Wave Powered Ocean Pump
Patent Pending Feb 2017
Invention Type
This invention is an invention of the following type(s): * Mechanical
Invention Title
The title of the invention is: Wave Powered Ocean Pump
Background
The Wave Powered Ocean Pump was designed to meet the need for a robust, wave powered seawater pump. Prior art in the field shows many attempts to harness ocean swells by placing floating devices on the surface, or on the ocean floor. From there, inside the highly violent and corrosive ocean environment, most try to create electricity in some complex manner and wire it to shore. Most fail and are not in use.
The Wave Toggle RAOP device avoids these problems. We place a wave surge energy-capturing device near the shore, below the waves. When a wave passes over, the device called a wave toggle or toggle, moves in one direction. Then as the swell flows back to sea the toggle moves in the other direction. This motion is converted into torsion energy and transferred to shore via a driveline. No wires, no generators, just torsion energy.
The energy of ocean wave and swells at the shore is at a higher state than swells in the open ocean, where most of the energy is spread out through a very tall water column. Wave energy is concentrated and focused at the shore area. We attempt to harvest this energy not directly from the wave itself but from the underlying surge, which is what the wave is riding on so to speak, and where most of the wave energy resides. This feature is what makes for the tremendous energy gathered by the toggle. One 4’ by 8’ panel gathers 6’400 ft lbs per second for those 8-10 seconds when the toggle is being moved under water. Transferring and harnessing this level of force to create useful work is what this design accomplishes.
This drive line on shore powers a piston like device with unique valves and specifications, the Rocker Arm Ocean Pump, which draws sea water out of the ocean via a pipe, and pumps it to higher elevations on land. This water can be stored for later release creating hydropower, or for de-silting a harbor by creating a permanent outflow to the harbor entrance. Dredging harbors costs tens of millions per year, thus the device has several very good uses.
Invention Summary
The device captures and transfers ocean wave energy to actuate a pump on shore that draws seawater up on shore without any other power source. This seawater can be stored for later release to create hydropower or can be used to de- silt a harbor by creating a permanent outflow of water at the harbor entrance. This pump as designed herein can move 6.2 acre-feet of seawater per day, if there are moderate waves. The invention includes methods for easy retrieval and repair of the underwater portions of the device.
Invention Description
The Wave Powered Ocean Pump consists of a wave-actuated toggle that is pushed by surging wave action that creates torque in a driveline, which runs from the axis of the wave toggle. As shown in drawing #1 & #2 where the toggle device is shown to be located off the Jetty several yards and the driveline runs to the shore. Drawing #3 shows a close up view of the wave toggle device. The close up shows a 4' X8' sheet of a tough flexible polyeththaline material bolted into a frame that is anchored into an 8' long brass cylinder, 6" in diameter. This is the
pin as disclosed in drawing #3, and the pin is held in place by 5 hinges. The hinges are bolted to 2 " X 6" x 9' long brass piece called the block. The block functions to anchor the device to the concrete ballast. The block fits into five clamps mounted into the ballast. Thus the clamps closes in upon the block, anchoring the block and the whole toggle device to the ballast.
Using a rail system with pulleys the entire wave toggle system can be released from the ballast anchor and raised out of the water. This will allow the toggle system to be maintained and repaired without having to send in divers. This sovles one big problem of most wave/energy systems. Underwater installation and repairs is what makes impractical nearly all other wave capture systems. We have solved this problem too.
As shown in drawing #1 the toggle is placed several yards off shore in an area where waves create surges and a back and forth action that will actuate the toggle. Distances and scales are somewhat adjustable depending on the site location. In our drawings submitted herein we have an actual site on our drawings, the Santa Barbara Boat Harbor as a demonstration of how the device will function in a real world situation.
As shown in drawing #1 a driveline runs some 110' feet or as needed to carry the torsion power to shore. The driveline can be buried as it approaches the beach of surf zone and runs on to the beach area where the driveline shall be connected to the ocean pump on shore. At the shore the drive line, which has the torsion energy captured from wave action within it, transfers this torsion to a gear box as shown in drawing #4 and #5 where the drive line connects to the gear box at the side of the ocean pump assembly. The energy in the driveline is in the form of a 180- degree torsion of 6,400 ft lbs per second, with each wave that washes over the toggle. The ocean pump converts this with gearing down to an 18-degree motion, which is transferred to the rocker arm as shown in drawings #4 and #5. As the rocker arm moves in an 18-degree motion, it drives the pistons to raise and lower approximately 20 inches. With each piston motion seawater is drawn from pipes and pumped through the ocean pump, and out to where ever the seawater is directed. The pistons are driven to pump seawater through one-way valves and into storage or a
harbor area.
Waves drive the toggle into a 180-degree swing as wave surges run past the device and return to the sea. This 180- degree torsion is transferred to the shore via the driveline, a non-twisting but flexible driveline. The driveline is attached to gear box on the ocean pump assemble. The gearbox reduces the 180-degree motion from the toggle, down to an 18-degree motion that is applied to the rocker arm as shown in drawing #4 and #5. Thus as the wave toggle in drawing #1 is pushed by water, this energy causes piston #1 to be raised. As piston #1 is raised, seawater is drawn into the piston area through pipes leading to the ocean. Drawing #4 shows as piston #1 is raised, piston #2 is driven down, expelling water to the exit of the ocean pump.
Thus with every wave surge that hits the toggle assembly, the ocean pump is driven to intake and expel two cylinders of water or 216 gallons per cycle. Drawing #4 and #5 show (9) one-way valves installed at each stage of the pump. One valve at the entrance of the pump, one between the cylinders and one at the exit.
These valves function to create a pump somewhat like the human heart, which was studied and modeled to formulate this design. This makes for an efficient and robust pump that operates at the slow speed needed to avail
use of the torsional energy in the driveline.
Various sizes of equipment can be used in these designs if they are properly matched. The toggle must be reasonably configured to the pump size. One 4’ x 8’ foot size toggle brings in 6,400 ft lbs per second and this energy must be matched to the correct system on shore. The device is scalable to a point. Massive waves will destroy equipment. Moderate waves will work best. The Pistons and valves of the ocean pump have some size limits based on metallurgical restraints, corrosion, ring wear, seals, pressures and wear and tear on equipment in a corrosive and violently energetic environment. It is likely the scale shown is near optimal. More systems may work better than a lager system.
This invention can be used in several ways. The basic idea can be to pump many acre-feet of seawater into a harbor area each day so there is created a positive outward flow at the harbor entrance. This will cause sand to not build up in the harbor and thus dredging will not be required. Dredging in even a small 200-boat ocean harbor can cost $3-5 million per year, and much more in bigger locations. With this Wave Toggle RAOP system the cost is only to install the ocean pump system once and it runs without costs for years, because no electric cost are involved.
Additionally
the pumped in seawater can be directed to various points in a harbor to flush out particular areas that have extra silt buildup, by means of a pipe being drug around the harbor to accomplish this action.
Another use of the wave powered ocean pump or the Wave Toggle Rocker Arm Ocean Pump as it is known...is the pumping of seawater to higher locations and storing it for later release to create a hydro electric generating system. The energy in only one toggle panel when pushed by an average surge/wave against the 4' X 5' panel is 6,400 ft/lbs per second. Thus if more toggle panels are used, great deal of ocean water can be moved and stored for hydro electric power.
Also the WTRAOP could be used to raise or lower ships in various locations and channels by flooding them with pumped in seawater. For instance in locks or inland docks the system could send great amounts of water without
electric pumps.
Other Uses or Applications for This Invention
Large and small aquariums that use great amounts of sea water, like the Monetary Bay aquarium... could use this system to bring fresh seawater to their tanks and exhibits. This would save millions in electric costs and would make for a good exhibit.
Also cold water from great depths could be brought ashore with the system by placing pipes down to 4,000 feet as possible. This 40-degree water could be used for food process and industrial cooling, raising cold-water lobsters,
research and other cold-water uses like breweries, distilling and even energy production.
Also the pump system could be used to pump fresh water for farms or creating lakes using wave power.
Also the torsion power could be used to directly drive a generating system. But first the torsion energy must be converted to a single direction rotation.
Also the interrupted and reversing torsional energy created by the wave toggle could be used to lift weights that are then lowered to create a more steady energy source for a generating plant for electricity.
