Patent ID: 8710684

Claim:
An apparatus for generating electrical energy, comprising: an unbalanced mass unit which is disposed to be rockable along a wobbling path that extends in a forward and rearward direction, and which includes an upper segment having a rocking region, and a lower segment disposed opposite to said upper segment in an upright direction, said lower segment having a juncture region which is proximate to said upper segment, and which extends in the forward and rearward direction to terminate at front and rear marginal zones, and a center-of-mass region which is distal from said upper segment, and which defines the center of mass of said unbalanced mass unit, said center-of-mass region being configured such that said lower segment is angularly movable along the wobbling path between front and rear unbalanced positions which are opposite to each other in the forward and rearward direction, and where said front and rear marginal zones respectively reach highest front and rear points due to the moment of inertia, and such that said rocking region makes a forward rocking movement from the front unbalanced position to the rear unbalanced position, and a rearward rocking movement from the rear unbalanced position to the front unbalanced position; a coupling shaft which extends along a rotary axis in a longitudinal direction that is transverse to the forward and rearward direction, and which is coupled to said rocking region; a weighting unit which is connected to said coupling shaft and which is swung in response to at least one of the forward and rearward rocking movements of said rocking region to permit said coupling shaft to make a rotational movement about the rotary axis; an electricity generator which is disposed to be movable with said unbalanced mass unit, and which is coupled with said coupling shaft to convert the rotational movement into electrical energy; a releasably retaining member which is disposed in proximity to one of the front and rear unbalanced positions, and which has a retaining end configured such that, when said lower segment reaches said one of the front and rear unbalanced positions, said retaining end is releasably snapped on one of said front and rear marginal zones so as to retain said lower segment at a corresponding one of the front and rear unbalanced positions; a triggering member disposed to be actuated, in response to a downward mechanical load, to make a stroke of downward movement; and a force transmitting mechanism disposed to couple said releasably retaining member with said triggering member such that, in response to the stroke of downward movement of said triggering member, said retaining end is actuated to release a corresponding one of said front and rear marginal zones so as to permit said lower segment to commence angular movement along the wobbling path.