WO2005031157A1

WO2005031157A1 - Prime mover using buoyancy

Info

Publication number: WO2005031157A1
Application number: PCT/KR2004/002567
Authority: WO
Inventors: Young Ho Bae
Original assignee: Young Ho Bae
Priority date: 2003-10-07
Filing date: 2004-10-06
Publication date: 2005-04-07

Abstract

The present invention provides a prime mover driven by buoyancy for generating a power which comprises a water tank for containing a certain amount of water; a buoyancy-generating unit in the water tank with a part of the buoyancy-generating unit immersed in the water, the buoyancy-generating unit being revolved by a continuous expansion and shrinkage of a tube, the tube being expanded near a bottom dead center and then shrunk above a surface of the water; and a control unit for controlling the expansion and shrinkage of the tube, the control unit being connected to the buoyancy-generating unit by a shaft and disposed at an outside of the water tank.

Description

PRIME MOVER USING BUOYANCY

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a prime mover driven by buoyancy, and more specifically a prime mover that can generate a power by shrinking and then expanding a tube continuously.

BACKGROUND ART

As natural resources are exhausted and an oil price soars, many researches have been conducted to develop alternative energy resources.

Besides, because fossil fuels cause a severe environmental disruption, a lot of researches and studies have been conducted to get clean alternative energy resources. Many tries to generate a power using buoyancy have been done by far, however there is not even a case that has been actually applied to the industry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The object, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary prime mover of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary prime mover of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary frame of trie present invention; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a control unit of the present invention; and FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating positions of a pressing plate and a friction plate of the present invention.

DISCLOSURE

TECHNICAL PROBLEM Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a prime mover than can continuously generate a clean power using buoyancy.

TECHNICAL SOLUTION

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, a prime mover driven by buoyancy for generating a power comprises a water tank for containing a certain amount of water! a buoyancy-generating unit in the water tank with a part of the buoyancy-generating unit immersed in the water, the buoyancy- generating unit being revolved by a continuous expansion and shrinkage of a tube, the tube being expanded near a bottom dead center and then shrunk above a surface of the water; and a control unit for controlling the expansion and shrinkage of the tube, the control unit being connected to the buoyancy- generating unit by a shaft and disposed at an outside of the water tank. In the above, the buoyancy-generating unit further comprises a pair of frames having a hole in a center, the frame having a lateral plate and two circular projection having a common center, the circular projection being projected from a side of the lateral plate, the frame having a plurality of slots between the two circular projections formed in a radial direction; an elastic tube enclosing the pair of frames except a center portion; a volume- forming unit disposed at the slot, the volume-forming unit having a plate that make a linear movement by pulling and releasing a wire; and a circular ring for attaching an end portion of the tube to the frame. In the above, the volume-forming unit further comprises a core rod fixed at a side of the lateral plate of the frame; a spring having the core rod therein, one end of the spring being fixed in order not to move and the other end of the spring being able to move along the core rod; a pair of arms, one end of each of the arms being connected to one end of the spring and the other end of the spring, respectively; a push-plate disposed at the other side of the lateral plate of the frame, the push-plate being connected to the other end of each of the arms that is not connected to the spring; a first roller fixed to an upper portion of the core rod; a bracket disposed at a bottom end of the core rod to connect the arm to the spring; a second roller fixed at the bracket; and a wire being connected to the bracket, the wire being guided by the first and second rollers. In the above, the control unit further comprises a lower plate connected to the shaft, the lower plate having a same number of wire guide thereon as a number of the slots; an adapter under the lower plate connected to the shaft; an upper plate spaced apart from the lower plate and connected to the lower plate by a connecting pin, the upper plate having an inner circular wall and an outer circular wall thereon; a friction roller disposed between the upper and lower plate, the connecting pin going through the friction roller from up and down, the friction roller having a wire groove and a stopper hole on a surface! a valve comprising an upper horizontal part, a lower horizontal part and a vertical part, the upper horizontal part being longer than the lower horizontal part, the upper horizontal part passing through the inner and outer circular walls and an end of the lower horizontal part contacting the surface of the friction roller; a valve spring between the inner and outer walls, the upper horizontal part being inserted into valve spring, one end of the valve spring being fixed to the upper horizontal part; a pressing plate disposed at a higher position than the surface of the water, the pressing plate releasing the lower horizontal part from the stopper hole of the friction roller by pressing an end of the upper horizontal part projected through the outer circular wall; and a friction plate disposed at a position before the bottom dead center of a revolution of the upper and lower plate, the friction plate winding the wire on the wire groove by rotating the friction roller by a friction force between the surface of the friction roller and the friction plate, wherein the tube of the buoyancy-generating unit is expanded and shrunk by pulling and releasing the wire connected to the buoyancy-generating unit. In the above, a plurality of buoyancy-generating units may be connected to the shaft .

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECT The prime mover according to the present invention can continuously generate a clean power as long as there exists water in a water tank so that it can contributes to a resolution of a energy problem in the future.

MODE FOR INVETION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary prime mover of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a prime mover of the present invention mainly comprises a water tank 100, a buoyancy-generating unit 200 and a control unit 300. The buoyancy-generating unit 200 is disposed in the water tank 100 and the control unit 300 is disposed out of the water tank 100. The water tank 100 contains a certain amount of water and at least one buoyancy-generating unit 200 is connected to the shaft 315. The buoyancy-generating unit 200 revolves using buoyancy in the water. That is, a tube of the buoyancy- generating unit 200 expands in the water near the lowest point of the revolution, i.e., a bottom dead center (BDC) , so that buoyancy of the tube makes the buoyancy-generating unit 200 to rotate. Once the tube comes out of a water surface, it starts to shrink and then immersed in the water. The immersed tube starts to expand again when it comes to the lowest point of the revolution. The above process is continuously repeated to produce a revolution power. The control unit 300 disposed at an outside of the water tank 100 controls the expansion and shrinkage of the tube. That is, the control unit 300 and the buoyancy-generating unit 200 are connected together by a wire 238 so that a volume of the tube 220 can be changed by an action of a volume-forming unit 230 of the buoyancy-generating unit 200 as the wire 238 is pulled and loosened. Hereinafter, structures of the buoyancy-generating unit 200 and the control unit 300 will be described more specifically. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary prime mover of the present invention. The buoyancy-generating unit 200 mainly comprises a pair of frames 210, the tube 220, the volume-forming unit 230 and a circular ring 240. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary frame of the present invention. The frame 210 has a circular shape and a hole is formed in a center area. That is, the frame 210 has a circular plate at its side and inner and outer circular projections 211 that has a common center. A plurality of slots 212 is formed on the circular plate in a radial direction. A pair of frames 210 forms the buoyancy-generating unit 200 and the pair of frames 210 are connected together by a bridge 213 that connects the outer circular projections 211 of each of the frames 210. The frames 210 are enclosed by the tube 220 except the center area. That is, the tube 220 encloses the combined frames 210 except an interior area of the inner circular projection 211. The tube 220 may desirably be formed of elastic material. Both open ends of the tube 220 are fixed to the inner surface of the inner circular projection 211 by a circular ring 240 inserted into the inner circular projection 211. That is, the end of the tube 220 is disposed between the circular ring 240 and the inner surface of the inner circular projection 211. The shaft 315 is inserted into the circular ring 240. The shaft 315 is a hollow shaft and has a flange formed at a position corresponding to the circular ring 240. The volume-forming unit 230 is formed at each slot 212 in order to change the volume of a certain portion of the tube 220. The volume-forming unit 230 mainly comprises a spring 232, a pair of arms 233, a push-plate 234, a first roller 235, a second roller 236 and a wire 238. A core rod 231 corresponding to each slot is fixed to the circular plate of the frame 210 and the core rod 231 is inserted into the spring 232. An upper end of the spring 232 is fixed and a lower end of the spring 232 is not fixed in order to move freely along the core rod 231. One end of the pair of the arms 233 is connected to upper and lower ends of the spring 232, respectively. The other end of the pair of the arms 233 is connected to the push-plate 234. A bracket 237 is used for connecting the end of the arm 233 to the spring 232 and the arm 233 is connected to the bracket 237 by a pin in order for the arm to move efficiently. The push-plate 234 is disposed at a different side of the circular plate from the side at which the core rod 231 is formed. The first roller 235 is fixed to an upper portion of the core rod 231 and the second roller 236 is disposed at the bracket 237 that connects the lower portion of the spring 232 and the arm 233. The wire 238 is connected to the bracket 237 and guided by the first and second rollers 235 and 236. The wire 238 is extended to the control unit 300. As the wire is pulled and loosened by the control unit 300, the push-plate 234 connected to the arms make linear movement to expand the volume of the tube 220. The control unit 300 mainly comprises a lower plate 310, an upper plate 320, a friction roller 330, a valve 340, a valve spring 350, a pressing plate 360 and a friction plate 370. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a control unit of the present invention. A number of the friction rollers 330 must coincide with a number of the slots 212 though the numbers in the figure are not the same. The number of the friction rollers 330 and the slots 212 can be altered diversely under different situation. As shown in FIG. 3, if the number of the slots 212 is 16, the number of the friction rollers 330 must be 16. The control unit 300 is disposed out of the water tank 100 and the lower plate 310 is connected to the shaft 315. The lower plate 310 forms a shape of a circular plate and an adapter 311 is disposed under the lower plate 310 to connect the control unit 300 to the shaft 315. A plurality of wire guide 312 is formed on the lower plate 310 in a same number as the wire winded on the friction roller 330. The wire guide 312 can spin and has a hole for the wire to pass through. The wire guide 312 helps the wire to be winded smoothly on a wire groove of the friction roller 330. The upper plate 320 is connected to the lower plate 310 by a plurality of connecting pins 322. Inner and outer circular walls 321 having a common center are formed on the upper plate 320. The friction roller 330 is disposed between the lower and upper plates 310 and 320. The friction roller 330 is constrained to the lower and upper plate 310 and 320 by the connecting pin 322. The friction roller 330 has the wire groove 331 on its circumferential surface and a stopper hole 332 on its surface. If the friction roller 330 rotates, the wire 238 is winded on the wire groove 331. Once a certain length of wire is winded on the wire groove 331, the valve 340 is inserted into the stopper hole 322 and then the rotation of the friction roller 330 stops. If the valve 340 is pressed by the pressing plate 360 while revolving, the valve 340 becomes released from the stopper hole 332 so that the winded wire becomes released again. The valve 340 comprises an upper horizontal part, a lower horizontal part and a vertical part. The upper horizontal part is longer than the lower horizontal part. The upper horizontal part passes through the inner and outer circular walls 321 and the lower horizontal part contacts the surface of the friction roller 330. A valve spring 350 is disposed between the inner and outer circular walls 321 and the upper horizontal part is inserted into the valve spring 350. The valve can retreat to its original position by a spring force of the valve spring 350 when the valve is pressed by the pressing plate 360. FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating positions of a pressing plate and friction plate of the present invention. The valve 340 contacts the pressing plate 360 and the friction roller 330 contacts the friction plate 370 during a revolution of the control unit 300. If the valve 340 is pressed by the pressing plate 360, the tube 220 shrinks and if the friction roller 330 contacts the friction plate 370, the tube 220 expands. The pressing plate 360 is disposed at a higher position than the water surface in the water tank. If an end portion of the upper horizontal part of the vale 340 contacts the pressing plate 360 and then is pressed by the pressing plate 360, the lower horizontal part of the valve 340 is released from the stopper hole 332. Once the lower horizontal part is released from the stopper hole 332, the expanded tube starts to shrinks. The friction plate 370 is disposed at a position before a bottom dead center of the revolving control unit 300. The friction plate 370 forces the friction roller 330 to rotate to wind the wire 238 on the wire groove 331. Optimization of a length of the pressing plate 360 can minimize the friction between the pressing plate 360 and the valve 340. A length of the friction plate 370 also can be optimized in order for the valve 340 to be inserted into the stopper hole 332 after rotating a certain distance. In the second embodiment of the present invention, more than one buoyancy-generating units 200 are connected to the shaft 315 in order to generate a greater power. At this case, the width of the water tank 100 should be lengthened. Each of the push-plates 234 corresponding to the push-plates of the neighboring buoyancy-generating unit 200 is connected to the same wire that extends to the control unit 300 so that the push-plates 234 at a corresponding position of the buoyancy-generating unit 200 move simultaneously by the winding and releasing of the wire 238. To describe an operation of the prime mover of the present invention again, the buoyancy-generating unit 200 connected to the shaft 315 is disposed in the water tank 100 containing a certain amount of water and the control unit 300 is disposed outside of the water tank 100. The tube 220 near the bottom dead center starts to expand by the rotation of the friction roller 330. Because the tube 220 is expanded in the water, the buoyancy force acts on the expanded tube to lift the expanded tube upward. Once the expanded tube 220 comes out of the water by the buoyancy force, the tube starts to shrinks by an action of the valve 340 and the pressing plate 360 and the shrunk tube 220 goes into the water. A revolving force can be generated by a continuous shrink and expansion of the tube as stated above. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the prime mover driven by buoyancy without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A prime mover driven by buoyancy for generating a power, comprising: a water tank for containing a certain amount of water; a buoyancy-generating unit in the water tank with a part of the buoyancy-generating unit immersed in the water, the buoyancy-generating unit being revolved by a continuous expansion and shrinkage of a tube, the tube being expanded near a bottom dead center and then shrunk above a surface of the water; and a control unit for controlling the expansion and shrinkage of the tube, the control unit being connected to the buoyancy-generating unit by a shaft and disposed at an outside of the water tank.

2. The prime mover according to claim 1, wherein the buoyancy-generating unit further comprises a pair of frames having a hole in a center, the frame having a lateral plate and two circular projections having a common center, the circular projection being projected from a side of the lateral plate, the frame having a plurality of slots between the two circular projections formed in a radial direction; an elastic tube enclosing the pair of frames except a center portion; a volume-forming unit disposed at the slot, the volume-forming unit having a plate that make a linear movement by pulling and releasing a wire; and a circular ring for attaching an end portion of the tube to the frame.

3. The prime mover according to claim 2, wherein the volume-forming unit further comprises a core rod fixed at a side of the lateral plate of the frame; a spring having the core rod therein, one end of the spring being fixed in order not to move and the other end of the spring being able to move along the core rod; a pair of arms, one end of each of the arms being connected to one end of the spring and the other end of the spring, respectively; a push-plate disposed at the other side of the lateral plate of the frame, the push-plate being connected to the other end of each of the arms that is not connected to the spring; a first roller fixed to an upper portion of the core rod; a bracket disposed at a bottom end of the core rod to connect the arm to the spring; a second roller fixed at the bracket; and a wire being connected to the bracket, the wire being guided by the first and second rollers.

4. The prime mover according to claim 3, wherein the control unit further comprises a lower plate connected to the shaft, the lower plate having a same number of wire guide thereon as a number of the slots; an adapter under the lower plate connected to the shaft; an upper plate spaced apart from the lower plate and connected to the lower plate by a connecting pin, the upper plate having an inner circular wall and an outer circular wall thereon; a friction roller disposed between the upper and lower plate, the connecting pin going through the friction roller from up and down, the friction roller having a wire groove and a stopper hole on a surface; a valve comprising an upper horizontal part, a lower horizontal part and a vertical part, the upper horizontal part being longer than the lower horizontal part, the upper horizontal part passing through the inner and outer circular walls and an end of the lower horizontal part contacting the surface of the friction roller," a valve spring between the inner and outer walls, the upper horizontal part being inserted into valve spring, one end of the valve spring being fixed to the upper horizontal part; a pressing plate disposed at a higher position than the surface of the water, the pressing plate releasing the lower horizontal part from the stopper hole of the friction roller by pressing an end of the upper horizontal part projected through the outer circular wall; and a friction plate disposed at a position before the bottom dead center of a revolution of the upper and lower plate, the friction plate winding the wire on the wire groove by rotating the friction roller by a friction force between the surface of the friction roller and the friction plate, wherein the tube of the buoyancy-generating unit is expanded and shrunk by pulling and releasing the wire connected to the buoyancy-generating unit.

5. The prime mover according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of buoyancy-generating units is connected to the shaft.