A power generation system is disclosed herein. The power generation system includes two or more tiles and at least one generator. Each tile of the two or more tiles is configured to house one or more solar cells. The at least one generator apparatus couples each of the two or more tiles together at a vertex of each tile. The at least one generator apparatus is configured to harvest mechanical energy as mass traverses each tile of the two or more tiles.

A therapeutic and exercise device includes a frame; a hand crank coupled to the frame which is rotatably movable by a user, the hand crank coupled to a vertically oriented rail such that the hand crank is adjustable in a vertical plane fore and aft relative to a support surface for the therapeutic and exercise device; a foot crank coupled to the frame which is rotatably movable by the user, the foot crank coupled to a horizontally oriented rail such that the foot crank is adjustable in a horizontal plane; and a brake coupled to the frame and to at least one of the hand crank or the foot crank, the brake configured to selectively apply a braking force to said at least one of the hand crank or the foot crank to resist rotational movement of the at least one of the hand crank or the foot crank.

A portion of ankle movement can be harnessed into stored energy that can be released for various purposes, such as to assist in movement or to charge a battery. This harnessing can be achieved in various manners. In one example manner, an offset pulley component can transfer ankle movement to a generator in a shoe insole. In another example manner, a slider can cause a brace arch to match an ankle arch such that the movement is appropriately harnessed.

A footwear system can employ a brake and/or a clutch, such as a one-way clutch, to convert human motion into usable electricity. The brake and one-way clutch can be used together, such as on opposite ends of a spring. During a storage phase, the brake can be engaged and the one-way clutch disengaged so the spring stores an energy. After the storage phase, the brake can be removed to initiate the release phase since the brake is not stopping the spring, but the one-way clutch allows the stored energy to be released.

A wearable system, such as a footwear system, can employ a generator. The generator can be powered by human movement, such as movement of knee as a person walks or runs. When the knee resets, it can be desirable to have a relatively equal gear ratio to achieve near natural movement. Conversely, it can be desirable to have a high gear ratio when the knee pushes off to achieve high generator rotation to produce a high amount of power. This can be achieved with employment of a wearable planetary gear set configuration In practicing this wearable planetary gear set, torque can be provided from the source (e.g. human ankle joint) when power negative and not at other times during a movement cycle, meaning energy can be harvested from the walking motion without inducing additional burden to the device wearer.

A wearable system, such as a footwear system, can employ a generator. The generator can be an electro-mechanical generator with a portion that spins to create an electricity. The portion that spins can be spun in such a manner that it does not stop, but instead a next spin beings before a previous spin completes. This can repeat until the generator reaches a terminal velocity.

The present invention relates to a flooring system for generating electricity from users as they walk. A flooring system (1) for generating electricity, comprising: a plurality of generators (100), each generator (100) having a support, each generator being arranged to generate electricity from linear motion of the support in a first direction; and a plurality of tiles for supporting one or more people, wherein each support supports a plurality of tiles.

The present invention is able to extract significant amounts of energy from a user who is walking or running while remaining discreetly hidden near an area of the body where many people already carry things (e.g. wallet, smartphone, keys). The user benefits by keeping their device(s) charged for a longer period of time without the need for external batteries. In addition, the present invention encourages an active lifestyle, which has been shown to promote good health and reduce the risk of many diseases.

Various embodiments related to a recumbent therapeutic and exercise device are provided herein. The recumbent therapeutic and exercise device includes a frame; a hand crank system coupled to the frame, the hand crank system including a hand crank rotatable by a user, wherein the hand crank is movable in a substantially vertical plane closer to and further from a support surface for the frame; and a foot crank system coupled to the frame, the foot crank system including a foot crank rotatable by the user, wherein the foot crank is movable in a substantially horizontal plane relative to the support surface for the fame.

The present invention relates to a flooring system for generating electricity from users as they walk. A flooring system (1) for characterizing a footstep (2), comprising: a plurality of tiles (200) for supporting one or more people; and a plurality of sensors (100x, 100y, 100z), each sensor (100x, 100y, 100z) arranged to generate a signal representing a force applied thereto, wherein each tile (200) is supported by at least three sensors (100x, 100y, 100z), the flooring system (1) further comprising a data processing system (1001) in communication with each sensor (100x, 100y, 100z) for receiving the signal generated thereby, wherein for each tile (200): the data processing system (1001) is arranged to produce output data by comparing the signals received from the sensors (100x, 100y, 100z) supporting that tile (200) to estimate the location of a footstep (2).