Transverse Hydroelectric Generator

• US 20060131890A1
• Filed: 12/21/2004
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Integrated Power Technology Corporation
• Original Assignee: Andrew Roman Gizara
• Inventors: Gizara, Andrew Roman
• Granted Patent: US 7,088,012 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 290/43
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 17/065 the flow engaging parts having a cyclic movement relative to the rotor during its rotation
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2220/61 for hydrogen and/or oxygen production
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2240/94 on a movable wheeled structure
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2240/97 on a submerged structure
• 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: Y02E 60/36 Hydrogen production from non-carbon containing sources, e.g. by water electrolysis

Abstract

A power plant extracts energy from a free flowing motive fluid by means of a transverse mounted generator with its rotor extending downward into the flow. Runner blades with hinges attain the greatest surface area when the flow is tangent to and in the same direction as the rotor rotation. The hinges fold the runner blades to minimize the surface area proportional to drag when the blades oppose the flow. The generator with feedback control charges batteries, produces hydrogen fuel by electrolysis of water, or further couples to a DC motor coupled to an AC generator. Other features optionally perform such tasks as adaptively locating the generator in the maximum velocity flow, controlling and communicating the state of charge of the battery, or gauging and controlling the electrolysis process and communicating the fullness of the hydrogen gas output tanks.

Claims

1. An electric generator using output voltage feedback means to reliably respond to dynamic energy of a motive fluid wherein:

said motive fluid is free flowing seawater,

said seawater affected by natural or man-made rises in elevation of the ocean floor or any other bathymetric constriction of free flow,

said bathymetric contsriction breaks oceanic wave motion such that the wave or tidal energy is transferred into accelerating the water itself,

said generator extracts energy from the force from said accelerated water.

2. An apparatus of power generation wherein the impeller responds to a free flowing motive fluid flowing transverse to said apparatus rotor wherein:

said impeller mechanically or electro-mechanically or electronically instantaneously adjusts its response,

said impeller adapts to changes in the direction and magnitude of the streamlines of a free flowing motive fluid.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said free flowing motive fluid is seawater, said seawater affected by natural or man-made rises in elevation of the ocean floor or any other bathymetric constriction of the free flow,

said bathymetic constriction breaks oceanic wave motion such that the wave or tidal energy is transferred into accelerating the water itself,

said generator extracts energy from the force of said accelerated water.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said motive fluid is a free flowing body of water in any form including but not limited to rivers, creeks, inlets, tidal bores, rapids, or waterfalls.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein:

said impeller is submerged within the motive fluid,

said generator is not submerged within the motive fluid.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said impeller has a hinge which closes to reduce the runner blade surface area thus reducing drag when the impeller rotates into the direction of said free flowing motive fluid.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said hinged runner blade has a cupped profile that enables extraction of both impulse force of the impinging motive fluid and reaction force after the motive fluid flows along the surface of said runner blade.

8. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said impeller has a conic shape with a curvature to change both direction and magnitude of the velocity of flow as it impinges the impeller internal surface enabling extraction of both impulse and reaction forces from said motive fluid.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said impeller curvature directs said flow towards barrages along the trajectory of the impeller to increase thrust.

10. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said generator system is mounted to a short rail system so that the location of the apparatus can be adaptively located to an optimal location such as the onshore side of the breaking waves, or the location of highest velocity flow in any body of water.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said location of the apparatus along said rail system is determined by a means of sensing the depth of said apparatus using fluid level sensors mounted at varying heights within the support structure of said apparatus.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said location of the apparatus along said rail system is determined by an electronic microprocessor system with an almanac in memory indicating tide level and/or relative mean location of the breaking waves with respect to the rail at any given time.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein adjustment of location of the apparatus along said rail system is performed by:

means of a singular DC stepper motor with rotor output shaft affixed to, or forged or cast into a beveled pinion,

said beveled pinion meshes with a bidirectional anti-backlash and position locking mechanism propelled by a spring loaded solenoid operating synchronously to said DC stepper motor,

said beveled pinion synchronously meshing to a gear driving an axel which in turn drives a gear that meshes to a rack gear mounted on said rails.

14. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the kinetic energy contained in said motive fluid is converted to electrical potential for feedback control.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said feedback control scales said electrical potential to produce constant voltage for a given load or to limit withstanding torque on said impeller over varying kinetic energy levels of said motive fluid.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said electrical potential is scaled within a DC generator by controlling the average field coil excitation current determined by voltage feedback from across the armature winding.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said average field coil excitation current is controlled using means of switch mode current control.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said voltage feedback control system is implemented using means of digital sampling techniques.

19. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said electrical potential is scaled using means of a rotor velocity transducer and gears with automatic transmission.

20. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said kinetic energy contained in the motive fluid is converted to electrical potential by means of an impeller,said impeller directly driving the rotor of an AC induction generator of sufficient number of poles such that said generator'"'"'s synchronous frequency is much lower than the average rotational velocity of said impeller thus operating said AC induction generator most of the time in the generator region of its torque-slip curve,

or else said impeller indirectly driving the rotor of an AC induction generator through a system of gears which increase the rotor rotational velocity such that said generator'"'"'s synchronous frequency is much lower than the average rotational velocity of said rotor itself thus operating said AC induction generator most of the time in the generator region of its torque-slip curve,

so said electrical potential derived from the armature voltage of said AC induction generator may be directly applied to the utility power grid.

21. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said kinetic energy contained in the motive fluid is converted to electrical potential by means of:

said impeller directly driving the rotor of a DC generator,

or else said impeller directly driving or indirectly driving through a system of gears, an AC induction generator with external voltage rectifiers producing a direct current output.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the voltage output of said DC generator or said AC induction generator with external voltage rectifiers is electronically voltage and current regulated for charging any of the presently available varieties of chemistry of battery.

23. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the voltage output of said generator is electronically voltage and current regulated for driving a DC motor mechanically coupled to a synchronous AC generator with output armature voltage applied directly to the utility power grid.

24. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the voltage output of said DC generator or said AC induction generator with external voltage rectifiers is electronically voltage and current regulated for performing electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen fuel.

25. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein said charging of a battery, including gauging and communicating the fullness of the battery is controlled by an electronic microprocessor.

26. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said current and voltage regulation, in order to control motor speed is controlled by an electronic microprocessor.

27. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said process of electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen fuel, including gauging and communicating the fullness of the output gas tanks is controlled by an electronic microprocessor.

28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein said hydrogen electrolyzer has an anode or a plurality of anodes comprising manganese dioxide plating in order to reduce the formation of sodium chloroxide by-product.