A lawn care device (10) may include a mobility assembly (42,44) configured to facilitate movement of the lawn care device over ground, a cutting deck (40) housing at least one blade, an engine (50) operably coupled to the at least one blade via a rotatable shaft to enable the at least one blade to cut vegetation responsive to rotation of the at least one blade, a control unit (110) configured to be in communication with at least one functional unit of the lawn care device, at least one sensor (142) disposed to monitor the at least one functional unit, a transmitter (144) operably coupled to the sensor to wirelessly transmit a signal from the sensor to the control unit based on operation of the at least one functional unit, and an energy harvester (146) configured to convert energy from a source of origin into electrical energy, the electrical energy being employed for powering the at least one sensor and the transmitter.

A power generation system is provided configured for installation within a wheel of a vehicle. The system includes a stator having a plurality of face-mounted permanent magnets; and a rotor having a plurality of windings configured to rotate, with rotation of the wheel, in proximity to the permanent magnets thereby generating a current. The stator is mounted to a brake caliper of the vehicle. Also provided is a wheel-based vehicle display system including a light emitting diode (LED) array arranged on or within a wheel of a vehicle; a power source connected thereto; and a controller connected to the LED array. The display system is configured to display at least one of: textual information, visual images or full-motion video.

A solar-thermal powered recreational vehicle featuring a solar-thermal air conditioning system integrated with a solar clean energy system to provide a recreational vehicle having improved energy efficiency. In an embodiment employing the principles of the present invention, the solar-thermal powered recreational vehicle can comprise a clean energy system for providing electrical power to the recreational vehicle, whereby the clean energy system features one or more solar photovoltaic panels, a batter bank, and a generator operatively coupled to a hybrid inverter. The solar-thermal air conditioning system is powered by the clean energy system, with the solar-thermal air conditioning system featuring a solar-thermal collector panel functioning to superheat compressed refrigerant prior to the compressed refrigerant being transmitted to the condenser. Because the compressor is the most energy-intensive component in the traditional direct expansion AC system, the use of free solar energy by the present invention to reduce the work load on the compressor significantly reduces the overall energy requirements of the recreational vehicle, thereby providing a recreational vehicle capable of operating on solar and battery power alone for significant periods of time.

An AC electrical system for a vehicle and methods of operating the same are provided. In one aspect, an AC electrical system includes a first electric machine mechanically coupled with a first spool of a gas turbine engine and a second electric machine mechanically coupled with a second spool of the gas turbine engine. The system also includes a first AC bus and a second AC bus. A first electrical channel electrically couples the first electric machine to the first AC bus and a second electrical channel electrically couples the second electric machine to the second AC bus. The system also includes one or more connection links and one or more power converters for selectively electrically coupling the first and second electrical channels so that electrical power generated by one electric machine can be converted and shared with the other electric machine and electrical loads of the other channel.

A hydraulic regenerative braking system is provided for using hydraulic fluid to capture energy from a vehicle during a braking event. The system captures kinetic energy from a shaft of the vehicle and stores the kinetic energy as hydraulic potential energy. That is, the system captures rotational energy as hydraulic potential energy in an accumulator. The hydraulic regenerative braking system also discharges the hydraulic potential energy as kinetic energy. During braking, kinetic energy is transferred from the vehicle shaft to a gearbox, and from the gearbox to a hydraulic pump. The hydraulic pump uses the kinetic energy to pump hydraulic fluid to an accumulator, increasing the hydraulic potential energy stored in the accumulator. During driving, the hydraulic fluid is released from the accumulator to the hydraulic pump, generating kinetic energy that is transferred to the vehicle shaft via the gearbox.

A device for operating an active roll stabilization system of a vehicle is described, which active roll stabilization system has a roll stabilizer on at least one axle of the vehicle, which roll stabilizer is configured to adjust, by use of an electrically operated actuator, a degree of twist between lever arms of the roll stabilizer which act on different sides of the axle, in order to counteract a roll movement of the vehicle. The device is set up to determine which operating mode of a plurality of different operating modes of the roll stabilization system has been selected by a user of the vehicle. Further, the device is set up to operate the actuator as a generator, in order to recuperate electrical energy from a roll movement of the vehicle and/or from a roadway-induced movement of the vehicle, in a manner dependent on the selected operating mode.

A multi-component auxiliary power system includes a power transfer linkage configured to be coupled to a drive shaft to transmit rotational power from a prime mover to the power transfer linkage. The power transfer linkage includes a first rotational power output and a second rotational power output. The system further includes a plurality of different auxiliary power components that are operatively coupled to the power transfer linkage. The power transfer linkage transfers and distributes rotational power from the drive shaft to each of the plurality of auxiliary power components. The plurality of different auxiliary power components comprises a hydraulic pump attached to the power transfer linkage and an air compressor attached to the power transfer linkage.

A vehicle control apparatus may identify a first sensing value for measuring a flow rate of air corresponding to a first RPM while the air is supplied to a fuel cell stack from an outside of the vehicle control apparatus by driving an air compressor based on the first RPM, obtain a first amount of change in a temperature of a coolant flowing using a cooler and a second amount of change in a temperature of the air compressor during a first time during which the air compressor is driven based on the first RPM, obtain a first flow rate value representing the flow rate of the air supplied to the fuel cell stack by using the first amount of change in the temperature of the coolant and the second amount of change in the temperature of the air compressor.

Systems and methods for an energy harvester coupled to a rotatable component of a vehicle are disclosed. In some embodiments, an energy harvester system includes at least one energy harvesting component configured to be attached to a wheel of a vehicle, wherein the at least one energy harvesting component includes a piezoelectric component configured to be directly attached to a staging surface of the wheel, wherein the piezoelectric component is configured to deform in response to a mechanical strain imparted on the piezoelectric component as the wheel rotates and generate an electric signal.

A system and method include a radar sensor disposed in a vehicle for detecting an operator motion or gesture that indicates a desire to perform a function of the vehicle, and a controller in communication with the radar sensor to interpret sensor data and determine if the operator performed a predetermined motion or gesture that indicates the desire to perform the function of the vehicle based on the predetermined motion or gesture.