Renewable energy generation based on water waves
원문보기
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
F03B-013/12
F03B-013/14
F03B-013/24
F03B-013/10
F03B-013/18
H02K-035/02
H02P-009/04
F03B-015/00
출원번호
US-0514464
(2015-09-25)
등록번호
US-10253746
(2019-04-09)
국제출원번호
PCT/US2015/052491
(2015-09-25)
국제공개번호
WO2016/049596
(2016-03-31)
발명자
/ 주소
Burkle, Steve
출원인 / 주소
EIP TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
대리인 / 주소
Perkins Coie LLP
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
0인용 특허 :
16
초록▼
Methods, systems, and devices are disclosed for wave power generation. In one aspect, a wave power generator device includes a stator assembly and a rotor assembly encased within a tube frame. The stator assembly includes an array of inductor coils in a fixed position within a cavity of the tube fra
Methods, systems, and devices are disclosed for wave power generation. In one aspect, a wave power generator device includes a stator assembly and a rotor assembly encased within a tube frame. The stator assembly includes an array of inductor coils in a fixed position within a cavity of the tube frame and a plurality of bearings coupled to the tube frame. The rotor assembly includes a turbine rotor having a central hub and peripheral blades coupled to a high inertia annular flywheel that is moveably engaged with the bearings of the stator assembly, and an array of magnets arranged to be evenly spaced and of alternating axial polarity from one another extending from the annular flywheel into the cavity between the array of inductor coils, such that electric currents are produced based on magnetic field interaction of the magnets with the inductor coils during the rotation of the annular flywheel.
대표청구항▼
1. A wave power generator device to interface to an oscillating water column for converting marine wave power into electricity, comprising: a tube including a support base on each end of the tube, the tube being interfaced to receive an airflow from the oscillating water column;a stator assembly, in
1. A wave power generator device to interface to an oscillating water column for converting marine wave power into electricity, comprising: a tube including a support base on each end of the tube, the tube being interfaced to receive an airflow from the oscillating water column;a stator assembly, including:a circular array of inductor coils fixed in position in a cavity of the support base,an annular ring track coupled to the support base in the cavity and configured to provide a circular track around which the circular array of inductor coils is located, andbearings placed on a circular annular bearing ring track attached to the support base, the bearings operable to roll to allow a surface in contact with the bearings to move with respect to the annular bearing-ring track; anda rotor assembly, including:an annular cylinder flywheel structured to form a hollow interior and an outer cylindrical wall having a wide thickness to provide the annular cylinder flywheel with a high inertia,a turbine rotor attached to the annular cylinder flywheel at a particular plane along the hollow interior, wherein the turbine rotor includes a disk and a plurality of blades protruding from the disk that pass through the outer cylindrical wall into the cavity and wherein the rotor assembly does not include a rotary shaft in the center of the disk, andan array of magnets arranged to be evenly spaced and of alternating axial polarity from one another protruding from the outer cylindrical wall of the annular cylinder flywheel such that the magnets move through the circular array of inductor coils as the annular cylinder flywheel rotates with respect to the annular ring track so that the relative motion between the magnets and the inductor coils causes generation of electric currents in the inductor coils,wherein the rotor assembly is engaged to the bearings on the circular annular bearing ring track so that the annular cylinder flywheel is operable to rotate relative to the annular ring track by rolling motion of the bearings when the received airflow from the wave oscillating column enters the hollow interior of the rotor assembly and causes the turbine rotor to rotate for conversion of the wave energy into the electric currents in the inductor coils, wherein the tube encases the rotor assembly and the stator assembly. 2. The wave power generator device of claim 1, wherein the hollow interior of the annular cylinder flywheel is structured to provide a path for airflow to exit the rotor assembly. 3. The wave power generator device of claim 1, wherein the tube is structured to include a pipe flange structure to allow attachment of the device to the oscillating water column. 4. The wave power generator device of claim 1, wherein the tube is structured to form a set of threaded holes configured to fit a standard pipe flange bolt pattern. 5. The wave power generator device of claim 1, further comprising: an electronic module configured in a sealed compartment of the tube positioned proximate and electrically coupled to the circular array of inductor coils to receive the electric currents from the inductor coils. 6. The wave power generator device of claim 1, wherein the rotor assembly is operable to slowly spin based on an airflow to initially drive the turbine rotor and cause the rotor assembly to rotate, such that during slow rotation of the rotor assembly magnetic flux circulates at high speed through the through the circular array of inductor coils to generate AC electric power. 7. The wave power generator device of claim 6, wherein the generated AC electric power includes pure sinusoid AC power, wherein voltage and frequency of the AC electric power increases with increasing speed of the rotor assembly to provide synchronous power. 8. The wave power generator device of claim 7, the device further comprising: a plurality of electronic modules configured in a sealed compartment of the tube positioned proximate and electrically coupled to the inductor coils to receive the synchronous power, wherein the electronic modules are wired together in series to provide a high voltage DC output. 9. The wave power generator device of claim 1, wherein the inductor coils in the circular array are configured into independent inductor modules that operate independently from one module to another, wherein each inductor module includes (i) three adjacent inductor coils that are connected to one another to form a 3-phase inductor module to so that the phases of the three adjacent inductor coils are separated by one third of a cycle to collectively produce an AC output current from three currents respectively generated by the three adjacent inductor coils, and (ii) a rectifier circuit coupled to receive the AC output current and to produce a DC output voltage. 10. The wave power generator device of claim 1, wherein: the inductor coils in the circular array are configured as independent inductor modules that operate independently from one module to another,wherein each inductor module includes (i) three adjacent inductor coils that are connected to one another to form a 3-phase inductor module to so that the phases of the three adjacent inductor coils are separated by one third of a cycle to collectively produce an AC output current from three currents respectively generated by the three adjacent inductor coils, and (ii) a rectifier circuit coupled to receive the AC output current and to produce a DC output voltage, andwherein the inductor modules are configured as independent inductor module groups where each inductor module group includes 3 or more inductor modules, the inductor modules within each inductor module group are coupled to produce an inductor module group output, and different inductor module groups are separated and operate independently from one to another. 11. The wave power generator device of claim 10, wherein each inductor module group includes: a mode-switching circuit in a selected inductor module in the inductor module group and coupled to a rectifier circuit of the selected inductor module to inactivate the rectifier circuit to allow the selected inductor module to operate in an AC mode for producing an AC output or to activate the rectifier circuit to allow the select inductor module to operate in an DC mode for producing an DC output, anda control circuit coupled to the mode-switching circuit to control the operation the mode-switching circuit in switching the selected inductor module between the AC mode and the DC mode. 12. The wave power generator device of claim 11, wherein each inductor module group further includes: a sensing circuit coupled in the selected inductor module in the inductor module group that senses a rotation condition of the rotor assembly based on timing and magnitudes of currents in the inductor coils within the selected inductor module and, based on the sensed rotation condition, the control circuit is configured to control the AC mode operation of the selected inductor module in response to the received airflow condition to accelerate or decelerate the rotation of the rotor assembly so that the rotation of the rotor assembly varies dynamically with a received airflow condition of compressed air within the rotor assembly to maximize an efficiency in converting wave power into electricity. 13. The wave power generator device of claim 12, wherein the control circuit includes a digital signal processor that is programmed with software to control, based on the sensed rotation condition from the sensing circuit, the AC and DC modes of operation of the selected inductor module in the inductor module group. 14. The wave power generator device of claim 12, wherein the control circuit is configured to control the inductor coils within the selected inductor module to cause the rotation of the rotor assembly to be in (i) a coasting mode which maintains a constant speed of the rotation of the rotor assembly at a given received airflow condition and produces a DC output of the wave power generator device, (ii) a motoring mode which speeds up the rotation of the rotor assembly while reducing a DC output of the wave power generator device, or (iii) a generating mode which slows down the rotation of the rotor assembly while increasing the a DC output of the wave power generator device. 15. The wave power generator device of claim 14, wherein the control circuit is configured to control, based on the sensed rotation condition from the sensing circuit, the selected inductor module to operate in or switch to one of the coasting mode, the motoring mode, or the generating mode to dynamically synchronize operation of the wave power generator device to the received airflow condition and a load condition that draws power from the wave power generator device. 16. The wave power generator device of claim 1, wherein each inductor coil includes a first half inductor coil part that includes a first magnetic core and a first conductor wire coil that winds around the first magnetic core and a second half inductor coil part that includes a second magnetic core and a second conductor wire coil that winds around the second magnetic core, and the first and second half inductor coil parts are positioned at opposite sides of a plane in which the magnets of the outer cylindrical wall of the annular cylinder flywheel rotate to position the magnets between the first and second half inductor coil parts. 17. The wave power generator device of claim 16, wherein each of the first and second half inductor coil parts includes a C shaped magnetic core having two terminal ends that interface with the magnets of the outer cylindrical wall of the annular cylinder flywheel, and two adjacent magnets of the outer cylindrical wall of the annular cylinder flywheel are placed in opposite magnetic orientations with respect to each other. 18. The wave power generator device of claim 1, wherein the array of magnets are attached on a surface of an annular ring structure protruding from the outer cylindrical wall of the annular cylinder flywheel, such that the annular ring structure extends between the annular ring track such that the magnets are aligned with the circular arrangement of the array of inductor coils. 19. The wave power generator device of claim 1, wherein the outer cylindrical wall of the annular cylinder flywheel includes two thick-walled cylinders made of a high density material. 20. The wave power generator device of claim 1, wherein the support base includes an opening on each side of the tube, and the device further comprises a detachable cover to allow access to the interior of the device and to provide a watertight seal of the tube. 21. A wave power generator device, comprising: a tube frame including a hollow interior and first and second support bases on each end of the tube frame, wherein the first and second support bases are arranged to form a cavity along the peripheral of the tube frame;an array of inductor coils positioned in the cavity, wherein each of the array of inductor coils comprises a first portion and a second portion electrically coupled to the first portion, and wherein the first and second portions for each of the array of inductor coils are separated from each other by a gap;a plurality of bearings coupled to each of the first and second support bases operable to roll to allow a surface in contact with the bearings to move with respect to the inductor coils;an annular flywheel structured to include an outer cylindrical wall adjacent to the first and second support bases, the outer cylindrical wall having a wide thickness to provide the annular flywheel with a high inertia;a turbine rotor attached to the annular flywheel at a particular plane of the hollow interior, the turbine rotor structured to include a disk and a plurality of blades protruding from the disk, wherein the turbine rotor is coupled to the outer cylindrical wall of the annular flywheel; andan array of magnets arranged to be evenly spaced and of alternating axial polarity from one another, the array of magnets coupled to and protruding from the outer cylindrical wall of the annular flywheel and located in the gap, wherein rotation of the annular flywheel causes the magnets to move through the gap defined by the first and second portions for each of the inductor coils such that the relative motion between the magnets and the inductor coils causes generation of electric currents in the inductor coils,wherein the wave power generator device is structured to be interfaced with an oscillating water column, such that airflow expelled from the oscillating water column caused from wave energy is able to enter the hollow interior of the wave power generation device and affect rotation of the turbine rotor for conversion of the wave energy into the electric currents in the inductor coils. 22. The wave power generator device of claim 21, wherein the tube frame includes a bearing-ring track attached to the first and second support bases and coupled to the bearings to present the bearings such that they rotationally engage the surface of the outer wall of the annular flywheel. 23. The wave power generator device of claim 21, wherein the generation of the electric currents in the inductor coils of the wave power generator is based on rotation of the annular flywheel on the bearings at least initially caused by oscillating airflow into and out of the hollow interior to initiate rotation of the turbine rotor in one direction, such that electric currents are produced based on the interaction of magnetic fields from the magnets with the inductor coils during the rotation of the annular flywheel. 24. The wave power generator device of claim 21, wherein the wave power generation device is interfaced with an oscillating water column that is operable to receive water waves to produce outward airflow from the oscillating water column as a result of the received water waves, such that the outward airflow is fed into the wave power generation device to affect the rotation of the turbine rotor for conversion of the wave energy into the electric currents in the inductor coils. 25. The wave power generator device of claim 21, wherein the wave power generator device is configured without a rotary shaft in the center of the hollow interior or attached to the turbine rotor for rotating the turbine rotor. 26. The wave power generator device of claim 21, wherein the hollow interior is structured to provide a path for the airflow to enter and exit the wave power generator device. 27. The wave power generator device of claim 21, wherein the tube frame is structured to include a pipe flange structure to allow attachment of the wave power generator device to an oscillating water column. 28. The wave power generator device of claim 21, wherein the tube frame is structured to form a set of threaded holes configured to fit a standard pipe flange bolt pattern to attach the wave power generation device to the oscillating water column. 29. The wave power generator device of claim 21, further comprising: an electronic module configured in a sealed compartment of the first and second support bases positioned proximate and electrically coupled to the array of inductor coils to receive the electric currents from the inductor coils. 30. A method for generating electricity from water wave energy, comprising: receiving water waves into an oscillating water column to produce an outward airflow from the oscillating water column as a result of the received water waves;receiving the outward airflow into an interior of a wave power generator device to affect rotation of a rotor assembly in the wave power generator device, the device comprising a stator assembly and the rotor assembly encased within a tube structure having a base frame at each end of the tube structure, the stator assembly including a circular array of inductor coils in a fixed position with respect to the base frame and a plurality of bearings coupled to the base frame, and the rotor assembly including a turbine rotor having a central hub and peripheral blades coupled to an annular flywheel that is engaged with the bearings and an array of magnets arranged to be evenly spaced and of alternating axial polarity from one another protruding outwardly from the annular flywheel and between the circular array of inductor coils; andgenerating electrical power at the wave power generator device based on rotation of the annular flywheel on the bearings at least initially caused by oscillating airflow into and out of the interior of the rotor assembly to initiate rotation of the turbine rotor in one direction, such that electric currents are produced based on the interaction of magnetic fields from the magnets with the inductor coils during the rotation of the annular flywheel,wherein the rotation steadily continues in absence of or reduced wave energy from the water waves. 31. The method of claim 30, wherein receiving the water waves by the oscillating water column includes receiving successive waves create an oscillating air flow into and out of the wave power generator device while the rotor assembly continues the rotation in a constant direction and at a regulated speed fortified by the annular flywheel's inertia and electronic interactions to generate a steady electrical power output. 32. The method of claim 30, further comprising: transferring the generated electrical power to a power aggregation point of a power network, a power storage device, or a power consuming device. 33. A system for converting energy from water waves into electrical energy, comprising: an oscillating water column located at a shore and structured to include a chamber to receive water waves at one opening of the chamber, such that rising water in the chamber causes airflow out of the chamber toward an opposite end of the chamber, and falling water in the chamber causes airflow into the chamber from the opposite end; anda wave power generator interfaced to the oscillating water column at the opposite end of the chamber, the wave power generator comprising:a tube frame including a hollow interior and a first support base and a second support base on each end of the tube frame, wherein the first and second support bases are arranged to form a cavity along the peripheral of the tube frame;an array of inductor coils positioned in the cavity;a plurality of bearings coupled to each of the first and second support bases operable to roll to allow a surface in contact with the bearings to move with respect to the inductor coils;an annular flywheel structured to include an outer cylindrical wall adjacent to the first and second support bases, the outer cylindrical wall having a wide thickness to provide the annular flywheel with a high inertia;a turbine rotor attached to the annular flywheel at a particular plane of the hollow interior, the turbine rotor structured to include a disk and a plurality of blades protruding from the disk, wherein the turbine rotor is coupled to the outer cylindrical wall of the annular flywheel; andan array of magnets arranged to be evenly spaced and of alternating axial polarity from one another, the array of magnets coupled to and protruding from the outer cylindrical wall of the annular flywheel and located in the cavity of each of the first and second support bases in a gap between the inductor coils, wherein rotation of the annular flywheel causes the magnets to move through gap between the inductor coils such that the relative motion between the magnets and the inductor coils causes generation of electric currents in the inductor coils,wherein the airflow expelled from the oscillating water column caused from the water waves rising and falling in the chamber creates an oscillating airflow able to enter and exit the hollow interior of the wave power generator and affect rotation of the turbine rotor for conversion of the wave energy into the electric currents in the inductor coils.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (16)
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