US968930A

US968930A - Tide and wave power.

Info

Publication number: US968930A
Application number: US48124709A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ernesto Fuchs
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1909-03-05
Filing date: 1909-03-05
Publication date: 1910-08-30
Anticipated expiration: 1927-08-30

Description

E. FUCHS. TIDE AND WAVE POWER.

APPLIOATIOH FILED MA}. 6, 1909. 96$, Patented Aug. 30, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. FUCHS.

TIDE AND WAVE POWER. APPLIGATION FILED MAB.5, 1909.

968,930. Patented Aug. 30, 19 10.

2 SHEETSSEEET 2.

73b. 4% 2mm.

@FCE

ERNES'ED FUCHS, OE GUAJJALAJARA, MEXICO.

TIDE AND WAVE POWER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patent ed Aug. 30, 1910.

Appliceticr iled "iiareh 5, 1909. Serial No. 481,247.

1 is a side elevation of motor power apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention, and Fig. is a plan or top view of the same part'lyin horizontal section;

In the drawings, 1 represents the ocean bottom, a submerged sea beach, the bed of a river, or any surface over which there is a wave or tidal flow of sufiicient amplitude to warrant its use for the production of power.

Firmly mounted in the bed 1 are a series of vertical piles or columns 2 forming a frame work or cage in which is free to rise and fall a float 3, whose descent is restricted by suitable stops at on the columns 2 and whose rise is restricted by spring-pressed plunger-s 5'also mounted upon the columns 2 at such a distance above the stops e as may be required by the maximum wave motion plus the amount of rise and fall of the tide, in the event of the device being used both as a tide and wave motor, the move-v ment being correspondingly less if the movements .of the float are due to the tide only or to the waves only.

Pivotally mounted at 6 upon one of the groups of columns 2 is a power-transmitting lever 7 which may consist either of a single member or of a group of members acting as a unit, this lever-having pivotal connection with a beam 9 -which also has pivotal connection with the top of the float 3, whereby, as said float rises and falls,'rocking movement will be imparted to the lever 7, the extremes of this movement being represented respectively by the dotted lines m and n.

The outer end of the lever is connected to two flexible power-transmitting devices 10 and-12. These power-transmitting devices may be cords, ropes, chains, belts, bands, or the like, either of metal on textile material, but I shall, for convenience, herelnatter allude to them as ropes. The

-rope 10 extends upwardly from the end of the lever and is wound around a drum 11 which is free to turn on a horizontal shaft 15 and the rope 12 passes downwardly from the end of the lever 7 and around a sheave 13 suitably mounted upon a fixed support and thence'up to and around a drum 1 t in the same direction that the rope 10 is wound around the drum 11. v

Alongside of the drum 11 and secured to the same so as to rotate therewith is a drum 11, upon vwhich a rope 10 is wound in adirection the 'reverse'of the 'wind of the rope 10 upon the drum 11, and adjacent to the drum 1%. and secured to the same so as to rotate therewith is a drum let upon which a rope 12 is wound in a direction the reverse of the wind of the rope 12 upon the drum 14:, each of the ropes 10 and 12 carrying, at itsdepending end, a weight 19.

Secured to the shaft. l5 outside of the drums 11 and 14* are ratchet wheels 16 and each of said drums 11 and 14 carries a spring-pressed pawl 17 which-constantly enga es its respective ratchet wheel 16.

Rising movement of the float- 3 causes a downward swing of the free end ofthe lever 7, thereby exerting a downward pull upon the rope l0 and a corresponding slackening of the rope l2, and downward movement. of the float causes an upward swing of the tree end of the lever, an upward pull upon the rope 12, and a corresponding slackening the rope 10. v

The downward pull upon the. rope 10 causes movement of the drums 11 and 11 in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, and

this movement is transmitted to the shaft 15 through the medium of the ratchet wheel 16 and the spring-pressed pawl 17 carried by the drum 11 the latter at the same time winding up the rope 10 and raising the weight 19. At the same time the slackening of the rope 12 permits the drums 14 and 14: to turn in a direction the reverse of that indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 under the influence of the weight 19 connected to the rope 12, the spring-pressed pawl 17 on the drum 1 1 slipping backwardly over the teeth of'the' ratchet Wheel 16 with which it engages.

WVhen upward pull is exerted upon the rope 12, the interposition of the sleeve 13 causes said rope to rotate the drums 14 and 14 in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1, so as to wind up the rope 12 raise its weight 19 and cause the spring-pressed pawl on the drum 14 to engage and move forwardly the ratchet wheel 16 corresponding thereto, the rope 10 being slackened and the drums 11 and 11 caused to move in a direction the reverse of the arrow in Fig. 1, by reason of the downward pull of the weight 19 upon the rope 10 the springpressed pawl 17 of the drum 11 slipping over the teeth of its'corresponding ratchet wheel 16, and these operations are repeated solong as the float 3 is caused to rise and fall by the action of the tides or waves, a substantially continuous movement in one direction being imparted to the shaft 15. This movement may be utilized for the performance of useful work directly at the point where the motive power apparatus is erected or the shaft 15 may be continued to a point or points more or less remote from the motive power apparatus, and power utilized at such remote point or points. I prefer, however, to transmit the power from the shaft 15 through the medium of

bevel wheels

20, 21 and 22 to counter-shafts 23 and 24, whereby it may be conveyed to the points at which it is to be utilized or may be used for operating other shafts whereby the power may be stored, one such method of storing the power being illustrated in the drawing and consisting in the lifting of heavy weights during whose subsequent descent the power exercised in-lifting them can be utilized.

In Fig. 2 of the drawing, I have illustrated two such power-storing shafts 25, one on each side of the shaft 24. For each of said shafts 25 there is on the shaft 24 a sprocket wheel 26 which can be clutched to or released from the shaft by means of a clutch 27 a chain belt 30 connecting said sprocket wheel 26 with a sprocket wheel 29 on the shaft 25, and said sprocket wheel having connected thereto a drum 31, from which is suspended, by means of a rope 32, a heavy weight 33, whereby, when the sprocket wheel 26 is clutched to the shaft 24, power will be transmitted from said shaft to the shaft 25 so as to wind up the weight 33, and when said sprocket wheel 26 is released from the shaft 24 the power of the descending weight 33 will be exercised to turn the shaft 25 and transmit such power to the point at which it is to be utilized. I find it preferable, however, to transmit the power through a second shaft 34, the shaft 25 having a sprocket wheel 35 which can be clutched to or released from it by means of a clutch 36, this sprocket wheel 35 driving, by means of a chain 39, a sprocket wheel 37 on the shaft 34 so that, by proper manipulation of the clutcinthe shaft 34 will be operated only during the falling of the weight 33 and not while the same is being lifted.

A relatively frictionless rising and falling movement of the float 3 is eflected by providing the same with vertical banks or gangs of anti-friction rollers 40 as shown in Fig. 1, these anti-friction rollers running in contact with races 41 mounted upon the columns 2 of the fixed ca e or'frame work, as shown in Fig. 2. The float 3 consists of a hermetically sealed box or tank but the bottom of the float is dished as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1 so as to provide therein a chamber provided, at its top, with an outlet 42 through which air maybe permitted to escape from the chamber, the outlet being provided either with an automatic check valve or with a manually operated valve, whereby, when the air-has once been ejectedfrom the chamber, inflow through the outlet 42 will not again be permitted. The purpose of this construction is to equalize the action of the float on its rising and falling movements. when the float first descends into the water the air is discharged through the outlet at the top of the chamber in the bottom of the float and the latter is filled with the water, hence the float will not begin to lift under the .influence of the rising wave or tide'until its displacement equals the weight of the volume of water in the chamber plus the additional dead weight of the float, consequently the-wave acts upon the float when it is exerting its maximum I lifting power and, as soon as the wave or tide falls away to such an extent that the I .float is once filled with water air cannot 'enter the chamber and the water'cannot escape therefrom.

I claim: a

1. The combination of a float subject to the action of the waves or tides, a plurality of weights, and clutch-controlled mechanism whereby movement of the float is caused to effect the lifting of the weights alternately, whereby one weight may be lifted while the other weight is free from the influence of the lifting devices, and is in condition to descend bygravity and transmit the power due to such descent.

2. The combination of a float subject to the action of the waves or tides, a plurality of weights, and clutch-controlled mechanism whereby both the rising,a11d fallin movements of 'the float are caused to effect the lifting of the weights alternately, whereby one weight may be lifted while the other weight is free from the influence of the shaft can be transmitted to either of said lifting devices and is in condition to descend by gravity and transmit the power due to such descent. i

3. The-combination of a float subject to the action of the waves or tides, means whereby both the rising and falling move ments of said float are transmitted to a shaft so as to cause substantially continuous rotation thereof, a plurality of weights, each suspended from a drum on a power storing shaft, and clutch-controlled mechanism whereby movement of the float-operated weight-carrying shafts to wind up the Weight, the other weight-carrying shaft being free'from the influence of said winding devices whereby its weight is in condition to descend by gravity 'and rotate the shaft which carries it.

4. The combination of a float subject to the action of the waves. or tides and ballasted so as to exertsubstantially uniform power both on the rise and fall, a plurality of whereby both the rising and falling movements of the float are caused to effect the lifting of one of said weights while the other weight is free from the influence of thelifting devices and is in condition to descend by gravity and transmit the power due to such descent.

' 5. The combination of a float subject to the action of the waves or tides and ballas'ted L sons to exert substantially the same power both on the rise and fall, means whereby rising and falling movements of said float are 1 caused to impart substantially continuous movement we rotating shaft, a plurality of weights, each suspended from a drum on a power storing shaft, and clutch-controlled mechanism whereby movement of'the floatactuated shaft can be transmitted to either of said power-storing shafts so as to wind up the weight thereon, the other shaft being free from the influence of the float-actuated shaft, whereby its weight is in condition to descendby gravity and rotate the shaft which carries it.

In a wave or tide motor the combination of a float so guided as to be caused to rise and fall under the action of the waves or tides, means whereby movement of said float is caused to rotate a power-receiving shaft, a power storage shaft having a clutchcontrolled connection with the said powerreceiving shaft, and 'a'power-transmitting shaft having a clutch-controlled connection with said power storing shaft.

7. In a wave or tion of a fixed structure having vertical guides, a vertically moving float engaging said guides, stops for limiting the descent of the float, and spring-pressed means for restricting the rise of the float.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ERNESTO FUCHS.

' Witnesses:

SAML. E. MAGILL,

M .mcuLINo Hnnz.

tide motor the ,combina-