Structurally embedded and inhospitable environment systems and devices having autonomous electrical power sources

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10014461-B1
Application number	US-201815894902-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Feb 12, 2018
Priority date	Apr 10, 2017
Publication date	Jul 3, 2018
Grant date	Jul 3, 2018

Abstract

A method is provided for producing an electrically-powered device and/or component that is embeddable in a solid structural component, and a system, a produced device and/or a produced component is provided. The produced electrically powered device includes an attached autonomous electrical power source in a form of a unique, environmentally-friendly structure configured to transform thermal energy at any temperature above absolute zero to an electric potential without any external stimulus including physical movement or deformation energy. The autonomous electrical power source component provides a mechanism for generating renewable energy as primary power for the electrically-powered device and/or component once an integrated structure including the device and/or component is deployed in an environment that restricts future access to the electrical power source for servicing, recharge, replacement, replenishment or the like.

First claim

We claim:

1. An embeddable integrated electrical package, comprising:
at least one electrically-driven component;
an electrical power source component configured to provide an electrical energy source for the at least one electrically-driven component, the electrical power source component comprising:
a first conductor, formed of a first conductive material and having a first surface and a second surface, the first surface of the first conductor facing away from a build surface and being conditioned to have a work function in a range of 1.0 electron volts (eV) or less,
a dielectric layer with a thickness of 200 angstroms or less formed over the conditioned first surface of the first conductor, and
a second conductor, formed of a second conductive material and having a first surface with a work function in a range of 2.0 eV or greater, and a second surface, arranged over the formed dielectric layer such that the first surface of the second conductor faces the dielectric layer,
the first conductor, the dielectric layer and the second conductor forming a layered structure of an electrical power source component element;

a first electrical lead and a second electrical lead electrically connecting the at least one electrically-driven component and the electrical power source component; and
an encasement for the at least one electrically-driven component and the electrical power source component forming a common outer shell to provide the embeddable integrated electrical package.

2. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 1 , a structure of the electrical power source component having an overall thickness in a range of less than 5 mils.

3. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 1 , the first surface of the first conductor being at least one of surface treated or surface conditioned to lower the work function of the first surface to be in the range of 1.0 eV or less.

4. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 1 , further comprising a separate material layer having a work function in the range of 1.0 eV or less arranged on the first surface of the first conductor.

5. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 4 , the separate material layer being formed to have a thickness in a range of 1 nm or less.

6. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 1 , the first conductor and the second conductor each having a thickness in a range of 10 nm or less.

7. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 1 , the conductive material from which the first conductor is formed being graphene.

8. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 1 , the dielectric layer having a thickness in a range of 100 angstroms or less and being sandwiched between the first surface of the first conductor and the first surface of the second conductor.

9. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 8 , the dielectric layer having a thickness in a range of 20 angstroms to 60 angstroms.

10. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 8 , the dielectric layer varying in thickness across a platform of the dielectric layer between the first surface of the first conductor and first surface of the second conductor.

11. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 1 , the dielectric layer being formed at least in part of a plurality of tapered shapes, each of the plurality of tapered shapes having a tapered structure in which a cross-sectional area of the each of the plurality of tapered shapes is comparatively larger at an end facing the first surface of the second conductor and comparatively smaller at an end facing the first surface of the first conductor.

12. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 1 , the dielectric layer being a porous layer, pores in the porous layer being filled at least in part with a metal cation.

13. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 1 , the electrical power source component being comprised of a plurality of electrical power source component elements and a plurality of insulating layers arranged in a stacked structure,
the plurality of electrical power source component elements being separated by the plurality of insulating layers in the stacked structure, and
the plurality of electrical power source component elements being electrically interconnected with one another.

14. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 13 , each of the plurality of insulating layers having a thickness of less than 10 μm.

15. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 13 , the electrical power source component further comprising an outer insulating layer substantially encasing the stacked structure.

16. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 13 , the first electrical lead being electrically connected to an uppermost electrical power source component element in the stacked structure and the second electrical lead being electrically connected to a lowermost electrical power source component element in the stacked structure.

17. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 1 , the embeddable integrated electrical package comprising an integral portion of a structural member.

18. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 17 , the structural member substantially fully encasing the embeddable integrated electrical package.

19. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 17 , the structural member being one of a portion of a building structure or a portion of a vehicle structure.

20. The embeddable integrated electrical package of claim 1 , the at least one electrically-driven component comprising one or more of an environmental sensor, a seismic sensor, a wireless communicating component, and a haptic alert/warning device.

Assignees

• Face Int Corp

Inventors

• Boyd Clark D
• Face Bradbury R
• Shepard Jeffrey D

Classifications

• G01V1/16

  Receiving elements for seismic signals; Arrangements or adaptations of receiving elements · CPC title

• H02J7/34

  Parallel operation in networks using both storage and other DC sources, e.g. providing buffering (H02J7/14 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01J45/00

  Discharge tubes functioning as thermionic generators {(structural combination of fuel element with thermoelectric element G21C3/40; nuclear power plants using thermionic converters G21D7/04; structural combination of a radioactive source with a thermionic converter, e.g. radioisotope batteries G21H1/10; generators in which thermal or kinetic energy is converted into electrical energy by ionisation of a fluid and removal of the charge therefrom H02N3/00)} · CPC title

• H02J50/001

  Energy harvesting or scavenging · CPC title

• H10W42/00

  Arrangements for protection of devices (arrangements for thermal protection H10W40/00) · CPC title