NL1040026C2 - Return and annihilation stormbreakers on habitable spaces. - Google Patents

Description

Return and annihilation type stormbreakers on habitable spaces

Technical field

The invention is in the field of stormbreakers, as separate or integral parts of habitable 5 spaces. The name “stormbreaker” is used to denote breakwater against water waves, like in coastal defense against tsunami or storm surge, as well as windbreaker against the storm winds.

Existing art and motivation

Patent application NL 1039528 [1] deals with breakwaters of the return and annihilation type 10 against tsunami and storm waves for coastal defense. It is based on the consideration of the kinetic energy and momentum of the tsunami and storm waves as the guiding principle of the breakwater design. Although in [1] the emphasis is on breakwaters for water waves, especially tsunami waves, in the case of storms the breakwaters are not only used against the water waves generated by the storm winds, but also to block the winds up to the height of the breakwaters, 15 acting as windbreakers, as mentioned in [1] p. 3 lines 30-34, p. 5 lines 9-13. Therefore the application of breakwater as windbreaker, in particular as an integral part of the building, for example as a balcony with sea sight, is already contained in [1], p. 5 lines 20-23. The contents of the present patent application are therefore already covered by the patent application [1].

Furthermore, with regard to the inventive aspect the breakwaters in the present patent 20 application are the same as in [1], namely based on the same principle of kinetic energy and momentum consideration, for the return type to return the momentums and kinetic energies of water waves as well as wind waves and for the annihilation type to cause those momentums as well as the kinetic energies, to mutually annihilate each other, in both cases without impacting momentum and kinetic energy to the breakwaters. So there is also unity in inventive step with 25 patent application [ 1 ].

However, despite this unity, we take for granted the remark in the search report to split off the present application from [1] and take the opportunity to elaborate on novel applications, using the breakwaters of the invention [1] also as windbreakers, to help solve some major problems, associated with climate change and sea level rise, endangering many island states in 30 the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, seasonal storms especially in the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, the Caribbean and east coast of the US, sinking coastal megacities, helping eradicate poverty and slumps around coastal megacities by creating ample habitable spaces on calm sea.

In the further description, instead of using the names breakwaters for water waves and wind breakers for wind waves, they will be called stormbreakers for both types of waves.

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Description of the invention.

For ease of reference, the description of the breakwater of the invention [1], now called stormbreaker, will be quoted here literally, including Fig. 1: “The stormbreaker consists of a half cylinder (1) of length 1, smooth inner surface with the semi-circle radius R, and a smaller 5 concentric hollow inner cylinder (2) with circle radius r, i.e. the inner cylinder is a tube of thickness dr, of length 1 and smooth outer surface, closed at both circular ends of the tube. The inner side of the half cylinder (1), the front side, is facing the incoming waves. The back side of the half cylinder can be cast as integral part of the supporting structure (3) or the half cylinder can be of certain thickness fixed to a supporting structure. In Fig. 1 a cross section perpendicular 10 to the common cylinder axis is shown. It can be used as a return-type stormbreaker, with the cylinder axis horizontal and perpendicular to the incoming wave, returning the impulse moment (also called momentum), which is proportional to v, and kinetic energy, which is proportional to v2, of the incoming wave. Alternatively it can be used as an annihilation type stormbreaker, with the cylinder axis vertical, so that the inner cylinder acts as a bi-directional roundabout, dividing 15 the tsunami or storm waves in two halves moving toward each other for a clash among themselves. Mutual collisions of the two halves annihilate their impulse moments as well as their kinetic energies” - end quote.

As mentioned in [1] p.3 lines 30-34 and p. 5 lines 9-11 the stormbreaker of the return or annihilation type not only block the water waves, but also the wind waves, for the height of the 20 stormbreaker, thus acting also as windbreaker. As stated in [1] p. 2 lines 29-31, provisions for fixing are just examples of many alternatives, depending on configuration, placed fixed onshore or floating offshore and further practical situations. In this description the focus is on incorporating the stormbreakers as an integral part in the protection and creation of habitable spaces, whether placed separately from the buildings or integrated in the building design, for 25 example the annihilation type stormbreaker as a balcony of each apartment in a condominium.

As mentioned in [1] p. 5 lines 19-23: In combination with an offshore stormbreaker to block the sea surge, the annihilation type stormbreaker, incorporated as sea side balcony, with the semi-cylinder length 1 = 3m, radius R = 3 m and inner cylinder radius r = 0.5 m, of a multi story apartment building, can serve as a stormbreaker to block the wind for the height of the building. 30 Curved and plane reinforced glass plates are commercially available to integrate them in the design of such a storm wind annihilation type balcony, with sea sight. A 10 to 20 story building would block some 30-60 m height of the storm so that at street level and lower buildings behind the building with stormbreaker the situation can be as normal as without storm. Such stormbreaker buildings can also be at the perimeter of a city to protect the city from the storm.

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In applications, habitable space or building means: any building for any socio-economic and cultural activity, cf. [1] p. 4 lines 17-19, including industrial structures (like oil drill platform) and real estate developments on land and on sea, creation of habitable space between offshore stormbreakers and the coast by using a pier or pontoon connection of the stormbreaker with the 5 coast described in [1], which serves as an access road for the development of floating homes, even with floating gardens, and other constructions on the still water between the offshore stormbreaker and the coast, as depicted in Fig. 2, for example: (1) island, (2) ring dyke, (3) pier or pontoon, (4) home with garden, on floating caisson of reinforced concrete, also serving as storage for collected rain water, (5) stormbreakers according to [1] Fig. 4. When necessary, by 10 adding a section, the pier or pontoon can be enlarged toward the sea to create more still water. The living territory of a coastal or island state can be enlarged in that way, thus creating habitable space on sea to accommodate the growing population. This technique is particularly useful for the island states in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean now suffering from high waves and threatened in their very existence by the climate change and sea level rise. To block the sea 15 waves the island can be provided by offshore return or annihilation type stormbreakers, in parallel arrays as in [1] Fig. 4 allowing for free passage of ships. It is then easy to develop living space on the still water between the coast and the stormbreakers. It is possible to surround a whole island state with such expandable stormbreakers, thus expanding the living territory toward the sea. Coastal areas in Asia, the Caribbean islands and the east coast of America with 20 frequent seasonal storms can be protected with the return and annihilation type stormbreakers to save many lives and multi billions of assets lost yearly by heavy storms.

Industrial application

With the return or annihilation type stormbreakers [1], for water and wind waves, separately 25 or integrated on buildings, it is possible to protect and create habitable space on land and on sea. Especially in building integrated applications, for example as a balcony, the modules can be prefabricated and mass-produced in standard sizes. Creation of habitable spaces on sea will give ample room for floating homes using the roofs for photovoltaic solar energy production and rain water collection for self reliance and offers the flexibility for the family to move. With the 30 stormbreakers many solutions are feasible for the problems associated with seasonal storms, sea level rise and sinking islands and to create living space for the growing world population.

Reference: [1] S. Emid, Breakwaters against tsunami and storm waves, patent application NL 1039528, date 2012-04-10.

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Note added in view of the results of the literature search by the patent office. Apart from this note, no change has been made to the text of the original application.

The integration of stormbreakers on (infra)-structures are obviously not new or inventive, as stormbreakers are usually attached to the structures to be protected. Rather, it is the type of the 5 stormbreaker and the way it is used, which are to be distinguished from prior art.

As mentioned on p. 1, the present patent application is a split off of patent application NL 1039528 [1] date 10.04.2012, patent granted 31.01.2013. The return and annihilation type breakwaters or stormbreakers used in the present application are those described in [1], which completely return or annihilate the kinetic energy of the tsunami or storm waves. The return 10 type breakwaters used in D1 - D3 do not satisfy those requirements and are therefore out of consideration. The annihilation type breakwater used in D4, p. 1 lines 16-27, annihilates only the kinetic energies of the sides of the recess, forming a cushion, while the central part of the wave strikes directly on this incompressible water cushion and thus transfers the kinetic energy to the bulkhead. Therefore the annihilation type breakwater of D4 is also out of consideration 15 for the present application. In D5 variable shape balconies of a high rise building are used, that confuse the heavy Chicago winds. Using the curve to dissipate the wind the architect was able to put balconies on every floor, but not for every apartment, see photo in D5, so there is no annihilation of the kinetic energy of the winds for every apartment. Therefore, the dissipation type balconies used in D5 are out of consideration for the present application.

20 It is concluded, that the return and annihilation stormbreakers described in [1], used in the present patent application are distinct from those used in the prior art [D1 - D5J.

The claims are redressed taking the remarks of the search report and written opinion into consideration together with the comments in this note, to distinguish the new and innovative part of the invention from the prior art [D1 - D5].

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Dl. DE 2528477 publication date 13.01.1977 D2. US 3595026 publication date 27.07.1971 D3. US 3913333 publication date 24.10.1975 D4. US 2184462 publication date 26.12.1939 30 D5. www.newvorker.com/arts/critics/skvline/2010/02/01/100201 crsk skyline eoldberger 1040026

Claims (5)

1. Storm breaker of the return or annihilation type against both sea waves and storm winds, for the protection and creation of living or working areas, characterized in that the kinetic energy of the sea waves and storm winds that come towards the storm breaker is completely tampered by the storm breaker or be canceled. 2. Storm breaker as claimed in claim 1 in a floating arrangement with a vertically hinged and sliding attachment to a pier or floating pontoon connected to the coast, which also serves as an access road for the development of living and working areas 10 between the storm breaker and the coast. Storm breakers according to claims 1 and 2 arranged around a sinking island, for the protection of the island and development of new living and working areas, using the fixings on the coast as part of the infrastructure of the new development. Storm breaker of the annihilation type according to claim 1 against storm winds, arranged as a balcony of each apartment of an apartment building or hotel, floating at sea or on the mainland. 5. Storm breakers as claimed in claim 4, wherein the central cylinders from balconies above one another are used to push up the storm winds caught by the balconies, to push up the storm raging above the building. 25 1040026