Title of Invention	STATIC ELECTRIC MOTOR DEVICE FOR CONVERTING STATIC CHARGE/ELECTRICITY INTO USEFUL FORM OF ENERGY
Abstract	Static charge/electricity is generated in nature due to climatic effects. However this form of electricity gets wasted and cannot be harnessed. This electricity may be stored on capacitors (or storage objects). The Static Electricity Motor (SEM) enables to convert the stored static charge into useful rotor torque with the help of a rotor-shaft assembly. The device may be used for conversion static charge energy from clouds and other resources of static charge.

Title of Invention

STATIC ELECTRIC MOTOR DEVICE FOR CONVERTING STATIC CHARGE/ELECTRICITY INTO USEFUL FORM OF ENERGY

Abstract

Static charge/electricity is generated in nature due to climatic effects. However this form of electricity gets wasted and cannot be harnessed. This electricity may be stored on capacitors (or storage objects). The Static Electricity Motor (SEM) enables to convert the stored static charge into useful rotor torque with the help of a rotor-shaft assembly. The device may be used for conversion static charge energy from clouds and other resources of static charge.

Full Text	FORM - 2 THE PATENTS ACT, 1970 (39 OF 1970) PROVISIONAL Specification (Section-10, rule 13) A NOVEL POWER SOURCE PHADKE SUJAY ABHAY of Z-4-7/8 Himali Society, Near Deenanath Hospital, Erandavane, Pune 411 004, Maharashtra, India an Indian National 16-7-2004 THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION DESCRIBES THE NATURE OF THIS INVENTION:- 16 JUL 2004 This invention relates to a novel power source. What is envisaged in this invention is a device which converts energy stored in form of static electricity into usable energy. Static electricity is generated in nature due to climatic effects. Static electricity is generated in nature due to the kind of weather and climate our small planet has. This form of electricity is found in form of stored charge in the clouds. It is also generated by friction between different materials like plastics, nylons, glass, wool etc. and also on computer and T.V. screens (Cathode Ray Tube Screens). However hitherto, this form of electricity is almost always perceived as a nuisance. Many devices have been invented to either prevent accumulation of charge or to discharge the accumulated charge on an object as quickly as possible. This is so because static electricity can lead to sparking which poses a fire hazard. However hitherto, this form of electricity gets wasted and cannot be harnessed. It is a known property of static electricity that this electricity may be stored on capacitors (or storage objects). The device in accordance with this invention enables the conversion of such stored static charge into useful rotor torque with the help of a rotor-shaft assembly. The device in accordance with this invention consists of two major parts viz. the charged surface and the rotor-stator as the generator device assembly. In a basic embodiment of this invention the charged surface typically consists of a concave aluminium screen covered with chart paper from all sides. The chart paper prevents discharging of stored charge through atmospheric air. A wire is taken out from this screen and its other end is connected to the static electricity source through a charge collector. The rotor has a non-metallic disc and shaft and metallic sectors are mounted on the disc. At any given instance few sectors are earthed. These sectors being in the electric field of the screen a charge opposite to that on the screen is induced on them. Thus an electrostatic force acts on the sectors in turn creating a torque on the rotor. The charge on these sectors gets neutralised when the rotor rotates through a certain angle and the sectors come in contact with or in the close proximity of the screen. This process is continuous and an output torque and an output current are obtained. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS: Fig 1 is the block diagram of the generator device in accordance with this; Fig 2 shows the isometric view of the stator-rotor of the generator device assembly; Fig 3 shows the side view of the stator-rotor of the generator device assembly; Figure 4 shows an end view of the rotor of the generator device and figure 4a and 4b the sectional views along lines X in figure 4; and Figure 5 shows the details of a screen which can be used for the generator device in accordance with this invention . DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION: The generator device in accordance with this invention consists of two major parts viz. the charged surface and the rotor-stator assembly. In accordance with one embodiment of this invention, the charged surface consists of a concave aluminium screen covered with chart paper from all sides. The chart paper prevents discharging of stored charge through atmospheric air. Other materials for screen construction can be envisaged such as different types of paper or natural or synthetic polymeric material or a textile or other fibrous material. A wire is taken out from this screen and its other end is connected to the static electricity source. Here in this device to an aluminium foil grid stuck to a T.V. screen. The rotor consists of a disc (7) typically made of a light weight material such as polystyrene is mounted on the hollow plastic shaft (2). Odd number of U shaped aluminium foil sectors (1) are radially fixed on the disc such that they are evenly spaced apart at equal angles to each other. The stator has two stands (3) with simple journal bearings (8) on both of them. The shaft is mounted on these bearings. The bearings are such that the axial movement of the shaft is restricted. One of the stands has two aluminium strips connected to it such that one of the strips (strip 1 (5)) lies in the vertical plane with its length along the horizontal and is perpendicular to the rotor axis. The other strip (strip 2 (6)) also lies in a vertical plane but at 120 degrees angle to the strip 1 with respect to the axis of rotor. Two or three brush type contactors made of aluminium foil called filaments (4) are connected to the strip 2 where as one filament is connected to the strip 1. The rotor is mounted on the stator. The stator is placed in front of the screen with strip1 facing towards it. Strip1 is connected to the screen with the help of a wire while strip 2 is earthed. When the charge source is turned on, the charge from it is drawn on to the screen through the wire. For convenience let us assume that the source delivers a negative charge. After certain time the source is shut off when a requisite amount of charge gets collected on the screen. Now the stator-rotor assembly is brought near the screen as mentioned above. The earth to brush & screen to brush connections are then made. Now the sectors of the rotor, which are in contact with strip 2 (through filaments) connected to earth get charged such that due to the electric field of the screen the charge on them is opposite in sign with respect to the charge present on the screen. Thus an electrostatic force acts on these sectors, which in turn produces a torque on the rotor making it rotate. After the rotor rotates through a certain angle, these oppositely charged sectors lose contact with strip 2 and come into contact with the strip 1 (through filament) and the charge on them gets neutralized. Thus some amount of charge gets removed from the screen. Also the sector in contact with strip 1 now gets a charge similar to that on the screen and is now repelled from screen, thus giving a push to the rotor again. At this same instant few sectors that were previously not in contact with either strip get earthed through strip 2. And the above procedure repeats. Thus the rotor is rotated with the help of a static charge stored on the screen continuously. The above process continues until the torque exerted by the screen on the rotor equals the opposing friction torque exerted on the rotor shaft at the bearings. Then the rotor stops. ROTOR ASSEMBLY: SECTORS (metallic sectors): The sector is U shaped. The top surface is flat while the side surfaces which are attached to the opposite sides of the rotor hub are thick enough to support the top surface without buckling. The sectors are made from a metal which is a good conductor of electricity like Aluminium because Aluminium is comparatively cheap, malleable, light in weight, non corrosive and also an excellent conductor. The top surface of the sector has a large surface area so that a large amount of charge can be induced on it. The sector is given a U shape so that the electric field lines given out by the charge stored on the screen are incident on a sector and not obstructed by the sector before it. The sector is made of a thin metal sheet in order to reduce its weight and rotational inertia. The number of sectors on the rotor should be as large as possible and they are evenly spaced apart in order to reduce the tendency of the torque to fluctuate. There are odd numbers of sectors in order to enable self starting of the rotor. The sectors are kept spaced apart from each other in order to prevent discharging of the charge stored on the screen. Generally the dielectric present between the consecutive sectors is air. Vacuum as a dielectric would be preferred, however producing vacuum in the space around the whole as the generator device assembly would be difficult, uneconomical and it would also induce problems related to maintenance and servicing. Introducing a different dielectric like plastic, wood etc. between the sectors would surely reduce the tendency of discharging and hence it would enable us to increase the number of sectors on the rotor, however it would also increase the rotational inertia of the system, which is undesirable. Hence such a dielectric is not used. Also the sector is stiff and sturdy and does not bend or buckle. The arrangement of the sectors on the rotor is such that the length of the top flat surface of the sector should be parallel to the rotor shaft axis. The side surfaces of the sector are coplanar with the side surfaces of the central hub i.e. the length of the top flat surface of the sector should almost equal (considering side allowances) to the length of the central hub. If the length of the top surface is more then the side surfaces of the sector would protrude causing hindrance to the rotor motion by getting locked with the filaments (brush pin commutator arrangement). If the length of the top flat surface is smaller than the length of the hub then the commutator arrangement would not be effective and also the surface area of the sector top surface would reduce (this is due to the fact that the width of the top surface cannot be increased after a certain limit as the consecutive sectors would then come closer to each other and discharging phenomenon would occur). The median plane of the sector lying parallel to the length of the top surface and dividing the sector into halves always passes through the axis of the rotor shaft. The edges of the side surfaces of the sectors are curved into themselves so that a smoother contact with the filament (commutator brush pins) occurs. The sectors are fastened to the central hub by means of bolts or glue fasteners. THE CENTRAL HUB: The central hub is mounted in the rotor shaft and it carries the sectors on it. It is either keyed to the shaft or it is mounted on it using an interference fit. The central hub is made up of a light dielectric material which is sturdy and is capable of handling torsional shear and bending stresses. The central hub is made up of a dielectric material so that there is no electric contact between the sectors in order to form sectors. The central hub is circular or of a regular polygon with odd number of sides equal to the number of sectors in cross section to facilitate attachment of the sectors at equal included angles (evenly spaced) and in order to reduce rotational inertia. The length of the central is marginally smaller than the length of the top surface of the sector because the thickness of the aluminium sheet used to make the sector has to be taken into consideration. The diameter of the central hub is made greater than certain critical diameter which depends on the number and the dimensions of the sectors used. This is done in order to prevent the sectors from coming closer and hence preventing discharging phenomenon. However at the same time the diameter of the central hub is not made very large (and certainly not greater than the minimum distance between top surfaces of opposite sectors). The light weight and small diameter of the central hub reduce the rotational inertia of the rotor. The light weight of the central hub reduces bending stresses on the rotor shaft. Hence the central hub is made from materials like expandable polystyrene, cork, plastics etc. ROTOR SHAFT: The central hub is mounted on the rotor shaft. The shaft is made from a light but strong non conducting material such as a polymeric material. It is made from a non conducting material in order to prevent any accidental earthing of the rotor and hence idle sectors. The shaft is strong enough to handle the bending stresses acting on it due to weight of the rotor and the electrostatic forces acting on the rotor without undergoing much deflection (bending). Deflection in shaft is kept minimal since if the shaft bends, the bearings in which the shaft rests may get damaged. One end of the shaft is held in bearings while the other end may be connected to a generator or any other output device which requires shaft work. The light weight of the shaft reduces its rotational inertia. The axial movement of the shaft is prevented by the bearings. Thus the shaft can undergo only rotational motion. Thus the overall rotational inertia of the whole rotor assembly is kept as low as possible. This is done so that the starting torque required by the rotor to overcome static frictional force reduces and the device starts easily. Moreover the frictional force acting on the generator device also reduces as the weight of the whole assembly is reduced and hence the normal reaction acting on the assembly is also reduced. STATOR ASSEMBLY: STRIP 1: The strip1 is made from aluminum or any other malleable, good conductor. Generally aluminum is preferred due to the above stated reasons. The strip 1 is made from rectangular aluminum sheet and it lies in a vertical plane with its length parallel to the horizontal such that its longitudinal centre line lies just above and perpendicular to the shaft axis. This strip is connected to the charged metallic screen through a standard insulated wire. This strip also carries a filament (single brush pin) to neutralize the charge on the incoming sector. The width of this strip is kept minimum so that the discharging of the screen does not take place through it and strip 2 to the earth. The perpendicular distance between this strip and the nearest sector is kept greater than the discharging distance for obvious reasons. The strip 1 is fixed to the stand on which the shaft bearing also lies. STRIP 2: The strip 2 is made of the same material as that of the strip 1. Both the strips lie in the same vertical plane however there is a basic geometric and positioning difference between the two strips. The strip 2 lies vertically above the horizontal transverse line passing through shaft axis at its bearing on the stand. This strip lies opposite to the strip 1 and it forms an included angle of about 100 degrees on the shaft from the horizontal. This strip is earthed with the help of a standard insulated wire. An angular separation is kept between strip 2 and strip 1 so that discharging does not take place. This strip carries filaments (commutator brush pins) in order to connect incoming sectors to the earth. The number of filaments is kept as high as possible. However there is always a limit to the number of filaments connected to this strip, which depends upon the size of the rotor as the generator device assembly and the number of sectors present on the rotor. If too many filaments are used they might entangle into each other causing damage to both the rotor and the stator assembly. The stand on which both the strips and the bearing are present is made from a sturdy non conducting material in order to prevent any accidental earthing of the entire rotor assembly. FILAMENTS: The filaments are present on both the strips. The filaments are brush pin like objects used in a commutator arrangement. A single filament is a long, narrow strip made from aluminium foil. Since the starting torque delivered to the rotor is low standard brush pin arrangement, which produces considerable amount of friction, is not advisable to use. Hence filaments are formed as brush pin assemblies. Since narrow aluminium strip is used, the filament possesses elasticity in bending. The rotor is mounted such that the filaments possess initial deflection (bending) in the direction of rotation of the rotor. This arrangement produces a elastic force in the filament which tries to recover the filament to its original shape. Since the filament is prevented from recovering to its original shape, the elastic force helps in keeping a constant contact between the filaments and the rotor sectors. The filament is made up of aluminium since it is very malleable and can be drawn into thin foils. It is also light and easily machineable and comparatively cheap in cost, better in strength and lighter as compared to other good conductors like silver, gold, copper, platinum etc. The filaments are attached to the respective strips by using either adhesives or by using bolts. SCREEN: The screen is a single plate storage capacitor used to store the charge received from the charge source. It is made from a metallic sheet. Aluminium is preferred for the reasons mentioned above. Since the charge stored on the screen gets dissipated into the air easily due to the moisture present in the atmosphere, the screen is covered with a dielectric material such as paper or plastic. Placing the whole screen-rotor-stator assembly in vacuum would be the best option instead of using a dielectric. However creating a vacuum in the control space is avoided. Also paper or plastic is used as a dielectric as they are cheap, easily available, non corrosive and light in weight. The shape of the screen is that of a portion (arc) of a cylinder or an ogive (part of a sphere). The stator-rotor assembly is kept on the concave side of the screen at a sufficient distance from it in order to prevent it from discharging. The arrangement is such that the axis of the rotor shaft is nearer to the base of the screen in vertical separation than the median line of the screen in vertical separation. The reason for having a curved geometry for the screen is that, on its concave side, the electric field lines converge (similar to the phenomenon of convergence of light when it is reflected from a lens). Two standard insulated wires are taken out of the screen. One wire is connected to the strip 1 of the stator while the other wire is connected to the charge collector. The above assembly is described for a horizontal shaft rotor. A vertical shaft or an inclined shaft assembly is also possible. To obtain the same we merely require to incline the whole assembly including the stand to the required angle and by selecting a suitable bearing and placing it in front of the screen in a suitable manner at that angle by manipulating the arrangement at that angle from the one described in the above section for a horizontal shaft rotor. THE CHARGE COLLECTOR: The charge collector consists of a gauge made of aluminium strips or wires. It is either placed on or moved over the surface from which charge is to be collected. The gauge is used since it increases the effective surface area of the collector and hence it enables the collector to collect more charge at a time from the charge source (especially a non conducting surface such as a T.V. screen etc.). A metallic roller or a metallic brush (both made of good conductors) may also be used in place of the gauge in case the charge on the source is localised at various places or the source itself is small in size. APPLICATIONS: 1) Space Exploration: The space exploration technology currently uses batteries and solar cells to power their spacecrafts. However the major limitation of this source of electricity is that it has limited life span. This is so because batteries work on the basis of various chemical reactions occurring within them. There are various electrodes and electrolytes present inside a standard battery. With time and usage, the electrolytes corrode the electrodes and the battery casing. Moreover the strength of electrolytes also decreases with usage of the battery. Thus a pre charged battery as a source of electricity has its own limitations in service quality and life. The second problem the instruments using batteries may face is that the batteries tend to be bulky and heavy. Thus to transport such an instrument from earth to outer space will require more energy and payload capacity. Thirdly, if a battery is out of usage for a long time and if it is not stored under proper conditions, it "leaks" causing damage to the instruments surrounding it. The leakage occurs due to the corrosion of the outer wall of the battery by the electrolyte stored inside. However there is a solution to the above problems. Consider that instead of using a battery, if these space crafts were to use charged capacitors or charged surfaces, it would definitely eliminate all the above problems. To convert and use the energy stored in these charged surfaces as and when needed would only require a Static Electricity Motor (THE GENERATOR DEVICE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS INVENTION) coupled to a generator. This can be explained as follows: A curved plate capacitor of high capacitance is charged to a very high potential using a rectified AC or a DC source. The plates are then separated mechanically. Thus two oppositely charged surfaces are obtained. The surfaces are already covered in a dielectric material which prevents charge leakage from the surfaces to the surroundings. These plates are used instead of a battery in a space craft. One of the plates is used as a source while the other is used as a sink. The strip 1 of the assembly is connected to the source plate while the strip 2 is connected to the sink plate. The two plates are kept far away from each other. The charges on both the plates neutralise each other through the the generator in accordance with this invention in turn giving a torque output at the shaft. The shaft is then connected to a generator. In the above arrangement, since charge stored on metallic capacitor plates is used, the use of chemical electrolytes is totally eliminated. If the capacitor plates are stored in vacuum condition, the discharge of charge stored on the plates does not occur. Thus the charge can be stored on the plates for an infinitely long time. Thus it is seen that unlike a battery, the generator arrangement using charged plates has an infinite life. Secondly, since the capacitor plates are made from a thin foil or sheet of a light metal like aluminium, the weight and the space occupied by the above arrangement is very less as compared to a battery. Thus using a the generator in accordance with this invention will not only reduce the total energy of launching the equipment but also cut down on the total project cost as the materials used are readily available and cheap. Thirdly, since the use of electrolytes is totally eliminated in the device in accordance with this invention there is no chance of a "leak" occurring since the stored charge is confined by the covering dielectric and the vacuum condition. The solar panels present on the space craft are used to charge the capacitor plates when they are fully discharged. The capacitor described above having curved the generator device semi cylindrical plates is charged to a high potential, the charging circuit is disconnected and the plates are separated from each other mechanically in such a way that the amount of charge stored on them at the end of charging period is retained. One of the plates is used as the screen or the source plate. The other plate plays the role of earth or sink in the the genertor in accordance with this invention. The two plates are placed far away from each so that in the new arrangement the two plates do not act like a single charged capacitor. The rotor-stator assembly is placed in front of the screen plate such that it lies on its concave side. The other plate is placed such that its electric field does not interfere with the rotor-stator arrangement. The strip 1 is connected to the screen plate while the strip 2 is connected to the sink plate through a logic controlled switch operated by the chip timer battery. The above arrangement is placed inside a vacuum container. The vacuum inside the container prevents the charged plates from discharging into the surroundings. The shaft is connected to a generator. The wires from the generator are taken out of the vacuum container so that the electrical output is available outside the container. The output may be AC or DC depending upon the type of generator used (i.e. AC or DC generator). The logic/ computer chip present onboard the space craft operates the switch as per the programme fed to it. This enables the craft to utilise the energy source as and when required. These charged plates act as a central energy source to drive all the operations of the space craft or many such small arrangements are used at various places on the space craft such that they individually provide the energy required for the specific functions of that part of the space vehicle in which they are mounted. The arrangement also can be used to provide power to the space craft computers. Thus the energy stored in form of static electricity on charged plates can effectively replace the conventional battery used onboard the space crafts. 2) Lightening-electricity generator: Majority of the electric energy generated around the world today is by using conventional sources of energy such as fossil fuels, coal, and natural gas. Electricity is also generated on a vast scale by using nuclear fuels as a source in countries like France and USA. However these forms of fuels are non renewable and hence using them to generate electricity merely means to exhaust them in the near future. Moreover use of these forms of energy sources lead to environmental hazards like air pollution, Global warming, and harmful radioactivity in the vicinity of the area where the wasted fuel rods are dumped. Thus it is a need of time to use renewable recourses to generate vital electric energy in order to save non¬renewable energy sources and to protect the environment for the future generations. This device makes an attempt to make the use of a renewable source of static electricity to convert it into useful electric energy in a clean and environment friendly way. Static electricity is generated in nature due to the climatic effects which the atmosphere of our planet undergoes. This form of electricity is found in form of stored charge in the clouds. Static electricity is also generated in the upper atmosphere near the poles during the period of aurora activity. Thus this electricity may be stored by some means and further converted into useful current electricity. A standard lightening conductor or a lightening arrestor is erected in a place which has a high probability of being struck by lightening. The principal of working of such an equipment is that when there is a charged cloud in the vicinity of the structure to be protected, the lightening arrestor "seeps" charge (of a sign opposite to that of the sign of charge present in the cloud) from earth into the atmosphere. Thus instead of a lightening bolt striking the structure due to the generated potential difference between the cloud and the structure, the lightening gets effectively "diffused" and it does not "strike" the structure. The amount of charge discharged into the atmosphere depends upon the amount of charge present in the cloud and the potential of the charge stored in the cloud. In a lightening-electricity generator (L-EG) a small gas filled floating balloon is used as a charge storage device. The balloon is coated with a paint containing metallic particles of metals like aluminium. This is done because the aluminium particles present in the paint store charge on them. Thus the balloon itself acts as the charged screen. The strip 1 is connected to the balloon through a flexible conducting wire. The strip 2 is connected to the lightening arrestor. The rotor- stator as the generator device assembly of the L-EG is placed inside an enclosure which has been vacuumed inside. The flexible conducting wire connected to strip 1 is taken out from this enclosure through an airtight bore. The flexible conducting wire is either made of single strand of copper or silk or wet rope impregnated with salts. There is a manual switch between the strip 2 and lightening arrestor which is placed outside the enclosure. The connection between switch and strip 2 is made by a part of strip 2 protruding out of the enclosure through an air tight seal. The switch is turned on when there are charged thunder clouds in the proximity of the L-EG. A charge of sign, which is same as that present in the cloud, is accumulated on the balloon. Thus the balloon now acts like the charged screen. The lightening arrester and strip 2 form the earthed portion of the circuit. The rotor of in the L-EG thus rotates producing an output torque. The shaft is brought out of the enclosure through a seal and it is then connected to a generator present on an adjacent non metallic non conducting column. Thus the output of the generator can be used for various applications such as lighting, heating, cooling, cooking etc. 3) Generation of useful energy from unwanted static electricity generated in conveyors: Conveyors are used in many industries for transporting raw materials, finished products etc in various industries such as paper manufacturing, automobile etc. from one place to another over very large distances. Conveyors used in airports are used to transport baggage to and from an airplane. These machines are also used in mining industry to transport ore or refined mineral/metal. However the basic hazard which the conveyor machinery faces during its operation is the generation of unwanted static charge. The material from which the conveyor belt is made is generally from plastic or paper derivative. These materials do not conduct electricity. During the operation of the conveyor the belt may slip over"the roller by small a amount. Also there is relative motion between various components and the belt during operation. A frictional force acts between the belts and the rollers/components which lead to accumulation of static charge on the belt. Moreover static charge generation also takes place on the belt during loading and unloading of the transported material. This accumulated static charge may lead to sparking due to electrostatic discharge (ESD). The ESD poses a major fire hazard in mining industries where they mine materials like coal. It may also pose a fire hazard in industries like paper and textile mills. Current methods of preventing and controlling static electricity in such places is based upon the principle of collecting the generated charge using a brush arrangement and discharging it to earth through an appropriate wire. The device comes in handy at such places, by converting this unwanted static electricity into usable energy. The basic principle here is that the generated charge is collected on a concave metallic screen covered by a dielectric instead of being directly earthed. This is done by directly connecting the collector brushes on the conveyor machinery to the screen instead of connecting them to earth. The strip 1 is connected to the screen while the strip 2 is connected to the earth through a manual or an automatic switch. The shaft is connected to an appropriate generator (according the application). The electricity generated by the generator is stored in a battery or it is directly used as per the requirement. Whenever an appropriate amount of charge gets collected on the screen, the switch is turned ON (either manually or by automatic control). Thus the device in accordance with this invention starts operating in turn generating usable energy. 4) Generation of usable energy from static electricity found in crude oil tankers: Crude oil tankers are designed to transport from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand tones of crude oil from the oil producing rigs to the refineries. These oil tankers contain many sub chambers within them. Thus the crude oil tankers do not carry all the cargo in one large single chamber but in many small chambers. This is done to prevent the hazard due to oil leakage. However the same configuration also leads to a hazard of fire due to static electricity. When the crude oil in a chamber is pumped out, a large amount of charge gets collected on the walls of the chamber. Since the ship hull is made out of metal, the chamber acts like a storage capacitor. This accumulation of charge on various chambers causes sparking. Since the chambers still contain combustible residual gases left out by the crude oil even afte,r it is pumped out, an explosion occurs. Thus the ship poses fire hazard due to pollution. This hazardous static charge accumulated on the chambers during pumping out of crude oil can be utilized to generate useful energy by using device. Many charge absorbing probes are placed on the individual chambers. These probes are then connected to a single concave metallic screen covered by a dielectric, which is either placed on the deck or the hold. The strip 1 is connected to the screen while the strip 2 is made to contact the sea water outside through an appropriate wire having a mechanically operated or automatic switch. When the switch is turned ON, the generator operates. The shaft is connected to an appropriate generator which generates electric current. The generator output is used to charge the ship"s batteries through an appropriate circuit. The arrangement is also applied to tankers and storage vessels storing various liquids. 5) Generation of usable energy from static electricity in electronics industries: The modern day electronics contain many intricate circuits, diodes, gates etc. at a microscopic level. These instruments are designed to handle currents of the order of a few micro amperes. However while manufacturing such electronic instruments, static charge is generated. This static charge gets stored on these instruments and it is responsible for either damaging the instruments due to over voltage or for interfering in their normal functioning. Thus if the stored charge is not removed then the product turn out to be defective. It is estimated that global losses in the electronics industry due to static electricity discharge are in excess of $45 Billion each year. This potentially detrimental form of electricity can be effectively converted into a friendly, useful form of energy using the the generator device assembly. This can be done by taking out charge collecting probes from places on the manufacturing line where static electricity is generated or detected. These probes are connected to a single concave metallic screen covered in a dielectric, which is placed at a sufficient distance from the production line. The strip 1 is connected to this screen, while the strip 2 is connected to the earth through a manually operated or automatic switch. An electric field detecting transducer detects the intensity of electric field at a certain distance from the screen. When this value exceeds the set point value, the switch is turned ON. The grnerator then starts operating. The shaft is coupled to a generator which gives a usable output current. 6) Generation of usable energy from static charge formed in printing presses: In a printing press, there spools of paper are present which pass around various rollers and surfaces. This action produces rubbing (friction), which leads to the generation and accumulation of charge on the paper reel and the surfaces on which it rubs. As a result of accumulation of charge an ESD might occur which leads to fire hazard. Aside from the hygroscopic paper used in the printing process, there is the static electricity problem. Solvent fires are started in the ink wells of presses when static discharges ignite the vapors. A commercial newspaper press can develop up to 2,000,000 volts of electricity at the roll as paper is feeding off. This puts extra tension on the web as it moves through the press. To prevent fire in printing presses, a discharging arrangement is made which includes brushes. These brushes collect the charge and discharge it to earth. Thus the collected charge is discharged to the earth without utilizing the energy associated with it. The energy is effectively utilized by providing charge collecting probes or by directly connecting the collector brushes on the printing machinery to the concave metallic screen instead of connecting them to earth. The strip 1 is connected to the screen while the strip 2 is connected to the earth through a manual or an automatic switch. The shaft is connected to an appropriate generator (according the application). The electricity generated by the generator is stored in a battery or it is directly used as per the requirement. 7) Generation of usable energy from static electricity generated in textile industry: The textile industries manufacturing synthetic fabrics, large amount of static electricity is generated due to rubbing of the fabric against surfaces and rollers. The generated charge is generally discharged into the earth using brush collectors or other types of ESD preventing instruments. This static charge can be used to generate useful energy by following the same procedure as given above in the section concerned with printing presses. 8) Generation of useful energy from static electricity generated on the screens of the instruments using CRO: When an instrument like a T.V., computer screen etc. having a CRO is turned ON or shut OFF, a static charge gets collected on its screen. Under normal course, this charge gets automatically discharged into the ambient air. Thus the energy present in this static charge is not utilized under normal circumstances. However we can collect this static charge on a concave metallic screen (covered by a dielectric) using a hand held charge collector, which uses either a metallic mesh or a small metallic roller connected to a wire through a commutator. The strip 1 is connected to the screen while the strip 2 to the earth through a switch. The shaft is connected to a generator of suitable size and type. When the switch is turned ON, the device operates and the generator gives an electric output. This output current can either be used directly to operate a circuit or it can be used to recharge batteries. 9) Generating useful energy from static charge collected on objects like automobile bodies, airplanes, door knobs etc.: Static electricity is generated on such objects due to friction. This electricity is collected on a concave metallic screen from such objects with the help charge collectors and it is fed to the circuit as described above. The generator generates output current which can either be directly used or used to recharge batteries. Thus in accordance with this invention there is provided a device which converts the energy in form of static electricity into useful form of energy such as mechanical energy, electrical energy, heat energy etc. The device gives output in form of shaft torque. The output current through the earth wire is connected to strip 2 is in the form of pulsating DC. The period i.e. the time interval between two successive pulses of the DC in the earth wire goes on increasing as the charge on the screen decreases. The rpm of the shaft progressively reduces as the device operates. The output torque progressively reduces with operation. The staring torque required for rotating the rotor-shaft as the generator device assembly is larger than the minium torque required for keeping it in motion while in operation. The charge on the (storage capacitor) screen is reduced to a certain minimum value in steps. The electric potential of the charged screen is brought down (if the charge stored on it is positive) in steps or the electric potential of the charged screen is increased (if the charge stored on it is negative) stepwise. The rotor-shaft assembly can undergo rotational motion in only one direction. During operation a finite amount of charge gets collected on the concerned sector which is dependent on its angle from the horizontal and the region in which it lies during the rotor motion. Similarly, charge may be drawn from belt drive devices. It is conceivable that a bank of similar generators could be connected in series or in parallel increasing the effective power generated or the torque. While the present invention has been described herein with reference to a specific embodiment thereof, it is contemplated that the present invention is not limited thereby and various changes and modifications may be made therein for those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. Dated this 16th day of July 2004

Full Text

FORM - 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 OF 1970)
PROVISIONAL
Specification
(Section-10, rule 13)
A NOVEL POWER SOURCE
PHADKE SUJAY ABHAY
of Z-4-7/8 Himali Society, Near Deenanath Hospital, Erandavane,
Pune 411 004, Maharashtra, India
an Indian National

16-7-2004
THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION DESCRIBES THE NATURE OF THIS INVENTION:-

16 JUL 2004

This invention relates to a novel power source.
What is envisaged in this invention is a device which converts energy stored in form of static electricity into usable energy.
Static electricity is generated in nature due to climatic effects. Static electricity is generated in nature due to the kind of weather and climate our small planet has. This form of electricity is found in form of stored charge in the clouds. It is also generated by friction between different materials like plastics, nylons, glass, wool etc. and also on computer and T.V. screens (Cathode Ray Tube Screens).
However hitherto, this form of electricity is almost always perceived as a nuisance. Many devices have been invented to either prevent accumulation of charge or to discharge the accumulated charge on an object as quickly as possible. This is so because static electricity can lead to sparking which poses a fire hazard.
However hitherto, this form of electricity gets wasted and cannot be harnessed. It is a known property of static electricity that this electricity may be stored on capacitors (or storage objects). The device in accordance with this invention enables the conversion of such stored static charge into useful rotor torque with the help of a rotor-shaft assembly.
The device in accordance with this invention consists of two major parts viz. the charged surface and the rotor-stator as the generator device assembly. In a basic embodiment of this invention the charged surface typically consists of a concave aluminium screen covered with chart

paper from all sides. The chart paper prevents discharging of stored charge through atmospheric air. A wire is taken out from this screen and its other end is connected to the static electricity source through a charge collector.
The rotor has a non-metallic disc and shaft and metallic sectors are mounted on the disc. At any given instance few sectors are earthed. These sectors being in the electric field of the screen a charge opposite to that on the screen is induced on them. Thus an electrostatic force acts on the sectors in turn creating a torque on the rotor. The charge on these sectors gets neutralised when the rotor rotates through a certain angle and the sectors come in contact with or in the close proximity of the screen. This process is continuous and an output torque and an output current are obtained.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS:
Fig 1 is the block diagram of the generator device in accordance with
this;
Fig 2 shows the isometric view of the stator-rotor of the generator device
assembly;
Fig 3 shows the side view of the stator-rotor of the generator device
assembly;
Figure 4 shows an end view of the rotor of the generator device and
figure 4a and 4b the sectional views along lines X in figure 4; and
Figure 5 shows the details of a screen which can be used for the generator
device in accordance with this invention .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:

The generator device in accordance with this invention consists of two major parts viz. the charged surface and the rotor-stator assembly. In accordance with one embodiment of this invention, the charged surface consists of a concave aluminium screen covered with chart paper from all sides. The chart paper prevents discharging of stored charge through atmospheric air. Other materials for screen construction can be envisaged such as different types of paper or natural or synthetic polymeric material or a textile or other fibrous material. A wire is taken out from this screen and its other end is connected to the static electricity source. Here in this device to an aluminium foil grid stuck to a T.V. screen.
The rotor consists of a disc (7) typically made of a light weight material such as polystyrene is mounted on the hollow plastic shaft (2). Odd number of U shaped aluminium foil sectors (1) are radially fixed on the disc such that they are evenly spaced apart at equal angles to each other. The stator has two stands (3) with simple journal bearings (8) on both of them. The shaft is mounted on these bearings. The bearings are such that the axial movement of the shaft is restricted. One of the stands has two aluminium strips connected to it such that one of the strips (strip 1 (5)) lies in the vertical plane with its length along the horizontal and is perpendicular to the rotor axis. The other strip (strip 2 (6)) also lies in a vertical plane but at 120 degrees angle to the strip 1 with respect to the axis of rotor. Two or three brush type contactors made of aluminium foil called filaments (4) are connected to the strip 2 where as one filament is connected to the strip 1. The rotor is mounted on the stator. The stator is placed in front of the screen with strip1 facing towards it. Strip1 is connected to the screen with the help of a wire while strip 2 is earthed.

When the charge source is turned on, the charge from it is drawn on to the screen through the wire. For convenience let us assume that the source delivers a negative charge. After certain time the source is shut off when a requisite amount of charge gets collected on the screen. Now the stator-rotor assembly is brought near the screen as mentioned above. The earth to brush & screen to brush connections are then made.
Now the sectors of the rotor, which are in contact with strip 2 (through filaments) connected to earth get charged such that due to the electric field of the screen the charge on them is opposite in sign with respect to the charge present on the screen. Thus an electrostatic force acts on these sectors, which in turn produces a torque on the rotor making it rotate.
After the rotor rotates through a certain angle, these oppositely charged sectors lose contact with strip 2 and come into contact with the strip 1 (through filament) and the charge on them gets neutralized. Thus some amount of charge gets removed from the screen. Also the sector in contact with strip 1 now gets a charge similar to that on the screen and is now repelled from screen, thus giving a push to the rotor again. At this same instant few sectors that were previously not in contact with either strip get earthed through strip 2.
And the above procedure repeats. Thus the rotor is rotated with the help of a static charge stored on the screen continuously.
The above process continues until the torque exerted by the screen on the rotor equals the opposing friction torque exerted on the rotor shaft at the bearings. Then the rotor stops.

ROTOR ASSEMBLY:
SECTORS (metallic sectors):
The sector is U shaped. The top surface is flat while the side surfaces which are attached to the opposite sides of the rotor hub are thick enough to support the top surface without buckling. The sectors are made from a metal which is a good conductor of electricity like Aluminium because Aluminium is comparatively cheap, malleable, light in weight, non corrosive and also an excellent conductor. The top surface of the sector has a large surface area so that a large amount of charge can be induced on it. The sector is given a U shape so that the electric field lines given out by the charge stored on the screen are incident on a sector and not obstructed by the sector before it. The sector is made of a thin metal sheet in order to reduce its weight and rotational inertia. The number of sectors on the rotor should be as large as possible and they are evenly spaced apart in order to reduce the tendency of the torque to fluctuate.
There are odd numbers of sectors in order to enable self starting of the rotor. The sectors are kept spaced apart from each other in order to prevent discharging of the charge stored on the screen. Generally the dielectric present between the consecutive sectors is air. Vacuum as a dielectric would be preferred, however producing vacuum in the space around the whole as the generator device assembly would be difficult, uneconomical and it would also induce problems related to maintenance and servicing. Introducing a different dielectric like plastic, wood etc. between the sectors would surely reduce the tendency of discharging and hence it would enable us to increase the number of sectors on the rotor, however it would also increase the rotational inertia of the system, which

is undesirable. Hence such a dielectric is not used. Also the sector is stiff and sturdy and does not bend or buckle.
The arrangement of the sectors on the rotor is such that the length of the top flat surface of the sector should be parallel to the rotor shaft axis. The side surfaces of the sector are coplanar with the side surfaces of the central hub i.e. the length of the top flat surface of the sector should almost equal (considering side allowances) to the length of the central hub. If the length of the top surface is more then the side surfaces of the sector would protrude causing hindrance to the rotor motion by getting locked with the filaments (brush pin commutator arrangement). If the length of the top flat surface is smaller than the length of the hub then the commutator arrangement would not be effective and also the surface area of the sector top surface would reduce (this is due to the fact that the width of the top surface cannot be increased after a certain limit as the consecutive sectors would then come closer to each other and discharging phenomenon would occur). The median plane of the sector lying parallel to the length of the top surface and dividing the sector into halves always passes through the axis of the rotor shaft.
The edges of the side surfaces of the sectors are curved into themselves so that a smoother contact with the filament (commutator brush pins) occurs.
The sectors are fastened to the central hub by means of bolts or glue fasteners.
THE CENTRAL HUB:

The central hub is mounted in the rotor shaft and it carries the sectors on it. It is either keyed to the shaft or it is mounted on it using an interference fit.
The central hub is made up of a light dielectric material which is sturdy and is capable of handling torsional shear and bending stresses. The central hub is made up of a dielectric material so that there is no electric contact between the sectors in order to form sectors. The central hub is circular or of a regular polygon with odd number of sides equal to the number of sectors in cross section to facilitate attachment of the sectors at equal included angles (evenly spaced) and in order to reduce rotational inertia. The length of the central is marginally smaller than the length of the top surface of the sector because the thickness of the aluminium sheet used to make the sector has to be taken into consideration.
The diameter of the central hub is made greater than certain critical diameter which depends on the number and the dimensions of the sectors used. This is done in order to prevent the sectors from coming closer and hence preventing discharging phenomenon. However at the same time the diameter of the central hub is not made very large (and certainly not greater than the minimum distance between top surfaces of opposite sectors). The light weight and small diameter of the central hub reduce the rotational inertia of the rotor. The light weight of the central hub reduces bending stresses on the rotor shaft.
Hence the central hub is made from materials like expandable polystyrene, cork, plastics etc.

ROTOR SHAFT:
The central hub is mounted on the rotor shaft. The shaft is made from a light but strong non conducting material such as a polymeric material. It is made from a non conducting material in order to prevent any accidental earthing of the rotor and hence idle sectors. The shaft is strong enough to handle the bending stresses acting on it due to weight of the rotor and the electrostatic forces acting on the rotor without undergoing much deflection (bending). Deflection in shaft is kept minimal since if the shaft bends, the bearings in which the shaft rests may get damaged. One end of the shaft is held in bearings while the other end may be connected to a generator or any other output device which requires shaft work. The light weight of the shaft reduces its rotational inertia.
The axial movement of the shaft is prevented by the bearings. Thus the shaft can undergo only rotational motion.
Thus the overall rotational inertia of the whole rotor assembly is kept as low as possible. This is done so that the starting torque required by the rotor to overcome static frictional force reduces and the device starts easily. Moreover the frictional force acting on the generator device also reduces as the weight of the whole assembly is reduced and hence the normal reaction acting on the assembly is also reduced.
STATOR ASSEMBLY:
STRIP 1:
The strip1 is made from aluminum or any other malleable, good
conductor. Generally aluminum is preferred due to the above stated
reasons.

The strip 1 is made from rectangular aluminum sheet and it lies in a vertical plane with its length parallel to the horizontal such that its longitudinal centre line lies just above and perpendicular to the shaft axis. This strip is connected to the charged metallic screen through a standard insulated wire. This strip also carries a filament (single brush pin) to neutralize the charge on the incoming sector.
The width of this strip is kept minimum so that the discharging of the screen does not take place through it and strip 2 to the earth. The perpendicular distance between this strip and the nearest sector is kept greater than the discharging distance for obvious reasons. The strip 1 is fixed to the stand on which the shaft bearing also lies.
STRIP 2:
The strip 2 is made of the same material as that of the strip 1. Both the strips lie in the same vertical plane however there is a basic geometric and positioning difference between the two strips.
The strip 2 lies vertically above the horizontal transverse line passing through shaft axis at its bearing on the stand. This strip lies opposite to the strip 1 and it forms an included angle of about 100 degrees on the shaft from the horizontal. This strip is earthed with the help of a standard insulated wire.
An angular separation is kept between strip 2 and strip 1 so that discharging does not take place.

This strip carries filaments (commutator brush pins) in order to connect incoming sectors to the earth. The number of filaments is kept as high as possible. However there is always a limit to the number of filaments connected to this strip, which depends upon the size of the rotor as the generator device assembly and the number of sectors present on the rotor. If too many filaments are used they might entangle into each other causing damage to both the rotor and the stator assembly.
The stand on which both the strips and the bearing are present is made from a sturdy non conducting material in order to prevent any accidental earthing of the entire rotor assembly.
FILAMENTS:
The filaments are present on both the strips. The filaments are brush pin
like objects used in a commutator arrangement.
A single filament is a long, narrow strip made from aluminium foil. Since the starting torque delivered to the rotor is low standard brush pin arrangement, which produces considerable amount of friction, is not advisable to use. Hence filaments are formed as brush pin assemblies.
Since narrow aluminium strip is used, the filament possesses elasticity in bending. The rotor is mounted such that the filaments possess initial deflection (bending) in the direction of rotation of the rotor. This arrangement produces a elastic force in the filament which tries to recover the filament to its original shape. Since the filament is prevented from recovering to its original shape, the elastic force helps in keeping a constant contact between the filaments and the rotor sectors.

The filament is made up of aluminium since it is very malleable and can be drawn into thin foils. It is also light and easily machineable and comparatively cheap in cost, better in strength and lighter as compared to other good conductors like silver, gold, copper, platinum etc.
The filaments are attached to the respective strips by using either adhesives or by using bolts.
SCREEN:
The screen is a single plate storage capacitor used to store the charge received from the charge source. It is made from a metallic sheet. Aluminium is preferred for the reasons mentioned above. Since the charge stored on the screen gets dissipated into the air easily due to the moisture present in the atmosphere, the screen is covered with a dielectric material such as paper or plastic.
Placing the whole screen-rotor-stator assembly in vacuum would be the best option instead of using a dielectric. However creating a vacuum in the control space is avoided. Also paper or plastic is used as a dielectric as they are cheap, easily available, non corrosive and light in weight.
The shape of the screen is that of a portion (arc) of a cylinder or an ogive (part of a sphere). The stator-rotor assembly is kept on the concave side of the screen at a sufficient distance from it in order to prevent it from discharging. The arrangement is such that the axis of the rotor shaft is nearer to the base of the screen in vertical separation than the median line of the screen in vertical separation.

The reason for having a curved geometry for the screen is that, on its concave side, the electric field lines converge (similar to the phenomenon of convergence of light when it is reflected from a lens).
Two standard insulated wires are taken out of the screen. One wire is connected to the strip 1 of the stator while the other wire is connected to the charge collector.
The above assembly is described for a horizontal shaft rotor. A vertical shaft or an inclined shaft assembly is also possible. To obtain the same we merely require to incline the whole assembly including the stand to the required angle and by selecting a suitable bearing and placing it in front of the screen in a suitable manner at that angle by manipulating the arrangement at that angle from the one described in the above section for a horizontal shaft rotor.
THE CHARGE COLLECTOR:
The charge collector consists of a gauge made of aluminium strips or wires. It is either placed on or moved over the surface from which charge is to be collected. The gauge is used since it increases the effective surface area of the collector and hence it enables the collector to collect more charge at a time from the charge source (especially a non conducting surface such as a T.V. screen etc.).
A metallic roller or a metallic brush (both made of good conductors) may also be used in place of the gauge in case the charge on the source is localised at various places or the source itself is small in size.

APPLICATIONS:
1) Space Exploration:
The space exploration technology currently uses batteries and solar cells to power their spacecrafts. However the major limitation of this source of electricity is that it has limited life span. This is so because batteries work on the basis of various chemical reactions occurring within them. There are various electrodes and electrolytes present inside a standard battery. With time and usage, the electrolytes corrode the electrodes and the battery casing. Moreover the strength of electrolytes also decreases with usage of the battery. Thus a pre charged battery as a source of electricity has its own limitations in service quality and life.
The second problem the instruments using batteries may face is that the batteries tend to be bulky and heavy. Thus to transport such an instrument from earth to outer space will require more energy and payload capacity.
Thirdly, if a battery is out of usage for a long time and if it is not stored under proper conditions, it "leaks" causing damage to the instruments surrounding it. The leakage occurs due to the corrosion of the outer wall of the battery by the electrolyte stored inside.
However there is a solution to the above problems. Consider that instead of using a battery, if these space crafts were to use charged capacitors or charged surfaces, it would definitely eliminate all the above problems. To convert and use the energy stored in these charged surfaces as and when needed would only require a Static Electricity Motor (THE GENERATOR DEVICE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS INVENTION) coupled to a generator.

This can be explained as follows:
A curved plate capacitor of high capacitance is charged to a very high potential using a rectified AC or a DC source. The plates are then separated mechanically. Thus two oppositely charged surfaces are obtained. The surfaces are already covered in a dielectric material which prevents charge leakage from the surfaces to the surroundings. These plates are used instead of a battery in a space craft.
One of the plates is used as a source while the other is used as a sink. The strip 1 of the assembly is connected to the source plate while the strip 2 is connected to the sink plate. The two plates are kept far away from each other. The charges on both the plates neutralise each other through the the generator in accordance with this invention in turn giving a torque output at the shaft. The shaft is then connected to a generator.
In the above arrangement, since charge stored on metallic capacitor plates is used, the use of chemical electrolytes is totally eliminated. If the capacitor plates are stored in vacuum condition, the discharge of charge stored on the plates does not occur. Thus the charge can be stored on the plates for an infinitely long time. Thus it is seen that unlike a battery, the generator arrangement using charged plates has an infinite life.
Secondly, since the capacitor plates are made from a thin foil or sheet of a light metal like aluminium, the weight and the space occupied by the above arrangement is very less as compared to a battery. Thus using a the generator in accordance with this invention will not only reduce the total

energy of launching the equipment but also cut down on the total project cost as the materials used are readily available and cheap.
Thirdly, since the use of electrolytes is totally eliminated in the device in accordance with this invention there is no chance of a "leak" occurring since the stored charge is confined by the covering dielectric and the vacuum condition.
The solar panels present on the space craft are used to charge the capacitor plates when they are fully discharged.
The capacitor described above having curved the generator device semi cylindrical plates is charged to a high potential, the charging circuit is disconnected and the plates are separated from each other mechanically in such a way that the amount of charge stored on them at the end of charging period is retained.
One of the plates is used as the screen or the source plate. The other plate plays the role of earth or sink in the the genertor in accordance with this invention. The two plates are placed far away from each so that in the new arrangement the two plates do not act like a single charged capacitor.
The rotor-stator assembly is placed in front of the screen plate such that it lies on its concave side. The other plate is placed such that its electric field does not interfere with the rotor-stator arrangement. The strip 1 is connected to the screen plate while the strip 2 is connected to the sink plate through a logic controlled switch operated by the chip timer battery.

The above arrangement is placed inside a vacuum container. The vacuum inside the container prevents the charged plates from discharging into the surroundings. The shaft is connected to a generator. The wires from the generator are taken out of the vacuum container so that the electrical output is available outside the container. The output may be AC or DC depending upon the type of generator used (i.e. AC or DC generator). The logic/ computer chip present onboard the space craft operates the switch as per the programme fed to it. This enables the craft to utilise the energy source as and when required.
These charged plates act as a central energy source to drive all the operations of the space craft or many such small arrangements are used at various places on the space craft such that they individually provide the energy required for the specific functions of that part of the space vehicle in which they are mounted. The arrangement also can be used to provide power to the space craft computers.
Thus the energy stored in form of static electricity on charged plates can effectively replace the conventional battery used onboard the space crafts.
2) Lightening-electricity generator:
Majority of the electric energy generated around the world today is by using conventional sources of energy such as fossil fuels, coal, and natural gas. Electricity is also generated on a vast scale by using nuclear fuels as a source in countries like France and USA. However these forms of fuels are non renewable and hence using them to generate electricity merely means to exhaust them in the near future. Moreover use of these forms of energy sources lead to environmental hazards like air pollution, Global warming, and harmful radioactivity in the vicinity of the area

where the wasted fuel rods are dumped. Thus it is a need of time to use renewable recourses to generate vital electric energy in order to save non¬renewable energy sources and to protect the environment for the future generations. This device makes an attempt to make the use of a renewable source of static electricity to convert it into useful electric energy in a clean and environment friendly way.
Static electricity is generated in nature due to the climatic effects which the atmosphere of our planet undergoes. This form of electricity is found in form of stored charge in the clouds. Static electricity is also generated in the upper atmosphere near the poles during the period of aurora activity. Thus this electricity may be stored by some means and further converted into useful current electricity.
A standard lightening conductor or a lightening arrestor is erected in a place which has a high probability of being struck by lightening. The principal of working of such an equipment is that when there is a charged cloud in the vicinity of the structure to be protected, the lightening arrestor "seeps" charge (of a sign opposite to that of the sign of charge present in the cloud) from earth into the atmosphere.
Thus instead of a lightening bolt striking the structure due to the generated potential difference between the cloud and the structure, the lightening gets effectively "diffused" and it does not "strike" the structure.
The amount of charge discharged into the atmosphere depends upon the amount of charge present in the cloud and the potential of the charge stored in the cloud.

In a lightening-electricity generator (L-EG) a small gas filled floating balloon is used as a charge storage device. The balloon is coated with a paint containing metallic particles of metals like aluminium. This is done because the aluminium particles present in the paint store charge on them. Thus the balloon itself acts as the charged screen.
The strip 1 is connected to the balloon through a flexible conducting wire. The strip 2 is connected to the lightening arrestor. The rotor- stator as the generator device assembly of the L-EG is placed inside an enclosure which has been vacuumed inside. The flexible conducting wire connected to strip 1 is taken out from this enclosure through an airtight bore.
The flexible conducting wire is either made of single strand of copper or silk or wet rope impregnated with salts.
There is a manual switch between the strip 2 and lightening arrestor which is placed outside the enclosure. The connection between switch and strip 2 is made by a part of strip 2 protruding out of the enclosure through an air tight seal.
The switch is turned on when there are charged thunder clouds in the proximity of the L-EG. A charge of sign, which is same as that present in the cloud, is accumulated on the balloon. Thus the balloon now acts like the charged screen. The lightening arrester and strip 2 form the earthed portion of the circuit. The rotor of in the L-EG thus rotates producing an output torque. The shaft is brought out of the enclosure through a seal and it is then connected to a generator present on an adjacent non metallic non conducting column. Thus the output of the generator can be used for various applications such as lighting, heating, cooling, cooking etc.

3) Generation of useful energy from unwanted static electricity generated in conveyors:
Conveyors are used in many industries for transporting raw materials, finished products etc in various industries such as paper manufacturing, automobile etc. from one place to another over very large distances. Conveyors used in airports are used to transport baggage to and from an airplane. These machines are also used in mining industry to transport ore or refined mineral/metal.
However the basic hazard which the conveyor machinery faces during its operation is the generation of unwanted static charge. The material from which the conveyor belt is made is generally from plastic or paper derivative. These materials do not conduct electricity.
During the operation of the conveyor the belt may slip over"the roller by small a amount. Also there is relative motion between various components and the belt during operation. A frictional force acts between the belts and the rollers/components which lead to accumulation of static charge on the belt. Moreover static charge generation also takes place on the belt during loading and unloading of the transported material.
This accumulated static charge may lead to sparking due to electrostatic discharge (ESD). The ESD poses a major fire hazard in mining industries where they mine materials like coal. It may also pose a fire hazard in industries like paper and textile mills.
Current methods of preventing and controlling static electricity in such places is based upon the principle of collecting the generated charge

using a brush arrangement and discharging it to earth through an appropriate wire.
The device comes in handy at such places, by converting this unwanted static electricity into usable energy. The basic principle here is that the generated charge is collected on a concave metallic screen covered by a dielectric instead of being directly earthed. This is done by directly connecting the collector brushes on the conveyor machinery to the screen instead of connecting them to earth.
The strip 1 is connected to the screen while the strip 2 is connected to the earth through a manual or an automatic switch. The shaft is connected to an appropriate generator (according the application). The electricity generated by the generator is stored in a battery or it is directly used as per the requirement.
Whenever an appropriate amount of charge gets collected on the screen, the switch is turned ON (either manually or by automatic control). Thus the device in accordance with this invention starts operating in turn generating usable energy.
4) Generation of usable energy from static electricity found in crude oil tankers:
Crude oil tankers are designed to transport from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand tones of crude oil from the oil producing rigs to the refineries. These oil tankers contain many sub chambers within them. Thus the crude oil tankers do not carry all the cargo in one large single chamber but in many small chambers. This is done to prevent the hazard due to oil leakage.

However the same configuration also leads to a hazard of fire due to static electricity.
When the crude oil in a chamber is pumped out, a large amount of charge gets collected on the walls of the chamber. Since the ship hull is made out of metal, the chamber acts like a storage capacitor.
This accumulation of charge on various chambers causes sparking. Since the chambers still contain combustible residual gases left out by the crude oil even afte,r it is pumped out, an explosion occurs. Thus the ship poses fire hazard due to pollution.
This hazardous static charge accumulated on the chambers during pumping out of crude oil can be utilized to generate useful energy by using device.
Many charge absorbing probes are placed on the individual chambers. These probes are then connected to a single concave metallic screen covered by a dielectric, which is either placed on the deck or the hold. The strip 1 is connected to the screen while the strip 2 is made to contact the sea water outside through an appropriate wire having a mechanically operated or automatic switch.
When the switch is turned ON, the generator operates. The shaft is connected to an appropriate generator which generates electric current. The generator output is used to charge the ship"s batteries through an appropriate circuit. The arrangement is also applied to tankers and storage vessels storing various liquids.

5) Generation of usable energy from static electricity in electronics industries:
The modern day electronics contain many intricate circuits, diodes, gates etc. at a microscopic level. These instruments are designed to handle currents of the order of a few micro amperes. However while manufacturing such electronic instruments, static charge is generated. This static charge gets stored on these instruments and it is responsible for either damaging the instruments due to over voltage or for interfering in their normal functioning. Thus if the stored charge is not removed then the product turn out to be defective. It is estimated that global losses in the electronics industry due to static electricity discharge are in excess of $45 Billion each year.
This potentially detrimental form of electricity can be effectively converted into a friendly, useful form of energy using the the generator device assembly. This can be done by taking out charge collecting probes from places on the manufacturing line where static electricity is generated or detected. These probes are connected to a single concave metallic screen covered in a dielectric, which is placed at a sufficient distance from the production line.
The strip 1 is connected to this screen, while the strip 2 is connected to the earth through a manually operated or automatic switch.
An electric field detecting transducer detects the intensity of electric field at a certain distance from the screen. When this value exceeds the set point value, the switch is turned ON. The grnerator then starts operating. The shaft is coupled to a generator which gives a usable output current.

6) Generation of usable energy from static charge formed in printing presses:
In a printing press, there spools of paper are present which pass around various rollers and surfaces. This action produces rubbing (friction), which leads to the generation and accumulation of charge on the paper reel and the surfaces on which it rubs. As a result of accumulation of charge an ESD might occur which leads to fire hazard.
Aside from the hygroscopic paper used in the printing process, there is the static electricity problem. Solvent fires are started in the ink wells of presses when static discharges ignite the vapors. A commercial newspaper press can develop up to 2,000,000 volts of electricity at the roll as paper is feeding off. This puts extra tension on the web as it moves through the press.
To prevent fire in printing presses, a discharging arrangement is made which includes brushes. These brushes collect the charge and discharge it to earth. Thus the collected charge is discharged to the earth without utilizing the energy associated with it.
The energy is effectively utilized by providing charge collecting probes or by directly connecting the collector brushes on the printing machinery to the concave metallic screen instead of connecting them to earth.
The strip 1 is connected to the screen while the strip 2 is connected to the earth through a manual or an automatic switch. The shaft is connected to an appropriate generator (according the application). The electricity generated by the generator is stored in a battery or it is directly used as per the requirement.

7) Generation of usable energy from static electricity generated in
textile industry:
The textile industries manufacturing synthetic fabrics, large amount of static electricity is generated due to rubbing of the fabric against surfaces and rollers. The generated charge is generally discharged into the earth using brush collectors or other types of ESD preventing instruments.
This static charge can be used to generate useful energy by following the same procedure as given above in the section concerned with printing presses.
8) Generation of useful energy from static electricity generated on the
screens of the instruments using CRO:
When an instrument like a T.V., computer screen etc. having a CRO is turned ON or shut OFF, a static charge gets collected on its screen. Under normal course, this charge gets automatically discharged into the ambient air. Thus the energy present in this static charge is not utilized under normal circumstances.
However we can collect this static charge on a concave metallic screen (covered by a dielectric) using a hand held charge collector, which uses either a metallic mesh or a small metallic roller connected to a wire through a commutator.
The strip 1 is connected to the screen while the strip 2 to the earth through a switch. The shaft is connected to a generator of suitable size and type.

When the switch is turned ON, the device operates and the generator gives an electric output. This output current can either be used directly to operate a circuit or it can be used to recharge batteries.
9) Generating useful energy from static charge collected on objects like automobile bodies, airplanes, door knobs etc.:
Static electricity is generated on such objects due to friction. This electricity is collected on a concave metallic screen from such objects with the help charge collectors and it is fed to the circuit as described above. The generator generates output current which can either be directly used or used to recharge batteries.
Thus in accordance with this invention there is provided a device which converts the energy in form of static electricity into useful form of energy such as mechanical energy, electrical energy, heat energy etc. The device gives output in form of shaft torque. The output current through the earth wire is connected to strip 2 is in the form of pulsating DC. The period i.e. the time interval between two successive pulses of the DC in the earth wire goes on increasing as the charge on the screen decreases. The rpm of the shaft progressively reduces as the device operates. The output torque progressively reduces with operation. The staring torque required for rotating the rotor-shaft as the generator device assembly is larger than the minium torque required for keeping it in motion while in operation. The charge on the (storage capacitor) screen is reduced to a certain minimum value in steps. The electric potential of the charged screen is brought down (if the charge stored on it is positive) in steps or the electric potential of the charged screen is increased (if the charge stored on it is negative) stepwise. The rotor-shaft assembly can undergo rotational motion in only one direction. During operation a finite amount of charge

gets collected on the concerned sector which is dependent on its angle from the horizontal and the region in which it lies during the rotor motion.
Similarly, charge may be drawn from belt drive devices.
It is conceivable that a bank of similar generators could be connected in series or in parallel increasing the effective power generated or the torque.
While the present invention has been described herein with reference to a specific embodiment thereof, it is contemplated that the present invention is not limited thereby and various changes and modifications may be made therein for those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

Dated this 16th day of July 2004

Documents:

762-MUM-2004-ABSTRACT(15-7-2005).pdf

762-MUM-2004-ABSTRACT(AMENDED)-(24-4-2007).pdf

762-MUM-2004-ABSTRACT(GRANTED)-(7-11-2007).pdf

762-mum-2004-cancelled pages(16-7-2004).pdf

762-MUM-2004-CLAIMS(15-7-2005).pdf

762-MUM-2004-CLAIMS(GRANTED)-(7-11-2007).pdf

762-mum-2004-correspondence(24-4-2007).pdf

762-mum-2004-correspondence(ipo)-(11-4-2007).pdf

762-MUM-2004-CORRESPONDENCE(IPO)-(26-12-2007).pdf

762-MUM-2004-DESCRIPTION(COMPLETE)-(15-7-2005).pdf

762-MUM-2004-DESCRIPTION(GRANTED)-(7-11-2007).pdf

762-MUM-2004-DESCRIPTION(PROVISIONAL)-(16-7-2004).pdf

762-MUM-2004-DRAWING(15-7-2005).pdf

762-mum-2004-drawing(16-7-2004).pdf

762-MUM-2004-DRAWING(GRANTED)-(7-11-2007).pdf

762-mum-2004-form 1(16-7-2004).pdf

762-mum-2004-form 18(13-12-2006).pdf

762-MUM-2004-FORM 2(COMPLETE)-(15-7-2005).pdf

762-mum-2004-form 2(granted)-(16-7-2004).doc

762-mum-2004-form 2(granted)-(16-7-2004).pdf

762-MUM-2004-FORM 2(GRANTED)-(7-11-2007).pdf

762-MUM-2004-FORM 2(PROVISIONAL)-(16-7-2004).pdf

762-MUM-2004-FORM 2(TITLE PAGE)-(COMPLETE)-(15-7-2005).pdf

762-MUM-2004-FORM 2(TITLE PAGE)-(GRANTED)-(7-11-2007).pdf

762-MUM-2004-FORM 2(TITLE PAGE)-(PROVISIONAL)-(16-7-2004).pdf

762-mum-2004-form 26(16-7-2004).pdf

762-mum-2004-form 3(16-7-2004).pdf

762-mum-2004-form 5(15-7-2005).pdf

762-MUM-2004-SPECIFICATION(AMENDED)-(24-4-2007).pdf

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Patent Number

211679

Indian Patent Application Number

762/MUM/2004

PG Journal Number

04/2008

Publication Date

25-Jan-2008

Grant Date

07-Nov-2007

Date of Filing

16-Jul-2004

Name of Patentee

PHADKE SUJAY ABHAY

Applicant Address

Z-4-7/8 HIMALI SOCIETY, NEAR DEENANATH HOSPITAL, ERANDAVANE, PUNE - 411 004,

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	PHADKE SUJAY ABHAY	Z-4-7/8 HIMALI SOCIETY, NEAR DEENANATH HOSPITAL, ERANDAVANE, PUNE - 411 004,

PCT International Classification Number

G06F 17/00, G06F 9/40

PCT International Application Number

N/A

PCT International Filing date

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1			NA