Patent · US Active

Wave actuated pump and means of connecting same to the seabed

US8668472B2 · kind B2 · utility

7Cited by
11References
20Claims
0Family size

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJul 10, 2009
Grant dateMar 11, 2014
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 30, 2030

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY02E10/30
  • WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
  • WIPO sectorMechanical engineering

Abstract

A pumping apparatus for harvesting the wave energy and converting such energy into hydraulic power which may be transmitted and used to generate electricity or to produce desalinated water. The pumping apparatus has a float, an accumulator pressurized above the ambient pressure of the pump, the accumulator is charged with fluid and the pump is full of fluid. A check valve is closed and a pumping chamber is pressurized. An additional pumping chamber is also equally pressurized. An axial force is generated on a first tube by the pressure difference between its ends. An opposite axial force is generated on a second tube by the pressure difference between its ends. The second tube is larger in diameter than the first tube and hence the magnitude of the force on the second tube is greater. The resultant of these forces is balanced by a portion of the buoyancy of float.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.