Patent Application
20140248151
1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to water wave energy technology, more particularly, to a floating water wave energy collection and conversion system.
2. Relevant Background
Water waves, also known as water ripples or just waves, are a kind of mechanical waves which are formed by rivers, lakes, oceans and/or other water bodies under the influence of natural factors such as wind and temperature difference. Water waves, in particular, ocean waves, have huge power and are very important energy resources. Energy contained in water waves is referred as water wave energy. Compared to petroleum, coal and natural gas, which are traditional energy resources, water wave energy has large reserves, no pollution and sustainable use.
In recent years, with the tension between supply and demand of traditional energy resources and the enhancement of environmental consciousness, more and more attention about water wave energy has been arising. A large number of inventions in terms of the water wave energy are explored and a wide variety of technology solutions are presented. From the disclosed technical literatures, the proposed solutions about water wave energy are mainly to generate power from ocean waves.
For example, a Chinese Utility Model Patent entitled “a floating type ocean waves power generation device” with patent No. 200820212914.4 and announcement No. CN201277140Y discloses a floating type ocean waves power generation device, which includes:
a pair of sealed floating boxes located on the left side and the right side respectively, with a certain distance between them; wherein these two floating boxes are hinged to a rib plate perpendicular to the side of the boxes and when the floating boxes float with the fluctuation of the ocean waves, they can rotate a certain angle around the shaft of the hinge;
two crank-connecting rod mechanisms, wherein one end of each connecting rod is hinged to a connecting rod bearing, which is close to the inside and fixed on the respective floating box, and the other end of each connecting rod is hinged to the eccentric shaft of the crank; and each end of the crank is supported by the respective crank bearing fixed to the two floating boxes;
two power generators, each installed on a power generator bearing and driven by the respective crank-connecting rod mechanism via a speed-increase device.
In general, the prior art including the Chinese Utility Model patent No. 200820212914.4 did a beneficial research on the usage of ocean wave energy. However, existing ocean waves power generation devices have complex structures and too many energy conversion links, resulting in high production costs and low wave energy conversion efficiency.
The purpose of this invention is to provide a floating water wave energy collection and conversion system which can overcome the shortcomings of the existing ocean waves power generation devices, for example, complex structures and too many energy conversion links, thereby sharply enhancing the industrialization level of water wave energy utilities.
In order to solve at least one of the technical problems mentioned above, the following technical solutions are set forth:
A floating water wave energy collection and conversion system, comprising: at least two buoyant members movably connected to each other in series and floating on water surface; power transmission device and energy conversion device provided on the buoyant members; the energy conversion device can be line type generator, hydraulic oil cylinder or hydraulic cylinder. The power transmission device and the energy conversion device on adjacent buoyant members are movably connected. The buoyant member makes a relative movement with the adjacent one as the water waves move, and thus the power transmission device on the buoyant member makes a reciprocating and relative motion with the energy conversion device on the adjacent buoyant member, thereby resulting in energy conversion.
Energy conversion principle of the abovementioned technical solution is that water waves are caused by the interaction between natural forces such as wind and water surface. Fluctuations in water waves push the buoyant members floating on the water surface. Due to transmission of water waves, the adjacent buoyant members move asynchronously. This lack of synchronization can result in relative motion of the adjacent buoyant members. This relative motion of the adjacent buoyant members often appears as an asynchronous up and down movement and/or a relative rotation with respect to the connection point. This relative motion of the adjacent buoyant members can cause the relative motion of the power transmission device and the energy conversion located on the adjacent buoyant members and movably connected to each other. In fact, this is to pass “surface energy,” i.e., the mechanical energy obtained by all the buoyant members, to the “point,” i.e., the energy conversion device (including but not limited to a line type generator), so that low density of water wave energy can be overcome.
On the basis of the above technical solution, the invention further sets forth the following technical solution:
A hinge seat is provided on each of the opposite ends of the adjacent buoyant members for movably connecting two adjacent buoyant members. The power transmission device includes a power drive rod and a power diverter. One end of the power drive rod is movably connected to a fixing seat fixed to one of the buoyant members and the other end of the power drive rod is movably connected to one end of the power diverter. The other end of the power diverter is movably connected to the energy conversion device on the adjacent buoyant member. The energy conversion device is movably connected to the fixing seat fixed to the buoyant member.
The adjacent two buoyant members make a relative rotation around the shaft of the hinge seat as the water waves fluctuate and drive the power diverter via the power drive rod to make a reciprocating relative motion with the energy conversion device.
Furthermore, the number of the buoyant members is more than three and a hinge seat is provided on each of the opposite ends of the adjacent buoyant members; in the three buoyant members connected in order from left to right, the left buoyant member is hinged to the middle one via a hinge seat and the middle one is hinged to the right one via a hinge seat.
A lug boss is provided on the right top of the left buoyant member, and a fixing seat is provided on the side of the lug boss. A lug boss is provided on the right top of the middle buoyant member, and a fixing seat is provided on the side of the lug boss.
A fixing seat is provided on the left top of the side of the middle buoyant member and a fixing seat is provided on the left top of the side of the right buoyant member.
An energy conversion device is provided on the left buoyant member. One end of the energy conversion device is movably connected to the fixing seat on the side of the lug boss. The other end of the energy conversion device is movably connected to one end of the power diverter. The other end of the power diverter is movably connected to one of the power driver rod. The other end of the power driver rod is movably connected to the fixing seat on the left top of the side of the middle buoyant member.
An energy conversion device is provided on the middle buoyant member. One end of the energy conversion device is movably connected to the fixing seat on the side of the lug boss. The other end of the energy conversion device is movably connected to one end of the power diverter. The other end of the power diverter is movably connected to one end of the power driver rod. The other end of the power driver rod is movably connected to the fixing seat on the left top of the side of the middle buoyant member. It is noted that the orientations of left, right, left side, middle or center, right side, the left top of the side and the right top recited in the technical solutions are referred to that shown in
Furthermore, the power transmission device can be rod-shaped, plate-shaped or cylinder-shaped, and the energy conversion device can be cylindrical, cube or sphere. The power transmission device and the energy conversion device can be connected by sockets, plugs, racks, gears or by welding.
Furthermore, at least one of the power transmission devices is provided on each of the buoyant members.
Furthermore, the power transmission device and the energy conversion device are provided on the upper surface, the lower surface, the side of the buoyant members, or in the inside of the buoyant members.
In order to overcome the shortcomings of the complex structure and too many energy conversion links in the existing ocean waves power generation devices, the present invention also sets forth another technical solution as follows:
A floating water wave energy collection and conversion system, comprising: at least two buoyant members movably connected to each other in series and floating on the water surface; a fixing seat is arranged on each of the buoyant members; an energy conversion device is connected between the fixing seats of the adjacent buoyant members. The adjacent buoyant members make a relative movement as the water waves move, thereby causing the energy conversion device to perform energy conversion. This technical solution is characterized by that the energy conversion device achieves energy conversion under the direct effect of the relative movement of the adjacent buoyant members, which means that no power transmission device but the buoyant members is provided to transmit power or energy to the energy conversion device. Instead, the buoyant members directly transmit the power of the water waves to the energy conversion device and then the energy conversion device performs energy conversion.
Furthermore, a hinge seat is provided on the opposite ends of the adjacent buoyant members, by which the adjacent buoyant members are hinged. The fixing seat is provided on the top of the buoyant members. The energy conversion device is connected between the fixing seats of the two adjacent buoyant members. The buoyant members make a relative rotation around the hinge shaft of the hinge seat under the action of water waves, which pushes and pulls the energy conversion device. These two forces of push and pull cause the energy conversion device to achieve the energy conversion.
Furthermore, the energy conversion device includes moving parts and fixed parts, which make a relative motion when the adjacent buoyant members make a relation movement.
Furthermore, the energy conversion device is cubic, cylindrical or spherical. Furthermore, as to the floating water waves energy collection and conversion system without the power transmission device, the energy conversion device is provided on the upper surface, the lower surface, the side of the buoyant members, or in the inside of the buoyant members.
Furthermore, a hinge seat includes a rib with a hole through which a hinge pin passes.
Furthermore, a shaft sleeve is arranged around the hinge pin.
Furthermore, a ceramic bearing is arranged around the hinge pin and a seal member is arranged in the bearing.
Furthermore, one end of the energy conversion device is movably connected to a bracket of the hinge seat on one of the buoyant members and the other end thereof is movably connected to the fixing seat on the other of the buoyant members.
Furthermore, the hole center of the bracket of the hinge seat and the hole center of the hinge seat are coaxial in the radial direction.
Furthermore, at least one energy conversion device is arranged on each of the buoyant members.
Furthermore, the horizontal cross-section of the buoyant member is square, round, oval, triangular or polygonal.
Furthermore, each of the buoyant members can rotate around the center line from counterclockwise 80° to clockwise 80°, wherein the center line refers to the horizontal direction of the connection of the buoyant members.
Furthermore, the energy conversion device can be a line type generator, a rotary generator driven by a rack and pinion, a hydraulic oil cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder.
To be noted that, all of the line type generator, the rotary generator driven by a rack and pinion, the hydraulic oil cylinder, the pneumatic cylinder and the hydraulic cylinder may use the energy conversion devices in the prior art.
Furthermore, the area of the buoyant member ranges from 0.01 to 1000 square meters (m2).
The following further explains the area of the buoyant member. The buoyant member is a kind of device for converting “surface energy” into “point energy.” In order to make the energy conversion device obtain sufficient energy, the area of the buoyant member should be large enough. However, if the area of the buoyant member is too big, the buoyant member will be stable but difficult to perform effective energy conversion. In addition, the size of the buoyant member is directly related to the size of the water body. For example, in the brook, the buoyant member with the area of 0.01 square meters can achieve ideal technical effective; whereas in the sea, the area of the buoyant member can be set very big. According to our practice, the buoyant member with the area of 0.01˜1000 square meters is ideal depending on factors such as the size of water body and wind levels.
Furthermore, when the horizontal cross-section of the buoyant member is a square or oval, the length-width ratio of the buoyant member is set within the range of 30 to 1 in order to maintain the stability of the buoyant member.
In order to overcome the shortcoming of complex structure and too many energy conversion links of the existing ocean waters power generation devices, the present invention further provides the following two technical solutions:
A floating water wave energy collection and conversion system, comprising: at least two buoyant members connected to each other in series and floating on the water surface; hinge seats arranged on opposite ends of the adjacent buoyant members which are hinged by these hinge seats; the housing of an energy conversion device is fixed to one of the buoyant member; the central shaft of the energy conversion device is fixed to a hinge pin for hinged connection; the hinge pin is fixed to the adjacent other buoyant member. The adjacent buoyant members make a relative movement as the water waves move, thereby causing the housing and the central shaft of the energy conversion device to move relatively and thus perform energy conversion.
A floating water wave energy collection and conversion system, comprising: at least two buoyant members connected to each other in series and floating on the water surface; hinge seats are arranged on opposite ends of the adjacent buoyant members which are hinged by these hinge seats. The adjacent buoyant members make a relative movement as the water waves move and this movement drives the hinge pin fixed to one of the buoyant member to make a relative movement with respect to the other buoyant member, thereby causing the big gear on the hinge pin to rotate, which further drives the small gear on the energy conversion device of the other buoyant member to rotate and thus makes the energy conversion device perform energy conversion.
In order to maintain the stability of the floating water wave energy collection and conversion system, particularly to improve collection efficiency thereof, the present invention further provides the following technical solution: both of the buoyant members respectively located on two ends of the floating water wave energy collection and conversion system are flexibly connected to a fixing device at the bottom of the water body, respectively.
The present invention has the following advantages:
1. Efficient use of water wave energy on the industrial level. With respect to energy conversion, the bigger is the buoyant member, the more kinetic energy of water waves is obtained and thus the more energy is converted. Thus, the present invention may effectively utilize the water wave energy on the industrial level.
2. Environmental protection. Effective utilization of water wave energy will reduce the consumption of coal, oil, natural gas and others which can lead to the serious environment pollution.
3. Simple structure. In particular, the energy conversion device of the floating water wave energy collection and conversion system in the present invention may use a line type generator, a rotary generator driven by a rack and pinion, a hydraulic oil cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder in the prior art and, therefore, the present invention also has the advantages of low cost and ease of application.
As shown in
Buoyant members 101 and 102 make a relative movement around the shaft of the hinge seat 108, i.e., the hinge shaft, with the fluctuation of water waves and drive the power diverter 105 and the energy conversion device 103 to make a reciprocating motion via the power drive rod 104. In this embodiment, the energy conversion device 103 can be a line type generator. When the power diverter 105 and the energy conversion device 103 make a reciprocating motion, the mechanical energy is converted into electricity.
In order to maintain the stability of the floating water wave energy collection and conversion system, particularly to improve collection efficiency thereof, both of the buoyant members respectively located on two sides of the floating water wave energy collection and conversion system are flexibly connected to the fixing device at the bottom of the water body, respectively.
In this embodiment, the number of the buoyant members movably connected to each other through hinge seats and floating on the water surface can be more than two.
As shown in
As shown in
One end of each of energy conversion devices 308, 309 and 310, is movably connected to each of the fixing seats 311,312 and 313 fixed on the buoyant members 302,303 and 304, respectively. The other end of each of energy conversion devices 308, 309 and 310 is movably connected to a bracket 314 on the hinge seat 305, a bracket 315 on the hinge seat 306 and a bracket 316 on the hinge seat 307, respectively.
Buoyant members 301, 302, 303 and 304 make a relative movement around the shaft of the hinge seats 305,306 and 307, respectively, with the fluctuation of water waves so as to push and pull the energy conversion devices 308-310 to achieve energy conversion.
As shown in
The present embodiment has the same working principle as Embodiment 1 and thereby it is omitted herein.
As shown in
The present embodiment has the same working principle as Embodiment 2 and thereby it is omitted herein.
As shown in
As shown in
The fixing seats 708 and 710 are arranged on the top surfaces of the buoyant members 701 and 703, respectively, and the fixing seats 709 and 711 are arranged on the bottom surfaces of the buoyant members 702 and 704, respectively. The energy conversion device 712 is connected between the fixing seats 708 and 709, the energy conversion device 713 is connected between the fixing seats 709 and 710 and the energy conversion device 714 is connected between the fixing seats 710 and 711. The present embodiment has the same working principle as Embodiment 2 and thereby it is omitted herein.
As shown in
The embodiments of the present invention are described as above. However, the person skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and includes many variants of the embodiments. For example, the power transmission device and the energy conversion device can be arranged on the top surface, the bottom surface, the side of the buoyant members or in the inside of the buoyant members. Further, the shape of the buoyant members may also be rectangular, spherical, and cylinder. Furthermore, in the present invention, the number of the buoyant members in the floating water wave energy collection and conversion system can be set differently dependent on actual need, usually up to several tens, several hundreds and even more. In short, any improvement, equivalent replacement and/or changes made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201110213521.1 | Jul 2011 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2012/076282 | 5/30/2012 | WO | 00 | 5/12/2014 |
