Miniature hydro-power generation system

• US 7,956,481 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2010
• Issued: 06/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Access Business Group International LLC (Alticor Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Access Business Group International LLC (Alticor Incorporated)
• Inventors: Marshall, Mark, Becker, Pierre, Baarman, David W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel; T C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mohandesi; Iraj A
• Application Number:
  US12/847,842
• Publication Number:
  US 20100295311A1
• Time in Patent Office: 312 Days
• Field of Search: 290/43, 290/54, 290/55, 290/44, 606/407, 603/98, 606/98, 415/3.1, 416/85
• US Class Current: 290/54
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/283 using coal, charred products, or inorganic mixtures containing them
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/32 with ultraviolet light
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2201/009 Apparatus with independent power supply, e.g. solar cells, windpower or fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 1/00 Engines of impulse type, i.e. turbines with jets of high-velocity liquid impinging on blades or like rotors, e.g. Pelton wheels; Parts or details peculiar thereto
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 13/00 Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus if the apparatus aspects are predominant, see the relevant subclasses for such apparatus, e.g. H02K7/18; Power stations or aggregates incorporating only machines or engines of positive-displacement type F03C; hydraulic engineering aspects E02B; combinations with wind energy converters F03D9/008
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 13/10 Submerged units incorporating electric generators or motors
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 3/04 with substantially axial flow throughout rotors, e.g. propeller turbines rotors per se F03B3/126
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 3/186 Spiral or volute casings
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2220/20 within closed fluid conduits, e.g. pipes
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2220/602 with energy recovery turbines
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2220/604 for domestic central heating or production of electricity
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2240/133 with a convergent-divergent guiding structure, e.g. a Venturi conduit
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2240/2411 Pelton type
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2250/82 Micromachines
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 7/1823 structurally associated with turbines or similar engines
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 20/212 Solar-powered wastewater sewage treatment, e.g. spray evaporation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 10/50 Hydropower in dwellings
• 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

Abstract

A miniature hydro-power generation system includes an outer housing and an inner housing. The outer housing may receive a flow of liquid flowing in a first direction at a predetermined range of pressure. The flow of liquid may be decreased by a predetermined amount of pressure and increased by a predetermined amount of velocity and channeled to a hydro-generator included in the inner housing with an inlet nozzle. The flow of liquid may be channeled with the inlet nozzle to flow in a second direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction. Upon transfer of kinetic energy in the flow of liquid to the hydro-generator, the inner housing may rotate in the second direction. The flow of liquid may then be channeled back to the first direction and out of the housing with an outlet nozzle. The outlet nozzle configured to increase the pressure and decrease the velocity of the flow of liquid to minimized non-laminar flow characteristics.

Claims

1. A miniature hydro-power generation system comprising:

an enclosure that defines an interior chamber;

a generator disposed in the interior chamber, the generator comprising a housing, a rotor disposed in the housing that includes a permanent magnet, a stator disposed in the housing that includes a coil, and a plurality of vanes positioned to extend perpendicular to an exterior surface of the housing, the generator configured to rotate axially around a central axis of the enclosure to induce an electrical current in the coil with a magnetic field of the permanent magnet;

an inlet nozzle coupled with the enclosure and configured to receive a flow of liquid that flows substantially in parallel with the central axis of the enclosure, the inlet nozzle comprising an inlet channel configured to adjust the flow of liquid to a predetermined pressure and velocity, and direct the flow of liquid at the predetermined pressure and velocity to flow in a direction of rotation of the generator axially around the central axis of the enclosure; and

an outlet nozzle coupled with the enclosure so that the housing is disposed between the inlet nozzle and the outlet nozzle, the outlet nozzle comprising an outlet channel configured to receive the flow of liquid, increase the predetermined pressure to a predetermined higher pressure while reducing the predetermined velocity to a predetermined lower velocity, and channel the flow of liquid out of the enclosure substantially in parallel with the central axis of enclosure, wherein the inlet nozzle and the outlet nozzle are positioned to form a central channel there between, and the plurality of vanes are disposed in the central channel, the central channel formed to circumferentially surround at least a portion of the housing in a plane substantially perpendicular to the central axis of the enclosure.

2. The miniature hydro-power generation system of claim 1, wherein the inlet channel comprises an inlet slot that includes an inlet slot entrance and an inlet slot exit, wherein a cross-sectional area of the inlet slot entrance is at least twice as large as a cross-sectional area of the inlet slot exit.

3. The miniature hydro-power generation system of claim 1, wherein the outlet channel comprises an outlet slot that includes an outlet slot entrance and an outlet slot exit, wherein a cross-sectional area of the outlet slot exit is between about 0.5 and about 8 times as large as a cross sectional area of the outlet slot entrance.

4. The miniature hydro-power generation system of claim 1, wherein the inlet channel is configured to direct the flow of liquid to enter the central channel at a predetermined angle with respect to the plurality of vanes, and the outlet channel is configured to receive the flow of liquid from the central channel, wherein the central channel is configured to channel the flow of liquid a predetermined distance in the central channel with the plurality of vanes between the inlet channel and the outlet channel.

5. A miniature hydro-power generation system comprising:

an enclosure that defines an interior chamber;

an inlet nozzle and an outlet nozzle coupled with the enclosure to define a central channel formed between the inlet nozzle and the outlet nozzle within the interior chamber;

a generator disposed within the interior chamber in the central channel between the inlet nozzle and the outlet nozzle, the generator configured to rotate in the central channel axially around a central axis of the enclosure to produce electric power;

the inlet nozzle configured to receive a flow of liquid flowing substantially in parallel with the central axis of the enclosure, the inlet nozzle comprising an inlet channel configured to adjust the flow of liquid to a predetermined pressure and velocity, and direct the flow of liquid into the central channel to rotate the generator such that the flow of liquid flows axially around at least part of the central axis of the enclosure in the central channel;

wherein the flow of liquid flows in the central channel in substantially a same direction and at substantially a same velocity as the rotating generator; and

the outlet nozzle comprising an outlet channel configured to receive the flow of liquid from the central channel, increase the predetermined pressure to a predetermined higher pressure while reducing the predetermined velocity to a predetermined lower velocity, and channel the flow of liquid out of the enclosure.

6. The miniature hydro-power generation system of claim 5, wherein the central channel is formed to surround at least part of the central axis of the enclosure and lie in a plane substantially perpendicular to the central axis.

7. The miniature hydro-power generation system of claim 5, wherein the flow of liquid flows in the central channel for a predetermined distance prior to being received by the outlet nozzle.

8. The miniature hydro-power generation system of claim 5, wherein the flow of liquid received at the inlet nozzle flows at an initial velocity that is less than the predetermined velocity, and the predetermined lower velocity is substantially the same as the initial velocity.

9. The miniature hydro-power generation system of claim 5, wherein the inlet channel comprises inner and outer inlet walls formed with predetermined radii of curvature such that the inlet channel is tapered to be widest where the flow of liquid is received, and the outlet channel comprises inner and outer outlet walls formed with predetermined radii of curvature such that the outlet channel is tapered to be narrowest where the flow of liquid is received from the central channel.

10. The miniature hydro-power generation system of claim 5, wherein inlet channel comprises a plurality of walls, forming a slot with a cross-sectional area that decreases toward the central channel.

11. The miniature hydro-power generation system of claim 5, wherein the inlet channel and the outlet channel are disposed on opposite ends of the enclosure, and are operable in conjunction with the enclosure to form the interior chamber.

12. A miniature hydro-power generation system comprising:

an enclosure that defines an interior chamber;

a generator having a housing disposed in the interior chamber and configured to rotate axially around a central wherein the flow of liquid flows between the inlet channels and the outlet channels in the direction of rotation of the generator a predetermined distance with the plurality of vanes, a rotor that includes a permanent magnet coupled with the housing, and a plurality of vanes positioned to extend perpendicularly from the central axis of the enclosure and forming part of the housing, a stator disposed proximate the housing that includes a coil, the generator configured to rotate axially around the central axis of the enclosure to induce an electrical current in the coil with a magnetic field of the permanent magnet;

an inlet nozzle coupled with the enclosure and configured to receive a flow of liquid that flows substantially in parallel with the central axis of the enclosure, the inlet nozzle comprising an inlet channel configured to adjust the flow of liquid to a predetermined pressure and velocity, at a predetermined angle with respect to the plurality of vanes at the predetermined pressure and velocity to flow in a direction of rotation of the generator axially around the central axis of the enclosure; and

an outlet nozzle coupled with the enclosure so that the housing is disposed between the inlet nozzle and the outlet nozzle, the outlet nozzle comprising an outlet channel configured to receive the flow of liquid, increase the predetermined pressure to a predetermined higher pressure while reducing the predetermined velocity to a predetermined lower velocity, and channel the flow of liquid out of the enclosure substantially in parallel with the central axis of the enclosure.

13. The miniature hydro-power generation system of claim 12, wherein the inlet nozzle comprises a plurality of inlet channels distributed around the inlet nozzle and the outlet nozzle comprises a plurality of outlet channels distributed around the outlet nozzle.

14. The miniature hydro-power generation system of claim 13, wherein the outlet channels of the outlet nozzle are positioned with respect to the inlet channels of the inlet nozzle so that the flow of liquid out of the inlet channels of the inlet nozzle flows in the direction of rotation of the generator until being received by a respective one of the outlet channels of the outlet nozzle.

15. The miniature hydro-power generation system of claim 12, wherein stator is sealed with a non-conducting material.

16. The miniature hydro-power generation system of claim 12, wherein the flow of liquid adjusted by the inlet channel to the predetermined pressure and velocity flows at a velocity that is substantially equal to a rotational velocity of the generator.