Abstract
We aimed for permanently supplying the electrical energy to an apparatus for in vivo use such as a cardiac pacemaker and proposed a totally implantable electrostatic(ES)generator that harnesses the motion of a living body. ES generators need initial charge suplies(ICS). Since such a charge supply always consumes electrical energy while generating, we must take its life into account in case of a portable battery. The proposed generating system, which does not consume electrical energy of the ICS, consists of a battery as the ICS, a variable capacitor(VC)in which mechanical energy is converted to electrical energy, a capacitor for energy storage and two rectifiers. To verify validity of the system, a honeycomb-type variable capacitor whose capacitance varies from 70 to 210[nF]was used. It was possible to generate maximum electrical energy of approximately 34[μJ/cycle]in case of the ICS with constant voltage of 24[V]. We found that the ICS of the ES generator did not consume electrical energy in a cycle and its voltage should be chosen to be higher to generate higher electrical energy without lack of safety.
