JP5886081B2 - Wave power generator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wave power generator.

  The wave power generator disclosed in Patent Document 1 below has a swingable paddle, and one end of the paddle is submerged in seawater. When the paddle is swung by the wave, the hydraulic cylinder expands and contracts in conjunction with this, and the hydraulic oil is transferred to the accumulator. The accumulator sends hydraulic oil to the hydraulic machine to drive the generator, thereby generating electric power.

Special table 2007-534878

  In the above-described wave power generation device, the magnitude of the swing energy of the paddle greatly affects the generated power. Here, the rocking energy of the paddle depends exclusively on the wave velocity. However, in the above, the wave speed is simply left to the natural situation, and there is still room for improvement from the viewpoint of increasing power generation efficiency.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wave power generator that can increase power generation efficiency and can easily perform installation work. .

  As means for achieving the above-mentioned object, the present invention includes a water turbine that has a rotating shaft portion and rotates around the axis of the rotating shaft portion, and is connected to the rotating shaft portion of the water wheel to convert the rotational energy of the water wheel into electric energy. A wave power generation device including a generator for generating electricity by converting, and at least a part of the wall body, which is disposed in water, is provided with a rectangular slit along the vertical direction, The water turbine is suspended and supported by a bearing disposed at a position where the upper end portion side of the rotating shaft portion is higher than the water surface, along the axis of the rotating shaft portion along the vertical direction which is the long side direction of the slit. It is a configuration.

  According to the present invention, since the flow velocity is increased when the wave passes through the slit, the water turbine can be rotated at a high speed, and the power generation capacity can be increased. Further, since the water wheel is installed in a posture along the vertical direction that is the long side direction of the slit, the bearing of the water wheel can be set at a position higher than the water surface. Therefore, it is not necessary to work underwater when installing the bearing. Therefore, installation work can be performed smoothly. Moreover, since the bearing is not always immersed in water, the progress of corrosion is also suppressed.

The front view which shows the wave power generator of Embodiment 1. Same side sectional view Side cross-sectional view showing enlarged bearing part Cross-sectional view of the area around the water wheel Side sectional view showing a wave power generator of a second embodiment Similarly, a side sectional view showing the bearing part in an enlarged manner

<Embodiment 1>
The wave power generation device of the first embodiment is provided on a concrete wall body 1 installed along a coastal area. The wall body 1 is formed so that the wall surface faces the wave traveling direction, and a plurality of slits 2 are formed in the wall body 1 so as to penetrate the width direction at regular intervals. Each slit exhibits the effect of increasing the flow velocity when the wave passes.

As means for achieving the above-mentioned object, the present invention includes a water turbine that has a rotating shaft portion and rotates around the axis of the rotating shaft portion, and is connected to the rotating shaft portion of the water wheel to convert the rotational energy of the water wheel into electric energy. A wave power generation device including a generator for generating electricity by converting, and at least a part of the wall body, which is disposed in water, is provided with a rectangular slit along the vertical direction, , The axial axis of the rotating shaft is arranged along the vertical direction which is the long side direction of the slit, and the thrust bearing that supports the load in the vertical direction is higher than the radial bearing that supports the load in the horizontal direction at a position higher than the water surface. This is a configuration in which the water turbine is suspended and supported by a support flange formed on the upper end portion side of the rotating shaft portion of the water turbine, which is arranged on the upper side in the vertical direction and locked to the upper surface of the thrust bearing .

  In each slit 2, a water wheel 3 is assembled vertically. The water turbine 3 includes a rotating shaft portion 4 and a rotating blade portion 5. In the front view shown in FIG. 1, the water turbine 3 passes through a center line (also a vertical line) connecting the intermediate points of both short sides of the slit 2 in the thickness direction of the wall 1 ( They are arranged in a plane along the XX direction shown in FIG.

A pair of mounting flanges 6 are provided in the middle of the rotating shaft portion 4. Both mounting flanges 6 have a disk shape, and the rotation shaft portion 4 passes through the center thereof. As shown in FIG. 4, the rotary blade portion 5 is configured such that four rotary blades 5 </ b> A are radially arranged around the rotary shaft portion 4 at intervals of 90 °, and these are sandwiched between both mounting flanges 6. . Further, in the state where the water turbine 3 is attached in the slit 2, as shown in FIG. 4, the tip of the rotary blade portion 5 does not protrude outward from the wall body 1.
In addition, the water turbine 3 is configured such that the entire rotary blade portion 5 is submerged in the sea.

  Next, the bearing structure of the water wheel 3 will be described (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The rotary shaft portion 4 protrudes upward from the upper mounting flange 6 and then passes through the wall body 1 and protrudes upward. A bearing box 7 is incorporated in a portion facing the upper end surface of the slit 2 in the wall body 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the bearing box 7 is composed of a box body 7 </ b> A that accommodates the two bearings 8 and 9, and a mounting plate 7 </ b> B that projects from the lower surface thereof. It is fixed by tightening bolts 10 or the like.

  In the box body 7A, the first bearing 8 and the second bearing 9 are accommodated in a state of being aligned in the vertical direction. The first bearing 8 disposed on the upper side is a thrust bearing that supports the weight of the entire water turbine 3, and the second bearing 9 disposed on the lower side is a radial bearing that rotatably supports the rotating shaft portion 4.

  A large-diameter support flange 11 is formed overhanging the rotary shaft portion 4 and is locked to the upper surface of the first bearing 8. As a result, the entire water turbine 3 is suspended and supported in a rotatable state. As shown in FIG. 2, the lower end side of the rotating shaft portion 4 is inserted into the steady rest 12 fixed to the lower end surface in the slit 2 with an appropriate clearance around.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the height at which the bearing box 7 is disposed is a height that does not immerse in the sea even at high tide.

  A support base 13 is fixed to the upper surface of the wall 1 and a generator 14 as a power generation means is attached. The generator 14 is connected on the axis of the rotating shaft portion 4 and can generate electric power by converting rotational energy into electric energy based on the rotation of the rotating shaft portion 4.

  Next, the effect of Embodiment 1 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated concretely. When the wave is struck against the wall body 1, the water turbine 3 is rotated by the wave passing through the slit 2. Thereby, based on rotation of the rotating shaft part 4, the generator 14 converts the rotational energy of the rotating shaft part 4 into electric energy to generate electric power. In addition, the wave power generation device of Embodiment 1 operates similarly to the above also in the case of a pulling wave.

  By the way, according to the first embodiment, since the flow velocity increases when the wave passes through the slit 2, the rotational speed of the water turbine 3 can be increased and the power generation can be improved. Therefore, the power generation efficiency can be increased by effectively using wave energy. In particular, since the rotating shaft portion 4 of the water turbine 3 is provided along the longitudinal center line of the slit 2, that is, when considering the flow velocity distribution of the wave passing through the slit 2, the longitudinal center region having the fastest flow velocity is obtained. Since the rotation shaft portion 4 is arranged on the front, the speed increasing action by the slit 2 can be obtained more effectively. Further, by installing the water wheel 3 inside the slit 2, the water wheel 3 can be protected from damage.

  The first embodiment also has the following effects. In the present embodiment, by using a thrust bearing for the first bearing 8, the entire water turbine 3 can be installed along the vertical direction. The significance of installing the water turbine 3 in the vertical orientation as described above is as follows. If the slit 2 is formed horizontally in the wall 1 and the water wheel 3 is also installed in the horizontal direction, both the water wheel 3 and the rotating shaft 4 are likely to be submerged. If that happens, the generator 14 is also in danger of being submerged, but such a situation must be avoided. For this purpose, it is necessary to remove the generator 14 from the axis of the rotating shaft portion 4 of the water turbine 3 and install it upward, and to set an appropriate power transmission means between the water turbine 3 and the generator 14. If it becomes so, while the structure of the whole electric power generating apparatus becomes complicated, the installation operation | work of the water turbine 3 also becomes difficult. In that respect, in Embodiment 1, since the water turbine 3 is attached in the vertical direction and the generator 14 is directly connected to the upper end of the rotating shaft portion 4, the configuration of the entire power generation apparatus is simple, and the installation work is also simple.

  Furthermore, since the water turbine 3 is installed vertically, it is possible to set the shaft support portion of the water turbine 3 so as to be positioned higher than the water surface (sea surface) height. If this is the case, the installation work of the shaft support portion does not require a work in the sea, and the shaft support portion can be protected from corrosion by seawater. In addition, in the first embodiment, since the entire water turbine 3 is supported by being suspended, the bearings need only be on the upper side. In the first embodiment, only the lower end of the rotating shaft portion 4 is steady by the steady rest 12, so that the steady rest 12 can adopt a simple structure that can be used even in the sea.

<Embodiment 2>
5 and 6 show Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the side wall 15 is provided on the land side of the wall 1. The side wall body 15 is disposed along the width direction of the wall body 1, and has a space 16 for wave absorption between the wall body 1 and the side wall body 15. In this embodiment, the wall body 1 and the side wall body 15 are connected by a top wall 17 and a bottom wall 18 and have a box structure integrated as a whole.

  Also in the present embodiment, the water turbine 30 is arranged along the center line in the vertical direction inside the slit 2. The rotating shaft 31 of the water turbine 30 penetrates the ceiling surface 2A of the slit 2 and protrudes to the upper surface of the wall 1 and is connected to the generator 14 at the upper end. In the second embodiment, an upper bearing box 33 is installed inside a support base 32 that fixes the generator 14. The upper bearing box 33 is composed of a box main body 33A and a mounting plate 33B formed to project outward on the lower surface of the box bearing box 33A. Fixed.

  A first bearing 35 that is a thrust bearing and a second bearing 36 that is a radial bearing disposed below the first bearing 35 are accommodated in the box body 33A. A lower bearing box 37 is provided on the ceiling surface 2 </ b> A of the slit 2. The lower bearing box 37 is also composed of a box body 37A and a mounting plate 37B, and the mounting plate 37B is fixed to the ceiling surface 2A by tightening bolts 38 or the like. However, the lower bearing box 37 is also arranged higher than the sea level (the level of the sea level at high tide).

  A third bearing 39 that is a radial bearing is accommodated in the lower bearing box 37. The third bearing 39 and the second bearing 36 are arranged so as to be separated from each other with the wall 1 interposed therebetween. In this way, since the runout of the entire water turbine 30 is effectively suppressed by supporting the rotary shaft portion 31 at two points at a constant distance, in this embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the rotary shaft A structure in which the lower end of the portion 4 is inserted into the steady rest 12 is omitted, and the lower end of the water turbine 30 can be in a free state separated from the bottom surface in the slit 2.

  Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, common members are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and description thereof is omitted.

  The second embodiment is configured as described above. In addition to the functions and effects of the first embodiment, the following functions and effects can be achieved. In the second embodiment, since the first to third bearings 35, 36, 39 are all arranged higher than the sea level, underwater work is not compulsory in all the installation work of the bearing portions. Therefore, these installation operations can be performed smoothly. Since the second embodiment does not require even the steady rest as in the first embodiment, the installation work is simpler.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) In the above embodiment, the case where the water wheel is arranged inside the slit is shown. However, as long as the installation area is subjected to the speed increasing action by the slit, the water wheel may be arranged outside the slit (the sea side or the land side). Good.
(2) When installing the water wheel outside the slit, a pair of rectifying plates facing each other with substantially the same width as the slit may be provided, and the water wheel may be installed between them.
(3) In the second embodiment, the case where the second and third bearings, which are radial bearings, are arranged so as to sandwich the wall body 1 from above and below is exemplified, but the arrangement is not necessarily sandwiched and is higher than the water surface (sea surface). If it is in a position, it may be arranged in two positions that are spaced apart by a predetermined interval in the vertical direction.
(4) Although the case where the power generation apparatus is installed in the sea has been described in the above embodiment, it can be installed in a river, a lake, or the like.
(5) In the above embodiment, the rotating shaft portion of the water wheel is disposed along the center line connecting the midpoints of both short sides of the slit. However, if it is within the region when the slit is projected in the front view of the wall body Alternatively, they may be arranged deviated from the center line.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wall body 2 ... Slit 3,30 ... Water wheel 4,31 ... Rotary shaft part 8,35 ... 1st bearing (thrust bearing)
9, 36 ... 2nd bearing (radial bearing)
12 ... Stabilizer 14 ... Generator 39 ... Third bearing (radial bearing)

Claims (3)

A water wheel having a rotation shaft portion and rotating around an axis of the rotation shaft portion;
A wave power generator comprising: a generator connected to the rotating shaft of the water wheel to generate electric power by converting rotational energy of the water wheel into electric energy;
The wall body, at least a part of which is placed in the water, is provided with a rectangular slit along the vertical direction, and the water turbine is arranged in a vertical direction in which the axis of the rotary shaft portion is the long side direction of the slit. Arranged along
At a position higher than the water surface, a thrust bearing that supports a load in the vertical direction is arranged vertically above a radial bearing that supports a load in the horizontal direction, and is formed on the upper end side of the rotating shaft portion of the water turbine. A wave power generation device, wherein a support flange is engaged with an upper surface of the thrust bearing and the water wheel is suspended and supported. The wave power generator according to claim 1, wherein a lower end portion of the rotating shaft portion protrudes downward from the water turbine, and a lower end portion thereof is inserted into a steady rest . The at least two or more radial bearings that support a horizontal load acting on the rotating shaft portion are disposed at positions spaced apart from each other on the upper end portion side of the rotating shaft portion. The wave power generation device according to 1 or 2.

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