Lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant

• US 5,929,531 A
• Filed: 05/19/1997
• Issued: 07/27/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lagno; William Joseph
• Original Assignee: Lagno; William Joseph
• Inventors: Lagno, William J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramirez, Nestor
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ponomarenko, Nicholas
• Application Number:
  US08/858,455
• Time in Patent Office: 799 Days
• Field of Search: 290/42, 290/43, 290/53, 290/54, 417/330, 60/398, 60/506
• US Class Current: 290/53
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 13/262 using the relative movement between a tide-operated member and another member
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/30 Energy from the sea, e.g. using wave energy or salinity gradient

Abstract

A lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant of variable size and power generation capacity for basing on land or in tide waters. The basic collection of mechanical power is done by torsion spring bank units positioned on a concrete barge. The land-based plant obtains oscillatory motion from a notched frame. The tide water based plant obtains oscillating motion from notched piling. An individual torsion spring bank unit can comprise columns of horizontally aligned torsion springs based on a row of torsion springs of a bottom control cell. The tidal and wave motion is transferred to the torsion spring banks. A computer system manages the release of each torsion spring column to a drive shaft of a generator to produce electrical power. The computer system also permits the conversion of kinetic energy by reversing the gearing system for the upward motion of the floating barge so as to obtain a constant input of kinetic energy to the generator.

Claims

1. A lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant comprising:

a rectangular concrete barge having an enclosed flotation chamber;

at least two vertical rack means;

a first gear means including a partially exposed large pinion for engaging each of the at least two vertical rack means and a reduction gear meshing with the large pinion;

a second reversible gear means for engaging each reduction gear;

one framed torsion spring bank connected to each reversible gear means and containing a series of cooperating torsion springs with connecting gear means at each end of each torsion spring adapted to store mechanical power and to transmit said mechanical power;

at least one electric generator adapted to convert said stored mechanical power to electrical power; and

a computer system for controlling the release of the stored mechanical power of the torsion spring banks;

whereby a lunar driven tide by moving the buoyant concrete barge up and down rotates the large pinion on the vertical rack means and the reduction gear, rotates the reversible gear means, charging the torsion spring banks during both the up and down motions, and releasing the stored mechanical energy of the torsion spring banks by automatic computer control to the generator to convert the stored mechanical energy to electrical energy.

2. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 1, wherein each torsion spring bank has a series of torsion springs arranged in rows and columns.

3. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 1, wherein each torsion spring bank includes at the ends of each torsion spring, a large driving spur gear which coact with two small carrier spur gears connecting adjacent driving spur gears, whereby the large driving spur gears act in concert to increase the torsion of each torsion spring in the series.

4. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 1, wherein the control of the torsion springs by the computer system in a bank includes a disc brake with a sensor positioned on each disc at one end of a torsion spring;

whereby when the sensor senses a maximum potential torque in a torsion spring, the disc brake is released, and when the torsion spring has completely expended its potential energy, the disc brake is applied for further collection of potential energy.

5. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 4, wherein each torsion spring in a bank has a spring-loaded one-way gear connected at one end to the large driving spur gears having the disc brakes.

6. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 5, wherein the reversible gear means drives a central torsion spring of the torsion spring bank.

7. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 6, wherein the reversible gear means comprises an input shaft, a shifting power coupler, shifting lever means, a reverse idler gear, and a parallel series of intermeshing transducer gears;

whereby the shifting power coupler when energized by the shifting lever means uncouples the input shaft and couples the reverse idler gear.

8. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 7, wherein the transducer gears are free spinning on paired shafts.

9. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 7, wherein the shifting lever means comprises a shifting solenoid actuated by power means selected from pneumatic and hydraulic.

10. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 1, wherein each torsion spring bank has the driving spur gear at one end of the bank connected to a power take-off which drives the generator.

11. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 1, based on land wherein:

the rectangular concrete barge has a predetermined length and width;

said at least two vertical rack means comprising a vertically disposed rectangular frame having said predetermined width with notched teeth on its external vertical sides and mounted on said barge; and

said first gear means, said second reversible gear means, said framed torsion spring banks, said electric generators, and said computer system being located in one housing on land;

whereby a land based lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant can convert the mechanical energy obtained by wave motion and tidal change to electrical energy.

12. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 1, wherein the plant has at least four framed torsion spring banks arranged in an array on the rectangular concrete barge with each partially exposed large pinion engaging each of at least four vertical rack means consisting of cylindrical piling poles surrounding said rectangular shaped concrete barge proximate to its corners.

13. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 12, wherein the cylindrical piling poles are filled with concrete and sand and anchored to the ocean floor.

14. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 12, wherein adjacent torsion spring banks on one side of the barge share a generator.

15. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 1, wherein the concrete barge contains automatic bilge pumps inside the flotation chamber.

16. A heavy duty lunar tide powered offshore hydroelectric plant comprising:

a rectangular concrete barge having an enclosed flotation chamber with multiple automatic bilge pumps;

a plurality of pilings with rack means;

a housing including;

an exposed pinion for meshing with the rack means;

a heavy duty train of three fixed transducer gears connected to said pinion;

two interconnected loading gears with one-way drive gears connected to said train; and

a torsion spring bank with torsion springs in rows and columns mechanically connected to each of said two loading gears;

an electric generator; and

a computer system for controlling the storing and release of mechanical energy by the torsion spring bank;

whereby the heavy duty gear train transmits the oscillating mechanical motion of the pinion directly to the one-way gears and to torsion springs in the torsion spring bank, and electrical energy is generated by the control of the computer system to release the distortion of the torsion springs to drive the electric generator.

17. The lunar tide powered hydroelectric plant according to claim 16, wherein the pair of interconnected loading gears are positioned in an intermediate position of a bottom row of control cells supporting columns of backup storage cells.

18. A torsion spring bank for a lunar tide powered hydro-electric plant comprising:

a series of at least seven aligned torsion springs in a frame;

an input drive connection means connected to the center torsion spring of said series;

a disc with brake means connected at one end of each torsion spring;

a one-way spring-loaded gear connected to each disc;

a large driving spur gear attached at each end of each torsion spring;

two small carrier gears of equal size adapted to mesh with adjacent large driving spur gears; and

a power takeoff to a generator from an end torsion spring;

whereby twisting of each torsion spring stores mechanical energy which is released to the generator by releasing the brake means on each torsion spring.

19. The torsion spring bank according to claim 18, wherein said series of at least seven aligned torsion springs comprises a control cell row for at least seven columns of back up storage cells.

20. The torsion spring bank according to claim 19, wherein each said back up storage cell column consisting of five torsion springs.