WO2005091706A2

WO2005091706A2 - Gravity-operated water engine

Info

Publication number: WO2005091706A2
Application number: PCT/IB2005/001953
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hsien-Tsang Wei
Original assignee: Nguyen, Thi, Hoi
Priority date: 2005-06-28
Filing date: 2005-06-28
Publication date: 2005-10-06
Also published as: WO2005091706A3; TW200712329A

Abstract

A method of producing energy comprises buoyantly raising a hollow air container (15) made of a material whose specific weight is much heavier than 1 in a vertical well housing (5) by delivering water to successively higher levels of the well housing (5); allowing the water to pass from the well housing (5) to successively lower levels to empty the well housing; and using the potential energy of the air container (15) by lowering the air container, after it has been buoyantly raised and the well housing (5) has been emptied. In a gravity driven water engine for performing the method, the water is transferred between the well housing and a space-water room (8) contiguous with the well housing (5), the water room having many levels of water reservoirs (80). Each reservoir (80) has an upper water inlet (10) with a water inlet valve (10A) and a lower water outlet (11) with a water outlet valve (11) that deliver water in succession from the well housing (5) to successively lower reservoirs (80) to progressively empty the well housing and from successively higher reservoirs (80) to the well housing (5) to progressively fill the well housing.

Description

Gravity-Operated Water Engine

Field of the Invention This invention relates to gravity engines, namely engines which operate using gravitation produced by celestial bodies. Background Art US Patent 6,817,180 has described the use of gravity as source of renewable energy, implemented by a hydroelectric apparatus to convert kinetic energy caused by gravity into electrical energy, using a buoyancy motor formed by a U-shaped tube containing air-filled tanks moving on ball bearings in which a buoyant force was created. The object was to provide a way of converting kinetic energy caused by gravity into electrical energy, so the apparatus was portable and not dependant on the locations of rivers and streams as in conventional hydroelectric installations using the water cycle.

Another proposal in US Patent 4,372,123 was for a thermal-gravity engine that combined a reciprocating lever with a closed-loop fluid system, the engine being driven by changing the temperature of a vaporizable fluid and using a valve system for draining by gravity a working fluid commanding reciprocation of the lever.

US Patent 4,095,429 proposed a thermal gravity engine including a giant conduit placed beside a steep mountain having, at various heights, valves with conduits for draining condensed vapors rising in the conduit using a "weather effect", and using the potential energy of the condensed fluids.

The above proposals are mainly for engines that are small compared, for example, to a standard hydroelectric plant with a pipe of 2m diameter that requires practically one million tons of water per day to operate. Even though the thermal gravity engine of US Patent 4,095,429 can be large in size, its power output remains low.

Summary of the Invention

An object of the invention is to provide a gravity engine, in particular a gravity water engine, to process gravity into useful energy such as electrical energy or other energy forms. It is another object of the invention to provide a gravity engine that can convert gravitational energy into other forms of energy at low running cost.

A further object of the invention is to provide a gravity engine that can be set up almost anywhere : in desert areas, on the sea, or under the sea bottom, on board ships, in the mountains, underground, etc.

Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a gravity engine that can be built for large-scale operation and wherein the operating efficiency increases with size, such that very large installations can be envisioned.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a gravity engine that can be made strong and durable, needs little maintenance and is of reasonable cost over its lifetime.

According to one main aspect of the invention a gravity-operated water engine comprises a hollow air container made of a material whose specific weight is much heavier than 1; and a vertical well housing in which the air container is mounted for up-and-down movement. The air container is mounted in the well housing with a gap that can be filled with water to buoyantly raise the air container. A water container is contiguous with the well housing, the water container having many levels of water reservoirs. Each reservoir has an upper water inlet with a water inlet valve and a lower water outlet with a water outlet valve arranged to deliver water in succession from the well housing to successively lower reservoirs and from successively higher reservoirs to the well housing to progressively fill the well housing. Means are provided for using the potential energy of the air container by lowering the air container, after it has been buoyantly raised by delivering water from successively higher reservoir to the well housing and then allowing the water to pass from the well housing to successively lower reservoirs.

Another aspect of the invention is a method of producing energy, comprising the steps of: buoyantly raising a hollow air container made of a material whose specific weight is much heavier than 1 in a vertical well housing by delivering water from successively higher levels to the well housing; allowing the water to pass from the well housing to successively lower levels to empty the well housing; and using the potential energy of the air container by lowering the air container, after it has been buoyantly raised and the well housing emptied.

Further aspects and features of the invention are set out in the following detailed description of embodiments, as well as in the claims. Brief Description of Drawings In the accompanying schematic drawings, which are given by way of example:

Fig. 1 is a diagram representing gravitation as celestial power of nature;

Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 are diagrams explaining buoyancy;

Fig. 4 is a cut-away perspective view of an embodiment of a water engine according to the invention;

Fig. 4A shows the water engine of Fig. 4 in partly disassembled condition;

Fig. 5 is a side view of this water engine;

Fig. 6 is a front view of the water engine;

Figs. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D and 6E show details of a space water room of Fig. 6, Fig. 6D being an enlargement of part of Fig. 6A and 6E being an enlargement showing the end of an individual water compartment;

Fig. 7 is a rear view of the water engine;

Fig. 7 A shows a detail of an air- vent pipe of Fig. 7 on enlarged scale;

Fig. 8 shows three views of a water tower of the water engine in exploded perspective view, with different degrees of assembly;

Fig. 9 is a top view of the water tower;

Fig. 10 is a top view of a header assembly of the water engine (from on top of Fig. 4 or Fig. 5);

Fig. 11 shows floors of the water space (also seen in Figs. 6 A to 6D);

Fig. 12 is a perspective cut-away view of the water engine, cut away through the water tower;

Fig. 12A shows a detail of Fig. 12;

Fig.13 is another perspective cut-away view of the water engine, cut away at right angles to Fig. 12;

Figs. 13A and 13B show details of Fig. 13 on an enlarged scale; Fig. 14 shows a compressible member at the bottom of the water tower;

Fig. 14A shows another compressible member;

Fig. 15 shows an enlargement of a part of a water compartment as shown in Figs. 6A to 6D. Figs 16A to 16F are diagrams showing thirty-four successive floating steps of the first embodiment of water engine; and

Figs. 17 and 18 are diagrams illustrating operation of the water engine.

Detailed Description Fig. 1 is a diagram representing celestial bodies attracted by gravitation as a power of nature. Gravitation constitutes a natural power source that is provided free of charge, is very stable, permanent and non-polluting. However, attempts to date to make use of gravitation to produce low cost energy have not met with success.

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the principle of buoyancy. One cubic meter of sealed air (say "air body") they can raise/support one ton weight by buoyancy. By analogy, an empty big ship will ride high on the water but the heavier the ship is loaded the more it will sink. Correspondingly, a hollow square container measuring inside 100m x 100m x 100m can carry one million tons by buoyancy (which corresponds to 40,000 trucks each weighing 25ton!). By using buoyancy to raise a large heavy usually rectangular container to considerable heights, say 100m, or 360m, the invention takes advantage of the large stored potential energy that can be released.

Fig. 4 is a cut-away perspective view of a first embodiment of water engine according to the invention, showing its inside construction. Fig. 4A shows the water engine in partly disassembled condition with its cover 71 lifted off and with a well housing (also called "water tower") 5 lifted out. Fig. 5 is a side view of this water engine showing a large open-topped tank 7 by which water is hoisted up from a lower reservoir 41 to an upper reservoir 48 using a winch system 65.

The water engine has a base formed by lower water reservoir 48 and a superstructure 70 that encloses upside water reservoir 41 and is supported by several pillars or structural members (not shown), one pillar 6 serving to carry piping and electric cables. Inside are mounted a vertical space water room 8 adjacent the vertical well housing or water tower 5, described in detail later. Fig. 6 is a front view of the space water room 8 and Fig. 7 is a rear view showing vertical air- vent pipes 12. These air- vent pipes 12 on the rear face facilitate the intake and outlet of water into and from the water compartments 80 in space water room 8. Figs. 6 A, 6B, 6C and 6D show details of the space water room 8 which have many levels or floors or compartments 80 accessible via the front face as shown in Fig. 6C, that faces the well housing 5. Each level of each water compartment 80 has an upper water intake 10 and a lower water outlet 11 as shown in Fig. 6D and in Fig. 15. As shown in Figs. 6 and 6C, the compartments 80 form a "window" that can be located centrally on the space water room 8. However, they will always be in register with the corresponding opening in the air well 5 and so for Figs. 4 and 4A, the compartments 80 would be more to one side of the space water room 8.

Fig. 8 shows three views of a water tower 5 of the water engine in exploded perspective view, with different degrees of assembly. The left-hand exploded view shows the up-side air container 15 on the second air container 16 over an elastic cushion 17 in the uncompressed state, ready to be fitted in the well housing 5. The middle view shows the same parts 15, 16, 17 and 5 in broken-away cross-section with the elastic cushion 17 in the compressed state. The right-hand views show, at the top, these parts 15, 16, 17 placed together in the well housing 5 with the elastic cushion 17 in the uncompressed state and, at the bottom, these parts 15, 16, 17 placed together in the well housing 5 with the an elastic cushion 17 in the compressed state.

The elastic cushion 17 is a compressible member made of alternating layers of lightweight metal and elastic material, forming an elastic bellows. As shown, cushion 17 is of round cross-section but could have other shapes such as square as shown at 25. See also Figs. 14 and 14A for details of the cushion 17. As shown in Fig. 14A, the cushion can consist of large metal frames 76 spaced by and alternating with inwardly- folded pieces made of rubber, forming a bellows. These rectangular metal frames 76 have lugs 77 at their corners for sliding up and down vertical grooves in the corners of the well housing 5.

Also, as shown at the top of Fig. 8, the bottom of cushion 7 is connected to a pipe 14 for delivering water when the cushion 7 is compressed, via a vertical pipe 34.

The up-side air container 15, the second air container 16 and the elastic cushion 17 are movable inside the well housing 5. The purpose of the second air container 16 is to compress the cushion 17 when the available water space in the well housing 5 is emptied of water, i.e. in the absence of buoyancy. The up-side air container 15 can move in the well housing 5 independently of the second air container 16 and, during operation, becomes spaced above it. Fig. 9 is a top view of the water tower 5 indicating exemplary relative dimensions. For instance, for a water space (up-side air container 15) measuring internally 100 x 100m, the air body has a capacity of 10,000 m². The outer dimension of the air container 15/16 is for example 106m and the inner dimension of the well housing 5 would be 112m, leaving a vacant space of 6m (3m on each side) available for containing water to provide buoyancy for floating the up-side air container 15 up. The outer dimension of the well housing 5 in this case can for example be 122m. These dimensions are given for an air container 15 made of tungsten, though of course other heavy metals and alloys can be used. As shown, the air container 15 has guide ribs or lugs 55 at its four corners, for guided displacement in corresponding vertical grooves in the corners of the well housing 5.

Fig. 10 is a top view the water engine superstructure 70 including the winch 65 for lifting the tank 7 by chain 45 with a counterweight 31 (Fig. 12). Fig. 11 completes the views of Figs. 6A to 6D with another view of the floors of the space water room 8 made of multilayered water compartments 80, shown in enlarged view in Fig. 6A and Fig. 15. Fig. 6E further shows the water inlet 10 with its pivoted valve 10A and sliding lock 10B, for letting water in the compartment 80 when the lock 10B is released, and the water outlet 11 with its pivoted valve 11 A and sliding lock 1 IB, for letting water out of the compartment 80 when the lock 1 IB is released. These locks can be successively actuated to successively empty or fill the water compartments.

Figs. 12 and 13 show the water engine in perspective cut-away view though the water tower 5. The upside air container 15 and middle air body 16 are shown in a position with the cushion 17 in the uncompressed state. The open-topped tank 7 for raising water from downside reservoir 48 to upside reservoir 41 is shown in its lower position, ready to be lifted by the winch 65 by chain 45 whose other end carries a heavy counterweight 31 for maintaining the chain tension.

A gate 29 (Fig. 13 A) is provided at the top of the water tower 5 for replenishing the top two floors with water at the end of each cycle.

Fig. 12A shows at 33 a water head for dumping water to an electric generator in the column 64.

Fig. 13B shows the overflow 30 of water driven up pipe 34 from pipe 14 at the bottom of the cushion 17, when the cushion 17 is compressed at the end of the downstroke of air container 15. Figs 16A to 16F are diagrams showing thirty-four successive floating steps of the above-described first embodiment of water engine, in the case where the space water room 8 has for example sixteen levels of reservoirs 80.

At the beginning of the first floating step 1 the water space in the well 5 around the air containers 15 and 16 is full of water and the upside air container 15, which is buoyantly supported by the water at its top position, is locked in its top position. The cushion 17 is in its uncompressed state. The second air container 16 is held at the top of the cushion 17, below the upside air container 15.

In floating step 2, water from the top of the well 5 flows down into the top- but-one water compartment 80, by opening its inlet valve 10A with its outlet valve 11 A held closed by its lock 1 IB.

A similar sequence follows for floating steps 3 to 16 to empty water from the well into the successively lower layers of compartments 80. In floating step 17, water flows from the bottom of the well 5 to below the bottom water compartment 80. In floating step 18 water occupies all of the water compartments 80 except for the upper level.

During emptying of the water from the well 5, the upside air compartment 15 has remained locked in its top position.

At this stage, the upside air container 15 is released and the potential energy released by its fall is used to lift water to the upside reservoir 41 by means of the tank 7, chain 45 and winch 65 via a gear reducing mechanism. When it drops to the bottom, the upside air container 15 compresses the cushion 17 via the second air container 16 which transfers more water up via pipe 34. This position is shown in Fig. 17. In floating step 19, water from the lowermost reservoir 80 is let out to the bottom of the water space in well 5. This occurs by opening its valve 11 by withdrawing lock 11B, while holding the upper valve 10 closed. Then, in floating step 20 water from the lowermost-but-one reservoir 80 is let out to occupy the well 5 up to the next level. A similar sequence follows for floating steps 20 to 33. At the last floating step 34, water is emptied from the last-but-one water compartment 80, leaving the top two water compartments empty.

During floating steps 20 to 34 the upside air compartment 15 is floated by buoyancy to the top of the water engine, and the cycle can recommence. This position at the end/beginning of a cycle is shown in Fig. 18. An amount of water that can fill the top two compartments 80 can be replenished each cycle. Upper and lower end switches will be provided for reversing the water flow at the ends of path. Moreover, the successive opening/closing of the valves 10 and 11 is controlled by automatic means. For one complete cycle, the water level in space water room 8 lowers by two levels, and has to be replenished e.g. using water raised by the tank 7 and water sent up via pipe 34. In order to maintain a high efficiency for the water machine, it is preferred to have a large number of levels/compartments 80. Fourteen levels or compartments 80 have been shown by way of illustration, but in practice it may be preferable to have, say, at least forty to fifty levels and compartments 80.

The air container 15 is made of a metal whose specific weight is much heavier than 1. The following calculations refer to an air container 15 made of tungsten in the above-indicated dimensions, and where the well housing 5 is made to a height of 360m, i.e. for lifting a nominal weight of 100 million tons to this height. Two big air containers 15 and 16, measure 106 x 106m outside dimension, each 120m high (see Figs. 17 and 18). The container has a 1.2 million cubic meter sealed volume, nominally raising 1.2 million tons. Each cubic meter of tungsten weighs 18 tons. About 10% water space is left around the container 15. The cushion 17 in the compressed state occupies 10m and in the expanded state 120m. 10% water space means buoyancy floating up to one million tons weight.

The total height that water must be lifted is 400m: 120m for cushion 7, 120m for middle air container 16, 120m for upside air container 15, 50m for the downside reservoir 48, 10m for the upside reservoir 41, with an open-top tank 7 that is 30 m high. The space around each upside air container 15 is 3m ((112 - 106 = 6)/2). The volume of its water space is 3m x 106 m x 4 sides = 1272 m³ less a small amount for rounded corners, say 1248m³ water x 2 floors x 2m = 4992 Ton.

If we set each floor or reservoir 80 at 2m high, then in each water space we have 12480 x 2 = 2496 m³ of water. For each cycle of operations, we "consume" or "waste" two levels of water, i.e. 4992m³ waste water, say approximately 5000 Tons of water.

The upside air container 15 measures 100 x 100 x 120m, so we have l,200,000m3 of air meaning a nominal lifting capacity of 1,200,000 Tons. What is important is that when the upside air container 15 is surrounded by water in the water space we obtain buoyancy floating by taking a nominal 1,200,000 Ton air container up a height of 360m, whereas when the upside air container 15 is no longer surrounded by buoyant water the upside air container 15 becomes a very heavy weight. The falling distance of the upside air container 15 takes account of the cushion height 120 - 10 = 110m, as well as the heights of the upside air container 15 and the second air container 16

In this example, each time we can raise 270,000 Ton of water by a height of 440m, which has to be reduced by 5000 tons of waste water, i.e. 265,000 Ton. Generally speaking, however, the bigger the up-side air container 15 the more power will be produced. This is illustrated in Table I which shows the calculated amount of water raised, per cycle, for air containers 15 of different heights.

TABLE I

Many variations may be made to the described gravity-operated water engine and method of producing energy. Heavy metals other than tungsten can be used for the air container 15. The potential energy of the raised air container 15 can be used to generate electricity, or converted to other energy forms.

Claims

1. A gravity-operated water engine, comprising:

- a hollow air container (15) made of a material whose specific weight is much heavier than 1; - a vertical well housing (5) in which the air container (15) is mounted for up-and-down movement; the air container (15) being mounted in the well housing (5) with a gap that can be filled with water to buoyantly raise the air container (15); - a space-water room (8) contiguous with the well housing (5), the water room having many levels of water reservoirs (80);

- each reservoir (80) having an upper water inlet (10) with a water inlet valve (10 A) and a lower water outlet (11) with a water outlet valve (11) arranged to deliver water in succession from the well housing (5) to successively lower reservoirs (80), and from successively higher reservoirs (80) to the well housing (5) to progressively fill the well housing; and

- means for using the potential energy of the air container (15) by lowering the air container, after it has been buoyantly raised by delivering water from successively higher reservoirs (80) to the well housing (5) and then allowing the water to pass from the well housing (5) to successively lower reservoirs (80).

2. The gravity-operated water engine of claim 1 , comprising a winch system (65) for raising water in a tank (7) by lowering of the air container (15).

3. The gravity-operated water engine of claim 1 or 2, further comprising a compressible member (17) below the air container (15) and that is compressed by the air container (15) at the bottom of the air container's movement.

4. The gravity-operated water engine of claim 3, comprising a pipe (34) connected from below the compressible member (17) to an upper water reservoir (41) at the top of the engine, for delivering water to the upper water reservoir (41) when the compressible member (17) is compressed by the air container (15) at the bottom of the air container's movement.

5. A method of producing energy, comprising the steps of:

- buoyantly raising a hollow air container (15) made of a material whose specific weight is much heavier than 1 in a vertical well housing (5) by delivering water to successively higher levels of the well housing (5) allowing the water to pass from the well housing (5) to successively lower levels to empty the well housing; and - using the potential energy of the air container (15) by lowering the air container, after it has been buoyantly raised and the well housing (5) has been emptied.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the water is transferred between the well housing and a space-water room (8) contiguous with the well housing (5), the water room having many levels of water reservoirs (80); each reservoir (80) having an upper water inlet (10) with a water inlet valve (10 A) and a lower water outlet (11) with a water outlet valve (11) that deliver water in succession from the well housing (5) to successively lower reservoirs (80) to progressively empty the well housing and from successively higher reservoirs (80) to the well housing (5) to progressively fill the well housing.