Background of the invention

Today's cars are commonly using fuel, electricity, or both (e.g. hybrid cars). A disadvantage of fuel cars is that they are polluting and harmful to the environment due to emission of gases as a result of fuel combustion, meaning that these cars are not environmentally friendly. A disadvantage of electric vehicles is that it takes some time to charge these cars with the current technology. The present invention is intended for hydrogen combustion engines and such vehicles. The use of hydrogen as a fuel causes zero emissions, and with the present invention the lost energy due to burning of hydrogen will be captured and will be reused again in order to produce hydrogen by the energy capturing system of the car. With this invention the engine will be about 50% more efficient than the engines without this invention due to energy reusing and/or due to the external source of energy (e.g. the solar energy).

The present invention relates to motors and/or engines and vehicles using renewable energy. The purpose is to reduce carbon emissions and to make engines, and vehicles with such engines, more environmentally friendly when in use.

The present inventive concept is about power generation from renewable sources and capturing loss energy and reusing it again.

This invention concerns a hydrogen vehicle and a power supply system for such a vehicle.

Brief description of the inventive concept

The idea is to use sun energy (photovoltaic solar energy) to produce electricity and to use this power (i.e. the produced electricity) to produce hydrogen by using a hydrogen generator for further use in a vehicle engine in a vehicle. The idea is also to capture loss energy from the above process and/or other processes in the vehicle and to reuse it (i.e. use it again).

This invention concerns use of renewable energy in internal combustion engines by using hydrogen and capturing other energy, in addition to solar energy, from hot water, vibration, linear motion, rotary motion and heat to also produce electricity and use it in production of hydrogen.

This invention is intended in general for vehicles, such as e.g. cars, boats, ships, ferries, train locomotives, airplanes, etc., but can be used in other industrial applications like e.g. power generation. For vehicles the intension of the invention is to use sun energy by using photovoltaic constructed roof thereon. The electricity produced by a solar panel will be saved in a battery. And the electricity from the battery will be used again to produce hydrogen. The advantage of using hydrogen in an internal combustion engine is to reduce the emissions and in addition it will be faster to tank and use the produced hydrogen than to charge for example an electrical vehicle. Hydrogen is highly flammable, and storage and transport are expensive, but producing hydrogen in the moving unit will reduce the cost considerable.

By using the solar panel on or in the vehicle's roof electricity will be produced and will be transferred by cables and/or by wireless charging (e.g. by inductive charging) through the charge controller to the battery. Electricity from the power stored in the battery will be used to produce hydrogen from water in a water tank by means of the hydrogen generator. The hydrogen produced by the hydrogen generator will be compressed into a hydrogen tank by means of a compressor. The hydrogen will be used in the hydrogen combustion engine. The energy from burning the hydrogen will be formed into several types of energies.

The main type of energy is motion of the vehicle and others are secondary types, such as kinetic, linear motion, vibration and heat.

The kinetic energy will be activated with braking and/or with downhill movement and can be captured by using rotating generators fixed on the rotating shafts of the vehicle. With braking and/or downhill motion the rotating generators will produce AC electricity. The rotating elements are surrounded by a large magnet and coils of copper wire. The magnet is rotated as a result of the spinning wheels, and this results in a powerful stream of electrons, therefore converting the mechanical energy into electric energy. The AC electricity produced by the rotating generators will be saved in the battery through a converter.

The linear motion energy will be connected to the converter and to the battery. A permanent magnet linear generator is a type of generator that uses linear motion to generate power. It uses permanent magnets to create a magnetic field, wherein motion of the translator will cause a magnetic flux change in the circuit formed by windings to generate power and convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. There are two types of linear motions: i) Continuous linear motion from a shock absorber (strut) which will be used to produce electricity.

By integrating a linear generator (alternator) with the shock absorber the linear generator will produce electricity from the movement of the shock absorber. The electricity from the linear motion generator (alternator) is AC and therefore will be connected to the battery through the converter. ii) The tyres of the vehicle are constantly being deformed as they spin, and this causes a radial linear motion around the center of the tyres. From this radial linear motion electricity can been produced. The variation of the tyre radius with the spin causes a linear motion along the radius, and this linear motion will be used to produce electricity. The electricity will be AC and will be connected to the battery through the converter, as mentioned with regard to the strut. The electricity from the battery will be used by the hydrogen generator to produce hydrogen as mentioned above.

A vibration powered generator is a type of electric generator that converts the kinetic energy from vibration(s) into electrical energy. The vibration generators can be located and/or integrated anywhere in the vehicle, e.g. on the engine, axles and/or vehicle body. The electricity from the vibration generator is AC, and it is produced by electromagnetic based generators using induction to convert the kinetic energy of the vibrations into electrical energy. They consist of magnets attached to a flexible membrane or a cantilever beam and a coil, and thereafter they will be connected to the battery through the converter (in a wired or wireless manner).

There is another type of generators depending on pressure and vibration and being called a piezoelectric vibration generator. A piezoelectric crystal is placed between two metal plates. At this point the material is in perfect balance and does not conduct any electric current. Mechanical pressure is then applied to the material by the metal plates, which forces the electric charges within the crystal out of balance, and the produced current is AC. In the vehicles piezo- electric vibration generator(s) can be integrated in for example a control arm joint, motor mount and strut mount rubber.

Different types of heat can also be used in the system to produce electricity. The heat from combustion of hydrogen and the heat from friction between the tyres and the ground can be used to produce electricity.

The hydrogen combustion engine becomes warm due to hydrogen burning and this heat can be used to produce electricity by using a thermoelectric generator (TEG), also called a Seebeck generator, which is a solid-state device that converts heat flux (temperature differences) directly into electrical energy through a phenomenon called the Seebeck effect. The thermoelectric generator (TEG) can be integrated with the engine in order to produce electricity. The electricity from the thermoelectric generator (TEG) will be connected to the battery to further be used in producing hydrogen.

Electricity can also be created from the tyres spin and heat differences by using special semiconductor materials, like e.g. bismuth telluride, and this electricity will be DC.

Thermoelectric tubes can be used in an engine cooling system to produce electricity. The cooling system of the car is a closed loop, and the cooling medium is water. The hot water is flowing from the cylinder block of the engine, by means of a water pump and tubes, to the radiator to be cooled by ambient air. The water heats because of the burning of the hydrogen in the engine cylinders and will be cooled in the radiator by the ambient air. This temperature variation will be used to produce electricity by using thermoelectric tubes and thermoelectric generator (TEG). The thermoelectric tubes will be used in the radiator and the thermoelectric generator (TEG) will be used in the engine block.

Thermoelectric tubes can be used in an exhaust system of the vehicle as well. The exhaust system in this invention consists of a condenser, a pipe and a muffler. Due to burning of hydrogen in the engine cylinder water vapour will exit from the exit valve to the pipe and then to the condenser. Some of the hot vapour will be condensed to become a water in the condenser by means of ambient air and this water will be added to the water tank in the vehicle by tubes and a water pump. The remained water vapour will be released to the environment through the pipe, the muffler and a tail pipe. Thermoelectric tubes can be used in the condenser, pipe and muffler in the exhaust system to produce electricity due to various temperature of the water vapour and of the ambient temperature (that is the temperature difference between the water vapour and the ambient temperature).

The electricity from the thermoelectric tubes and the thermoelectric generator (TEG) will led to the battery (in a wired or wireless manner) and then will be used in producing hydrogen by the hydrogen generator.

The working principle, components placements and connection of the system utilizing kinetic, vibration energy and heat energy have been explained in the enclosed drawings and the following explanations above and below, and the charging of the battery will be wired (by means of cables) or wireless (e.g. by inductive charging).

Summary of the invention

The main features of the present invention are given in the independent claims. Additional features of the invention are given in the dependent claims.

A purpose or an aspect of the embodiments of the present invention concept is to provide a hydrogen engine that is not suffering the same problems as the conventional engines by using clean energy from a solar panel.

Another purpose or aspect of the invention is to capture waste energy from the engine and energy generated from the vehicle motion and to reuse it again.

Yet another purpose or aspect of this invention is to provide a hydrogen engine operating by hydrogen produced from a photovoltaic energy and captured energy from the engine and the energy captured from the vehicle motion.

The aforementioned aspects explain the possibility to achieve engine work with clean energy and renewable energy by using sun energy and capturing energy from engine and vehicle motion.

The present invention concerns a power generation and supply system comprising: at least one solar panel configured to capture the energy from the sun and to convert it into electrical energy and arranged on at least one part of a carrier that is mostly lit by the sun; a hydrogen generator configured to produce hydrogen; a battery configured to store the produced electrical energy and to use it for producing hydrogen by the hydrogen generator; a water tank configured for storing water and for supplying it to the hydrogen generator; a reservoir tank configured for storing hydrogen and for supplying it to a hydrogen combustion engine; a compressor configured for compressing hydrogen into the reservoir tank; and a hydrogen combustion engine configured to provide power from the hydrogen stored in the reservoir tank for further suitable use of the provided power.

The power generation and supply system can further comprise at least one rotating generator configured to capture the energy from braking and/or downhill motion of a vehicle and fixed on at least one axle of the vehicle. Said at least one rotating generator is further configured to produce electrical energy to be stored in the battery for use in production of hydrogen.

The power generation and supply system can further comprise at least one of: a linear motion generator configured to capture linear motion energy from a shock absorber of a vehicle and to produce electrical energy to be stored in the battery for use in production of hydrogen, and/or a linear radial motion generator configured to capture radial linear motion from tyres of the vehicle and to produce electrical energy to be stored in the battery for use in production of hydrogen.

The power generation and supply system can further comprise: at least one vibration generator configured to capture vibrational motions from an engine and at least one other component of a vehicle, and/or at least one Piezoelectric vibration generator configured to convert vibration and pressure movement in parts of the vehicle, such as for example a control arm joint, motor mount and strut mount rubber, in order to produce therefrom electrical energy to be stored in the battery for use in production of hydrogen. Said at least one other component of the vehicle can be at least one of: at least one axle of the vehicle, and/or a gearbox of the vehicle.

The power generation and supply system can further comprise at least one thermoelectric generator configured to capture heat energy from at least one of: engine, tyres, gearbox and/or exhaust system of a vehicle and to convert it to electrical energy to be stored in the battery for use in production of hydrogen.

The power generation and supply system can further comprise at least one thermoelectric tube configured to convert temperature differences in and out of said at least one thermoelectric tube and configured to be used in at least one of: a cooling system for a vehicle, a condenser, a muffler, a tail pipe, and/or an exhaust system of the vehicle, in order to convert the temperature differences into electrical energy to be stored in the battery for use in production of hydrogen.

The power generation and supply system can further comprise a charge controller configured to regulate the power from different power sources supplied to the battery and to charge the battery.

The power generation and supply system can further comprise a converter configured to convert AC current to DC current and to supply the converted DC current to the battery.

The invention concerns also a vehicle configured for using said power generation and supply system, wherein said power generation and supply system is comprised on the vehicle.

According to a first aspect of the invention, the present inventive concept is to design a system that operates to produce both electricity and fuel (e.g. hydrogen), in which system the electricity will be produced by using solar panel energy and storing it in a battery and further using the energy from the battery by a hydrogen generator to produce hydrogen as fuel for use in a hydrogen engine.

The system mentioned above comprises:

Solar panel(s) configured to capture the energy from the sun.

Rotating generator(s) configured to capture the energy from braking and/or downhill motion. The rotating generator(s) will capture the kinetic energy of the vehicle and produce electrical energy from it. This electrical energy will be stored in a battery and will be used to produce fuel, e.g. hydrogen.

Linear generator(s): A) Linear motion generator(s) configured to capture linear motion energy from a shock absorber in the vehicle.

B) The radial linear motion from the tyres of the vehicle is used by linear generator(s) to produce electricity.

The electricity from A) and B) will be stored in the battery and will be used to produce fuel, e.g. hydrogen.

Vibration generator(s):

C) Vibration generator(s) configured to capture vibrational motions from the engine and the vehicle and to produce electrical energy which will be stored in the battery and will be used to produce fuel, e.g. hydrogen.

D) Piezoelectric vibration generator(s) configured capture the movement and vibration in a control arm joint, motor mount and strut mount rubber of the vehicle to produce electricity and to store it in the battery through the converter and the charge controller (in a wired or wireless manner).

Thermoelectric generator(s) configured to capture heat energy from the engine, tyres, gearbox and/or exhaust system of the vehicle and to convert it directly to electricity. That can be achieved by integrating thermoelectric materials with the body engine, gearbox, tyres and/or exhaust system.

Thermoelectric tube(s) can be used in the cooling system for the vehicle to produce electricity. The thermoelectric tube(s) can be configured to convert temperature differences in and out the tube(s) to electricity.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the present inventive concept is to use the mentioned system in a vehicle.

Brief description of the drawings

These and other aspects and/or embodiments of the inventive concept according to the present invention are apparent from and will be further elucidated, by way of example(s), with reference to the following drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present inventive concept.

Fig. 2 illustrates locations of the components of the present invention in a vehicle in three different views.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the vehicle. Fig. 4 is a side view of the vehicle.

Fig. 5 is a front view of the vehicle.

Detailed description of the embodiments of the invention

For a more complete understanding of the concept and possible embodiments of the present invention and its advantages, an exemplary embodiment will be explained in detail below. As discussed above, this invention relates generally to a power and hydrogen generation for use in hydrogen combustion engines in vehicles. By capturing waste energy and converting it into electricity the efficiency of the engine will be raised, and this will thus reduce the emission of carbon dioxide in the nature in generally.

Fig. 1 illustrates the exemplary embodiment of the present invention concept. A power generation and supply system 20 for a vehicle 25 is shown in fig. 1 . The system 20 comprises a hydrogen generator 10 connected to a battery 9 and a water tank 14. The battery 9 feeds the hydrogen generator 10 with power and the water tank 14 is connected to the hydrogen generator 10 to feed the hydrogen generator 10 with water. The hydrogen generator 10 is configured to produce hydrogen from the water. The hydrogen generated by the hydrogen generator 10 will be compressed by a compressor 11 into a reservoir tank 12. The compressor 11 can also be connectable to an external fuel or hydrogen resource 16. Alternatively, and/or additionally, the reservoir tank 12 can be connectable to the external fuel or hydrogen resource 16. The external fuel or hydrogen resource 16 is responsible for filling the vehicle 25 with fuel, e.g. hydrogen, at a fuel station. Hydrogen from the reservoir tank 12 is fed to a hydrogen combustion engine 13 of the vehicle 25 in order to start and drive it. The hydrogen engine 13 is configured to provide motion and power energies for the vehicle 25. Hydrogen fuel is a zero- carbon fuel burned with oxygen and forming water with the release of energy. Thus, the rests I residuals from the combustion process in the hydrogen combustion engine 13 are water vapour 17. The water vapour 17 can be led back (after cooling it down by a condenser 26) to the water tank 14 by means of a pump and the remaining vapour can be led to the environment through an exhaust system 30. The battery 9 is connected to a charge controller 8. The charge controller 8 regulates the power to and from the battery 9. The charge controller 8 regulates the power from different power sources in the vehicle 25, such as e.g. thermoelectric tube(s) 1 , thermoelectric generator(s) (TEG) 2 and/or solar panel(s) 3 and from a converter 7 to which it is connected.

At least one thermoelectric tube 1 is used in at least one of: the cooling system 31 and the exhaust system 30 which consist of a condenser 26, a pipe, a muffler 32 and a tail pipe 33 of the vehicle 25. Thermoelectric technology is the direct energy conversion from heat into electricity. The hot water due to burning of the hydrogen in the combustion engine 13 can be taken through a tube to the condenser 26 to be condensed where the water flows to the water tank 14 and the vapour to the pipe and the muffler 32. The hot water out of the cylinder block of the engine flows to the radiator to be cooled and flows to the engine again to cool it (the cooling system 31). The temperature variations in both the cooling system 31 and the exhaust system 30 will be used to produce electricity by using thermoelectric tubes.

The electricity from said at least one thermoelectric tube 1 is DC and will be connected (in a wired and/or wireless manner) to the charge controller 8 to charge the battery 9 in the system 20.

At least one thermoelectric generator (TEG) 2, also called Seebeck generator, is used in the vehicle 25 and is a solid-state device that converts heat flux (temperature differences) directly to electrical energy. By integrating said at least one thermoelectric generator 2 with the engine body of the engine 13 the heat from the engine body will be converted to electricity. In addition, at least one thermoelectric generator 2 can be integrated on a gearbox 29 and/or an exhaust system 30 of the vehicle 25. The electricity from said at least one thermoelectric generator (TEG) 2 is DC and will be connected (wired and/or wireless) to the charge controller 8 to charge the battery 9. Yet in addition, due to friction between the tyres 15 and the ground, heat energy from the tyres 15 can be converted directly to electricity by at least one thermoelectric generator 2. That can be done by integrating thermoelectric materials with the tyres 15.

At least one solar panel 3 in a photovoltaic (PV) system is configured to convert the sun's radiation, in the form of light, into usable electricity. Said at least one solar panel 3 can be fixed or arranged on at least one of: the roof of the vehicle 25, the front trunk of the vehicle 25 and/or the trunk of the vehicle 25 (fig. 3 and fig. 4). The electricity from the solar panel(s) 3 is DC current and therefore the solar panel(s) 3 will be connected (wired and/or wireless) to the charge controller 8 and then to the battery 9 for charging it, in the same manner as for the thermoelectric generator(s) 2 and/or the thermoelectric tube(s) 1 .

Furthermore, it is possible to use the radial linear motion from the tyres 15 of the vehicle 25 in order to also produce electricity which can be stored in the battery 9 through the converter 7 and can be used to produce fuel, e.g. hydrogen. At least one linear radial motion generator 5B can be designed with the special requirement to meet the radial linear motion of the tyres 15. The radius of the tyres 15 of the vehicle 25 is larger at the top of the tyre 15 than the down point of the tyre 15 on the ground level due to the weight of the vehicle 25. There is no constant radius variation in the motion of the vehicle 25. Said at least one linear radial generator 5B can be designed to endure compact and shocks. The linear radial generator(s) 5B, which can be integrated with the tyres 15, will not affect or resist the spin of the tyres 15, but will just make the tyres 15 more efficient by affecting the elasticity of the tyres 15.

Furthermore, at least one linear generator (alternator) 5A can be integrated with shock absorber(s) I strut(s) 28 of the vehicle 25, as shown in fig. 4 and fig. 5. The current produced will be AC and will be connected (wired and/or wireless) to the converter 7 and then to the battery 9.

As shown in fig. 3 at least one rotating generator 4 can be fixed on the rotating shafts or axles 27 of the vehicle 25 in order to utilize kinetic energy for thus to produce electricity. The rotating generator(s) 4 can be activated under the braking and/or downhill motion or movement of the vehicle 25 and can then produce AC current. The rotating generator(s) 4 can be connected together and then is being connected (wired and/or wireless) to the converter 7 in order to convert AC to DC, and thereafter is being connected from the converter 7 to the charge controller 8 and finally to the battery 9.

Additionally, electricity from at least one vibration generator 6C can be utilized. The vibration generator(s) 6C can be placed everywhere on the vehicle 25 and specially on the engine 13, the axles 27 and/or the gearbox 29 of the vehicle 25 (see for example fig. 2 and fig. 3).

Also, electricity from at least one piezoelectric vibration generator 6D can be utilized and can be integrated in the control arm joint 34, motor mount 35 and strut mount rubber 36 to produce electricity and to store it in the battery 9 through the converter 7 and the charge controller 8 (in a wired or wireless manner).

The AC power from the vibration generators 6C and 6D will be connected to the converter 7 and then to the charge controller 8, finally to the battery 9.

The electricity from the above-mentioned components (i.e. thermoelectric tube(s) 1 , thermoelectric generator(s) 2, solar panel(s) 3, rotating generator(s) 4, linear generator(s) I alternator(s) 5A and 5B, and vibration generator(s) 6C and 6D) as shown in fig. 2 and fig. 3 will charge the battery 9 and the battery 9 will feed the hydrogen generator 10 in order to produce hydrogen for combustion in the engine 13.

All the components of the system 20 should be connected to respective ones thereof by means of suitable pipes and/or cables and/or inductive (wireless).

The system 20 according to the present invention is suitable for hydrogen vehicles. By modifying the system 20 it can also be made suitable for electric vehicles. The system 20 can also be used in other industrial applications such as for example in power generation.

Additional modifications, alterations and adaptations of the present invention will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following patent claims.

Components given by reference numerals

1 Thermoelectric tube capturing electricity from at least one of: a cooling system 31 , a condenser 26 and/or an exhaust system 30 of a vehicle 25.

2 Thermoelectric generator (TEG) transforming heat to electricity.

3 Photovoltaic (solar panel) attached to at least one of: the roof of the vehicle 25 (on top), on the front trunk of the vehicle 25 (front side) and/or on the back trunk of the vehicle 25 (back side) and configured to collect sun energy and transfer it to electricity that will be kept in the battery 9. The connection will be same as for thermoelectric tube(s) 1 . 4 Rotating generators will be fixed on the axles 27 to produce electricity and will be connected (wired and/or wireless) to a converter 7 to change from AC to DC and then to the charge controller 8 to charge the battery 9.

5A Linear generators will be integrated on the shock absorber (strut) 28 to transfer linear motion to electricity and will be connected as done with the rotating generators 4.

5B The linear radial generators will be integrated with the tyres 15 to transfer linear radial motion to electricity and will be connected as it is done with the rotating generators 4.

6C Vibration generators to convert the vibration to electricity and can be integrated in different parts in the vehicle and will be connected as done with the rotating generators 4.

6D Piezoelectric vibration generator to convert vibration and pressure movement in parts of the vehicle like the control arm joint 34, motor mount 35 and strut mount rubber 36 to produce electricity and to store it in the battery 9 through the converter 7 and the charge controller 8 (in a wired or wireless manner).

7 Converter to convert electricity from components 4, 5A and 5B and 6C and 6D to DC from AC.

8 Charge controller configured to control and regulate the power to and from the battery 9.

9 Battery to save the power from the above resources and feed the hydrogen generator 10 to produce hydrogen.

10 Hydrogen generator configured to produce hydrogen and transfer it to the compressor 11 .

11 Compressor configured to compress the hydrogen from the hydrogen generator 10 into the reservoir tank 12.

12 Reservoir tank configured to store the hydrogen from the compressor 11 and feed the combustion engine 13.

13 Hydrogen combustion engine of the vehicle 25.

14 Water tank

15 Tyres. Special linear radial motion generators 5B will be integrated on the tyres and thermoelectric generators 2 will be integrated with the tyres too.

16 External fuel or hydrogen resource 17 Residual water and/or water vapour

20 Power generation and supply system

25 Vehicle

26 Condenser 27 Rotating shafts or axles of the vehicle 25

28 Shock absorber or strut of the vehicle 25

29 Gearbox of the vehicle 25

30 Exhaust system of the vehicle 25

31 Cooling system I radiator of the vehicle 25 32 Muffler

33 Tail pipe

34 Control arm joint

35 Motor mounts

36 Strut mount rubber