An ocean platform has a negatively buoyant pontoon suspended from the balance of the platform to increase the heave resonant period to at least 25 seconds. Tendons suspend the pontoon to a depth where dynamic wave forces do not materially act directly on it in seas of normally occurring periods of up to about 15 seconds but do in seas of periods above about 15 seconds. Columns and an upper pontoon provide buoyancy for the platform.

A rescue system is provided including a transmitter housing and a recovery assembly including a transmitter situated within an interior space of the transmitter housing. The transmitter is adapted for emitting an emergency signal via free space upon the actuation thereof. Also included is a moisture sensor situated on the transmitter housing and connected to the transmitter for actuating the same during the detection of a predetermined amount of moisture. A receiver unit includes a direction sen...

An ocean wave producing structure (10, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100) having a support structure (14) and a web (12). The support structure (14) is fixed to the ocean floor (32) and the web (12) is arranged with its upswell end (12a) lower than its downswell end (12b) so that ocean swells (34a) travelling over the web (12) are forced upwardly to form into waves (34b). The shape and characteristics of the waves (34b) vary depending upon the gradients (24) of the sections (W1 to W8, 52 to 56) of the web...

A parabolic or part parabolic focusing device located in the ocean comprises wall sections which converge a parallel ocean wavefront to foci located in an air compression chamber located between the wall sections, thereby providing a wave amplification effect. An oscillating wave surface produces an oscillating air column inside the chamber to drive a self-rectifying turbine located in an outlet at the top of the chamber. The turbine comprises a rotor with radially oriented aerofoil shaped blade...

An hydroelectric power plant is disclosed which comprises several combination turbine/generators which are suspended into an ocean current from a submerged tension leg type platform. Each of the turbine/generators are independently positionable horizontally, vertically and azimuthally to take the best advantage of the ocean current at any given time for generating electricity.

A method of correcting errors in in inertial navigation system, without imposing restrictions on the ships course, utilizing bathymetric data collected during the Ocean Survey Program (OSP). As the ship is in transit in or crosses an OSP swath, sonar transmissions commence and continue only to acquire bottom data within data areas of predetermined dimensions. Depth gates and transmission power levels are established in accordance with OSP provided bottom data and depth is determined by an autoco...

An ocean wave generator includes a buoy for floating on the surface of the ocean. A generator is mounted to the buoy. A pulley is mounted on the generator for turning the generator. An anchor cable has a first end wrapped around the pulley and an anchored second end. Upward movement of the buoy and generator due to a wave causes the cable to unwind from the pulley, which turns the generator. A spring connected to the pulley rewinds the anchor cable when the buoy and generator drop into the troug...

An ocean wave driven energy device that uses the power of ocean waves to continually lift and lower a float which in turn lifts or lowers one side of a lever arm about a stationary pivot point thereby driving down or raising a piston, which is attached to the opposite side of the lever arm, thru a cylinder which in turn causes large volumes of air to move. That air is funneled to drive turbines which produce electric power.

An improved distillation of water. involves distilling significant quantities of water at temperatures well below the boiling point. During distillation, a compound is taken from a liquid-phase to a gas-phase and then condensed to the liquid-phase again to get a pure liquid. The present invention uses water sprayed (105) and absorbed onto a solid surface such as micro-powder (104) made from wood as a starting material. Absorbing water onto such a surface results in rapid evaporation with a relat...

An ocean current energy converter is disclosed which, by positioning upon an ocean floor, harnesses and converts energy stemming from wave, tide, and current propagation into useful electrical power. The ocean current energy converter comprises a pair of support legs which are secured to a rotating canister which comprises a plurality of fins disposed about an outer periphery of said rotating canister. Wave motion acting upon the fins of the rotating canister causes said canister to rotate, thus...