Inertial pneumatic wave energy device
AssigneeLone Gull Holdings, Ltd.
InventorsGarth Alexander Sheldon-Coulson, Brian Lee Moffat, Daniel William Place
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Abstract
A buoyant wave energy device is disclosed that incorporates an open-bottomed tube of substantial length in which is partially enclosed a first body of water that oscillates in response to wave action. The device incorporates a buoy to which an upper end of the tube is connected and inside of which is trapped a second body of water of substantial mass. A differential phase in the oscillations of the water trapped in the tube, and the oscillations of the buoy of augmented mass, result in the periodic compression of a pocket of air trapped at the top of the tube, and in the subsequent expulsion of pressurized air through a turbine, thereby generating electrical power.
Claims16
An air pressurization buoy, comprising:
- a buoyant structure adapted to float adjacent to an upper surface of a body of water, and having an inner fluid reservoir;
- a hollow tube depending from the buoyant structure, which, when the buoyant structure floats adjacent to an upper surface of a body of water, has an approximately vertical orientation, the hollow tube comprising;
- an aperture at a lower end through which water may flow between the body of water and an interior of the hollow tube;
- an inflow valve adapted to fluidly connect an interior of the hollow tube to the atmosphere when a pressure of the hollow tube falls below the atmospheric pressure;
- an outflow valve adapted to fluidly connect an interior of the hollow tube to the inner fluid reservoir when a pressure of the hollow tube rises above a pressure of the inner fluid reservoir;
- and
- wherein the inner fluid reservoir contains an aperture through which fluid may flow between the inner fluid reservoir and the body of water.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.