Patent ID: 8487456

Claim:
An apparatus for harvesting energy from motion of one or more human or other animal joints, the apparatus comprising: a generator coupled to one or more human or other animal joints for converting mechanical energy associated with motion of the one or more human or other animal joints into corresponding electrical energy; one or more sensors for sensing one or more corresponding characteristics associated with motion of a body of the human or other animal; and a controller connected to receive the one or more sensed characteristics and configured to modify at least one of: a first coupling of mechanical energy associated with the motion of the one or more human or other animal joints to the generator; and a second coupling of electrical energy from the generator to a load; based at least in part on the one or more sensed characteristics by selectively: engaging energy harvesting by completing at least one of the first and second couplings; and disengaging energy harvesting by decoupling at least one of the first and second couplings; the controller further configured to: assess whether the motion of the one or more human or other animal joints is associated with mutualistic conditions or non-mutualistic conditions based at least in part on the one or more sensed characteristics; selectively engage energy harvesting when motion of the one or more human or other animal joints is associated with particular mutualistic conditions; and selectively disengage energy harvesting when motion of the one or more human or other animal joints is associated with particular non-mutualistic conditions; wherein the motion of the one or more human or other animal joints is associated with mutualistic conditions when one or more muscles associated with the one or more human or other animal joints are operating in a negative mechanical power operational mode.