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This general idea is hardly new. There have been patents for gadgets you
attach to your leg, and body movements generate electricity to charge a
battery.
The problem with this patent is that it uses a piezo device. Unfortunately,
they don't generate very much energy. You'd certainly be able to "top off"
the battery, but I don't think you'd be able to bring it back from a heavy
discharge very quickly. Maybe the former is all they care about.
It's called "energy scavenging". It's a big thing in portable productQuite similar to the self winding mechanical wrist watches.
Certainly nothing new !
I have a hand-crank radio/flashlight/charger that can charge cell phones.I'm surprised nobody has made a wind-up cell phone. Besides not
requiring a battery or charger (uses a super-capacitor), it will keep
the chronic talkers in line. Not exactly energy scavenging, but (in
my opinion) just as good.
As the drive would have to be connected to computer that could power it, andIncidentally, I designed, prototyped, but never produced a paper tape
printing pager in the early 1970's. The pager ran on batteries, but
the 1/4" paper tape transport and printing was all wind-up mechanical.
I also proposed a wind-up portable floppy disk drive in the 1980's,
which was summarily rejected by literally everyone as a lousy idea.
Oh, well.
I've seen small pancake PM motors that are made to be wound up with aI'm surprised nobody has made a wind-up cell phone. Besides not
requiring a battery or charger (uses a super-capacitor), it will keep
the chronic talkers in line. Not exactly energy scavenging, but (in
my opinion) just as good.
I have a hand-crank radio/flashlight/charger that can charge cell phones.
The problem with building it into the phone iteself is that it's "too big"
for such a small device.
This was the early 1970's. What's a computah? The original pager wasIncidentally, I designed, prototyped, but never produced a paper tape
printing pager in the early 1970's. The pager ran on batteries, but
the 1/4" paper tape transport and printing was all wind-up mechanical.
I also proposed a wind-up portable floppy disk drive in the 1980's,
which was summarily rejected by literally everyone as a lousy idea.
Oh, well.
As the drive would have to be connected to computer that could power it, and
the wind-up mechanism + interface would be more complex than a motor -- what
would be the point?
You said '80s for the floppy-disk drive, which is what I was referring to..Incidentally, I designed, prototyped, but never produced a
paper tape printing pager in the early 1970's. The pager ran
on batteries, but the 1/4" paper tape transport and printing
was all wind-up mechanical. I also proposed a wind-up portable
floppy disk drive in the 1980's, which was summarily rejected
by literally everyone as a lousy idea. Oh, well.
As the drive would have to be connected to computer that could
power it, and the wind-up mechanism + interface would be more
complex than a motor -- what would be the point?
This was the early 1970's. What's a computah?
Really? Perhaps for the RF transistors, but not the rest of the device.The original pager was Motorola H04ANC (all germanium).
I don't like hand exercises. Maybe you could connect it straight toOn Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:44:56 -0700, "William Sommerwerck"
grizzledgeezer@comcast.net> wrote:
I'm surprised nobody has made a wind-up cell phone. Besides not
requiring a battery or charger (uses a super-capacitor), it will keep
the chronic talkers in line. Not exactly energy scavenging, but (in
my opinion) just as good.
I have a hand-crank radio/flashlight/charger that can charge cell phones.
The problem with building it into the phone iteself is that it's "too big"
for such a small device.
I've seen small pancake PM motors that are made to be wound up with a
pull string. They're flat, small, and fairly powerful. Most of the
space in the flashlight contraption is in the gears to gear up the
speed. It can be done.
Think of it as a form of hand exercise while yacking on the cell
phone.
On Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:54:31 -0700, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com
wrote:
On Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:44:56 -0700, "William Sommerwerck"
grizzledgeezer@comcast.net> wrote:
I'm surprised nobody has made a wind-up cell phone. Besides not
requiring a battery or charger (uses a super-capacitor), it will keep
the chronic talkers in line. Not exactly energy scavenging, but (in
my opinion) just as good.
I have a hand-crank radio/flashlight/charger that can charge cell phones.
The problem with building it into the phone iteself is that it's "too big"
for such a small device.
I've seen small pancake PM motors that are made to be wound up with a
pull string. They're flat, small, and fairly powerful. Most of the
space in the flashlight contraption is in the gears to gear up the
speed. It can be done.
Think of it as a form of hand exercise while yacking on the cell
phone.
I don't like hand exercises. Maybe you could connect it straight to
my jaw, so it would charge when I talked.
Sorry. I thought you meant the paper tape pager printer. I neverIncidentally, I designed, prototyped, but never produced a
paper tape printing pager in the early 1970's. The pager ran
on batteries, but the 1/4" paper tape transport and printing
was all wind-up mechanical. I also proposed a wind-up portable
floppy disk drive in the 1980's, which was summarily rejected
by literally everyone as a lousy idea. Oh, well.
As the drive would have to be connected to computer that could
power it, and the wind-up mechanism + interface would be more
complex than a motor -- what would be the point?
This was the early 1970's. What's a computah?
You said '80s for the floppy-disk drive, which is what I was referring to..
I'm fairly sure the H03ANC pager was all germanium xsistors. I don'tThe original pager was Motorola H04ANC (all germanium).
Really? Perhaps for the RF transistors, but not the rest of the device.
Does it meet EPA specs?I suppose you don't want to hear about my gasoline engine-
powered hard disk drive?
I could be wrong, but my memory is that germanium transistors were "dead andThe original pager was Motorola H04ANC (all germanium).
Really? Perhaps for the RF transistors, but not the rest of the device.
I'm fairly sure the H03ANC pager was all germanium xsistors. I don't
have a manual for it to check. I think (not sure) that the next
model, the Pageboy I, was all germanium, but I'll have to check the
manual.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_Pageboy
I know the associated walkie talkie, the HT200, was all germanium,
because I worked on enough of them. I should also have a manual for
the HT200.
One of my uncles had an earphone-only "very-large-pocket" radio that usedI still have one or two tube type walkie talkies from that era.
Pencil tubes are fun.
http://home.netcom.com/~wa2ise/radios/penciltubes.html
Nope. It was a Seagate ST225 20MB disk drive. (That's megabyte, notI suppose you don't want to hear about my gasoline engine-
powered hard disk drive?
Does it meet EPA specs?
I need to dig through a few file cabinet drawers to find the manuals.The original pager was Motorola H04ANC (all germanium).
Really? Perhaps for the RF transistors, but not the rest of the device.
I'm fairly sure the H03ANC pager was all germanium xsistors.
I'm not sure. There were plenty of logic devices using 2N404 xsistorsI could be wrong, but my memory is that germanium transistors were "dead and
gone" by the early 70s. Certainly they'd disappeared in audio equipment.
The big advantage of germanium for portable equipment was that itGermanium devices had higher carrier mobility, so at that time (I believe)
they offered better performance at VHF and higher frequencies. (This pager
was UHF.)
Nope. I think the author got confused as the Pageboy I would takeIs there really such a thing as a rechargeable mercury battery?
Didn't some of those pagers run on a single AA cell? You're right -- evenThe big advantage of germanium for portable equipment
was that it would operate at a lower voltage than silicon.
For switching power supplies (i.e. free running multivibrator
with no regulation or protection), the lower saturation voltage
of germanium meant less loss and less heating.
My Moto Advisor alphanumeric pager ran on a single AA. Lasted as muchThe big advantage of germanium for portable equipment
was that it would operate at a lower voltage than silicon.
For switching power supplies (i.e. free running multivibrator
with no regulation or protection), the lower saturation voltage
of germanium meant less loss and less heating.
Didn't some of those pagers run on a single AA cell? You're right -- even
with a switching supply, that would have been difficult with silicon
devices. At least, if you wanted to get reasonable battery life.
On Apr 14, 2:09 pm, "William Sommerwerck" <grizzledgee...@comcast.net
wrote:
This general idea is hardly new. There have been patents for gadgets you
attach to your leg, and body movements generate electricity to charge a
battery.
The problem with this patent is that it uses a piezo device. Unfortunately,
they don't generate very much energy. You'd certainly be able to "top off"
the battery, but I don't think you'd be able to bring it back from a heavy
discharge very quickly. Maybe the former is all they care about.
Quite similar to the self winding mechanical wrist watches.
Certainly nothing new !
I suppose you don't want to hear about my gasoline engine powered hard
disk drive?