Power Management System with Feedback Voltage Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Low-energy systems with non-continuous and periodic power demands face instability when directly connected to an incompetent power source, leading to voltage drops and unsuitability for powering loads, especially in scenarios where continuous power sources become inoperable.
Innovation Solution
A power management system comprising a reservoir, voltage regulator, threshold detector, and feedback circuit that collects and stores energy, enables the voltage regulator when the stored energy reaches a threshold, and uses a feedback circuit to maintain the threshold voltage, ensuring stable power delivery to loads for a specified period before powering off to recharge.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If energy harvesting is used to power low-energy applications, then energy autonomy is improved, but power stability deteriorates due to voltage drops when loads are connected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a power management system as an intermediary between the energy harvesting device and the load. This intermediary includes a reservoir to accumulate energy, a voltage regulator to maintain stable output voltage, and a threshold detector to control when power delivery occurs. The intermediary buffers the direct connection, preventing voltage drops from affecting the harvesting device while ensuring stable power delivery to the load.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by accumulating energy in the reservoir before connecting to the load. The threshold detector monitors the reservoir voltage and only enables power delivery when the voltage exceeds a predetermined threshold, ensuring sufficient energy is stored beforehand. This preliminary energy accumulation prevents voltage drops during load operation.
2Power
If the voltage regulator is enabled to power the load, then power delivery is improved, but the threshold detector may prematurely disable it due to voltage drop compensation issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback circuit that continuously monitors the output voltage of the voltage regulator and feeds this information back to the threshold detector. This feedback mechanism allows the threshold detector to distinguish between normal voltage drops during power delivery and actual insufficient energy conditions. The feedback ensures accurate threshold detection even when the load is actively drawing power, preventing premature disabling of the voltage regulator.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively distributes power to loads in low-energy systems, maintaining stability and enabling tasks in systems with intermittent power sources, such as wireless sensor networks and electronic shelf labels, by using energy harvesting and feedback mechanisms to compensate for voltage drops.
Implementation Method 1
The voltage regulator is coupled to the reservoir via an input terminal and is configured to convert the harvested energy to an output voltage via an output terminal when enabled
Implementation Method 2
The feedback circuit is coupled between the output terminal and the threshold detector. The feedback circuit is configured to feedback the output voltage to the threshold detector to compensate for a voltage drop across the threshold detector due to an output current drawn by the load, thereby maintaining the threshold
Data Source
AI summary
One embodiment of a power management system includes a reservoir configured to collect energy. The system also includes a voltage regulator coupled to the reservoir via an input terminal and configured to convert the energy to an output voltage via an output terminal when enabled. A threshold detector is coupled to the reservoir and is configured to sense the energy and enable the voltage regulator when the energy exceeds a threshold. The system further includes a feedback circuit coupled between the output terminal and the threshold detector, and configured to feedback the output voltage to the threshold detector to compensate for a voltage drop across the threshold detector due to an output current drawn by the load.