A pressure source to develop a stream of liquid under pressure as a consequence of the rise and fall of the surface of a body of water. The pressurizing means comprises an enclosure which bounds a chamber having a pair of portions at least one of which is movable relative to the other as a consequence of a force applied to one of them to reduce the volume of a chamber and thereby to place under pressure liquid which is contained therein. A conduit leads from the chamber through which a stream of liquid under pressure can flow for doing work. Buoyant means is floatable in the body of water to rise with its surface and to lower when the surface is sufficiently below the weight means. Force transmission means applies force from the weight means, when elevated, to the one portion. A release valve is located in said conduit, which when closed prevents flow of liquid through the conduit and thereby prevents the weight means from lowering, and which when open permits flow of liquid through the conduit and thereby permits the weight means to lower. Control means is effective selectively to close and to open the release valve as a function of whether the water surface is as high as or higher than a reference level relative to the weight means itself and opening the release valve means when lower.
A wave activated power generation system of the float type comprising at least one piston-cylinder device having an anchored cylinder and a piston slidable in the cylinder and cooperating with the cylinder to form a pumping chamber above the piston and a low pressure chamber below the piston. The cylinder has an intake port and an exhaust port both formed at an upper portion thereof to communicate with the pumping chamber and each provided with a check valve. A float is connected through a cable to the piston of the piston-cylinder device. A pair of fluid storages are connected to the intake port and the exhaust port of the pumping chamber, respectively. A waterwheel generator is driven by the fluid flowing from one of the fluid storages to another. A pressure regulating device is connected to the low pressure chamber so as to maintain the low pressure chamber at a pressure lower than the pressure in the pumping chamber, the difference in pressure ceaselessly applying a downward force on the piston to keep the cable in a tensed condition.
A wave activated power generation system comprises a pump to be located on the sea bottom. The piston of the pump is connected by a flexible connection to a float body to be located at the sea surface. The suction chamber of the pump is connected via a valve arrangement to a suction chamber which communicates with the surrounding sea through a water driven motor. In order to achieve a load equalization a gas reservoir with variable volume is provided in the suction chamber, the gas reservoir being separated from the surrounding sea.
A device for buoy based wave power apparatus, where the buoy (30) coacts with a cylinder piston arrangement which is connected to the sea bed, and where the arrangement is provided with the valve means (34, 35) enabling fluid flow through a piston (32) and possibly a piston rod (33) in said arrangement, a pressure being formed in one chamber (37) of the arrangement during the upward movement of the buoy (30) and simultaneously a suction via a snorkel or via focusing conduits/means (30', 44, 47) into that part of the cylinder which is adjacent the top face of the piston and which forms a second chamber (36). The piston rod (33) has mounted thereon a submarine buoy (29) or a sink member (80) and is articulated or flexibly (46) connected to a sea bed base member (40, 81). The cylinder (31) may be fixedly or articulated (68) connected with the buoy (30, 55, 67). The buoy (30) is provided with a cavity/vessel (42) receiving water upon bigger waves, and being drained through self-drainage conduits (43) during the return of the buoy into the trough of the wave. A linear induction generator can be arranged at the slide movement between an extended piston rod (85) and a guide tube (87) therefor which is arranged on the buoy (86).
A power drive system which includes a water collecting barrel vertically fastened to the oceanic crust under the sea level and having a reduced top end connected to the power input port of a power generator; a plurality of water tubes radially connected to the water collecting barrel for guiding sea water to the power input port of the power generator to move it into operation; a plurality of rockers respectively pivoted to the water collecting barrel; a plurality of floating devices floating on the sea level; a plurality of connecting rods connected between the floating devices and the rocker; and water pump means driven by the rockers to pump water into the water tubes and the water collecting barrel to force the power generator into operation.
A wave motion-actuated pumping apparatus includes a pair of inner and outer telescoping sleeves, a float, an anchoring arrangement, and a pair of one-way flow valves. The inner and outer sleeve are telescopically fitted together for reciprocal sliding movement relative to one another and define a water flow chamber therebetween being variable in volume in response to reciprocal movement of the tubular members relative to one another. The inner and outer tubular members also respectively define an inlet to and an outlet from the chamber. The float is attached about the outer sleeve so as to provide it with sufficient buoyancy to floatably follow up and down motion of waves with the float when the float and outer sleeve are disposed in a body of water. The inner sleeve is attached to the anchoring arrangement to restrain the inner sleeve from following up and down motion of waves with the outer sleeve, thereby causing the outer sleeve to reciprocally move relative to the inner sleeve. The upper and lower one-way flow valves are mounted respectively to the inner and outer sleeves across the respective inlet and outlet of the chamber in an arrangement which produces opening and closing of the valves in response to, and thereby in coordination with, reciprocal movement to the outer sleeve relative to the inner sleeve so as to cause pumping of water from the outlet of the chamber.
