Recent Progress in Vibration Energy Recovery Devices and Methods

Background: Due to the shortage of energy resources, the problem of energy consumption has attracted much more attention. How to reduce the energy consumption or obtain the regenerative energy becomes one of the hot topics. To solve this problem, the vibration energy recovery device has an increasing development. The working principle of the vibration energy recovery device can be divided into three types: piezoelectric effect, electrostatic effect and electromagnetic effect. The vibration energy recovery device of the piezoelectric effect is widely used. It mainly uses piezoelectric materials to convert vibration energy into electrical energy. When external vibrations apply stress to the piezoelectric material, the positive and negative charge centers inside the piezoelectric material are moved relatively to produce an electrode. Therefore, the voltage is generated on both sides of the piezoelectric material. Objective: In order to know the latest development of the vibration energy recovery device and reduce the energy consumption. Methods: Firstly, the structure and working principle of the vibration energy recovery device has been discussed. Secondly, the paper reviews recent patents of the piezoelectric vibration energy recovery device. Meanwhile, the advantages and disadvantages have been clearly discussed through the analysis of the structure and working principle of these patents. Results: Compared with the traditional devices and structures, the new ones have and can convert vibration energy of multiple directions into electric energy. Moreover, the expenses of the vibration energy recovery device will be reduced by designing the new devices. Conclusion: The patents of the vibration energy recovery device utilizing piezoelectric effect have solved several problems. However, these devices still need more improvements to increase the application prospects.