Buoyancy pump power system

• US 7,735,317 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2007
• Issued: 06/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Independent Natural Resources, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Independent Natural Resources, Inc.
• Inventors: Welch, Kenneth W. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): LESLIE, MICHAEL S
• Application Number:
  US11/891,269
• Publication Number:
  US 20080001410A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,041 Days
• Field of Search: 603/98, 604/97, 417/331, 417/337, 417/397, 290/42, 290/53
• US Class Current: 60/398
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 13/1875 and the wom is the piston or the cylinder in a pump
• 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: F03B 13/24 to produce a flow of air, e.g. to drive an air turbine F03B13/142 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2260/406 through hydraulic systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/30 Energy from the sea, e.g. using wave energy or salinity gradient

Abstract

A system for generating electricity includes a buoyancy pump operable to convert wave motion from a body of water into mechanical energy. The buoyancy pump includes a buoyancy block that reciprocally moves in response to wave motion to pump an operating fluid that is delivered to a turbine to produce electricity. The buoyancy block is preferably sized such that a diameter of the buoyancy block is no less than about one-sixth a wavelength and no greater than about one wavelength of an average wave for a region in which the buoyancy pump is operated.

Claims

1. A system for generating electricity comprising a plurality of buoyancy pumps located in a body of water, each buoyancy pump having a buoyancy block operable to reciprocally move in response to wave action to pump an operating fluid using the energy of waves within the body of water, each buoyancy pump being individually anchored to a floor beneath the body of water;

a reservoir fluidly connected to at least two of the buoyancy pumps to aggregate the operating fluid from the two buoyancy pumps; and

a turbine operable to receive the operating fluid from the reservoir and convert at least a portion of a kinetic energy of the operating fluid into electrical energy;

wherein at least one of the plurality of buoyancy pumps comprises;

an upper piston slideably disposed within an upper piston chamber and operably connected to the buoyancy block, the upper piston being reciprocally moveable in a first direction and a second direction in response to the reciprocal movement of the buoyancy block;

a lower piston slideably disposed within a lower piston chamber and operably connected to the buoyancy block, the lower piston being reciprocally moveable in the first direction and the second direction in response to the reciprocal movement of the buoyancy block;

a transfer pipe to provide fluid communication between the lower piston chamber and the upper piston chamber;

wherein the lower piston moves in the first direction to draw the operating fluid into the lower piston chamber and moves in the second direction to drive the operating fluid out of the lower piston chamber and into the transfer pipe; and

wherein the upper piston chamber is operable to receive the operating fluid from the transfer pipe during movement of the upper piston in the second direction, the upper piston moving in the first direction to drive the operating fluid out of the upper piston chamber.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one of the plurality of buoyancy pumps further comprises:

an upper piston shaft connecting the upper piston to the buoyancy block; and

a lower piston shaft connecting the lower piston to the buoyancy block.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the upper piston shaft and the lower piston shaft comprise a plurality of nested tubes.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein:

the upper piston shaft and the lower piston shaft comprise a plurality of nested tubes; and

the nested tubes each include a first end connected to a ball fitting.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one of the plurality of buoyancy pumps further comprises:

an upper piston shaft connecting the upper piston to the buoyancy block, the upper piston shaft having a first plurality of nested tubes, each of the first plurality of nested tubes having threads on at least a first end of each of the first plurality of nested tubes;

a lower piston shaft connecting the lower piston to the buoyancy block, the lower piston shaft having a second plurality of nested tubes, each of the second plurality of nested tubes having threads on at least a first end of each of the second plurality of nested tubes; and

a ball fitting having a tiered shaft including a minor portion, an intermediate portion, and a major portion, each of the minor portion, the intermediate portion, and the major portion having threads capable of engaging the threads of the first and second plurality of nested tubes.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the reservoir is located on land.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the land is on top of a cliff.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the operating fluid is water.

9. A method for operating a buoyancy pump, the method comprising:

drawing an operating fluid into a first piston chamber on an upward movement of a buoyancy block;

pushing the operating fluid into a second piston chamber on a downward movement of the buoyancy block; and

pushing the operating fluid out of the second piston chamber on the upward movement of the buoyancy block.

10. A buoyancy pump comprising:

a buoyancy block operable to reciprocally move in response to wave action in a body of water to pump an operating fluid using the energy of waves within the body of water;

an upper piston slideably disposed within an upper piston chamber and operably connected to the buoyancy block;

a lower piston slideably disposed within a lower piston chamber and operably connected to the buoyancy block;

a transfer pipe to provide fluid communication between the lower piston chamber and the upper piston chamber;

wherein the lower piston is reciprocally moveable in a first direction and a second direction in response to the reciprocal movement of the buoyancy block, the lower piston moving in the first direction to draw the operating fluid into the lower piston chamber and moving in the second direction to drive the operating fluid out of the lower piston chamber and into the transfer pipe; and

wherein the upper piston is reciprocally moveable in the first direction and the second direction in response to the reciprocal movement of the buoyancy block, the upper piston chamber operable to receive the operating fluid from the transfer pipe during movement of the upper piston in the second direction, the upper piston moving in the first direction to drive the operating fluid out of the upper piston chamber.

11. The buoyancy pump according to claim 10, wherein the operating fluid is water.