1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a roadway equipped with a power-generating means to generate power by virtue of the movement of a motor vehicle over the roadway. More particularly, this invention relates to a roadway equipped with such a power-generating means which is responsive to and actuated by the weight of a motor vehicle as it passes over such roadway. More especially, this invention relates to the generation of power by virtue of the weight of a motor vehicle passing over a roadway whereby fluid housed in a fluid housing is caused to move and to effect generation of energy via a transmission mechanism.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Volumes could be written about the heavy emphasis on energy consumption and energy generation. In these days with the dramatic rise in the cost of oil, which so adversely effects the cost of generating electricity, alternate sources are being considered for the generation of energy. For instance, it is becoming increasingly popular to decrease energy consumption in the home by the use of solar panels disposed on or near the same, whereby to extract heat from the sun and by heat exchange to heat the hot water within the building. Other means involving heat pumps and the like have been developed as a savings towards fuel oil consumption.
Electrical utilities are considering non-petrolium sources of power for the generation of electricity. Thus, many utilities have reconverted their facilities so that the electricity can be generated by steam heated by the use of coal or by means of a nuclear reaction.
There has been an increasing emphasis upon extracting energy from various sources. It is known to utilize the power from an automobile or other moving vehicle to generate power, especially electricity. Thus, for instance, it is known to use the movement of a locomotive or the revolution of the axial of a train to generate electricity for internal use within the train. Similarly it is known to use the revolutions of a bicycle tire to generate electricity for a portable lamp attached to the bicycle. It is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,589, to generate electricity for houses and the like by disposing an automobile's driven wheel over a pair of fluted rollers adapted to receive the same. The rollers in turn are rotated in response to the rotation of the automobile's drive wheel which automobile is disposed in stationary position whereby alternating current or direct current is generated. A device of that type is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,370, where means are provided to jack the vehicle up and to utilize the revolutions of the vehicle to engage a means in turn connected to a generator. See also U.S. Pat. No. 2,712,109.
It has also been proposed to generate electricity by the use of vehicles passing along a roadway, such being disclosed in British Pat. No. 1,332,202 and U.S. Pat. No. 1,916,873.
Heretofore, the extraction of energy from a moving vehicle along a roadway has generally been either to effect rotation of a rotatable member disposed in said roadway (U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,163), or to utilize the weight of such vehicle to displace a lever arm or the like, which in turn effects revolution of a rotatable member by engagement of ratchets mounted on the lever arm with correspondingly shaped receiving teeth on the rotatable member. (U.S. Pat. No. 1,916,873). Alternatively, means have been provided in the path of the moving vehicle which restrains forward movement of the vehicle, these means being disposed significantly above the roadway and being connected to remotely positioned transmissions means. This is not only unsightly, but dangerous and such means are readily damaged by the movement of vehicles at high speeds or in turn damage the vehicles. Such a means for power generation by the use of the rotation of a motor vehicle over such obstructing means is impractical and undesirable. Not only does it present a dangerous obstacle in the path of the moving vehicle, but when it is struck by the moving vehicle, the force transmitted through the moving vehicle is of such magnitude as to toss the occupants of the vehicle about and endanger their physical well-being.
The use of ratchets mounted on a shaft responsive to means generally co-planar with the roadway, is far superior to the disposition of an obstacle in the path of the vehicle, but such conversion of the weight of the moving vehicle to energy is inefficient and subject to ready breakdowns. Moreover, such installations requires many complicated and relatively undependable mechanical parts. Means must be provided to redispose the shaft to its initial position, all of which involves valuable time loss and inefficiency in the conversion of weight from the moving vehicle to energy.
For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,873, such a mechanism is disclosed which requires three separate plate members in the roadway for engagement with a single tire of the automobile and up to five of such plates (FIG. 4). These plates must be returned to their original position by the use of springs. While such a mechanism might have been useful in connection with the light-weight vehicles of the early 1930s, such a mechanism is impractical considering the heavy vehicles on modern roadways.
It became further desirable to provide such a power-extracting means which did not depend upon revolution of rollers disposed on the roadway and which generated the power without the use of undependable mechanical linkages, springs and the like to reset the mechanism. It became further desirable to provide the roadway equipped with such a power-generating means where the power was generated in response to the weight of a moving vehicle over a generally planar member disposed co-planar with the roadway.
It became still further desirable to provide such a weight responsive power-generating means in the roadway which did not require for its power generation, the movement of ratcheted shafts disposed beneath the roadway.