Having Specific Features For Water Current Patents (Class 415/3.1)
  • Publication number: 20020192068
    Abstract: A series of horizontal axis type rotors is distributed along the upper section of an elongate torque transmitting tower/driveshaft. The tower/driveshaft projects upward at its base, supported by a cantilevered bearing means, so it is free to rotate about its own axis. The tower/driveshaft is bent downwind, until the coaxially attached horizontal axis rotors become sufficiently aligned with the wind to rotate the entire tower/driveshaft. Power is drawn from the rotating shaft at the base. Surface mount, subsurface mount, and marine installations are disclosed, including a sailboat that can sail upwind, and store energy while moored. Vertical axis rotor blades may be attached to the lower, substantially vertical section of the tower/driveshaft and even to the distal section of the tower/driveshaft, should it hang in a sufficiently vertical direction for such blades to contribute toward rotation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2001
    Publication date: December 19, 2002
    Inventor: Douglas Spriggs Selsam
  • Publication number: 20020187038
    Abstract: A rotational power transfer device includes a rotatable shaft, a plurality of arm structures attached to the shaft and extending radially outward from the shaft, a plurality of pin structures attached to and extending radially outward from the shaft such that the arm structures and the pin structures are aligned, a plurality of panel members attached to the arm structures and hanging downward therefrom, and an energy converting member for converting energy to electricity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2001
    Publication date: December 12, 2002
    Inventor: Foy Streetman
  • Publication number: 20020141858
    Abstract: The present invention 10 discloses a wheel-like member 30 consisting of a central circular body member 18 having a plurality of spokes 22 radiating from its outside perimeter that attach to the inside perimeter of an outer circular body member 24. On the outside perimeter of the outer circular body member a plurality of hinges 26 with paddles 16 are attached thereto that can only open to a pre-determined angle “A” from the wheel 30 that ensures water current 14 is caught by the paddles on only one side of the wheel which causes the wheel to rotate in only one direction. The kinetic energy stored in the wheel 30 while rotating is harnessed through a drive shaft 34 connected to the central circular body member 18 that connects to a generator 36 placed perpendicular to the central circular body member 18.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2001
    Publication date: October 3, 2002
    Inventor: Eric E. Downing
  • Patent number: 6431821
    Abstract: A water driven impulse turbine has a barrel rotatably mounted upon an axle, with a plurality of runner blades extending tangentially from said barrel. Side plates secure the runner blades on opposite sides thereof. A breastplate is maintained in concentric juxtaposition with the wheel so defined. A penstock is interposed between a water source and the breastplate to pass water into the runner blades. The turbine may consist of a plurality of axially interconnected wheel sections of similar or dissimilar nature to optimize performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2002
    Assignee: Universal Electric Power Corp.
    Inventors: Bruce D. Feltenberger, Ronald S. Feltenberger
  • Patent number: 6409466
    Abstract: An underwater turbine arrangement is herein described. The water driven turbine comprises a housing having a shaft mounted for rotation about an axis therein. The shaft includes a plurality of flights arranged to drive rotation of the shaft. Mounted onto the housing is a funnel having a mouth greater in size than the housing and a discharge of similar size as the housing. Thus, water entering the funnel is constricted before being passed onto the housing, thereby increasing the force with which the shaft is rotated, thereby increasing the amount of energy produced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Inventor: John S. Lamont
  • Patent number: 6406251
    Abstract: A bi-directional hydroturbine assembly for tidal deployment. A hydroturbine is carried by a cylindrical shroud. Rotation of the hydroturbine blades by tidal currents drives rotation of the shaft, thereby converting kinetic energy into electrical energy. Stabilizer fins extend radially outwardly from the shroud along substantially the entire length of the shroud. Each comer of each stabilizer fin carries a pivot point for connection of pivoting deflectors between adjacent pivot points of adjacent stabilizer fins at the same end of the shroud. Pivoting deflectors are positioned between pivot points about the periphery of each end of the shroud and are biased such that tidal current flow in a first direction urges pivoting deflectors at the first end of the shroud into a non-deflective position, while urging pivoting deflectors at the second end of the shroud into a deflective position, and vice versa for tidal current flow in the opposite direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Inventor: Philippe Vauthier
  • Patent number: 6402459
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device (1), including an elongated tubular body (3) arranged to be located in water in an essentially vertical position. The tubular body (3) includes an open end (6) at the bottom and a narrowing portion (7) at the top, which ends in an opening (8) arranged to be located above the level of the surrounding water (2). The device (1) is arranged to establish a water level in the narrowing portion (7) of the tubular body (3), which is lower than the level of the surrounding water and to intermittently level out this level difference in such a way that the water in the tubular body (3) is transported up to a higher level than the level of the surrounding water by the action thereon of the narrowing portion (7).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Inventors: Mikael Pauli, Dag Birkeland
  • Patent number: 6398913
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of recovering energy in a forming section of a papermaking or boardmaking machine, wherein stock from a headbox is fed into a forming zone of a forming section, said forming zone including at least one looped forming fabric curving along a convex surface of a support member, and water is drained from the stock through said at least one forming fabric in the forming zone to form a paper or board web, the water passing through said at least one fabric being thrown out from the forming zone and possessing kinetic energy, characterized by placing a movable component in the water thrown out from the forming zone, so as to cause the water to move the component, and thereby recovering part of the kinetic energy. The invention also relates to an arrangement in a papermaking or boardmaking machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2002
    Assignee: Metso Paper Karlstad Aktiebolag
    Inventor: Sören Eriksson
  • Publication number: 20020034437
    Abstract: The invention takes energy from the periphery of a hydro electric turbine blade to produce electricity by mechanically driving a plurality of generators without the use of a hydraulic system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2001
    Publication date: March 21, 2002
    Inventor: Herbert Lehman Williams
  • Patent number: 6309179
    Abstract: A hydro turbine has a housing with a cylindrical chamber and opposed end walls with laterally spaced smaller rectangular inlets and laterally spaced larger rectangular outlets formed in upper and lower portions of the chamber side wall in horizontally opposed relation. Smaller rectangular inlet ducts adjoin the inlets, and larger rectangular outlet ducts adjoin the outlets. A cylindrical runner surrounding a power take-off shaft is rotatably enclosed in the chamber and has a central cylindrical hub divided into laterally spaced hub portions with a first and second plurality of circumferentially spaced peripheral blades extending angularly outward from each hub portion, the first plurality of blades being circumferentially offset from the second.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2001
    Assignee: Futec, Inc.
    Inventor: Joseph T. Holden
  • Patent number: 6296438
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for regulating the pumping capacity of constant-speed vertical-axis centrifuge pumps having an admission cross section with a weir, a suction orifice of a pump submerged in a reservoir that is open on top, an impeller axis, and a fluid inlet opening that emerges tangentially in the direction of the impeller rotation. The fluid inlet opening forms an opening in the weir and is located below the upper edge of the weir. The lower portion of a cylindrical reservoir wall is provided so that a rotational flow can be created in the reservoir. In the portion of the admission cross section that lies above the weir, and on the side of the fluid inlet opening that lies below the weir, there is a deflector plate, so that the fluid is deflected around the pump axis in the direction of rotation opposite to the above-mentioned rotational flow in the reservoir.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2001
    Assignee: Frideco AG
    Inventor: Frank Stähle
  • Patent number: 6267551
    Abstract: A modular hydraulic turbine made of a small number of components that are cast or molded, and that can easily be assembled and/or interchanged whenever required. The turbine has a cylindrical inlet unit through water may enter and an angular tubular outlet unit through water may enter escape; a central cone-shaped hub having a plurality of incurved blades; a shaft having a front end extending into the hub and a rear end portion engaging and extending outside the outlet unit; a hollow rotor rigidly connected to the shaft and having a plurality of incurved blades, the rotor causing the shaft to rotate when water flows inside the turbine; and a watertight casing for rotatably supporting the rear end of the shaft. The rear end portion of the shaft of the turbine is devised to be connected to a power generator, especially an electric generator, to produce energy upon rotation of the shaft. Depending on its size and the strength of the water stream, from 10 to 1200 kW/hour can easily be generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2001
    Assignee: NRJO Inc.
    Inventor: Jean-Claude Dentinger
  • Patent number: 6227803
    Abstract: An apparatus for generating electric power using wind force which is capable of generating good quality electric power by combining the apparatus with the inventor's water wave force-based electric power generating apparatus and installing this combined apparatus in the sea.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2001
    Inventor: Hyun Jin Shim
  • Patent number: 6217284
    Abstract: An oscillating fluid flow motor and a fluid flow power system that converts the energy in the flowing fluid to mechanical energy through a vane that automatically sweeps back and forth across the flow. In one embodiment of the oscillating fluid flow motor, the motor includes (1) a support structure, (2) an elongated swing arm pivotably and rotatably mounted to the support structure, (3) a vane having a concave face, (4) an elastic link operatively coupled in tension between the swing arm and a support, and (5) a direction control mechanism operatively coupled to the swing arm. The vane is connected to the swing arm so that, upon rotation of the swing arm about its longitudinal axis, the orientation of the concave face of the vane changes relative to the flow of a fluid confronting the face. The direction control mechanism is operative to selectively re-orient the face of the vane at each of two points that define the ends of the bidirectional stroke of the swing arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2001
    Inventor: Brant E. Lawrence
  • Patent number: 6210113
    Abstract: A waterwheel turbine for application in hydropower plants is provided. This turbine exploits primarily the head of the watercourse for energy recovery. The cells of the waterwheel turbine are each provided with a pair of mechanically linked flaps for controlling the inflow of water as well as venting of air. Special control devices permit these installations to be operated at high efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2001
    Inventor: Adolf Ihrenberger
  • Patent number: 6206630
    Abstract: A water driven impulse turbine has a barrel rotatably mounted upon an axle, with a plurality of runner blades extending tangentially from the barrel. Side plates secure the runner blades on opposite sides thereof. A breastplate is maintained in concentric juxtaposition with the wheel so defined. A penstock is interposed between a water source and the breastplate to pass water into the runner blades. The turbine may consist of a plurality of axially interconnected wheel sections of similar or dissimilar nature to optimize performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2001
    Assignee: Universal Electric Power Corp.
    Inventors: Bruce D. Feltenberger, Ronald S. Feltenberger