System and method for converting ocean wave energy into electricity
First Claim
1. An apparatus for optimizing power output associated with a pendulum rotating under the influence of wave motion, said apparatus comprising:
- a measurement module for measuring environmental conditions;
a processing module for processing said measured environmental conditions and determining instructions, said instructions comprising a pendulum setting optimized according to said measured conditions;
a load variation mechanism for varying the load placed upon said pendulum to achieve said optimized setting; and
a length variation mechanism for varying the load placed upon said pendulum to achieve said optimized setting.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for harnessing power associated with ocean waves and converting that power into electricity. The apparatus is a buoy that houses a vertically oriented central shaft, a pendulum, a generator mechanism, and other components that synergistically operate to optimize power output of the buoy. Both the load on the pendulum and the effective length of the pendulum may be varied in response to changing environmental conditions. Also, the buoy may be part of a network that shares environmental data and a series of best tuning responses to that data, across the network. A library of environmental data and associated tuning responses is built at a central location and shared across the network.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. An apparatus for optimizing power output associated with a pendulum rotating under the influence of wave motion, said apparatus comprising:
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a measurement module for measuring environmental conditions; a processing module for processing said measured environmental conditions and determining instructions, said instructions comprising a pendulum setting optimized according to said measured conditions; a load variation mechanism for varying the load placed upon said pendulum to achieve said optimized setting; and a length variation mechanism for varying the load placed upon said pendulum to achieve said optimized setting. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of optimizing power output of a pendulum rotating under the influence of wave motion, said method comprising:
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measuring environmental conditions; determining an optimized pendulum setting for said measured conditions; and varying the effective length of said pendulum or the resistance placed upon said pendulum to optimize power output of said pendulum according to said determined optimized pendulum setting. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A power optimization network, said network comprising:
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a first grid comprising a first plurality of buoys, sail first plurality of buoys comprising a pendulum for generating power under the influence of wave motion and a communication module for transmitting information relating to local environmental conditions; and a first central station in communication with said first plurality of buoys, said first central location comprising a database for storing said transmitted local environmental conditions and optimized pendulum settings related to environmental conditions, and a communication module for transmitting instructions, said instructions comprising a pendulum setting optimized according to said local environmental conditions. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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Specification