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AssigneeOcean Power Technologies, Inc.
InventorsJames S. Gerber, Christopher Thomas Phelan, Wei Qiu, Donald Smith Spencer
Estimating the term…
A float structure for a WEC is designed to have a tapered underside to reduce the impact due to wave slam and bending moments while providing little reduction in the surface area responding to the wave surface in order to maintain the beneficial power generating capability of a “flat” float. The underside of the float presents an inverted wedge section to decrease loads associated with wave slamming. The float may have a generally toroidal or elliptical configuration at and about the “still” water line with the generally submerged underside of the float having a cross section shaped to have one or more inverted triangular sections extending between the outer perimeter of the float and its center to reduce impact loading due to wave slamming while maintaining power producing capability.
A wave energy converter (WEC) intended to be placed in a body of water subjected to wave motion of varying amplitude and frequency, said WEC including a first body tending to move generally in phase with the waves and out of phase with respect to a second body;
A method of forming a float for a wave energy converter (WEC) having improved survivability and power producing characteristics, comprising the steps of:
A wave energy converter (WEC) intended to be placed in a body of water subjected to wave motion of varying amplitude and frequency, said WEC including a first body tending to move generally in phase with the waves wherein said first body is subject to wave slamming forces and a second body intended to move generally out of phase with respect to the first body;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.