GB2443697A - Floating water wheel with buoyant blades - Google Patents

Abstract

A floating waterwheel is made from very light weight materials such as foamed plastics so that it will float on the surface of a river, stream or sea. The wheel derives its buoyancy from the mass of water displaced by the submerged blades 1 and the submerged part of the reinforcing disks 2. The wheel is moored 7 from a bank, pier, vessel or cable across the river so that it will float in the current with its axle 3 horizontal and perpendicular to the direction of flow. All of the equipment 4 required to harvest the kinetic energy from the water, e.g. generator or hydraulic pump, is mounted on the central axle of the device.

Description

Floating Waterwheel This invention relates to a floating device which

is designed to harvest kinetic energy derived from the motion of water in a river or stream and transmit it to the bank or an adjacent floating vessel.

Most existing systems used to extract kinetic energy from rivers or streams are fixed on the bank of the river and require the construction of major permanent civil engineering works.

which are expensive and obstruct the flow of the river. Floating systems such as those described in patents US2006119107, DE10210597, DE4012375, BE896908, JP57126574, US4286347, GB708691 and JP58062381 do not obstruct the flow of the river significantly as they only require a suitable mooring, but they are all mounted on or between one or more hulls or pontoons. FR2879680 does not use a separate hull but has a water tight hub which acts as an integral flotation cell to provide its buoyancy.

I have now devised a simple self-contained device that does not require support from pontoons floats or other buoyancy devices as the wheel itself is made from materials that are sufficiently buoyant to support its weight and that of whatever mechanical device it uses to extract the energy and transfer it to the bank.

This device takes the form of a floating water wheel made from light weight materials such as foamed plastics which are of sufficient bulk to allow the device to float on or in the surface of the water without needing any external buoyancy devices such as hulls pontoons or buoyancy bags. It may or may not use a metal, plastic or fabric structure or reinforcement to keep the structure intact and inherently stable.

The waterwheel will be moored by ropes cables or rods running in or above the surface of the water either directly to the bank pier bridge buoy or other floating device moored in the river or from a cable or cables stretched across the river. It will be moored in such a way as to maintain the axis of the wheel parallel to the surface of the water and perpendicular to its direction of flow.

In accordance with this invention the paddles of the water wheel will dip into the water to allow the current to rotate the wheel and a suitable mechanism such as a generator I alternator I hydraulic pump / pneumatic compressor will be mounted in or on the central axle of the water wheel with or without gears to transfer power from the wheel to the generator / alternator / hydraulic pump I pneumatic compressor mechanism. The energy produced will be transferred directly to the shore or floating vessel by means of electrical cables I hydraulic or pneumatic hoses as appropriate for the chosen mechanism.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of an example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which; Figure 1 is cut away view from the front of the wheel showing the position of the mechanical equipment mounted within the water wheel.

Figure 2 is a cross section through the middle of the wheel perpendicular to figure 1 Figure 3 is a side view of the whole assembly showing the position of the mooring lines Figure 4 is a plan view of the wheel showing the position of the mooring lines One such example of this concept would use an expanded plastic such as expanded polystyrene for the fabric of the wheel and paddles with an appropriate axle and suitable dynamo or alternator assembly including gears are mounted on the axle as shown in figures 1,2,3 and 4.

Referring to figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings the wheel is made up from horizontal paddles (1) end disks (2) with an axle (3) running horizontally through the middle of the wheel carrying the generator (4) and the gears (5). Mooring points (6) are mounted on either end of the axle, where it projects beyond the wheel so that mooring lines (7) can be securely attached to maintain the wheel in its operating position in the river.

The buoyancy is provided by the displacement of water by the submerged paddles (1) and those parts of the wheel rim I reinforcement disks (2) which are also submerged. There will be at least two reinforcement disks, one close to each end of the device but larger devices may have several more disks distributed at equal distances across their width. The two outer disks will be secured firmly to the axle in such a way as to transfer the kinetic energy from the blades to the axle (3) and thence via the gearbox (4) to the generator mechanism (5) The energy will be transferred from the wheel by electric cable running through the centre of one end disk/hub and along the mooring cable to the bank or adjacent vessel, where it can be used or stored as required.

Claims (8)

1. Claims - 1. The water wheel is sufficiently buoyant to float in the

   surface of the water.
2. 2. It will be cheaper to manufacture and to deploy than equivalent devices.
3. 3. It will be lighter and more compact than any similar device.
4. 4. It will not require any major construction work in the river or on the bank.
5. 5. It will extract energy from shallow water.
6. 6. It can be deployed in any water course which is big enough for it to fit into and float.
7. 7. It is totally self-contained with all relevant mechanisms to convert the kinetic energy from the water into electrical or mechanical energy mounted on the central axle of the wheel.
8. 8. It can be used as part of a temporary installation and relocated wherever it is needed.