Ocean wave energy device
OwnerJoseph P. La Stella, Michael G. Tornabeneinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A buoy type wave energy extraction construction in which the natural frequency of vertical oscillation of the buoy is mechanically altered to at least partially conform to the wave frequency occurring during a period of operation, whereby the maximum amount of energy available from each successive wave front is extracted. The device includes a buoy, a vertically oscillating shaft supporting said buoy, a horizontally oriented motion output means driven by said vertical shaft, a braking means for arresting movement of the buoy at its uppermost limit of travel during any given oscillation, said braking means holding the buoy until the buoy may be dropped under gravity into a following wave trough.
Claims6
In an ocean wave energy device of a type including a buoy which reciprocates in a substantially vertical direction in response to successive waves of variable frequency passing therebeneath, said buoy being supported upon a substantially vertically oriented shaft and a power take off means including a shaft driven by movement of said vertical shaft, the improvement comprising:
- wave frequency detector means for detecting the instantaneous frequency of a wave passing said detector and which will thereafter pass said buoy by monitoring the contour of each wave as such wave passes such wave frequency detector means and measuring the time interval between the crest and following trough and between the trough and following crest of each such wave and means for imposing an artificial resonance to said buoy whereby said buoy resonance may be substantially conformed to the frequency of the wave at the time at said buoy, said artificial resonance imposing means including brake means for halting vertical movement of said buoy at substantially the uppermost and substantially the lowermost limits of vertical travel of said buoy, means independent of said wave frequency detector means for sensing said uppermost and said lowermost limits and actuating said braking means and means interconnecting said braking means and said wave frequency detector means for releasing said braking means after a selected time interval in accordance with the pre-measured time interval between the crest and following trough and between the trough and following crest of the wave as such pre-measured time intervals were measured by said wave frequency detector means when said wave passing said buoy was passing said wave frequency detector means to release said buoy to descent under the action of gravity into the trough of said wave to its said lowermost limit of vertical travel and to ascent under the action of the buoyance in such wave through the immediately following wave crest to the said uppermost limit of vertical travel.
The method of increasing energy extracted from an ocean wave energy device including a vertically reciprocating buoy and power take off means driven by the reciprocation of said buoy by the waves, including the steps of:
- monitoring the contour of each wave as such wave passes a wave frequency detector means and measuring the instantaneous time interval between the crest and immediately following trough and the trough and immediately following crest of waves passing such detector which waves are to subsequently pass said buoy;
- braking the buoy independently of said wave frequency detector means at substantially at least one of the limits of its path of reciprocal travel in a wave which has passed the frequency detector and its frequency measured;
- and releasing the buoy after a selected time interval substantially in direct relationship to the time interval measured by the wve frequency detector means to bring the buoy frequency into substantial conformance with the detected instantaneous frequency of the wve at the buoy as such frequency was measured at the wave frequency detector means when the wave at the buoy was at the wave frequency detector means.
In an ocean wave energy device of a type including a buoy which reciprocates in substantially vertical directions in response to successive waves of variable frequency passing therebeneath, said buoy being supported upon a substantially vertically oriented shaft and a power take off means including a shaft driven by movement of the vertical shaft, the improvement comprising:
- detector means for detecting the frequency of successive wave crests and wave troughs passing the detector and which will subsequently pass said buoy by monitoring the contour of each wave as such wave passes said frequency detector means and measuring the time interval between the crest and following trough and between the trough and following crest of each such wave and means for imposing an artificial resonance to said buoy whereby said buoy resonance may be substantially conformed to the frequency detected of the wave when said wave was at said detector means, said artificial resonance imposing means including brake means for halting vertical movement of said buoy at substantially the uppermost and substantially the lowermost limits of vertical travel of said buoy, means independent of said wave sensing means for sensing said uppermost and said lowermost limits and actuating said braking means and means interconnecting said braking means and said wave frequency detector means for releasing said braking means for vertical travel of said buoy in substantial conformance with the frequency of the wave at the buoy when said wave was at said wave frequency detector means and said frequency was measured.
The method of extracting predetermined amounts of energy from an ocean wave energy device including a substantially vertically reciprocating buoy and power take off means driven by the reciprocation of said buoy responsive to the waves, including the steps of:
- monitoring the contour of each wave and measuring the time interval between each crest and following trough and between each trough and following crest of waves passing a wave frequency detector and which will subsequently pass the buoy;
- braking the buoy at substantially the uppermost position and substantially the lowermost position in its reciprocal travel between the crest and the trough of the wave whose frequency has been determined;
- and, releasing the buoy to descend under the action of gravity into the trough of the wave to its said lowermost position and to ascend byits buoyancy in such wave through the following wave crest to its said uppermost position by releasing said brake after a time interval selected in direct relationship to the time interval between the crest and following trough and between the trough and following crest of the wave to release said buoy to descend under the action of gravity into the trough of said wave to its said lowermost limit of vertical travel and to ascend under the action of buoyancy in such wave through the immediately following crest to its said uppermost limit of vertical movement and, thereby, bring the frequency of said buoy into substantial predetermined conformance with the frequency of the wave.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.