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Apr 15, 2009 06:10 PM | 18
It's no wonder inventors are racing to develop the best type of engine to power tomorrow's fleet of hybrids as automakers rush to get enviro-friendly cars on the road and consumers are tempted by a new $7,500 tax incentive being offered for buying one. But it's not only new inventions that are vying for a piece of the action: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, former Microsoft chief technology officer Nathan Myhrvold, and other entrepreneurs are attempting to put a new face on technology that's been kicking around for more than a century—an electromagnetic engine that turns mechanical into electrical energy.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week published a patent application describing an internal combustion engine that "converts mechanical energy of a piston to and from electrical energy during each piston cycle" submitted in October 2007 by Searette LLC, part of Intellectual Ventures, a Bellevue, Wash., company launched in 2000 to buy and license patents. Gates, who was still Microsoft's chief software architect at the time the patent was filed, is listed as one of 10 inventors on the application.
The patent app outlines several different options for configuring such an electromagnetic engine. Among them: using internal combustion of some sort of fuel (which the patent application refers to as a "reactant") to move a piston equipped with a magnet to generate electric current, or using electrical current (supplied by a battery or some other power source) to move the magnet (as well as the piston), or both. As Fast Company puts it, this is possibly a blueprint for a "hybrid engine without the need for two discrete drivetrains, as with today's hybrids."
Critics say Searate's proposed electromagnetic combustion engine is nothing new. The patent describes a conventional internal combustion engine with coils wrapped around the cylinder liners and a magnet on the bottom of the piston to react with this coil and move the piston during the engine's other three strokes (intake, compression, and exhaust), so that the engine doesn't lose too much energy while it's powering the car's drivetrain, says inventor Michael Walden, who in the 1970s designed, built, and demonstrated the first fully self-powered aircraft to use an electrokinetic, silent-field propulsion system. (The propulsion system works "like one of those room air ionizers—but a lot stronger," he adds.)
It's "not an efficient way they are talking about," he says. "How much energy are they going to use pushing that magnet through the coil?"
An engine built according to the configuration described in the patent application might require more gas to function (a definite no-no these days) than a normal combustion engine or it might include an external power source that adds more weight to vehicle, Walden says. He also notes that the patent application doesn't state how the engine would keep the relatively fragile magnetic materials cool or intact during the piston movement.
The invention of a type of electromagnetic piston engine that's far afield from the information technology that helped Gates and his colleagues make their name (not to mention their fortune) lends some ammunition to charges that Intellectual Ventures is little more than a "patent troll." A patent troll is a company that makes money by licensing the patents it buys (rather than offering its own products and service) and by suing those who infringe upon its patents. Indeed, the company (which is only nine years old) claims to own more than 20,000 patents.
"The situation with Intellectual Ventures is that nobody's quite sure what they're up to," says Ron Laurie, managing director of Inflexion Point Strategy, LLC, a Palo Alto, Calif. firm specializing in advising companies during mergers and acquisitions.
But Laurie points out that Intellectual Ventures has yet to file a lawsuit to protect any of its patents and that the company's founders have a strong track record of inventing important technologies.* "Within Intellectual Ventures there are actual research and development groups," he says, adding that to be a true patent troll, a company has to be a "non-practicing entity" (NPE). Laurie adds, "They're clearly more than an NPE."
Image of Bill Gates courtesy of Jose Gnudista, via Wikimedia Commons
*Correction (4/16/09): This blog originally stated that Bill Gates invented Windows. Rather, he was instrumental in bringing Windows to market.
Tags:
electromagnetic,
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Bill Gates,
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18 Comments
Add CommentNice PR piece!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBill Gates has *never* invented anything. Ever.
He's either bought it, copied it, or stolen it.
DOS Stolen. Office bought. Zune copied. Windows copied. Origami failed. Hot Mail bought. Basic on chip copied. Money? Stolen. The list really goes on to infinity. Like Great Plains Accounting.
Ask EOLAS. Ask the U.S. Justice Department. Ask any M$ customer if they've ever been cheated. Pay the Microsoft TAX with Conficker. Or any of the other 200,000 virii that thrive on this man's failures.
Oh, and he's a convicted MONOPOLIST.
Anything else, Scientific American? Anything on Population Control by Hitler?
With Bill Gates money, he can make anything happen and he can make it happen fast. I wish he would build an auto manufacturing plant that builds affordable electric cars so we can get away from coal and oil. I also wish he would advance me the capital so I can start building an all green news journal in America. I have the idea to make news papers all green, but living in West Virginia, I cannot find an investment broker that will advance me the start-up capital. I can put a green journal in every state and every county in America for under $300,000,000.00. The three hundred million would insure that the 5,000 employees get paid for a year while the journal establishes itself financially. I know that Bill Gates is a green thinker and he also knows the (all) profit in a well established green news journal. Give me a chance Mr. Gates and I will prove myself to you. With your resources, you can find me.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere are many isssues confronting electric cars, including the fact that it takes a lot of electricity to move a vehicle down the road and this electric energy largely comes from coal plants which may produce as much pollution as the gasoline-powered cars this energy is used to replace. Gasoline is still much more efficient.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFurther, vehicle cost is still a big issue. The GM Volt is projected to cost $40,000.
Finally, battery disposal itself creates big environmental headaches. We solve one problem and create another.
Bill Gates, like most business people, has the skill to take good ideas from many sources and bring them to market so that they become accessible to many people. For this, he deserves much credit.
Perhaps he can help spearhead and integrate new approaches to assist in overcoming the many problems that surround moving to a (or several) new power sources for the very economical but politically undesireable gasoline engine for automobiles.
Major auto manufacturers and many others are working on these issues and we can only hope that scientists, engineers, visionaries and business people can combine their talents to bring new solutions to market in the relatively near future.
Bill Gates inventor?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"company's founders have a strong track record of inventing important technologies, including Windows".
?? Windows was not invented, it was copied from OS/2 and the Xerox OS. BG is a businessman, not an inventor. Yes, BG has a ton on money that converts him a semi-god in the PR world, but not, he is not an inventor.
He is a smart businessman type, they bought DOS by X and sold it for 20X. They bought Word, Powerpoint by X and sold it by... Hey, they even bought the "Windows", "Word", "Powerpoint", "explorer", "excel" trademarks, something being them generic names is illegal but they bought it putting money over the table.
They copied OpenGL with DirectX, they copied Ipod with Zune. I don't thing they invented ANYTHING.
Please give credit when credit is due. To the real inventors that don't have so much money, so for you are not so important. I thought sciam people would know more about real inventors.
Thats not entirely ture lead acid batteries are the MOST recycled batteries out there. However most hybreds do not use those types of batteries and ALL batteries in hybreds are designed to be recycled. Lythium betteries tends to the most environmentaly freindly batteries and they are becomming more popular. The problem is in the storage of enough power to to ensure a adquate driving range.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI like the idea engine the generates electricty but it seems to me to be something that some one is "tinkering" with and not ready for general use.
I think the phrase this article is desperately trying to grope for is 'free piston engine'. Which is not a new invention.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-piston_engine
http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/09/free-piston-engine-could-be-twice-as.html
http://www.freepistonpower.com/
This type of engine has a fatal flaw. The internal combustion engine, like all heat engines, has better efficiency the hotter it runs. The efficiency of the electromagnetic engine, on the other hand, drops dramatically with increasing temperature. So you have conflicting requirements for the two motors. So the electric motor has to be thermally isolated from the heat engine or new magnetic materials must be developed. Neither is an easy task.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBTW Bill Gates is a very, very smart and hardworking businessman, but is not and never was an inventor.
Has anyone noticed engines have gotten smaller and the number of gears in the transmission has gotten larger. Add more gears to the transmission and go to two speed differential. The accelerator pedal should be removed from controlling the engine. Most efficient engine speed and gear selection controlled by computer. Most large trucks and buses have 21 plus gears between transmission and differential.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisvirii -> viri
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thislarger -> broader -> greater
Ipod -> iPod
I != i
wfitz1964 -> retard
Bill Gates = acquisitor != inventor
blogs = junk
pistons -> turbines
>The internal combustion engine, like all heat engines, has better efficiency the hotter it runs. The efficiency of the electromagnetic engine, on the other hand, drops dramatically with increasing temperature.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhile this is true, it might be better to lose 2% efficiency in the alternator due to heat efects, then lose 20% efficiency in the crankshaft and gears due to mechanical effects. With correctly chosen materials the effect you imply is a 'showstopper' might actually be tiny and unimportant.
BILL GATES is a TROLL!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthen -> than, retard
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNice one, lysdexia!!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNice = Nescius
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGet aquainted with the few laws of theoretical Thermodynamics ! and all your questions will be answered !
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf I can help you : Dr.Kamlander@aon.at
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisChrisknowles wrote
There are many issues confronting electric cars,
JDThe only real issue is big auto hates them because they rarely break and last forever. Jay Leno has a 1911 Baker Electric that goes 110 miles
and 45mph, faster than the roads then and still has some of the original batteries of Nickel /ironi Edison batteries, not exactly bad environmentally. Neither are LiFePHo4 batts. Even lead is the most recycled material in the US.
Why did Chevron buy the NiMH battery patents and then force Toyota, ect to stop making EV size ones? The RAV4 EV's now sell for $75k vs the $45k they sold for 8-10 yrs ago? They go 85mph and 130 mile range.
including the fact that it takes a lot of electricity to move a vehicle down the road
JD EV's need 30% of the energy/mile than gas cars.
and this electric energy largely comes from coal plants which may produce as much pollution as the gasoline-powered cars this energy is used to replace.
JD, another lie. According to the EPA website EV's from coal make much less pollution than gas cars do. And that's old data as present coal plants are much cleaner. But unlike gas cars EV's can use RE electricity directly making them 50x's less polluting than a gas car. Plus one can make their own for transport and home..
Gasoline is still much more efficient.
JD It's lies like this that will keep us deeply in debt. EV's are 3x's as eff as gas ones.
Further, vehicle cost is still a big issue. The GM Volt is projected to cost $40,000.
I built my EV's for under $5k. My service car style trike gets 600mpg equivalent and my 3 seat sportwagon gets 250mpge. Keep driving your gas cars if you want but EV's once in real mass production or build your own is many times less expensive.
Finally, battery disposal itself creates big environmental headaches. We solve one problem and create another.
JD I can only guess you work for either big auto or oil as your post is filled with lies which have hired for yrs trolls to put garbage like this on the web. Since your lies also directly support Iran, Russia, oil dictators and terrorists their are other things you could be called. What would you call those who support our enemies?
On the free piston engine it too is a ineff joke. A constant speed very small ICE running a gen and an EV drive is by far the most eff system for fossil fuel but as Li will allow 300 mile range EV's even that is moot.
I'm from russia ?and here in russia we have some scientific magazine(like "Popular mechanics") called "Youth Technique" in 1970-s authors mentioned about some engine that worked as Bill Gates' engine.(The idea has about 40 years history!!!!!!)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSo he just grabbed idea's of others,and used it/(((((((((((((
Sincerly yours,with respect for you dear readers , and with disrespect for Bill Gates)))))
i have the answer to Bill Gates engine which is not correct i have a concept for building an engine that need no fuel all it needs is money to bring it to life replacing the fuel driven engines of the world iwould be happy to give my idea to Mr Gates because i think he and the people he employs can make my idea into a working engine that will make the atmosphere clean and blue agin in our lifetime and i also this could help third world countris by not having to burn fuel to raise crops i have thought of so many things this engine can be used for.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHopefuly Mr Bill Gates will respond to this thru you fine people at SciAm.
Thank You