a vertical plate 41 in front of them, perpendicular to the direction of movement (however, in Examples 3 and 4 described below, even when the vertical plate 41 is not present, it will still be referred to as the charge carrier 4). The horizontal plate 42 and vertical plate 41 are layers that retain the charge stored in the charging electrode. However, in an actual device, a charging electrode power supply 31, a recovery electrode capacitor 6, a conductive terminal 7 for injecting charge, and a conductive terminal 8 for recovering charge are added to the above components. However, for the sake of simplicity, only the main components will be described below.

[0011] When the charge carrier 4 enters the space between the pair of upper and lower charging electrodes 3 from the left in Figure 3 and reaches the position shown in Figure 3, an air capacitor is formed between the upper and lower horizontal plates 42 of the charge carrier 4 and the pair of upper and lower charging electrets 3. At this time, when the charge carrier 4 is grounded by the charge injection terminal 7, the charge in the air capacitor is injected from the ground into the charge carrier 4 by electrostatic induction. In all of the following examples, charging of the charge carrier is explained using this electrostatic induction method, but the principle is the same for other charging methods, such as frictional charging and corona discharge. However, for practical devices, the electrostatic induction method is best. The charged charge carrier 4 then moves further to the right in the figure and enters a pair of upper and lower recovery electrodes 5. The recovery electrodes 5 and the charge carrier 4 are then electrically connected by charge recovery terminals 8, which are provided inside the pair of upper and lower recovery electrodes 5 and come into contact with the charge carrier 4, and the charge passes through the recovery electrode 5 and is stored in the recovery electrode capacitor 6. The charge then flows to an external load through a circuit not shown.

[0012] When the charged electret 3 is negatively charged, the charge carrier 4 is positively charged. As a result, an electrostatic force acts on the charge carrier 4, which moves to the right in the figure between the charged electret 3 and the recovery electrode 5, in the left direction in the figure due to the electric field formed between the charged electret 3 and the recovery electrode 5. Hereinafter, this force will be referred to as the receding electrostatic force. In addition, an image force acts to the left in the figure due to the back electrode of the charged electret 3. Hereinafter, this force will be referred to as the retreating image force. At the same time, an image force acts to the right in the figure due to the recovery electrode 5. Hereinafter, this force will be referred to as the forward image force. Here, immediately after leaving the charged electret 3, the leftward receding electric field force and receding image force are strong, but as the charge approaches the recovery electrode 5, the rightward advancing image force becomes stronger.

[0013] Therefore, when the charge carrier 4 is asymmetric, the leftward backward electric field force and backward backward image force acting on the edges of the upper and lower horizontal plates 42 of the charge carrier 4 are weak, the electric field forces acting vertically on the front and back of the horizontal plates 42 are equal in strength in the upward and downward directions and cancel each other out, and the rightward forward image force acting on the front vertical plate 41 is strong. As a result, the rightward forward image force becomes stronger than the sum of the leftward backward electric field force and the backward backward image force, and the charge carrier 4 can reach the recovery electrode 5 from the charged electret 3. Therefore, if the charge carried by the charge carrier 4 is recovered by the recovery electrode 5, this device becomes an electrostatic generator. If it is not recovered, the device becomes an electrostatic motor.

[0014] Therefore, we performed a two-dimensional finite difference simulation to determine the electrostatic force acting on the charged charge carrier 4 between the charging electret 3 and the recovery electrode 5. An example of this is shown in Figure 4. In the figure, the distance between the right end of the charging electret electrode and the left end of the charge carrier is defined as the position of the charge carrier (the same applies below). First, after the charge carrier 4 leaves the charged electret 3, the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier 4 is negative, i.e., directed leftward, for approximately 10 mm. However, after 10 mm, the electrostatic force turns positive, i.e., directed rightward, and its absolute value becomes larger, as can be seen from Figure 4. Therefore, excess kinetic energy remains in the charge carrier 4 when it reaches the recovery electrode 5. This excess energy can be used to raise the electrons transported from a low potential (0 V) to a higher potential (e.g., +1000 V). In other words, electricity can be generated.

[0015] In fact, an asymmetric image force driven electrostatic power generation experimental device (bench model) was prototyped based on this principle, and the results of power generation are described in Patent Documents 4 and 5. However, the amount of power generated is small, on the order of microwatts, and because the prototype generator is only about 10cm high, it cannot be stacked in multiple stages, so it does not reach the output required for a commercially available device. Therefore, further increases in output are essential.

[0016] Simulations have shown that higher output can be achieved by downsizing parts such as the charge carrier 4, charging electrode (electret) 3, and recovery electrode 5. For example, see Figure 15 of Patent Document 7. To facilitate downsizing, the carousel-type charge carrier disk described in Patent Documents 4 and 5 has been modified to a system in which horizontal trough-type charge carriers 4 are arranged radially on an insulating disk, as shown in Figure 5. This system will be referred to as charge carrier disk 9 below.

[0017] Additionally, the charging electrode (electret) 3 and recovery electrode 5 were changed from a hanging type to a method in which they were alternately arranged radially on an insulating disk, as shown in Figure 5. Hereinafter, this will be referred to as the charging / recovery electrode disk 10. In this case, the fixed, flat shape makes it relatively easy to fabricate. However, the charge carrier disk 9, which has a three-dimensional shape, is difficult to mechanically fabricate. A specific manufacturing method has been proposed (Non-Patent Document 3), but mass production is difficult when downsizing. In particular, simulations have shown that the thinner the upper and lower horizontal plates 42 of the trough-shaped charge carrier 4, the smaller the receding image force (Non-Patent Document 3). However, the manufacturing method of folding aluminum plates limits the thickness to 0.2 mm. A thickness of 0.1 mm or less is insufficient to maintain horizontality. This problem can be solved by using printed circuit boards (PCBs), for which manufacturing technology is currently established.

[0018] A specific idea for fabricating the charge carrier 4 using the PCB method is described in Patent Document 6. According to this patent, the mover (charge carrier 4) can be easily and inexpensively mass-produced using known printed circuit board fabrication techniques. Specifically, a single rotary mover (charge carrier disk 9) can be manufactured by forming multiple rectangular copper foil layers radially at the same location on both sides of a disk-shaped insulating substrate, cutting the rectangular copper foil layers into rectangular slits that penetrate the copper foil layers on both sides and the substrate, including the long sides of the rectangular copper foil layers, and forming copper foil layers by copper through-hole plating on the cut surfaces of the substrate that connect to the upper and lower copper foil layers, thereby forming multiple radial trough-shaped electrodes made up of the copper foil layers on three sides.

[0019] Specifically, a glass epoxy substrate (FR-4) with a radius of 50 mm, a thickness of 0.68 mm, and a dielectric constant of 4.6 was selected as the substrate for the charge carrier disk 9. A 0.18 mm wide, 30 mm long slit was cut with an optical laser cutter at the leading edge of the horizontal plate 42 of the horizontally-mounted gutter-shaped charge carrier 4. The substrate was then immersed in an electroless copper plating solution to form a thin copper layer within the slit and on the surface of the glass epoxy substrate. This thin copper layer was then used as an anodized layer and immersed in an electrolytic copper plating solution to form a 35 μm thick copper layer. Next, etching resist was applied to the copper layer on the surface of the glass epoxy substrate, and a pattern was exposed to light to create 12 radial trapezoidal horizontal plate patterns on the disk, each measuring 7.0 mm in height, 5.2 mm in the middle, 3.5 mm in height, and 30 mm long. The remaining plate was then etched to dissolve and remove the copper layer from the remaining areas. Finally, the remaining resist was peeled off to produce the charge carrier disk shown in Figure 13 of the same patent. The charge / recovery electrode disks 10 that are sandwiched between the charge carrier disk 9 and the charge carrier disk 9 can also be easily produced by the PCB manufacturing method.

[0020] However, the shape of the charge carrier that can be fabricated using this PCB manufacturing method inevitably becomes the shape shown in Figure 6, and it is not possible to eliminate the receding image force, i.e., to form the dielectric PCB support only at the back of the charge carrier. In this shape, when the charged charge carrier 4 moves away from the charging electrode 3, a strong electric field acts on the surface of the dielectric PCB support, causing charges to appear due to electrostatic polarization, generating a strong electrostatic force (receding image force). Therefore, an object of the present invention is to fabricate a downsized charge carrier using a PCB manufacturing method without generating receding image forces.

[0021] The receding image force is generated by electric field lines extending from the charge on the charge carrier 4 or the polarization charge on the support to the charging electrode 3 or the back electrode of the charged electret. Therefore, by redirecting these electric field lines, the receding image force is eliminated. Specifically, as described in Patent Document 8, ground electrodes can be placed near the upper and lower horizontal plates of the charge carrier 4, which holds the charge. In this structure, all electric field lines emanating from the charge on the charge carrier 4 and the polarization charge on the support enter the nearby ground electrode. If the nearby ground electrode is formed with the same shape as the charge carrier 4, the receding image force will not be generated. Furthermore, the surface potential of the charge carrier will be very low. Therefore, the ground electrode is called a potential control layer. Although it may seem difficult to fabricate this non-receding image force generating charge carrier 4, it can be easily done using existing four-layer PCB technology.

[0022] Figure 7 shows an elevation view of an existing four-layer PCB. In Figure 7, the charge carrier 4, which is composed of the top and bottom horizontal thin copper charge retention layers and the right vertical thin copper charge retention layer, and the two horizontal thin copper layers in the middle, which act as potential control layers, must be electrically separated, so the simulation of the electrostatic force acting on the PCB charge carrier 4 was performed using the configuration shown in Figure 8. Note that the thicknesses of the other layers are slightly different, but this is to simplify the simulation.

[0023] When the charge carrier 4 was charged with its charge retention layer (horizontal plate + vertical plate) 42 and potential control layer 43 grounded, the amount of charge was 9.7 nC. The electrostatic forces acting on the charge carrier 4, PCB resin support 44, and potential control layer 43 as the charge carrier 4 carrying this charge travels from the charging electrode 3 to the recovery electrode 5 were calculated by simulation. The results are shown in Figure 9. Note that the electrostatic force acting on the potential control layer 43 is very small, so it is shown in addition to the electrostatic force acting on the PCB resin support 44. As expected, the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier 4 and PCB resin support 44 was almost zero except immediately after it left the charging electrode 3. Normally, the electrostatic force acting after passing the midpoint between the charging electrode 3 and the recovery electrode 5 would increase in magnitude as the forward image force becomes stronger and reverse from negative to positive, as shown in Figure 4, but this phenomenon did not occur. In other words, the charge in the potential control layer 43 eliminated not only the receding image force but also the forward image force. This is because the opposite polarity charge in the potential control layer 43 absorbed the electric field lines emitted by the charges in the potential retention layers 41 and 42, preventing them from escaping to the outside. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Example 1

[0024] Therefore, at the midpoint, the charge in the potential control layer 43, which has the opposite polarity to the charge on the charge carrier 4, was erased. There are several specific methods for this, and they are described in Patent Documents 8, 9, and 10, but there are other methods as well. For example, a second electret 12 is placed in an empty space without an electric field, such as on the backside of the charging / recovery disk, and an erasing charge electrode 13 is placed opposite it. When the erasing charge electrode 13 is grounded, a charge of the opposite polarity to the second electret 12 is charged there by electrostatic induction. When the ground is disconnected and the erasing charge electrode 13 is connected to the potential control layer 43, the charge is erased. Figure 10 shows the results of a simulation of the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier 4 with the potential control layer 43 when the charge on the potential control layer 43 is erased at the midpoint, and the electrostatic force acting on a charge carrier without the potential control layer 43, with and without the potential control layer. Note that when the potential control layer 43 is present and the charge is controlled until it reaches the recovery electrode 5, i.e., when the charge is not erased, the electrostatic force remains essentially zero until the recovery electrode 5, just like in the first half of the case with the potential control layer 43.

[0025] Figure 10 shows that when the charge on the potential control layer 43 is erased at the midpoint, the receding image force in the first half is essentially zero, compared to Figure 4. The forward image force in the second half is almost the same as, but slightly stronger than, the forward image force without the potential control layer 43. As a result, the electrostatic energy received by the charge carrier 4 during this process is −268 μJ in the first half without the potential control layer 43, and +454 μJ in the second half, for a total of +186 μJ. In contrast, when the potential control layer 43 is present and the potential of the charge carrier is controlled to essentially zero up to the midpoint, the electrostatic energy received in the first half is only −14 μJ, and the electrostatic energy received in the second half is +482 μJ, for a total of +468 μJ, 2.5 times that received without the potential control layer 43. Since the driving energy is increased by 2.5 times, the movement speed of the charge carrier 4 is also increased by 2.5 times or more, and the electrical output is also increased by 2.5 times or more.

[0026] Patent Document 10 also describes an electrostatic power generation method in which a charge carrier 4 having a potential control layer 43 is used, and the charge in the potential control layer 43 is erased immediately before recovery, rather than at an intermediate point between charging and recovery, and the potential of the charge carrier 4 is increased from 300 V to 10,000 V, for example, before the carried charge is recovered. Example 2

[0027] In the first embodiment, the electrostatic energy acting on the charge carrier 4 is increased, and the resulting energy is used to rotate the charge carrier disks 9 more strongly. However, because the potential control layer reduces the thrust of the charge carrier to almost zero, it is possible to generate electrostatic power by rotating multiple charge carrier disks 9 with a small thrust electric motor, even if the potential of the charge carrier is low. Previously, the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier 4 of the configuration shown in Figure 8 was simulated using a two-dimensional finite difference method, and the results are shown in Figure 9. The magnitude of the electrostatic force was essentially zero. However, the surface potential was not zero but was more than +1500 V, as shown in Figure 11. In reality, if the amount of charge in the charge retention layer 42 and the amount of charge in the potential control layer 43, which has the opposite polarity, were equal in absolute value, the surface potential of the charge carrier 4 should be close to zero. The reason it exceeded +1500 V is because the amount of charge in the potential control layer 43 was small. In fact, as shown in Figure 12, the amount of charge in the potential control layer 43 during the simulation was +6.6 nC, which was only two-thirds in absolute value of the amount of charge in the charge retention layer 42, -9.7 nC.

[0028] The reason for the small amount of charge on the potential control layer 43 is that its width was narrow. By changing the width of the potential control layer 43, the receding electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier 4 at the point where it leaves the charging electrode 3 is as shown in Figure 13. (Note: This point was selected because the receding image force is strongest at this point.) In other words, the closer the width of the potential control layer 43 is to the width of the upper and lower horizontal plates 42 of the charge carrier 4, the smaller the receding electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier 4. However, by selecting an appropriate width, the receding electrostatic force is small and the surface potential of the charge carrier 4 can be increased. In this case, the width is 0.5 mm. Note that, if other conditions are good, a width of 0.25 mm is also acceptable.

[0029] The surface potential of the charge carrier 4 just before the charge collection terminal 8 is -1524 V. When connected to a -400 V recovery capacitor 6, 74% of the transferred charge of -9.72 nC, i.e., -7.2 nC, is transferred to the recovery capacitor 6. As shown in Figure 5, 16 charge carriers 4 (12 shown) are radially arranged on a 10 cm diameter charge carrier disk 9. When the disk rotates at 9000 rpm, the output power is 0.11 W. Because electrostatic resistance is nearly zero and air resistance is also small, multiple charge carrier disks 9 can be rotated with a low-power electric motor. For example, if 40 charge carrier disks 9 are stacked in a 10 cm cube and rotated with a 1 W electric motor, the output power will be 4.4 W, or 2.8 kW per cubic meter, sufficient for the power needs of an average household. Example 3

[0030] The method of providing a potential control layer 43 near the charge retention layer 42 of the asymmetric (horizontal gutter type) charge carrier 4 shown in Example 1 and introducing a charge of opposite polarity to that of the charge retention layer 42, thereby zeroing the backward electrostatic force in the first half of the charge carrier 4 charging and charge recovery, and then zeroing the charge on the potential control layer in the second half to restore the forward electrostatic force, is also effective for a symmetric charge carrier 4.

[0031] For example, this is the case with a charge carrier 4 having a shape shown in FIG. In Figure 14, reference symbol 42 denotes a charge retention layer, 43 a potential control layer, and 44 a dielectric support layer. Hereinafter, this charge carrier will be referred to as a parallel-plate charge carrier 4. Figure 15 shows a schematic diagram of the charge retention state of each layer of the parallel-plate charge carrier 4 with the potential control layer 43 from the charging electrode 3 to the recovery electrode 5.

[0032] In Figure 15, reference numeral 44 denotes a (disk-shaped) dielectric support, 4 denotes a parallel-plate charge carrier, 42 denotes its charge retention layer, 43 denotes a potential control layer, 3 denotes a charging electrode (electret), 5 denotes a recovery electrode, 6 denotes a recovery capacitor, 7 denotes a charging terminal, and 8 denotes a recovery terminal. The distance between the upper and lower charge retention layers 42 and the upper and lower charging electrodes 3 is 1.04 mm, and the surface charge density of the charging electrode (electret) 3 is +0.41 mC / m 2 The following simulation was performed with the potential of the recovery electrode 5 set to -5000V (the surface potential when there is nothing around is +3705V). The polarity of the electret is usually negative as shown in FIG. 15, but the simulation was performed with a positive polarity for simplicity.

[0033] The parallel-plate charge carrier 4 is subjected to electrostatic force during its journey from the charging electrode 3 to the recovery electrode 5. The results of simulations are shown in Figure 16 for two cases: one in which the potential control layer 43 is present and the charge is eliminated at the midpoint, and the other in which the potential control layer 43 is not present. Since the symmetrical parallel-plate charge carrier 4 does not have the large forward image force generated by the asymmetrical horizontal trough-type charge carrier 4, the backward electrostatic force in the first half is larger than the forward electrostatic force in the second half, as shown in Figure 16. As a result, the driving energy acting on the parallel-plate charge carrier 4 without the potential control layer 43 is -94.4 μJ in the first half and +43.0 μJ in the second half, for a total of -51.4 μJ. Therefore, more energy than this is required to drive the charge carrier disk 9 having the charge carrier 4, and electrostatic generation by self-rotation is not possible. On the other hand, in the symmetrical parallel-plate charge carrier 4 with the potential control layer 43 and with its charge reduced to zero at the midpoint of the travel, the energy was almost zero (0.2 μJ) in the first half and 26.4 μJ in the second half, for a total of 26.6 μJ. This surplus energy can be used to transport the charge carrier and increase the potential of the transported charge, as in Example 1, to generate electricity.

[0034] Unlike Example 1, in Example 3, after the charge held in the potential control layer 43 was set to zero at the midpoint, the magnitude of the forward electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier 4 was approximately half that in the absence of the potential control layer 43. This is because in Example 1, the charge carrier 4 had a horizontal trough shape, resulting in a strong forward image force, whereas in Example 3, the charge carrier 4 had a parallel plate shape, resulting in the absence of the front vertical plate 41, resulting in a weak forward image force. Example 4

[0035] FIG. 17 shows the results of a simulation of the surface potential when the parallel plate type charge carrier 4 shown in FIG. 14 is transported from the charging electrode 3 to the recovery electrode 5 with and without the potential control layer 43. In Example 4, as in Example 2, the charge carrier 4 can be transported to the recovery electrode 5 without erasing or reducing the charge on the potential control layer 43 during transport, and the transported charge can be recovered there to generate electricity. At this time, the surface potential of the charge carrier 4 is very low, as shown in the graph with the control layer in Figure 17. As a result, the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier 4 is essentially zero, as shown in the first half of the graph with the control layer in Figure 16. Specifically, at the midpoint between charging and recovery, i.e., 7.3 mm from the charging electrode, the potential is -200 V and the electrostatic force acting is 0.20 mN.

[0036] However, even if the width of the potential control layer 43 is narrowed from 5.0 mm, the same as that of the charge retention layer 42, to 0.5 mm as in Example 2, the magnitude of the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier 4 is still considered sufficiently low. Therefore, simulations confirmed that the electrostatic force at the midpoint between charging and recovery, i.e., 7.3 mm ahead of the charging electrode 3, is -0.15 mN, essentially still in the zero range. In other words, low-thrust transfer is fully possible. However, the surface potential is high, as in Example 2. At the midpoint between charging and recovery, it is +1326 V. This electrostatic force and potential remain almost unchanged up to the recovery electrode 5, so as in Example 2, power can be generated by connecting the charge retention layer 42 to the recovery terminal 8 and transferring most of the transferred charge to the recovery capacitor 6. Furthermore, if the charge on the potential control layer 43 is not reduced to zero or reduced at the intermediate point, but is instead reduced just before the recovery electrode 5 as described in Patent Document 10, the surface potential of the charge carrier 4 will rise to 10,000 V or more, thereby enabling even higher output to be obtained. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0037] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-150780 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2021-108524 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-2436 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-084111 [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-186550 [Patent Document 6] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-232667 [Patent Document 7] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-138883 [Patent Document 8] Patent application 2023-179892 [Patent Document 9] Patent application 2023-208882 [Patent Document 10] Patent application 2024-008341 [Non-patent literature]

[0038] [Non-Patent Document 1] K. Sakai. 2006 American Society of Electrostatic Engineers Annual Conference Proceedings, p. 137 [Non-patent document 2] K.Sakai.[Asymmetric Electrostatic Forces and a New Electrostatic Generator], Nova Science Publishers, New York,2010 [Non-patent document 3] K. Sakai, “The manufacturing method of the field driven generator”, London Journal of Engineering Research Volume 22, Issue 4. (2022) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0039] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to reduce the thrust force that transports a charge carrier having a potential control layer adjacent to a charge retention layer, and to eliminate the receding electrostatic force that occurs in the first half of transport. [Means for solving the problem]

[0040] The problem to be solved by the above invention is achieved by providing a potential control layer near the charge retention layer, which serves as the upper and lower horizontal plates of the charge carrier formed on the printed circuit board (PCB), and by introducing charges of the opposite polarity to the charges in the charge retention layer into the potential control layer, which almost completely eliminates the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier, and by maintaining the charge in the charge retention layer during the first half of the transport, eliminating the generation of a receding image force. [Effects of the Invention]

[0041] As described above, by providing a potential control layer near the charge retention layer of the charge carrier and storing charges of the opposite polarity to those of the charge retention layer, the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier was reduced to almost zero, allowing the charge carrier to be transported with a small thrust. Furthermore, by removing the charge from the potential control layer midway through transport, the receding electrostatic force generated in the first half of transport was eliminated, and the electrostatic energy for automatically transporting the charge carrier was increased. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0042] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the conventionally known principle of image force. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of asymmetric image force. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a front view of the basic unit of the image force driven electrostatic generator. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a graph showing the electrostatic force acting on the charged charge carrier between the charging electrode (electret) and the recovery electrode. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a plan view of a charge carrier disk in which a plurality of charge carriers are radially arranged. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the shape of a charge carrier that can be fabricated using PCB manufacturing techniques. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is an elevation view of an existing four-layer PCB. [Figure 8]Figure 8 is an elevation view of a PCB charge carrier in which the top and bottom horizontal copper layers and the right vertical copper layer are electrically separated from the middle horizontal copper layer, which serves as a potential control layer. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a graph showing the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier, PCB resin support, and potential control layer during the time the charge carrier travels from the charging electrode to the recovery electrode, determined by simulation. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a graph showing the simulation results of the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier when the charge of the potential control layer is erased at the midpoint and when there is no potential control layer. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a graph showing the simulation results of the surface potential of the four-layer PCB trough-type charge carrier during charging and recovery. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a graph showing the results of a simulation of the charge amounts of the charge retention layer and the potential control layer when the four-layer PCB trough-type charge carrier travels between charging and recovery. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a graph showing the results of a simulation in which the width of the potential control layer is changed and the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier at the point where the charge carrier passes through the charging electrode. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is an elevation view of a parallel-plate type charge carrier composed of a potential holding layer, a potential control layer, and a dielectric support layer, which are parallel to each other. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing the movement of the charged charge when the parallel-plate charge carrier is charged under the charging electret, reaches the recovery electrode, and is then recovered there. [Figure 16] Figure 16 is a graph showing the results of a simulation conducted on a parallel-plate charge carrier during its transport from the charging electrode to the recovery electrode, with two cases: one in which the electrostatic force is eliminated at the midpoint by the presence of a potential control layer, and the other in which the potential control layer is not present. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a graph showing the results of a simulation of the surface potential of the parallel-plate charge carrier during the process of transport from the charging electrode to the recovery electrode. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1: Point charge 2: Opposing flat ground electrodes 3: Charging potential source (charging electrode or charging electret) 31: Power supply for charging electrode 4: Charge carrier 41: Front vertical plate of the charge carrier 42: Upper and lower horizontal plates of the charge carrier (charge retention layer) 43: Potential control layer 44: Support resin layer 5: Charge recovery source (recovery electrode) 6: Capacitor for charge recovery electrode 7: Charge injection conductive terminal 8: Charge recovery conductive terminal 9: Charge carrier disk 10: Charging and recovery electrode disc 11: Asymmetrically shaped charged object 12: Second electret 13: Erase charge electrode

Claims

1.

1. An electrostatic generator comprising: a charge carrier having a charge retention layer on the periphery for retaining transported charges and a potential control layer inside the charge retention layer for controlling the potential of the charge carrier; a charge charging section charging the charge retention layer with a charge of the opposite polarity to the charged charge; simultaneously or subsequently applying a charge of the opposite polarity to the charged charge to the potential control layer to lower the potential of the charge carrier and reduce the receding image force generated between the charge carrier and the electrode of the charge charging section; a reduction or decrease in the charge on the potential control layer on the way of the charge carrier toward the charge recovery section to increase the forward image force generated between the charge carrier and the electrode of the charge recovery section; and an increase in the electrostatic energy acting on the charge carrier to advance it due to the difference between the receding image force and the forward image force.

2. In claim 1, the charge carrier is formed from a horizontal charge holding portion parallel to the charging electrode or charging electret of the charge charging portion, a vertical charge holding portion perpendicular to the horizontal charge holding portion in front of the direction of travel, and a potential control layer parallel to the horizontal charge holding portion.

3. 2. The charge carrier according to claim 1, wherein the charge carrier is formed of a horizontal charge holding portion parallel to the charging electrode of the charge charging portion or the charging electret, and a potential control layer parallel to the horizontal charge holding portion.

4. According to claims 2 and 3, there are a plurality of parallel charge retention layers and parallel potential control layers, which are electrically connected to one another vertically in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the charge carrier.

5. In claims 1 to 4, the charge carrier is fabricated by a known four-layer PCB manufacturing method.

6. This electrostatic generator is characterized in that a charge carrier has a charge retention layer on the outer periphery that retains transported charges and a potential control layer inside that controls the potential of the charge carrier. The charge retention layer is charged by a charge charging section, and simultaneously or subsequently, a charge of the opposite polarity to the charged charge is applied to the potential control layer to lower the potential of the charge carrier, thereby reducing the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier, and the charge carrier is transported to a charge recovery section with a small thrust.

7. 7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the width of the potential control layer is made narrower than the width of the charge retention layer, thereby reducing the electrostatic force acting on the charge carrier and increasing the potential of the charge carrier to a certain degree.

8. 8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the width of the potential control layer is 20% or less of the width of the charge retention layer.

9. In claim 6, the charge carrier is formed of a horizontal charge holding portion parallel to the charging electrode or charging electret of the charge charging portion, a vertical charge holding portion perpendicular to the horizontal charge holding portion in front of the direction of travel, and a potential control layer parallel to the horizontal charge holding portion.

10. 7. A charge carrier according to claim 6, wherein the charge carrier is formed of a horizontal charge holding portion parallel to the charging electrode of the charge charging portion or the charging electret, and a potential control layer parallel to the horizontal charge holding portion.

11. According to claims 9 and 10, there are a plurality of parallel charge retention layers and parallel potential control layers, which are electrically connected to one another vertically in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the charge carrier.

12. In claims 6 to 11, the charge carrier is fabricated by a known four-layer PCB manufacturing method.

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