Patent Application
20210211035
The present invention relates generally to a system for use in generating electrical power.
At least some known power generating systems include gas turbine engines that ignite fuel to generate combustion gases that are then directed to a rotor assembly to cause the rotor assembly to rotate a rotor shaft that is coupled to an electrical power generator. However, these known gas turbine engines generate significant exhaust gases that may be harmful to the environment. As such, a power generating system that does not generate environmentally harmful exhaust gases is desired.
The present invention addresses one or more of the aforementioned challenges.
In different embodiments of the present invention, a system and apparatus for generating electrical power, are provided.
In one aspect of the present invention, a system for use in generating electrical power, is provided. The system includes an electrical power generator and a rotor assembly coupled to the electrical power generator. The rotor assembly includes a housing that defines a chamber containing a volume of liquid and a rotational device rotatably mounted to the housing. The rotational device includes a rotor coupled to a rotor shaft. The rotor shaft is coupled to the electrical power generator. The rotor includes a first portion positioned within the chamber and a second portion positioned outside of the chamber. The first portion of the rotor is submerged within the volume of liquid such that a upward buoyancy force exerted by the volume of liquid acts upon the first portion of the rotor to cause a rotation of the rotational device about an axis of rotation.
In another aspect of the present invention, a rotor assembly is provided. The rotor assembly includes a housing that defines a chamber containing a volume of liquid and a rotational device rotatably mounted to the housing. The rotational device includes a rotor coupled to a rotor shaft. The rotor shaft is coupled to an electrical power generator. A first portion of the rotor is positioned within the chamber and a second portion of the rotor is positioned outside of the chamber. The first portion of the rotor being submerged within the volume of liquid such that a upward buoyancy force exerted by the volume of liquid acts upon the first portion of the rotor to cause a rotation of the rotational device about an axis of rotation.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of assembling a system for use in generating electrical power is provided. The method includes the steps of providing a housing that defines a chamber containing a volume of liquid, mounting a rotational device to the housing with the rotational device including a rotor coupled to a rotor shaft, and coupling the rotor shaft to an electrical power generator. A first portion of the rotor is positioned within the chamber and a second portion of the rotor is positioned outside of the chamber. The first portion of the rotor being submerged within the volume of liquid such that a upward buoyancy force exerted by the volume of liquid acts upon the first portion of the rotor to cause a rotation of the rotational device about an axis of rotation.
Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following figures. Other advantages of the present disclosure will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings.
With reference to the FIGS. and in operation, the present invention provides an apparatus that includes a rotational device for use in generating electrical power. Referring to
The recipient housing 14 includes a top wall 24, a bottom wall 26 spaced from the top wall 24 along a vertical axis 28, a pair of opposing end walls 30 coupled between the top wall 24 and the bottom wall 26 and spaced along a horizontal axis 32, and a side wall 34 that is coupled between the top wall 24, the bottom wall 26, and the end walls 30 to form a chamber 36 having an open end 38.
The rotor shaft 18 is rotationally supported by the end walls 30 and is spaced a distance from the side wall 34 along a transverse axis 40 that is perpendicular to the horizontal axis 32 and the vertical axis 28. The rotor shaft 18 is positioned adjacent the open end 38 of the housing 14 such that a first portion 42 of the rotor 16 is positioned within the chamber 36 and a second portion 44 of the rotor 16 is positioned outside of the chamber 36.
A plurality of seals 46 are positioned between the top wall 24 of the housing and a top portion 48 of the rotor 16, and between the bottom wall 26 of the housing and a bottom portion 50 of the rotor 16 to enclose a volume of liquid 52 within the chamber 36. The first portion 42 of the rotor 16 is submerged within the volume of liquid 52 such that a upward buoyancy force 54 exerted by the liquid 52 acts upon the first portion 42 of the rotor 16 to cause a rotation of the rotational device 12 about the axis of rotation 20.
The recipient housing 14 may hold any type of liquid including, but not limited to, mercury, water, etc. The flotation of the rotational device 12 produces the force that rotates the rotor 16. The recipient housing 14 can be built of any material that prevents the liquid from leaking from the chamber 36, or reduces liquid leakage from the chamber 36, due to the extreme close tolerances between the recipient housing 14 and an outer surface of the rotor 16. Alternatively, the seals 46 may be specifically designed for this purpose. In some embodiments, the walls of the recipient housing 14 and/or seals 46 may be built or covered with Teflon™, or any other suitable material.
The rotor 16 may have any shape and/or form, can be solid, or partially solid, solid on the outer part of the circumference, can be filled with air, or any other gas or liquid suitable for this purpose. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the rotor 16 includes an outer surface 58 defining a substantially cylindrical shape extending along the axis of rotation 20. The rotor 16 may also include an inner surface 60 defining an interior chamber 62 therein. The interior chamber 62 may be configured to contain a volume of air, or any other suitable gas or liquid.
Referring to
During operation, flotation of a portion of the rotational device 12 in the liquid (e.g. mercury) within the recipient housing 14 produces the upward buoyancy force 54, which along with the downward gravitational force 56, rotates the rotor 16 about the axis of rotation 20. The rotational device 12 uses the opposing gravitational and buoyancy forces to produce rotational movement by having more weight only in one half of the circumference of the rotor 16 to be used to generate power. In some embodiments, the rotor 16 includes a center-of-gravity that is offset from the axis of rotation 20. For example, the rotor assembly 11 may include a rotor 16 including a disk with half of the disk lighter than the other. In one embodiment, the disk may be fully immersed, providing the greater weight difference, however, the disk may also be partially immersed in other levels of liquid.
In some embodiments, the system 10 is configured to use flotation to produce and upward force in part of the rotational device 12, in such a way that gravity can produce a complementary downward force on the opposite part of the rotational device 12. The combination of flotation and gravitation to produce rotation on any mechanical device, such as the rotational device 12 described herein. The system 10 also has an enormous amount of applications, on anything that requires mechanical power, as well as to generate electricity.
The above description of illustrated examples of the present invention are not intended to be exhaustive or to be limitation to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the present invention. Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. The invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described within the scope of the appended claims.
Although specific features of various embodiments of the disclosure may be shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only. In accordance with the principles of the disclosure, any feature of a drawing or other embodiment may be referenced and/or claimed in combination with any feature of any other drawing or embodiment.
This written description uses examples to describe embodiments of the disclosure and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the embodiments, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/956,497, filed on Jan. 2, 2020, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62956497 | Jan 2020 | US |
