Wave energy device with constricted tube and generator pod

• US 10,385,820 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2017
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lone GULL Holdings Limited
• Original Assignee: Brian Lee Moffat, Garth Alexander Sheldon-Coulson
• Inventors: Moffat, Brian Lee, Sheldon-Coulson, Garth Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hoang M
• Application Number:
  US15/681,118
• Publication Number:
  US 20180058420A1
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• Field of Search: 60495-507, 290 42, 290 53
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 11/02 Casings spiral or volute casings F03B3/186
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 13/10 Submerged units incorporating electric generators or motors
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 13/183 of a turbine-like wom
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 13/22 using the flow of water resulting from wave movements to drive a motor or turbine F03B13/144 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2210/404 bidirectional, i.e. in opposite, alternating directions
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2230/60 Assembly methods
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2240/133 with a convergent-divergent guiding structure, e.g. a Venturi conduit
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2250/70 Shape
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2260/404 through magnetic drive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2260/95 Preventing corrosion coating or surface treatment F05B2230/90
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/20 Hydro energy
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/30 Energy from the sea, e.g. using wave energy or salinity gradient
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Abstract

A wave energy converter utilizes a flotation module that rises and falls with the passage of waves, a submerged tube containing a constriction which multiplies the speed of the water passing therethrough, a turbine (or other hydrokinetic apparatus) positioned so as to extract energy from the accelerated flow of water within and/or through the tube, and a submerged gas- or liquid-filled chamber housing one or more energy conversion components (e.g. generators, transformers, rectifiers, inverters). By providing a chamber in proximity to the turbine, generators can be placed in closer proximity to the turbine that turns them, and the shared shaft can be shorter than if the generators were placed in the buoy adjacent to the surface.

Claims

1. A wave energy converter, comprising:

a buoyant flotation module;

a fluid conducting tube having at least one constriction for accelerating the fluid therein;

connectors for coupling the buoyant flotation module to the fluid conducting tube;

a hydrokinetic element disposed proximal to the constriction of the fluid conducting tube;

a submerged pod spaced from the flotation module and having an interior occupied by a non-corrosive environment;

a generator disposed within the interior of the submerged pod;

a linkage transferring kinetic energy at the hydrokinetic element to the generator; and

an electrical conduit linking the generator to an energy receptor unit on the flotation module for transferring electrical energy from the generator thereto.

2. The wave energy converter of claim 1, wherein the buoyant flotation module includes a system for replenishing the non-corrosive environment in the submerged pod.

3. The wave energy converter of claim 2, wherein the system for replenishing the non-corrosive environment communicates with a port located below the generator.

4. The wave energy converter of claim 3, wherein the submerged pod is modular and replaceable.

5. The wave energy converter of claim 3, wherein the hydrokinetic element and the generator are connected by a shaft passing through the submerged pod'"'"'s lowermost surface.

6. The wave energy converter of claim 1, wherein the submerged pod is sealed and the linkage transferring kinetic energy to the generator uses a magnetic coupling.

7. The wave energy converter of claim 1, wherein the non-corrosive environment is dehumidified.

8. The wave energy converter of claim 1, wherein the submerged pod further comprises a fan.

9. The wave energy converter of claim 1, wherein the submerged pod comprises a plurality of generators connected in parallel to a shaft rotated by the hydrokinetic element.