Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • F03B—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS
  • F03B13/00—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates
  • F03B13/12—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy
  • F03B13/14—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy using wave energy
  • F03B13/141—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy using wave energy with a static energy collector
  • F03B13/142—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates characterised by using wave or tide energy using wave energy with a static energy collector which creates an oscillating water column
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • F03B—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS
  • F03B13/00—Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus; Power stations or aggregates
  • F03B13/10—Submerged units incorporating electric generators or motors
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
  • Y02E10/20—Hydro energy
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
  • Y02E10/30—Energy from the sea, e.g. using wave energy or salinity gradient

Definitions

• This invention relates to the conversion of energy from naturally occurring sources of mechanical energy, and particularly to the conversion of the mechanical energy present in ocean surface waves to useful energy, particularly electrical energy.
• a float In many known systems for capturing surface wave energy, a float is used for being vertically oscillated in response to passing waves.
• the float is rigidly coupled to an energy converter which is driven in response to vertical movements of the float.
• an open-ended hollow tube is rigidly suspended beneath a float, the tube being completely submerged and in vertical orientation.
• the tube vertically oscillates in the water in correspondence with movements of the float and, in the absence of anything within the tube, the tube moves freely relative to the column of water within the open-ended tube.
• a movable piston is disposed within the tube for blocking relative movements between the water column and the tube.
• the moving piston drives an energy converter fixedly mounted, e.g., within the float, for converting the piston movements to useful energy.
• a feature of the present invention is that a relatively high efficiency of operation is obtained which is relatively insensitive to random variations of wave frequencies and amplitudes.
• an open-ended, hollow tube is disposed in vertical, submerged and fixed location relative to the mean water level. Specifically, the tube is not in "floating" (moveable) relationship with the passing waves.
• the length of the tube and the depth of the top end of the tube beneath the mean water level are selected, as described hereinafter, depending upon the frequency and amplitude of the most prevalent anticipated surface waves, as well as the water depth. While maximum efficiency of operation is attained when the anticipated waves are present, the fall-off of efficiency of operation is relatively small with variations of wave conditions.
• a hollow tube having a closed top end and a bottom open end is disposed in vertical, submerged but relatively movable relation with the mean water level.
• the tube is secured for vertical cyclical movements relative to a float fixedly submerged beneath the water surface and disposed within the tube.
• the dimensions of the tube and its at-rest location relative to the water surface are in accordance with the tube of the first embodiment except, in the second embodiment, the piston movable within the tube of the first embodiment comprises the closed top end of the tube of the second embodiment.
• the transducer is not mounted in a float but fixedly secured to the ocean bottom.
• the movable tube which need not be hollow, is secured to the transducer
• movements of the tube relative to the adjoining water are caused not by wave-induced displacements of a float on the water surface, but in response to pressure variations caused by passing waves.
• FIGURE 1 is a sketch for identifying various relevant dimensional parameters of a system according to the present invention deployed in a body of water;
• FIGURES 2, 2A and 3-6 are side sectional views showing different embodiments of power converting systems in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention deployed in bodies of water, e.g., an ocean;
• FIGURE 7 is a side elevational view of an energy converter in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention. 00 14652
• FIGURE 8 is an end view of the converter looking in the direction of the arrows 8-8 in Fig. 8;
• FIGURE 9 is an isometric view of the converter shown in Figs. 7 and 8.
• FIGURE 10 is a side elevational view of a modified version of the embodiment shown in Figs. 7-9.
• FIG. 1 Shown schematically is an open-ended tube 10 disposed (as herewith described) in fixed, vertical orientation below the mean water level of a body of water, e.g., an ocean having wind driven surface waves.
• Figure 1 also identifies parameters important in the practice of the invention, i.e., wave height, wave length, water depth, depth of the top of the tube below the water surface, length of the tube, and the diameter of the tube. The optimum depth for the lower end of the tube is dependent on the wavelength ( ⁇ ) of the longest waves to be utilized in an efficient manner.
• the principle of operation is that the changes in water energy level, which can be expressed as changes in pressure, due to the passage of wave peaks and troughs, is highest near the surface, and these pressure changes decay exponentially with depth below the surface.
• the top of a long tube experiences relatively large pressure variations while the bottom of the tube experiences an almost steady pressure that is equal to the pressure due to the weight of water above it at the mean water level.
• Equations 1 and 2 The energy levels at different water depths under a wave field can be calculated with Equations 1 and 2.
• the equations are for deep water waves and are modified somewhat by the depth in more shallow water (depths less than ⁇ /2).
• the water energy levels due to waves of a given size are a function of wave length and water depth. There is little practical value in extending the tube bottom any deeper than 1/2 the wavelength of the longest waves to be optimally used because the energy level is already greatly reduced from its near surface value.
• E s is the energy due to a wave at the water surface
• E d is the energy due to a wave at a depth equal to d
• ⁇ is the wave length of the waves being considered
• the wave length of deep water waves may be calculated by the formula:
• g is the gravitational constant, 9.8 meters per second per second, and
• T is the period of the waves in seconds
• the energy at different depths can be calculated as percentage of the energy at the surface, using Equation 1. This is shown in Table 1.
• Table 1 shows that when waves with a period of 7 seconds are present, and the tube 10 has its top end at depth of 0.5 meters below the surface, and its bottom end at a depth of 38.21 meters below the surface, the top will experience pressure changes 91.7% (96 - 4.3) larger than the bottom. These conditions will cause water to flow down the inside of the tube when a wave peak is over the top end, and water to flow up the inside of the tube when a wave trough is at the top of the tube. This pressurized water flow provides the opportunity to extract mechanical power from the wave energy. Extending the tube from 38.21 meters to 76.43 meters in length only increases the pressure differential by 4.1% (4.3 - 0.2).
• Table 1 also shows that as the wave period decreases, the importance of the top of the tube being near the surface increases. For example, with a water depth of the top of the tube being 0.5 meters under the surface in 7 second period waves, the energy has decreased at the tube top to 96% of its maximum, while in 5 second waves the energy has decreased to 92.3% of its maximum.
• Regular waves are waves that have a consistent period.
• a sine wave is an example of a regular wave.
• Regular waves at a constant period would allow the tuning of a resonant wave energy capture device to the specific wave period, even though the wave period may change with the negative impact mentioned above.
• ocean and sea waves are both random and irregular and simultaneously contain waves with different periods. An example of this is a case when ocean swells with a 10 second period are present along with wind waves with a 5 second period.
• the inventive apparatus has the ability to capture energy efficiently from irregular waves as well as from regular waves. This is because the apparatus is not optimized for a specific period but is driven dependent upon the instantaneous quantity of water above or below the mean water level (but subject to "cancellation effects" discussed hereinafter).
• ⁇ / ⁇ t is the differential of the velocity potential in meters squared per second squared (m 2 /s 2 ), at a point, and gy is the gravitational constant times the depth at a point in m 2 /s 2 , and P/p is the pressure at a point divided by the fluid density in m 2 /s 2 , (to achieve these dimensions it should be remembered that mass can be expressed as force divided by acceleration), and V 2 /2 is the velocity squared of the fluid at that point m 2 /s 2 .
• the Bernoulli Equation can be the basis for analysing the different forms of energy available at each point as time passes.
• a piston 12, shown in Figure 2, placed in the tube is forcefully driven up and down by water in the tube moving up and down due to the varying pressure differentials above and below the piston.
• This forceful movement is converted to mechanical power by attaching a device to the piston that resists its movement.
• a device to the piston that resists its movement.
• One example is the rod of a hydraulic cylinder.
• the motion of the cylinder rod pumps a pressurized fluid (hydraulic fluid) through a hydraulic motor which then rotates.
• the mechanical power produced by the hydraulic motor is converted to electrical power by a generator attached to the motor.
• the water driven piston 12 and its shaft are shown to move up and down while guided by the Piston Shaft Support and Shaft Bearings 16.
• the piston preferably does not touch the sides of the tube.
• a clearance between the piston rim and tube of 3 to 6 millimeters will permit some water to leak past the piston. This represents a loss of power but is a small percentage of the area for a piston that is larger than 1 meter in diameter.
• a hydraulic cylinder rod 18 (from a hydraulic cylinder 20) is attached to the top of the piston shaft 12.
• a hydraulic cylinder support 22 fixedly attaches the cylinder 20 to the tube 10.
• Hydraulic hoses 24 carry the hydraulic fluid back and forth to a watertight compartment that contains an hydraulic motor and electric generator.
• a double- ended cylinder (rod extends from both ends) is preferred because the cylinder performance is the same in both stroke directions.
• the piston is made buoyant enough to cause the piston - piston shaft - hydraulic cylinder rod assembly to be neutrally buoyant, and therefore move up or down equally with the same applied forces.
• a preferred arrangement of the components is shown in Figure 2A. In this arrangement, the piston 12 slides up and down on the hydraulic cylinder itself. Both ends of the hydraulic cylinder rod 18 are fixedly attached to the tube 10 by the hydraulic cylinder rod supports 22.
• a watertight compartment 26 is part of the piston assembly and contains the hydraulic motor and electric generator. This compartment is buoyant enough to cause the entire piston assembly to be neutrally buoyant.
• Figure 2 also shows an arrangement for mooring the power converting system. This is later described.
• Figure 3 shows an arrangement where the area of the piston 12 is larger than the area of the tubelO at its top and bottom ends. This is to illustrate that the piston area can be either larger or smaller than the tube end areas. In a given situation, the arrangement in Figure 3 will produce a higher force and a shorter stroke than if the piston and tube ends have the same area. This is because the tube length and depth determines the pressure differential on the piston, and the tube end areas determine the volume of water flow. Thus, the same pressure on a larger piston area produces more force, but more water volume is required to move the larger piston.
• Figure 3 illustrates that the piston size can be varied to match desired piston forces and strokes. However there are losses of energy incurred whenever the moving T U 00/14652
• a second power take-off approach is to attach a rod to the piston that moves vertically with the piston.
• this piston rod is attached to a hydraulic cylinder, it is attached to a positive drive belt (the belt and sprockets having teeth that are positively engaged), that is around two vertically arranged sprockets.
• a positive drive belt the belt and sprockets having teeth that are positively engaged
• the piston is driven up and down by the wave energy it drives one side of the belt up and down causing the sprockets to rotate.
• One of the shafts of a driven sprocket is coupled to a generator to produce electric power.
• a third power take-off approach (not illustrated) is to directly drive a linear generating device, such as a linear electric motor, with the piston movement. Due to the sub-surface marine environment, the hydraulic approach is preferred.
• a turbine 40 is disposed within a tube 10 for being driven to rotate by the water flow in the tube moving up and down due to the varying pressure differential at the top and bottom of the tube. This rotation produces mechanical power by, for example coupling the shaft of an electric generator 42 to the turbine shaft 44.
• the tube preferably has, as shown, large diameter ends, and a small diameter turbine section in order to increase the water flow velocity through the turbine.
• the moving piston approach (1) is preferred because in general, the inventive systems are more readily designed for providing powerful strokes of limited length rather than providing rapid water flow. Each approach is described in more detail below:
• Moving piston approach As a piston such as shown as 12 in Figs. 2, 2A, and 3 moves against resistance it produces a force (Newtons). The piston moves a certain distance in a given time (meters per second). The product of this force times velocity is Newton-meters per second (Nm/s) which converts directly to watts of power. One Nm/s is equal to one watt.
• a longer stroke in a given time at a lower force can produce the same amount of power as a shorter stroke in the same time at a higher force, or vice versa.
• the waves are normally in a known range of sizes during the year. Thus, it would be economically impractical to provide equipment that could stroke farther than would be caused by the normally present waves.
• Prevention of damage by larger than normal waves, such as storm waves is by pressure relief doors in the tube 10 above and below the pistons 12 range of motion. If a wave produces a pressure differential (and resulting piston force) across the piston that is more than a preselected valve, the doors are pushed open. This allows water to bypass the piston, reducing its force and preventing damage to the device.
• a piston system will normally have provision for a certain physical stroke range such as 1 meter, but could be longer or shorter. However, the force can be increased or decreased by simply making the unit and its piston larger or smaller. This is an important factor in the design of a practical system, and is based on the fact that fluid pressure does not depend on the size of the area it is acting upon. For example, assume that waves are expected to be present that provide an average pressure differential of 2,000 Pascals (Pa) between the top and the bottom of the tube, as described above. A Pascal is a pressure of one Newton per square meter. Also, assume that the waves have a period of 5 seconds, that is, a wave will move from a peak to a trough in 2.5 seconds.
• the optimum tube 10 length can be shorter than ⁇ A the waves length. This is because a longer tube captures a higher pressure differential than a shorter tube, but also contains more water.
• the optimum tube 10 length can be calculated for a specific wave length, wave height, and water depth using Bernoulli's Equation as previously discussed.
• a tube long enough to create a significant varying pressure differential between its top and bottom ends when placed in waves with a range of wavelengths.
• a piston within the tube that causes the varying pressure from the top of the tube to occur at the top surface of the piston, and the relatively constant pressure from the bottom of the tube to occur on the bottom surface of the piston.
• a means such as a hydraulic cylinder and motor, to convert the reciprocating mechanical power of 3. into rotary mechanical power.
• the piston diameter can be larger or smaller than the tube diameter, producing either a relatively high force low velocity motion or a relatively low force high velocity motion.
• the sizes of the system tube and piston components affect the amount of water mass enclosed within the system which affects the amount of acceleration of the piston and water that can be achieved from a given wave environment.
• the system can utilize a fixed mooring to the sea bottom, or a mooring that provides a floating unit to balance the piston forces with a properly sized buoyant section.
• the system can utilize a mooring that combines a fixed buoyant mooring and additional buoyancy to compensate for tidal variations by moving the tube top up and down with the tide.
• the moving piston approach must limit the stroke and hence the velocity for practical reasons.
• the force is emphasized by providing a large piston area.
• a high velocity is desirable to overcome initial static friction to insure that the turbine starts rotating, and to provide efficient operation.
• the power available for capture from a cross sectional area of fluid flow is given by:
• A is the cross sectional area of flow in m 2
• p is the density of the fluid (1000 kg/m 3 for water)
• V is the velocity in meters per second.
• a high average velocity is desirable to optimize power output.
• the maximum thrust, or force, on a turbine in fluid flow is given by:
• Thrust New tons (3/8) x A x p x V 2 (5)
• the expected power output can be calculated from Equation 4. Also, the necessary buoyancy volume to balance the thrust force and maintain stationary position for the tube can be calculated from Equation 5.
• a mooring attachment to the sea bottom is shown.
• the mooring attachment acts as a mechanical datum to resist the upward and downward forces of the piston and keeps the tube fixed in place.
• the mooring attachment must be strong enough to withstand the downward forces produced by the unit, and heavy enough to resist the upward forces produced by the unit. It must be strongly attached to the ocean bottom to resist the forces produced by storm waves.
• Figure 5 shows an arrangement for mooring the inventive systems in virtually any depth of water because the length of its mooring chain 17 is variable.
• the tube 10 is held in vertical position by buoyancy tanks 50 attached to its outer perimeter. These buoyancy tanks are sufficiently buoyant to float the unit to the surface were it not held by its mooring chain or cable.
• the tanks are buoyant enough to support the weight of the unit plus at least the maximum downward force exerted by the piston against the tube. This prevents the tube from moving lower during normal operation of the power producing tube.
• the mooring chain must be at least strong enough to resist the net upward force of the buoyancy tanks, plus the maximum upward force produced by the piston against the tube.
• the anchor also must weigh at least as much as the net upward force of the buoyancy tanks plus the maximum upward force produced by the piston against the tube to prevent lifting of the anchor.
• the fixed depth mooring arrangements shown in Figures 2 and 5 will allow tidal changes in water depth to affect power capturing performance. In normal tides, for example 1 meter, the effect is small.
• a preferred mooring plan is to moor the unit at its planned depth below the surface at the midpoint of the tidal change. Then some times it will be deeper below the surface (high tide), and some times it will be closer to the surface (low tide) than planned.
• Table 1 indicates that the energy level at the top of a tube that is 1 meter below the mean surface of waves with a 7 second period is 4% less than if it were 0.5 meters below the mean surface.
• a unit that was moored 1 meter below the surface at mid-tide in a 1 meter tidal environment would range from plus or minus 0.5 meters from the planned depth during a day.
• a unit moored so shallow that wave troughs expose the top of the unit suffers little or no loss in power output. Therefore, such a unit fixedly moored as discussed above will produce approximately at its average planned level in a normal tidal environment.
• the unit In areas with high tides, the unit is preferably mounted lower in the water to prevent excessive exposure during wave troughs. This will reduce the average power that the unit can capture as can be estimated from Table 1.
• a slightly larger unit is required than if the site had smaller tidal changes.
• the simplicity of a fixed mooring arrangement generally outweighs the power loss in sites with range of depths and tides that are not extreme.
• a second mooring approach shown in Figure 6, combines a fixed bottom mounting and a floating tube top.
• the fixed bottom mounting provides the simplicity discussed above, and the float provides tidal compensation.
• the top portion of the tube 15 is flexible and can be extended upward by the buoyancy of a small float 62 when the tide is high and raises the mean water level.
• the float 62 follows the water level downward compressing and shortening the flexible top tube section 15.
• the float maintains the top of the tube at a relatively fixed depth below the water surface, e.g., 1 meter.
• the apparent change in the water height above the tube is approximately the same whether the water is rising and falling above a fixed open tube top, or is rising and falling above the tube extension.
• the large forces produced by the piston working in its pressure driven mode are countered by the fixed mooring buoyancy tanks 50, while the added buoyancy tanks 62 only raise and lower the top of the tube.
• Figures 7-9 show a hollow tube 110 having a closed top end 112 and an open bottom end 114.
• the tube 110 is in vertical, submerged orientation but, unlike the tube 10 in the first embodiment, which is preferably fixed in place, the tube 110 of the second embodiment is vertically movable relative to a fixed support.
• a fixed support can be a rigid structure mounted on the water bed, but, especially in deep water, is preferably a float 116 fixedly moored to the water bed 118 by an anchor 120 and a chain or cable 128.
• the tube 110 encloses the float 116 and, because the tube is vertically elongated, the float 116 is similarly elongated.
• the float 116 has a large buoyancy, and corresponds to a fixed structure rigidly mounted on the water bed but with the exception that some horizontal displacement of the float can occur in response to horizontal water movements. Such horizontal displacements of the float will generally occur at a slow rate and, essentially, the function of the float is to provide a definite position of the tube relative to the water bed.
• means generally known, are used for adjusting the distance between the float and the water bed for maintaining a fixed distance between the float and the water surface.
• power generation is relatively insensitive to moderate water level changes and, typically, the float is positioned for optimum performance at the average water level and not thereafter changed in position with water level changes.
• the tube 110 is secured to the float 116 by means of a hydraulic pump 122 of known type comprising a rigid casing 124 with a piston rod 126 (for pumping fluids within the pump) extending entirely through and outwardly from both ends of the casing 124.
• the pump casing 124 is rigidly secured to the movable tube 110 by a spoke-like bracket 121 (so as not to impede water movement within the tube 110).
• the upper end of the pump casing 124 is rigidly secured to the closed top end of the tube 110 but with one end 126b of the piston rod 126 extending through the tube end.
• a navigation aide 127 is attached to the rod end 126b and extends above the surface of the water.
• the other end 126a of the piston rod 126 is rigidly secured to the float 116.
• the tube is neutrally buoyant and includes a hollow buoyancy chamber 125. Being neutrally buoyant, the tube 110 vertically oscillates in response to tube top-to-bottom pressure variations caused, as previously described, by passing waves. Vertical oscillations of the tube 110 relative to the fixed float 116 thus cause relative movements between the pump casing 124 and the pump piston rod 126, the result being the generation of alternating hydraulic pressures within the pump which can be used for pressure circulating a fluid through hoses 111a for driving a hydraulic motor-electrical generator 111.
• a piston within a stationary tube moves in response to passing waves.
• the closed (upper) end 112 of the tube 110 functions as a piston movable relative to a fixed support.
• the tube upper end 112 remains submerged for all passing waves within a range of wave sizes with which the system is designed to operate.
• pressure relief valves are used, e.g., in the form of spring biased doors 130 shown in Fig. 10 at the top end 112 of the tube 110.
• four doors 130 are shown. If the pressure differential between the water above the tube and the water inside the tube exceeds a preselected level, two of the doors open downwardly to equalize the pressure within and outside the tube 110. The other two doors 130 open upwardly to relieve internal excess pressures due to excessively deep wave troughs passing over (or beneath) the tube upper end 112.
• the spring bias for the doors 130 can be obtained from weights or buoyant compartments on the doors.
• An advantage of the cable anchored arrangement shown in the figures is that the unit is free to move horizontally due to wave action. This reduces the horizontal forces imposed on the mooring and reduces the mass of the required mooring. Large horizontal movements tend to lower the tube upper end 112 relative to the water surface. This lowering tends to reduce the output power from the unit otherwise obtainable when the tube upper end 112 is optimally spaced beneath the water surface (previously described). However, as previously noted, changes in power production with increased spacings of the tube end from the water surface are rather gradual, and useful power production continues even with large horizontal leanings of the unit.
• Relative horizontal movements between the float 116 and the tube 110 are preferably avoided for avoiding damage of the mechanical coupling therebetween.
• water In response to lateral movements of the tube 110, water must move within the tube 110 from side to side of the float 116.
• Such water movements, and attendant relative lateral movements of the float 116 relative to the tube 110 are essentially prevented by the use of vertically elongated, radially extending fins 117 shown in Figs. 8 and 9.
• a float 116 within a tube 110 provides a self-contained unit which can be readily assembled on-shore and transported for simple placement at an ocean site.
• the float 116 serves as a fixed support on which a transducer is fixedly mounted; the transducer, in turn, being connected to and driven by the movable tube 110.
• a transducer 222 e.g., a hydraulic tube or the like
• a mechanical coupling e.g., a ball-socket joint 232, allowing pivoting of the transducer 222
• the movable piston rod 226 of the transducer rigidly connected to the bottom end of a neutrally buoyant tube 210 identical to the tube 110 shown in Figs. 7-9 but not including an internal float.
• the tube 210 is connected to the piston rod 226 (again, preferably by a pivoting coupling) by an anchoring link 228 which can be an anchor chain or, preferably, a solid rod having a high modulus of elasticity, i.e., low straining with applied stress.
• an anchoring link 228 which can be an anchor chain or, preferably, a solid rod having a high modulus of elasticity, i.e., low straining with applied stress.
• Ocean waves tend to be quite large and, for practical reasons, the diameter of the tubes are so small in comparison with the wave lengths that cancellation effects can be ignored - provided that the tube diameters are not in excess of a relatively small proportion of the wave length, e.g., 10%.
• the transducer 222 disposed below and outside the tube 210, a hollow space within the tube 210 for containing the transducer 222 and a float 116 (as in Fig. 7) is not required, and the tube 210 need not be hollow and need not have an open bottom end.
• the only requirements for the tube 220, in accordance with the present invention, are that it is similar to the tube 110 in that it has the same outside dimensions (for use with the same wave environment) and has a closed top end serving as a piston responding to surface wave pressure variations.
• the tube 220 similarly as the tube 110, must be neutrally buoyant, for vertical oscillations in responses to top to bottom pressure variations caused by overpassing waves, but the tube can be hollow or solid to any extent as may be desired.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Other Liquid Machine Or Engine Such As Wave Power Use (AREA)

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• 2000
  • 2000-05-26 CA CA002347398A patent/CA2347398A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-05-26 EP EP00936363A patent/EP1336051A4/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-05-26 WO PCT/US2000/014652 patent/WO2001092718A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

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