237results about "Energy supply" patented technology

A charging system for an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) is disposed within a submerged docking station. The charging system includes a battery, one or more generators, and a charge controller. The battery supplies electrical power to an electrical distribution bus in the docking station. The charge controller monitors the charge state of the battery and, when needed, activates one or more of the generators to recharge the battery. The charge controller also activates one or more of the generators when a UUV is docked in the docking station for recharging of its power plant.

Systems and associated methods for rapid integration and control of payloads carded by a multi-mode, unmanned vehicle configured to accommodate a variety of payloads of varying size, shape, and interface and control characteristics. Mechanical, power, signal, and logical interfaces to a variety of payloads operate to enable environmental protection, efficient placement and connection to the vehicle, and control of those payloads in multiple environmental modes as well as operational modes (including in air, on the surface of water surface, and underwater).

Provided is a power module for use in a marine vessel and a wind-propelled vessel provided with such a power module. The power module includes: a sail storage housing which has at least a portion thereof arranged below a deck of a marine vessel and having an opening on an upper end thereof; a sail which is movable between a storage position located inside the sail storage housing and a use position at which the sail projects from the deck in the vertical direction; and a sail movement unit which is configured to move the sail between the storage position and the use position.

A buoyant hydrodynamic pump is disclosed that can float on a surface of a body of water over which waves tend to pass. The pump incorporates an open-bottomed tube with a constriction. The tube partially encloses a substantial volume of water with which the tube's constriction interacts, creating and / or amplifying oscillations therein in response to wave action. Wave-driven oscillations result in periodic upward ejections of portions of the water inside the tube that can be collected in a reservoir that is at least partially positioned above the mean water level of the body of water, or pressurized by compressed air or gas, or both. Water within such a reservoir may return to the body of water via a turbine, thereby generating electrical power (making the device a wave engine), or else the device's pumping action can be used for other purposes such as water circulation, propulsion, or cloud seeding.

The invention discloses an anchor system of a floating-type photovoltaic power station. The anchor system comprises a base body, a floating body and a mooring rope, wherein the base body is arranged under the water; the floating body is provided with a plurality of floating body pulleys; the base body is provided with a plurality of base body pulleys; the mooring rope is sequentially wound on the floating body pulleys and the base body pulleys and then is connected with the floating-type photovoltaic power station, so that the distance between the base body and the floating-type photovoltaic power station changes along with the change of the water level; the quantity of the base body pulleys is not smaller than that of the floating body pulleys, so that the condition that the floating-type photovoltaic power station always floats on the water in the water level changing process is ensured; and the anchor system can be applicable to the environment with a relatively large water level change. The invention further discloses the floating-type photovoltaic power station.

A floating buoy includes a buoy hull having a tower that extends outwardly from the hull. A plurality of sensors are mounted either on the buoy hull, within the buoy hull, and / or on the tower. The plurality of sensors includes at least one met-ocean sensor, at least one ecological sensor, and at least one wind speed measurement sensor. The floating buoy further includes an autonomous power system that is configured to provide electrical power to each of the plurality of sensors. The wind speed measurement sensor may be a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) wind speed measurement sensor, a surface level wind speed sensor, an ultrasonic wind speed sensor, or SODAR.

The invention provides an ocean monitoring buoy of an improved structure and belongs to the technical field of ocean buoys. The ocean monitoring buoy comprises a first floating body, a cylindrical part and a conic part. A vertical through hole is formed in the first floating body. A horizontal through hole is formed in the upper portion of the cylindrical part. The upper end of the vertical through hole extends to the cylindrical part and communicates with the horizontal through hole. The lower end of the vertical through hole penetrates through the conic part. A wind driven generator is arranged in the vertical through hole. Two guide grooves are formed in the lower side wall of the vertical through hole. A metal piston rod is arranged in the vertical through hole. A piston is arranged atthe upper end of the metal piston rod. Two sliding blocks are arranged on the side wall of the metal piston rod and arranged in the guide grooves in a sliding mode. Springs are arranged in the two guide grooves. The lower ends of the springs are fixed to the lower ends of the guide grooves. The upper ends of the springs are fixedly connected to the sliding blocks. A fixing ring is arranged at thelower end of the metal piston rod and connected with an anchor through a locating anchor chain. The wind driven generator is electrically connected with a storage battery. The ocean monitoring buoy has the advantages of being good in wind and wave resistance, capable of using wave energy for generating power and the like.

Apparatuses and associated methods for converting wave energy into electrical energy are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a surface-based buoy can be connected to a magnetostrictive element that changes its output voltage when subjected to the in tension. To keep the heave plate under tension, a tether with a heave plate can be attached to the magnetostrictive element. Since the magnetostrictive element can be sensitive to zero tension (e.g., a slack in the tether) followed by a sudden increase in the tension, in at least some embodiments it is preferred to keep the magnetostrictive element tensioned at all times. In some embodiments of the present technology, an inertia-dominated heave plate may be designed to sink faster than the buoy falls in the trough of the wave, therefore keeping the tether tensioned at all times. For example, the design (e.g., mass, diameter, height) of the heave plate can be such that the static force of gravity S exceeds a sum of the drag D and inertia I under expected wave conditions.

A flexible lifting tether system for lifting a marine vehicle or object is described which is capable of significantly improving the primary characteristics of an existing cable by enhancing load-carrying capabilities (e.g. in air), modifying the tether to have altered specific gravities in water, and relieving torsional stresses when in operation.

The invention provides an anti-fouling lighting system (1) configured for preventing or reducing biofouling on a fouling surface (1201) of an object (1200) that during use is at least temporarily exposed to a liquid, by providing an anti-fouling light (211) to said fouling surface (1201), the anti-fouling lighting system (1) comprising: —a lighting module (200) comprising a light source (210) configured to generate an anti-fouling light (211); and —an energy system (500) configured to locally harvest energy and configured to provide electrical power to said light lighting module (200), wherein the energy system (500) comprises (i) a sacrificial electrode (510), and (ii) a second energy system electrode (520), wherein the energy system (500) is configured to provide electrical power to the lighting module (200) when the sacrificial electrode (510) and the second energy system electrode (520) are in electrical contact with the liquid.

A device for shutting off or stopping a marine engine ignition system utilizing a transmitter for generating a wireless signal. The wireless signal is only generated upon association of the transmitter with a mass of water. A receiver acquires the wireless signal and generates a disconnection signal which interrupts the operation of a marine engine.

The invention provides a bionic marine buoy, which comprises a base, an equipment cabin and an energy storage cabin, wherein the base is used for providing buoyancy for the biomimetic marine buoy, anda plurality of anchor chain rings connecting the anchor chains are arranged on the base; the equipment cabin is arranged on the base for storing the monitoring equipment, and the side of the equipment compartment is provided with a waterproof hatch door. An energy storage compartment is arranged on the equipment cabin for collecting, storing and releasing electric energy. In addition, the buoy can realize the shell memory effect on the basis of anti-aging and anti-corrosion, and can realize the shell shape recovery in a short time even if the buoy is impacted, and the buoy has strong sealingproperty, can realize ocean monitoring, and can prevent the detection equipment from being corroded by water vapor. The appearance adopts bionic design, which can achieve better fluidity effect, reduce the impact force of sea water on the buoy, and ensure the structure of the equipment is stable.

An underwater breathing apparatus includes a water resistant enclosure for floating on the surface of a body of water. An air collection header and an air pump for generating a constant flow of breathable air, an air supply line for delivering a flow of the breathable air to a user and a check valve for exhausting used air are also provided. At least one mouth piece connected to one of said supply lines and to a user's mouth together with a solar powered rechargeable battery connected to the air pumps enables the air pump to supply breathable air to the user. A safety flag mounted on the water resistant enclosure and extending upward therefrom indicate the presence of an individual below the surface of the water as does a safety warning light mounted on top of the water resistant enclosure. A fresh air vent tube supplies air to the air pump and prevents water from entering the water resistant enclosure while a jet ski fixed to an underside of said water resistant enclosure and guided by the user is used for moving the water resistant enclosure to a different area. Finally, a tether line connects the user to the jet ski while a retractable hose mechanism automatically reels out air hoses when a diver descends and reels in the air hose when the diver ascends. In the preferred embodiment of the invention a micro-computer contains the data from dive tables and automatically reels in and stops at various steps the air hose.