WO2012105925A1

WO2012105925A1 - Fluid recycler electricity generation apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2012105925A1
Application number: PCT/US2011/000216
Authority: WO
Inventors: Phillip E. COOPER
Original assignee: Old Timers Electric Corporation
Priority date: 2011-01-31
Filing date: 2011-01-31
Publication date: 2012-08-09

Abstract

A closed system hydro-energy conversion apparatus comprising one or more microturbine assemblies that are, in turn, compelled to rotate and thereby drive microturbine shaft assemblies actuate alternating or direct current generators. The fluid contained within the apparatus is recirculated through the closed system using a fluid pump. An external power source and the generator provide sufficient power to the fluid pump to maintain a predetermined fluid flow rate through the closed system.

Description

TITLE OF INVENTION

Fluid Recycler Electricity Generation Apparatus

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001 ] The recyclable system hydro-energy conversion apparatus has particular utility in connection with portable systems for generating electricity.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] This invention relates to a fluid recycler electricity generation apparatus, more particularly understood as a closed system hydro-energy conversion apparatus for use in connection with electrical generators.

[0003] Water generated electricity is widely used in connection with dams and reservoirs wherein the water is pooled and forced through turbines that, in turn, drive electricity generators. Such system is an open one whereby the water is cycled through the generator only once, thereafter flowing downstream.

[0004] Formerly, in harnessing the water flow to create electricity, the industry has utilized bodies of water that have stored energy such as hydroelectric dams. The water pressure established by the dam structure when the gates are opened allows the gravitational flow of water to mechanically actuate gears that in turn drive the rotational elements necessary for a generator to generate electricity. The flow of water may take two typical forms, namely, over a paddle wheel or through a turbine located within a confined channel. Accordingly, it is known in the prior art and the industry to utilize large turbines located within a confined channel, including piping. The use of a channel or pipe to direct the water flow correlates to the water pressure flowing through the channel or pipe. The gravitational forces applied to a body of water are related to head pressure and static pressure. Static pressure in a fluid is the pressure difference between two elevations. The pressure head is the height of a column of fluid of specific weight.

[0005] For many years, water driven turbines attempt to capitalize on the pressure head and static pressure of large bodies of water. In more recent times, the technological advances have been directed towards harnessing the flow of the water as it is channeled through a pipe. In one such classic example of utilizing the flow of water already channeled through a pipe, U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,308 issued to azanjian, discloses a single hydraulic turbine motor as driven by municipally available water in a typical residential water line. In that disclosure, the input flow of water is fully and completely driven through a single hydraulic turbine that in turn compels a generator to rotate and produce measurable electricity. The ultimate force driving the fluid represents a combination of static pressure and head pressure, as well as the potential energy associated with a pumping system that may ultimately drive or contribute to flow of the municipal water supply to the location of the apparatus. There are limitations to the use of detachable, single turbine generators coupled to receive the full flow of a municipal water system at residential line pressures. Those limitations are decreased flow pressure by virtue of the mechanical requirements to rotate the inline turbine generator components. The '308 Patent likewise discloses a valve to redirect the water flow from a common line into the inlet and outlet ports to maximize the volume of water that can travel through the hydraulic turbine. It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an electricity generation system that does not substantially impair the flow pressure of an existing pressurized fluid line.

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 4,731 ,545 issued to Lerner et al discloses a portable self- contained power conversion unit that is attached to an outlet for a pressurized fluid system such as a nozzle from a garden hose. This disclosure likewise represents a classic open system whereby an impeller mounted in the unit is rotated by the discharge of pressurized fluid through the unit, and the energy of the impeller is converted into electrical energy by a generator. As the water flows through the outlet in this open system, it is no longer available for subsequent use within the fluid system. It is thus an object of the present invention to utilize the fluid pressure as contained within the pressurized fluid system without the need to discharge the fluid but rather return the fluid into a fluid recyclable system.

[0007] The industry has not discovered nor implemented an effective closed system that utilizes a continuous and constant flow pressure, and thus there is no generally accepted portable device to generate electricity having a closed fluid system. It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an electricity generation system that is portable and essentially independent.

SUMMARY

[0008] In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent to the known types of hydroelectric generators now present in the prior art, discussed in part above, the present invention provides a recyclable system hydro-energy conversion apparatus, and overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art. The purpose of the invention is to provide a new and improved closed system hydroelectric power apparatus and method that has all the advantages of the prior art yet many novel features. The ability to generate electricity utilizing highly efficient microturbine technology permits the generation of electricity using a highly portable system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[009] The following Figures are briefly descriptive of the drawings included within the application:

Fig. 1 is a top perspective view of the closed system hydro-energy conversion apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the closed system hydro-energy conversion apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the fluid reservoir and fluid reservoir tap line region of the closed system hydro-energy conversion apparatus.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of the microturbine exchange.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of the first microturbine and the

microturbine exchange.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Fig. 1 is a top perspective view of the closed system hydro-energy conversion apparatus having a fluid reservoir 1, connected to a fluid main line 6 by a fluid reservoir tap line 2. A sufficient volume of fluid is stored within a sealed, pressurized, and vertically oriented fluid reservoir 1. The fluid stored therein is permitted to flow to a generally horizontally oriented closed system comprising a fluid main line 6 and a fluid recirculation line 10. The flow of the fluid between the fluid reservoir 1 and the fluid main line 10 is accomplished through the fluid reservoir tap line 2, although the bi-directional flow between the fluid reservoir 1 and the fluid main line 6 is generally regulated by other components as well, including a pressure bleed valve 3, a fluid pressure regulator 4, and a programmable pressure regulator circuit 5. One function of the pressure bleed valve 3 is to remove undesired air from the closed system. One function of the programmable pressure regulator is to establish a near constant pressure within the fluid main line 6 once the apparatus is operational. The direction of the fluid flow in the fluid main line 6 is driven by a fluid pump 12, which is powered by electrical energy drawn from two potential sources, namely, an external power source 20 and, when actuated, a generator 14. The fluid pump secondary feedwire 19 connects the external power source to a fluid pump switch 18, which preferentially monitors the amperage draw and provides adequate electrical energy to the fluid pump 12, the fluid pressure regulator 4, and the pressure regulator circuit 5. The nominal energy draw by the fluid pressure regulator 4 and the pressure regulator circuit 5 is powered electrically by a fluid pressure regulator feedwire 21 as ultimately supplied by either the external power source 20 or, when actuated, a generator 14.

[0012] When a predetermined rate of flow and pressure of the fluid is established within the closed system as flowing through the main line 6, the flow of the fluid through a microturbine exchange 7 actuates and rotates a first microturbine 8 and a second microturbine 9. It is preferred for the fluid to flow through the fluid main line 6 at a flow rate of between 100-150 gallons per minute. Under consistent flow and pressure, the microturbines receive and transfer the fluid energy available to the system into rotational motion. The rotational motion of the microturbines actuates a generator driveshaft 13 and the attendant generator 14, thereby creating electrical energy. The pressurized fluid thereafter flows through a fluid recirculation line 10 in the direction towards the fluid pump 12 where it is recycled within the closed system. Fig. 1 A is set forth to identify cut lines for Fig. 4.

[0013] Fig. 2 is a side perspective view of the closed system hydro-energy conversion apparatus having a generator 14 having an output feedwire 15 and a generator driveshaft 13. Shown in this perspective is the microturbine exchange 7, which allows the pressurized fluid to actuate and rotate the first microturbine 8 and the second microturbine 9. The rotation of the second microturbine 9 actuates a second microturbine driveshaft 23 that, in turn, actuates a second microturbine driveshaft gear 25. Likewise, the rotation of the first microturbine 8 actuates a first microturbine driveshaft 22 that, in turn, actuates a first microturbine driveshaft gear 24. Both microturbine driveshaft gears intermesh with the respective second generator drive gear 26 and first generator drive gear 26. The transformation of the rotational energy along the respective driveshaft gears and generator drive gears, ultimately along the generator driveshaft 13, actuates the generator 14.

[0014] Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the closed system hydro-energy conversion apparatus, and more specifically a cross sectional view of a fluid reservoir 1 and its related components, namely, a fluid reservoir tap line 2, vertically oriented, a pressure bleed valve 3, and its relationship to the active pump fluid line 11. The active pump fluid line 11 immediately precedes the fluid main line 6 and is defined not by structure but rather its closer proximity to the fluid pump 12.

[0015] Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of the closed system hydro-energy conversion apparatus, and more specifically a cross sectional view of the 3-3 bisected portion shown in Fig. 1 A.

[0016] Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of the closed system hydro-energy conversion apparatus, and more specifically a cross sectional view of the 4-4 bisected portion shown in Fig. 4. Shown is the plurality of microturbine fins 28, the first microturbine 8, the first microturbine driveshaft 22, and the microturbine exchange 7.

[0017] Alternating embodiments comprise the use of direct current generators or alternating current generators. The use of direct current generators may facilitate the use of battery storage, although an inverter and controller may be necessary to utilize alternating current and to prevent overcharging of the battery systems, respectively.

[0018] The portability of this apparatus correlates to the relative size needed to establish a flow rate of between 100 -150 gallons per minute through the microturbine exchange 7. The range of acceptable flow rates are a function of readings established by the pressure regulator circuit 5 and the fluid pressure regulator 4, as well as the propulsion of the fluid by the fluid pump 12.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0019] A highly portable electricity generation system that is self-contained but for an external power source 20, has far reaching industrial applicability, including use in the residential energy generation.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0020] The following is a sequential listing of the reference signs:

fluid reservoir - 1

fluid reservoir tap line - 2

pressure bleed valve - 3

fluid pressure regulator - 4

pressure regulator circuit - 5

fluid main line - 6

microturbine exchange - 7

first microturbine - 8

second microturbine - 9

fluid recirculation line - 10

active pump fluid line - 1 1 fluid pump - 12

generator driveshaft - 13

generator - 14

output feedwire - 15

breaker box - 16

fluid pump primary feedwire - 17

fluid pump switch - 18

fluid pump secondary feedwire - 19

external power source - 20

fluid pressure regulator feedwire - 21

first microturbine driveshaft - 22

second microturbine driveshaft - 23

first microturbine driveshaft gear - 24

second microturbine driveshaft gear - 25

second generator drive gear - 26

first generator drive gear - 27

microturbine fin(s) - 28

REFERENCE TO DEPOSITED BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL

1] There are no biological materials deposited with this application.

CITATION LIST

PATENT LITERATURE

[0022] Reference is made to U.S. Patent No. 4,731 ,545 and U.S. Patent No.08 as demonstrative of prior art relevant to background art.

NON-PATENT LITERATURE

[0023] No reference is made to non-patent literature in the description.

Claims

Claim 1. I claim a closed system hydro-energy conversion apparatus comprising:

a generator rotatably connected to a generator driveshaft, the generator having electrical connection to an output feedwire, a breaker box, a fluid pump switch, a fluid pump, a pressure regulator circuit, and a fluid pressure regulator;

an external power source electrically connected to the fluid pump switch, a fluid pump, a pressure regulator circuit, and a fluid pressure regulator;

a closed recirculation fluid system comprising adequate fluid volume as contained within a fluid reservoir, a fluid main line, a microturbine exchange, a fluid recirculation line, a fluid pump, and an active pump fluid line;

one or more microturbine(s) affixed to the microturbine exchange wherein the microturbine(s) are rotatably connected to the generator driveshaft and are sufficiently operable to actuate the generator driveshaft under conditions where the fluid flows through the microturbine exchange is between 100 - 150 gallons per minute.