Buoy with radiated wave reflector
AssigneeLone Gull Holdings, Ltd.
InventorsBrian Lee Moffat, Grzegorz Piotr Filip
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Abstract
Disclosed is buoyant wave energy capture device, adapted to float adjacent to an upper surface of a body of water over which waves pass, and adapted to capture a portion of the radiated waves created by its own rising and falling in response to incident and/or passing environmental waves. A power take off mechanism combined with the disclosed wave energy capture device may be tuned to a specific wave frequency, and thereby optimally extract energy from a motion of a single frequency, even the wave energy capture device may be excited and/or energized by waves of any of a relatively broad range of frequencies, thereby increasing the power-generation and cost efficiencies of such devices relative to wave energy conversion devices of the prior art.
Claims20
A buoyant wave energy converter having a pressurized upper component and a submergible hollow tubular lower component depending downwardly therefrom, comprising:
- a wave reflecting barrier spaced from and encircling the wave energy converter, said wave reflecting barrier having a height that is greater than a height of the pressurized upper component as measured from the pressurized upper component's highest surface to the pressurized upper component's lowest surface and less than a height of the hollow tubular lower component as measured from the lower tubular components highest surface to the lower tubular component's lowest surface, and the wave reflecting barrier further having a radially inwardly facing surface;
- and
- circumferentially spaced connectors rigidly attaching the wave reflecting barrier to the wave energy converter;
- wherein the radially inwardly facing surface of the wave reflecting barrier defines a cylinder having an open top and an open bottom.
A buoyant wave energy converter having a buoyant pressurized upper component and a submergible hollow tubular lower component depending downwardly therefrom, comprising:
- a wave reflecting barrier surrounding the wave energy converter, said wave reflecting barrier having a radially inwardly facing surface defining a volume, and wherein wave reflecting barrier is vertically disposed on the wave energy converter such that said volume is always substantially but not totally filled with water when said wave energy converter is placed in a body of water;
- and
- connectors rigidly attaching the wave reflecting barrier to the wave energy converters;
- wherein the radially inwardly facing surface of the wave reflecting barrier defines a cylinder having an open top and an open bottom.
A buoyant wave energy converter having a pressurized upper component and a submergible hollow tubular lower component depending downwardly therefrom, comprising:
- a wave reflecting barrier surrounding the wave energy converter, said wave reflecting barrier having a radially inwardly facing surface contoured to bias the wave energy converter vertically in response to radially emanating waves impinging said surface;
- and
- connectors rigidly attaching the wave reflecting barrier to the wave energy converter, said connectors are circumferentially spaced radial panels having a height that is equal to a height of the wave reflecting barrier.
A buoyant wave energy converter having a pressurized upper component and a submergible hollow tubular lower component depending downwardly therefrom, comprising:
- a wave reflecting barrier spaced from and encircling the buoyant wave energy converter, said wave reflecting barrier having a radially inwardly facing surface having a substantially vertical orientation, and the wave reflecting barrier further having a bottommost edge below a waterline of the wave energy converter;
- and
- circumferentially spaced connectors rigidly attaching the wave reflecting barrier to the wave energy converter;
- wherein the radially inwardly facing surface of the wave reflecting barrier defines a cylinder having an open top and an open bottom.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.