Claims
- 1. A renewable energy system comprising:
a long-stroke open-channel reciprocating engine having at least one tethered flow engaging element which is cyclically switchable from a low force mode to a high force mode and vice-versa to extract energy from fluid flow engaging said at least one tethered flow engaging element.
- 2. The system of claim 1 wherein said energy is extracted by unwinding said at least one tethered flow engaging element from a cyclically reversed power drum thereby converting said extracted fluid flow energy into mechanical energy.
- 3. The system of claim 2 wherein said fluid flow is a natural water current including one of tidal, stream, and river flows.
- 4. The system of claim 3 wherein said at least one flow engaging element is at least one drogue chute having a control element controlling opening and closing of said at least one drogue chute upon command.
- 5. The system of claim 4 wherein said at least one drogue chute is a single said drogue chute which is alternately open to produce an outgoing power stroke and then closed to produce a parasitic return stroke thereby extracting a net positive energy amount from said natural water current over a complete power cycle.
- 6. The system of claim 4 wherein said at least one drogue chute is a pair of two said drogue chutes, which said pair of drogue chutes is controlled and synchronized so that one of said drogue chutes is open and outgoing while the other said drogue chute is closed and incoming during one part of the cycle, wherein respective roles of said respective drogue chutes are reversed at the extreme ends of each operating stroke of said reciprocating engine, thereby extracting a net positive amount of energy from said natural water current on each stroke.
- 7. The system of claim 1 wherein said fluid flow comprises wind movement of air and said reciprocating engine is a wind energy conversion system.
- 8. The system of claim 7 wherein said at least one tethered flow engaging element is at least one airfoil having controllable lift/drag characteristics, which said lift/drag characteristics are thereby switchable from said low force mode to said high force mode and vice-versa.
- 9. The system of claim 8 whereby said at least one airfoil is self-buoyant by virtue of having at least one integral enclosed volume of a lighter than air gas including one of helium and hydrogen gases.
- 10. The system of claim 8 wherein said at least one is airfoil is not buoyant in itself but is attached to at least one buoyant element including one of a helium filled aerostat and a hydrogen filled aerostat.
- 11. The system of claim 8 wherein said at least one airfoil is a single said airfoil mechanically driving a reciprocating movement element.
- 12. The system of claim 11 wherein said reciprocating movement element pumps water.
- 13. The system of claim 11 wherein said cyclical mode switching of said single airfoil is controlled by at least one auxiliary tether connecting said single airfoil to the ground.
- 14. The system of claim 11 wherein said cyclical mode switching of said single airfoil is self-controlled and powered by a small wind turbine and mechanism aloft in the vicinity of said single airfoil.
- 15. The system of claim 8 wherein said at least one airfoil comprises two of said airfoils and further wherein said energy is extracted from said wind by unwinding said at least one tether from a cyclically reversed power drum.
- 16. The system of claim 2 wherein mechanical energy of said cyclically reversed power drum is converted to unidirectional rotation to drive an electric generator providing one of AC and DC electrical power from said extracted energy.
- 17. The system of claim 15 wherein mechanical energy of said cyclically reversed power drum is converted to unidirectional rotation to drive an electric generator providing one of AC and DC electrical power from said extracted energy.
- 18. The system of claim 17 wherein said power drum is attached to each of two said airfoils using said tethers, said tethers being electrically non-conductive tethers, and further wherein said power drum, said non-reversing conversion mechanism, and said electric generator comprise base equipment at ground level.
- 19. The system of claim 18 wherein dynamic control of said mode of each of said two airfoils in cyclic synchronized reverse-mode relationships is accomplished by two subsystems wherein each subsystem is aloft adjacent to its respective said airfoil.
- 20. The system of claim 19 wherein each said subsystem includes a small wind turbine powering a small electric generator, an electric storage element, a radio receiver, and an electrically operated mode switching actuator, said radio receiver receiving synchronizing signals from a radio transmitter at ground level to reverse said mode at respective extreme ends of each said stroke.
- 21. The system of claim 9 wherein said self-buoyant at least one airfoil has a substantial exterior surface area devoted to displaying a perceptible indicia display of one of a commercial logo and in advertising message; said perceptible display readable from ground level by a potential purchaser to induce the purchaser to purchase at least one of products and services associated with said perceptible indicia display of an advertiser and to derive advertising income therefrom.
- 22. The system of claim 10 wherein said buoyant element has a substantial exterior surface area devoted to displaying a perceptible indicia display of one of a commercial logo and an advertising message; said perceptible display readable from ground level by a potential purchaser to induce the purchaser to purchase at least one of products and services associated with said perceptible indicia display of an advertiser and to derive advertising income therefrom.
RELATED U.S. APPLICATION DATA
[0001] This application is based upon my Provisional application 60/234,035, filed on Sep. 20, 2000.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60234035 |
Sep 2000 |
US |