FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention proposes a passive engine mount with self-life indication and energy harvesting system for a vehicle.
BACKGROUND
5 The design of an automotive power plant mounting system is an essential part to improve the vehicle noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) characteristics. Powertrain mounting strategies also affect the vehicle ride and handling qualities. An automotive powertrain mounting system is subjected to unbalanced inertial forces and uneven firing forces that arise from the engine at various speeds, dynamic excitations from
0 the gear box, and road excitation. Recently, various research and development activities have been focusing on improving the engine mount system to achieve better vibration isolation and smooth vehicle movement by attenuating the energy generated out of the engine vibration and limiting vibrations transferring to the vehicle chassis. Active mounting systems are used in many of the premium vehicles to proactively
5 tune the mount system parameters using a closed loop control system. Such systems sometimes use piezoelectric elements in order to attenuate the vibration energy at all vehicle usage conditions. However, in the case of small commercial vehicles, the usage of passive mounts is common through which acceptable NVH levels are met. In such scenario of the small commercial vehicles, the vibration energy is higher
0 compared to that of premium segment vehicles in which active mounts are used.
The above description provides the primary function of the present day engine mount system under normal operating condition of the vehicle. In the case of the small commercial vehicles which use the passive engine mounts, the mounts are prone to degradation over a period of usage affecting the vibration levels of the vehicle. The 5 deterioration if not monitored and if the mounts are not replaced on time will lead to the mutilation of the major components of the powertrain and vehicle. The

piezoelectric elements are never used in the case of passive mounts as they are utilized only to tune the properties of the active mounts. However, these passive mounts when attached with the piezoelectric elements can function as a medium to convert the energy generated in mechanical form through the vibration of the 5 engine/vehicle into electrical energy which can be captured/stored and harvested continuously during the normal operation of the vehicle. Moreover, the same unit can turn the engine mounts into smart passive mounts which can indicate the real time deterioration of the mounts and can warn the users about the replacement cycle thereby eliminating the consequential damage to the powertrain and the vehicle parts.
) DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART
WO 2012115342 A2 titled "Emergency piezoelectric flickering tripod having excellent energy-harvesting capability, and method for operating same" discloses an emergency piezoelectric flickering tripod designed to utilize a LED as a light source and accomplishing harvesting energy by acquiring power that is to be supplied
5 to the light source from vibratory energy generated by vehicles travelling on a road. The emergency piezoelectric flickering tripod comprises three angles which are foldable by hinge coupling, the three angles being spread out in a triangular shape; a plurality of light-emitting devices attached onto the front surface of each of the three angles; a primary support coupled to the lower portion of one of the three angles so as
) to support the three angles; and a piezoelectric sheet disposed under the main support such as to generate electric energy using the vibratory energy produced by vehicles passing on a road so as to supply power to the plurality of light-emitting devices.
US 20140285067 Al titled "Piezoelectric energy harvesting device or actuator"
discloses an invention that concerns a piezoelectric energy harvesting device or
5 actuator consisting a piezoelectric material on a substrate. The piezoelectric material
is apportioned into a plurality of discrete regions to provide a plurality of
piezoelectric elements on the substrate which are electrically insulated from each

other. The elements are preferably disposed along the length of a cantilevered beam. The piezoelectric layer can be divided or further divided with an insulating gap extending in the longitudinal direction of the beam for energy harvesting in torsional mode(s) of beam vibration as well as bending modes.
5 The present invention proposes a novel approach of energy harvesting system in which piezoelectric elements are attached to the passive mounts of three wheelers for harvesting electrical power from the engine/vehicular vibrational (mechanical) energy. A real-time mount usage limit indicator is proposed as an additional feature based on the same energy harvesting system, wherein, beyond a set service limit of
) Mount deformation, the indicator will warn the vehicle user about the time to replace the mounts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The smart passive engine mount with energy harvesting and self-life indication system comprises, a passive engine mount assembly, a fastening bolt, a leveraging 5 metal strip/bracket, the Piezoelectric element/transducer (PET), a static converter circuit, storage device such as a battery, load/low power consumption devices such as LED lamps or a mobile charging socket etc., an electronic current limit sensor and switch, and a driver alert signal lamp attached to the dashboard of the vehicle.
The flow of power starting from the PET attached to passive mount assembly to the ) connected loading devices constitutes the 'Circuit A' which is the energy harvesting system circuit. As the durability of the passive rubber mounts is limited especially, in the case of softer ones attached to heavier diesel engines, their performance deteriorates over a period of usage. Thus affects, the NVH performance of the vehicle. As the vibration level increases, the mechanical strain of the PET electric 5 charge production increases which increase the overall energy harvested. However, the situation if not addressed at the appropriate time, the vibrational energy starts

affecting the powertrain and vehicle components itself in due course of the vehicle usage, leading to a consequential catastrophic mechanical failure. Therefore, a self-life indication system 'Circuit B' is added as a feature along with the energy harvesting system.
The 'Circuit B' comprises an electronic current limit sensor and switch which monitors the electric current output of a static converter at all operating conditions. The sensor is set to switch 'ON' the limit switch when the current level reaches a pre¬set threshold value arrived based on acceptable strain/deformation of the mount. This limit sensor/switch activates the driver alert signal lamp attached to the dashboard of the vehicle, indicating the period for replacement of the passive engine mounts to the driver.
A passive engine mount assembly with self-life indication and energy harvesting system for a vehicle having, a smart passive engine mount acting as an energy harvesting system, a fastening bolt used to attach said smart passive engine mount, a leveraging metal strip acting as a base for a piezoelectric material (PEM) and helps in increasing the effect of the strain produced on the piezoelectric material (PEM), piezoelectric element or transducers (PET) for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, a static converter circuit to convert the charge produced from the PET into suitable voltage level for charging a battery, a storage device to be charged through voltage produced from said PET, electrical loads comprising a circuit A, an electronic current limit sensor cum switch, a driver alert signal lamp on a dashboard. The piezoelectric element or transducers (PET) is fastened on said leveraging metal strip and said smart passive engine mount leveraging metal strip to convert mechanical energy into an electrical energy.

In this invention, the charged battery helps to supply power lor the electrical loads such as a LED lamp or a mobile charging socket. The electronic current limit sensor and switch monitor the current output of the static converter at all operating conditions. The sensor is set to switch 'ON' a limit switch when the current level reaches a pre-set limit value arrived based either on an acceptable strain or deformation of the mount. The electronic current limit sensor and switch activates the driver alert signal lamp attached to the dashboard of the vehicle. The amount of electrical charge produced by the PEM is directly proportional to its mechanical strain, and the static converter converts the charge produced from the PET into suitable voltage level to charge the battery facilitating power supply for the electrical loads. The system alerts a driver about the period for replacement of the said passive engine mounts. The self-life indication system could alert the user about degradation of each engine mount separately when multiple smart engine mounts are used. The current sensor signal is used for vehicle diagnostic systems to ascertain the state of health of the vehicle. The said system is applicable for both two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles using passive engine mounts and is equally applicable to a plurality of engines.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows the Smart passive mount assembly.
Figure 2 shows the Circuit A and Circuit B.
Figure 3 shows the full block diagram of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The smart passive engine mount consists of a regular passive engine mount assembly 1, a fastening bolt 2, and a leveraging metal strip/bracket 3, the piezoelectric element/transducer, as shown in Figure 1. This smart passive engine mount la, as

shown in Figure 3, when connected with a static converter circuit 5, storage device such as a battery 6, acts as energy harvesting system which shall power/supply charge to load/low power consumption devices such as a LED lamp 7 or a mobile charging socket, etc. Further, as shown in Figure 3, an electronic current limit sensor cum switch 8 and a driver alert signal lamp 9 is connected to enable the self-life indication feature through the use of this smart passive engine mount.
The system consists of two circuits, 'Circuit A' and 'Circuit B' as shown in Figure 2, wherein the 'Circuit A' is for the energy harvesting system and 'Circuit B' for the passive mount self-life indication system. Generally, in the case of small commercial vehicles, the powertrain is attached to the vehicle structure through passive rubber mounts which help in attenuating the engine induced vibration to an acceptable limit to the customers at the tactile/consumer touch points. However, the powertrain attaching points at which the passive mounts 1 are placed vibrates relatively at a very high rate even at a normal operating condition of the vehicle and at all application speeds. This gives a huge opportunity for harvesting, the otherwise wasted mechanical energy by converting them into electrical energy using Piezoelectric Transducers (PET) 4, by attaching them to the passive mounts 1 through the fastening bolt 2. The durability of the PETs is high and can easily withstand extreme vibration levels without any failure. The leveraging metal strip bracket 3 not only acts as the base for the Piezoelectric Transducers but helps in increasing the effect of the strain produced on the Piezoelectric Material (PEM). The amount of electrical charge produced by the PEM is directly proportional to its mechanical strain. The static converter 5 converts the charge produced from the PET 4 into suitable voltage level for charging a battery 6. Thus, the charged battery 6 helps to supply power for electrical loads 7. The flow of power starting from the PET 4 attached to passive mount assembly 1, to the connected loading devices 7 constitutes the 'Circuit A' which is the energy harvesting system circuit. As the durability of the passive rubber mounts is limited especially in the case of softer ones attached to heavier diesel

engines, their performance deteriorates over a period of usage, thus affecting the NVH performance of the vehicle. As the vibration level increases the mechanical strain of PET 4, the electric charge production increases which increase the overall energy harvested. However, the situation if not addressed at the appropriate time, the vibrational energy affects the powertrain and vehicle components itself in due course of the vehicle usage, leading to a consequential catastrophic mechanical failure. Therefore, a self-life indication system 'Circuit B' is added as a feature along with the energy harvesting system. The 'Circuit B' comprises of an electronic current limit sensor and switch 8 which monitors the current output of the static converter 5 at all operating conditions. The sensor is set to switch 'ON' the limit switch when the current level reaches a pre-set limit value arrived based on the acceptable strain/deformation of the mount. The limit sensor/switch 8 activates the driver alert signal lamp 9 attached to the dashboard 10 of the vehicle. Thus, the 'Circuit B' alerts the driver about the period for replacement of the passive engine mounts.
Although, the smart passive engine mount with self-life indication and energy harvesting system is proposed vehicles, is also applicable for two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles using passive engine mounts. The system is equally applicable for vehicles with petrol engines, diesel engines or LPG / CNG engines.
While an engine mount degradation alert system is proposed in the above description, the current sensor signal can also be used by vehicle diagnostic systems to ascertain state of health of the vehicle.
When multiple smart engine mounts are used, the self-life indication system could alert the user about a degradation of each engine mount separately.
These and other modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

WE CLAIM:
1. A passive engine mount assembly (1) with self-life indication and energy harvesting system for a vehicle having,
a smart passive engine mount (la) acting as an energy harvesting system,
a fastening bolt (2) used to attach said smart passive engine mount (la),
a leveraging metal strip (3) acting as a base for a piezoelectric material (PEM) and helps in increasing the effect of the strain produced on the piezoelectric material (PEM),
piezoelectric element or transducers (PET) (4) for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy,
a static converter circuit (5) to convert the charge produced from the PET (4) into suitable voltage level for charging a battery (6),
a storage device (6) to be charged through voltage produced from said PET (4),
electrical loads (7) comprising a circuit A,
an electronic current limit sensor cum switch (8),
a driver alert signal lamp (9) on a dashboard (10),
wherein:
the piezoelectric element or transducers (PET) (4) is fastened on said leveraging metal strip and said smart passive engine mount (la) leveraging metal strip (3) to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy.

2. The passive engine mount (1) assembly with self-life indication and energy harvesting system of Claim 1, wherein the charged battery (6) helps to supply power for the electrical loads (7) such as a LED lamp or a mobile charging socket.
3. The passive engine mount (1) assembly with self-life indication and energy harvesting system of Claim 1, wherein the electronic current limit sensor and switch (8) monitors the current output of the static converter (5) at all operating conditions.
4. The passive engine mount (1) assembly with self-life indication and energy harvesting system of Claim 1, wherein the sensor is set to switch 'ON' a limit switch when the current level reaches a pre-set limit value arrived based either on an acceptable strain or deformation of the mount.
5. The passive engine mount (1) assembly with self-life indication and energy harvesting system of Claim 1, wherein the electronic current limit sensor and switch (8) activates the driver alert signal lamp (9) attached to the dashboard (10) of the vehicle.
6. The passive engine mount (1) assembly with self-life indication and energy harvesting system of Claim 5, wherein amount of electrical charge produced by the PEM is directly proportional to its mechanical strain, and the static converter (5) converts the charge produced from the PET (4) into suitable voltage level to charge the battery (6) facilitating power supply for the electrical loads (7).
7. The passive engine mount (1) assembly with self-life indication and energy harvesting system of Claim 1, wherein said system alerts a driver about period for replacement of the said passive engine mounts.

8. The passive engine mount (1) assembly with self-life indication and energy harvesting system of Claim 1, wherein the self-life indication system could alert the user about degradation of each engine mount separately when multiple smart engine mounts are used.
9. The passive engine mount (1) assembly with self-life indication and energy harvesting system of Claim 1, wherein current sensor signal is used for vehicle diagnostic systems to ascertain state of health of the vehicle.
10. The passive engine mount (1) assembly with self-life indication and energy harvesting system of Claim 1, wherein the said system is applicable for both two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles using passive engine mounts and is equally applicable to a plurality of engines.