US-20260128599-A1 - HYPERCAPACITOR APPARATUS FOR STORING AND PROVIDING ENERGY

US20260128599A1US 20260128599 A1US20260128599 A1US 20260128599A1US-20260128599-A1

Abstract

A hypercapacitor energy storage system or device facilitates fast charging, stable energy retention, high energy to weight storage and the like. The hypercapacitor comprises an ultracapacitor in electrical connection with an energy retainer which may comprise a battery, a battery field, a standard capacitor and/or the like. The electrical connection between the ultracapacitor and energy retainer may stabilize the energy retention of the hypercapacitor and provide for long-term energy storage and prevent self-discharge. The hypercapacitor may be electrically couplable to an energy source such as the utility grid via a low voltage outlet (e.g., 110V or 220V) or other charging system and may undergo fast charging. The hypercapacitor may be electrically couplable to and/or integrated with various systems or devices requiring energy storage and/or usage and may provide energy thereto.

Inventors

Anthony Macaluso

Assignees

Anthony Macaluso

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251103

Claims (20)

1 . (canceled)
2 . An energy storage apparatus, comprising: a battery configured to electrically connect with, and supply energy to, a power device; and a capacitor electrically connected to the battery via an output diode biased toward the battery, the capacitor configured to electrically connect with a plurality of energy sources via an input diode biased toward the capacitor, the plurality of energy sources comprising an energy generation system and a utility grid external to the power device, the capacitor configured to receive energy from the utility grid via an electrical outlet, and the energy generation system configured to generate energy from mechanical movement of the power device, wherein the capacitor is configured to: receive a first inbound energy from the energy generation system of the power device via the input diode; receive a second inbound energy from the utility grid via the electrical outlet and the input diode; and convey an outbound energy, originating from the first inbound energy or the second inbound energy, to the battery, wherein the output diode is configured to inhibit the outbound energy from flowing from the battery to the capacitor, and wherein the battery is configured to: receive the outbound energy from the capacitor based on at least a voltage of the battery falling below a threshold; and resist receiving the outbound energy from the capacitor when the voltage of the battery exceeds the threshold.
3 . The energy storage apparatus of claim 2 further comprising a hypercapacitor housing, wherein the capacitor and the battery are disposed within the hypercapacitor housing.
4 . The energy storage apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the power device is a handheld power device, wherein the hypercapacitor housing is removably positioned at least partially within the handheld power device.
5 . The energy storage apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the electrical outlet is a 110V outlet or a 220V outlet.
6 . The energy storage apparatus of claim 2 further comprising a user-operable input electrically connected with the capacitor, wherein the capacitor is configured to convey the energy to the battery based on at least actuation of the user-operable input.
7 . An energy storage apparatus, comprising: a battery configured to power a handheld power device, the battery configured to at least partially fit within the handheld power device; a capacitor electrically connected with the battery via an output diode biased toward the battery, the capacitor is configured to at least partially fit within the handheld power device; and an input diode configured to electrically connect the capacitor with a plurality of energy sources, the input diode biased toward the capacitor, and the plurality of energy sources including a utility grid, wherein the capacitor is configured to: removably electrically couple to the utility grid external to the handheld power device via a 110 volt outlet or a 220 volt outlet; receive inbound energy from at least one of the plurality of energy sources via the input diode; and provide an outbound energy, originating from the inbound energy, to the battery, wherein the output diode is configured to prevent the outbound energy from flowing to the capacitor from the battery, and wherein the battery is configured to: receive the outbound energy from the capacitor when a voltage of the battery drops below a low threshold; and resist receiving the outbound energy from the capacitor when the voltage of the battery exceeds a high threshold.
8 . The energy storage apparatus of claim 7 further comprising a hypercapacitor housing, wherein the capacitor and the battery are disposed within the hypercapacitor housing.
9 . The energy storage apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the hypercapacitor housing is configured to removably integrate at least partially within a handle of the handheld power device.
10 . The energy storage apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of energy sources includes an energy generation system configured to generate energy from mechanical movement of the handheld power device.
11 . The energy storage apparatus of claim 7 further comprising a user-operable input electrically connected with the capacitor, wherein the capacitor is configured to convey the outbound energy to the battery based on at least actuation of the user-operable input.
12 . The energy storage apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the user-operable input is configured to inhibit the capacitor from providing the outbound energy to the battery based on at least actuation of the user-operable input.
13 . The energy storage apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the capacitor is configured to receive the inbound energy from at least one of the plurality of energy sources based on at least actuation of the user-operable input.
14 . An energy storage system, comprising: a battery; a capacitor electrically connected with the battery via an outbound diode biased toward the battery, the capacitor configured to: receive energy from an energy source; and provide the energy to the battery via the outbound diode, the battery configured to receive the energy from the capacitor based on at least a voltage of the battery surpassing a threshold, and the battery configured to convey the energy to an electrical load; and a user-operable input electrically connected with the capacitor, the capacitor configured to provide the energy to the battery based on at least an actuation status of the user-operable input.
15 . The energy storage system of claim 14 , wherein the energy source is a mobile generator electrically connected with the capacitor, and wherein the mobile generator is configured to generate an electrical output to provide to the capacitor as the energy.
16 . The energy storage system of claim 14 , wherein the user-operable input is configured to inhibit the capacitor from providing the energy to the battery based on at least the actuation status of the user-operable input.
17 . The energy storage system of claim 14 , wherein the capacitor is configured to receive the energy from the energy source based on at least the actuation status of the user-operable input.
18 . The energy storage system of claim 14 , wherein the user-operable input is configured to inhibit the capacitor from receiving the energy from the energy source based on at least the actuation status of the user-operable input.
19 . The energy storage system of claim 14 , wherein the energy source comprises a plurality of energy sources including a generator and a utility grid.
20 . The energy storage system of claim 14 , wherein the capacitor is electrically connected with the energy source via an inbound diode biased toward the capacitor.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/541,159, filed Dec. 2, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/332,088, filed May 27, 2021, which claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/164,474, filed Mar. 22, 2021. This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/141,518, filed Jan. 5, 2021, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/847,538, filed Apr. 13, 2020, which claims benefit of priority and is related to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/858,902 , filed Jun. 7, 2019, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/883,523, filed Aug. 6, 2019, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/967,406, filed Jan. 29, 2020. The disclosure of each of the aforementioned applications is incorporated herein in its entirety for all purposes. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates generally to systems and devices for receiving, storing and providing energy. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a hypercapacitor energy storage system or device that may provide energy charging, storing and providing capabilities that are superior to existing energy devices or systems such as batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors and the like. Additionally, the hypercapacitor can be integrated, for example, in a modular manner, with various devices or systems that require energy storage and/or usage and may provide energy thereto. BACKGROUND Existing energy storage devices, such as batteries and capacitors, can be useful for storing energy but may have many undesirable limitations. For example, batteries such as lithium ion batteries are resilient to self-discharge but often require long charge times (e.g., 12-14 hours). In contrast, capacitors, such as ultracapacitors and supercapacitors are capable of being charged quickly (i.e., faster than batteries) but may be much less resistant to self-discharge than batteries. For example, ultracapacitors/supercapacitors may lose as much as 10-20% of their charge per day due to self-discharge. Further, although ultracapacitors/supercapacitors may be capable of withstanding more charge-discharge cycles than batteries without losing operational functionality, ultracapacitors/supercapacitors may not be capable of storing as much energy per weight as batteries. In addition, batteries, such as lithium ion batteries present many environmental problems. For example, mining and disposing of lithium are both environmentally destructive. Furthermore, lithium ion batteries are capable of catching fire and burning at high temperatures for long amounts of time, which is also environmentally destructive and hazardous to human health. SUMMARY Given the limitations of current energy storage devices (e.g., batteries, capacitors) in use today, an energy storage device is needed that may integrate, or marry, the benefits of standard storage devices (e.g., storage capacitors, battery fields, or battery storage devices) and standard ultracapacitors/supercapacitors (e.g., can charge quickly, is stable or resilient to self-discharge or bleeding of voltage. Some benefits of such an energy storage system might be that it may include high or superior energy to weight ratio, it can fully charge from and is couplable to the utility grid via a standard 110 volt or 220 volt outlet, and/or can draw down voltage storage levels all the way down to 0 volts without jeopardizing degradation of performance or failure of the storage device) in a unitary device or package. The present disclosure provides for an energy storage system (e.g., the hypercapacitor described below) that can incorporate ultracapacitors/supercapacitors and storage devices (e.g., capacitors, batteries) in a single assembly (e.g., as a single integrated unit or package) to provide synergistic results, or results that are not achievable, or are substantially reduced, when provided or used separately. The hypercapacitor (e.g., electrically integrated ultracapacitor/supercapacitor and energy storage device or energy retainer) overcomes the problems discussed herein. For example, the hypercapacitor can be charged much faster than a standalone battery (discussed in greater detail below) while simultaneously being much more resilient to self-discharge (i.e., maintains stable voltage levels within minimal bleeding) than a standalone ultracapacitor/supercapacitor due to energy stabilization between the ultracapacitor/supercapacitor and energy storage device or energy retainer (e.g., storage capacitor(s), battery field, and/or battery storage device(s) discussed in greater detail below). Additionally, the hypercapacitor may be capable of storing much more energy per weight than standalone storage devices, battery fields, or ultracapacitors/supercapacitors. In some implementations, the hypercapacitor does not include batteries (such as lithium-ion batt