Patent Application
20110281478
The present invention relates to the field of ship propulsion in general and environmentally cleaner ship energy usage in particular.
Hundreds of thousands of freighters ply the world's waters. Virtually all of them burn diesel fuel to drive their large and generally inefficient propulsion systems.
Data for a popular ship engine produced in Japan show that it requires over 1,600 gallons of diesel fuel per hour to run (http://people.bath.ac.uk/ccsshb/12cvl/).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,266 to Schaffrin describes an energy-generating plant including a solar generator, having solar cells, for producing electrical energy. The electrical energy is supplied to a direct current converter, the output power of which may be used to charge an energy storage system, such as batteries. The input resistance of the direct current converter is adapted, such as by a microcomputer, to the maximum power point (MPP) of the solar generator, the MPP being dependent upon the solar insulation and the temperature of the solar cells. At start up of the plant, or when there is a change of power at the output of the direct current converter, a search process is carried out to attain the MPP of the solar generator. The energy storage system may be used to energize an electric motor for driving the propeller of a ship.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,856 to Gorshkov describes an invention for using additional forms of energy for ship propulsion. In his words: to access the inexhaustible energy source like seas and oceans we need to learn how to convert its wave motion to the customized power for our ships, for our existing littoral settlements and our future ocean settlements. Here is an attempt to develop method of the conversion the wave energy to power with floating means based on a gyroscope strong capability to resist against the outer force moment trying to tilt it to any side. The gyroscope is used as the fulcrum torque dynamic supporting instead traditional static base used in the issued devices. Alternate force moment created by the waves and transmitted to the gyroscope (via the floating body and the wave energy converter) inducts alternative gyro precession so as the gyroscope axis hesitates about mean position. This is important because it allows the gyroscope to keep dynamic fulcrum torque in unlimited time. The few gyroscope precession control devices and methods have been developed to compensate other reasons enforcing the mean gyro axis to drift from initial plumb. Also here are developed the new ship architecture with the separated floating gyro section. The wagging propulsor driven by the pitching and with strokes amplified by the fulcrum gyro section, the spring moment generator for the gyroscope drift compensation, non gyroscope floating power station able to derive, convert, accumulate and transmit wave energy to consumer also have been developed here.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,849 to Sheets teaches an invention related to a hydrodynamic transmission for ship propulsion comprising a prime mover driving an axial flow pump in combination with an open, water-powered turbine for driving propeller blades. The power plant and the propeller are not mechanically connected, and power is transmitted through the hydrodynamic transmission. The invention also provides for a thrust-reversing mechanism specially adapted to the hydrodynamic transmission described herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,538 to Diaz teaches a system for marine propulsion including a metal fuel slurry, a water plasma, and a high alternating magnetic field. The magnetic field acts on the metal fuel to generate explosive momentum via a metal-water reaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,364 to Lenz teaches a steering and propulsion system for a ship, including two side by side, fore and aft pipes underneath a ship's hull, and compressed air or steam delivered through tubes around an exterior of the hull to the two pipes, and controls to eject forwardly or rearwardly out from the pipes.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide energy sources other than diesel fuel to power large displacement ships including container vessels, bulk carriers, tankers, warships, and freighters. In some embodiments combinations of energy sources are employed to drive a ship for a lower requirement of fossil fuels and with less air pollution produced.
The invention includes a hybrid ship-based propulsion system including a ship; an onboard power plant, wherein the power plant has a dedicated function not related solely to the ship's propulsion; and, one other source of energy for providing propulsion for the ship.
In one aspect of the system, the ship is involved in desalination.
In another aspect of the system, the ship is involved in oil exploration.
In another aspect of the system, the other source of energy is derived from solar energy
In another aspect of the system, the other source of energy is derived from wave energy.
In another aspect of the system, the other source of energy is derived from high altitude wind flow.
In another aspect of the system, the high-altitude kites are employed in capturing the energy from the high altitude wind flow.
In another aspect of the system, the other source of energy is derived from batteries.
In another aspect of the system, the batteries are capable of recharging.
In another aspect of the system, the other source of energy is derived from hydrogen.
The invention includes a method for providing propulsion energy to a ship, including: providing a ship; directing energy of an onboard power plant to drive at least one propeller of the ship; and, providing at least one more source of energy to drive the at least one propeller, wherein the at least one more source of energy is renewable.
In one aspect of the method, there is an additional step of combining energy from the power plant and the at least one more source of energy prior to delivering energy to the at least one propeller.
In another aspect of the method, there is additionally a computer-based device for selecting source of energy for delivery to said at least one propeller.
In another aspect of the method, the at least one more source of energy is the sun.
In another aspect of the method, the said at least one more source of energy is high-altitude wind.
In another aspect of the method, the at least one more source of energy is ocean waves.
In another aspect of the method, the at least one more source of energy is hydrogen extracted from ocean water.
The invention includes a hybrid ship-based propulsion system including a ship; an onboard desalination power plant, wherein the desalination power plant is primarily used to generate drinking water from sea or brackish water; and, one other source of energy for providing propulsion energy for said ship, wherein the source of energy is renewable.
In one aspect of the system, the power plant has an output capacity of between 22 and 220 MW.
In another aspect of the system, the power plant runs on natural gas.
With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for the purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiment of the present invention only, and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail that is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.
In the drawings:
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits and control logic have not been shown in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention. The following definitions are for aiding in understanding the present invention.
Certain terms are now defined in order to facilitate better understanding of the present invention.
Many terms will have their generally accepted meanings within the context of the present invention. Terms not specifically defined otherwise may have their generally accepted meaning.
“Vessel” or “large ship” or “large displacement vessel” may generally refer to water-going ships with displacements of 50,000 metric tons or more. While the present invention may have applicability to ships and boats of all sizes, a purpose of the present invention is to protect valuable cargo and crew carried by large transport ships plying international waters.
Megawatts may be represented by “MW” and has its normal meaning in the physical arts.
“Renewable” with respect to energy may generally refer to energy derived from sources that are not used up in producing said energy. Renewable energy sources include but are not limited to the sun, wind, and waves, and hydrogen derived from ocean water.
“Power plant” may refer to a device, element or system that converts energy from one source into a power application. A power plant thus may, by example, burn natural gas or coal and use the generated power for performing desalination or oil drilling. A power plant for the present invention is generally rated between 22 MW and 220 MW, though larger or smaller units may be used.
“High altitude” wind may generally refer to wind flow at an altitude of at least 800 meters. A “kite” for the present invention may convert energy from high altitude wind into mechanical or electrical energy for use in driving at least one propeller.
The vast majority of freighters, oil tankers and the like run on diesel fuel. As such, they are generally noisy and produce high levels of both air and water pollution. Ships often contain hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel, an amount that demands a significant portion of a ship's hold space. Ideally, the world would benefit from reduced diesel use at several levels. Reduction in greenhouse gases, reduction in noise and water pollution, and increased space for valuable cargo are just a few of the benefits in replacing diesel-based ship propulsion with alternatives.
Many ships include electric power plants for specific applications. For example, ship that perform desalination operations, drill for oil, pull other boats or lift large loads all require on board power plant with an output capacity of more than 20 MW.
Having both a large power plant on board with its required fuel, as well as a traditional diesel engine system on board with its required fuel is redundant. Thus, the present invention enables ships that carry or can carry power plants to significantly reduce the billions of gallons of fuel used annually through the removal of this redundancy and the reuse of the onboard power plant for ships propulsion. In some embodiments, the on board power plant may be augmented or replaced with an additional “green” (renewable) energy sources. In other embodiments, a power plant alone may be employed, while in still others, a power plant in combination with one or more renewable fuel sources could allow for complete replacement of traditional diesel seafaring power systems.
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The state of affairs described above implies that a heavy-duty power plant (>20 MW rating) will generally only be used when the ship on which it is present comes to a stop. The implication is that, instead of remaining idle during navigation, the power plant could serve for ship propulsion (when there is no drilling, desalination or the like) and when the ship comes to rest, the power plant would be available for its intended use. Under such conditions, there would be no further need for a diesel engine, its associated machinery or the vast storage required for its fuel.
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The usefulness of the present invention is typically evident in the following ways:
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and includes both combinations and sub-combinations of the various features described hereinabove as well as variations and modifications thereof which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims.
