Patents by Inventor Mark R. Draper

Mark R. Draper has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8096116
    Abstract: For reducing the number of anchors required for mooring a plurality of WECs in a body of water, the WECs are arrayed in two patterns enabling the sharing of anchors among the WECs. One pattern comprises pluralities of WECs disposed in polygonal shaped cells with an anchor disposed beneath each cell connected to all the WECs in the cell. A second pattern comprises a tessellated pattern of contiguous cells with WECs at the interface between contiguous pairs of cells being common to both cells of the pairs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2012
    Assignee: Ocean Power Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark R. Draper, David Henry Silcock
  • Patent number: 7989984
    Abstract: An underwater substation pod (USP) adapted to collect and process the electrical outputs of an array of offshore power generating devices includes a voltage boosting transformer for combining and transmitting with increased efficiency an amplified version of the collected electrical outputs to an on shore facility. Combining the outputs and transmitting at a higher voltage reduces transmission losses and the number of cables required to transmit the electrical outputs. The USP is mounted on the seabed but operated at atmospheric pressure to accommodate standard components. The pod may be designed to include remotely controlled operation and to have a long service life since few, if any, moving parts are used. Also, the equipment may be designed to have a high degree of redundancy to provide greater reliability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Inventors: Mark R. Draper, Timothy Liska, Stuart Bower, Robin Rhodes
  • Patent number: 7886680
    Abstract: For reducing the number of components required for mooring (by means of three, 120° spaced apart mooring lines) multiple floating wave energy converters (WECs), a group of six WECs is disposed in a hexagonal pattern with each WEC being disposed at a corner of the hexagon. The WECs are connected to one another by mooring lines extending along sides of the hexagon, each WEC thereby being connected by two, 120° spaced apart mooring lines and with each WEC serving as a mooring point for each of its two adjacent neighbors. A third mooring line for each WEC, spaced 120° from the other two mooring lines, is connected to an auxiliary surface buoy and thence to an anchor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2011
    Assignee: Ocean Power Technologies, Inc
    Inventor: Mark R. Draper
  • Publication number: 20100084925
    Abstract: An underwater substation pod (USP) adapted to collect and process the electrical outputs of an array of offshore power generating devices includes a voltage boosting transformer for combining and transmitting with increased efficiency an amplified version of the collected electrical outputs to an on shore facility. Combining the outputs and transmitting at a higher voltage reduces transmission losses and the number of cables required to transmit the electrical outputs. The USP is mounted on the seabed but operated at atmospheric pressure to accommodate standard components. The pod may be designed to include remotely controlled operation and to have a long service life since few, if any, moving parts are used. Also, the equipment may be designed to have a high degree of redundancy to provide greater reliability.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2008
    Publication date: April 8, 2010
    Inventors: Mark R. Draper, Timothy Liska, Stuart Bower, Robin Rhodes
  • Publication number: 20090183667
    Abstract: For reducing the number of anchors required for mooring a plurality of WECs in a body of water, the WECs are arrayed in two patterns enabling the sharing of anchors among the WECs. One pattern comprises pluralities of WECs disposed in polygonal shaped cells with an anchor disposed beneath each cell connected to all the WECs in the cell. A second pattern comprises a tessellated pattern of contiguous cells with WECs at the interface between contiguous pairs of cells being common to both cells of the pairs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2008
    Publication date: July 23, 2009
    Inventors: Mark R. Draper, David Henry Silcock