Balanced wheel-like structure-based wind energy systems

Abstract

A light structure, suitable for reducing cost while the structure is capable of bearing heavy loads, is applied for supporting and stabilizing energy systems floated on a body of water. 20 25 20 34 67 14 M ay 2 02 5 2 0 2 5 2 0 3 4 6 7 1 4 M a y 2 0 2 5

Description

1.1

[0002] Definitions

[0003] Structural elements: referred to plate / shell elements and beam, truss elements as defined in finite element method. Tensile elongate structural elements: referred to beams (tension, compression, bending, twisting), trusses (tension, compression). Bars / ropes / cables / chains (tension). Compressible elongate structural elements: referred to beams, trusses. Straight / curved beam elements: referred to beams (tension, compression, bending, twisting) which are straight of curved. Framed surface structures: referred to a frame structure laid on a surface. Plate / shell structures: composed of plate / shell structural elements. Plate / shell surface elements: referred to plate / shell elements or framed surface structures.

[0004] Photovoltaic mounting system: it is the one used to support solar panels. It can be a frame, a common structure, a rack, a solar tracker, a net of ropes / cables / chains connected together and suspended, or the net above in conjunction with a structure (the net is suspended from the structure). The solar panels are secured to the photovoltaic mounting system. 1.2

[0005] Circular motion-based wave energy converters

[0006] A circular motion-based wave energy converter has a pivot arm (#7, Figure 32, Figure 36, Figure 37) with an end being rotatably attached to a rigid secondary hub or a number of coaxial secondary hubs (#21) and an oscillated float (#8) being attached to the other end of the pivot arm. Each secondary hub, which has a horizontal rotational axis, is secured either indirectly (via a structure, such as a hub-suspended structure, which is then secured to the floating structure) or directly to a floating structure (or, particularly, a structure such as a wheel-like structure or a shell-like structure) which is laid and stabilized on a body of water using a number of supporting floats (#4) attached to it. Some other means can be added to make the floating structure to be more stabilized such as damping systems or mooring systems. Motions of waves of the body of water (#12) oscillates the oscillated float (#8) up and down angularly versus the 2025203467   14 May 2025 secondary hub(s) (#21), making the pivot arm to be rotated in a vertical plane. The wave energy converter (#7 and #8, Figure 32) requires one or a few coaxial secondary hub(s) to be rotatably attached to. It has a vertical symmetric plane, in term of weight distributed, wherein the secondary hub(s) is (are) positioned symmetrically over the symmetric plane containing a vertical cross section of the floating structure (#30). The body of the wave energy converter should be oppositely weights balanced over the symmetric plane.

[0007] As the floating structure is held, floated and stabilized on the body of water, relative motions between the pivot arm and the secondary hub(s) which is(are) secured to the floating structure are used to generate electricity. Mechanical power received from the relative motions rotate a generator-converter set which needs to be capable to output desired form of electricity with desired voltages, desired currents and desired frequencies required to be suitable to synchronize to an electric power transmission system of a grid. The generator-converter set, which comprises a conventional generator and a conventional power converter, has a rotational input shaft rotated by (or used to receive) the mechanical power and a connection for electricity output to connect to the electric power transmission system. As the Mechanical power is variable in both directions and magnitude, the generator-converter set is able not only to generate electricity but also capable to accept the variable mechanical power while it is capable to convert the generated electricity to a form suitable to be synchronized with the desired voltages, desired currents and desired frequencies. The power converter comprises either a mechanical converter or an electric converter or both. The mechanical converter is a conventional gear box, which is used to convert mechanical power from a form to another form of mechanical power (such as changing rotational speeds), including a magnetic continuous variable transmission, which receive the mechanical power then output another form of mechanical power suitable to rotate a conventional generator by changing gears with its variable gear ratios. The electric converter is a device used to convert a form of electricity generated by the generator to another form of electricity with voltages, frequencies and currents reformed to meet requirements to be synchronized to the electric power transmission system. Depending on many factors, which are based on the characteristics of the electric power 2025203467   14 May 2025 transmission system and characteristics of the inputted mechanical power (how it is varied versus time, including its directions, its variable magnitudes, its variable frequencies and so on), the generator-converter set is decided to comprise either the mechanical converter only or the electric converter only or both. There are many types of electric converters which are conventional such as transformers, AC-DC (electric) inverters and so on. It is notable that the mechanical power created by the wave energy converter, like that created by winds, has characteristics to be quite different with other forms of mechanical power created by engines because its wide range of variations of frequencies, its magnitudes and its directions. That is why the generator-converter set is integrated into the wave energy system in order to adapt such kind of variable mechanical power. This type of generator-converter set, although combined from other conventional devices (generator, mechanical converter, electric converter), is aimed to solve matters of efficiencies of wave power harnessed and power conversions: In harnessing wind power, when winds are too weak or too strong, a wind turbine with generator (without a generator-convertor set) may have to halt generating electricity, leading to wasting wind energy. It is similar with harnessing wave energy, particularly with shifting directions of motions of waves (or rotational directions of the inputted mechanical power). This matter can be solved by using a generator-convertor set which can accept any form of inputted mechanical power by using a gear box and adapt with any form of electricity generated by its generator by using an electric converter. As the floating structure is held and stabilized floating on the body of water while the wave energy converter is allowed to be oscillated from crests to troughs of waves, wave energy is harnessed continuously without halting, leading to better efficiencies in harnessing wave energy. If the wave energy converter is expected to be able to reach the crest and the trough of an extreme wave, the length of the pivot arm should be selected between (50% to 100%) of the height of the extreme wave. It means that the oscillated float can reach to the top and to the bottom of a vertical circle which has its diameter to be between (1 to 2) times of the height of the extreme wave, allowing the wave energy converter capable to gain good efficiencies in harnessing wave energy because it is not halted even if extreme waves occur. Furthermore, the harnessed wave energy, in the form of a wide range of variable mechanical power, is then efficiently converted by the generator-converter set to a form of desired electricity. The 2025203467   14 May 2025 combination of the wave energy converter being oscillated from crests to troughs and the generator-converter set solve the matters of efficiencies of wave power harnessed and power conversions: this is an important feature of the combination of the wave energy converter and the generator-converter set.

[0008] The generator-converter set is structurally supported by and secured to the floating structure and connected to a wave energy converter to receive mechanical power harnessed as well as connected to the electric power transmission system to supply electric power generated and deformed. Firstly, the generator-converter set, including all its components, is firmly secured to the floating structure or the secondary hub of the wave energy converter, either directly or indirectly via a supporting structure, allowing the relative position between the generator-converter set and the floating structure or the secondary hub is unchanged at all time. In other words, the housing of the gear box, if there is, and the housing of the generator and the electric converter (including transformers and / or electric inverters) of the generator-converter set are firmly secured to the floating structure. Secondly, the pivot arm of the wave energy converter is connected, either directly or indirectly, to the rotational input shaft of a generator-converter set, allowing rotational oscillations of the pivot arm rotating the rotational input shaft. Thus, mechanical power harnessed by the wave energy converter is transmitted to and rotate the rotational input shaft which is connected either directly or indirectly to the rotor of the generator of the generator-converter set via a gear box which can be controllable or noncontrollable, allowing the rotor being rotated by the mechanical power which is transmitted through the gear box. Thus, the generator generates electricity using the mechanical power harnessed from waves. The gear box can be a torque reducer / enlarger. The gear box can also be mechanical or magnetic. Thirdly, the electric converter is electrically connected to the generator to receive the electric power generated. Then, the electric converter is electrically connected to the electric power transmission system in order to convert the received electric power to a suitable form of electric power which is allowed to be synchronize to the electric power transmission system. 1.3

[0009] Sliding wave energy converters 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0010] A sliding wave energy converter (#8, #80, #81, Figure 3 or Figure 4) has a body (#8) which includes an oscillated float (#8). The oscillated float is secured to a side of a float-supporting structure (#80) which is capable to structurally support and hold the oscillated float sliding up and down, from crest to trough of each wave of a body of water (#12). Another side of the float-supporting structure is secured to a circular sliding ring (#81) which is slidable back and forth (clockwise and anticlockwise) relatively to a stabilized floating structure (#30) thanks to a sliding system which has a primary circular guide rail (first race, #30g, Figure 3 or Figure 4), a number of rollers (#82) being held together by and distributed along the body of a cage (#82c) which is laid and fitted between the primary circular guide rail (first race, #30g) and the circular sliding ring (second race, #81). The floating structure is floated, hold and stabilized on the body of water using a supporting float (#4) which is secured to the floating structure. Relative motions (rotations) between the circular sliding ring and the floating structure are used to generate electricity. It is notable that the circular sliding ring encircles the floating structure (#30, Figure 3) or encircles the oscillated float (#8, Figure 4) of the sliding wave energy converter (Figure 4), meaning that forces created by the oscillated float applies and distributes on the outer / inner surface of the floating structure (#30).

[0011] There are three options with arrangements of the sliding system. The first option is that the rollers are rotatably attached to and positioned around the floating structure circularly, allowing the circular sliding ring being supported by the rollers and capable to slide circularly back and forth. The second option is that the rollers are rotatably attached to a rotatable cage which holds the rollers together and to the cage, allowing the rollers to be rotatable versus the cage. The rollers are positioned / distributed along the surface of (the body) of the circular roller-ring. The rollers are rollable on the primary circular guide rail (#30g, Figure 3 or Figure 4) which is securely attached to the floating structure (#30). The rollers are also rotatable on the secondary circular guide rail which is the circular sliding ring or which is secured to the circular sliding ring. In this case, the primary circular guide rail, the cage, the rollers and the circular sliding ring form a sliding system. The third option is to rotatably attach the rollers to the body and along the body of the circular sliding ring, allowing the rollers rollable on the primary circular guide rail which is secure to the floating structure, and allowing the circular 2025203467   14 May 2025 sliding ring to be capable to slide (rotate) circularly around and on the surface of the primary circular guide rail as well as the outer / inner surface of the floating structure. So, the sliding system allows the circular sliding ring sliding back and forth revolving the centre of the primary circular guide rail for generating electricity basing on relative motions (rotations) between the circular sliding ring and the floating structure. The sliding system has its first race to be the primary circular guide rail and its second race to be the circular sliding ring. It can also be said that the primary circular guide rail (the first race) is secured to the floating structure directly, or mounted by a rigid secondary hub which is secured to the floating structure, or secured to a structure (such as a hub-suspended structure as described in previous / other sections) which is then secured to the floating structure.

[0012] The sliding wave energy converter (Figure 3 or Figure 4) and the circular motionbased wave energy converter (Figure 1 or Figure 2) are different basing on the sliding system (of the sliding wave energy converter) versus the rotary bearing (of the circular motion-based wave energy converter. The rotary bearing is fitted in the secondary hub (#21, Figure 1 or Figure 2) to support circular motions of the oscillated floats (#7 and #8, Figure 1 or #8 Figure 2). The diameter of the circular sliding ring, which encircles the floating structure (#30, Figure 3) or even encircles the oscillated float (#8, Figure 4) of the sliding wave energy converter (Figure 3, Figure 4), is assumed to be much larger than the rotary bearing, which is fit inside a rigid secondary hub being secured to a point of the floating structure, leading to interactions (via forces) of the waves of the body of water and the floating structure to be different: either the forces are concentrated to a point (the secondary hub) to rotate a shaft (rotatably supported by the secondary hub) and redistributed via the body of the secondary hub to the whole body of the stabilized floating structure or the forces are distributed onto the outer / inner surface of the stabilized floating structure. This leads to differences in efficiencies of harnessing wave energy related to the ineffective angle w as explained in previous / other sections: the larger the diameter of the gear is, the smaller the ineffective angle w is. The circular sliding ring with larger diameter for larger gears attached (to the circular sliding ring) allows to gain a smaller ineffective angle w than the rotary bearing with smaller diameter for smaller gears attached (to a race of the rotary bearing of which the race is 2025203467   14 May 2025 rotated by the pivot arm or the body of the wave energy converter), making the sliding wave energy converter to be more efficient in harnessing wave energy (the wave energy harnessed by the wave energy converter is firstly transmitted through the gears then finally used to rotate the generator (or an electricity-generating mechanism)). One may argue that a large-diameter gear can be attached to a small shaft supported by a small rotary bearing. However, as mechanical systems of wave energy systems working on powerful waves of oceans which create very power full multidirectional forces, such gear must also be bended, largely, beside rotated by ocean waves, leading to damaging the shaft and the rotary bearing. In other words, such offshore mechanical systems work basing on both large torque and significantly large bending forces with low speeds while onshore mechanical systems work basing mainly on torque which high speeds. That is why the sliding wave energy converter targets to integrate large sliding systems which can surround a large part of a structure such as an oscillated float.

[0013] The (circular) sliding wave energy converter above can be simplified as follows: the circular sliding ring (#81, Figure 3 or Figure 4) is replaced with an arc sliding bar (#81, Figure 5) and the primary circular guide rail (#30g, Figure 3) is replaced with an arc guide rail (#30g, Figure 5). The only condition is that the rollers are arranged to be capable to hold the arc sliding bar to the arc guide rail while the arc sliding bar is sliding (the distance from the arc sliding bar to the arc guide rail is maintained at a constant. The rollers are arranged to be capable to prevent both inward and outward moves of the arc sliding bar.) The lengths of the arc sliding bar and the arc guide rail are decided basing on elevations of crests and troughs of waves that the lengths are enough for the oscillated float to move angularly within an allowable angle.

[0014] Instead of sliding circularly (Figure 3 or Figure 4) or angularly, within limits (Figure 5), the sliding wave energy converter can slide linearly, within limit, as presented in Figure 6. In this case, the arc sliding bar (#81, Figure 5) is replace with a linear sliding bar (#81, Figure 6) and the arc guide rail (#30g, Figure 5) is replaced with an inner linear guide rail (#30g, Figure 6). The lengths of the linear sliding bar and the inner linear guide rail are decided basing on elevations of crests and troughs of waves that the lengths are enough for the oscillated float to move linearly within an allowable distance. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0015] So, the (circular) sliding wave energy converter has a circular sliding ring (#81, Figure 3) and a primary circular guide rail (#30g, Figure 3) while the (angular) sliding wave energy converter has an arc sliding bar (#81, Figure 5) and an arc guide rail (#30g, Figure 5). Similarly, the (linear) sliding wave energy converter has a linear sliding bar (#81, Figure 6) and an inner linear guide rail (#30g, Figure 6).

[0016] The circular motion-based wave energy converter (Figure 1 and Figure 2), the (circular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 3 or Figure 4), the (angular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 5) and the (linear) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 6) are different on how the body of water and these wave energy converters and the floating structure interact together, how the forces from the wave energy converters applied to the body of the floating structure, leading to how the structural components of the floating structure are arranged, resulting to different costs for making the wave energy converters, meaning that they are different in cost-effectiveness with respect to different working conditions. 1.4

[0017] Wheel-based wave energy converters

[0018] A wheel-based wave energy converter (Figure 14, Figure 15, Figure 16) is a circular motion-based wave energy converter (Figure 1) which has its pivot arm (#7, Figure 1) replaced with a rigid wheel-like structure (#81, Figure 14, Figure 15, Figure 16). So, the body of the wheel-based wave energy converter contains a wheel-like structure and an oscillated float. The wheel-based wave energy converter has the same features of the circular motion-based wave energy converter, except the wheel-like structure.

[0019] The wheel-like structure has a rigid structural ring (#89), a rigid primary hub (#21p, Figure 14, Figure 15, Figure 16), which has a horizontal rotational axis, and a number of spokes (#88). Each spoke has two ends: the first end is secure to the ring while the other end is secured to the primary hub, allowing the primary hub being suspended by the spokes, in any directions, to the ring which encircles the spokes and the primary hub. The oscillated float (#8) is secured to the ring either directly or indirectly via a float-supporting structure (#80) which is secured to both the oscillated float and the ring, allowing the oscillated float and the ring being secured together via 2025203467   14 May 2025 the float-supporting structure. The primary hub (#21p) mounts / secures the first race of a rotary bearing while the second race of the rotary bearing is secured to a stabilized floating structure (#30, Figure 14 and Figure 21), or mounted by a rigid secondary hub which is then secured to the floating structure, or secured to a structure which is then secured to the floating structure. The floating structure is held, floated and stabilized on a body of water (#12), allowing the wheel-like structure, and the oscillated float, being oscillated by waves of the body of water, from crests to troughs, and being revolved around the first race (or the primary hub). The stabilized floating structure is floated by a supporting float (#4, Figure 21)

[0020] The wheel-like structure applies the same principles of a wheel. Any force applied on the body of the ring is then transmitted / distributed along the body of the ring and then transmitted along the spokes to the primary hub. Any force applied to the primary hub is transmitted / distributed through the spokes to the ring. Thus, the wheel can bear forces applied to the ring or the primary hub or the spokes. The structure of the wheel can be light / thin but stiff to be capable to bear large forces. In addition, as the wheel-like structure allows its spokes to be tensioned, or the lengths of the spokes are allowed to be longer while the body of the spokes are thinner. This explains why a thin wheel of a bicycle can bear large loads.

[0021] The purpose of using the wheel-like structure is to allow the wheel-based wave energy converter working with multi directional large forces while the wheel-like structure is stiff and thin for saving materials and improving reliability of the wheelbased wave energy converter operating on the body of water.

[0022] Although it is more usual that the ring is circular and the primary hub is located at the centre of the ring, the wheel-like structure still allows to have its primary hub positioned anywhere either on the body of the ring (Figure 19) or in the inner area encircled by the ring (Figure 16, Figure 17, Figure 18). Furthermore, the shape of ring is not necessary to be circular. It can be an oval, a polygon or an enclosed lines formed from straight and / or curved lines (Figure 18). 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0023] It is better, in term of forces distributed, that the wheel-like structure is a circular wheel having the primary hub positioned at its centre (although other variations of the wheel-like structure are still workable). The spokes can be arranged to be tangential to the primary hub (Figure 15) and / or axial to the primary hub (Figure 16). The tangential spokes require stiffer ring but the spokes are allowed to be thinner. The axial spokes require a less stiff ring but the spokes must be capable to resist bending.

[0024] The wheel-like structure can be a rigid surface structure composed from structural elongate structural elements, which form a framed surface structure, and / or structural plate / shell surface elements, which form a plate / shell surface structure (Figure 20). In this case, the ring (#89, Figure 20), which is rigid, is the perimeter of the surface structure (#81, Figure 20). The surface structure can be composed from flat and / or non-flat surfaces. The primary hub is secured to the surface structure while the ring (or the perimeter of the surface structure or the body of the surface structure is secured to the float-supporting structure which supports and secures the oscillated float to the body of the wave energy converter.

[0025] The surface structure comprises a mesh wrapping the 3D surface and being composed from a number of lines and a number of nodes, each line having two ends positioned at two nodes being located on the 3D surface, each node having neighbouring lines intersected together at the node, the lines and the nodes forming a number of nonoverlapped polygons, each edge of each polygon being a line and each vertex of the polygon being a node.

[0026] The surface structure further comprises a network basing on the mesh and being composed from a number of structural elements which includes a number of structural polygonal plate / shell surface elements and / or a number of structural elongate elongate structural elements, each plate / shell element being an elemental solid plate structure and being fitted in a polygon, neighbouring elements intersected together at each edge of each plate / shell element being secured together at points along the edge and / or at two nodes located at two ends of the edge, each elongate structural element being an elemental structure laid along a line and having two ends positioned at two nodes, neighbouring elements intersected together at each node being secured together at the 2025203467   14 May 2025 node, the network and the joining nodes forming the surface structure modelling a shell / plate. 1.5

[0027] Hollow body-based wave energy converters

[0028] A hollow body-based wave energy converter (HBB-WEC) is a circular motionbased wave energy converter (Figure 1 and Figure 2) or a wheel-based wave energy converter (Figure 14, Figure 15, Figure 16) or a (circular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 3 or Figure 4) or an (angular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 5) or a (linear) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 6) which has a hollow body composed from a surface structure and an oscillated float being securely attached to the surface structure (or the body). The body of the HBB-WEC applies the same principles of the body of an air plane (Figure 7 in order to gain a stiffest body while the body is light for cost-effective and capable to work in a fluid(air) body which creates forces applied onto the body, making the body to be bended and twisted along the body ae well as pressured inward / outward. Beside the weights of the plane and cargo carried, the body (#76) is supported by a wing (#75) which create supporting forces (#79) to hold the body floating in the air. The body is further bended and twisted by horizontal (#78) and vertical (#77) stabilizers while it is working in the air having unstable currents (#74) which also pressure the body inward / outward. The body of the plane has a surface structure which is capable to cope with such the kinds of forces applied. The surface structure, which is stretched on the surface of the body, comprises a framed surface structure and a shell surface structure being secured together, in which, both the structures work together to resist bending and twisting and to bear inward / outward pressures created by the currents of air. All structural components of the body are laid on the surface of the body because the surface is the best place for the structural components positioned in order to provide the best abilities to resist bending and twisting while the surface structure is cost-effective. So, it can be understood that the body of the air plane is hinged or secured to a wing, pressured inward / outward, floated, bended and twisted in the currents of air (fluid). In this case, a layer of surface structure laid on the surface of the body is the best solution for a stiffest, lightest and a most costeffective structure. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0029] The HBB-WEC is based on the same principles of the body of the air plane. Firstly, the HBB-WEC has a rigid primary hub (#21p, Figure 1), which has a horizontal rotational axis, and a body which has a rigid pivot arm (#7, Figure 1) and an oscillated float (#8, Figure 1). The oscillated float is secured to an available point of the body or an end of the pivot arm of the wave energy converter while the primary hub is secured to another available point of the body or the other end of the pivot arm of the wave energy converter. The primary hub securely mounts the first race of a slidable support (such as a rotary bearing) which is used to support rotations / motions of the wave energy converter with less frictions. The second race of the slidable support (such as the rotary bearing) is securely mounted by a rigid secondary hub which is structurally secured to a stabilized floating structure either directly or indirectly via a hub-supporting structure (the hub-supporting structure is secured to the floating structure while the secondary hub is secured to the hub-supporting structure). The hub-supporting structure is simply a base used to support and secure the secondary hub to the stabilized floating structure. So, the body or the pivot arm of the wave energy converter is pivotally attached to the secondary hub, allowing the oscillated float capable to rotate the body or pivot arm of the wave energy converter to revolve around the horizontal rotational axis of the secondary hub and capable of being oscillated by waves of a body of water (#12), from crests to troughs, thereby energy of relative rotational motions between the body or the pivot arm of the wave energy converter and the secondary hub is used to generate electricity. The stabilized floating structure is held, floated by a float (#4) and stabilized on the body of water. There are no further requirements for the floating structure, including its shapes and arrangements of its structural components, except requirements that the floating structure is capable to support, hold and stabilize the HBB-WEC on the body of water while the floating structure and the pivot arm and the oscillated float are all oscillated by waves with different rates of frequencies.

[0030] The structure of the HBB-WEC contains the structure of the pivot arm (pivot arm structure) and the structure of the oscillated float (oscillated float structure) being secured together. The pivot arm structure is a surface structure. The oscillated float structure is another surface structure. As a result, the structural body of the HBB-WEC 2025203467   14 May 2025 is also a surface structure. The body of the HBB-WEC contains the pivot arm and the oscillated float.

[0031] Similar to the wing (#75, Figure 7 which creates supporting forces (#79, Figure 7 applied to the surface of the structural body (#76, Figure 7 of the air plane, the primary hub (#21p, Figure 1 and Figure 8) which creates supporting forces (#79b, Figure 1) applied to the body (#7 and #8, Figure 1) of the HBB-WEC. Forces caused by motions of the currents of water, created by kinetic energy of waves, and buoyant forces (#78b, Figure 1), created by potential energy, bend and twist the body (#7 and #8, Figure 1) of the HBB-WEC. These forces (#78b), which are applied to the float (#8) and the pivot arm (#7) of the HBB-WEC, work similar to the forces created by the horizontal stabilizer (#78, Figure 7 and the vertical stabilizer (#77, Figure 7 which bend and twist the body of the air plane. So, while the body of the air plane works in a context of (in interactions of) the air (fluid), the wing and the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, the body of the HBB-WEC works in a context of (in interactions of) the body of water (fluid), the primary hub and the (oscillated) floating structure and the forces caused by motions of the body of water. Thus, the structural body of the HBB-WEC interacts together with the body of water, the oscillated float and the stabilized floating structure which includes the supporting float (#4, Figure 1). The stabilized floating structure, although being stabilized, to some extends, due to natures of a floating object, might be lightly oscillated.

[0032] Particularly, each of the stabilized floating structure and the body of the HBB-WEC interacts with the other via both the secondary hub, which is mounted to the stabilized floating structure, and the primary hub working like a hinge as well as the body of water. Furthermore, as the body of the HBB-WEC rotates a generator (or an electricity-generating mechanism), the body of the HBB-WEC also receives structural / mechanical responses (reaction forces) from the stabilized floating structure and the generator while it is rotated.

[0033] Among several options for structures of the body of the HBB-WEC, in order to resist bending and twisting and pressurizing the body of the HBB-WEC with a solution for cost-effective and light weight, the body of the HBB-WEC which includes the pivot 2025203467   14 May 2025 arm and the oscillated float, has a surface structure stretched on the 3D surface of the body of the HBB-WEC. The surface structure is the most appropriate structure, in term of stiffness and costs-effective, for coping with multidirectional forces, as explained above, caused by motions of the body of water, motions of the pivot arm, motions of the oscillated float (revolving back and forth / clockwise and anticlockwise), inward / outward pressures caused by the (fluid) body of water, motions of the stabilized floating structure and rotations of the generator (or an electricity-generating mechanism). At each cross-section of the body of the HBB-WEC, in order to cope with multidirectional forces and to resist bending, twisting as well as pressurizing the body of the HBB-WEC at the cross-section, structural components at the cross-section need to be arranged / positioned as close to the perimeter of the cross-section as possible, meaning that the structural components are required to be laid on the perimeter of the cross-section for improving stiffness and reducing weights, leading to cost-effective. Multidirectional forces applied on the body of the oscillated float are transmitted along the 3D surface of the body of the HBB-WEC through its surface structure to the primary hub then to the secondary hub where the forces are partly used to rotate a generator (or an electricity-generating mechanism) while the other part of the forces is transmitted to then through the stabilized floating structure, which is lightly oscillated, then continued to be transmitted back to the body of water. While the forces are transmitted through the surface structure, it causes tensions and compressions and shears, which are changed and / or shifted at all time, at different parts of the surface structure. These tensions, compressions and shears resist bending and twisting the body of the HBB-WEC. So, the surface structure, which is cost-effective and light weight, is used, under interactions of multidirectional forces, for handling operations of the HBB-WEC being rotatably attached to the stabilized floating structure on the body of water for generating electricity by rotating the generator (or an electricity-generating mechanism). In other words, the being revolved surface structure (the being revolved body) of the HBB-WEC receives the multidirectional forces then distributes the forces throughout the surface structure then through the primary hub then the secondary hub to rotate the generator (or an electricity-generating mechanism). As the forces is spread / distributed throughout the surface structure via a plurality of structural elements / components which are used to compose the surface structure and which are 2025203467   14 May 2025 distributed relatively surrounding the primary hub (on the surface of the surface structure where the primary hub is secured to), magnitudes of tensions, compression and shear forces created inside the structural elements / components are less, allowing the structural elements / components made with smaller profiles, leading to lighter weights.

[0034] There is no restriction with the shape of the oscillated float, as long as it is hollow and sealed from water, making the float having a sealed inner space in order to be capable to create buoyant forces when a part of the float is submerged in the body of water. So, the shape of the oscillated float can be any shape, including a cube, a hollow cylinder, a cone, a pyramid, a sphere, a cap of a sphere, a rectangular prism, a prism, a polyhedron, a combination of two or more of the above shapes, and so on, of which the shape has a 3D surface where the surface structure of the float is laid.

[0035] Beside buoyant forces created by potential energy of the column of the body of water, it is more efficient with further harnessing wave energy by utilizing kinetic power of the waves of the body of water (Figure 13) if the shape of the oscillated float (#8) contains a surface (#8s) facing onto the bodies of coming waves (#84), creating upward kinetic forces (#86) converted from the kinetic power of the horizontal motions (#84) of the coming waves due to impacts of the coming waves with the body of the oscillated float. The upward kinetic forces (#86) further revolve the oscillated float together with the body of the pivot arm of the wave energy converter around the primary hub (when the coming waves (#84) hit the surface (#8s) with the horizontal forces (#84), the surface, which is sustained by the stabilized floating structure, creates reaction forces to be tangential to the primary hub as well as the secondary hub. The sums of the reaction forces and the horizontal forces (#84) are the upward kinetic forces which make the oscillated float revolving upward while redirect the coming waves to move downward). So, in order to create the upward kinetic forces, the surface of the oscillated float, on which where the coming waves hit, forms an acute angle (#87) with respect to the directions of the horizontal forces, allowing the coming waves tending to redirect downward while the oscillated float tending to revolve upward. The surface is not necessary to be flat. It is decided (how large the surface is, how curved or flat the 2025203467   14 May 2025 surface is) depending on wave data, the length of the pivot arm (or the body of the oscillated float) and the elevation of the primary hub which are required when the surface is designed.

[0036] An appropriate shape of a front side, which faces to the coming waves of the oscillated float, looks like a hull, particularly the front of the hull of a ship. Otherwise, the shape of the front side is simply a nonvertical wall which can redirect the coming waves going downward angularly. As a result, the coming waves tend to push the front side upward, allowing the wave anergy converter capable to harness more kinetic energy from the waves beside the potential energy harnessed thanks to buoyant forces. In order to cope waves coming from more than one direction, the float can have more than one front side, such as 2 or 4 front sides, of which each front side has its shape looking like a hull or the front of the hull of a ship.

[0037] There is also no restriction with the shape of the body or the pivot arm of the wave energy converter, as long as the structural body of the pivot arm allows multidirectional forces being transmitted through in order to be capable to transmit the buoyant forces or any other forces created by the oscillated float via the body or the pivot arm of the wave energy converter to the primary hub then partly to the floating structure and partly to the generator (or an electricity-generating mechanism) in order to generate electricity. So, the shape of the body or the pivot arm can be any shape, including a straight / non-straight beam, a cube, a hollow cylinder, a cone, a pyramid, a sphere, a cap of a sphere, a rectangular prism, a prism, a polyhedron, a combination of two or more of the above shapes, and so on, of which the shape has a 3D surface where the surface of the structural body or the pivot arm is laid. The condition for the body of the pivot arm is that they can work like an arm, allowing the buoyant forces to rotate / revolve the body of the wave energy converter around the primary hub and the secondary hub.

[0038] The shape of the HBB-WEC can be any shape, as long as the body of the HBB-WEC is allowed to be rotatably attached to a rigid secondary hub, which is secured to the stabilized floating structure and has a horizontal rotational axis, allowing the body of the HBB-WEC to be oscillated by waves, from crest to trough, to revolve around the 2025203467   14 May 2025 secondary hub (as well as the primary hub). As the body of the HBB-WEC revolves around the primary hub (and the secondary hub), the body also functions like a pivot arm for creating twisting moments (torques) and transmitting forces to the primary hub (and the secondary hub), meaning that it is not necessary to define any pivot arm comprised in the body. The shape of the HBB-WEC, particularly, includes a cube, a hollow cylinder, a cone, a pyramid, a sphere, a cap of a sphere, a rectangular prism, a prism, a polyhedron, a combination of two or more of the above shapes, and so on, of which the shape has a 3D surface where the surface structure of the HBB-WEC is laid. For example, a spherical HBB-WEC (#8, Figure 2) is also workable without a pivot arm said to be included. It is not necessary to clearly separate which part of the HBB-WEC is the pivot arm and which part is the oscillated float, as long as the body of the HBB-WEC can work as an oscillated float and can transfer forces from the float to the primary hub (and the secondary hub) for rotating the generator (or an electricity-generating mechanism). So, saying that the body of the HBB-WEC containing a pivot arm and an oscillated float means that the HBB-WEC has an oscillated float which accepts forces, including buoyant forces, applied on the surface of the float’s body then the forces are allowed to be transmitted through the surface of the structural body of the HBB-WEC to the primary hub (and the secondary hub), and to the floating structure, in order to rotate the generator (or an electricity-generating mechanism) for generating electricity. As the pivot arm is defined simply for describing that the applied forces can be converted to twisting moments (torque) with respect to the distance (the length of the pivot arm) from the primary hub to the forces, it can be understood that the shape of the HBB-WEC can be any shape which has its body to be capable to convert the applied forces to twisting moments (torque) at the primary hub once its oscillated float is applied with the forces. In other words, the body of the HBB-WEC and the pivot arm are the same component. For example, the surface of body of a spherical HBB-WEC (#8, Figure 2), which is / has a spherical oscillated float, is a spherical 3D surface where the spherical surface structure of the spherical HBB-WEC is stretched. The spherical surface structure (or the spherical HBB-WEC) is rotatably attached to a rigid primary hub (#21p), which has a horizontal rotational axis, and which is secured to a stabilized floating structure (#30) while the spherical HBB-WEC revolves around the primary hub. The pivot arm of the HBB-WEC is considered as the (left) haft cap of the spherical surface 2025203467   14 May 2025 structure. The left haft cap has its top being rotatably attached to the secondary hub. Thus, any pivot arm mentioned anywhere in this document, in fact, is the body of an HBB-WEC, of which the body has any shape.

[0039] The HBB-WEC can be redescribed in a simpler way, which still remains all previously described features, as follows: The body of the HBB-WEC contains a surface structure (#83, Figure 8 to Figure 12) which is used to protect the body structurally. The body (#7 and #8, Figure 1 or #8 Figure 2 to Figure 6) of the HBB-WEC has an oscillated float (#8, Figure 1 to Figure 6) which is secured to the body (or the surface structure). The oscillated float can be oscillated up and down thanks to buoyant forces, from crests to troughs of waves of a body of water (#12). The body of the HBB-WEC is rotatably or slidably attached to a stabilized floating structure (#30, Figure 1 to Figure 6) via a slidable support (#81 and #82 and #30g, Figure 3 to Figure 6) which has a rigid first race (#81, Figure 3 to Figure 6) and a rigid second race (#30g, Figure 3 to Figure 6) and a friction-reducer (#82, Figure 3 to Figure 6) fitted between the two races (the first race and the second race), allowing the two races being held together while each of the two races is sliding on the other thanks to supports created by the friction-reducer for less friction. An example of the slidable support is a rotary bearing (#81 and #82 and #30g, Figure 3 to Figure 5) or a linear bearing (#81 and #82 and #30g, Figure 6). The first race is secured to the body of the HBB-WEC (or the first race is mounted by a rigid primary hub which is secured to the body of the HBB-WEC) while the second race is secured to the stabilized floating structure (or the second race is mounted by a rigid secondary hub (#21, Figure 1 and Figure 2) which is secured to the stabilized floating structure. Motions of the oscillated float make the body of the HBB-WEC (or the first race) moving relatively with the stabilized floating structure (or the second race). Relative motions between the body of the HBB-WEC and the floating structure, or between the first race and the second race, are used for generating electricity. The HBB-WEC presented in Figure 1 or Figure 2 also has a rotary bearing, which is a slidable support, fitted between the secondary hub (#21) and the primary hub (#21p) to hold the primary hub and the secondary hub together. The floating structure is held and floated and stabilized on the body of water. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0040] The surface of the body of the HBB-WEC is a 3D surface which has any shape. The structure of the HBB-WEC, which is the structural body of the HBB-WEC, is a rigid surface structure.

[0041] The surface structure comprises a mesh wrapping the 3D surface and being composed from a number of lines and a number of nodes, each line having two ends positioned at two nodes being located on the 3D surface, each node having neighbouring lines intersected together at the node, the lines and the nodes forming a number of nonoverlapped polygons, each edge of each polygon being a line and each vertex of the polygon being a node.

[0042] The surface structure further comprises a network basing on the mesh and being composed from a number of structural elements which includes a number of structural polygonal plate / shell surface elements and / or a number of structural elongate elongate structural elements, each plate / shell element being an elemental solid plate structure and being fitted in a polygon, neighbouring elements intersected together at each edge of each plate / shell element being secured together at points along the edge and / or at two nodes located at two ends of the edge, each elongate structural element being an elemental structure laid along a line and having two ends positioned at two nodes, neighbouring elements intersected together at each node being secured together at the node, the network and the joining nodes forming the surface structure modelling a shell.

[0043] The oscillated float, or the structure of the oscillated float, is secured to the body (or the surface structure) of the HBB-WEC. The surface structure can further include a float-supporting structure (#80) which is a structural joint / support simply used to secure the surface structure to the primary hub. The float-supporting structure has an available side being secured to a point or points of the surface structure while another available side is secured the primary hub which mounts / secures the first race of a slidable support. The second race of the slidable support is mounted by or secured to a rigid secondary hub which is secured to the stabilized floating structure, allowing the surface structure revolving around the primary hub (and the secondary hub), or moving 2025203467   14 May 2025 along the second race, with supports of the slidable support, which can be a rotary bearing or a set of rack and pinion gears for linear / circular motions.

[0044] When it is said the that an HBB-WEC is secured to a component or rotatably attached to a rigid secondary hub, which has a horizontal rotational axis, it is also equivalent to saying that its surface structure (of its body) is secured to the component or rotatably attached to the secondary hub. So, similarly, the surface structure (or the body) of any one of the (circular / angular / linear) sliding wave energy converters is securely attached to their sliding ring or arc sliding bar or linear sliding bar respectively, allowing the HBB-WEC sliding back and forth, from crests to troughs of waves, wherein relative motions between the sliding ring or the arc sliding bar or the linear sliding bar, respectively, and the stabilized floating structure are used for generating electricity.

[0045] The structural elements can be secured together either directly or indirectly via node joints as explained in previous / other sections. Materials used to make the body of the HBB-WEC can be carbon fibre or steel or any others. 1.6

[0046] Efficient wave energy converters

[0047] An efficient wave energy converter (E-WEC) is a circular motion-based wave energy converter (Figure 1 and Figure 2) or a wheel-based wave energy converter (Figure 14, Figure 15, Figure 16) or a (circular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 3 or Figure 4) or an (angular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 5) or a (linear) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 6) which has an oscillated float used to rotate a gear system featured to be efficient for harnessing wave energy. How efficient the oscillated float works depends on how the gear system is because motions of the oscillated float, of which the motions decide how much wave energy harnessed, depends on both motions of the waves and reaction forces of the gear system. So, the aim is to create the efficient wave energy converter which can harness wave energy efficiently thanks to its gear system.

[0048] A circular motion-based wave energy converter (Figure 22), as described in related sections, can rotate a primary gear (#66, Figure 22)) which is secured to its pivot 2025203467   14 May 2025 arm (#7): The primary gear is secured to an end of the pivot arm and arranged coaxially with the secondary hub of the wave energy converter while the other end of the pivot arm is secured to a float (#8) which oscillates the pivot arm angularly thanks to buoyant forces created by a body of water (#12). The pivot arm revolves around the horizontal rotational axis of the secondary hub and capable of being oscillated by waves of the body of water, from crests to troughs, thereby energy of relative rotational motions between the pivot arm and the stabilized floating structure is used to generate electricity. A rotatable secondary gear (#67, Figure 22)) is rotatably secured to the stabilized floating structure (which is referred in the description of the circular motionbased wave energy converter), allowing the secondary gear to be rotatable and being supported by the stabilized floating structure via a rotary bearing. The primary gear and the secondary gear, which engages together for rotations via mechanical or magnetic interactions, can be coaxial or noncoaxial.

[0049] A wheel-based wave energy converter (Figure 14, Figure 15, Figure 16, Figure 22) can rotate a primary gear (#66, Figure 22) which is coaxially secured to its wheel-like structure (#81, Figure 14), for example, by securing to its structural ring (#89, Figure 14) or its spokes (#88, Figure 14) or its secondary hub (#21, Figure 14), allowing the wheellike structure being revolved around the secondary hub while the primary gear being rotated coaxially with the secondary hub. The wheel-like structure rotates / revolves around the horizontal rotational axis of the secondary hub and capable of being oscillated by waves of the body of water, from crests to troughs, thereby energy of relative rotational motions between the wheel-like structure and the stabilized floating structure (#30, Figure 14) is used to generate electricity. A rotatable secondary gear (#67, Figure 22) is rotatably secured to the stabilized floating structure (#30, Figure 14, Figure 22) which is referred in the description of the wheel-based wave energy converter, allowing the secondary gear to be rotatable and being supported by the stabilized floating structure via a rotary bearing. The primary gear and the secondary gear, which engages together for rotations to transmit mechanical power using mechanical or magnetic interactions between the teeth of the gears, can be coaxial (Figure 22) or noncoaxial (Figure 21). 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0050] Similarly, a (circular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 3) can rotate a primary gear (#66, Figure 22) which is coaxially secured to its circular sliding ring (#81, Figure 3), allowing the circular sliding ring and the primary gear being rotated coaxially with the horizontal rotational axis of the secondary hub. The circular sliding ring rotates / revolves around the horizontal rotational axis of the secondary hub and capable of being oscillated by waves of the body of water, from crests to troughs, thereby energy of relative rotational motions between the circular sliding ring and the stabilized floating structure is used to generate electricity. A rotatable secondary gear is rotatably secured to the stabilized floating structure which is referred in the description of the (circular) sliding wave energy converter, allowing the secondary gear to be rotatable and being supported by the stabilized floating structure via a rotary bearing. The primary gear and the secondary gear, which engages together for rotations via mechanical or magnetic interactions, can be coaxial or noncoaxial.

[0051] An (angular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 5) can rotate a primary gear (#66, Figure 22) which is coaxially secured to the arc sliding bar (#81, Figure 5), allowing the arc sliding bar being revolved coaxially around the horizontal rotational axis of the secondary hub while the primary gear being rotated coaxially with the horizontal rotational axis of the secondary hub. The arc sliding bar rotates / revolves around the horizontal rotational axis of the secondary hub and capable of being oscillated by waves of the body of water, from crests to troughs, thereby energy of relative rotational motions between the arc sliding bar and the stabilized floating structure is used to generate electricity. A rotatable secondary gear is rotatably secured to the stabilized floating structure which is referred in the description of the (angular) sliding wave energy converter, allowing the secondary gear to be rotatable and being supported by the stabilized floating structure via a rotary bearing. The primary gear and the secondary gear, which engages together for rotations via mechanical or magnetic interactions, can be coaxial or noncoaxial.

[0052] A (linear) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 6) can move a primary gear, which is a gear rack, linearly and vertically. The primary gear (the gear rack) is secured to the linear sliding bar (#81, Figure 6), allowing the linear sliding bar being slide up and 2025203467   14 May 2025 down linearly and vertically. The linear sliding bar is capable of being oscillated by waves of the body of water, from crests to troughs, thereby energy of relative linear motions between the linear sliding bar and the stabilized floating structure (#30, Figure 6) is used to generate electricity. A rotatable secondary gear is rotatably secured to the stabilized floating structure (#30, Figure 6) which is referred in the description of the (linear) sliding wave energy converter, allowing the secondary gear to be rotatable and being supported by the stabilized floating structure via a rotary bearing. The primary gear and the secondary gear engage together via mechanical or magnetic interactions. Vertical motions of the primary gear (the gear rack) rotate the secondary gear.

[0053] A wave energy converter (WEC) is a circular motion-based wave energy converter (Figure 1 and Figure 2) or a wheel-based wave energy converter (Figure 14, Figure 15, Figure 16) or a (circular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 3 or Figure 4) or an (angular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 5) or a (linear) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 6). The arrangements of a wave energy converter and a pair of mechanical / magnetic gears can be redescribed in another way as follows: the pair of mechanical / magnetic gears has a primary gear (#66, Figure 23) and a secondary gear (#67, Figure 23) which engage together (via pole pairs or planetary gears if these gears are coaxial). The primary gear is fully secured to the first race (or the body of the wave energy converter) and the secondary gear is rotatably secured to the second race (or the floating structure) via a rotary bearing, allowing the secondary gear to be rotatable on the rotary bearing and allowing the two gears interact / engage together mechanically via mechanical interactions created by teeth / planetary gears or magnetic interactions created by magnets (pole pairs) while each of the first race and the second race is sliding on the other, and allowing mechanical power being transmitted between the primary gear and the secondary gear via their mechanical or magnetic interactions. An example is that the first race and the second race are the two races of a rotary bearing while the pair of mechanical / magnetic gears are circular gears and arranged coaxially (the pair of coaxial mechanical gears is a set of planetary gears: the primary gear is the ring gear while the secondary gear is the sun gear of the set of planetary gears). Another example is that the first race is a component having rollers rolling and sliding on the second race 2025203467   14 May 2025 which is a guide rail while the pair of mechanical / magnetic gears is a set of a gear rack and a pinion gear.

[0054] The primary gear repeats its motions (rotations / slides) forward / clockwise and backward / anticlockwise continuously according to motions of waves of the body of water. The primary gear, which is engaged with the secondary gear (#67), rotates the secondary gear accordingly. Mechanical power harnessed by the wave energy converter is transmitted from the primary gear to the secondary gear thanks to forces created between the gears at their engaged teeth. However, while the gears are moving (rotating / sliding) back and forth, at the moments that the primary gear changes its moving directions, a tooth (#1a, Figure 24) of the primary gear in the gap (#65, Figure 22) starting to leave away (disengaging) from its recently engaged tooth (#2a) of the secondary gear backward, flowing the backward moving direction (#65b, Figure 24) to pushing (reengaging / engaging) the adjacent tooth (#2b) (of the secondary gear) in order to rotate the secondary gear in the backward moving direction, the teeth of both gears are not in tough (Figure 24) or not interacted, or the two gears are not engaged, making the mechanical power (or torque) not to be transmitted from the primary gear to the secondary gear during the above phase of disengaging-reengaging. In other words, the transmission of the mechanical power (or torque) is noncontinuous. As a result, within an ineffective angle w represented with (#68) and right after the primary gear changes its moving direction, as the two gears are not engaged during the phase disengaging-reengaging (explained above), motions of the body of the wave energy converter (or the first race) do not rotate the secondary gear or the second race (mechanical power transmitted during this phase is zero). It means that energy of the motions of the body of the wave energy converter (or buoyant forces applied on the oscillated float) within the ineffective angle w is wasted as it is not harnessed. It also means that, if a wave moves the body of the wave energy converter over an angle 0 which is greater than the ineffective angle w, then energy of the motions of the body of the wave energy converter from w to 0, with respect to an effective angle (0 minus w), can be harnessed while the energy of the motions of the body of the wave energy converter from zero to w is dismissed. If a wave, which is too small, cannot make the 2025203467   14 May 2025 body of the wave energy converter moving further than the ineffective angle w, the wave cannot be used to generate electricity.

[0055] While the width of the teeth is a constant, the larger the diameter of a gear is, the smaller the ineffective angle w of the gear is. Thus, in order to reduce the ineffective angle w, one of solutions is to increase the diameter of the gear (it means that the gear has more teeth), making the angle formed from two adjacent teeth of the gear to be smaller, leading to the ineffective angle w to be smaller. Another solution is explained as follows. For example, if the ineffective angle w is reduced to be N (N>1) time smaller, to a new ineffective angle (w / N), the wave energy converter is more efficient because its new effective angle, which equals to (0 minus w / N), is greater than its old effective angle (0 minus w). Furthermore, the wave energy converter can also work with smaller waves which are capable to move (rotate / slide) the body of the wave energy converter further than the new effective angle w / N, as exampled, instead of the old ineffective angle w. In other words, the solution aims to improve efficiencies of the wave energy converter by reducing the ineffective angle of its pair of primary and secondary gears. It is done as explained below.

[0056] Firstly, it is assumed that the primary gear and the secondary gear are a primary magnetic gear and a secondary magnetic gear which interact together via their pole pairs. The surfaces of the magnetic gears where magnetic interactions occur can be cylindrical, conical or flat (with respect to cylinder gear, cone gear or disk gears). The rotational axis of the magnetic gears can be arranged to be coaxial or noncoaxial. Each magnetic gear has a number of strip / arrays of pole pairs laid and secured on its surface, allowing magnetic interactions between the two magnetic gears. The magnetic interactions create forces applied on the surface of each magnetic gear, making one of the magnetic gears being rotated accordingly once the other is rotated by a source of power. The number of strip / arrays of pole pairs of each magnetic gear depends on measurements / sizes of the gear, torque required to be transmitted, properties of magnets, rotational speeds of the gear, which are all defined when the gear is designed. The gear ratio of the two magnetic gears equals to the inversion of the ratio of the numbers of strip / arrays of pole pairs. The gap between the two surfaces of the two 2025203467   14 May 2025 magnetic gears depends on rotational speeds of the gears, sizes / measurements of the gears, torque required to be transmitted, characteristics of the magnets, and so on. The gap is computed and decided when the gears are designed basing on well-known knowledge.

[0057] Like mechanical gears, the pair of primary and secondary magnetic gears also has an ineffective angle w explained above. In other words, mechanical power, or torque, being transmitted via the pair of magnetic gears is variable versus time while, within the ineffective angle w, there is (about) no mechanical power or torque being transmitted through the pair.

[0058] The solution is to arrange the strip / arrays of pole pairs (either #69a or #69b, Figure 25) of the same each magnetic gear to be parallel together on the surface of the magnetic gear but the strip / arrays of pole pairs of the primary magnetic gear and that of the secondary magnetic gear are not parallel together (#69a and #69b are nonparallel). Figure 26 presents a pair of magnetic gear, which have all strip / arrays (#69a and #69b) of pole pairs to be parallel together ((#69a and #69b are parallel together), has an ineffective angle w (#68), in which, each strip / array (#69a, Figure 26) of pole pairs of the primary magnetic gear has magnetic interactions with only one strip / array (#69b, Figure 26) of pole pairs of the secondary magnetic gear. The solution is presented in Figure 27: each strip / array (#69a, Figure 27) of pole pairs of the primary magnetic gear has magnetic interactions (implying to be nonparallel) with N strip / arrays (#69b, Figure 27) of pole pairs of the secondary magnetic gear. Once the primary magnetic gear rotates an angle w, each strip / array (#69a, Figure 27) of pole pairs of the primary magnetic gear interacts with N strip / arrays (#69b, Figure 27) of pole pairs of the secondary magnetic gear by N time, resulting to creating forces N time for transmitting mechanical power or torque. It also means that, in this case, the pair of magnetic gear has an ineffective angle to be w / N. It is notable that the number of strip / arrays of pole pairs of the secondary magnetic gear is unchanged in both cases of (Figure 26, parallel) and (Figure 27, nonparallel).

[0059] So, the wave energy converter is more efficient in harnessing wave energy when it is combined with a pair or magnetic gears, of which, strip / arrays of pole pairs of each 2025203467   14 May 2025 magnetic gear are nonparallel with that of the other magnetic gear. As a result, the wave energy converter is capable to work with lower waves as well.

[0060] The same principle can also be applied if the secondary magnetic gear is replaced with a stator of a generator. The coils of the stator of the generator are arranged in the same way with the pole pairs of the secondary magnetic gear using the same principles for magnetic interactions. The primary magnetic gear becomes the rotor of the generator while the coils of the stator supply electricity. The wave energy converter is able to harness wave energy with similar efficiencies like using the pair of magnetic gears with nonparallel strip / arrays of pole pairs between the gears. 1.7

[0061] (General) wave energy converters

[0062] A (general) wave energy converter is a circular motion-based wave energy converter (Figure 1 and Figure 2) or a wheel-based wave energy converter (Figure 14, Figure 15, Figure 16) or a (circular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 3 or Figure 4) or an (angular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 5) or a (linear) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 6). The (general) wave energy converter can be redescribed and arranged together with the floating structure in another way as follows:

[0063] The body (#7 and #8, Figure 1 or #8 Figure 2 to Figure 6) of the (general) wave energy converter has an oscillated float (#8, Figure 1 to Figure 6) which is structurally secured to the structural body of the body of the (general) wave energy converter. The oscillated float can be oscillated up and down from crests to troughs of waves of a body of water (#12) thanks to its buoyant forces created by waves of the body of water. The body of the (general) wave energy converter is rotatably or linearly slidably attached to a rigid stabilized floating structure (#30, Figure 1 to Figure 6) via a slidable support (#81 and #82 and #30g, Figure 3 to Figure 6) which has a rigid first race (#81, Figure 3 to Figure 6) and a rigid second race (#30g, Figure 3 to Figure 6). The mechanisms of the first race and the second race need to allow them (the two races) to be held together while each of them is allowed to be slidden rotationally or linearly, relatively on the other. An example of the slidable support is a rotary bearing, such as a spherical rotary bearing, which only has two races (without rollers), of which each race holds (or being 2025203467   14 May 2025 held) the other (or by the other). Another example of the slidable support is a piston (a first race) and a cylinder (a second race), of which the piston is moved linearly while each of the piston and the cylinder holds (or being held) the other (or by the other) during their relative linear motions. So, the mechanisms of the two races are appropriate for each of them to be held by the other. Although the slidable support can still work without any friction-reducer included, it is recommended to reduce frictions between the first race and the second race by adding an optional friction-reducer (#82, Figure 3 to Figure 6) fully fitted between the two races. Some types of friction-reducers can be rollers, balls or lubricants / liquid / fluid. Another example of the slidable support is a rotary bearing (#81 and #82 and #30g, Figure 3 to Figure 4) or a circular bearing (#81 and #82 and #30g, Figure 5) or a linear bearing (#81 and #82 and #30g, Figure 6) with a friction-reducer (#82, Figure 3 to Figure 6). The first race is secured to the structural body of the (general) wave energy converter, or the first race is mounted by or secured to a rigid primary hub which is structurally secured to the structural body of the (general) wave energy converter. The second race is secured to the stabilized floating structure, or the second race is mounted by or secured to a rigid secondary hub (#21, Figure 1 and Figure 2) which is structurally secured to the stabilized floating structure. Otherwise, the second race is secured to a structure, such as a hub-suspended structure, which is then structurally secured to the stabilized floating structure. The slidable support is fitted between the primary hub and the secondary hub, or between the structural body of the (general) wave energy converter and the stabilized floating structure, allowing the body of the (general) wave energy converter being revolved around (the axis of) the primary hub and the secondary hub or being linearly slidden up and down (along the linear primary and secondary hubs). In other words, the (general) wave energy converter is allowed to be rotatable or linearly slidable versus the stabilized floating structure, with or without friction-reducer included. The rotational or linear motions of the (general) wave energy converter is caused by buoyant forces created by the oscillated float being oscillated by waves, allowing the oscillated float, or the structural body of the (general) wave energy converter, being circularly or linearly oscillated from crests to troughs of waves on the body of water. Motions of the oscillated float move the body of the (general) wave energy converter (including the first race and the primary hub) relatively with the stabilized floating structure (including 2025203467   14 May 2025 the second race and the secondary hub). Relative motions between the body of the (general) wave energy converter and the stabilized floating structure, or, equivalently, between the first race / the primary hub and the second race / the secondary hub, are used for generating electricity. It is notable that the (general) wave energy converter presented in Figure 1 or Figure 2 also has a rotary bearing fitted between the primary hub (#21p) and the secondary hub (#21) which are presented at the same place in the figures. The floating structure is held and floated and stabilized on the body of water. It is optional to use a typical supporting structure to support the (general) wave energy converter, allowing the (general) wave energy converter sitting on, (or allowing the structural body of the (general) wave energy converter being structurally secured to) the supporting structure while the supporting structure is structurally secured to the stabilized floating structure. There is no further specification required for the typical supporting structure which is simply a structure composed from typical structural elements structurally connected together via typical structural connections. So, instead of being rotatably or linearly slidably attached to the floating structure directly as described above, the (general) wave energy converter can be rotatably or linearly slidably attached to the supporting structure which is then structurally secured to the stabilized floating structure. In this case, the secondary hub of the (general) wave energy converter is structurally secured to the supporting structure instead of securing to the stabilized floating structure. Then the (general) wave energy converter is rotatably or linearly slidably attached to the secondary hub via the slidable support.

[0064] The primary hub and the secondary hub should have the same horizontal rotational axis If the body of the (general) wave energy converter revolves around them. If the (general) wave energy converter slides linearly, it should be slidden linearly vertically. In other words, the plane where the (general) wave energy converter moves in needs to be vertical in order to utilize the buoyant forces properly and efficiently although it is not required to make the (general) wave energy converter to be operatable. It is notable that this type of (general) wave energy converter is applicable with any type of floating structures, including any floating structure described in this document such as a wheel-like structure or a shell-like structure. 2025203467   14 May 2025 1.8

[0065] Connections of a rigid stabilized floating structure and relevant components (secondary hubs, hub-suspended structures and supporting floats) and wave energy converters.

[0066] A hub-suspended structure can hold / suspend a number of secondary hubs while each secondary hub, which has a horizontal rotational axis, can also be suspended by a number of hub-suspended structures. A rigid stabilized floating structure, which is held, floated and stabilized on a body of water, can contain a plurality of hub-suspended structures.

[0067] Each secondary hub is structurally connected (secured) to a number of nodes (of the hub-suspended structure) or secured to the body of the hub-suspended structure while the hub-suspended structure and the floating structure (or, particularly, the shelllike structure) are structurally secured together at their common nodes or common edges. All structural elements, including elongate structural elements, surface elements and conventional shell / plate elements of both the floating structure (or, particularly, the shell-like structure) and the hub-suspended structure, which are intersected together at each common node or each common edge, are structurally connected (secured) together. The secondary hub can also be secured to the stabilized floating structure either directly (by being secured to structural elements intersected together at a node of the floating structure) or indirectly via a structure which is then secured to the floating structure.

[0068] In order to improve the stiffness of the hub-suspended structures and the floating structure, the secondary hubs are secured together via a rigid hub-supporting structure which can also be secured to the floating structure in different ways. It is notable that there can be more than one hub-supporting structure and each secondary hub is secured to a rigid hub-supporting structure which is secured to the floating structure (the hub-supporting structure supports the secondary hub). The hubsupporting structure can be also used for other purposes, for such the reason, it can be a beam, a structure or a structural platform which is also used for either reinforcing related structures or maintenances, reparations and / or operations. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0069] It is a good choice to combine a shell-like structure, in lieu of a general floating structure, together with a number of hub-suspended structures to form an ideal structure to be light and stiff, suitable for wave energy systems which are challenged by extreme waves, tsunamis and earthquakes.

[0070] One or more of each of the secondary hubs or the hub-supporting structures or the floating structure (or, particularly, the shell-like structure / wheel like structure) is (are) are secured to a number of supporting floats (#4, Figure 30 to Figure 33) which hold, float and stabilized the floating structure on the body of water, meaning that forces can be applied to the body of the floating structure (or the shell-like structure / wheel-like structure) or each secondary hub or the hub-supporting structure and then redistributed between them in order to resist deformations and to stabilized the floating structure. 1.9

[0071] spoke-based hub-suspended structures

[0072] A spoke-based hub-suspended structure, which is used for a wave energy system having a wave energy converter and a rigid stabilized floating structure, works basing on the same concept of spokes of a wheel or cables of a cable stayed bridge to hang / suspend a rigid secondary hub, which has a horizontal rotational axis, to a rigid stabilized floating structure which is held, floated and stabilized on a body of water. When a force applied onto the rim of the wheel, the forces tend to make the rim deformed. As the rim tends to be deformed, structural displacements at different places of the rim make a number of spokes tensioned while other spokes have to bear compression forces. These spokes, as they are tensioned or compressed, helps to redistribute the applied forces, resisting the deformations of the rim. The wheel can work with tensioned forces only (such as spokes made of cables) or compression forces only or both types of forces. In addition, if a force is applied to the secondary hub of the wheel, making the secondary hub displaced in a direction, creating tensions or compressions among the spokes, transferring the applied force to the rim then back to the secondary hub via the spokes, resisting deformations and displacements of both the secondary hub and the rim. In other words, the spokes bear or suspend the secondary hub while it reinforces the rim which suspends the secondary hub and resist 2025203467   14 May 2025 displacements of the secondary hub. It explains why a thin and light wheel of a bicycle can carry a huge weight.

[0073] It can be understood that the way each secondary hub is hung is also similar to a deck-girder (#51g, Figure 34) being hung via stay cables (#51c, Figure 34) of a cable stayed bridge (Figure 34). Without the stay cables, the structure of the deck-girder is required to be much heavier for bearing the same loads. Furthermore, due to limits of material strengths and self-weight of the deck-girder’s structure, the deck-girder is not practical or unable to reach a long enough span. Thus, the cable stayed bridge uses another technology which is based on stay cables to make the deck-girder capable to reach a much longer length with less self-weight, rather than a beam-based deck-girder which is quite limited.

[0074] Similarly, the hub-suspended structure also works basing on the same concept of a cable stayed bridge: the secondary hub (of the hub-suspended structure) and the deck-girder (of the cable stayed bridge) work similarly as they are both hung using the same principles; the spokes (of the hub-suspended structure) work similarly to the stay cables of the bridge; the floating structure works similarly to the arch structure (#51a, Figure 34) or the tower / pylon (#51t, Figure 34) of the cable stayed bridge. The arch structure or the tower / pylon are supported by ground with piers (#51p, Figure 34) while the floating structure is supported by the body of water (#12, Figure 33) which is more challenged, particularly when extreme waves or tsunamis or earthquakes occur.

[0075] So, the spoke-based hub-suspended structure is able to work basing on the same principles of the spokes of a wheel or the stayed cables of a cable stayed bridge. This kind of techniques are used for the spoke-based hub-suspended structure.

[0076] The spoke-based hub-suspended structure is used to bear a rigid secondary hub (#21), which has a horizontal rotational axis, of a circular motion-based wave energy converter (#7 and #8, Figure 30 to Figure 32) and suspend or secure the secondary hub to a rigid floating structure (#30, Figure 32, Figure 33 and Figure 36) which is laid on a body of water (#12, Figure 33). It utilizes tensions for hanging the secondary hub, although compressions (for supporting the secondary hub) are allowed to work alone 2025203467   14 May 2025 or in a combination of both tensions and compressions, in order to allow the spokebased hub-suspended structure capable to reach longer distances (or the spokes are allowed to be long) while its weight is less, leading to saving cost for manufacturing, transporting and assembling.

[0077] As the floating structure is intended to work on the surface of an ocean or a sea, it has to cope with critical conditions, including extreme waves and earthquakes. The secondary hub is said “suspended” because dynamic loads created by waves and earthquakes generate large forces in multiple directions which required the secondary hub being suspended or secured in all the directions. The hub-suspended structure is not only able to suspend or secure the secondary hub (#21) to the floating structure (#30) but also able to strengthen the floating structure. The floating structure (#30, Figure 32 or #30, Figure 59) has a number of surface nodes (#31, Figure 31 or #31, Figure 59) distributed on the surface of the body of the floating structure, which faces to the hub-suspended structure (#16, Figure 31 or #16, Figure 59), for the hub-suspended structure to structurally connect (secure) to. The floating structure is a general structure which is floated on the body of water.

[0078] The hub-suspended structure is composed from a plurality of spokes (#16, Figure 30, Figure 32, Figure 36 or #16, Figure 59) Each spoke is a straight elongate structural element, which can be either a tensile elongate structural element or a compressible elongate structural element. Off cause a curved spoke is workable but it does not based on full bearing tensional forces, leading to wasting materials and a complicated construction of the hub-suspended structure. Each spoke can also be formed form a plurality of elongate structural elements by assuming that the spoke is sectioned into a plurality of elongate structural elements laid along its body sequentially and consecutively and structurally connected together at nodes; wherein each node is where two ends of two adjacent elongate structural elements are structurally connected (secured) together. The spoke has an end connected structurally to the secondary hub (#21) or to a rigid hub-supporting structure (#21c, Figure 32) which has the secondary hub secured to. The other end of the spoke is connected structurally to the floating structure (#30, Figure 32, Figure 36). The spoke suspends the secondary hub 2025203467   14 May 2025 in a direction laid along the body of the spoke, making the secondary hub held (suspended) by the floating structure in the direction. The spokes suspend the secondary hub in their respective directions, making the secondary hub being held where it is required. As the spoke is possible to work basing on tensions, it can be made to be thin and light and long, resulting to the hub-suspended structure to be light but stiff. Some types of elongate structural elements are rigid, making the hub-suspended structure capable to both hanging and supporting the secondary hub with tensions and compressions. The plurality of spokes guarantee that the secondary hub is suspended, capable to all types of multidirectional dynamic forces created by waves and earthquakes. Unlike the deck-girder (of the cable stayed bridge), which are hung to points (of the tower / pylon or the arch structure) positioned above the deck-girder, the secondary hub (#21, Figure 59) is hung / suspended (structurally connected) to the surface nodes (#31, Figure 59) which are distributed around the secondary hub in order to guarantee that the secondary hub is not movable in any direction. The reason is that, the stay cables (of the cable stayed bridge) mainly need to bear downward forces while the spokes (of the hub-suspended structure) have to bear multidirectional forces created by waves of the body of water or earthquakes.

[0079] The secondary hub (#21, Figure 30, Figure 36) can be positioned anywhere within the floating structure (#30) with its surface nodes distributed around the secondary hub. The secondary hub can also be attached to the body of the floating structure (Figure 31, Figure 43) because the secondary hub can also be suspended from this position, that it can be held by both the hub-suspended structure and the body of the floating structure together.

[0080] Each spoke (#16, Figure 30 to Figure 33 and so on and Figure 59, Figure 60) can be arranged axially (#16i, Figure 30 to Figure 32) or tangentially (#16t, Figure 40). A spoke is said to be arranged axially to the secondary hub if the direction of the spoke and the rotational axis of the secondary hub intersect together. A spoke is said to be arranged tangentially to the secondary hub if the direction of the spoke and the rotational axis of the secondary hub do not intersect together. Tangential spokes are better than axial spokes in resisting relative rotations (relative twisting displacements) 2025203467   14 May 2025 between the secondary hub and the floating structure. In contrast, the axial spokes are better in resisting deformations of the floating structure. The tangential spokes and the axial spokes are able to work alone or together. The first end of each spoke is secured to the secondary hub while the other end is connected to a node or a vertex (#31) of the floating structure by securing to all elongate structural elements (#32 or #33) which intersect together at the node or the vertex (#31). The spokes (#16) are able to hold the secondary hub rigidly to the floating structure. It is notable that the spokes, which are structurally connected to the secondary hub, are not required to be in the same plane.

[0081] So, the secondary hub is positioned within the inner space enclosed by the floating structure. The secondary hub can be securely attached directly to the body of the floating structure because it is also suspended in this case by the combination of the hub-suspended structure and floating structure. The hub-suspended structure is also positioned within the inner space of the floating structure.

[0082] The secondary hub is used to support a circular motion-based wave energy converter oscillated in a vertical plane on a body of water as described in a section related to the wave energy converter. How the wave energy converter is attached to the secondary hub and how they work together in order to harness wave energy are also described in the section. Both the secondary hub and the floating structure are allowed to be floated with floats attached to their body.

[0083] The spokes can be reinforced by adding elongate structural elements or structural elements connecting the body of the spokes together. Each pair of adjacent spokes has a number of structural elements (#16i, Figure 41) used as a linking structure. Each structural element structurally connects both the first spoke and the second spoke of the pair.

[0084] It is notable that any elongate structural element, which is used as a spoke of the hub-suspended structure, can be a beam-like element. How the beam-like element is constructed and how it is secured to a structure, which means to include the secondary hub and the floating structure, are described in the section which described the beamlike element in this document. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0085] The hub-suspended structure can be composed from elongate structural elements / framed surface elements and / or plate / shell surface elements, implying that it can comprise elongate structural elements only or plate / shell surface elements only or both elongate structural elements and plate / shell surface elements.

[0086] It is also notable that, variations / options of structural components / structural elements or defined structures used to construct the spoke-based hub-suspended structure are also variations / options of the spoke-based hub-suspended structure.

[0087] When two structures are said to be secured together, it implies that structural elements (of the fist structure) and structural elements (of the second structure), which intersect together, are structurally secured together at their intersections.

[0088] The secondary hub can also be secured directly to the stabilized floating structure. In this case, the secondary hub is allowed to be secured or not to be secured to the hub-suspended structure which can be included or excluded in the wave energy system. 1.10

[0089] shell-based hub-suspended structures

[0090] A shell-based hub-suspended structure, which is used for a wave energy system having a wave energy converter and a rigid stabilized floating structure, works basing on the same principle of a truss / framed steel structure (#51c, Figure 58) used to suspend an old-style railroad bridge (Figure 58) or a wheel which has a shell / plate structure in lieu of spokes. It can be understood that the truss / framed structure, which is laid on a surface, is a model of a shell (the shell surface is sealed / closed while the truss / framed structure models the shell in term of structure by using beams or bars alternatively).

[0091] In lieu of using spokes, which are elongate structural elements, for a wheel, a truss / framed structure or a shell structure laid on a surface can be used to suspend the secondary hub of the wheel to its rim. It is also the same principles of an old-style railroad bridge which suspend each of its deck-girders (#51g, Figure 58) to an arch (#51a, Figure 58) using a truss / framed structure (#51c, Figure 58). 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0092] The shell-based hub-suspended structure is used to bear a rigid secondary hub, which has a horizontal rotational axis, of a circular motion-based wave energy converter (#7 and #8) and to suspend or secure the secondary hub to a rigid floating structure which is laid on a body of water (#12). It utilizes tensions for hanging the secondary hub, although compressions (for supporting the secondary hub) are allowed to work alone or in a combination of both tensions and compressions, in order to allow the structure capable to reach longer distances while its weight is less, leading to saving cost for manufacturing and assembling.

[0093] The reason to use the shell-based hub-suspended structure to suspend the secondary hub is that, as the secondary hub has to carry a circular motion-based wave energy converter which generates (large) multidirectional dynamic forces applied onto the secondary hub, the hub-suspended structure must be capable to cope with these forces. It is based on shell-based structures in order to gain good stiffnesses in multiple directions but use less materials for the structure.

[0094] The hub-suspended structure is a framed-shell 3D structure which is explained in its definition and description, including how it is formed or constructed, as already presented above in this document. In this case, the hub-suspended structure is called “hub-suspended-framed-shell 3D structure”.

[0095] Some of good hub-suspended-framed-shell 3D structures are 3D surface structures which are stretched on the circular face of a cone or the surface of a spherical cap. These 3D surface structures are ideal for suspending a rigid secondary hub positioned at the vertex of the cone or the pole (the apex) of the spherical cap to cope effectively with multidirectional dynamic forces as both the vertex and the pole are able to resist forces applied at them in any direction very well. In addition, a 3D surface structure stretched on a flat surface is also workable if a structural reinforcement is provided for the direction of the plane vector of the flat surface. Details on how to form / construct a 3D surface structure stretching on a 3D surface are already explained in another section of this document. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0096] The secondary hub (#21, Figure 61) and the hub-suspended structure (#16f and #54, Figure 61) are secured together at their common nodes which are hub-nodes of the secondary hub and surface nodes of the hub-suspended structure. The hub-suspended structure is composed from structural elements, including either elongate structural elements (#16f, Figure 61) or surface elements (#54, Figure 61). The hub-suspended structure and the floating structure (#30, Figure 61) are secured together at their common edges (#30, Figure 61) and / or common nodes (#31, Figure 61), which are also called the surface nodes of the floating structure, by securing the structural elements, which intersect with the floating structure, to the floating structure. In this case, the hub-suspended structure works like a shell, which is light, thin but stiff, hanging (with tensions) the secondary hub to the floating structure with or without supporting (with compressions) the secondary hub.

[0097] The surface nodes of the floating structure where the secondary hub is suspended to need to be distributed in an arch shape (for loads which only create forces in vertical direction like a truss / framed steel bridge) or a ring shape (for dynamic loads which create forces in multiple directions: upward / downward, leftward and rightward). So, the distribution of the surface nodes on the body of the floating structure needs to be a ring shape in order to suspend the secondary hub oscillated by waves on a body of water and subjected by earthquakes. It is notable that the floating structure, which is a general structure, is not required to be a ring.

[0098] The secondary hub (#21, Figure 30, Figure 36) can be positioned anywhere within the floating structure (#30) with its surface nodes distributed around the secondary hub. The secondary hub can also be attached to the body of the floating structure (Figure 31, Figure 43) because the secondary hub can also be suspended from this position, that it can be held by both the hub-suspended structure and the body of the floating structure together.

[0099] So, the secondary hub is positioned within the inner space enclosed by the floating structure. The secondary hub can be securely attached directly to the body of the floating structure because it is also suspended in this case by the combination of 2025203467   14 May 2025 the hub-suspended structure and floating structure. The hub-suspended structure is also positioned within the inner space of the floating structure.

[0100] The secondary hub is used to support a circular motion-based wave energy converter oscillated in a vertical plane on a body of water as described in a section related to the wave energy converter. Both the secondary hub and the floating structure are allowed to be floated with floats attached to their body.

[0101] The hub-suspended structure can be composed from either elongate structural elements / framed surface elements or plate / shell surface elements, implying that it can comprise elongate structural elements only or plate / shell surface elements only or both elongate structural elements and plate / shell surface elements.

[0102] It is also notable that, variations / options of structural components / structural elements or defined structures used to construct the shell-based hub-suspended structure are also variations / options of the shell-based hub-suspended structure.

[0103] When two structures are said to be secured together, it implies that structural elements (of the fist structure) and structural elements (of the second structure), which intersect together, are structurally secured together at their intersections.

[0104] The secondary hub can also be secured directly to the stabilized floating structure. In this case, the secondary hub is allowed to be secured or not to be secured to the hub-suspended structure which can be included or excluded in the wave energy system. 1.11

[0105] Some other features of the (spoke-based / shell-based) hub-suspended structures

[0106] A (spoke-based / shell-based) hub-suspended structure can be used to suspend a number of secondary hubs basing on interactions between the secondary hubs, the hub-suspended structure and the floating structure (or, particularly, the shell-like structure), like a wheel or a cable stayed bridge / truss / framed steel bridge. What the hub-suspended structure does is that, if a force (#35x, Figure 38 or Figure 39) is applied 2025203467   14 May 2025 at any point of the floating structure (or the shell-like structure), or directly to the secondary hubs (#21), making the floating structure (or the shell-like structure) tends to be deformed, the hub-suspended structure and the secondary hubs assist the floating structure (or the shell-like structure) resisting the deformation. In other words, thanks to the secondary hubs and the hub-suspended structure, the applied force is redistributed (#35i, Figure 38 or Figure 39) and borne by the whole body of the floating structure (or the shell-like structure), making the floating structure (or the shell-like structure) to be able to resist the deformation. The hub-suspended structure can work very well for bearing large multidirectional dynamic forces even though it is thin and light. It can be said that the ratio of weight versus loads of the hub-suspended structure is significantly low, making the hub-suspended structure to be an ideal structure suitable for coping extreme loads of offshore conditions with lower cost.

[0107] It is notable that, due to limits of material strengths and self-weights, any type of structures cannot be made further than their limit in size for bearing given loads. For example, although a deck-girder of a bridge can be made to be very bulky, it still cannot reach a certain length over its limit. The hub-suspended structure provides a solution used to break that kind of barriers in order to be able to bear large loads of pluralities of large capacity wave energy converters thanks to its capabilities to conquer offshore extreme waves together with earthquakes as the hub-suspended structure is light, stiff and allowed to be made large enough to cope such conditions. 1.12

[0108] Shell-like structures

[0109] A shell-like structure, which is used in lieu of the rigid stabilized floating structure for a wave energy system having a rigid stabilized floating structure , a wave energy converter and an optional hub-suspended structure, is based on the same principles of an egg which is thin, light but stiff to bear loads. The shell-like structure, which is used to support a wave energy system, is floated on a body of water like the shell of an egg being floated: both are thin, light but stiff and capable to encounter multidirectional dynamic forces caused by the surface of water such as extreme waves and earthquakes. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0110] The shell-like structure (#30 or composed from #31, #32, #33Figure 28 to Figure 33, Figure 36 and Figure 37) is used to bear wave energy converters, generators, electrical energy storages, transformers, transmission systems, facilities and any other components of the wave energy system. The purpose is to create a thin and light but stiff structure capable to bear such kinds of components while copping with conditions of seas or oceans.

[0111] The shell-like structure works like a shell. It is stretched on a (three-dimensional) 3D surface which encloses an inner space (presented below the structural members (#32), Figure 54 with an outer curved line, upward). The shell-like structure is suitable and utilized to bear forces (#40, Figure 54), which are expressed with load vectors (#40), applied at surface nodes (#31) on its body and directed (downward) into the inner space like a ball bearing external forces applied on its surface. Thanks to its curved outer section (along which the structural members (#32) are laid, Figure 54) or its intersected outer section (along which the structural members (#32) are laid, Figure 55 and Figure 56), its structural members (#32) at the curved / intersected outer sections are able to bear loads, which apply at the surface nodes (#31) and direct (downward) to the inner space, better while the shell-like structure is lighter. It is notable that the 3D surface (#42, Figure 53) has a plurality of plane sections (#41), Figure 53) of which each has the load vectors (#40) laid on. If these plane sections (#41) create at least one curved / intersected outer section (along which the structural members (#32) are laid, Figure 53), then this curved / intersected outer section can be utilised to reinforce the shell-like structure to bear the forces (#40) at the surface nodes (#31) by strengthening the structural members (#32, Figure 53) laid in the section. Off cause, it is better if there are more curved / intersected outer sections intersecting through the surface nodes (#31), making the shell-like structure having more options to be reinforced. The worst case, which is the remaining case, is that there is no curved / intersected outer section at the surface nodes (#31). In this case, the structural members (#32, Figure 53) are simply reinforced by a plurality of means based on using conventional structures although these reinforcements required more structural materials and incur more cost for the structure. However, the shell-like structure is still workable in this case. So, the 3D surface is more ideal if it has a minimum number surface nodes where there is no 2025203467   14 May 2025 curved / intersected outer section. It is also concluded that any type of 3D surface can be suitable for shell-like structures although these structures may require more or less additional reinforcements for a number of surface nodes having no curved / intersected outer section.

[0112] An example of a type of 3D surface which can work excellently, in term of structural stiffnesses, is a spindle torus (#30, Figure 57) which have no hole while it has inner curved points (#43, Figure 57, presenting a vertical symmetric section of the spindle torus). It can be further reinforced with a beam (#44) connecting the two points (#43). For such the above reasons, there is no specifications relating to how the 3D surface curved or intersected either inward or outward in provided claims.

[0113] The 3D surface can be combined from either curved surfaces or flat surfaces (or both curved surfaces and flat surfaces). If the 3D surface looks like a dome sitting on a rigid platform, it can be considered that the 3D surface includes the surface of the platform.

[0114] The shell-like structure, which is modelled using concepts of finite element method, is composed from a 3D surface structure which includes either 3D rigid framed surface structures or 3D plate / shell structures or combinations of both (the framed surface structures and the plate / shell structures) stretched on a 3D surface which encloses an inner space and contains a number of surface nodes (#31) distributed on the 3D surface and a number of lines (#32 or #33) connecting the nodes to form a mesh of nonoverlapping polygonal shapes. The surface nodes are also the same nodes of the framed surface structure or the plate / shell structure. If the shell-like structure is a 3D rigid framed surface structure, each line (#32 or #33) has a elongate structural element (#32 or #33) laid along. If the shell-like structure is a 3D plate / shell structure, each polygonal shape has a plate / shell polygon element fitted. All structural elements, including elongate structural elements and plate / shell surface elements and framed elements, intersected together at each vertex (#31) or each edge of the polygon are structurally secured together at their intersection(s). Each polygon may have a number of diagonals (#33) of which each has a elongate structural element (#33) laid along to make the polygon to be rigid or stiffer. Among shapes of the polygons, triangle and 2025203467   14 May 2025 quadrangle are more preferred. In addition, the shell-like structure encloses an inner space inside. The shell-like structure can be composed from a framed surface structure only or a plate / shell structure only or both (the framed surface structure and the plate / shell structure), in which each elongate structural element and each plate / shell polygon element can be structurally secured / connected together at their intersection(s), as explained above on how structural elements are secured together, to form the shell-like structure. In other words, a shell-like structure composed from a framed surface structure can be reinforced by adding a number of plate / shell polygon elements where required. Similarly, a shell-like structure composed from a plate / shell structure can be reinforced by adding a number of framed polygon elements where required.

[0115] In addition, the shell-like structure encloses an inner space inside its body.

[0116] Another description of the shell-like structure is as follows: It is a polyhedron (Figure 28 to Figure 31) which has vertices distributed on a 3D surface which encloses an inner space and has nodes distributed, of which each vertex is positioned at a node (#31, Figure 31). If the shell-like structure is composed from a 3D rigid framed surface structure, each edge of the polyhedron has a elongate structural element (#32) laid along. If the shell-like structure is a 3D plate / shell structure, each polygon face of the polyhedron has a shell polygon element, including a shell triangle element or a shell quadrangle element. All structural elements, including elongate structural elements and plate / shell surface elements and framed elements, intersected together at each vertex (#31, Figure 31) of the polyhedron are structurally secured together. So, the nodes distributed on the 3D surface and the polygon faces of the polyhedron form a mesh of nonoverlapping polygonal shapes. Each polygon face of the polyhedron has a number of diagonals (#33, Figure 28). Each diagonal may have a elongate structural element fitted to secure the two vertices at two ends of the elongate structural element together. The elongate structural element s must be included where required to make the polygon face to be nondeformable. Each vertex of the polyhedron is positioned at a node, wherein “node” is referred to in finite element method. The shell-like structure 2025203467   14 May 2025 encloses an inner space inside. In addition, triangle faces or quadrangle faces are more preferred for the polyhedron than other types of polygon faces.

[0117] The shell-like structure can be composed from elongate structural elements / framed surface elements and / or plate / shell surface elements, implying that it can comprise elongate structural elements only or plate / shell surface elements only or both elongate structural elements and plate / shell surface elements.

[0118] The shell-like structure can also be constructed from a double-wall plate / shell structure (Figure 35). Basing on the shell-like structure constructed from a 3D surface structure (composed from rigid framed surface structures or plate / shell structures), which is the first wall, as described above, with another 3D surface structure (composed from rigid framed surface structures or plate / shell structures), which is the second wall, are added parallelly and secured to the first wall in the same way of forming a doublewall plate / shell structure, using a plurality of structural elements (#52, Figure 35), including elongate structural elements, framed surface elements, framed volume elements and plate / shell surface elements. Each of a number of vertices (or an end of the elongate structural element) of each structural element is structurally connected to a node (or secured to structural elements intersected at a node) of the first wall while each of the remaining vertices (or the other end of the elongate structural element) of the structural element is structurally connected to another node (or secured to structural elements intersected at another node) of the second wall. Structural elements intersected at each node (or each edge) are secured together at their intersections.

[0119] The shell-like structure can be further strengthened, if it is required for better stiffness, by adding structural elements laid in the inner space enclosed by the shell-like structure. Each vertex of each added structural element (or each end of each elongate structural element) is structurally connected to a surface node of the shell-like structure. In other words, the structural element is secured to all structural elements intersected together at the surface node. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0120] If the shell-like structure is required to be even stiffer, a number of inner nodes are added and distributed in the inner space of the shell-like structure. Then, a number of structural elements are also added. Each vertex of each newly added structural element (or each end of each elongate structural element) is structurally connected to a surface node or an inner node. In other words, the structural element is secured to all structural elements intersected together at the surface node or the inner node. The whole structure becomes a framed-shell 3D structure with its surface to be the shelllike structure while its inner space is filled up, in term of structure, with structural elements to form a rigid inner structure which reinforces and supports the shell-like structure.

[0121] Connections of a shell-like structure and relevant components (secondary hubs, hub-suspended structures and supporting floats) and wave energy converters.

[0122] The shell-like structure can have a lengthwise shape (Figure 48) which can be extended in both horizontal directions in order to make the shell-like structure stabilized on a body of water.

[0123] The shell-like structure (#30, Figure 48) can have a vertical longitudinal section (#40L, Figure 48) and pluralities of vertical cross sections (#40c, Figure 48). The shape of the vertical longitudinal section, or the shape of the shell-like structure in top view (Figure 48), is lengthy and not required to be straight (#7 is a pivot arm; #8 is an oscillated float, #8s is a vertical plane that the float being rotated along). Its top view can also be enclosed, such as a ring or a polygon or a torus (Figure 50) or unclosed and can be straight (Figure 51 and Figure 52), curved (Figure 48) or zigzag or intersected together such as a cross sign (Figure 49) or any other shapes which should be extended in both horizontal directions in order to make the shell-like structure to be stabilized on the body of water. The Figure 50, Figure 51, Figure 52 indicate nodes (#31) and structural elements (#32) and bracing structural elements (#33) and longitudinal structural elements (#32L) and cross-sectional structural elements (#32c).

[0124] The shell-like structure is used to support a plurality of circular motion-based wave energy converters, or any other type of wave energy converters described in this 2025203467   14 May 2025 document, which are consecutively arranged in one or two sides of the vertical longitudinal section of the shell-like structure and extended along the vertical longitudinal section. It is notable that, the coaxial secondary hub(s) for each wave energy converter is (are) not required to be coaxial with that of any other wave energy converter. Furthermore, the vertical symmetric plane of each wave energy converter is not required to be parallel to that of any other wave energy converter. Each wave energy converter is rotatably attached to one or more coaxial secondary hub(s). Each secondary hub, which has a horizontal rotational axis, is structurally connected or secured to the body of a hub-suspended structure or number of nodes of the hub-suspended structure while the hub-suspended structure and the shell-like structure are secured together at their common nodes or their common edges: all structural elements intersected together at each common node or each common edge are secured together. The secondary hub can be positioned within the inner space or on the 3D surface, on which the shell-like structure, which includes one or more 3D surface structures, is stretched / laid. The secondary hub can be securely attached onto the body of the 3D surface structure with or without the hub-suspended structure included (The shell-like structure can still suspend the secondary hub without the hub-suspended structure required although its stiffness is less. It is notable that the shell-like structure comprises a 3D surface structure and an optional hub-suspended structure). The secondary hub can be secured to the shell-like structure directly or indirectly via a rigid hub-supporting structure which supports the secondary hub (The secondary hub is secured to the hub-supporting structure which is then secured to the shell-like structure). Further details on how the shell-like structure supports the hub-suspended structures, the secondary hub(s) and the wave energy converters are described in related sections in this document, in which the floating structure referred is the shelllike structure. It is clarified that the shell-like structure can also work with a conventional / general hub-suspended structure (which simply needs to support or suspend the secondary hub(s) to the shell-like structure) or, particularly, a spoke-based hub-suspended structure or a shell-based hub-suspended structure.

[0125] One or more of each secondary hub or the hub-supporting structure or the shelllike structure is (are) floated with floats secured to it, meaning that forces can be 2025203467   14 May 2025 applied to the body of the shell-like structure or each secondary hub or the hubsupporting structure.

[0126] The wave energy converter can be a circular motion-based wave energy converter or a shell-based wave energy converter or a (circular) sliding wave energy converter or an (angular) sliding wave energy converter or a (linear) sliding wave energy converter as described in previous / other sections. The way each type of the above wave energy converter attached to the secondary hub(s), or attached to the floating structure, which is the shell-like structure in this case, is also described in the said sections. So, how the floating structure (the shell-like structure) and the wave energy converter arranged together is described in the said sections. The secondary hub can also be secured directly to the stabilized shell-like structure. In this case, the secondary hub is allowed to be secured or not to be secured to the hub-suspended structure. As a result, the hub-suspended structure can also be included or excluded in the wave energy system.

[0127] Main technical features of the shell-like structure:

[0128] Like an egg with a very light and thin shell, which is formed from nonelastic materials, to be very strong to hold a much heavier weight inside, the shell-like structure is developed in order to make a thin and light structure with excellent stiffness, capable to be used as a rigid floating structure for supporting the wave energy system on a body of water which is an ocean or a sea. Like the shell of the egg which is good for multidirectional forces applicable anywhere on its surface, the shell-like structure is exceptionally suitable to extreme waves, particularly, earthquakes, which create (extreme large) multidirectional dynamic forces. Apparently, the shell-like structure has to bear dynamic loads created by waves, earthquakes and forces from operations of the wave energy converter at the same time. It is further explained that the shell-like structure also utilizes technical features of a dome or a rim of a wheel: when a force applied onto the body of the shell-like structure (or the rim or the dome), the shell-like structure (or the rim or the dome) resists the force or deformations caused by the force thanks to its light and stiff body. For example, a light bicycle wheel can bear a large force created by the surface of the ground and applied onto the rim of the bicycle wheel, 2025203467   14 May 2025 allowing the wheel capable to bear large loads while the structure of the rim of the wheel is thin and light. Thus, the shell-like structure allows a rigid secondary hub secured to its 3D surface structure (either directly or indirectly via a supporting structure which is secured to both the secondary hub and the 3D surface structure) with or without the secondary hub suspended structure included. In other words, the shelllike structure can also work well without the hub-suspended structure included.

[0129] The shell-like structure is also further used to support a platform which is used for either reinforcing the shell-like structure or maintenances, reparations and operations or for supporting components of the wave energy system, including gear boxes, generators, inverters, transformers, cranes and other facilities. The platform is secured / suspended to the shell-like structure via conventional structural connections. The hub-supporting structure as well as the secondary hub(s) are optionally secured to the platform.

[0130] Capabilities of the shell-like structure and the hub-suspended structure

[0131] The shell-like structure and the hub-suspended structure are intentionally developed in order to fulfil the most challenges of the wave energy system: (1) The shell-like structure and the hub-suspended structure are capable to practically cope offshore extreme waves or earthquakes. The shell-like structure and the hub-suspended structure can cope with a wide range of magnitudes of waves, including offshore extreme waves: the rotatable pivot arms of the wave energy converters are required to be long enough in order to allow the oscillated floats (of the wave energy converters) reaching crests and troughs of offshore extreme waves. However, the lengths of the pivot arms depend on the lengths of the (tensional) spokes (or the coverage area of the hub-suspended structure) which contribute, significantly, to the magnitudes of the counter moments (#35c, Figure 42): the counter moments equal to (tangential) forces (#35h, Figure 42), which holds the shell-like structure to be nonrotatable, multiplying by the lengths of the spokes (or the average distance from the secondary hub to the shell-like structure). The counter moments are required to be greater than twisting moments (#35m, Figure 2025203467   14 May 2025 42) which tend to twist the shell-like structure. The twisting moments, which are created by the oscillated floats, equal to buoyant forces (#35b, Figure 42) multiplying by the lengths of the pivot arms. The counter moments are required to be greater in order maintain the shell-like structure or the hub-suspended structure to be nonrotatable for creating relative rotational motions between the pivot arms and the stabilized hub-suspended structure for generating electricity. This explains that the spokes are required to be long (or the coverage area of the hub-suspended structure is large) enough in order to allow the pivot arms to be long enough to reach crests ant troughs of the offshore extreme waves. It also means that, the longer the spokes are, the less stiff (and less weight) of the shell-like structure is required. As the spokes are tensional with less self-weights, the requirement for long enough spokes can be fulfilled with ease. So, it is obvious that, as the spokes (or the hub-suspended structure) can be practically made long (or large) enough, the (tangential) forces (#35h, Figure 42) holding the shell-like structure to be nonrotatable required are less. As a result, the hub-suspended structure allows the pivot arms to be made long (or large) enough in order to have the oscillated floats to be capable to reach crests and troughs of extreme waves. In this case, energy of the offshore extreme waves is still used to generate electricity rather than leaving them damaging the hub-suspended structure. Furthermore, the hub-suspended structure is allowed to be made light, large and stiff enough in order to structurally cope the offshore extreme waves successfully, making the wave energy system to be able to survive with any extreme conditions offshore. (2) The shell-like structure and the hub-suspended structure are able to make generating electricity without halting with respect to a wide range of wave-heights. Typical wave energy converters might have to halt generating electricity if waves are taller than its designated upper limit for system protections. This wave energy system using the hub-suspended structure is not intended to be halted with any kind of tall waves: the hub-suspended structure allows the wave energy system generating electricity regardless wave height: no matter how the waves are, electricity generations are not halted as it is what the hub-suspended structure is targeted to guarantee. 2025203467   14 May 2025 (3) The shell-like structure is able to support pluralities of large capacity wave energy converters. The larger the cross sections of the hub-suspended structure are, the larger the float of the wave energy converter can be. Based on characteristics of materials (material strengths and self-weights) used to make the hub-suspended structure (such as stainless steel) and characteristics of waves offshore and possible earthquakes, it is possible to determine how large the hub-suspended structure can be reached. Thanks to its technical features, which are very stiff, light and able to be made large enough, the hub-suspended structure is practicable to pluralities of large capacity wave energy converters. (4) The shell-like structure and the hub-suspended structure are capable to have low ratio of weight versus total capacity of the wave energy converters. The low ratio is possible thanks to the light weights and efficient capabilities of the spokes and the shell-like structures and thanks to incorporating all the wave energy converters in the same structure that help to reduce counterweight required for stabilizing the wave energy converters. (5) The shell-like structure and the hub-suspended structure help to be able to gain more efficiencies in harnessing wave energy as they are very well stabilized on the body of water thanks to its large body: its shape is stretched in two horizontal dimensions and it is attached with a large number of wave energy converters. Thus, as its body is very well stabilized, relative motions between the pivot arms and the well stabilized body, which is the shell-like structure (or the floating structure) of the wave energy converters are larger (than that of independent wave energy converters), making the wave energy system to be more efficient in harnessing wave energy.

[0132] Some variations / options of the shell-like structure:

[0133] Some particular shapes of the shell-like structure include a torus shaped shelllike structure (Figure 50), a prism shaped shell-like structure (Figure 51) and a cylindershaped shell-like structure (Figure 52). 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0134] It is optional to add a system of guide rollers (#9) (Figure 36 and Figure 37) between each wave energy converter and the shell-like structure: the guide rollers are rollable along an arc-shaped guide rail. The guide rail is vertically and securely attached to the shell-like structure or the secondary hub or the hub-suspended structure, if there is. The guide rollers (#9) are secured either to the oscillated float (#8) or anywhere along the body of the pivot arm (#7). In this case, the oscillated float (#8) is further supported by the guide rollers (#9). If the guide rollers (#9, Figure 37) are positioned between the oscillated float and the secondary hub(s) where the pivot arm is rotatably attached to, the radius of the guide rail is shorter than the length of the pivot arm. The shell-like structure or the guide rail possesses stoppers to inhibit rotations of the float beyond chosen points on the rail (or the shell-like structure). The stoppers may or may not have shock absorbing properties. The stoppers, which are used to allow vertical angular oscillations of the pivot arm within an angle defined with a lower limit (set by a lower stopper secured below the secondary hub to the shell-like structure or the hub-suspended structure or the secondary hub) and an upper limit (set by an upper stopper secured above the secondary hub to the shell-like structure or the hub-suspended structure or the secondary hub), can be secured to the guide rail or directly to the shelllike structure. Thus, the stoppers can also work alone without the guide rail included.

[0135] It is also notable that, variations / options of structural components / structural elements or defined structures used to construct the shell-like structure are also variations / options of the shell-like structure. 1.13

[0136] Wheel-like structure concepts.

[0137] A wheel-like structure is structure used to support one or more wave energy converters of a wave energy system being floated on a body of water. It uses the same principles of interactions between main components of a wheel: its secondary hub, its spokes and its rim. It also uses the same principles of a truss / framed steel bridge which uses a truss / framed steel structure to suspend its deck-girder to an arch. The principles were described in a section related to hub-suspended structures. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0138] The wheel-like structure, which has a rigid secondary hub, a (spoke-based or shell-based) hub-suspended structure and a ring (#30, Figure 36), is modelled using concepts of finite element method. The secondary hub, which has a horizontal rotational axis, is used to support a wave energy converter as described in previous / other sections. The hub-suspended structure, which is either a spoke-based hub-suspended structure or a shell-based hub-suspended structure, is used to support the secondary hub and suspend the secondary hub to the ring. The ring is a particular type of the floating structure referred in the description of the hub-suspended structure.

[0139] The ring is recommended to be nonconcave in order to make the ring capable to bear inward forces (#40, Figure 54) with less materials (resulting to stiffnesses) required for the structural members (#32) of the ring. The ring is suitable and utilized to bear forces (#40, Figure 54), which are expressed with load vectors (#40), applied at surface nodes (#31) on its body and directed (downward) inward like a ball bearing external forces applied on its surface. Thanks to its curved outer section (along which the structural members (#32) are laid, Figure 54) or its intersected outer section (along which the structural members (#32) are laid, Figure 55 and Figure 56), its structural members (#32) at the curved / intersected outer sections are able to bear loads, which apply at the surface nodes (#31) and direct (downward) inward, better while the ring is lighter. If the ring is concave, the structural members (#32, Figure 53) are simply reinforced by a plurality of means based on using conventional structures although these reinforcements required more structural materials and incur more cost for the structure. However, the ring structure is still workable in this case, if it is concave.

[0140] An example of a shape of concave ring structure which can work excellently, in term of structural stiffnesses, is a vertical symmetric section (#30, Figure 57) of a spindle torus which has two inner curved points (#43). Although the ring is concave at two points (#43), it can work very well, particularly if it is further reinforced simply with a beam (#44) connecting the two points (#43). For such the above reasons, there is no specifications relating to how the ring curved or intersected either inward or outward, which means whether the ring is concave or nonconcave, in provided claims. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0141] The ring can be combined from sections of either curved lines or straight lines (or both). If the ring looks like an arch sitting vertically on a rigid platform, it can be considered that the ring includes the surface of the platform.

[0142] There are two forms of the ring: perimeter-based ring and a surface-based ring. The first form of the ring, the perimeter-based ring, has a ring-shaped perimeter, which is a single line composed from sections of either curved lines or straight lines connected together consecutively, with a compressible elongate structural element laid along each section. The common point of each pair of adjacent sections is a node (#31, Figure 60, Figure 62) and elongate structural elements intersected together at the node are secured together to form the rigid perimeter-based ring (Figure 60 and Figure 62) which have vertices (#32, Figure 62). Each node can be considered as a vertex while the ringshaped perimeter can be considered as a polygon with straight or curved edges. The nodes as well as the compressible elongate structural elements are not required to be laid in the same plane.

[0143] The secondary hub is secured to a number of nodes among the nodes of the hub-suspended structure. In other words, the secondary hub is secured to the structural elements of the hub-suspended structure. The hub-suspended structure and the ring are secured together at their common nodes which are the surface nodes of the ring. All structural elements, which belong to the hub-suspended structure and intersect the ring, are secured to the ring. The secondary hub is positioned within the inner area of the ring or securely attached to the ring. The secondary hub can be securely attached directly to the ring because it is also suspended in this case by the combination of the hub-suspended structure and ring. The hub-suspended structure is also positioned within the inner area of the ring. Further structural connections between the secondary hub, the hub-suspended structure and the ring are described in the sections related to the spoke-based / shell-based hub-suspended structures, in which the floating structure referred is the ring. It is further explained that, all structural elements, which are comprised in the ring or the hub-suspended structure and intersected at each common node, are secured together at their intersections. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0144] A wheel-like structure is able to suspend one or more hubs. These secondary hubs can be secured together via a rigid hub-supporting structure to make the secondary hubs to be better suspended. It is also possible to suspend the hubsupporting structure to the ring by using the hub-suspended structure in the same way for secured connections to the ring: the hub-supporting structure is secured to a number of nodes of the hub-suspended structure while the hub-suspended structure and the ring are secured together at their common nodes by securing all structural elements intersected at each common node together.

[0145] Like a wheel which bear loads applied at its secondary hub or on its rim, the wheel-like structure bear multidirectional dynamic forces, which are transferred to it from the wave energy converter, and multidirectional dynamic forces, of which there are loads created by waves and operations of the wave energy converter, applied onto its ring. At least one of the following components of the wheel-like structure can be attached with floats (#4, Figure 32) to hold the wheel-like structure floating: the secondary hubs, the hub-supporting structure and the ring which are able to bear loads caused by waves of a body of water (#12) via the attached floats. It is further explained that when a force applied onto the body of the wheel-like structure (either the ring or the hub-suspended structure of the secondary hub), the wheel-like structure resists the force or deformations caused by the force thanks to its light and stiff body. For example, a light bicycle wheel can bear a large force created by the surface of the ground and applied onto the rim of the bicycle wheel, allowing the wheel capable to bear large loads while the structure of the rim of the wheel is thin and light. Thus, the wheel-like structure allows a rigid secondary hub secured to its ring (either directly or indirectly via a supporting structure which is secured to both the secondary hub and the ring) with or without the secondary hub suspended structure included. In other words, the wheellike structure can also work well without the hub-suspended structure included.

[0146] The wheel-like structure is held either vertically or horizontally using any means such as a flexible floating structure, a rigid floating structure, a combination of floats and mooring system or another wheel-like structure. These means are structurally secured to the body of the wheel-like structure at points on the body of the wheel-like 2025203467   14 May 2025 structure, including points on the ring, the secondary hub or the hub-suspended structure or any structure which is secured to the wheel-like structure. These structural connections hold the wheel-like structure, allowing the wheel-like structure being floated and stabilized. It is notable that the ring can be either vertical or horizontal while the secondary hub always has a horizontal rotational axis. If the ring is vertical, the wheel-like structure looks like a wheel stayed vertically on the body of water. If the ring is horizontal, the wheel-like structure looks like a wheel laid horizontally on the body of water.

[0147] Basing on two types of hub-suspended structures (spoke-based and shell-based hub-suspended structures), the wheel-like structure also has two types as well: the wheel-like structure can comprise spokes (without the 3D surface structure) or 3D surface structures (without spokes) or combinations of both spokes and 3D surface structures.

[0148] The second form of the ring, the surface-based ring, is an expansion of the perimeter-based ring. The structure of the perimeter-based ring (#30, #31, #32 Figure 62) is expanded to form the surface-based ring (Figure 63) which is constructed from a 3D surface structure which includes framed surface structures, plate / shell structures, combinations of framed surface structures and plate / shell structures or double-wall plate / shell structures: in addition to the elongate structural elements (#32) included previously, more elongate structural elements (#62, Figure 63) and more surface nodes (#61, Figure 63) are added, together with the previous elongate structural elements (#32) to form the surface-based ring (Figure 63) which is stretched on a ring-shaped 3D surface. The word “surface-based ring” implies that the surface-based ring is formed from surface elements. So, the surface-based ring comprises a mesh, as defined in finite element method, containing a number of nodes (#31 and #61, Figure 63) and a number of nonoverlapped polygons (#64), of which each vertex of each polygon is positioned at a node. The surface-based ring structure can also have a number of plate / shell surface elements (#64). It can be formed from framed surface elements and / or plate / shell surface elements: any polygon where is required to be reinforced, a plate / shell surface element, which has the same shape and sizes with the polygon, is fitted in and secured 2025203467   14 May 2025 to all its neighbouring structural elements which intersect the plate / shell surface element at its vertices or edges. So, the perimeter-based ring is a particular case of the surface-based ring while the ring-shaped perimeter is a particular case of the ringshaped 3D surface.

[0149] The ring can also be described in another way: it is a ring composed from a rigid 3D surface structure which stretches on a ring-shaped 3D surface. The 3D surface structure is composed from either rigid framed surface structures or plate / shell structures or double-wall plate / shell structures or combinations of these structures. The ring has a plurality of surface nodes distributed on the ring-shaped 3D surface, of which each pair of adjacent surface nodes are connected by a line, forming a surface mesh containing the surface nodes and the lines. Each line has a elongate structural element with two ends laid along, of which each end is positioned at a surface node and elongate structural elements intersected at the surface node are secured together to form the rigid 3D surface structure.

[0150] The mesh can further comprise a plurality of nonoverlapped rigid polygonal surface elements interconnected together to cover the ring-shaped 3D surface where required. Each surface element has a shape of polygon with at least three edges and each vertex of each surface element is positioned at a surface node. The surface elements are framed surface elements and / or plate / shell surface elements. The way that these surface elements are constructed and secured together in order to form the rigid ring is the same with that of framed surface structures and plate / shell structures.

[0151] It is also an option that the ring structure does not include any elongate structural elements as it contains only plate / shell surface elements, of which each plate / shell surface element is fully fitted in a polygon of the mesh (the shape and sizes of the polygon and the plate / shell surface element are the same). In order to structurally connect (secure) the structural elements of the ring(s) together, the same rule for structural connections of structural elements is still applied: all structural elements intersected together at each (surface) node or at each edge of each polygon are structurally secured together at their intersections. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0152] The wheel-like structure can be composed from either elongate structural elements / framed surface elements or plate / shell surface elements, implying that it can comprise elongate structural elements only or plate / shell surface elements only or both elongate structural elements and plate / shell surface elements.

[0153] The wave energy converter can be a circular motion-based wave energy converter (Figure 1 and Figure 2) or a wheel-based wave energy converter (Figure 14, Figure 15, Figure 16) or a (circular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 3 or Figure 4) or an (angular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 5) or a (linear) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 6) as described in previous / other sections. The way each type of the above wave energy converter attached to the secondary hub(s), or attached to the floating structure, which is the wheel-like structure in this case, is also described in the said sections. So, how the floating structure (the wheel-like structure) and the wave energy converter arranged together is described in the said sections. The secondary hub can also be secured directly to the ring. In this case, the secondary hub is allowed to be secured or not to be secured to the hub-suspended structure.

[0154] Variations / options of the wheel-like structure

[0155] The wheel like structure has some variations / options as follows: (1) Variations / options of the wheel-like structure include variations / options of the hub-suspended structure (spoke-based hub-suspended structure / shell-based hub-suspended structure and variations of structural components of these hub-suspended structures) and variations / options of the ring. (2) The secondary hubs are not required to be positioned at the centre (if the centre exists) of the ring. Any secondary hub can be placed in the area enclosed by the ring or right on the body of the ring. No matter where the secondary hub is positioned as described above, the secondary hub can still be structurally suspended or held at its desired positions by the ring and the hub-suspended structure. (3) Each wave energy converter uses a number of coaxial hubs. Two wave energy converters, which are positioned oppositely over the secondary hubs (in two 2025203467   14 May 2025 sides) of the wheel like structure, can use the same group of coaxial secondary hubs (Figure 30) or different groups of coaxial secondary hubs (Figure 32). It is a better choice that the two wave energy converters have the same symmetric plane. The wheel like structure can work with either a wave energy converter attached in one side (Figure 36) or two wave energy converters attached in two sides (Figure 37) of the secondary hubs that the wave energy converter(s) is(are) rotatably attached to. (4) The spokes can be stiffened by using another type of structural elements such as elongate structural elements (#16i in Figure 41) which structurally secure the body of each spoke to its neighbouring spokes. (5) It is optional to add a system of guide rollers (#9) (Figure 36 and Figure 37) between each wave energy converter and the wheel-like structure: the guide rollers are rollable along an arc-shaped guide rail. The guide rail is vertically securely attached to the wheel-like structure, including to the ring, the secondary hub or the hub-suspended structure. The guide rollers (#9) are secured either to the oscillated float (#8) or anywhere along the body of the pivot arm (#7). In this case, the oscillated float (#8) is further supported by the guide rollers (#9). If the guide rollers (#9, Figure 37) are positioned between the oscillated float and the secondary hub(s) where the pivot arm is rotatably attached to, the radius of the guide rail is shorter than the length of the pivot arm. (6) The wheel-like structure or the guide rail possesses stoppers to inhibit rotations of the float beyond chosen points on the rail (or the wheel-like structure). The stoppers may or may not have shock absorbing properties. The stoppers, which are used to allow vertical angular oscillations of the pivot arm within an angle defined with a lower limit (set by a lower stopper secured below the secondary hub to the wheel-like structure. including to the ring or the secondary hub or the hub-suspended structure) and an upper limit (set by an upper stopper secured above the secondary hub to the wheel-like structure, including to the ring or the secondary hub or the hub-suspended structure), can be secured to the guide rail or directly to the wheel-like structure. Thus, the stoppers can also work alone without the guide rail included. 2025203467   14 May 2025 (7) The wheel like structure can be damped with submerged wave absorbing dampers. One or more ropes / cables descend from the wheel like structure and a submerged wave absorbing damper is hung from each rope / cable. A number of submerged dampers can be hung from the ring or the secondary hubs of the wheel like structure down to deeper water via a number of vertical ropes or cables or chains. The submerged dampers are used to assist the wheel like structure to be more stabilized. (8) It is also notable that, variations / options of structural components / structural elements or defined structures used to construct the wheel-like structure are also variations / options of the wheel-like structure. 1.14

[0156] Wheel-like structures

[0157] A floating substructure / structure used to support floating wind turbines and / or wave energy systems and / or floating solar energy systems is required to be lighter (and thus to be possibly cheaper), more stabilized and capable to work on a deeper body of water. The reason is that, in most of common cases using available technologies, the floating substructure / structure are designated to work with quite limited depths of water where the seabed (ground) is close enough to the water surface in order to facilitate / utilize anchoring / mooring systems which hold and help the floating substructure / structure stabilized. In other words, in these cases, the anchoring / mooring systems are required to stabilize the floating substructure / structure. However, the deeper the body of water is, the more expensive and the more unreliable the anchoring / mooring systems are. If the body of water is too deep, the anchoring / mooring systems are not able to contribute to the stabilization of the floating substructure / structure anymore. The purpose of the wheel-like structure is to provide a solution for supporting the floating wind turbines and / or the wave energy systems and / or the floating solar energy systems with respect to any depth of the body of water while the floating substructure / structure (the horizontal wheel-like structure) is lighter (and cheaper): the horizontal wheel-like structure is capable to be stabilized by itself without requiring anchoring / mooring system. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0158] The wheel-like structure is based on a structure like a wheel, such as a bicycle wheel, which is capable to bear weights to be several times in comparison with the weight of the wheel-like structure. For example, the bicycle wheel can bear weights, which create forces applied to its rim and / or its hub, of 50 times in comparison with the weight of the bicycle wheel. The bicycle wheel works basing on structural interactions between its rim, its spokes and its hub. These features are applied for the wheel-like structure used for wind and / or wave and / or solar energy systems.

[0159] The wheel-like structure, which applies the same principles of the bicycle wheel, is a rigid floating substructure / structure preferably laid on a surface of a body of water (#12, Figure 64). It has a rigid structural ring (#30, Figure 64 and Figure 65), a number of tensioned structural spokes (#16x, Figure 64 and Figure 65) which are upper spokes laid above the ring and lower spokes laid below the ring, and a rigid suspended structure positioned inner the ring and being suspended to the ring via the spokes. In terms of structures, the ring, the suspended structure and the tensioned structural spokes of the wheel-like structure have the same roles and features of the rim, the hub and the spokes of a wheel, such as a bicycle wheel, respectively. Each spoke has an end secured to the suspended structure while the other end of the spoke is secured to the ring, allowing the spokes being laid in lower layers below the ring and upper layers above the ring, and / or allowing the spokes being distributed around / surrounding the suspended structure, making the suspended structure being suspended to the ring in all directions. In other words, the ring, the suspended structure and the tensioned structural spokes form the wheel-like structure to be rigid even if the tensioned structural spokes are ropes or cables. As a result, the wheel-like structure is capable to bear forces applied in any direction. When a force is applied on the suspended structure, the force is then transmitted through the spokes to the ring. Furthermore, when a force is applied on the ring, the force is transmitted through the spokes to the suspended structure then back to the ring, and so on. For example, the suspended structure has an upper structural connector (#100u), which is secured to the upper side of the suspended structure, and a lower structural connector (#100L), which is secured to the lower side of the suspended structure, while the upper layers of spokes are secured the upper structural connector and the lower layers of spokes are secured the lower structural connector by 2025203467   14 May 2025 securing the upper ends (or the lower ends) of the upper spokes (or the lower spokes) to the upper structural connector (or the lower structural connector). It is notable that the spokes can be arranged axially to a point (such as the centre) of the suspended structure (Figure 65) or tangentially to the point (Figure 66).

[0160] For wind and / or wave and / or solar energy systems, the wheel-like structure is preferred to be laid / held horizontally. For solar energy systems, the wheel-like structure is preferred to be laid / held either inclinedly or horizontally or vertically.

[0161] It is recommended that the shape of the ring should be a convex enclosed line, or at least a nonconcave enclosed line, such as a circle (Figure 64 to Figure 66), or an oval, or a non-concave polygon (Figure 67), including a triangle, a square, a rectangular, a regular polygon and so on. However, it is notable that the wheel-like structure can still work with any shape of its rigid structural ring: the shape is required to be enclosed and composed of straight and / or curved sections. The wheel-like structure is still workable even if the shape of the ring is concave although its structural stiffness is less stiff. The shape of vertical cross sections of the ring should also be a convex enclosed line, or at least a nonconcave enclosed line, such as a circle or a polygon although any shape, such as an I-shape or a T-shape are still workable and acceptable.

[0162] The most important feature of the ring is that it must be rigid. The ring should also allow structural elements of the structural linkage, particularly incompressible elongate structural elements, to be pre-stressed in order to form the rigid wheel-like structure to be stiffer.

[0163] There is no specific requirement for the suspended structure, particularly its shape and / or how its structural components are arranged. However, a vertical hollow tower, such as a hollow cylinder, looking like the tower of a wind turbine is a good choice to be a suspended structure. Thus, the suspended structure can also be a block of frame structures, a wall of frame structures, a structural ring, a structural sphere, a structural cylinder, a structural torus or even a structural island and so on. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0164] In addition, it is recommended that the spokes can be ropes / cables / chains or bars, beams or hollow pipes which are capable to bear tensional forces. In other words, the spokes can be elongate structural elements, particularly incompressible elongate structural elements, such as ropes / cables / chains or bars, although any kinds of elongate structural elements, such as beams, are workable and acceptable.

[0165] Although the spokes are recommended to be arranged in the upper layers and the lower layers as described above, the wheel-like structure can also work with the following arrangement: the first end of each spoke is secured to the ring while the second end of the spoke is secured to the suspended structure, allowing the second ends of the spokes are distributed at different elevations on the body of the suspended structure while the spokes are also distributed around / surrounding the suspended structure, allowing the suspended structure being suspended to the ring (via the spokes) with respect to any direction and allowing the suspended structure, the spokes and the ring forming a rigid structure which is the wheel-like structure. Each spoke suspends the suspended structure to the ring in one direction along the body of the spoke, allowing the suspended structure being suspended to the ring by several spokes in several directions. As a result, the wheel-like structure is rigid. Figure 70 is an example that the spokes (#16x) can be laid in random orders. The spokes are simply required to be laid in a number of directions enough to securely suspend the suspended structure to the ring.

[0166] Each of the upper layers of spokes and / or each of the lower layers of spokes can also b6e replaced with a rigid surface structure, which is described in previous / other sections, although the layers of spokes, which are elongate structural elements, are more preferred due to their lightweights because the spokes are based on tensions and the spokes can reach long distances basing on their tensional capabilities. How to form a surface structure from elongate structural elements and / or surface elements is described in previous / other sections. How each surface structure is secured to the ring, with or without the suspended structure, is explained as follows: The surface structure has a number of structural elements which intersect with the ring, or with a number of structural elements of the ring at points distributed along the intersection between the 2025203467   14 May 2025 ring and the surface structure, wherein structural elements intersected at each point are structurally secured together and / or to the structural ring. These structural secured connections allow the surface structure and the ring forming a rigid structure, which is the wheel-like structure, capable and suitable to be used for wind and / or wave and / or, particularly, solar energy systems. The points are sparsely distributed throughout the ring.

[0167] If the wheel-like structure also includes the suspended structure, how the surface structure is secured to the suspended structure is explained as follows: The surface structure has a number of structural elements which intersect with the suspended structure, or with a number of structural elements of the suspended structure at points distributed along the intersection between the suspended structure and the surface structure, wherein structural elements intersected at each point are structurally secured together and / or to the structural suspended structure. These structural secured connections allow the suspended structure being suspended to the ring (via the surface structures) with respect to any direction and allowing the suspended structure, the surface structures and the ring forming a rigid structure, which is the wheel-like structure, capable and suitable to be used for wind and / or wave and / or, solar energy systems. The points are sparsely distributed throughout the suspended structure.

[0168] It is notable that the shape of each surface structure is recommended to be a cone or a pyramid, although any shape, such as a general curved shape or a helical shape (#16xs, Figure 71), is workable and acceptable. Particularly, Figure 72 demonstrates an example that the wheel-like structure is workable with a truncated polygonal-shaped compressible spokes or a truncated cone-shaped compressible surface structure (#16xs, Figure 72) together with a number of spokes (#16x, Figure 72) arranged to be secured to the suspended structure at upper or lower points other than the top of the truncated cone. Figure 73 demonstrates an example that the wheel-like structure, which is suitable for solar energy systems, is workable with a flat layer of incompressible spokes arranged on the top (of the wheel-like structure) together with a (downward) truncated polygonal-shaped layer of incompressible spokes arranged at the bottom. It is notable 2025203467   14 May 2025 that each spoke is a elongate structural element and each surface structure contains a number of elongate structural elements and / or surface elements which are referred to be essential structural elements / structural components / structural parts used to form a structure.

[0169] The spokes and the surface structures said above are two specific forms among serval forms of structural linkages which are used to suspend the suspended structure to the ring. In order to suspend the suspended structure to the ring along a direction, meaning that the suspended structure and the ring are not allowed to move away from each other along the direction, the structural linkage needs to have a structural element / structural component / structural part, such as a rope / cable / chain / beam or a frame or a surface structure, which is allowed to be tensioned, laid along and capable to bear tensional forces appeared along the direction, allowing the suspended structure being held / suspended with the thin and light and long tensioned structural element / structural component / structural part. Thus, as the suspended structure needs to be suspended in several directions, allowing the suspended structure being held tightly and rigidly by the ring and to the ring, the structural linkage is tensional (or it is a tensional structural linkage) and its structural elements / structural components / structural parts are allowed to be tensioned (or they are tensioned structural elements / structural components / structural parts). A tensioned structural element / structural component / structural part can be an incompressible elongate structural element, such as a rope / cable / chain, or a compressible elongate structural element, such as a beam or a rigid surface element or a rigid frame structure or a rigid surface structure. So, the principle of the tensional structural linkage is that it utilizes features of the tensioned structural elements / structural components / structural parts, which can bear large (tensional) forces, with their thin, light and cheap to make body, in order to hold / suspend the suspended structure to the ring as desired. The tensional structural linkage is typically formed from the tensioned structural elements / structural components / structural parts via typical structural connections. Thus, firstly, the body of the suspended structure must be surrounded by the body of the ring. Secondly, the tensioned structural elements / structural components / structural parts must be laid / distributed around / surrounding the suspended structure and fitted between the 2025203467   14 May 2025 suspended structure and the ring. A number of tensioned structural elements are structurally secured to the ring at points distributed around / surrounding the structural linkage. Another number of tensioned structural elements are structurally secured to the suspended structure at other points distributed around / surrounding the suspended structure. Each of the structural linkage and the ring and the suspended structure reinforces the rest, making the structural linkage and the wheel-like structure to be rigid. The body of the ring should be enclosed in order to allow the wheel-like structure to be functional well. The shape of the ring can be composed of curved lines and straight lines. Forces / loads applied to any structural element / structural component / structural part of the wheel-like structure can spread to the rest (the whole body of the wheellike structure) via the tensioned structural elements / structural components / structural parts, particularly through the structural linkage. Thus, an important feature of the structural linkage and / or the suspended structure is to make the rigid structural ring to be stiffer (or any structure among the structural linkage and the suspended structure and the rigid structural ring makes the rest to be stiffer.

[0170] So, the wheel-like structure can bear any force applied to any part of its body while its body is composed of light and cheap structural elements, allowing the ring made with a large size covering a large area for better stabilization on the body of water. There are no further specifications required for the wheel-like structure, as long as it has enough tensioned structural elements / structural components / structural parts distributed around / surrounding the suspended structure in order to be capable to suspend the suspended structure to the ring. It is further mentioned that tensioned structural elements are structural elements which are capable and allowed to be tensioned. When a force is applied to the wheel-like structure, a part of the structural linkage is tensioned while the rest can be compressed and / or bended (such as beams / frame) or can bear nothing (such as ropes / cables with no tensions as well as compressions). As the suspended structure is positioned inner the structural linkage being surrounded, the tensioned part of the structural linkage suspends / holds the suspended structure, allowing the wheel-like structure to be functional. The purpose of this recommended solution is to utilize the tensioned part in order to allow the ring to be made larger with the lighter and longer and cheaper tensioned part. This is why the 2025203467   14 May 2025 suspended structure must be surrounded by the structural linkage which must also be surrounded by the body of the ring.

[0171] The structural linkage is structurally secured to the suspended structure and also structurally secured to the ring in order to form the rigid wheel-like structure. Particularly, the structural linkage has a number of structural elements which intersect with the ring and / or the suspended structure, or with a number of structural elements of the ring and / or the suspended structure, at points distributed along the intersection between the ring and / or the suspended structure and the structural linkage, wherein structural elements intersected together at each point are structurally secured together or to the structural ring and / or the suspended structure, allowing the suspended structure being suspended to the ring via the structural linkage in order to form the rigid wheel-like structure. The wheel-like structure is allowed to have two or more suspended structures. In this case, any pair of these suspended structures can also be structurally secured together via the structural linkage in the context of their structural secured connections to the ring. The structural linkage has a number of structural elements which intersect with the ring and / or the suspended structures, or with a number of structural elements of the ring and / or the suspended structures, at points distributed along the intersection between the ring and / or the suspended structures and the structural linkage, wherein structural elements intersected together at each point are structurally secured together or to the structural ring and / or the suspended structures, allowing the suspended structures being suspended to the ring via the structural linkage in order to form the rigid wheel-like structure. The points where the structural linkage intersects with the suspended structure are sparsely distributed throughout the suspended structure. The points where the structural linkage intersects with the ring are sparsely distributed throughout the ring. The suspended structure or the structural linkage or the ring is a frame and / or plate / shell structures while the structural linkage can also be ropes / cables / chains.

[0172] Basing on the features of the ring, the structural linkage and the suspended structure, and also basing on how they are arranged and structurally securely connected together, the wheel-like structure is allowed to exclude the suspended structure, 2025203467   14 May 2025 particularly when the wheel-like structure just needs to bear less loads. In this case, it can be understood that the structural linkage functions like both itself and the suspended structure: it suspends itself to the ring. Instead of securing the structural linkage to the suspended structure and to the ring, the structural linkage only needs to secure structural parts of the ring to other structural parts of the ring together in order to suspend / hold the structural parts and the other structural parts together, allowing the body of the ring to be stiffer and the whole wheel-like structure to be rigid, even if the structural linkage is a net of ropes / cables / chains. In this case, the structural linkage is surrounded by the ring, fitted in the inner area of the ring, and suspended to the ring by being structurally secured to the ring (at points distributed around / surrounding the structural linkage), allowing the structural linkage being suspended to the ring and allowing forces applied to any structural parts of the wheel-like structure being spread to the rest via the tensioned structural elements. In other words, a number of tensioned structural elements are structurally secured to the ring at points distributed around / surrounding the structural linkage, allowing each of the structural linkage and the ring reinforces the rest, making the structural linkage and the wheel-like structure to be rigid.

[0173] It can be clarified that there are no further necessary requirements on how the tensioned structural elements are further arranged together or how the structural elements / structural components of the structural linkage are structurally securely connected together. The internal structural connections of the structural linkage are not necessary to be specified / described (because there are unlimited possibilities of these internal structural connections as well) while the structural linkage should only need to be specified its external structural connections in order to assure the wheel-like structure to be functional. For example, a structural linkage containing a number of ropes / cables / chains, of which each end of each rope / cable / chain is structurally securely connected to a point of the ring or the suspended structure, if there is, while these ropes / cables / chains are not necessary to be specified on how and where they are laid and how they are secured / not secured together, as long as the tensioned structural elements being distributed in such as way allowing the suspended structure, or the structural linkage being suspended to the ring. Decisions on which structural element 2025203467   14 May 2025 to be a tensioned structural element, and which tensioned structural element is an incompressible elongate structural element (such as a rope / cable / chain) or a compressible elongate structural element (such as a beam) and how and where the structural elements are laid and how the structural elements are secured / not secured together and so on must be based on results of structural analysis which relies on applied forces / loads. These factors can only be decided at the design stages when the applied forces / loads are known in order to carry our structural analysis.

[0174] In general, each of the ring, the suspended structure and the structural linkage is composed of frame structures, which are composed of elongate structural elements, and / or surface structure, which are composed of surface elements, including prestressed incompressible elongate structural elements, such as pre=stressed ropes / cables / chains. Actually, it is recommended that the structural linkage is fully composed of incompressible elongate structural elements. However, compressible elongate structural elements, such as beams, are still significant in several cases and still workable. The structural linkage occupy a space looking like an annular shape surrounded by the rigid structural ring and the suspended structure is fitted in the middle of the annular shape.

[0175] The structural linkage, in a particularly case, which contains the spokes and / or the surface structures, is allowed to be compressed and / or bended and / or tensioned, meaning that each elongate structural element can be compressed and / or bended (which is a compressible elongate structural element such as a beam) and / or tensioned (which is an incompressible elongate structural element such as a rope / cable / chain / bar or a compressible elongate structural element such as a beam). For example, Figure 64 demonstrates a recommended wheel-like structure having an upper layer and a lower layer composed of tensioned spokes, of which each spoke is allowed to be a rope, meaning that the wheel-like structure is rigid although its structural linkage is composed of the ropes only. It is notable that any incompressible elongate structural element can be replaced with a compressible elongate structural element. The result of a structural analysis of the wheel-like structure allows to identify whether each elongate structural element of the structural linkage to be a compressible elongate structural element or 2025203467   14 May 2025 an incompressible elongate structural element. It is also notable that each point where the structural linkage is secured to the suspended structure is allowed to be above (or in the left), at, or below (or in the right) the ring. The coordinates (positions) of the points influence the result of structural analysis, meaning that each elongate structural elements of the structural linkage can be determined to be a compressible elongate structural element or an incompressible elongate structural element depending on arrangements of the components of the wheel-like structure together with loads applied. In addition, incompressible elongate structural elements, such as ropes / cables, of the wheel-like structure are pre-stressed when the wheel-like structure is fabricated / assembled in order to make the incompressible elongate structural elements to be functional.

[0176] The ring can also be a hollow structure which also works as a float or a number of floats (the body of the ring contains the float or the floats). It is ideal with a ring which is a hollow torus shaped ring having several sealed compartments, in which each compartment is a float. The ring can also be polygonal in order to be manufactured easier. The shape of the ring is not necessary to be a circle or a polygon only. It can also be an ellipse or an enclosed line composed of curved lines and straight lines. Some recommended shapes of the ring are circular or polygonal torus shapes. If the wheel is horizontal or vertical or inclined, the ring is laid horizontal or vertical or inclined respectively. The most significant feature of the ring is to redistribute forces applied to any structural parts of the wheel-like structure to all other structural parts of the wheellike structure, allowing the ring and the structural linkage (particularly the spokes) to be thinner and lighter while the wheel-like structure can bear greater forces. Furthermore, the wheel-like structure can be made larger because the structural linkage (particularly the spokes) are designated to work under tensions. For example, a tensioned spoke can work well if it is very long while its body is very thin, allowing the wheel-like structure capable to bear greater forces with less costs for manufacturing the lighter wheel-like structure.

[0177] The ring is floated by securing a number of floats to its body, allowing the ring to be floated, balanced and stabilized. When the ring is horizontally laid on the body of 2025203467   14 May 2025 water thanks to its large size, such as its larger diameter, covering a large surface area of the body of water, it is also capable to be well stabilized and ideal to bear weights (of any systems sitting on the wheel-like structure) as well as buoyant forces created by the floats. Another significant feature of the ring is to provide forces, which is based on the buoyant forces applied to the ring, to prevent the suspended structure capsizing by transmitting the forces through the structural linkage (such as the spokes) to keep / hold the suspended structure being stabilized. Thanks to contributions of the ring and the structural linkage together, the suspended structure is held stabilizing on the body of water with low costs. When the ring is made larger for better stabilization, the structural linkage (such as the spokes), as it is allowed to work under tensions, is allowed to reach further distances between the suspended structure and the ring with low cost. Thus, the ring is also able to provide buoyant forces, thanks to having floats attached / integrated with its body, to keep the wheel-like structure being floated. The ring is either hollow or not hollow. In other words, the ring has buoyant sections, of which each section is floatable thanks to a float either attached / secured to or integrated in the section.

[0178] The rigid wheel-like structure has a number of floats being securely attached, and / or its ring is hollow, in order to keep it being floated and stabilized on the body of water. As the wheel-like structure is rigid, the floats can be secured to any structural component of the wheel-like structure, particularly to the rigid structural ring, which is more preferred, and / or the suspended structure and / or the structural linkage, allowing the wheel-like structure being floated, balanced and stabilized on the body of water by buoyant forces created by the floats. The floats can also be secured to a typical float supporting structure which is then secured to the wheel-like structure, including the suspended structure, the structural linkage and the rigid structural ring, allowing the structural combinations of the float supporting structure and the wheel-like structure being floated, balanced and stabilized on the body of water by buoyant forces created by the floats. The float supporting structure is simply a structure which is secured to the wheel-like structure while the floats are secured to the float supporting structure, allowing the structural composition of the float supporting structure and the wheel-like structure being floated, balanced and stabilized on the body of water thanks to buoyant 2025203467   14 May 2025 forces created by the floats. There is no further specific specification required for the float supporting structure.

[0179] The suspended structure and / or the structural linkage and / or the ring are also optionally allowed to have a float (or a number of floats) being secured to their structural bodies, allowing the float(s) creating buoyant forces applied to the bodies of the suspended structure and / or the structural linkage and / or the ring. Any float, either attached to the suspended structure or the ring or the structural linkage, can be partially filled with liquid or water, making the float to be a liquid damping tank. A liquid damping system composed of a number of liquid damping tanks is an excellent system used to stabilize the wheel-like structure on the body of water. In this case, the liquid damping tanks are secured and distributed along the body of the ring (around / surrounding the suspended structure) and / or the bottom / body of the suspended structure.

[0180] Beside the liquid damping system composed of liquid damping tanks as explained above, the wheel-like structure can also be damped using a submerged damping system composed of a number of submerged hung dampers. Each hung damper is hung by a rope / cable / chain (#104r), which has an end (the lower end) secured to the hung damper while the other end (the upper end) is secured to the ring or the suspended structure, allowing the hung damper being suspended by the rope / cable / chain underneath. When the upper of the rope / cable / chain is raised up by the body of the wheel-like structure, the rope / cable / chain pulls its connected submerged hung damper up accordingly. The weight of the submerged hung damper, as a result of an inertial force generated, create a reaction force which tends to prevent the upward motions, making the wheel-like structure to be stabilized. In contrast, when the upper end of the rope / cable / chain tends to move down due to motions of the wheel-like structure, the rope / cable / chain is loosened, allowing the wheel-like structure to be stabilized because the weight of the submerged hung damper does not tend to pull the wheel-like structure further downward. The submerged hung damper can also be made utilizing effects of hydrodynamic forces created by the water interacting with the shape of the body of the submerged hung damper to provide damping effects to the wheel-like structure. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0181] In addition, as explained on how the wheel-like structure used for wave energy systems, the wheel-like structure is damped and stabilized excellently as the (general) wave energy converters of the wave energy systems also work like dampers. This feature is significant, particularly when the wheel-like structure is used to support a number of wind turbines which required to be stabilized on the body of water with costeffectiveness.

[0182] The wheel-like structure is used as a floating substructure / structure for wind turbines and / or wave energy systems and / or solar energy systems. The reason is that the wheel-like structure can be made to be significantly light in weights (saving costs of manufacturing) while it is capable to bear heavy loads and to stabilize itself on the body of water thanks to its body covering the large surface area of the body of water. Further descriptions / explanations on how wind turbines and / or wave energy converters and / or solar panels integrate and work with the wheel-like structure are presented in sections related to wave energy systems, wind energy systems and solar energy systems.

[0183] The rigid wheel-like structure, composed of the suspended structure, the structural linkage and the ring, is more suitable to bear heavy loads, such as wind turbines and / or covers a large area of the surface of the body of water. However, If the wheel-like structure only needs to bear light loads (such as solar panels) and / or does not need to cover a large area on the surface of the body of water for stabilization, the wheel-like structure can be simplified in order to save costs. This can be done by excluding the suspended structure from the wheel-like structure. In this case, it can be understood that parts of the body of the ring can be “suspended” together. In other words, each elongate structural element, which previously forms a spoke, has two ends, wherein each end is secured to a point on the structural body of the ring, making the two points at the two ends of the elongate structural element being held / suspended together via tensional forces transmitted in and along the elongate structural element. Such kind of structural connections can include bracing to improve the stiffness of the body of the ring by allowing several points of the body of the ring being further held / suspended together. For example, a structural linkage composed of an upper layer of elongate structural elements and / or a surface structure forms an upper layer (upper 2025203467   14 May 2025 net, #16u, Figure 74) being secured to and positioned at the top side of the ring, of which each end of each elongate structural element is secured to the ring at an upper point positioned in the top side of the ring while the upper points are distributed around / surrounding the upper net and along the upper side of the body of the ring. Further explanations on how to secure the structural linkage, particularly if it has surface elements / structural elements, to the ring are explained previously. The upper net improves the stiffness of the ring while it can be used to support some kinds of lighter loads such as solar panels. The upper net can be flat if it is composed of compressible and / or incompressible elongate structural elements. The upper net can be curved, such as a cone (#16c, Figure 75), if it is composed of compressible elongate structural elements. Similarly, a structural linkage composed of a lower layer of elongate structural elements and / or a surface structure, can also form a lower layer (lower net) which is secured to and positioned at the bottom side of the ring, of which each end of each elongate structural element is secured to the ring at a lower point positioned in the bottom side of the ring while the lower points are distributed around / surrounding the lower net and along the lower side of the body of the ring. Further explanations on how to secure the structural linkage, particularly if it has surface elements / structural elements, to the ring are explained previously. The lower net improves the stiffness of the ring while it can also be used to support some kinds of lighter loads such as solar panels (via a structural photovoltaic mounting system) or used for a mooring system. A bracing net of elongate structural elements can also be added to strengthen the ring. An end of each elongate structural element of the bracing net is secured to an upper point while the other end is secured to a lower point, making the upper points and the lower points being braced / suspended together. It is also notable that each elongate structural element of the upper net or the lower net or the bracing net can be compressible or incompressible elongate structural element. The solar panels are secured to the upper net, facing the sun.

[0184] It is also allowed that, instead of using the upper net and the lower net together, a middle net, which is a structural linkage composed of elongate structural elements and / or a surface structure, is recommended to be used for smaller and lighter solar energy systems. If the structural linkage has a number of elongate structural elements, 2025203467   14 May 2025 an end of each elongate structural element is secured to the ring at a point while the other end of the elongate structural element is secured to the ring at another point, wherein the points are distributed between the upper side and the lower side of the ring, allowing to form a rigid stabilized wheel-like structure with the solar panels secured to the middle net, facing the sun. If the elongate structural elements are prestressed, the wheel-like structure is stiffer. Further explanations on how to secure the structural linkage, particularly if it has surface elements / structural elements, to the ring are explained previously.

[0185] It is further notable that the upper layer (or the upper net) of the wheel-like structure can be further supported by the lower layer (or the lower net) by using a number of rigid suspended structures being secured to both the upper layer and the lower layer. Loads (forces) are transmitted from the upper net through the rigid suspended structures to the lower net which is capable to bear the transmitted loads (forces). The suspended structures then can have a number of floats being attached (to the suspended structures), allowing the floats capable to further bear the transmitted loads (forces), allowing the lower layer bearing less loads (forces), leading to the ring allowed to be less stiff for cheaper costs. So, the purpose of the structural connections between the upper layer and the lower layer via the suspended structures, with or without the floats securely attached to the suspended structures, is to improve the stabilities and to reduce the costs of the wheel-like structure. It is also notable that the upper layer (or the upper net) can be regarded as an upper structural linkage and the lower layer (or the lower net) can be regarded as a lower structural linkage.

[0186] The type of simplified wheel-like structure, which excludes the suspended structure as described above, is more suitable to be used for floating solar energy systems. If the loads that the wheel-like structure bears are light enough that the stiffness of the ring is enough to carry the loads without using the structural linkage(s) (and also without using the suspended structure(s)), the wheel-like structure is now the rigid structural ring (without both the structural linkage(s) the suspended structure(s)). In this case, the wheel-like structure is still suitable to be used for floating solar energy system: the stiffness of the rigid structural ring is enough to bear light loads such as 2025203467   14 May 2025 solar panels while the wheel-like structure is floated, held, balanced and stabilized on the body of water. The solar panels can still be secured to the wheel-like structure (the ring) or to a typical photovoltaic mounting system which is secure to the 'wheel-like structure, facing the sun.

[0187] The suspended structure (of the wheel-like structure) is also allowed to be directly secured to the ring while it is being suspended to the ring via the spokes (or the structural linkage). Although the suspended structure can also be secured to the ring to work alone without assistants from the spokes (the structural linkage), it is not a good choice to do so.

[0188] It is notable that the ring, the structural linkage and the suspended structure can be composed of structural components, including structural elongate structural elements or surface elements as described in previous / other sections. So, the outer surface of the body of the ring and / or that of the structural linkage and / or that of the suspended structure can be formed from surface structures. How to form these surface structures from structural elongate structural elements and / or structural surface elements is described in previous / other sections.

[0189] The wheel-like structure is suitable, with low costs, to work as a floating island or a floating substructure to bear any heavy weight and / or large object required to be stabilized as well as floated on the body of water and / or positioned at a place by structurally securing the structural body of the object via its available structural components for structural connections to the wheel-like structure, including to the suspended structure and / or the structural linkage and / or the ring, allowing the object working as desired (the available structural components of the object are secured to the structural elements, including elongate structural elements, of the wheel-like structure at points where they intersect together). Some such objects are: a battery energy storage system which may use available water for its integrated cooling system, a system of the whole or a part of an electric power conversion / transmission systems (such as transformers and / or inverters or electric power conversion stations) which may use available water for its integrated cooling system, a control station used to control a power plant, a solar energy power plant, a wave energy power plant, a number of wind 2025203467   14 May 2025 turbines, a floating helipad, a data centre which may have a water-based cooling system, a floating lighthouse, a floating radar station, a floating whether station, a building such as a hotel or an office building which may have its own (solar / wave) power plant and / or swimming pools. All water-based cooling systems above are aimed to reduce costs of operations thanks to using available water.

[0190] Particularly, the wheel-like structure can also be used to support any energy system, such as a wind / wave / solar energy system, required to be floated and stabilized on the body of water and / or positioned at a place by securing the structure of the energy system or the structural body of the energy system via its available structural components for structural connections to the wheel-like structure, including to the suspended structure and / or the structural linkage and / or the ring, either above or below the surface of the body of water, allowing the energy system working as desired (the available structural components of the energy system are secured to the structural elements, including elongate structural elements, of the wheel-like structure at points where they intersect together).

[0191] Any energy system which releases heat from its operations, including power conversions and electricity generations, can be cooled down by using a water based colling system which has a water pump and a network of water pipes securely interconnected together, allowing water pumped by the pump from the body of water through the interconnected pipes then through the exits of the network of water pipes and then back to the body of water. The pipes are arranged to be laid through the heated components of the energy system in order to bring the heat which is transmitted from the heated components to the water being pumped through the pipes, to the body of water, making the body of the energy system cooling down.

[0192] Figure 76 presents that, because each section (52x, Figure 76), which is named the first section, of the body of the ring (#30, Figure 76) is mainly compressed as a result of the two elongate structural elements (#16x) secured to and secured at two ends of the first section, the first section can be further reinforced using a first anti-bending elongate structural element (#16a, Figure 76), which is more preferred with a rope / cable / chain. An end of the first anti-bending elongate structural element is 2025203467   14 May 2025 secured to an end of the first section while the other end of the first anti-bending elongate structural element is secured to the other end of the first section. An antibending support (#30x, Figure 76) is fitted between and holds the middle of the antibending elongate structural element and the middle of the first section together by securing to the middle of the first section while the middle of the anti-bending elongate structural element is mounted to the anti-bending support, allowing these two middles being held together at an unchanged desired distance between them. The anti-bending elongate structural element can be further pre-stressed to make it to be more efficient (or to make the wheel-like structure to be stiffer). The anti-bending elongate structural element allows to prevent the body of the first section being bended toward the antibending elongate structural element (or toward the inner area of the ring). As the cost of the anti-bending elongate structural element is cheaper, particularly if it is a rope / cable, it helps to reduce costs for manufacturing the required first section which can be allowed to be made with a thinner body. Figure 76 also indicates that an axial elongate structural element (#16b, Figure 76) is a good choice used to prevent the first section being bended toward to the outer area of the ring by holding the anti-bending support inwards, allowing the first section to be structurally stable thanks to bending resistances created in both inward and outward directions in the plane formed by the anti-bending elongate structural element and the axial elongate structural element. The axial elongate structural element has an end being secured to the anti-bending support (or the middle of the first anti-bending elongate structural element or the middle of the first section) while the other end is secured to any desired point of any structural component of the wheel-like structure, including the suspended structure (#102L), or the second anti-bending support of a second section located oppositely with the first section (Figure 76), or the structural linkage and / or the ring which allows the axial elongate structural element holding the middle of the first section inwards (or toward to the desired point). The axial elongate structural element can be further pre-stressed to make it to be more efficient (or to make the wheel-like structure to be stiffer). Using a combination of an anti-bending support and an anti-bending elongate structural element and / or an axial elongate structural element is particularly a good choice for floating substructure / structure which supports solar panels because the floating substructure / structure is expected to cover a large area for more solar panels installed, 2025203467   14 May 2025 leading to the section allowed to be made longer while its body is expected to be thinner for saving costs. The combination (#30x and #16a and / or #16b, Figure 77) is also useful and applicable with any structural elongate structural element (#52x, Figure 77) of the wheel-like structure, wherein the second end of the axial elongate structural element (#16b, Figure 77) can be secured to any desired point of any structural component of the wheel-like structure, allowing the axial elongate structural element holding the middle of the structural elongate structural element to being bended away from the desired point. All other secured structural connections between the first end of the axial elongate structural element and the structural elongate structural element and the antibeing support (#30x, Figure 77) and the anti-bending elongate structural element (#16a, Figure 77) of the structural elongate structural element are the same.

[0193] It is optional to use the wheel-like structure as a common floating substructure for floating solar energy systems and / or wave energy systems and / or wind energy systems. There are potential circumstances that such integrations are more costeffective and more efficient in harnessing wind / wave / solar energies. For example, an offshore / nearshore energy system can be combined from large / medium wave energy systems and / or large / medium wind energy systems. A nearshore energy system can be combined from large / medium wave energy systems and / or large / medium floating wind energy systems and / or floating solar energy systems which area allowed to survive with even high waves. A sea bay or reservoir of inland lake-based energy system can be combined from medium / small floating wind energy systems and / or floating solar energy systems. In order to combine these wave and / or floating wind and / or floating solar energy systems together, they simply share the same wheel-like structure. Depending on how the wheel-like structure being used as a part or the whole floating structure / substructure of the above wind and / or wave and / or solar energy systems, the wheel-like structure can be referred after different names such as wheel-like structure (which is floated, held and stabilized horizontally on the body of water) or vertical wheel-like structure (which is floated, held and stabilized vertically on the body of water) or simply (common) wheel-like structure (which is simply floated, held and stabilized on the body of water). The (vertical / horizontal / common) wheel-like structures are used widely in several proposed floating (wind and / or wave and / or solar) 2025203467   14 May 2025 energy systems, in which, how the wheel-like structures are integrated are further explained.

[0194] If the solar panels are desired to be able to slide / revolve relatively or independently with the wheel-like structure (for example, in order to face the sun), A rollable or slidable mechanism is needed to be added between the wheel-like structure and the photovoltaic mounting system, allowing the photovoltaic mounting system capable of sliding or revolving relatively to the wheel-like structure. Particularly, if the wheel-like structure is a circular wheel-like structure which has the rigid structural ring to be circular, the rigid structural ring can be securely attached with a rail in a circular or an arc shape. The photovoltaic mounting system is allowed to relatively slide / revolve on the circular / arc rail (or any structural component of the wheel-like structure) while it is held to the rail (or the structural component) at all times. A layer of friction-reducer can be added and securely fitted between the wheel-like structure (or the structural component) and the photovoltaic mounting system in order to reduce frictions between the rail and the photovoltaic mounting system. Some kinds of friction-reducer can be balls, rollers, oil, air, water, rotary bearings and so on. A rotary bearing (with an inner race and an outer race), a set of a slider, friction-reducer and a rail or a set of a pinion gear and a gear rack can also be used. In this case, the inner race / the slider / the pinion gear is secured to either the structural component or the photovoltaic mounting system while the outer race / the rail / the gear rack is secured to the other with balls or rollers or oil or air or liquid or water fitted between them.

[0195] There is another option of the ring, which is laid horizontally, with respect to the arrangement of the ring and its attached floats which are attached to its body. In this case, the attached floats are named after the surrounding floats, and any float secured to any suspended structure is named after a central float. The arrangement is described below.

[0196] if the ring is positioned horizontally, at the water surface, and if the suspended structure does not possess any float, either integrated in or secured to its body, the whole weight of the wind / wave / solar energy system has to be bear by the ring which is required to be much more bulky and costly. Furthermore, the structural linkage and the 2025203467   14 May 2025 suspended structure has to be more bulky and costly as well. In addition, if the floats of the ring bear all weights / loads of the whole system, the floats need to be larger, creating an issue with tall waves. In this case, taller waves create greater forces applied to the larger floats, causing the wheel-like structure to be less balanced or less stable, and reducing lifetime of the structural components of the wheel-like structure due to their materials exhausted, while its structural components are required to be heavier and more expensive. In order to reduce effects caused by tall waves and in order to make the wheel-like structure to be lighter and cheaper, the floats need to be as small as possible while the central float needs to be as large as possible. Thus, the suspended structure should possess a central float which is either integrated in or secured to its body. Furthermore, if the size (or the diameter) of the ring is too large, it is impossible to cranes / service ships reaching the centre of the ring in order to install the components of the wind / wave / solar energy system, or to carry out services, reparations and replacements of any part(s) of the wind / wave / solar energy system, particularly, a wind turbine positioned at the centre. This issue can be solved by positioning the ring (#30, Figure 68 and Figure 69) underneath the water surface (#12). In other words, the ring is fully submerged in the body of water as follows: each surrounding float (#8a, #8b) is secured to an end of a rope / cable / chain (#7r) while its other end is secured to the ring. The surrounding floats are positioned right at the water surface while the ring is hung to the surrounding floats (#8a and #8b) and submerged in the body of water. So, as the ring is horizontally laid and submerged in the body of water, it has a space which is above the ring and between a pair of adjacent surrounding floats, allowing cranes / service ships to reach the centre of the ring, or any part(s) of the wind / wave / solar energy system, in order to carry out installations, services, reparations and maintenances. The surrounding floats, which hang the submerged ring, are name after hanging floats in order to imply that the ring is hung by the surrounding floats. The wheel-like structure can be used with its ring hung for wind / wave / solar energy systems without the need of reaching its centre with cranes / service ships because the hung ring is simply a solution to float and stabilized the wheel-like structure. In case that the ring is hung, the central float can also be included or excluded from the system. A hanging float can suspend the submerged ring via a rope / cable / chain or any one of a rotary bearing or a universal joint having two degrees of freedom as flows: the hanging float 2025203467   14 May 2025 is stayed at the water surface. An end of the rope / cable / chain is secured to the hanging float while the other end is secured to the ring. Otherwise, a race of the rotary bearing is secured to the structural body of the hanging float while the other race is secured to the ring, allowing the float to be rotated around an axis. Alternatively, the structural body of the float is secured to a first pair of coaxial bearing caps of the universal joint while its other pair is secured to the ring, allowing the float to be rotated around two axes. The universal joint has two pairs of coaxial bearing caps, each pair has two coaxial caps which a yoke securely mounts to for mechanical transmission between a pair of yokes. Each hanging float can be further stabilized and held within a designated boundary by using a set of three ropes / cables / chains. An end of each rope / cable / chain is secured to the hanging float while the other end is secured either directly to any structural component of the wheel-like structure or indirectly through a supporting structure, forming a tetrahedron with its top vertex having the float while its three side edges having the three ropes / cables / chains.

[0197] Without the central float, the wind / wave / solar energy system is still workable well but its total cost and its stabilization with tall waves need to be evaluated. With the central float included, the ratio of the submerged volumes of the central float versus the surrounding floats are also taken into account.

[0198] The ratio of the system relies very much on its environmental conditions (winds, waves), its electrical generated capacity, its costs of manufacturing, transportation, installation, operation and maintenance. All these are required to be taken into account in order to decide how large the submerged volume of the central float or how large the ratio is.

[0199] Any rope / cable / chain can be replaced with a rotatable support, which is implied a rotatable supporting structure), and which is secured to a surrounding float at one of its two ends while the other end (of the rotatable supporting structure) is rotatably attached to the ring, allowing both the rotatable supporting structure and the surrounding float to revolve around a vertical cross section of the body of the ring where the rotatable supporting structure is attached. If the rotations between the rotatable supporting structure and ring are used to rotate an electricity-generating mechanism, 2025203467   14 May 2025 the rotatable supporting structure and the surrounding float become a wave energy converter. The rotatable supporting structure can be the structural body of the float. A rotary bearing, either including or excluding balls / rollers, can be fitted between the rotatable supporting structure and the ring, allowing the rotatable supporting structure revolved around a rotational axis. It is also allowed to have the rotatable supporting structure revolved around two rotational axes by replacing the rotary bearing with a universal joint, which has two degrees of freedom. In addition, the hanging floats, which hang the ring, can work together with the surrounding floats, which are secured to the ring, in order to maintain the ring floated, stabilized and submerged in the body of water.

[0200] Further details on the hung ring and how the wind and / or wave and / or solar energy systems working together are explained in the description of buoyancy varied systems in this document. A buoyancy varied system allows to raise up or lower the ring by pumping water into or out of the central float, the surrounding floats and / or the hang floats. The buoyancy varied system allows to raise (up) or to lower (down) the ring by varying the buoyancy of the energy systems with pumping water into or out of any central float(s) or surrounding float(s) and hanging float(s), of which each float is are also used as a water tank. 1.15

[0201] Buoyancy varied systems for wheel-like structures

[0202] Installations, services, reparations and replacements of the wave energy system and / or the wind energy system and / or the solar energy system require using cranes and / or service ships which are needed to approach close enough to the tower of the wind turbine or to the centre of the wheel-like structure. However, as the ring of the wheel-like structure is laid right at the surface of the body of water during the routine operation of the wave and / or wind and / or solar energy systems using the wheel-like structure to be their common floating structure / substructure, the cranes and / or the service ships cannot approach the energy systems at anywhere needed if the size of the ring is too large. Particularly, installations, services, reparations and replacements of the wind turbine which require using cranes are more challenged. In order to solve these issues, a buoyancy varied system is used to lower or raise the whole wheel-like structure 2025203467   14 May 2025 by varying its buoyancy. During the normal operation of the wind / wave / solar energy systems, the ring is fully floated at the water surface or fully submerged in the body of water. However, there are possibilities that the ring can be needed to be lowered or raised. For example, once a crane and / or a ship needs to cross above the ring in order to approach the centre of the ring or the tower of the wind turbine positioned in the middle, the whole wheel-like structure is needed to be lowered until it is submerged deep enough by pumping water into a number of central or surrounding or hanging floats which support / float / hang / stabilize the ring and / or the suspended structures. A number of floats which are attached to the suspended structures or to the ring are fully or partially filled up with water while the rest of the floats are empty. Thus, the cranes and / or the service ships are allowed to pass above the ring to approach the centre of the ring. The wheel-like structure with its submerged ring can be raised up if needed as well by pumping water out of the central / surrounding / hanging floats. Any central / surrounding / hanging float can be elongate in order to be able to lower the ring smooth enough to a deep enough elevation. Any floats can also be partially or fully filled up with water while the rest remain empty.

[0203] Figure 78 and Figure 79 present the ring (#30) of the wheel-like structure having a number of wave energy converters (#7r and #8a) being attached to the ring. As these wave energy converters can move to their highest positions (#8b) and lowest positions (#8c) with respect to motion of waves while they are held to the ring, The floats (#8c) of a number of these lowered wave energy converters (#8c) are fully or partially filled up with water, allowing the lowered wave energy converters being held at their lowest positions while the floats (#8a, #8b) of the remained wave energy converters are fully empty of partially filled up with water, allowing the remained wave energy converters to be raised to their highest positions (#8a, #8b). The floats held at their highest positions are used to float and stabilize the ring submerged at a lower level which is below the water surface (#12) with a distance (#7r) to be about the distance between the floats to the ring. The floats held at their lowest positions are below the ring. Thus, a gap between the pair of two adjacent raised wave energy converters (#8a and #8b) held at their highest positions and above the ring (and also above the floats (#8c) held at their lowest positions) allows cranes and / or service ships to approach the centre of 2025203467   14 May 2025 the ring for carrying out installations, services, reparations and replacements (such as replacing / installing the nacelle or the gear box of the wind turbine). During this process, these wave energy converters might not operate for generating electricity normally. Then, all these floats are restored to their prior status (by pumping water out of the tanks) in order to allow the energy systems to restart its normal operations. So, each of the floats can allow water pumped into or out of the float using a water pump. Any float secured to any suspended structure also allows to do so in order to adjust its buoyant capability.

[0204] If the energy systems do not have wave energy converters, or the wave energy converters of the energy systems are not designated to function as explained above, then the ring is floated, held and stabilized by using a number of hanging floats while the ring is fully submerged in the body of water. Each hanging float is secured to an end of a rope / cable / chain (#7r) while the other end is secured to the ring which is laid horizontally and positioned under the water surface. The hanging floats are positioned at the surface of the body of water. Buoyant forces created by the hanging floats hold the ring floated under the water surface. Once the wheel-like structure is lowered (by pumping water into the floats attached to the suspended structure), the hanging floats are capable to hold the submerged ring to be floated and stabilized below the water surface. These hanging floats are only attached to the ring for carrying out installations, services, reparations and replacements. Once all these tasks are completed, these hanging floats are also removed from the ring foe the energy systems to be operated normally. In other words, these hanging floats are a kind of equipment used for carrying out installations, services, reparations and replacements. 1.16

[0205] Horizontal wheel-like structure-based wind energy systems

[0206] A horizontal wheel-like structure is a wheel-like structure having its ring laid horizontally. How the horizontal wheel-like structure is used for wind energy systems is described as follows: A horizontal wheel-like structure-based wind energy system is presented in Figure 80 with a wind turbine with blades (#103) and its tower (#102u) being secured on the suspended structure (#102L) of the horizontal wheel-like structure which is composed of a ring, a suspended structure and a structural linkage which is 2025203467   14 May 2025 composed of a number of spokes. How to compose the wheel-like structure from the ring, the structural linkage of spokes and the suspended structure is presented previously in the description of wheel-like structures.

[0207] The ring of the whee-like structure possesses a number of floats which are secured either directly to the ring or indirectly through a supporting structure. The ring can also have the floats integrated in its body (for example, the body of the ring is hollow). In this case of having the floats being firmly secured to its body, the ring is floated and stabilized right at the surface of the body of water. In order to be able to float and stabilize the ring, the floats need to be distributed along the body of the ring, either continuously, such as a hollow torus ring, throughout the ring, or sparsely distributed, such as 3 or 4 or more floats evenly spaced. The above floats, which are possessed by the ring, is named after the surrounding floats in order to imply that the floats are being distributed surrounding the wind turbine or the suspended structure.

[0208] If the suspended structure does not possess any float, either integrated in or secured to its body, the whole weight of the wind turbine has to be bear by the ring which is required to be much more bulky and costly. Furthermore, the structural linkage and the suspended structure has to be more bulky and costly as well. In addition, if the floats of the ring bear all weights / loads of the whole system, the floats need to be larger, creating an issue with tall waves. In this case, taller waves create greater forces applied to the larger floats, causing the wheel-like structure to be less balanced or less stable, and reducing lifetime of the structural components of the wheel-like structure due to their materials exhausted, while its structural components are required to be heavier and more expensive. In order to reduce effects caused by tall waves and in order to make the wheel-like structure to be lighter and cheaper, the floats need to be as small as possible while the central float needs to be as large as possible. Thus, the suspended structure should possess a central float (#4, Figure 80 and Figure 81) which is either integrated in or secured to its body. In order to be floated and stabilized, the wind turbine requires both the following conditions: being floated and being prevented from overturning / capsizing. The required conditions of the wind turbine are fulfilled by using the combination of the central float and the surrounding floats. If there is not central 2025203467   14 May 2025 float, the wheel-like structure is bulky and costly while the wind turbine is capsized if there are no surrounding floats. The horizontal wheel-like structure-based wind energy system balances between these extreme possibilities, that it contains both the central float and the surrounding floats. The ratio between the central float and the surrounding floats, which is defined with the ratio of their submerged volumes, is consider depending on several factors which influence the stability of the wind turbine on the body of water. Some of these factors are listed as follows: how tall the wind turbine is (mainly capsizing), how the blades are (mainly capsizing), how the weights and elevations of the components of the wind turbines and the whole system (capsizing, floating) are, how the winds and waves are, how large the ring is, and so on. Furthermore, how the proportions of the costs of manufacturing, transportation and installation of the components are. All the above factors are required to be evaluated and taken into account in order to decide the best ratio, or the optimum ratio. These need to be done when the wheel-like structure is designed because there are many factors that must be determined for every individual wind turbine. In general, the larger the ratio is, the cheaper the whole system possibly is. It is recommended that the central float needs to be able to float about 30% to 100% the weight of the whole wind turbine, including its tower and any components settled on the top of the tower. In general, the duty of the central float is to mostly support the weight of the whole system while the duty of the surrounding floats and the ring is to prevent the wind turbine from overturning / capsizing. The ratio is decided with highly weighted influences from the proportions of the costs of manufacturing, transportation and installation of the components of the wind energy system.

[0209] It is more convenience that, as the ring can be made large, the horizontal wheellike structure allows more one or more wind turbines, such as two or three wind turbines sitting on it, by securing the bottoms of the towers of the wind turbines on the suspended structure and / or the ring. The towers of the wind turbines can also be secured together directly and / or secured to the ring and / or secured to the suspended structure via ropes / cables / chains by securing each end of each rope / cable / chain to a point of the body of a tower or the suspended structure or the ring. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0210] A horizontal wheel-like structure used to support one or more wind turbines (Figure 81) has a superstructure which is structurally secured to and supported by the suspended structure (of the substructure). The superstructure has the same roles like the tower of a wind turbine: it is used to structurally and securely support the nacelle containing the components of the wind turbine, including the yaw system, the rotor, the hub (including blades), the gear box, the generator and so on. In other word, the wind turbine does not require the tower, although it is fine to have a tower, as the tower is replaced with the superstructure. Thus, the wind turbines (without towers or even with towers) are structurally secured to and supported by the superstructure, allowing the wind turbines to be operatable and to be able to catch and harness wind energy as desired, and allowing the wind turbines sitting on the stabilized floating substructure (the horizontal wheel-like structure) via the superstructure which holds each wind turbine at a desired position (including desired elevation) for harnessing wind energy.

[0211] There are no particular requirements for the superstructure with respect to its shape and its structural components arranged. However, the superstructure is recommended to be a frame structure which can further use structural elongate structural elements for further structural stabilizations. The simplest form of the superstructure is a hollow cylindrical tower used for typical wind turbines.

[0212] There is another option of the ring with respect to the arrangement of the ring and its attached floats which is also named after the surrounding floats. Each surrounding float is secured to a rope / cable / chain which is then secured to the ring, allowing the ring to be submerged and hung via the surrounding floats which both float and stabilize the ring. Further details are explained in the description of wheel-like structures and the description of buoyancy varied systems as presented in this document. This arrangement is significant for the wind energy system as it helps to reduce costs and allows to carry out installations, services and maintenances, reparations and replacements of the wind turbine. 1.17

[0213] Horizontal wheel-like structure-based wave energy systems 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0214] A horizontal wheel-like structure is a wheel-like structure having its ring laid horizontally. The horizontal wheel-like structure can also be used as a floating structure for wave energy systems thanks to its capabilities to stabilize itself, and hence to stabilize any system sitting on it, on the body of water. There are several ways to use the horizontal wheel-like structure as the floating structure for the wave energy systems.

[0215] There are a few ways to arrange a (general) wave energy converter, which is a circular motion-based wave energy converter (Figure 1 and Figure 2) or a wheel-based wave energy converter (Figure 72, Figure 73, Figure 74) or a (circular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 3 or Figure 4) or an (angular) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 5) or a (linear) sliding wave energy converter (Figure 6), and the horizontal wheel-like structure together.

[0216] The first way is to rotatably or linearly slidably attach the (general) wave energy converter (#7 and / or #8), which is described in previous / other sections, to the suspended structure of the horizontal wheel-like structure as being presented in Figure 82 and / or Figure 1 to Figure 6. The floating structure referred in the descriptions of the (general) wave energy converter in the said previous / other sections is the suspended structure (#102L and #100u, Figure 82). Thus, the (general) wave energy converter is rotatably or linearly slidably attached to the suspended structure which is suspended by the ring via the structural linkage (such as the spokes). How to rotatably or linearly slidably attach the (general) wave energy converter to the suspended structure is the same with that of the (general) wave energy converter (rotatably or linearly slidably) attaching to the floating structure. Details how to rotatably or linearly slidably attach the (general) wave energy converter to the floating structure, which is the suspended structure, are described in the previous / other sections which describe the (general) wave energy converter.

[0217] The second way is to rotatably or linearly slidably attach the (general) wave energy converter (#7 and / or #8), which is described in previous / other sections, to the ring (#30) of the horizontal wheel-like structure as being presented in Figure 83 and / or Figure 1 to Figure 6, in which #85 (Figure 83) indicate a sliding system. The floating 2025203467   14 May 2025 structure referred in the descriptions of the (general) wave energy converter in the said previous / other sections is the ring. In this case, the (general) wave energy converter is fitted outer the outer surface of the ring (#30, Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3) with options of rotational or linear motions (Figure 5, Figure 6). Thus, the (general) wave energy converter is rotatably or slidably attached to the ring which is structurally assisted by the structural linkage (such as the spokes) and the suspended structure. So, how to rotatably or linearly slidably attach the (general) wave energy converter to the ring (#30) is the same with that of the (general) wave energy converter (rotatably or linearly slidably) attaching to the floating structure. Details how to rotatably or linearly slidably attach the (general) wave energy converter to the floating structure, which is the ring, are described in the previous / other sections which describe the (general) wave energy converter.

[0218] The third way is to rotatably or linearly slidably attach the (general) wave energy converter (#7 and / or #8), which is described in previous / other sections, to the ring of the horizontal wheel-like structure as presented in Figure 84 and / or Figure 1 to Figure 6, of which Figure 84 indicates an enclosed inner structure (#54, Figure 84) to be a structural part of the ring (#30, Figure 84). The floating structure referred in the descriptions of the (general) wave energy converter in the said previous / other sections is the ring (#30, Figure 84) which also contains the enclosed inner structure. The best shape of the ring (#30, Figure 84) is recommended to be a torus or a polygonal torus. The ring contains several vertical cross sections, of which each cross section is a rigid vertical child wheel-like structure, as exampled in Figure 88 to Figure 91, which is described in previous / other sections. The child wheel-like structure has a child hub-suspended structure (#16, Figure 88 to Figure 91) which is a structural part (at the cross section) of the enclosed inner structure (#54, Figure 84). The child wheel-like structure also has a rigid child ring (#30, Figure 88 to Figure 91) which is a structural part (at the cross section) of the rigid outer surface structure of the ring (#30, Figure 84). The outer surface structure is a surface structure stretched on the outer surface of the ring (#30, Figure 84). The (general) wave energy converter is rotatably or slidably attached to the child hub-suspended structure (#16) which is suspended to the child ring (#30, Figure 88) while the child ring is a rigid structural part of the outer surface structure. In this 2025203467   14 May 2025 case, the float of the (general) wave energy converter is fitted either inner or outer the outer surface of the ring (#30, Figure 84) as equivalently presented to be inner the child ring (#30, Figure 88) or outer the child ring (#30, Figure 89). Thus, the (general) wave energy converter is movably (rotatably / linearly slidably) supported by the child wheellike structure which is securely held by the ring (#30, Figure 84), meaning by the horizontal wheel-like structure being floated and stabilized on the body of water. The horizontal wheel-like structure can be considered as a mother (horizontal) wheel-like structure holding several vertical child wheel-like structures. So, how to rotatably or linearly slidably attach the (general) wave energy converter to the ring (#30, Figure 84), via the enclosed inner structure (#54, Figure 84), is the same with that of the (general) wave energy converter (rotatably or linearly slidably) attaching to the floating structure. Details how to rotatably or linearly slidably attach the (general) wave energy converter to the floating structure are described in the previous / other sections. It is also notable that the enclosed inner structure is a supporting structure said in the description of the (general) wave energy converter presented in the previous / other sections, meaning that the (general) wave energy converter can be supported by any typical supporting structure which is then held and supported by the horizontal wheel-like structure.

[0219] The fourth way is to rotatably or slidably attach the (general) wave energy converter (#7 and / or #8), which is described in previous / other sections, to the ring (#30) of the horizontal wheel-like structure, as presented in Figure 85 and / or Figure 1 to Figure 6, in which #85 (Figure 85) indicate a sliding system. The floating structure referred in the descriptions of the (general) wave energy converter in the said sections is the ring. In this case, the (general) wave energy converter is fitted inner the outer surface of the ring (#30, Figure 4) with options of rotational or linear motions (Figure 5, Figure 6). Thus, the (general) wave energy converter is rotatably or linearly slidably attached to the ring which is structurally assisted by the structural linkage (such as the spokes) and the suspended structure. So, how to rotatably or linearly slidably attach the (general) wave energy converter to the ring is the same with that of the (general) wave energy converter (rotatably or linearly slidably) attaching to the floating structure. Details how to rotatably or slidably attach the (general) wave energy converter to the 2025203467   14 May 2025 floating structure, which is the ring, are described in the previous / other sections which describe the (general) wave energy converter.

[0220] Furthermore, beside generating electricity, each (general) wave energy converter is a good damper because it absorbs the energy of the waves which oscillate the horizontal wheel-like structure, making the horizontal wheel-like structure to be more stabilized. So, the (general) wave energy converters distributed along the body of the ring is an excellent damping system which stabilizes the ring excellently, and hence the horizontal wheel-like structure is well stabilized. Finally, the wheel-like structure, particularly the ring, should be laid horizontally on a body of water although nonhorizontal positions of the ring are still acceptable and workable.

[0221] There is another option of the ring with respect to the arrangement of the ring and its attached floats which is also named after the surrounding floats. Each surrounding float is secured to a rope / cable / chain which is then secured to the ring, allowing the ring to be submerged and hung via the surrounding floats which both float and stabilize the ring. Further details are explained in the description of wheel-like structures and the description of buoyancy varied systems as presented in this document. 1.18

[0222] Horizontal wheel-like structure-based floating solar energy systems

[0223] A horizontal wheel-like structure is a wheel-like structure having its ring laid horizontally. The horizontal wheel-like structure (Figure 86) can also be used as a floating structure / substructure for a floating solar energy system thanks to its capabilities to stabilize itself, and hence to stabilize any system sitting on it, on the body of water. There are several ways to use the horizontal wheel-like structure as the floating structure / substructure to support solar panels for the solar energy systems. The horizontal wheel-like structure is formed from a rigid structural ring, a structural linkage, an optional suspended structure and a number of floats which are arranged and structurally secured together as described above. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0224] One significant feature of the horizontal wheel-like structure is that it is light with incompressible elongate structural elements, such as rope / cables / chains / bars, allowed while the horizontal wheel-like structure can cover a large ring-shaped area on the surface of the body of water thanks to its spokes to be allowed to reach longer distances (or longer radius if the ring is circular) because the spokes work basing on tensions. As a result, the body of the horizontal wheel-like structure allows more solar panels attached. As the horizontal wheel-like structure is stiffly rigid with lightweight and covers the large ring-shaped area, it is suitable to be used for solar energy systems for not only reservoirs but also sea bays or nearshore or even offshore seas / oceans with low costs.

[0225] The simplest form of using the horizontal wheel-like structure for solar energy systems is to attach solar panels (#5s, Figure 87 and Figure 88) on the upper structural linkage (#16xu) positioned on the upper surface of the horizontal wheel-like structure. The solar panels can be secured to and supported by any part of the horizontal wheellike structure (Figure 86 to Figure 92), including the suspended structure (#102L, Figure 86), the upper structural linkage (#16xu, Figure 88 and Figure 89) and the rigid structural ring (#30). Figure 87 demonstrates that the solar panels (#5s) are securely attached on the cone-shaped or polygonal-shaped upper structural linkage positioned above the body of water (#12). Figure 88 demonstrates that the solar panels (#5s) are securely attached on the flat upper structural linkage (#16xu) positioned above the body of water (#12). When a solar panel is said to be securely attached to a structure, it means that the body of the solar panel is structurally secured to one or more structural elements of the structure, allowing the structure holding the solar panel with all designated loads and forces with respect to weather conditions such as winds or waves or snows. Figure 93 explains that a wheel-like structure formed of a ring and a number of elongate structural elements (or tensioned structural elements) (#16u, Figure 93), as presented in previous / other sections relating to wheel-like structures, can be used to support the solar panels floating. The wheel-like structure does not need any suspended structures included. The wheel-like structure can also be further reinforced by adding a secondary (lower) layer of elongate structural elements (or a second / lower suspending structure) under the first (upper) layer of elongate structural elements (or the 2025203467   14 May 2025 first / upper suspending structure). These upper and lower suspending structures (formed of tensioned structural elements) can also be further reinforced together by using several additional suspended structures, of which each is secured to both the upper / lower suspended structures and also can be secured with a float. The float can bear loads / weights supported by the suspended structure (instead of distributing the loads / weights to the ring, the loads / weights are bear by the float), allowing the loads / weights of the solar panels are allowed to be distributed directly to the surface of water, instead of being transmitted to the water via the ring. The suspended structures are distributed sparsely throughout the area inner the ring (or throughout the upper net / the suspending structure). The ring is allowed to be made thinner and the solar panels are allowed to be spread in a wider area of the ring.

[0226] Solar panels can also be securely attached to any structural photovoltaic mounting system which is then secured to and supported by the horizontal wheel-like structure, or secured to any structural components of the horizontal whee-like structure, including the suspended structure (#102L), the structural linkage (#16xu) and the rigid structural ring (#30), to form a rigid stabilized floating substructure / structure for supporting the solar panels on the body of water. The photovoltaic mounting system is simply a structure which is secured to and supported by the horizontal wheel-like structure while the solar panels are secured to the photovoltaic mounting system, facing the sun, and allowing the structural composition of the photovoltaic mounting system and the horizontal wheel-like structure, being floated, balanced and stabilized on the body of water. There is no further specific specification for the photovoltaic mounting system.

[0227] For example, if the body of water has high waves, a typical photovoltaic mounting system can be putted on top of the horizontal wheel-like structure to raise the elevation of the solar panels upper. There are no particular requirements for the photovoltaic mounting system. The solar panels are secured to the structure of the photovoltaic mounting system while the structure of photovoltaic mounting system is structurally secured to the horizontal wheel-like structure, including to the suspended structure and / or the structural linkage and / or the rigid structural ring. An example of 2025203467   14 May 2025 adding such a typical photovoltaic mounting system is presented in Figure 89. The photovoltaic mounting system has a number of compressible elongate structural element (#1p) having two ends while the first end is secured to the ring and the second end is positioned higher than the body of the ring and higher than extreme waves of the body of water. The compressible elongate structural element (#1p) are distributed along the body of the ring and around / surrounding the suspended structure (#102L) with the second end heading upward and outward the body of the ring. The photovoltaic mounting system also has a number of (incompressible and / or compressible) elongate structural elements (#3p) having two ends while an end is secured to the second end of a compressible elongate structural element (#1p) and the other end is secured to either the suspended structure (#102L) or the second end of another compressible elongate structural element (#1p). The (incompressible and / or compressible) elongate structural elements (#2p) form a second structural linkage (#3p) having a surface which can be either flat or curved, such as a plane or a truncated cone shape, and can also be horizontal or inclined in order to face the sun for the best solar energy harnessed. Then the solar panels (#5s, Figure 89) are then secured on the upper structural linkage (#16xu) and / or the second structural linkage (#3p), facing the sun. It is notable that the upper structural linkage (#16xu) and the second structural linkage (#3p) can and should be secured together by securing their elongate structural elements, which are intersected together, to improve the stiffness of the of the whole horizontal wheel-like structure and to improve the stabilities of the elongate structural elements. A second (incompressible and / or compressible) elongate structural elements (#2p) can be used to assist a compressible elongate structural element (#1p), making it to be stiffer. The second end of the second (incompressible and / or compressible) elongate structural elements (#2p) is secured to the second end of the compressible elongate structural element (#1p) while the first end of the second (incompressible and / or compressible) elongate structural elements (#2p) is secured to the ring where is appropriately distanced from the first end of the compressible elongate structural element (#1p).

[0228] There are some further options to use the horizontal wheel-like structure. Figure 90 presents that the solar panels (#5s) can be securely attached to the upper net, which 2025203467   14 May 2025 can be flat or cone-shaped, of the horizontal wheel-like structure while the ring of the wheel-like structure has two floats (#4f) securely attached to the ring at two positions, allowing the two attached floats (#4f) and a third float (#4f3), which is securely attached to the suspended structure, forming a shape of a triangle in order to float and stabilize the horizontal wheel-like structure on the body of water (#12), and allowing the solar panels to be arranged at an angle to face the sun. In this case, although the ring is not horizontal any more, the horizontal wheel-like structure means a structure which looks like a wheel and which can bear loads applied anywhere on its structural body, regardless to which direction the ring (or the horizontal wheel-like structure) is laid. So, the horizontal wheel-like structure can be laid on the body of water with a ring positioned vertically or horizontally or inclinedly.

[0229] Figure 91 presents that a top ring (#30t) is securely attached with solar panels while a bottom ring (#30b) is securely attached with two floats (#4f), together with a third float (#4f3) attached to the suspended structure (#102L), to form a triangular shape of three floats on the surface of the body of water in order to support, float and stabilize the solar panels. The top ring and the bottom ring are structurally secured together to form the ring of the horizontal wheel-like structure. It is notable that, as the whole body of the horizontal wheel-like structure is rigid, the solar panels can also be securely attached to the suspended structure which has a third float attached while the ring has two float securely attached, forming a triangular shape of three floats on the surface of the body of water in order to support, float and stabilize the solar panels while the solar panels can be arranged to be horizontal or inclined and the ring can be arranged to be vertical or inclined.

[0230] Figure 92 presents that the solar panels are secured to the top ring (#30t) which is secured to the suspended structure while the bottom ring (#30b), which is also secured to the suspended structure, has a first pair of floats (#4f1), which are positioned oppositely over the suspended structure (meaning over the centre of mass of the whole system), and a second pair of floats (#4f2), which are also positioned oppositely over the suspended structure (meaning over the centre of mass of the whole system), while the four floats (of the two pairs) are distributed at four points positioned at vertices of 2025203467   14 May 2025 a quadrangle. If any float of the two pairs has liquid or water partially filled and if the amount of the filled liquid or water is changed by a water pump, the solar panels on the top ring are able to face to changing directions, meaning to face the sun. Figure 92 further presents that the bottom ring (#30b) is laid horizontally on the surface of the body of water while the top ring (#30t) is inclined, aiming to face the sun. The top ring and the bottom ring presented in Figure 91, Figure 92 can be structurally secured together. They can also be interpreted as follows: a) the two rings form a single ring which is the ring referred of the horizontal wheel-like structure; and b) the bottom ring is the ring referred of the horizontal wheel-like structure while the top ring is a typical photovoltaic mounting system and c) the top ring is the ring referred of the horizontal wheel-like structure while the bottom ring is a typical float supporting structure.

[0231] Another variation of the wheel-like structure is explained as follows: as the horizontal wheel-like structure can still workable without the suspended structure or without both the suspended structure and the structural linkage, as described above in previous / other sections, the horizontal wheel-like structure can still support, float and stabilize the solar panels on the body of water in these cases. If the horizontal wheellike structure does not have the suspended structure, the solar panels can also be secured to the ring and / or the upper net by securing each solar panel to a structural element or the structural body of the ring and / or the upper net. In this case, even if the upper net is composed of incompressible elongate structural elements, such as ropes / cables, the upper net is still able to support the solar panels well if the incompressible elongate structural elements are pre-stressed. So, the upper net is capable to hold the solar panels far enough above the surface of the body of water, allowing bifacial solar panels used to gain more efficiencies of harnessing solar energy.

[0232] In addition, as the solar panels being positioned far enough above the water surface, the structure of the solar panels and the structure of any photovoltaic mounting system included are better protected. If the horizontal wheel-like structure does not have both the suspended structure and the structural linkage, the solar panels can still be secured to the ring directly although this is not a good choice. The solar panels can also be secured to a typical photovoltaic mounting system which is secured 2025203467   14 May 2025 to the ring. The simplified horizontal wheel-like structure can be used where waves of the body of water are low enough and / or the solar panels are light enough and / or the ring is small enough.

[0233] As the floating solar energy system may require a larger ring in order to have a larger area covered by the ring for laying more solar panels, the upper layer (or the upper net) might require further structural supports beside being secured to and supported by the ring, particularly, if the upper layer is composed of incompressible elongate structural elements, such as ropes / cables / chains. In this case, a number of suspended structures can be added. Each suspended structure is secured to both the upper layer and the lower layer (or the lower net), allowing loads / forces being transmitted from the upper layer through the suspended structures to the lower layer. Each suspended structure can also further have a number of floats being secured to the suspended structure, allowing the floats providing buoyant forces to further support the suspended structure, meaning to further support the upper layer which has to bear the solar panels being securely attached on the upper layer, facing the sun. A simple example of this case is that each suspended structure is particularly a compressible elongate structural element (such as a structural post or a structural column capable to support loads / forces created by the solar panels). Each structural post or structural column can further have a float (or a number of floats), which provides buoyant forces, being attached to the lower end of the post or the column, allowing the upper layer being supported by the lower layer and / or the attached floats via the posts or the columns. The structural post or the structural column is regarded as a specific suspended structure. This type of horizontal wheel-like structure is good for a lightweight and cheap floating substructure for floating solar energy system working on considerable high waves on the body of water. It is notable that the floats can also be secured to a typical float supporting structure which is then secured to the wheel-like structure, including the suspended structure, the structural linkage and the rigid structural ring, allowing the structural combinations of the float supporting structure and the wheel-like structure being floated, balanced and stabilized on the body of water by buoyant forces created by the floats. 2025203467   14 May 2025

[0234] There is another option of the ring with respect to the arrangement of the ring and its attached floats which is also named after the surrounding floats. Each surrounding float is secured to a rope / cable / chain which is then secured to the ring, allowing the ring to be submerged and hung via the surrounding floats which both float and stabilize the ring. Further details are explained in the description of wheel-like structures and the description of buoyancy varied systems as presented in this document.

Claims

1. A floating energy system comprising a number of wind turbines and arigid wheel-like structure floated, stabilized horizontally on a body of water, wherein: ® the wheel-like structure comprises a rigid suspended structure, a structural linkage and a horizontal toroid-like structure composed of curved and / or straight segments, wherein:• the structural linkage has both upper and lower structural elements,• each structural element is a beam, a bar, a truss, a section of cable / rope / chain or a thin-plate / shell-component capable of tensioning,• the suspended structure is surrounded by the toroid-like structure, with the structural linkage spread between and secured to both the suspended structure and the toroid-like structure at sparsely distributed points,• each upper structural element is extended diagonally upward, from the toroid-like structure, and secured to both the toroid-like structure and the suspended structure while each lower structural element is extended diagonally downward, from the toroid-like structure, and secured to both the toroid-like structure and the suspended structure, forming the rigid wheel-like structure, enabling mutual reinforcement among the structural linkage, the toroid-like structure, and the suspended structure, allowing the wheel-like structure to be structurally stabilized;• each structural element is tangentially secured to the suspended structure at an outer side such that the structural elements create reaction moments to resist relative rotations of the suspended structure with respect to the toroidlike structure, thereby to provide structural stabilization for harnessing wind energy;® each wind turbine, either with or without tower, is secured to and supported by the suspended structure, allowing the wind turbine to harness wind energy for generating electricity.

2. The floating energy system according to claim 1, wherein the suspendedstructure possesses a float and / or the toroid-like structure possesses floats.2025203467   15 Jun 20263.The floating energy system according to any one of claims 1 to 2,wherein the toroid-like structure is hollow.

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