Wave-action power apparatus

• US 3,930,168 A
• Filed: 04/01/1974
• Issued: 12/30/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Michael G. Tornabene
• Original Assignee: Michael G. Tornabene
• Inventors: Tornabene, Michael G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Schaefer, Robert K.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Redman, John W.
• Application Number:
  US05/457,075
• Time in Patent Office: 638 Days
• Field of Search: 290/42,43,53,54 417/330,331,332,333,334
• US Class Current: 290/53
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 13/1845 and the wom slides relative to the rem
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 13/186 the connection being of the rack-and-pinion type
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/30 Energy from the sea, e.g. using wave energy or salinity gradient

Abstract

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is provided a double-action piston water pump of elongated shape with the piston supported on a lever rod extending coaxially to the piston chamber and extending through both ends of the cylinder providing thereby equal volume displacement constantly throughout the cylinder inner space irrespective of the position of the piston during the to and fro strokes, with there being mounted on a lower end of the lever rod a float element revolvable around the lever rod with the lever rod as a central axis thereto and with there being detachably mounted on the float element an additional dense mass for varying the depth that the float element sits in the water and varying momentum and inertia during a stroke, the float element including separable and dismountable upper and lower halves and including bearing mountings of the upper and lower halves with a lubrication port and channel for pressurized lubrication of the bearing mountings, and there also being included in closed flow cycle inlet and outlet conduits to and from the opposite ends of the piston cylinder with appropriate one-way valves therein and mounted within the conduit cycle there being a turbine propelled by the pumped fluid such as pumped water, the cylinder and the conduits and the turbine being arranged relative to one-another to obtain a substantially unbroken circle of flow for accentuating fly-wheel-like inertia and momentum of the circularly flowing water, there also being an additional mass body mounted on a lower end of the lever rod having a stabilizing effect against distorting torques on the lever rod, the revolving float element also reducing any such distorting torque effects also, the rod lever being slidably supported by two bearing mountings located both above the upper extremity of the upward stroke of the lever rod responsive to the crest of a wave pushing upwardly on the float element.

Claims

1. A wave-energy device comprising in combination:

a lever means having a float-mounting portion thereof positioned uprightly;

a float means mounted rotatably in a substantially horizontal plane on said float-mounting portion for free-roation there-around such that water current contact with the float means in a manner which would produce a torque thereon is rotatable of the float means thereby obviating twisting torque on the lever means;

a mass means of predetermined dense mass sufficiently to impart a predetermined high degree of momentum to upward and downward actions of the lever means and the float means being adapted such that overall mass is substantially greater than for a float means devoid of excess mass, the float means being of predetermined water displacement volume sufficiently to negate by water displacement disproportionate weight of the mass means whereby the float is positioned in a partially submerged floating state; and

said float means and said mass means jointly including massattaching means for mounting said mass to said float means.

2. The wave-energy device of claim 1, in which the mass-attaching means provides further for detachably mounting said mass means to said float means.

3. The wave-energy device of claim 1, including a pump means defining an elongated pump cylinder having an elongated piston-reciprocation space with the elongated piston-reciprocation space extending substantially coaxially with said lever means at an end of the cylinder positioned to be adjacent said lever means;

a piston member mounted on the lever means for reciprocation within the elongated space of the cylinder means, the cylinder means being of a predetermined large length at least as great as a predetermined length of lever stroke of a lever means between crests and troughs of waves such that maximum pump stroke length is obtainable to thereby benefit from maximum momentum of maximum mass of pumped fluid per stroke; and

inlet and outlet conduits having at least one end thereof attached operatively to the cylinder at at-least one end thereof, at least one end of the conduit being closed to define a compression space for effecting pump compression by the piston member for effecting liquid flow out of the outlet conduit, each of the inlet and outlet conduits'"'"''"'"' remaining opposite ends having mounted therebetween and thereon in closed circuit of flow a turbine means, the inlet and outlet conduits and the turbine means and the cylinder being arranged relative to one-another in a substantially circular-flow path shape such that substantially all times pumped liquid being channeled therethrough flows with a minimum of flow resistance and with a maximum benefit of momentum of flowing liquid.

4. The wave-energy device of claim 1, including a support structure having spaced apart upper and lower bearing means arranged operatively to support said lever with the lever extending in a substantially upright state and being reciprocatable through said upper and lower bearing means, the upper bearing means being positioned above said float means, the upper bearing means being mounted on an upper portion of a tower as a part of the support structure, and the lower bearing means being anchored fixedly within sea-bottom earth.

5. The wave-energy device of claim 1, in which said mass means is positioned at a location located about half-way between the top and bottom ends of the float means extending about horizontally substantially in the form of a disk.

6. The wave-energy device of claim 1, including a support structure having spaced apart upper and lower bearing means arranged operatively to support said lever with the lever extending in a substantiAlly upright state and being reciprocatable through the upper and lower bearing means, the upper bearing means being positioned above said float means, and said lower bearing means being positioned below said float means, at least a part of said mass means being mounted on said lever means at a position beneath said lower bearing means.

7. The wave-energy device of claim 1, in which said float means is elongated in a substantially upright plane and is substantially oval shaped in an upright direction.

8. The wave-energy device of claim 7, in which said oval shape is of greater cross-section at an upper end thereof than at a lower end thereof.

9. The wave-energy device of claim 7, in which said oval shape is of greater cross-section at a lower end than at an upper end thereof.

10. The wave-energy device of claim 5, in which said mass means is an integral part of said float means and is elongated axially extending in an upright direction about parallel to said lever means.

11. The wave-energy device of claim 10, in which said mass means is substantially annular and is located at substantially an outerdiameter perimeter of said float means.

12. The wave-energy device of claim 1, in which said mass means comprises radially-extending spokes extending substantially laterally within space defined by the float means.

13. The wave-energy device of claim 3, in which each of opposite ends of the conduit are closed to define a compression space at each end on each of opposite side of the piston member, for effecting pump compression and liquid flow out of respective outlet conduits for cylinder opposite ends, said lever means extending axially throughout said cylinder means such that the lever means displaces an equal volume of space on each side of the piston member.

14. The wave-energy device of claim 1, in which said lever means and said mass means jointly include attaching-means for detachably mounting said mass onto said lever.

15. The wave-energy device of claim 14, in which said lever-attaching means includes lever structure for optionally attaching said mass at a plurality of alternate locations above and below said float means.

16. A wave-energy device comprising in combination:

a lever means having a float-mounting portion thereof positioned uprightly;

a float means mounted rotatably in a substantially horizontal plane on said float-mounting portion for free-rotation there-around such that water current contact with the float means in a manner which would produce a torque thereon is rotatable of the float means thereby obviating twisting torque on the lever means;

a mass means of predetermined dense mass sufficiently to impart a predetermined high degree of momentum to each of to and fro actions of the lever means and the float means such that overall mass is substantially greater than for a float means devoid of excess mass, the float means being of predetermined water displacment volume sufficiently to negate by water displacement disproportionte weight of the mass means whereby the float is positioned in a partially submerged floating state, the float means including float-sinking means for alternately admitting and excluding liquid mass from water-displacement space within said float means; and

said float means and said mass means jointly including mass-attaching means for mounting said mass to said float means.

17. A wave-energy device comprising in combination:

a lever means having a float-mounting portion thereof positioned uprightly;

a float means mounted rotatably in a substantially horizontal plane on said float-mounting portion for free-rotation there-around such that water current contact with the float means in a manner which would produce a torque thereon is rotatable of the float means thereby obviating twisting torque on the lever means;

a mass means of predetermined dense mass sufficiently to impart a predetermined high degree of momentum to each of to and fro actions of the lever means and the float means such thAt overall mass is substantially greater than for a float means devoid of excess mass, the float means being of predetermined water displacement volume sufficiently to negate by water displacement disproportionate weight of the mass means whereby the float is positioned in a partially sumberged floating state, the float means including an interior space defined thereby and a port means for filling the space with closed cell foam.

18. A wave-energy device comprising in combination:

a lever means having a float-mounting portion thereof positioned uprightly;

a float means mounted rotatably in a substantially horizontal plane on said float-mounting portion for free-rotation there-around such that water current contact with the float means in a manner which would produce a torque thereon is rotatable of the float means thereby obviating twisting torque on the lever means;

a mass means of predetermined dense mass sufficiently to impart a predetermined high degree of momentum to each of to and fro actions of the lever means and the float means such that overall mass is substantially greater than for a float means devoid of excess mass, the float means being of predetermined water displacement sufficiently to negate by water displacement disproportionate weight of the mass means whereby the float is positioned in a partially submerged floating state, the float means defining a lubrication channel and lubrication port means located on an exterior surface of the float means with the lubrication channel extending inwardly to a location at which the float means is revolvably mounted in juxtaposition to and on the lever means for providing pressurized lubrication thereto; and

said float means and said mass means jointly including mass-attaching means for mounting said mass to said float means.

19. The wave-energy device of claim 18, including bearing means at said location for providing bearing rotation of the float means on the lever means.

20. A wave-energy device comprising in combination:

a lever means having a float-mounting portion thereof positioned uprightly;

a float means mounted rotatably in a substantially horizontal plane on said float-mounting portion for free-rotation there-around such that water current contact with the float means in a manner which would produce a torque thereon is rotatable of the float means thereby obviating twisting torque on the lever means;

a mass means of predetermined dense mass sufficiently to impart a predetermined high degree of momentum to each of to and fro actions of the lever means and the float means such that overall mass is substantially greater than for a float means devoid of excess mass, the float means being of predetermined water displacement volume sufficiently to negate by water displacement disproportionate weight of the mass means whereby the float is positioned in a partially submerged floating state, said float means including upper and lower substantially hemispherically-shaped halve-portions separate from one-another and detachably secured to one-another in axial alignment of the vertical axis of each and including a detachable partition segregating upper inner space from lower iner space thereof; and

said float means and said mass means jointly including mass-attaching means for mounting said mass to said float means.

21. A wave-energy device comprising in combination:

a lever means having a float-mounting portion thereof positioned uprightly;

a float means mounted rotatably in a substantially horizontal plane on said float-mounting portion for free-rotation there-around such that water current contact with the float means in a manner which would produce a torque thereon is rotatable of the float means thereby obviating twisting torque on the lever means;

a mass means of predetermined dense mass sufficiently to impart a predetermined high degree of momentum to each of to and fro actions of the lever means and the float means such that overall mass is substantially greater than for a float means devoid of excess mass, tHe float means being of predetermined water displacement volume sufficiently to negate by water displacement disproportionate weight of the mass means whereby the float is positioned in a partially submerged floating state;

said float means and said mass means jointly including mass-attaching means for mounting said mass to said float means;

a support structure having spaced apart upper and lower bearing means arranged operatively to support said lever with the lever extending in a substantially upright state and being reciprocatable through said upper and lower bearing means, the upper bearing means being positioned above said float means, the upper bearing means being mounted on an upper portion of a tower as a part of the support structure and the lower bearing means being anchored fixedly within sea-bottom earth, the lower bearing means including an encasing vertically elongated cylinder including as a part thereof fluid pressure-relief means permitting liquid flow to and from the cylinder, a lower portion of said lever means extending coaxially within said cylinder and reciprocatable therewithin.

22. A wave-energy device comprising in combination:

a lever means having a float-mounting portion thereof positioned uprightly;

a float means mounted rotatably in a substantially horizontal plane on said float-mounting portion for free-rotation there-around such that water current contact with the float means in a manner which would produce a torque thereon is rotatable of the float means thereby obviating twisting torque on the lever means;

a mass means of predetermined dense mass sufficiently to impart a predetermined high degree of momentum to each of to and fro actions of the lever means and the float means such that overall mass is substantially greater than for a float means devoid of excess mass, the float means being of predetermined water displacement volume sufficiently to negate by water displacement disproportionate weight of the mass means whereby the float is positioned in a partially submerged floating state, the float means including upper and lower substantially hemispherically-shaped halve portions separate from one-another and detachably secured to one-another in axial alignment of the vertical axis of each, said float means being elongated in all substantially horizontal directions in an upright plane and non-elongated in upright directions; and

said float means and said mass means jointly including mass-attaching means for mounting said mass to said float means.