KR101346067B1 - Floating body for wave-power generation and wave-power generating system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a floating body for wave-power generation, a wave-power generation system using the same, and an operation method for the same. The floating body for wave-power generation according to the present invention comprises a floating part for providing buoyancy; a skirt at the bottom of the floating body to be open towards the bottom and to form a bottom space for accepting water; and a crown for forming a top space which is open towards the top of the floating part.

Description

Floating body for wave power generation and wave power generation device using the same {FLOATING BODY FOR WAVE-POWER GENERATION AND WAVE-POWER GENERATING SYSTEM USING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to wave power generation, and more particularly, to a floating body used for wave power generation, a wave power generation device using the same, and a driving method thereof.

Electric energy, which is widely used in modern life, utilizes a method of converting original energy into electric energy by electromagnetic induction by rotating a generator in most cases except solar power generation. Power generation requires the consumption of other forms of energy other than electricity to rotate generators. The source of this energy is called the power generation resource. Depending on the power resources used, it is divided into hydro, thermal, nuclear, wind, geothermal, solar, tidal, tidal and wave power.

Representative hydroelectric, thermal and nuclear power generation of these power generation methods require large-scale power generation facilities and a huge amount of energy source to operate them, and installation sites are limited. In addition, these power generation methods have a problem in that they are not environmentally friendly due to the destruction of the ecosystem, the finiteness of the fuel used, the air pollution caused by the use of fuel, and the release of radioactivity.

Recently, power generation methods are being developed that can utilize environmentally friendly and permanent energy sources using natural energy such as solar, tidal, wave, wind and solar power. Among them, wave power generation is power generation using wave energy of waves. The wave power generation can be classified into moving object type, vibration receiving type, wall wave type, hydraulic pressure type, setup type and the like according to the operating principle. Among these, in the movable object type that uses the force and vibration applied to the object, the object that primarily receives the wave energy in order to convert the wave energy into mechanical energy is a floating body (or buoy or float).

Floating body is desirable to be able to extract various types of wave energy such as impulse energy, buoyancy energy, load energy more efficiently.

Conventional floats according to the prior art are generally hollow bodies made of plastic to have a shape such as a cube, a cuboid (see FIG. 1), a cylinder, or the like, and may be filled with a material having a lower density than water such as styrofoam therein. .

However, in the conventional floating body having a shape such as a cube, a cube, a cylinder, or the like, only the impulse energy and the buoyancy energy are used, and the load energy of water is hardly used. For example, in the case of the wave power generation using the up and down movement of the floating body, the conventional rising movement of the floating body depends on the buoyancy of the floating body, and the lowering movement depends on the weight of the floating body. Accordingly, in order to increase the upward movement, the density of the float, that is, the weight per unit volume, must be reduced, while in order to increase the downward movement, a contradictory problem arises in that the weight of the floating body must be increased.

Due to this problem, in order to obtain a balanced up and down movement, the conventional floating body had to design appropriately by compromising the size and weight of the floating body. Therefore, since there was a limit to increase the efficiency of converting the wave energy into mechanical energy only by the size and weight of the floating body, there is a need for another way to overcome this limitation.

Patent Application Publication No. 10-2012-0019935

It is an object of the present invention to provide a wave power floating body capable of increasing the efficiency of converting wave energy into mechanical energy by overcoming the aforementioned limitations by the floating body according to the prior art in wave power generation.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a wave power floating body whose size is reduced while increasing the wave power generation efficiency.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide various types of wave power generation apparatuses that can utilize the float of the present invention.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of operating a power generation device including the float of the present invention.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, a floating body for wave power generation includes a buoyancy unit for providing buoyancy; And a skirt which opens downward to the lower portion of the buoyancy portion to form a lower space for receiving water.

The skirt may be provided with an exhaust portion for exhausting the air inside the skirt.

The exhaust unit may include a check valve.

The exhaust portion may include a valve to allow only the discharge of air.

The skirt may be wider than the buoyancy portion.

The skirt may be wider as it goes down to the lower end.

At least one partition wall may be vertically formed in the skirt, and the inner space of the skirt may be divided into two or more.

The bottom surface of the skirt may be formed to be inclined.

Floating body for wave power generation according to another aspect of the present invention is a buoyancy unit for providing a buoyancy; And a crown forming an upper space upwardly open above the buoyancy portion.

The crown may be formed with a drain for draining the water contained in the crown.

The crown may be formed as a side wall surrounding the upper space, and the side wall may be formed to be inclined.

An incline may be formed on the bottom surface of the crown.

The crown is formed of a side wall surrounding the upper space, a portion of the side wall is formed separately from the crown so that the upper end is rotatably connected to the upper end of the crown, a portion of the side wall closes the side of the upper space The side of the upper space may be opened by rotating outside the crown in a convenient state.

The top surface of the crown may be formed to be inclined.

The float according to the invention may comprise both the crown and skirt described above.

The wave power generating apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes the above-mentioned floating body.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of operating a wave power generation apparatus includes removing air from a lower space of a skirt and filling water.

When the skirt is provided with an exhaust portion, filling the water may include opening the exhaust portion, submerging the skirt into the water, and introducing water into the skirt through the lower portion of the skirt while air in the skirt is exhausted through the exhaust portion. And closing the exhaust unit.

When the exhaust unit is a check valve or a valve to allow only the discharge of air, the filling of the water may involve submerging the skirt into the water so that water flows into the skirt through the lower portion of the skirt while the air in the skirt is exhausted through the check valve. By doing so.

The wave power generation floating body according to the present invention configured as described above can increase the efficiency of converting the wave energy into mechanical energy by improving both the up and down movement of the floating body by the wave force. In other words, in the case of a simple floating body, the wave power is fully used when the floating body is raised, but when the floating body is lowered, it is possible to generate power for half a cycle because there is no reduction force except self weight. In accordance with the present invention, the wave-powered floating body according to the present invention is capable of driving a generator since at least one of the weight of the water contained in the skirt and the weight of the water contained in the crown acts while the floating body descends, so that the power generation continues for one cycle. It is possible.

Wave power generation floating body according to the present invention can be formed in a variety of sizes can be utilized in various types of wave power generation device, thereby increasing the wave power generation efficiency.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments given in connection with the following accompanying drawings.
1 is a perspective view showing a schematic shape of a floating body according to the prior art.
2 is a perspective view showing a schematic shape of a floating body according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an exemplary valve installed in the skirt of the float of FIG. 2.
4 and 5 are vertical cross-sectional views showing schematic shapes of other modified embodiments of the float shown in FIG.
6 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a land wave power generation device equipped with a float according to the present invention.
7 is a view for explaining the operation when the floating body according to the prior art and the floating body according to the present invention is applied to the land wave power generation.
8A and 8B are perspective and vertical cross-sectional views, respectively, showing a schematic shape of another modified embodiment of the float shown in FIG.
FIG. 9A is a vertical sectional view showing a schematic shape of yet another modified embodiment of the float shown in FIG. 2. FIG.
FIG. 9B is a schematic view for explaining the operation of the float shown in FIG. 9A.
FIG. 10A is a vertical sectional view showing a schematic shape of yet another modified embodiment of the float shown in FIG. 2. FIG.
10B is a schematic view for explaining the operation of the float shown in FIG. 10A.
11 is a front view and a plan view of a wave power generation apparatus installed on a barge floating in the near sea;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are provided by way of example so that those skilled in the art can fully understand the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, but may be embodied in other forms. In the drawings, the width, length, thickness, etc. of the components may be exaggerated for convenience. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Prior to the description of the float of the present invention, the characteristics of the waves used in the wave power generating apparatus including the float of the present invention will be described first.

Waves can be broadly classified into coastal waves and near-shore waves. First, coastal waves have a larger vertical wave and horizontal amplitude than near sea waves and have the shape of a breaking wave. The types of energy that can be obtained using coastal waves having these characteristics can be classified into impulse energy, buoyancy energy, and load energy. The impulse energy appears as a force that tries to push the floating body when the waves collide with it, and the buoyant energy appears as a buoyant force that raises the floating object. The load energy is represented by the load of water generated by the filling of water in any space of the object by the waves.

In conventional wave power generation, the buoyant energy is mainly used to convert vertical kinetic energy of the floating body into electrical energy. That is, the vertical kinetic energy of the floating body due to the repetition of the uplift motion due to the buoyancy of the floating body and the descending motion by the weight of the floating body was converted into electrical energy.

On the contrary, in the float according to the present invention and the power generation apparatus using the same, in order to increase power generation efficiency by further using load energy of water in addition to the buoyancy received by the conventional float.

Consider a case where an object having a space open upward and downward on the upper and lower portions, respectively, floats on the water, in particular, the water in the lower space of the object is pre-filled. In the case of the coastal wave, the wave hits the object by the breaking wave, and a certain amount of water is filled in the upper space of the floating body, and the weight of the filled water of the water causes the force to press down the object. In addition, as the sea level around the object is lowered by the waves, the object also descends with it. At this time, the sea level outside the object is lower than the water level of the water filled in the lower space of the object, the water filled in the lower space causes a force to pull the object down.

The present invention is to provide a space to be filled with water in the upper and lower portions of the floating body, by using the load of the water in the vertical motion by the buoyancy and weight of the floating body. The following describes the preferred embodiments of the float to implement these basic concepts.

2 is a perspective view showing a schematic shape of a floating body according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Compared to FIG. 1 showing the float 10 according to the prior art, the float 100 shown in FIG. 2 has a space for accommodating water in the upper and lower portions of the float. Specifically, the floating body 100 according to the present invention is an upper structure (hereinafter referred to as a crown) is formed on the buoyancy portion 120, and the upper space formed on the upper end of the buoyancy portion 120 to open upward ( 140 and a lower structure (hereinafter, referred to as a skirt) 160 formed at a lower end of the buoyancy part 120 to form a lower space opened downward.

The buoyancy portion 120 of the floating body 100 is made of a plastic such as fiber reinforced plastic (FRP), stainless steel such as S / S 316L to have a hollow hexahedral shape, the inside is more than water, such as styrofoam It can be filled with a less dense material. If only the buoyancy portion 120 is seen, it has the same configuration as a typical float (eg, float 10 shown in FIG. 1). Therefore, the shape is not limited to a hexahedron but may be cylindrical, disk-shaped, or the like.

The crown 140 is formed of a side wall formed at the edge of the upper surface of the buoyancy portion 120, to form a space opened upwards. The crown 140 functions to receive the water introduced by the waves. The water received as described above causes the floating force 100 to press down while the floating body 100 moves due to its weight.

However, when the float 100 must rise again, the received water will hinder the rise of the float 100. Therefore, the received water is preferably drained before the floating body 100 rises. To this end, the crown 140 may be formed with a drain 145, such as a hole or a valve in the bottom or bottom side. The drain 145 is preferably sized, positioned, and numbered so that the water contained in the crown 140 is mostly drained until the raised float 100 descends and then rises again. Drainage means of other manners other than the drainage portion will be further described in the following embodiments.

On the other hand, the drain 145 may be unnecessary depending on the type of the wave power generating device to which the floating body 100 of the present invention and the shape of the crown. This will be described again below.

The skirt 160 includes a sidewall formed at the edge of the lower surface of the buoyancy unit 120 to form a downwardly open space, and accommodates water therein. In order for the float 100 of the present invention to operate normally, the skirt must be filled with water at all times. To this end, the skirt 160 may form an exhaust portion 165 such as a hole or a valve that can be manually opened or closed on the upper side or the upper side. When the floater 100 floats in water for the first time, the exhaust unit 165 is opened, and the skirt 160 is submerged in water so that water flows into the skirt 160 through the lower portion of the skirt 160 and the skirt is introduced. Air in 160 is exhausted through exhaust 165. When the water is completely filled in the skirt 160, the exhaust unit 165 is closed.

On the other hand, if air flows into the skirt 160 during the operation of the float 100, particularly during the rise of the float 100, the operating efficiency of the float 100 decreases. It should be removed. To this end, the exhaust unit 165 may include a one-way valve, that is, a check valve that can block the air from flowing outside while the air in the skirt 160 is discharged to the outside. In this case, even when air flows into the skirt 160 during the rise of the float 100, water flows through the open lower portion of the skirt 160 during the fall of the float 100, thereby causing Air may be exhausted through the exhaust unit 165 which is a check valve.

Among the check valves, the exhaust part 165 may be a valve capable of only allowing the outflow of air and blocking the inflow and outflow of water as well as the inflow of air.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the exhaust unit 165 allowing only the outflow of air. Referring to FIG. 3, the exhaust part 165 includes a hollow valve body, a first valve plate 165a, a spring 165b, and a second valve plate 165c. The first valve plate 165a is configured to be rotatably connected to the valve body at a portion that tightly penetrates and penetrates the valve body. One end of the outer portion of the valve body of the first valve plate 165a is connected to the spring 165b so that the first valve plate 165a is partially opened. In addition, the second valve plate 165d is configured to be rotatably connected to the valve body at a portion that tightly penetrates and penetrates the valve body. The second valve plate 165b closes the flow path in the valve body by its own weight, but is configured to rotate by air pressure to open the flow path in the valve body when air is discharged from the inside of the skirt 160.

According to such a structure, since the force acting on the part of the 1st valve plate 165a changes with the material which flows through the flow path in a valve body, the 1st valve plate 165a according to the material which flows through the flow path in a valve body. It can be opened or closed by. That is, when a large force exceeding the elastic force of the spring 165b acts on the portion of the first valve plate 165a, the inside of the valve body is closed by the first valve plate 165a. Alternatively, exhaust 165 may be configured as a conventional check valve. As another alternative, a conventional check valve may be used in place of the second valve plate 165c of the exhaust part 165. In such a configuration, water may be prevented from being discharged through the check valve.

In this embodiment, the configuration in which the exhaust portion is horizontally attached to the upper end of the skirt is not limited thereto.

When the air inside the skirt 160 exits through the exhaust part 165, the first valve plate 165a maintains the inside of the valve body by the elastic force of the spring 165b. In addition, since the second valve plate 165c functions as a normal check valve, the air inside the skirt 160 is exhausted through the exhaust unit 165. However, when water escapes from the interior of the skirt 160 through the exhaust part 165, the first valve plate 165a exceeds the elastic force of the spring 165b and closes the inside of the valve body due to water pressure. Water is not discharged through the exhaust 165. In addition, the water outside the skirt 160 is blocked from entering the skirt 160 by the second valve plate 165c.

The crown 140 and the skirt 160 may be formed integrally or separately with the buoyancy unit 120. When the crown 140 and the skirt 160 are formed separately, the floating body 100 may be formed by being attached to upper and lower portions of the buoyancy portion 120 of the floating body 100 separately manufactured. In this case, since the buoyancy portion 120 of the floating body 100 according to the present invention may have the same structure as the existing floating body 10 according to the prior art, the upper portion of the existing floating body according to the prior art and The floating body 100 according to the present invention may be implemented by attaching the crown 140 and the skirt 160 to the lower portion, respectively.

4 and 5 are vertical cross-sectional views showing schematic shapes of other modified embodiments of the float shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 4, the skirt formed at the lower portion of the floating body has a form in which the width thereof becomes wider toward the bottom (FIG. 4A), or in a form in which the skirt is wider than the buoyancy portion 120 (FIG. 4). (B)) or a vertical partition wall is formed inside the skirt, so that a plurality of inner spaces of the skirt may be formed (FIG. 4C). According to the embodiment of the type shown in (a) and (b) of FIG. 4, not only the amount of water contained in the skirt increases, but also the area thereof expands to increase the force for attracting the floating body, thereby lowering the floating body. Can be further improved. In addition, as shown in (c) of FIG. 4, when the skirt is formed of a plurality of independent spaces, damage such as a hole occurs in one side wall of the skirt, and the corresponding internal space does not function properly. However, the remaining spaces can function as a skirt. In addition, in the configuration illustrated in FIG. 4C, the exhaust unit 165 described above may be installed in a plurality of spaces, respectively.

In addition, referring to Figure 5, the width of the crown formed on the upper portion of the floating body is widened upward (Fig. 5 (a)), or has a vertex at the bottom center of the crown and the width of the crown is wider upward Losing form, ie, the bottom portion of the crown can be configured to be inclined form the same as the side wall (Fig. 5 (b)). In particular, in the embodiment shown in (b) of FIG. 5, if the top view of the crown is a quadrangle, the inner space of the crown is a concave portion of an inverse pyramid shape, and a circular concave portion of a crown. This variant embodiment may be advantageous when the float is tilted during up and down motion. In other words, if the height and inclination of the side wall of the crown are properly set in consideration of the inclination occurring during the operation of the float, when the float is inclined, the water contained in the crown can be drained through the upper end of the crown. In this case, the above-described drain 145 may not be necessary. This will be described again below.

On the other hand, the shape of the skirt and the crown of the embodiment shown in Figures 4 and 5 can be applied to the crown and skirt, respectively, various combinations are possible. In addition, the shape seen from the upper side and the lower side of the crown and skirt, unlike the embodiment shown, may not be the same as the buoyancy portion.

Next, referring to FIG. 6, a brief description will be given of a wave power generation apparatus to which the floating body 100 according to the present invention is applied. The wave power generator shown in FIG. 6 is a land wave power generator in which the main body is installed on a breakwater or a coast.

Referring to FIG. 6, the wave power generator 200 includes a floater 100 having the above-described configuration, a generator body 220 installed in a breakwater or offshore 300, and the floater 100 and the generator body. And arm 240 connecting 220. Arm 240, the floating body 100 of the above-described configuration is fixed at one end and connected to the generator main body 220 at the other end, the vertical lifting movement of the floating body 100 is converted into bidirectional rotational movement To the device body 220.

The generator main body 220 has a first rotational shaft 222 connected to the generator and two auxiliary rotational shafts, that is, a second rotational shaft 224 and a third rotational shaft 226, which are externally rotated. ) And a gear (referenced in Patent Application No. 10-2008-0118486), and the other end of the arm 240 of the floating body 100 is fixedly connected to the third rotating shaft (226). When the floating body 100 descends and the third rotation shaft 226 is rotated in the clockwise direction, the first rotation shaft 222 subjected to the force by the ratchet rotates in the same direction. At this time, the third rotation shaft 226 does not transmit any force to the second rotation shaft 224 by the ratchet. In addition, when the floating body 100 rises to rotate the third rotating shaft 226 in the counterclockwise direction, the second rotating shaft 224 subjected to the force by the ratchet rotates in the same direction, and thus, the third rotating shaft 226. ) Does not transmit force to the first rotation shaft 222 by the ratchet. On the other hand, since the second rotary shaft 224 is internally connected to rotate the first rotary shaft 222 in a direction opposite to it, counterclockwise rotation of the second rotary shaft 224 clocks the first rotary shaft 222. Rotate in the direction.

In conclusion, when the float 100 descends and rotates clockwise about the axis, the float 100 rotates in a clockwise direction and the float 100 rises and rotates counterclockwise. In this case, the first rotation shaft 222 which is the generator shaft is rotated in the clockwise direction. That is, the generator shaft is rotated in the same direction regardless of which direction the floating body 100 rotates, the power generation can be made by this rotational movement.

Regarding converting the up and down movement of the floating body into rotational movement for power generation, other known techniques other than those disclosed in Patent Application No. 10-2008-1108486 may be used.

Next, with reference to FIG. 7, the operation of the floating body according to the present invention in the land wave power generating apparatus shown in FIG. 6 will be described in comparison with the floating body according to the prior art. In Fig. 7, the operation of the floating body 10 according to the prior art is shown on the left side, and the operation of the floating body 100 according to the present invention is shown on the right side.

A state shown in FIG. 7A is set to a neutral state. First, as described above, the floating body 100 according to the present invention uses various exhaust parts 165 to remove air from the inside of the skirt of the floating body 100 so that water is filled. At this time, when using the check valve or the valve shown in Figure 3 as the exhaust portion, no additional work is required. That is, while the floating body 100 moves up and down by the waves, the water flows in through the lower portion of the skirt and the air in the skirt is exhausted to the outside through the exhaust portion, so that the water is filled in the skirt.

In the wave power generator shown in FIG. 6, since the main body is installed at a breakwater or a coast, the characteristics of waves used for power generation are short in wavelength, high in wave height, and breaking waves are generated. Therefore, when the wave hits in the neutral state as shown above, as shown in Figure 7 (b), the sea level rises while the floating body (10, 100) rises. At this time, the main force for raising the float (10, 100) is a buoyancy force acting on the float (10, 100). As described above, the conventional floating body 10 should have a suitable weight for the lower, while the floating body 100 according to the present invention can be made as light as possible because it can receive the action of water during the falling. That is, the floater 100 according to the present invention may be designed lighter than the conventional floater 10 for the same (planar) size. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the floats 10 and 100 rise, the float 100 according to the present invention may rise with a larger lifting force than the conventional float 10. . At this time, the skirt of the float 100 according to the present invention is filled with water, but is opened downward, so when the float 100 rises, the water filled in the skirt does not affect the rise of the float.

When the sea level is lowered while the wave is receding, the floating body 10 according to the prior art is lowered together with the weight of the floating body 10 as the sea level falls. On the contrary, in the floating body 100 according to the present invention, since water is accommodated in the crown of the upper part of the floating body 100 by waves, in particular, breaking waves, the weight of the floating body 100 and the weight of the water filled in the crown Due to the floating body 100 is lowered. On the other hand, since the floating body 100 is lowered accordingly when the sea level is lowered, the height of the upper surface of the water filled in the skirt of the floating body 100 is generally higher than the sea level when the floating body 100 descends. In this case, the water filled in the skirt pulls the float 100 down by its weight. Thus, the floating body 100 is added to the weight of the water itself and the weight of the water filled in the crown, as well as the weight of the water filled in the skirt is lowered by the load by these weights.

In this state, as shown in (d) of FIG. 7, when the floats 10 and 200 descend to the lowest point, the float 10 according to the prior art is still lowered by its own weight while the sea level rises. Prepare to rise again by buoyancy. In the case of the present invention, the water filled in the crown is drained both through the upper end of the crown, i.e., the upper end of the side wall, and by the above-described drainage (145 in FIG. Does not interfere with ascension As described above, this drain 145 is preferably designed in size, position and number so that all the water contained in the crown is drained while the float 100 is operated from (a) to (d) of FIG. Do.

In the floating body 100 according to the present invention operating in this way, the length of the skirt should be properly designed so that water does not flow into the skirt during the vertical lift. In general, when using the coastal waves as described above, the floating body 100 is 1m in the width / length / height of the buoyancy portion, respectively, the height of the crown and skirt 0.3m and 1m, respectively, and the width / length are all designed to 1m do.

When the floating body of the present invention is used in an area where the wave amplitude is rather large, the length of the skirt is slightly longer, and when the floating body is used in an area where the wave amplitude is rather small, the length of the skirt can be slightly shortened. In addition, even when designing the height of the crown, if the height of the crown is too high can accommodate a large amount of water can exhibit a large descending force, but the water can not be easily discharged to reduce the lifting force when the float rises have. The height of the skirt should be designed in consideration of the degree of water inflow due to the breaking wave and the drainage capacity of the drain.

As described above, the floating body according to the present invention is more efficient in the ascending and descending motion than in the conventional floating body, so that the same ascending and descending motion can be obtained even if the dimension on the horizontal plane is reduced.

In addition to the floating body 100 shown in FIG. 2, the modified embodiment of the floating body shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and the modified embodiment by a combination thereof may be applied to the wave power generator 200 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Can be. In this case, as described above, the skirt and the crown may have various effects depending on their shape. In other words, when the width of the skirt is widened, the water contained in the skirt increases the pulling force of the float, thereby further improving the downward movement of the float. In addition, when the width of the crown is widened, a large amount of water can be accommodated even if the height of the crown is low, and thus the lowering motion of the floating body can be further improved by the weight of the water. Moreover, the inclination of the crown sidewalls allows the water contained in the crown to be easily drained through the top of the crown when the float is inclined while descending. In particular, in the part where the water is drained through the top of the crown, that is, the float shown in FIG. 7, the right sidewall may be made lower or more inclined than the left sidewall to facilitate drainage of the water. The configuration of different heights of the left and right sidewalls of the crown will be described further below.

Next, another modified example of the floating body 100 according to the above-described embodiment will be described. 8A and 8B are perspective and vertical cross-sectional views, respectively, showing a schematic shape of the modified embodiments of the float shown in FIG. 2;

First, referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, the floating body 101 according to the present invention has the same configuration as the floating body 100 shown in FIG. 2 except that the heights of the sidewalls constituting the crown and the skirt are different. . As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the crown 141 and the skirt 161 of the floating body 101 may have upper and lower surfaces inclined, respectively. Here, the portion to which the arm 240 is connected is on the left side of the float.

Specifically, out of four sidewalls (in the illustrated embodiment) that are formed on top of the buoyancy portion 120 to form the crown 141, the heights of the two opposing sidewalls, here, the sidewalls 141a and 141c, are different. The upper two sidewalls 141b and 141d are formed to be inclined at an upper end thereof corresponding to the heights of the sidewalls 141a and 141c. The slope of the upper end of the crown 141 is determined in relation to the operation of the wave power generation apparatus to which the float of the present invention is applied. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in particular, as shown in the right view of FIGS. 7B and 7C, when the float 101 is inclined at its highest raised position, It is preferable to set the inclination of the upper end of the crown 141 so that the upper end is horizontal. This is because the height of the right side wall (in the drawing) of the crown 141 is equal to the height of the left side wall in the state in which the floating body 101 is inclined, as shown in the right view of FIGS. 7B and 7C. If it is the same, there is no problem in receiving water, and as the side wall is low, water can be easily introduced into the crown by waves. Moreover, lower side walls may be more advantageous when the water in the crown overflows. In addition, if the side wall of the crown is low, the weight of the floating body is lighter by that much.

On the other hand, the skirt 161 formed in the lower portion of the buoyancy portion 120, it is configured in a similar manner to the crown 141. However, it is preferable to incline the bottom of the skirt 161 so that the side wall 161 a of the skirt 161 positioned below the high side wall 141 a among the side walls 141 a and 141 c of the crown 141 is set short. Do. This is similar to the crown 141 described above, as shown in the right view of FIGS. 7B and 7C, the lower end of the skirt 161 is inclined when the float 101 is inclined to the highest position. The lower end of the skirt 161 is inclined so as to be horizontal. This is because the length of the skirt is set so that the lower portion of the skirt 161 is exposed out of the water during the up and down movement of the floating body so that the water in the skirt is not leaked to the outside, so that the right side of FIGS. 7 (b) and (c) As shown, the bottom of the skirt 161 will not be exposed out of water as long as the height of the left sidewall (of the figure) of the skirt 161 is equal to the height of the right sidewall.

As described above, in combination with imparting incline to the top and bottom of the crown 141 and the skirt 161, the inclination and width of their sidewalls, the bottom surface, and the like, as shown in Figs. Another embodiment may be implemented.

For example, instead of removing sidewalls of one side of the crown 142, the floater 102 shown in FIG. 9A may form a crown 142 extending in an inclined bottom portion. That is, the bottom portion 142e of the crown 142 is extended to be inclined at a predetermined angle instead of removing the sidewall of the portion facing the one sidewall 142a of the crown 142. The bottom portion 142e is formed so that the extended portion serves as a side wall facing the one side wall 142a and is deep in a portion adjacent to the side wall 142a. At this time, the side wall 142a is also inclined at a predetermined angle, but may be formed vertically. It is preferable that the upper end of the side wall 142a has a height higher than the distal end of the extended portion of the bottom 142e. In particular, the inclination of the bottom portion 142e is the crown 142 when the proximal end (part adjacent to the side wall 142a) of the bottom portion 142e is positioned lower than the distal end when the floating body 102 is inclined at the lowered position. The water contained in) can be easily drained. In the illustrated embodiment, it will be understood that no other side wall exists for connecting the side wall 142a and the bottom portion 142e to form the inner space of the crown.

Referring to FIG. 9B, which shows the raised position (a) and the lowered position (b) of the float body 102 shown in FIG. 9 a, the water contained within the skirt at the raised position (a) of the float body 102. It can be seen that can be easily drained at the lowered position (b) of the float (102). Therefore, in the present embodiment, a separate drain 145 may not be necessary.

As a further alternative embodiment, the floating body 103 shown in FIG. 10A has opposing sidewalls 143a and 143c of different heights and inclined bottom portions 143e and other sidewalls connecting them (not shown). It includes. The side wall 143a is formed to have a height higher than the side wall 143c, and the bottom part 143e is formed to have a deep depth at a portion adjacent to the side wall 143a. At this time, the side wall 143a may be formed to be inclined as in the embodiment shown in Figure 9a. On the other hand, the side wall 143c opposite the side wall 143a is formed separately from the float 103 and the upper end is connected by a hinge 148 to other side walls (not shown), which are formed by the crown 143. It is rotatably installed to open and close the side of the space to be. In the figure, the closed position is shown by the solid line and the open position is shown by the dashed line. At this time, the side wall 143c is limited so as not to rotate inside the crown 143. The side wall 143c may be kept closed by its own weight alone. For example, a spring may be installed in the hinge connection part, etc. so that the side wall 143c is in the closed position.

When water is filled and raised in the crown 143 of the floating body 103 thus constructed, ie as shown in FIG. 10B (a), the side wall 143c is designed to be in a closed position if possible. It is preferable. At this time, the water (more than the line AA in the drawing) above the lower end of the sidewall 143c among the water contained in the crown 143 acts as a force for opening the sidewall 143c, but the weight of the sidewall 143c and the spring installed selectively. As a result, the side wall 143c can maintain the closed position. Here, when the float 103 is lowered (when the right side of the float is inclined downward as shown in FIG. 10B), the water contained in the crown 143 pushes the side wall 143c further and the side wall 143c. ) 'S own weight is changed to the force to open, so that the side wall 143c opens beyond the spring's elastic force and the water contained in the crown 143 is discharged. The weight of the side wall 143c and the spring to be installed are preferably set such that the side wall 143c is operated in this manner.

In this case, the side wall 143c may be an entirety of one side of the crown, but may be configured to open a portion of the side wall 143c. This may be designed so that all the water contained in the crown 143 is drained until the floating body 103 is raised and lowered. Further, the bottom portion 143e is further inclined or the bottom portion 143e is extended so that the amount of water contained in the crown 143 that is less than or equal to the lower end portion of the sidewall 143c (less than or equal to the line AA in the drawing) is increased. If the side wall 143a is designed to be outside the buoyancy portion 120 or inclined such that the upper end of the side wall 143a is positioned inside the crown rather than the lower end, the side wall 143c may be opened and closed as described above without the spring. .

The floats 100, 101, 102, 103 and other variants thereof described so far are in the form of crowns and skirts respectively formed on the upper and lower portions of the buoyancy, which are the ground wave forces in which the body is installed on a breakwater or offshore. It is preferable to apply to a power generation device. This is because in the case of coastal waves, breaking waves occur, thereby forming a crown on the upper portion of the floating body to receive water, thereby improving the descending movement of the floating body. However, even with such a crown without a crown, or with a crown without a skirt, the float of the present invention can have a higher efficiency than the conventional float according to the prior art.

In FIG. 6, the floating body of the present invention is applied to a land wave power generation apparatus in which a main body is installed in a breakwater or a coast, but the wave power generation apparatus to which the floating body of the present invention is applied is not limited thereto. That is, the floating body of this invention can be applied also to the wave power generating apparatus installed in the sea or near sea of a near sea. In the case of using near-shore waves in the sea or near the sea as described above, the near-shore waves have little horizontal movement and little breaking waves, unlike the coastal waves, so that water rarely flows into the crown by the waves. . Therefore, in the case where the wave power generator is installed in the sea or near the sea, it is preferable to use a floating body having only a skirt formed below the buoyancy portion without a crown.

In addition, in the above embodiment, it was assumed that one end of the arm 240 is fixedly connected to the floating body, but one end of the arm 240 is rotatably connected to the floating body, for example, using a bearing or the like. Could be

Fig. 11 shows a wave power generation apparatus installed on a ship such as a barge floating on the near sea. The sea is the deep sea, where barges are used to install the facilities needed for power generation. If the depth is deep, it is not possible to build a fixed structure for land. Here, the barge is moved up and down as the wave. Barges, on the other hand, can be fixed to the seabed to some extent using ropes and anchors. In addition, the wave power generation device of the present invention may be installed in a general ship other than the barge.

The marine wave power generator 201 shown in FIG. 11 includes a float 104 formed of a buoyancy portion and a skirt, a generator unit 220 installed on a barge 301 floating at sea, and the float 104. And an arm 240 connecting the power generation device main body 220.

In FIG. 11, one unit is configured such that the floating bodies 104 are arranged one each to the left and right of the barge 301. When looking at a unit, the floats are located on opposite sides of the centerline one by one. This arrangement is to widen the extraction area of the wave energy. In addition, two opposing floats form a pair. In such a unit, a plurality of units may be arranged in a line on a long barge.

Floating body 104 is composed of only a buoyancy portion and a skirt without a crown at the top. Floating body 104 is designed for the buoyancy portion and the skirt width / height / height of 1m each.

The arm 240 is generally the same as the arm shown in FIG. 6, but the length is determined in consideration of the average wave wavelength of the region where the barge 301 is located, and the length of the arm is half of the average wavelength. Would be preferred.

Since the generator main body 220 is the same as that shown in FIG. 6, a description thereof will be omitted. Also, considering only the action of the skirt in the operation of the floats 100, 101, 102, 103 with the crown and skirt described above (since the action of the crown and the skirt are independent of each other), this is the part of this embodiment without the crown. Since the operation of the fluid 104 is the same, a description thereof is also omitted.

In addition to the structure floating on the sea, such as the barge shown in Figure 11, it is possible to install the wave power generating apparatus of the present invention on a structure fixed to the sea surface of the near sea. For example, a plurality of pillars fixed to the ground can be erected in the sea and a chassis can be installed thereon, and then a wave power generator can be installed on the chassis. In addition, it is also possible to build a large structure such as a breakwater in the sea and to secure the vibration order in the structure, and to install the floating body according to the present invention within the vibration order to use the vertical movement thereof.

While some embodiments of the present invention have been described by way of example, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the essential features thereof. Therefore, the embodiments described above should not be construed as limiting the technical spirit of the present invention but merely for better understanding. The scope of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments, and should be interpreted by the following claims, and the technical spirit within the scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100, 101, 102, 103, 104: floating body 120: buoyancy part
140, 141, 142, 143: crown 145: drain
160, 161: skirt 165: exhaust
200, 201: wave power generator 220: power generator main body
240: arm

Claims (15)

In a float which can float on a liquid by buoyancy,
A buoyancy portion having a specific gravity smaller than that of the liquid to provide a buoyancy force for raising the floating body; And
A skirt provided at a lower end of the buoyancy part, the lower side of which is opened to receive liquid therein and receive the introduced liquid therein to lower the floating body by the weight of the liquid;
The skirt is provided with an exhaust portion for exhausting the air inside the skirt to the outside to fill the inside of the skirt with a liquid
Float.
delete The method according to claim 1,
The exhaust portion includes a check valve
Float.
The method according to claim 1,
The exhaust portion includes a valve that permits the discharge of the air inside the skirt and prevents the discharge of the liquid inside the skirt,
The valve includes a hollow valve body for forming a flow path in communication with the interior of the skirt, a first valve plate rotatably connected in the valve body and one end of which is supported by an elastic body and positioned to partially open the flow path; It is rotatably connected to the valve body from the inside of the skirt to the outside than the first valve plate and closes the flow path by its own weight
Float.
The method according to claim 1,
The skirt is at least one wider than the buoyancy portion
Float.
The method according to claim 1,
As the skirt is lowered to the lower end, the cross-sectional width becomes wider in at least one cross section.
Float.
The method according to claim 1,
A plurality of skirts are provided at a lower end of the buoyancy portion, or partitions are provided in a single skirt and divided into a plurality, so that the respective interiors are separated from each other.
Float.
The method according to claim 1,
The bottom surface of the skirt is formed to be inclined
Float.
The method according to any one of claims 1 and 3 to 8,
Further comprising a crown forming an upper space upwardly open above the buoyancy portion.
Float.
The method of claim 9,
The crown is provided with a drain for draining the liquid contained in the crown
Float.
The method of claim 9,
The crown is formed of a side wall surrounding the upper space, the upper end of the side wall is formed to be inclined in one direction
Float.
The method of claim 9,
An inclined portion is formed on the bottom surface of the crown
Float.
The method of claim 9,
The crown is formed of a side wall surrounding the upper space, a portion of the side wall is formed separately from the crown so that the upper end of the side wall is rotatably connected to the upper end of the crown, a portion of the side wall is a side of the upper space Rotatable to a position capable of opening the side of the upper space by rotating outward from the position of closing the upper space
Float.
delete Wave power generation apparatus comprising a floating body according to any one of claims 1 and 3 to 8.

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