SELF-CHARGING AUTONOMOUS SUBMERSIBLE

Description

BACKGROUND

[0001] Waves traveling across the surface of the sea tend to move relatively slowly. Likewise, their oscillations tend to have relatively long periods, e.g., on the order of eight to twenty seconds. However, despite their relatively slow movement, waves tend to possess and / or manifest substantial amounts of energy. For these reasons, it is both desirable and difficult to extract energy from ocean waves. The device of the current disclosure efficiently extracts energy from ocean waves with a robust and relatively inexpensive design having few or no moving parts. US2019353139A1 proposes a buoyant wave energy device that incorporates an open-bottomed tube of substantial length in which is partially enclosed a first body of water that oscillates in response to wave action.

[0002] A variety of examples of the current disclosure contribute to solving at least two significant limitations and / or drawbacks of large-scale computing.

[0003] 1) Computers require electrical power in order to operate and perform their calculations. Electrical power is required to energize CPUs. Electrical power is required to energize random-access memory. Electrical power is required to energize shared and / or persistent memory (e.g. hard disks). Electrical power is required to energize switches, routers, and other equipment supporting network connections between computers.

[0004] 2) Computers generate heat. Most (if not all) of the electrical power used to energize computers is converted to, and / or lost as, heat from the circuits and components that execute the respective computational tasks and / or electronic functions. The heat generated by computers can raise the temperatures of those and / or adjacent computers to levels that can cause those computers to fail, especially when those computers are located in close proximity to one another. Because of this, computers, and / or the environments in which they operate, must be cooled. And, cooling, e.g. through air conditioners and / or air conditioning, requires and / or consumes significant amounts of electrical energy. Favorable historical trends in the miniaturization of computer components (e.g. "Moore's Law") are currently slowing, suggesting that future increases in computational power may require greater investments in cooling than was common in the past.

[0005] A variety of examples of the current disclosure also solve at least two significant limitations and / or drawbacks of aquaculture. 1) The raising of fish in reservoirs located on shore, or near shore, can become polluted with the excrement of the fish thereby slowing the growth of those fish, e.g., by encouraging bacteria in the water to consume and thereby reduce the available dissolved oxygen, and by increasing the risk of disease within individual fish and / or within entire populations of fish. 2) The raising of seaweeds and algae within reservoirs located on shore, or in the ocean, is constrained by the amount of sunlight available to shine upon the upper surface of the reservoir water, as well as by the concentration of mineral nutrients available within the water. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The invention is defined by the appended claims.

[0007] Disclosed are a novel type of buoyant hydrodynamic pump and a novel type of wave engine configured to float adjacent to an upper surface of a body of water over which waves tend to pass. Examples incorporate at least one tube (also referred to herein as a liquid pressurizing columnar conduit, water tube, tapered tube, constricted tube, or inertial water tube, inter alia) with an opening, or mouth, at a lower portion and a constriction or narrowing at or near an upper mouth. The tube partially encloses a substantial volume of water that tends to be excited and oscillate within the tube in response to wave action at the device, in particular because of interactions between that water and the tube's constriction, taper, or reduction in cross-sectional area. Examples incorporate a buoy (also referred to herein as a flotation module, hollow chamber, buoyant enclosure, buoyant body, flotation capsule, hollow flotation module, or upper hull enclosure, inter alia) to which an upper part of the tube is connected. Wave-driven oscillations of the device, and its attached tapered or constricted tube, result in the periodic ejections of portions of the water inside the tube, at the top and / or from an upper mouth of the tube (referred to as an injection orifice, water discharge mouth, or water discharge spout, inter alia). In some examples, portions of said ejected water may be collected in a reservoir (also referred to herein as a liquid collecting chamber, water tank, interior enclosure, or water collection basin, inter alia) that is positioned and configured so that: (1) a surface of water within the reservoir can be maintained at a position above the mean water level of the body of water on which the device floats, i.e., the resting external water surface; and / or (2) the water within the reservoir can be held in state of elevated pressure by compressed air or gas contained in the same enclosure and / or a fluidly communicating enclosure. Water within such an elevated or pressurized reservoir may return to the body of water on which the device floats via an effluent conduit (also referred to herein as an effluent pipe, inter alia) within which is situated a turbine or another power-capture mechanism such as a magnetohydrodynamic generator, thereby permitting the generation of electrical power; or through another type of flow governor, such as an adsorbent filter, configured to regulate and / or govern the flow of water out of the reservoir. In some cases, the flow governor can produce useful work and / or a useful product as a consequence of water flow, such as the capture of dissolved substances in seawater. In other cases the utility of the flow governor is primarily the maintenance of an approximately constant pressurization of the device's reservoir and / or an approximately constant, or controllable, flow of water through the hydrodynamic pump.

[0008] A preferred example is characterized by a waterplane area that is at least five times greater than the average horizontal cross-sectional area of the upper surface of the resting water partially enclosed within the tube. A preferred example is characterized by a buoy that is quasi-spherical especially in the region of a resting waterline. A preferred example is free-floating, unmoored, self-propelled, and possessing computing devices that are used to process computational tasks transmitted to it by a satellite, or by other electromagnetically- or optically-encoded signals, so that it can perform computational tasks on demand and / or autonomously, far from any shore and / or in the midst of waves that tend to be more energetic than those found near shore. Another preferred example promotes the growth of fish, macroalgae, microalgae, bivalves, and / or other organisms, within the reservoir of the device, sometimes by using a portion of the energy that it generates to generate light to support their growth and / or to propel the device to locations offering favorable environmental resources. Another preferred example captures minerals dissolved in seawater by using the pumping action of the example to drive water at elevated pressure through or adjacent to an adsorbent or absorbent capture medium. Another preferred example uses the water-pumping action of the example to circulate water to create a hospitable and waste-free environment for fish captive within a reservoir of the example. Finally, another preferred example uses its water-pumping action to propel seawater skywardly to increase the number of cloud nucleation sites in the air above the example.

[0009] A downward movement of the tapered tube, relative to the position and / or movement of the water partially enclosed within the tube, such as might occur as the device falls from the crest of a wave toward an approaching trough, tends to cause the tapered walls of the tapered tube to impart an increased pressure to the water inside the tube, particularly at an upper region of that water tube. When such a downward movement of the tube is followed by an upward movement of the tube, such as might occur as the device rises from the trough of a wave toward an approaching crest, the water inside the tapered tube tends to continue moving downward for a period of time due to its substantial inertia and downward momentum, even as the tapered tube moves upward and away from that water. The resulting disparity in the movements of the tapered tube and the water therein tends to cause a reduction in the pressure inside an uppermost portion of the tapered tube, and, in some examples, causes air to be drawn into the tube from above.

[0010] When the volume of water within the tapered tube has been reduced (e.g., when a transient air pocket has developed at the top of the tube), then the inward and / or upward pressure exerted by the water outside and / or adjacent to the lower mouth of the tapered tube that would tend to push water back into the tube, and restore the tube's nominal volume of water, will tend to exceed the outward and / or downward pressure exerted by the reduced volume of water within the tapered tube at the lower mouth. The resulting net inward and / or upward pressure at the tapered tube's lower mouth will tend to impel water back into the tapered tube from below. And, as the water within the tapered tube moves up the tube, toward the tapered tube's upper mouth, that water tends to accelerate and gain upward momentum.

[0011] As the rise of the device and the device's tapered tube slows, and / or the device returns to a downward trajectory, the vertically stalled, and / or now descending, tapered tube will tend to encounter an upward-moving slug of water partially enclosed within the tapered tube that is still moving upward and / or still gaining upward momentum. As the transient air pocket at the top of the tube is reduced, and the upwelling water within the tapered tube again reaches its nominal height within the tapered tube, the narrowing cross-sectional area of the tapered tube, and / or the tube's constricted upper end, tends to cause a portion of the water moving up through the tapered tube to gain additional upward speed (relative to the tube) and to subsequently travel beyond the upper mouth of the tapered tube and to effectively be ejected therefrom. In examples having a reservoir (liquid collecting chamber), especially one pressurized by gas, this ejection of water from the tube corresponds to an injection of water into the liquid collecting chamber; the pressure and / or force required to perform this injection is supplied by the sizable momentum and / or inertia of the water moving upwardly (relative to the tube) in the relatively long tube.

[0012] An example of the current disclosure traps a portion of the water discharged from the upper mouth of its tapered tube within a raised or elevated water reservoir, i.e., within a reservoir, container, chamber, pool, tank, bath, vat, and / or other full or partial enclosure configured so that in normal operation the reservoir holds a substantial portion of the water therein, and / or a surface of the water therein, at a distance above the mean external water level of the body of water on which the device floats, thereby capturing, preserving, buffering, storing, and / or caching, as gravitational potential energy some of the energy of water ejected from the upper mouth of the device's tapered tube. In examples having this kind of elevated or raised reservoir, the example is typically configured to have at least some permanent buoyancy, i.e. structures having a lower density than water positioned so as to reside below a mean waterline of the example during normal operation. An example allows a portion of the water trapped within its raised reservoir to flow back into the body of water on which the device floats through at least one water turbine that is operatively connected to at least one electrical generator, such that water flowing through said turbine, under the influence of the head pressure possessed by the water within the raised reservoir, results in the production of electrical energy. Examples of the current disclosure may utilize any type of hydrokinetic, impulse, or reaction turbine, including, but not limited to, those that might be characterized as: Kaplan turbines, Francis turbines, and crossflow turbines.

[0013] An example of the current disclosure utilizes and / or incorporates a pressurized accumulator, reservoir, chamber, vessel, container, capsule, tank, and / or other enclosure, containing both air and seawater, into which seawater is injected from the tapered tube. The pressurized reservoir traps a portion of the water discharged from an upper mouth of its tapered tube within a pressurized water reservoir, i.e., within a reservoir, container, chamber, pool, tank, capsule, and / or other enclosure, thereby holding the water alongside a pocket of compressed air, thereby capturing, preserving, buffering, storing, and / or caching, potential energy as an increased gas pressure. The pressurized reservoir stores potential energy in the compressed air inside the accumulator, much like a hydraulic accumulator. An example allows a portion of the water trapped within its pressurized reservoir to flow back into the body of water on which the device floats through at least one water turbine that is operatively connected to at least one electrical generator such that water flowing through said turbine, under the influence of the elevated pressure possessed by the water within the pressurized reservoir, results in the production of electrical energy. Examples of the current disclosure may utilize any type of hydrokinetic, impulse, or reaction turbine, including, but not limited to, those that might be characterized as: Kaplan turbines, Francis turbines, and crossflow turbines.

[0014] An example of the current disclosure utilizes and / or incorporates at least one water reservoir possessing at least one approximately elliptical or circular (nominally horizontal) cross-section, e.g., within a plane normal to a (nominally vertical) longitudinal axis of the device and / or its tapered tube. And the example introduces a portion of the water discharged from the upper mouth of the tapered tube into the circular water reservoir at a position, and in a direction, that has a component tangential to the periphery of the elliptical or circular cross-section of the reservoir such that a swirling motion tends to be imparted to a portion of the water within the reservoir. One such example utilizes a hydrokinetic turbine that extracts energy from both the gravitational potential energy (e.g., head pressure potential energy) and the (rotational and / or angular) kinetic energy of the water in the reservoir.

[0015] An example of the current disclosure incorporates, includes, and / or utilizes a tapered and / or constricted tube, cylinder, channel, conduit, container, canister, object, and / or structure, an upper end of which is nominally positioned adjacent to, or above, a mean exterior waterline of the device, and a lower end of which is nominally positioned at a depth near, adjacent to, and / or below, a wave base of the body of water on which the example floats, e.g. (depending on the scale of the example) 20, 50, 100 meters, 150 meters, or 175 meters below the mean free surface, or in any event, at a depth substantially below the free surface of the body of water. Cross-sectional areas of the tapered tube relative to sectional planes normal to a nominally vertical, longitudinal axis of the example and / or the tube (and hence parallel to a resting and / or average free surface of the body of water), are typically inconstant and preferably greater near a lower extent or portion of the tube, and lesser near an upper extent or portion of the tube, i.e., the tube (liquid pressurizing columnar conduit) narrows and / or contains a constriction or constricting feature near its upper end.

[0016] The constricted or tapered tube of a preferred example has a lower portion, e.g., adjacent to a lower mouth of the tube, that is of relatively constant cross-sectional area and an upper portion, e.g., approaching an upper mouth of the tube, that is of a lesser, decreasing, and / or constricted cross-sectional area. An upper portion of the tapered tube of one such preferred example is comprised of a frustoconical segment wherein the upper mouth is defined by the smallest-diameter edge of that frustoconical segment. An upper portion of the tapered tube of a different preferred example has a region of approximately constant (transverse) cross-sectional area above the constricting section, such that an uppermost portion of the tube can be approximately cylindrical and / or prismatic. An upper portion of the tapered tube of another such preferred example is comprised of a conical segment with walls that are curved with respect to cross-sectional planes passing through, and / or including, the longitudinal axis of the lower tube portion, e.g. to cause the constricting part of the tube to have walls completely tangential to the walls of any cylindrical or prismatic regions above or below. A (non-preferred) example has a tapered tube of relatively constant cross-sectional area and an orifice plate near its top, the orifice of which comprises the upper tube mouth.

[0017] The tapered tube of another example is smoothly tapered from a bottom of relatively great cross-sectional area to a top of relatively small cross-sectional area. The tapered tube of another example has cross-sectional areas that increase with greater depth within a first depth range and are approximately constant within a second depth range, the second depth range being deeper in the body of water on which the example floats than the first depth range. The tapered tube of another example has cross-sectional areas that are constant with greater depth within a first depth range, are increasing with depth within a second depth range, and are approximately constant with depth in a third depth range, the second depth range being deeper in the body of water than the first depth range and the third depth range being deeper in the body of water than the second depth range.

[0018] Tapered tubes of the current disclosure include, but are not limited to, those which have a horizontal cross-section, i.e., a cross-section through a plane normal to a (nominally vertical) longitudinal axis of the tube, that is approximately circular, elliptical, rectangular, hexagonal, and / or octagonal, as well as those which have a horizontal cross-section that is irregular or of some or any other shape.

[0019] Tapered tubes of the current disclosure include, but are not limited to, those which have an internal channel, e.g., through which water and / or air may flow, which have horizontal cross-sections, i.e., a cross-sections through a plane normal to a (nominally vertical) longitudinal axis of the tube, that is approximately circular, elliptical, rectangular, hexagonal, and / or octagonal, as well as those which have a horizontal cross-section that is irregular or of some or any other shape.

[0020] Tapered tubes of the current disclosure include, but are not limited to, those that are relatively straight, e.g., vertical, and have a straight longitudinal and / or central axis, e.g., parallel to the axis of fluid flow through the tube. Water tubes of the current disclosure also include, but are not limited to, those that are curved and have a non-linear and / or curved longitudinal and / or central axis or centerline, e.g., parallel to the axis of fluid flow through the tube.

[0021] Tapered tubes of the current disclosure include, but are not limited to, those which have an internal channel, e.g., through which water may flow, with variable, inconsistent, and / or changing, cross-sectional areas, i.e., a variable, inconsistent, and / or unequal, area with respect to at least two cross-sections through a plane normal to a longitudinal axis or centerline of the tube.

[0022] Tapered tubes of the current disclosure include, but are not limited to, those which have a divided, partitioned, and / or separated internal channel, e.g., through which water may flow, through two or more separated channels within a single tube. For example, an example may incorporate and / or utilize a single tube that, by means of one or more substantially vertical partitions that are approximately parallel to the vertical longitudinal axis of the tube, incorporates two or more separated channels through which water may flow. Such a divided and / or partitioned tube permits the possibility and / or the opportunity to incorporate within a single tube two or more channels, each of which is characterized by a different fundamental and / or resonant frequency at which water will oscillate within that tube in a direction approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis of the partitioned tube and each of which is therefore excited by differing wave amplitudes and / or periods, and / or differing ranges of wave amplitudes and / or periods, which result in optimal, maximal, and / or the most energetic discharges of water from the upper aperture of the respective tubes and / or of the constituent channels therein.

[0023] Tapered tubes of the current disclosure include, but are not limited to, those which are comprised of collections of, sets of, pluralities of, and / or two or more, constituent tubes, pipes, channels, and / or conduits. For example, an example of the current disclosure incorporates and / or includes a water tube comprised, at least in part, of many pipes bound, fastened, and / or welded together such that the joined collection of constituent pipes in effect constitutes a partitioned tube of larger diameter.

[0024] Examples of the current disclosure incorporate, include, and / or utilize one or more tapered tubes, and The present disclosure includes examples that incorporate, include, and / or utilize any number of water tubes. Examples of the current disclosure may also incorporate, include, and / or utilize two or more water tubes that wherein one or more of those water tubes differs from one or more of the other water tubes with respect to diameter, length, included taper angle, cross-sectional shape, volume, and / or any other parameter, dimension, characteristic, and / or attribute. Each of such an example's two or more unequal water tubes will tend to optimally responsive to different wave climates, wave heights, and / or wave periods. An example's use of two or more tubes of differing lengths, included taper angle, volume, etc., may permit the example to extract optimal amounts of energy from a greater range of waves amplitudes and / or periods than might be possible with only a single tube or multiple tubes of identical geometries.

[0025] An example of the current disclosure utilizes and / or incorporates two or more tapered tubes. One such example directs a portion of the water ejected by each tube into a common and / or shared water reservoir from which gravitational potential energy and / or rotational kinetic energy is extracted. Another such example directs a portion of the water ejected by each tube into a dedicated and / or tube-specific water reservoir.

[0026] Tapered tubes of the current disclosure include, but are not limited to, those which are fabricated, at least in part, of: steel, and / or other metals; one or more types of plastic; one or more types of fabric (e.g., carbon fiber or fiberglass); one or more types of resin; and / or one or more types of cementitious material.

[0027] The current disclosure includes an example in which a water tube is comprised of an internal wall, e.g., made of metal, and an outside wall, e.g., also made of metal, and a gap that is filled, at least in part, with concrete and / or another cementitious material.

[0028] The current disclosure includes an example in which a water tube is structurally reinforced and / or strengthened by an exterior truss. Another example includes a tapered tube is structurally reinforced and / or strengthened by an interior truss, e.g., a truss within a gap between interior and exterior tube walls, and / or a truss within the lumen, conduit, aperture, and / or channel, through which water and / or air flow.

[0029] The current disclosure includes an example in which a tapered tube has walls or other features that incorporate, include, and / or contain, buoyant material, i.e., material that has a density less than the water on which the example floats, and that tends to reduce the average density of the example.

[0030] Tapered tubes of the current disclosure include, but are not limited to, those which are, at least in part, and / or at least to a degree, flexible with respect to at least one axis, as well as those that are, at least in part, rigid and / or not substantially flexible.

[0031] The current disclosure includes an example in which a tapered tube is, at least in part, not entirely rigid.

[0032] An example has a water tube comprised, at least in part, of at least one of the following: a flexible tube; two or more rigid tube segments that are conjoined, interconnected, and / or linked, by means of flexible joints, and / or connectors; a flexible material utilizing rigid circumferential bands to prevent the collapse of the tube while permitting it to bend with respect to its longitudinal axis or vertical centerline and a limiting maximal bend radius; a plurality of telescoping annular sections; and / or an accordion-like extensible material that both allows the tube to flex along its longitudinal axis and allows its length to increase and decrease through flexes of the accordion-like pleats that define its walls.

[0033] Tapered tubes of the current disclosure include, but are not limited to, those which are comprised of tube walls of approximately constant thickness and / or strength; as well as those which are comprised of tube walls of variable, inconsistent, and / or changing, thicknesses and / or strengths (e.g., tubes having thicker walls nearer the buoy (upper hull enclosure) and thinner walls near the bottom of the water tube, may have the advantage of providing an economy of structural material while successfully resisting structural loads).

[0034] The current disclosure includes an example in which a water tube has an airfoil-shaped cross-sectional shape (i.e., with respect to a (nominally horizontal) cross-section in a plane normal to a longitudinal axis of the water tube, i.e. parallel to a resting water surface on which the device floats). Another example has a water tube that is embedded within an airfoil-shaped casing, shroud, and / or cowling.

[0035] The current disclosure includes examples that minimize their drag, and facilitate their motion, e.g., by means of self-propulsion, through the use of airfoil-shaped water tubes and / or outer tube casings, shrouds, cowlings, and / or enclosures. The current disclosure includes examples that incorporate and / or include airfoil-shaped water tubes and / or casings as well as rudders and / or ailerons that allow the airfoil-shaped water tubes to be steered after the manner of a keel, or an airplane wing.

[0036] Examples of the present disclosure incorporate and / or utilize inertial water tubes through which water tends to oscillate and from the upper mouth of which water is occasionally ejected. The ejection of water from the upper mouths of these tubes is facilitated, promoted, enabled, and / or increased (e.g., in volume and / or frequency), by a reduction in the cross-sectional area of the tube proximate to the upper mouth, which constriction serves to excite water in the tube to oscillate. The present disclosure includes examples incorporating and / or utilizing any number of water tubes, wherein at least one of an example's water tubes has an inconstant cross-sectional area with respect to sectional planes normal to the longitudinal axis of the inertial water tube, and / or normal to the axis of flow through the inertial water tube (i.e., inconstant "flow-normal" cross-sectional areas). The present disclosure includes examples incorporating and / or utilizing inertial water tubes characterized by variations, changes, differences, and / or alterations, in the flow-normal cross-sectional areas of any magnitude, relative or absolute, and of any form, design, or shape. In a preferred example, a constriction provides an area reduction of approximately eight times from the bottom of a water tube to its upper mouth.

[0037] The present disclosure includes examples possessing, incorporating, and / or utilizing, constrictions, regions of tube narrowing, and / or tapers, whose walls (i.e., within the region of narrowing) with respect to sectional planes parallel to, and inclusive of, a longitudinal axis of the untapered portion of the inertial water tube, and / or parallel to, and inclusive of, the axis of flow through the untapered portion of the inertial water tube (i.e., "flow-parallel" cross-sectional areas) are straight, linear, curved, irregular, axially concentric with the longitudinal axis of the respective lower, untapered portions of the tubes, and / or not axially concentric with the longitudinal axis of the respective lower, untapered portions of the tubes (e.g., bending and / or curving in a lateral direction).

[0038] An example of the present disclosure incorporates a narrowing in its inertial water tube through the use of a frustoconical tube section adjacent to the upper mouth. An example of the present disclosure incorporates an inertial water tube incorporating a single lower mouth and a plurality of upper mouths. Each of the example's upper mouths in such an example is adjacent to a mouth-specific region of constriction within the example's tube.

[0039] Examples of the current disclosure include, but are not limited to, those that incorporate, include, and / or utilize one or more constricted inertial water tubes. And The present disclosure includes examples that incorporate, include, and / or utilize different numbers, and / or any number, of constricted inertial water tubes.

[0040] An example of the current disclosure incorporates, includes, and / or utilizes a buoy or flotation module (also referred to as an upper hull enclosure), in order to keep at least a portion of the device adjacent to the surface of a body of water. Buoys of the current disclosure can be positively buoyant objects per se and / or enclose a trapped gas within their interior. Examples may be free-floating, drifting, self-propelled, tethered (e.g., by anchor) to a seafloor or tethered (e.g., by mooring cables) to one or more other examples. Buoys of the current disclosure can include but are not limited to structures that are or resemble barges, floating platforms, ships, and / or boats.

[0041] Buoys of examples of the current disclosure can include, but are not limited to, those which are composed, comprised, and / or fabricated of, at least in part, and / or may incorporate, include, and / or contain: air-filled voids, foam, wood, bamboo, steel, aluminum, cement, fiberglass, carbon fiber, and / or plastic.

[0042] Buoys of examples of the current disclosure can include, but are not limited to, those which are fabricated as a substantially monolithic body, as well as those comprised of interconnected assemblages of parts, e.g., of which individual parts may not be positively buoyant. They may also be fabricated as assemblies of positively buoyant sub-assemblies, e.g., of buoyant canisters, modules, or tiles.

[0043] Buoys of examples of the current disclosure can include, but are not limited to, those which displace water across and / or over areas of the surface of body of water as small as 2 square meters, and as great as 10,000 square meters.

[0044] Buoys of examples of the current disclosure can include, but are not limited to, those which have a nominal, resting draft as shallow as 30 cm, and as deep as 50 meters.

[0045] Buoys of examples of the current disclosure can include, but are not limited to, those which have a horizontal cross-sectional shape (i.e., a shape with respect to a cross-section parallel to the resting surface of a body of water) and / or a waterplane shape that is approximately: circular, elliptical, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, and / or complex and irregular.

[0046] Buoys of examples of the current disclosure can include, but are not limited to, those which have a vertical cross-sectional shape (i.e., a shape with respect to a cross-section normal to the resting surface of a body of water) that is approximately: rectangular, frusto-triangular, hemi-circular, semi-circular, and semi-elliptical.

[0047] Buoys of examples of the current disclosure can have shapes resembling bowls, cylinders, and other shapes conducive to the creation of a water reservoir, water tank, and / or water basin within the buoy.

[0048] An example of the current disclosure incorporates, includes, and / or utilizes a pressurized accumulator, reservoir, container, chamber, capsule, vessel, tank, vat, and / or other enclosure, that contains a pocket of air or other gas which allows the pressurized accumulator to behave like a hydraulic accumulator. That pocket of pressurized air can also provide the pressurized accumulator with buoyancy. And an example of the current disclosure utilizes such a pocket of pressurized air as its primary, if not only, source and / or provider of buoyancy. With respect to certain examples, the buoyancy of the pressurized accumulator keeps at least a portion of the example floating adjacent to the surface of a body of water, and if a wall of the pressurized accumulator were to be punctured and / or the air within it released to the atmosphere, water could fill the accumulator and the example would sink.

[0049] Such a pressurized example is positively buoyant and may be free-floating, drifting, self-propelled, tethered (e.g., by anchor) to a seafloor or tethered (e.g., by mooring cables) to one or more other examples and / or floating objects.

[0050] The current disclosure includes examples with any and every type of water (and / or hydrokinetic) turbine, any number of water turbines, any variety of turbine sizes, power ratings, designs, as well as water turbines comprised of any and every type of material.

[0051] An example of the current disclosure incorporates, includes, and / or utilizes a "water turbine," e.g., a device and / or mechanism that causes a shaft or other mechanical feature to rotate in response to the passage of water through a channel in which the water turbine is positioned. An example of the current disclosure incorporates, includes, and / or utilizes a generator, and / or electrical power generating device, that is operationally and / or rotatably connected to the example's water turbine.

[0052] Examples of the current disclosure include, but are not limited to, those that incorporate, include, and / or utilize "mono-directional water turbines" that cause a shaft to rotate with a first torque and / or a first direction of rotation in response to the passage of fluid through a channel in a first direction of flow, but cause that shaft to rotate with a second torque (or no torque) and / or a second direction of rotation (or no rotation) in response to the passage of fluid through the channel in a second, e.g., opposite, direction of flow.

[0053] Examples of the current disclosure include, but are not limited to, those that incorporate, include, and / or utilize "bi-directional water turbines" that cause a shaft to rotate with a first torque and / or a first direction of rotation in response to the passage of fluid through a channel in a first direction of flow, and cause that shaft to rotate with that same first torque and / or first direction of rotation in response to the passage of fluid through the channel in a second, e.g., opposite, direction of flow.

[0054] Examples of the current disclosure include, but are not limited to, those that incorporate, include, and / or utilize water turbines that are of known types, including, but not limited to, water turbines of the following types: Impulse turbines Pelton wheels Turgo wheels Crossflow turbines Impulse turbines with guide vanes Reaction turbines Propeller turbines Bulb turbines Straflo turbines Tube turbines Kaplan turbines Francis turbines Kinetic energy and / or free-flow turbines Low head turbines Axial flow rotor turbines Open Center Fan turbines Helical Turbines Cycloidic turbines Hydroplane blades FFP turbine generators Wells turbines Wells turbines with guide vanes Contra-rotating Wells turbines Savonius turbines

[0055] In the case of impulse turbines, the turbine would typically if not always be included within a compartment of the example that also contains air, so that the turbine would be made to rotate in the compartment by an absorption of the kinetic energy of the water striking it.

[0056] Examples of the current disclosure include, but are not limited to, those that incorporate, include, and / or utilize water and / or hydrokinetic turbines that are of unknown, undocumented, and / or unpublished types, designs, and configurations.

[0057] Examples of the current disclosure incorporate, include, and / or utilize one or more turbines, and The present disclosure includes examples that incorporate, include, and / or utilize different numbers, and / or any number, of water turbines; water turbines of any size(s), diameter(s), and / or power rating(s); water turbines fabricated from, comprised of, and / or utilizing any material, substance, and / or combination of materials and / or substances; water turbines of any operational category, design, principle of operation, and / or efficiency.

[0058] Examples of the current disclosure can incorporate, in the place of a turbine and generator, any device, system, or apparatus that converts water flow into electrical energy. One such class of devices is magnetohydrodynamic generators. In any example of the disclosure including a turbine, a magnetohydrodynamic generator or any other water-flow-to-electrical-energy conversion machine can be substituted for the turbine.

[0059] The current disclosure includes examples that include, incorporate, and / or utilize, water and / or hydrokinetic turbines that are directly and / or indirectly connected to power take offs (i.e., "PTOs") including, but not limited to, PTOs comprising: an electrical generator a pump (e.g., of air or water) a gearbox and rotatably connected electrical generator and / or pump (e.g., of air or water) a hydraulic ram and / or piston and / or other means of converting linear motion, and, a cam shaft that is connected to a hydraulic ram and / or piston and / or other means of converting linear motion;

[0060] The current disclosure includes examples that include, incorporate, and / or utilize, water and / or hydrokinetic turbines that are directly and / or indirectly connected to linearly extensible components, and / or elements, of extensible PTOs such as hydraulic pistons, rack-and-pinon assemblies, sliding rods / shafts of linear generators, etc.

[0061] The present disclosure includes examples of different dimensions, areas, volumes, masses, and capacities, including, but not limited to, those possessing any of the following: waterplane areas of between 10 and 10,000 square meters, drafts of between 10 and 350 meters, tubular channels having average cross-sectional areas (with respect to sectional planes normal to longitudinal axes of the respective tubular channels) that are between 3 and 2,000 square meters tubular channels having lengths (along axes parallel to longitudinal axes of the respective tubular channels) that are between 10 and 200 meters water ballasts and / or water reservoirs having volumes that are between 50 and 40,000 cubic meters water ballasts and / or water reservoirs having masses that are between 50 thousand and 40 million kilograms water ballasts having relative masses equal to between 100% and 10,000% of the masses of the respective "dry" portions of the respective examples (i.e., those parts of the respective examples that are rigid and / or not comprised of water, such as structural components) the ability to generate between 0.5 kW and 10 MW when buffeted by ocean waves having significant wave heights of 1.5 or more meters, and dominant or significant wave periods of 7 or more seconds.

[0062] An example of a device disclosed herein utilizes and / or incorporates at least one propulsion device, means, mechanism, component, system, module, and / or structure, to generate propulsion providing the device with the ability to reposition itself and / or change its geospatial location, e.g., thereby allowing it to seek out, follow, and / or position itself at a location characterized by favorable wave conditions, climates, and / or weather.

[0063] One self-propelled example utilizes and / or incorporates a propulsion device and / or propulsive technology that converts ambient energy, e.g., of the wind, waves, currents, and / or tides, into propulsive thrust. Another self-propelled example utilizes and / or incorporates a propulsion device and / or propulsive technology that utilizes a portion of the electrical energy, gravitational potential energy, pressure potential energy, and / or other form or type of energy generated by the example in response to wave action in order to generate a propulsive thrust. The provision of self-propulsion permits devices located far from shore to be positioning, moved, and / or operated at locations in the sea where wave energies are greater than at locations proximate to a shoreline, thereby permitting these devices to achieve greater power-generation efficiencies and higher capacity factors.

[0064] The current disclosure includes an example in which the example possesses devices, mechanisms, structures, features, systems, and / or modules, that actively and purposely move the example, primarily laterally, to new geospatial locations and / or positions. Such self-propulsion capabilities allow examples to achieve useful objectives, including, but not limited to, the following: to seek out optimal wave conditions to avoid adverse wave and / or weather conditions to avoid other ships, vessels, and / or potential hazards to avoid shallow waters, rocks, land masses, islands, and other geological hazards to maintain proximity to other examples, e.g., so as to exchange data with one another, and / or cooperate in the execution of relatively large computing tasks to provide energy to other vessels, and / or disaster areas in time of emergency, and, to return to port or areas of quiescent water in order to receive inspection, maintenance, repair, upgrades, and / or in order to be decommissioned.

[0065] Examples of the current disclosure may achieve self-propulsion by devices, mechanisms, structures, features, systems, and / or modules, that include, but are not limited to, the following: rigid sails flexible sails Flettner rotors keel-shaped tube chambers rudders ducted fans propellers propeller-driven underwater thrusters directed out-flows from water tubes or air tubes supplied with pressurized water or air by a hydrodynamic pumping action or a driven motor of the example water jets submerged, wave-heave-driven flaps submerged, tethered airplane-like kites and / or drones inflatable water-filled bags, and sea anchors and / or drogues

[0066] Examples of the current disclosure which, following the ejection of water from the upper mouth of a tapered tube, harvest energy from the gravitational and / or rotational-kinetic potential energy of water captured in a raised water reservoir, and / or harvest energy from the pressure potential energy of water captured within a pressurized reservoir that acts as a hydraulic accumulator, and subsequently release that water back into the body of water from which it came (e.g., after directing it to flow through a water turbine or filter or other flow governor) may achieve self-propulsion by directing the outflow and / or effluent from the reservoir and / or water turbine and / or filter and / or flow governor in a direction at least approximately parallel to the resting surface of the body of water on which the example floats, thereby generating lateral thrust that is, at least to a degree, able to propel the those examples.

[0067] The coupling of such an effluent-generated thrust propulsion system with a device, mechanism, structure, feature, system, and / or module, that rotates the examples about their nominally vertical, longitudinal axes, and / or the utilization of two or more points of effluent-generated thrust propulsion which can be differentially controlled, allows such examples to not only be propelled, but also to be steered along a specific, adjustable, controllable, and / or desirable direction and / or course. The many devices, mechanisms, structures, features, systems, and / or modules, that permit such examples to be rotated about vertical axes, includes, but is not limited to: additional discharges of pressurized water from raised and / or pressurized water reservoirs from apertures, pipes, channels, and / or orifices, that are oriented so as to generate an at least partially tangential thrust to the examples; a rudder positioned adjacent to the mouth, aperture, and / or orifice, from which the thrust-generating turbine discharge is returned to the body of water; a rudder positioned at any location on the device in contact with, or beneath the surface of, the body of water on which the examples float; and / or a rotatable and / or adjustable sail.

[0068] Some examples of the present disclosure use one or more antennas, and / or one or more arrays of antennas, to facilitate communication, coordination, and / or the transfer of data, with a land-based receiver, one or more other examples and / or instances of the same example, boats, submarines, buoys, airborne drones, surface water drones, submerged drones, satellites, and / or other receivers and / or transmitters utilizing one or more antennas.

[0069] Examples of the present disclosure utilize one or more types of antennas including, but not limited to, the following: parasitic antennas including, but not limited to: Yagi-Uda antennas Quad antennas wire antennas loop antennas dipole antennas half-wave dipole antennas odd multiple half-wave dipole antennas short dipole antennas monopole antennas electrically small loop antennas electrically large loop antennas log periodic antennas bow-tie antennas travelling wave antennas including, but not limited to: helical antennas Yagi-Uda antennas microwave antennas including, but not limited to: rectangular micro-strip antennas planar inverted-F antennas reflector antennas including, but not limited to: corner reflector antennas parabolic reflector antennas multi-band antennas separate transmission and receiving antennas Examples of the present disclosure utilize one or more types of antenna arrays including, but not limited to, the following: driven arrays including, but not limited to: arrays of helical antennas broadside arrays including, but not limited to: collinear arrays planar arrays including, but not limited to: those composed of unidirectional antennas reflective arrays including, but not limited to: half-wave dipole antennas in front of a reflecting screen curtain arrays microstrip antennas (e.g., comprised of arrays of patch antennas) phased arrays including, but not limited to: those with analog and / or digital beamforming those with crossed dipoles passive electronically scanned arrays active electronically scanned arrays low-profile and / or conformal arrays smart antennas, reconfigurable antennas, and / or adaptive arrays in which: a receiving array that estimates the direction of arrival of the radio waves and electronically optimizes the radiation pattern adaptively to receive it, synthesizing a main lobe in that direction endfire arrays including, but not limited to: log periodic dipole arrays parasitic arrays including, but not limited to: endfire arrays consisting of multiple antenna elements in a line of which only one is a driven element (i.e., connected to a transmitter or receiver) log periodic dipole arrays Yagi-Uda antennas Quad antennas

[0070] An example of the current disclosure utilizes and / or incorporates at least one phased array antenna (and / or other type of antenna) across and / or over at least one broad area of the example's upper surfaces, walls, and / or decks.

[0071] An example of the present disclosure utilizes a phased array of antennas, e.g., dipole antennas, arrayed across an upper exterior surface of the example. Because such a phased array is deployed across such a broad and / or expansive area and / or array, the example is provided with the opportunity to achieve a highly resolved directionality and a significant and / or optimized degree of signal gain.

[0072] An example of the present disclosure utilizes a phased array of antennas deployed across a broad, nominally horizontal upper exterior surface of the example, which permits the phased array and / or the example to achieve an optimized signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio, and data exchange rate, with respect to electromagnetically-mediated communications and / or exchanges of signals and / or data with a satellite. Such a capability is useful to a self-propelled example that executes computing tasks received from a remote computer or computing network by satellite, and that returns computing results to a remote computer or computing network by satellite.

[0073] An example of the present disclosure utilizes a phased array of antennas deployed across a broad, at least partially vertical lateral exterior surface of the example, e.g., such as one or more sides of the example, and this phased-array deployment facilitates the example's communications and / or to exchanges of data with remote antennas, e.g., those of other devices and / or terrestrial antennas, and with any associated and / or linked computers or computing networks. Such remote antennas might be associated with, and / or integrated within, a variety of systems, stations, and / or locations, including, but not limited to terrestrial stations, airborne drones, ocean-going surface drone vessels, ocean-going submerged drone vessels, piloted aircraft, and satellites.

[0074] The current disclosure includes, but is not limited to, examples that incorporate, include, and / or utilize, phased arrays comprised of individual antennas with any relative and / or absolute orientation relative to the rest of the example. The scope includes examples in incorporating, including, and / or utilizing, phased arrays comprised of individual antennas (of which the phased array is comprised) having any orientation relative to a respective example, and having any orientation with respect to one another (e.g., parallel, normal, radial, random, etc.).

[0075] The current disclosure includes, but is not limited to, examples that incorporate, include, and / or utilize, phased arrays of any size, phased arrays comprised of any number of individual and / or constituent antennas, and / or phased arrays comprised of constituent antennas of any size. The current disclosure includes, but is not limited to, examples that incorporate, include, and / or utilize, phased arrays characterized by, and / or capable of, any transmission power, signal strength, and / or gain, and / or any degree of signal amplification with respect to received signals.

[0076] An example of the present disclosure incorporates on an upper exterior deck and / or surface a phased array utilizing digital beamforming, and also utilizing gyroscopes and / or accelerometers to track changes in the orientation of the example in order to reduce the latency between such changes and corresponding corrections to the gain and / or directionality of the phased array's beam, e.g., to preserve an optimal beam orientation with respect to a satellite.

[0077] An example of the present disclosure incorporates on an upper exterior deck and / or surface a phased array transmitting and receiving electromagnetic radiation at least two frequencies, wherein the beamwidth of a first frequency is significantly greater than the beamwidth of a second frequency. Such an example uses the relatively broad beam of the first frequency to localize and track a target receiver and / or transmitter, e.g., a satellite, and to adjust the angular orientation and / or beamwidth of the relatively narrow beam of the second frequency so as to optimize the second beam's gain with respect to the target receiver and / or transmitter.

[0078] An example of the present disclosure incorporates dipole antennas attached to the periphery of the buoy and oriented approximately radially about the periphery of an exterior deck of the example (with respect to a vertical longitudinal axis of the example and / or its inertial water tube). The example's dipoles benefit from the proximate ground plane created by the sea and its surface, wherein the sea and / or its surface reflect upward any beam lobe that might have otherwise been directed downward, thus increasing the gain of the upward beam.

[0079] An example of the present disclosure stores at least a portion of the electrical energy (and / or another form(s) of energy) that it extracts from ambient waves in an energy storage device, component, and / or system. Examples of the present disclosure include, incorporate, and / or utilize, energy storage devices, components, and / or systems, including, but not limited to: batteries, capacitors, compressed air energy storage systems, e.g., tanks, pumps, and generators, and electrolyzers and fuel cells, e.g., that generate and consume hydrogen as an energy store.

[0080] An example of the present disclosure utilizes at least a portion of the energy that it stores in order to provide approximately steady and / or continuous electrical power to at least a portion of the computers and / or computer networks contained therein. An example of the present disclosure responds to a diminution and / or reduction in the rate at which it produces and / or generates electrical power (e.g., in response to suboptimal wave conditions) by incrementally shutting down computers and / or computer networks therein, and / or adjusting the clock frequency of computers or integrated circuits contained therein, and / or by adjusting the duty cycle and / or CPU consumption of computational processes being run on one or more computers of the example, e.g. by periodically pausing and restarting such processes, or by adjusting the scheduling of such processes by the kernel of an operating system of one or more computers of the example. An example of the present disclosure responds to a resumption and / or return of a nominal rate electrical power production and / or generation (e.g., in response to a resumption of optimal wave conditions) by incrementally turning on computers and / or computer networks therein.

[0081] An example of the present disclosure activates and deactivates subsets of its computers, and / or changes a clock frequency (clock rate) of an integrated circuit thereof (e.g. a CPU, GPU, or ASIC thereof), thereby changing and / or adjusting the number and / or percentage of its computers that are active at any given time, and / or the percentage of available computational power that is available at any given time, so as to correspondingly change and / or adjust the amount of electrical power required by those computers (i.e., the "electrical load"), in response to changes in wave conditions, and / or changes in the amount of electrical power generated by its power takeoff, so as to match the amount of power being consumed by the computers to the amount being generated (i.e., to match the generation power level to the load).

[0082] An example of the present disclosure incorporates, and / or utilizes components and / or mechanisms, including, but not limited to: batteries, capacitors, springs, flywheels, and / or chemical fuel (e.g. hydrogen) generators and storage mechanisms. These energy storage mechanisms permit the example to store, at least for a short time (e.g. 10-20 seconds), at least a portion of the electrical and / or mechanical energy generated by the example in response to wave motion. Such energy storage may have the beneficial effect of permitting the example to integrate and / or smooth the generated electrical power.

[0083] An example of the present disclosure, when tethered to other examples and / or devices, may further stabilize its own energy supplies, as well as helping to stabilize the energy supplies of the other tethered devices, by sharing electrical energy, batteries, capacitors, and / or other energy storage means, capacities, components, and / or systems, and / or by sharing and / or distributing generated power, across a power bus and / or grid that it shares with the other tethered devices. This capability and deployment scenario will facilitate the ability of some tethered collections and / or farms of examples to potentially utilize a smaller total number of batteries, capacitors, and / or other energy storage means, components, and / or systems, since the sharing of such components, systems, and / or reserves will tend to reduce the amount of energy that any one device will need to store in order to achieve a certain level of stability with respect to local stochastic variations in generated power and / or computing requirements.

[0084] An example of the present disclosure incorporates, and / or utilizes, sufficient energy storage means, capacities, components, and / or systems, so that a sufficiently great amount of energy may be thus stored, thereby allowing the example to continue powering a greater number of computers than could be powered without energy storage and / or buffering, i.e., by relying only on the utilization of inconstant, fluctuating, instantaneous levels of generated electrical power. For example, the example is able to store enough power to energize all of its computers for a day in the absence of waves, and is therefore able to avoid reducing its number of active computers during a "lull" in the waves, and to continue energizing them until a nominally energetic wave state resumes.

[0085] An example of the present disclosure applies, consumes, and / or utilizes, at least 50% of the electrical power that it generates in order to energize, power, and / or operate, its respective computing devices and / or circuitry. An example of the present disclosure applies, consumes, and / or utilizes, at least 90% of the electrical power that it generates in order to energize, power, and / or operate, its respective computing devices and / or circuitry. An example of the present disclosure applies, consumes, and / or utilizes, at least 99% of the electrical power that it generates in order to energize, power, and / or operate, its respective computing devices and / or circuitry (including CPUs, memory, and / or ASICs).

[0086] An example of the present disclosure utilizes a portion of the electrical energy that it generates in order to energize computers that perform computational tasks specified by remote operators, computers, and / or networks, and transmitted to the example, e.g., by satellite. The example, and the computers of which it is comprised, operate with a "power usage effectiveness" (PUE) of no more than 1.1. An example of the present disclosure utilizes a portion of the electrical energy that it generates in order to energize computers that perform computational tasks specified by remote operators, computers, and / or networks, and transmitted to the example, e.g., by satellite. The example, and the computers of which it is comprised, operate with a "power usage effectiveness" (PUE) of no more than 1.01. An example of the present disclosure utilizes a portion of the electrical energy that it generates in order to energize computers that perform computational tasks specified by remote operators, computers, and / or networks, and transmitted to the example, e.g., by satellite. The example, and the computers of which it is comprised, operate with a "power usage effectiveness" (PUE) of no more than 1.001.

[0087] An example of the present disclosure turns at least a portion of its computing devices and / or integrated circuits on and off (and / or adjusts their clock rate) so as to at least approximately match the amount of electrical power being generated by the example at any given moment, and / or to match the rate at which the example is extracting energy from the waves that buffet it.

[0088] The power profile of a wave energy converter can be irregular, i.e. it can generate large amounts of power for a few seconds, followed by a pause of a few seconds when no power is generated. ASIC chips designed to computing hash values for the "mining" of cryptocurrencies can typically compute many millions of hash values per second. An example of the present disclosure, incorporates, and / or utilizes, energy control circuits that turn on and energize ASICs and / or CPUs when the example is generating power, and de-energize ASICs and / or CPUs when the example is not generating power. An example of the present disclosure, incorporates, and / or utilizes, energy control circuits that energize a quantity of ASICs and / or CPUs that corresponds and / or is proportional to the amount of power that the example is generating at any particular time, and / or adjusts the clock rate or processor load of said ASICs and / or CPUs in a manner approximately proportional to the amount of power that the example is generating at any particular time. In this manner, the amount of power storage and / or buffering equipment required of the example can be reduced. An example of the present disclosure, incorporates, and / or utilizes, computing circuitry that is at least partially energized and de-energized on a second-by-second basis. An example of the present disclosure, incorporates, and / or utilizes, computing circuitry that is at least partially energized and de-energized on a millisecond by millisecond basis.

[0089] An example of the present disclosure selects those tasks that it will attempt to compute and / or execute in order to at least approximately match the amount of future computing power and / or computing capacity, and / or the amount of time or energy, required to complete those tasks, with the amount of power and / or energy estimated and / or forecast to be generated by the example at a future time.

[0090] An example of the present disclosure turns at least a portion of its computing devices on and off as needed in order to at least approximately match the amount of electrical power that its computers forecast and / or estimate that the example's power take off will generate at a future time. An example of the present disclosure turns at least a portion of its computing devices on and off (or adjusts the clock rate or processor load of integrated circuits) as needed in order to at least approximately match the amount of electrical power that has been forecast and / or estimated by a computer on another example or device, and / or on a computer at a remote location (e.g., a land-based facility), that the example's power take off will generate at a future time.

[0091] An example of the present disclosure, when deployed within a farm configuration in which the example, and other examples and / or devices, are electrically connected to one another and / or to one or more terrestrial and / or other sources of electrical power, may, e.g. when its power generation exceeds its computing power requirements, send excess generated electrical power to another example, e.g., for storage, or to shore (e.g., to an onshore grid connection). Conversely, an example deployed in such a farm configuration, in which the example, and other examples and / or devices, are electrically connected to one another and / or to one or more terrestrial and / or other sources of electrical power, may, when its computing demands require more electrical energy than can be provided through its own conversion of wave energy (e.g. when waves are small), draw energy from one or more of the other examples and / or devices to which it is electrically connected, and / or from the one or more terrestrial sources of power to which it is electrically connected so as to continue computing and / or recharge its energy reserves.

[0092] An example of the present disclosure facilitates its communication, coordination, and / or its transfer of data, with the respective computing devices and / or circuits of one or more other examples and / or devices by means of a common distributed network, e.g. Ethernet, Infiniband, or TCP / IP.

[0093] An example of the present disclosure facilitates its communication, coordination, and / or its transfer of data, with the respective computers, circuits, and / or internal and / or physical networks on, and / or incorporated within, one or more other examples and / or devices by means of virtual and / or electromagnetic network connections and / or links, e.g. WAN, Wi-Fi, satellite-mediated, radio, microwave, and / or modulated light. The example shares data, programs, and / or otherwise cooperates, with the one or more other examples and / or devices without the benefit of a physical (wired) network connection.

[0094] An example of the present disclosure transmits, receives, transfers, shares, and / or exchanges, data with one or more other examples and / or devices by means of acoustic and / or electrical signals transmitted through the body of water and / or seawater on which they float. By inducing localized sounds, acoustic signals, electrical currents, and / or electrical charges, within the seawater that surrounds it, the example creates acoustic and / or electrical signals in the seawater that travel through the seawater, and / or radiate away from the example within the seawater, and can be detected and / or received by the one or more other examples and / or devices. In this way, a two-way exchange of data, as well as broadcasts of data from one example to one or many others can be completed, executed, and / or realized.

[0095] When other examples and / or devices are so distant from an example of the present disclosure that line-of-sight communication options, e.g. modulated light, are not available, possible, feasible, and / or practical, then the example facilitates its sharing, and / or exchange, of data with those other distant examples and / or devices by daisy-chaining, through intermediate examples and / or devices, inter-device communications, signals, transmissions, and / or data transfers. Data may be exchanged between two widely separated examples through the receipt and re-transmission of data by examples and / or devices located at intermediate positions from the originating and target examples and / or devices.

[0096] An example of the present disclosure transmits, receives, transfers, shares, and / or exchanges, data with receivers at distant locations, e.g., with other examples and / or devices, and / or with remote objects, facilities, computers, and / or networks, by means of modulated light and / or "flashes" shined on, and / or reflected or refracted by, atmospheric features, elements, particulates, droplets, etc. An example encodes data (with the encoding preferably including an encryption of the data) into a series of modulated light pulses and / or flashes that are projected into the atmosphere in a direction at least an approximately toward a distant receiver, e.g., toward other examples and / or devices, and / or toward remote objects, facilities, computers, and / or networks. The receiver, e.g. through the use of wavelength-specific filters, and / or temporally specific frequency filters, will then detect at least a portion of the transmitted light pulses and decode the encoded data. The return of data by the receiver to the example is accomplished in the same or similar manner.

[0097] Such a "reflected and / or refracted and light-modulated" data stream can be made specific to at least a particular wavelength, range of wavelengths, pulse frequency, and / or range of pulse frequencies. By such a data communication scheme and / or process, an individual example can be configured to transmit data to one or more individual other examples and / or devices (e.g. on separate wavelength-specific channels), and / or to a plurality of other examples and / or devices. The example can be configured to receive data from one or more individual other examples and / or devices (e.g. on separate wavelength-specific channels), and / or from a plurality of other examples and / or devices.

[0098] An example of the present disclosure includes a cable that is directly and / or indirectly connected to at least one of the example's computers and / or other electronic devices, components, networks, and / or systems. One end of the cable is suspended from the example adjacent to the surface of the body of water on which the example floats. When a suitably configured vessel, e.g., an unmanned autonomous vessel, approaches the example, it may secure and connect to the free end of that cable, and thereafter may communicate through that cable with the computers and / or other electronic devices, components, and / or systems, on board the example to which the cable is connected. Through the example's "exterior data access cable", another suitably configured vessel can exchange copious amounts of data with computers and / or other electronic devices, components, and / or systems, on the example, e.g., in order to download the results of a calculation and / or simulation performed on the example, and / or to upload a body of data and / or applications to be executed in order to perform a calculation.

[0099] Examples of the present disclosure achieve this remote data exchange capability by means of exterior data access cables comprising, at least in part, cables of known types, including, but not limited to, the following: fiber optic cables LAN cables RS-232 cables, and Ethernet cables.

[0100] Examples of the present disclosure may exchange data with other computers, vessels, networks, data-relay stations, and / or data repositories, by means of communication technologies including, but not limited to, the following types: Wi-Fi radio pulse-modulated underwater sounds, e.g., sonars pulse-modulated lasers optical phased arrays pulse-modulated LEDs, and, physical semaphores (e.g., 2D arrays of MEMS devices).

[0101] Examples of the present disclosure may exchange data with other computers, vessels, networks, data-relay stations, and / or data repositories, by means of suitably equipped communication intermediaries and / or relays including, but not limited to, the following types: boats and / or other manned surface vessels autonomous surface vessels submarines autonomous underwater vessels planes unmanned aerial vehicles satellites balloons ground stations, e.g., transmission stations positioned on shore, and, other examples of the current disclosure.

[0102] The current disclosure includes examples in which at least one "pitch-inhibiting" weight is suspended beneath and / or from, and / or attached to a lower portion of, one or more of the water tubes of the respective examples by flexible cables and / or rigid struts and / or other structures. When the orientation of a nominally vertical longitudinal axis of those examples deviates from vertical, and / or from being normal with and / or to the resting, nominal surface of the body of water on which each respective example floats, then the downward gravitational force of the weight is imparted to the bottom of the water tube of the respective examples, and / or to the bottom of the buoy and / or pressurized reservoir of the respective examples, thereby creating a restoring torque. When a pitch-inhibiting weight is suspended beneath and / or from, and / or attached to a lower portion of, two or more water tubes, then a pitching motion of the respective example causes the pitch-inhibiting weight to impart a downward force to the bottom of the most raised tube (i.e., the tube with the least draft), thereby creating a restoring torque.

[0103] The current disclosure includes examples in which various "water ballast chambers," compartments, voids, spaces, and / or containers, within the example may be filled with, and / or emptied of, water to a desired degree, thereby altering the average density of the example, and its average depth (i.e., waterline) in the water on which it floats. In many examples, the water reservoir into which water is added from ejections from the water tube serves as a water ballast chamber.

[0104] By emptying water from one or more of these water ballast chambers, an example can reduce its average density and rise up to a shallower average depth, and / or lower its waterline, thereby projecting its upper portions out of the water and above potentially damaging storm waves and / or surges. In some examples, a turbine or flow governor of the example is controlled to change a flow rate of water from the example, to increase or decrease the amount of water in a water reservoir of the example, causing the average density of the example to increase or decrease.

[0105] By increasing the volume of water in one or more of these water ballast chambers or water reservoirs, an example can increase its average density and sink down to a greater average depth, and / or raise its waterline, for example, a depth in which it can become more or less responsive to the waves passing beneath and / or around it, thereby increasing the amount of power it is able to extract from those waves, or limiting the amount of energy absorbed from those waves (e.g. to provide additional structural protection).

[0106] An example of the current disclosure utilizes an elevated reservoir in which to store water ejected from its inertial water tube. Another example of the current disclosure utilizes a pressurized reservoir in which to store water ejected from its inertial water tube. The reservoirs of both of these examples can be equipped with respective valves, that when actuated by the example's control system, directly discharge water from the respective reservoirs and into the body of water on which the example floats, thereby at least partially bypassing each respective example's nominal discharge conduit or tube (i.e. that conduit or tube which contains, and / or incorporates, a water turbine or other flow governor).

[0107] An example of the current disclosure utilizes a reservoir in which to store water ejected from its inertial water tube. And, the example utilizes a second reservoir utilized for the creation of ballast. That ballast is comprised, at least in part, of water, and a pump, when appropriately actuated by the example's control system, will pump additional water from the body of water on which the example floats and into the ballast reservoir, thereby increasing the mass and inertia, of the example. That pump (and / or a second pump) when appropriately actuated by the example's control system, will pump additional water out of the ballast reservoir and back into the body of water on which the example floats, thereby decreasing the mass and inertia, of the example.

[0108] The current disclosure includes examples that are capable of adjusting their included mass and / or inertia and / or average density by any and all means, methods, schemes, technologies, systems, and / or modules, including controlling the amount of water in an included water reservoir fed by ejections from a wave-driven inertial water tube, and / or one or more ballast compartments supplied by water by other means besides ejections from a wave-driven inertial water tube.

[0109] The current disclosure includes examples in which the effective mass of each example is augmented and / or adjusted, at least in part, through the addition and / or removal of water from within one or more chambers or voids within the examples.

[0110] An example holds water within the example's buoy or buoyant structure, e.g., in a chamber separate from its water reservoir. An example holds water within the hollow wall of its water tube, e.g., within the gap between the water tube's inner wall and its outer wall wherein the inner wall is a tubular structure approximately coaxial with the tubular outer wall. An example holds water within a chamber, container, and / or void, adjacent to, and / or embedded within, an upper surface of the buoy, the water tube, and / or another part or portion of the example.

[0111] The current disclosure includes examples in which the inherent mass of each of those examples is augmented, at least in part, through the addition of sand, gravel, and / or some other granular or powdered hard materials. This material also includes, but is not limited to, dirt, rocks, crushed cement, bricks, and / or other heavy and / or scrap material, e.g., such as discarded or waste materials that are available for recycling.

[0112] The current disclosure includes examples in which the inherent mass of each of those examples is augmented, at least in part, through the addition of cement and / or cementitious materials.

[0113] The current disclosure includes examples in which the inherent mass of each of those examples is augmented, at least in part, through the addition of a material that is "loose" and / or able to be shoveled, poured, and / or imported to the example. This can include, but is not limited to, aggregate materials.

[0114] Some examples of the present disclosure float freely, and / or "drift," adjacent to a surface of water in a passive manner which results in their movement in response to wind, waves, currents, tides, etc. Some examples are anchored and / or moored so as to retain an approximately constant position relative to an underlying position on the seafloor. And, some examples are self-propelled, and / or capable of exploiting natural movements of air and / or water to move in a chosen, deliberate, calculated, and / or selected direction, at least to an approximate degree.

[0115] Some examples of the present disclosure are self-propelled and / or capable of exploiting natural movements of air and / or water so as to change their positions in at least a somewhat controlled manner. Self-propelled examples may achieve their directed motions by means including, but not limited to discharges of captured water (e.g., from their respective reservoirs), rigid sails, ducted fans, propellers, sea anchors, Flettner rotors, sea anchors, and / or drogue anchors.

[0116] Some examples of the present disclosure are deployed so as to be free-floating and so as to drift with the ambient winds, currents, and / or other environmental influences that will affect and / or alter their geospatial locations.

[0117] Some examples of the present disclosure are deployed such that individual devices are anchored and / or moored (e.g. to the seafloor) so as to remain approximately stationary and / or to remain at an approximately constant geospatial position. Some examples of the present disclosure which are anchored and / or moored are anchored and / or moored proximate to other such devices and may even be moored to one another. These examples may be deployed in "farms" and, of those examples which utilize a portion of their power to perform calculations, their respective computers may be directly and / or indirectly interconnected and / or networked such that they may interact, e.g. when cooperating to complete various computing tasks. The computing examples deployed in such farms may communicate with computers and / or networks on land by means of one or more subsea data transmission cables, including, but not limited to: fiber optic cables, LAN cables, Ethernet cables, and / or other electrical cables. The computing examples deployed in such farms may communicate with computers and / or networks on land by means of one or more indirect devices, methods, and / or means, including, but not limited to: Wi-Fi, radio, microwave, pulsed and / or modulated laser light, pulsed and / or modulated LED-generated light, and / or satellite-enabled communication.

[0118] Some computing examples of the present disclosure which drift and / or are self-propelled, may directly and / or indirectly interconnect their computers so that they may interact, e.g. when cooperating to complete various computing tasks. For example, drifting devices may act as clusters within a larger virtual cluster network so as to cooperatively complete computing tasks that are larger than individual devices can individually complete. Self-propelled devices, regardless of their respective device-specific applications, may travel the seas together in relatively close proximity to one another, exchanging information via radio, satellite, and / or other indirect means and / or channels, though not directly and / or physically connected (except by the water on which they all float).

[0119] Drifting, and / or self-propelled, computing examples may communicate with computers and / or networks on land, and / or with each other, by means of one or more indirect devices, methods, and / or means, including, but not limited to: radio, microwave, pulsed and / or modulated laser light, pulsed and / or modulated LED-generated light, and / or satellite-enabled communication.

[0120] Some examples of the present disclosure are deployed so as to be "virtually" interconnected to one or more other devices (e.g. by Wi-Fi, radio, microwave, modulated light, satellite links, etc.), and to drift together as a loosely-coupled group driven by the ambient winds, currents, and / or other environmental influences that will affect and / or alter their respective geolocations.

[0121] Some examples of the present disclosure are deployed so as to be tethered, and to be directly inter-connected, to one or more other devices, wherein one or more of the tethered devices are anchored and / or moored (e.g. to the seafloor), and wherein one or more of the tethered devices may not be anchored, but only tethered to other devices, such that the tethered group of devices remain approximately stationary, thereby limiting the range of motion and / or position of the entire tethered assembly.

[0122] Some examples, when directly and / or indirectly inter-connected with one or more other devices, whether drifting or anchored, will link their respective computers and / or computing networks, e.g. by means of satellite-mediated inter-device communications of data, so as to act, behave, cooperate, and / or compute, as subsets of a larger, integrated, and / or inter-connected set of computers. Such inter-connected and / or cooperating devices may utilize, and / or assign to, a single device (or subset of the inter-connected group of devices) to be responsible for a specific portion, part, and / or subset, of the system-level calculations, estimates, scheduling, data transmissions, etc., on which the group of devices depends.

[0123] The current disclosure optimizes the harvesting of energy from ocean waves with a technology that has the potential to be highly reliable, long-lived, and cost effective.

[0124] Examples of the current disclosure offer many advantages over the prior art, including, but not limited to the ability to capture and convert wave energy with a simple and robust device. For example, examples capturing water ejected from their respective tapered tubes within respective elevated and / or pressurized reservoirs, can incorporate, as their only moving parts, a water turbine rigidly and rotatably connected to a generator, or can incorporate no moving parts in the case of the use of a magnetohydrodynamic generator or another flow governor that converts water pressure and flow directly to electrical energy with no moving parts. Such examples can operate without the need for valves, motors, and / or other components which might require maintenance or replacement.

[0125] Examples of the current disclosure can operate far from shore where wave resources are more energetic and consistent, thereby providing those examples with greater capacity factors and efficiencies, and with relatively lower costs of energy.

[0126] Examples of the current disclosure can operate far from shore, in the absence of moorings to the seafloor and connections to subsea power cables, thereby avoiding the costs of deploying such seafloor moorings (and the environmental damage that can result during such deployments), the costs of deploying such subsea power cables, and the costly delays associated with the arduous process of gaining the permits, licenses, and / or other permissions required for deployments that are moored to the seafloor and connected to subsea power cables.

[0127] If the electrical power generated by a wave-energy converting device is to be transmitted to land, e.g. where it might be added to an electrical grid, then that power must have a channel, method, and / or means, with which to do so. Many developers of wave energy devices choose to use subsea electrical power cables to transmit the power generated by anchored farms of their devices to shore. However, these cables are expensive. Their deployment (e.g. their burial in the seafloor) is also expensive. And, the anchoring and / or mooring of a farm of such wave energy devices close to shore can be difficult and expensive and can disrupt delicate subsea ecosystems.

[0128] The current disclosure allows wave energy devices to make good use of the electrical power that they generate without transmitting it to land. And, because disclosed examples are free to operate far from land, they are also able to be deployed where waves are most consistent, and of optimal energies.

[0129] While the current disclosure does not preclude the anchoring of the disclosed devices, it nevertheless discloses examples that make good use of the electrical power that they generate without being anchored and / or moored to the seafloor, and without a connection to an electrical cable able to transmit the power they generate back to shore.

[0130] Free-floating examples of the current disclosure can be placed in the water (at appropriate locations) immediately following their fabrication, and soon thereafter, if not immediately, begin operating and generating revenues, e.g., consuming their own generated electrical power in order to achieve onboard production of useful products and / or services. Self-propelled examples of the current disclosure can be placed in the water at a greater variety of locations, and then propel themselves to optimal energy-harvesting locations, immediately following their fabrication.

[0131] An example of the current disclosure utilizes and / or incorporates computing devices that consume at least a portion of the electrical energy generated by the example in response to wave action in order to perform computations transmitted to it from a remote source (i.e., from a source not physically - rigidly or flexibly - connected to the example) such as via encoded electromagnetic transmissions from a satellite or other remote antenna of executable codes and / or data and / or programs and / or instructions. A substantial portion of the electrical power generated by the example in response to wave action is used to energize the example's cluster(s) of computers, at least some of the time.

[0132] An example of the current disclosure includes, incorporates, energizes, powers, operates, and / or utilizes, a plurality of computers to perform computational tasks that are not directly related to the operation, navigation, inspection, monitoring, and / or diagnosis, of the example, its power take-off, and / or any other component, feature, attribute, and / or characteristic of its structure, systems, sub-systems, and / or physical example, but is rather supplied by a third-party customer. Such an example may contain computers, computing systems, computational systems, servers, computing networks, data processing systems, and / or information processing systems, that are comprised of, but not limited to, the following modules, components, sub-systems, hardware, circuits, electronics, and / or modules: graphics processing units (GPUs) computer processing units (CPUs) tensor processing units (TPUs) hard drives flash drives solid-state drives (SSDs) random access memory (RAM) field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) network switches, and network routers.

[0133] An example of the current disclosure includes, incorporates, energizes, powers, operates, and / or utilizes, computers, computing systems, computational systems, servers, computing networks, data processing systems, and / or information processing systems, that are powered, at least in part, from electrical energy extracted by the example from the energy of ocean waves.

[0134] An example of the current disclosure includes, incorporates, energizes, powers, operates, and / or utilizes, incorporate, utilize, energize, and / or operate, computers incorporating CPUs, CPU-cores, inter-connected logic gates, ASICs, ASICs dedicated to the mining of cryptocurrencies, RAM, flash drives, SSDs, hard disks, GPUs, quantum chips, optoelectronic circuits, analog computing circuits, encryption circuits, and / or decryption circuits.

[0135] An example of the current disclosure includes, incorporates, energizes, powers, operates, and / or utilizes, computers specialized and / or optimized with respect to the computation, and / or types of computation, characteristic of, but not limited to: machine learning, neural networks, cryptocurrency mining, graphics processing, graphics rendering, image object recognition and / or classification, image rendering, quantum computing, quantum computing simulation, physics simulation, financial analysis and / or prediction, and / or artificial intelligence.

[0136] An example of the current disclosure includes, incorporates, energizes, powers, operates, and / or utilizes, computers that may at least approximately conform to the characteristics typically ascribed to, but not limited to: "blade servers," "rack-mounted computers and / or servers," and / or supercomputers.

[0137] An example of the current disclosure includes, incorporates, energizes, powers, operates, and / or utilizes, at least 100 computing circuits and / or CPUs. Another example includes, incorporates, energizes, powers, operates, and / or utilizes, at least 1,000 computing circuits and / or CPUs. Another example includes, incorporates, energizes, powers, operates, and / or utilizes, at least 2,000 computing circuits and / or CPUs. Another example includes, incorporates, energizes, powers, operates, and / or utilizes, at least 5,000 computing circuits and / or CPUs. Another example includes, incorporates, energizes, powers, operates, and / or utilizes, at least 10,000 computing circuits and / or CPUs. Another example includes computers that are part of a cluster composed of computers residing on at least 10 independently floating and independently self-propelled wave energy converters.

[0138] An example of the current disclosure includes, incorporates, energizes, powers, operates, and / or utilizes, computing chips and / or circuits that contain two or more CPUs and / or computing "cores" per chip and / or per circuit.

[0139] An example of the current disclosure includes, incorporates, energizes, powers, operates, and / or utilizes, computing chips and / or circuits that contain a graphics processing unit (GPU) within the chips and / or within a computing circuit.

[0140] At least a portion of the heat generated by the example's computers is transmitted (e.g. passively and / or conductively) to the water on which the example floats, and / or to the air surrounding the example.

[0141] Much, if not all, of the energy imparted to computational devices within an example of the present disclosure will become heat. And, excessive levels of heat might damage or impair those computational devices and / or adjacent electronics, systems, structures, modules, and / or parts of the example. Therefore, it is prudent for an example to remove heat from its "active" computational devices as quickly and / or efficiently as possible, and / or at least quickly enough to avoid excessive heating of the computational devices.

[0142] An example of the present disclosure facilitates the passive convective cooling of at least some of its computational devices, and / or of the ambient environments of those computation devices. An example of the present disclosure actively removes heat from its computational devices, and / or from the ambient environments of those computational devices.

[0143] An example of the present disclosure passively cools its computing devices by facilitating the convective and / or conductive transmission of heat from its computing devices and / or their environment to the water on which the device floats, e.g. through a thermally conductive wall, and / or fins or heat baffles, separating the devices from the water.

[0144] In an example, the conduction of heat from computing devices takes place via a conductive and / or metal wall in a conduit through which water flows from a reservoir of the example to a turbine or magnetohydrodynamic generator of the example. In an example, the conduction of heat from computing devices takes place via a conductive and / or metal wall in a conduit through which water flows from a turbine or magnetohydrodynamic generator of the example to the body of water on which the example floats. In either of these cases, heat can be conducted to the conductive and / or metal wall by the evaporation and / or boiling of a liquid substance in which computing circuits of the example are immersed, followed by condensation of said substance on said wall.

[0145] An example of the present disclosure passively cools its computing devices by facilitating the convective and / or conductive transmission of heat from its computing devices and / or their environment to the air above the water on which the device floats, e.g. through a thermally conductive wall, and / or fins or heat baffles, separating the devices from the air.

[0146] An example of the present disclosure actively cools its computing devices by means of a heat exchanger that absorbs heat from the computing devices and / or their environment, and carries it to a heat exchanger in thermal contact with the water on which the device floats and / or in thermal contact with the air above that water. Such thermal contact may be the result of direct exposure of the exchanger with the water and / or air, or it may be the result of indirect exposure of the exchanger with the water and / or air by means of the exchanger's direct contact with a wall or other surface in direct or indirect contact with the water and / or air.

[0147] An example of the present disclosure passively cools its computing devices, and / or of the ambient environment of its computing devices, by providing a thermally conductive connection between the computing devices and the water on which the example floats and / or the air outside the example. An example promotes this conduction of heat from the computing devices to the ambient water and / or air by using "fins" and / or other means of increasing and / or maximizing the surface area of the conductive surface in contact with the water and / or air. An example promotes this conduction of heat from its computing devices to the ambient water by using metallic (e.g., copper and / or copper / nickel) heatsink poles and / or plates extending into the water and / or air outside the examples, and / or into the chamber(s) in which at least a portion of the example's computing devices are located.

[0148] The computers of an example of the present disclosure are positioned, located, and / or operated, within sealed chambers containing air, nitrogen, and / or another gas or gases. The computers of an example of the present disclosure are positioned, located, and / or operated, within chambers into which air, nitrogen, and / or another gas or gases, are pumped.

[0149] Because a computing device operating in an air environment (e.g. inside a compartment or module on and / or within an example of the present disclosure) may not transmit heat with sufficient efficiency to prevent and / or preclude an overheating of the computing device, an example of the present disclosure incorporates, includes, and / or utilizes, a thermally conductive fluid and / or gas to facilitate the passage of heat from the various components (e.g. the CPUs) within its computing devices to the ambient air or water proximate to the example thereby reducing the risk of overheating, damaging, and / or destroying some, if not all, of its computing devices.

[0150] An example of the present disclosure promotes the conduction of heat from its computing devices to the ambient air and / or water by immersing, surrounding, bathing, and / or spraying, the computing devices with and / or in a thermally conductive fluid and / or gas. The thermally conductive fluid and / or gas is ideally not electrically conductive, as an electrically conductive might tend to short-circuit, damage, and / or destroy, the computing devices. The thermally conductive fluid and / or gas ideally has a high heat capacity that allows it to absorb substantial heat without experiencing a substantial increase in its own temperature. The thermally conductive fluid and / or gas carries at least a portion of the heat generated and / or produced by at least some of the computing devices to one or more thermally conductive interfaces and / or conduits through which at least a portion of the heat may pass from the fluid and / or gas to the ambient air or water proximate to the example. In some examples, said thermally conductive fluid has a boiling point sufficiently low that said fluid boils when it bathes operational computing devices of the example.

[0151] An example of the present disclosure may cool its computing systems, and / or other heat-generating components and / or systems, by means, systems, modules, components, and / or devices, the include, but are not limited to, the following: closed-circuit heat exchangers that transfer heat from the heat source to a heat sink (e.g., the air or water around an example), wherein at least one end of the closed-circuit heat exchanger: is in contact with an interior surface of a water-facing wall, especially a wall facing a conduit where water flows at high speed to or from a turbine of the example is in contact with an interior surface of an air-facing wall incorporates ribs to increase the surface area of a thermally conductive wall in contact with the surrounding water and / or air is positioned inside a duct, tube, and / or channel, of an example's inertial water tube is in contact with a water reservoir within an example mounting of computing modules: in air and / or in water against interior walls facing air and / or water, especially walls facing a conduit where water flows at high speed to or from a turbine of the example wherein the mounting chamber or location incorporates heat-dissipating ribs within spires projecting into the air outside an example from an example's outer wall, and within spires projecting into the water outside an example from an example's outer wall

[0152] A significant advantage of examples of the present disclosure is that a large number of computing devices can be deployed within, among, and / or between a large number of examples, such that a relatively large number of computing devices are partitioned into a large number of relatively small example-specific groups, which, in addition to being powered, at least in part, by the energy that each respective example extracts from the environment proximate to the example, are also immediately adjacent, and / or proximate, to a heat sink characterized by a relatively cool temperature and a relatively large heat capacity, i.e. the sea, and the air, atmosphere, and / or wind that flows above it. By deploying relatively small numbers of computing devices in self-powered and passively cooled autonomous units, environmental energy is used with maximal efficiency (e.g. without suffering the losses and costs associated with transmitting the power to shore), and the requisite cooling of those computing devices is accomplished with minimal, if any, expenditure of additional energy. Examples of current disclosure permit a graceful and efficient scaling of computing and / or computing networks through the iterative fabrication and deployment of relatively simple and cost-effective self-powered, self-cooling, computing modules.

[0153] By contrast, the concentration of larger numbers of computing devices, e.g. the number of computing devices that might be associated with hundreds or thousands of examples of the present disclosure, requires that a significant amount of power be generated remotely and transmitted to the concentrated collection(s) of computing devices (e.g., in a server farm or data warehouse), thereby increasing the costs and incidental losses of the energy consumed. Furthermore, the concentration of larger numbers of computing devices, as in a server farm, requires a relatively large and concentrated amount of heat to be actively and energetically removed from the many computing devices co-located in a relatively small space, and / or volume, which typically requires a significant expenditure of capital and additional energy.

[0154] An example of the present disclosure interconnects at least some of its computing devices with, and / or within, a network in which each of a plurality of the computing devices are assigned, and / or associated with, a unique internet, and / or "IP" address. An example of the present disclosure interconnects at least some of its computing devices with, and / or within, a network in which a plurality of the computing devices are assigned, and / or associated with, a unique local subnet IP address.

[0155] An example of the present disclosure interconnects at least some of its computing devices with, and / or within, a network that incorporates, includes, and / or utilizes, a router.

[0156] An example of the present disclosure interconnects at least some of its computing devices with, and / or within, a network that incorporates, includes, and / or utilizes, a modem.

[0157] An example of the present disclosure interconnects at least some of its computing devices with, and / or within, a network that incorporates, includes, and / or utilizes, a "storage area network."

[0158] The current disclosure includes examples in which pluralities of computers, computing systems, computational systems, servers, computing networks, data processing systems, and / or information processing systems, incorporated therein, are cooled by methods, mechanisms, processes, systems, modules, and / or devices, that include, but are not limited to, the following: direct conduction of at least a portion of the heat generated by at least some of the computers, generators, inverters, rectifiers, and / or other electronic components comprising the example, to air and / or water outside and / or surrounding the example; indirect conduction of at least a portion of the heat generated by at least some of the computers, generators, rectifiers, and / or other electronic components comprising the example, to the air and / or water outside and / or surrounding the example by means of one or more heat exchangers in contact with the air and / or water surrounding the example; indirect conduction of at least a portion of the heat generated by at least some of the computers, generators, rectifiers, and / or other electronic components comprising the example, to the air and / or water outside and / or surrounding the example by means of phase-changing material, e.g., a liquid that changes phases to a gas when it has absorbed heat from at least some of the computers, generators, rectifiers, and / or other electronic components comprising the example, and changes phases back to a liquid, e.g., condenses, when it has transferred at least a portion of that heat energy to a surface through which the heat energy is directly or indirectly conducted to the air and / or water outside and / or surrounding the example.

[0159] By sequestering clusters of computers within independent self-powered, free-floating, devices, the numbers of computers (i.e. the numbers of clusters) made available for computational work, and / or the processing of computing tasks, can be scaled with relative ease, e.g. there are no obvious barriers, costs, and / or consequences, associated with an increase in the numbers of such sequestered clusters.

[0160] The energy efficiency of virtually interconnected and / or cooperating sets of collocated computers can be discussed in terms of "power usage effectiveness" or "PUE." PUE = (Total Computing Facility Power) / (Total Computing Equipment Power).

[0161] Because large terrestrial and / or land-based clusters of computers require the expenditure of energy not just to energize the computers themselves, but also for requirements such as: cooling, lighting, environmental considerations for staff, etc., their PUEs are typically estimated to be about 1.2. An ideal PUE would be 1.0, which would mean that all electrical power consumed, was consumed by the computers during their execution of their respective computing tasks, and, by extension, no electrical power was "wasted" doing anything else.

[0162] Many examples of the disclosed device utilize passive conductive cooling of their computers, which, because it is passive, consumes no electrical power. And, because the disclosed devices are typically autonomous and / or unmanned, many examples utilize close to 100% of the electrical power that they generate energizing their respective computers and providing them with the energy that they need to complete their respective computing tasks. Thus, many examples of the disclosed device will have a PUE approaching 1.0, i.e. a "perfect" power usage effectiveness, at least net of any losses due to temporary buffering or storage of power.

[0163] Also, because the computers stored and operated within examples of the present disclosure are located on devices that are floating on a body of water (e.g. on the sea far from shore), they provide significant computing power without requiring a concomitant dedication of a significant area of land. This potentially frees land that might otherwise have been used to house such computing clusters, so that it might instead be used for farming, homes, parks, etc.

[0164] Some examples of the present disclosure, when deployed in anchored farms of devices, will send electricity back to an onshore electrical power grid via a subsea electrical power cable. However, when the electrical demands of that terrestrial grid are not high, and / or the price of electrical power sold into that grid is too low, then some or all of the devices in the farm may perform other tasks such as performing computations, such as Bitcoin mining and / or arbitrary or custom computational tasks for third parties, in order to generate revenue and / or profits.

[0165] Some might regard the history of computing as having taught that progress, especially with respect to the scaling of computing, is often a consequence of an underlying progress in the discovery and / or invention of new ways to "decouple" the components, and the constituent tasks, on which large-scale computing relies, from the overhead and / or support requirements needed to support large "monolithic" collections of computers. Examples of the present disclosure achieve a decoupling of computing networks from the traditional concentrated land-based deployments which tend to suffer from a number of inefficiencies.

[0166] The current disclosure offers many potential benefits, including, but not limited to a decoupling of computing power (e.g. available CPUs and / or instructions per second) from the typically correlated supporting and / or enabling requirements, e.g., such as those associated with the construction, operation, and / or maintenance, of data centers and / or server farms.

[0167] These requirements include the need that sufficient electrical power be provided to energize a large number of computers. In order to transmit large amounts of electrical power into concentrated collections of computers, it is typically necessary to bring the power to the collections of computers at a high voltage and / or a high current. However, since individual computers, computing devices, and / or computing circuits, require electrical power that is typically of a lower voltage and / or current, it is often necessary and / or preferred to partition the high-energy electrical power into multiple circuits of lower-energy power. These changes in voltage and / or current can result in some loss of energy and / or efficiency.

[0168] These requirements include the need to remove heat, and / or introduce cooling, fast enough to compensate for the significant amounts of heat that are generated by highly concentrated and extensive collections of electrically powered computing devices. Such cooling is relatively energy intensive, e.g. significant electrically powered refrigeration, fans, pumped liquid heat exchangers, etc.

[0169] Examples of the present disclosure obtain relatively small amounts of electrical power from water, and / or ocean, waves and utilize that electrical power to energize a relatively small number of computing devices. By contrast with large, highly-concentrated, collections of computers, the computers within examples of the current disclosure are able to be energized with electrical power that, at least approximately, matches electrical requirements of the computers, i.e. there is no need to transmit highly-energetic electrical power from distant sources before reducing that power down to voltages and / or currents that are compatible with the computers to be energized.

[0170] Some examples of the present disclosure achieve and / or satisfy all of their cooling requirements through purely passive and convective and / or conductive cooling. Thermally conductive walls and / or pathways facilitate the natural transmission of heat from the computing devices to the air and / or water outside the device. A relatively smaller number of devices means relatively less heat is generated. And, the proximity of a heat sink of significant capacity (i.e. the water on which the device floats) means that the removal of these relatively small amounts of heat conductively and / or convectively is achieved with great efficiency and in the absence of any additional expenditures of energy.

[0171] The current disclosure increases the modularity of clusters of computing devices by not only isolating them physically, but also by powering them independently and autonomously, and by cooling them passively. Through the creation and deployment of additional self-powered computing buoys, a computing capability can be scaled in an approximately linear fashion, typically, if not always, without the non-linear and / or exponential support requirements and / or consequences, e.g. cooling, that might otherwise limit an ability to grow a less modular architecture and / or example of computing resources.

[0172] The current disclosure provides a useful application for wave-energy conversion devices that requires significantly lower capital expenditures and / or less infrastructure. For instance, a free-floating and / or drifting device of the current disclosure can continuously complete computational tasks, such as calculating Bitcoin block headers and / or nonce values, while floating freely in very deep water (e.g. 3 miles deep) in the middle of an ocean, hundreds or thousands of miles from shore. Such an application does not depend upon, nor require, a subsea power cable to send electrical power to shore. It does not require extensive mooring and / or the deployment of numerous anchors in order to fix the position of a device, e.g. so that it can be linked to a subsea power cable.

[0173] Examples of the present disclosure support, perform, and / or execute computing tasks of an arbitrary nature. Examples of the present disclosure incorporate and / or utilize computing circuits specialized for the execution of specific types of computing tasks, such as the "mining" of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. An example's receipt of a computational task, and its return of a computational result, may be accomplished through the transmission of data across satellite links, fiber optic cables, LAN cables, radio, modulated light, microwaves, and / or any other channel, link, connection, and / or network. Computationally intensive tasks may be shared, and / or cooperatively executed or completed, across multiple examples.

[0174] An example of the present disclosure incorporates, utilizes, energizes, and / or operates, computers organized, interconnected, controlled, and / or configured, so as to optimize the loading, execution, and reporting of results, related to arbitrary computational tasks, e.g., such as those transmitted to it from remote facilities, networks, computers, and / or persons.

[0175] An example of the present disclosure executes arbitrary computational tasks such as might be typical of services that execute programs for others (e.g., "compute as a service"), and / or provide computational resources with which others may execute their own programs, often in exchange for a fee based on attributes of the tasks and / or resources used. An example of the present disclosure generates fees, and / or the owner of an example of the present disclosure calculates fees, for at least some of the "on-demand" computational tasks that the example executes based on attributes that include, but are not limited to: size (e.g. in bytes) of program and / or data executed, size (e.g. in bytes) of data created during program execution and / or returned to the owner of the program, number of computing cycles (number of computational operations) consumed during program execution, amounts of RAM, and / or hard disk space, utilized during program execution, other computing resources, such as GPUs, required for program execution, and the amount of electrical power consumed during and / or by a program's execution.

[0176] An example of the present disclosure performs, completes, and / or executes, arbitrary computational tasks utilizing "disk-free computing devices" in conjunction with "storage area networks" so as to utilize memory and / or data storage components and / or devices more efficiently.

[0177] An example of the present disclosure incorporates, utilizes, energizes, and / or operates, computers organized, interconnected, controlled, and / or configured, so as to optimize the loading, execution, and reporting of results, related to "cryptocurrency (e.g. Bitcoin) mining," i.e. to the calculation of cryptocurrency block headers, and the identification of suitable ledger-specific "nonce" values (e.g. the search for a "golden nonce"), and / or related to the loading, execution, and reporting of results, related to other "proof of work" programs. The computers, and / or computing resources, of an example are optimized to perform hash functions so as to calculate "proof of work" values for blockchain-related algorithms.

[0178] An example of the present disclosure incorporates, utilizes, energizes, and / or operates, computers organized, interconnected, controlled, and / or configured, so as to optimize the loading, execution, and reporting of results, related to neural networks and / or artificially intelligent programs. An example of the present disclosure facilitates the cooperative execution of programs related to neural networks and / or artificially intelligent programs through the direct, physical, and / or virtual, interconnection of its internal networks and / or computing devices.

[0179] An example of the present disclosure incorporates, utilizes, energizes, and / or operates, computers organized, interconnected, controlled, and / or configured, so as to optimize the loading, execution, and reporting of results, related to the serving of web pages and / or search results.

[0180] An example of the present disclosure incorporates, utilizes, energizes, and / or operates, computers organized, interconnected, controlled, and / or configured, so as to optimize the loading, execution, and reporting of results, related to the solving of "n-body problems," the simulation of brains, gene matching, and solving "radar cross-section problems."

[0181] An example of the present disclosure incorporates, utilizes, energizes, and / or operates, computers organized, interconnected, controlled, and / or configured, so as to optimize the loading, execution, and reporting of results, consistent with the functionality provided by "terminal servers," colocation servers and / or services, and / or to provide offsite backups for enterprises.

[0182] An example of the present disclosure receives a task from a remote source and / or server. An example receives a task from a radio and / or electromagnetically encoded transmission broadcast by a satellite (e.g. which a plurality of other devices also receive and / or are able to receive) or other remote antenna. An example receives a task across and / or via a transmission across a fiber-optic cable. An example receives a task across and / or via a transmission across a LAN and / or Ethernet cable.

[0183] An example adds a task received via an electromagnetically encoded signal to a task queue of pending tasks if: it possesses, incorporates, and / or operates, all of the hardware required to complete and / or execute the task efficiently; there is sufficient room in its task queue; there is a sufficient likelihood that it will be able to complete the task no later than any deadline associated with the task; and, the estimated duration of the task's execution is no more than the likely operational time available to the device (e.g. given current energy reserves, current power generation levels, etc.).

[0184] An example of the present disclosure marks the task as "in-progress" and sets a "timeout" value, after which the task will be restarted if not yet complete, when it begins execution of a task.

[0185] An example of the present disclosure stops execution of a sufficient number of its most-recently started computational tasks, and / or those tasks with the greatest estimated remaining execution times, and powers down the corresponding computing devices and / or circuits, e.g., to provide, and / or ensure, sufficient power to complete the computation of the remaining tasks using the still-active computing devices and / or circuits, when the example determines that the level of its power generation has decreased, and the continued and / or continuous operation of its currently "active" computing devices and / or circuits can no longer be sustained

[0186] An example of the present disclosure transmits the results of a completed task to a remote source and / or server (e.g. the remote source and / or server from which the task originated). After receipt and / or validation of the completed-task results, a remote source and / or server broadcasts to every one of a collection, cohort, and / or set of cooperating examples, which (would have been expected to have) received the now-completed task, a message and / or signal to indicate that the task has been completed. Each of the examples receiving the "task-completed" message and / or signal then removes that task from its task queue and terminates execution of the task if the execution of the task is in progress.

[0187] An example of the present disclosure receives the same task received by a plurality of examples, and may elect to place the task in its task queue, thereby deferring and / or delaying task execution, and / or it may elect to execute the task when sufficient computing resources and / or energy are available.

[0188] In addition to the results of a task, an example also returns to a remote source and / or server, information that is sufficient to allow the benefactor of the task's execution to be charged and / or billed an amount of money consistent with a payment contract. Such "billing-relevant information" might include, but is not limited to, the following: size (e.g. in bytes) of the program executed; size (e.g. in bytes) of the results generated; amount (e.g. in bytes) of RAM required to complete the program's execution; number of instruction cycles required to complete the program's execution; number of CPUs required to complete the program's execution; number and / or cycles required of GPUs to complete the program's execution; amount of energy (e.g. kWh) expended to complete the execution of the program; degree of requested task priority that influenced priority of task execution; degree and / or percentage of available computing resources busy with other tasks at time of task execution (e.g. level of demand at time of task execution); amount of task-results data (e.g. in bytes) returned to the remote source and / or server; cost for satellite bandwidth consumed (e.g. bytes) and / or required in order to transmit task and associated data to device; and / or cost for satellite bandwidth consumed (e.g. bytes) and / or required in order to transmit task results to remote source and / or server.

[0189] An example of the present disclosure sends task-execution-specific data, messages, and / or signals, to a remote source and / or server which indicate, among other things: which tasks are waiting in a task queue; which tasks are being executed; estimated time remaining to complete execution of tasks being executed; an estimate of the amount of energy required to complete tasks being executed; an estimate of the rate of electrical power generation; an estimate of the amount of shared memory required to complete tasks being executed; and an estimate of the amount of shared memory currently available.

[0190] A global task controlling and / or coordinating computer and / or server may use such task-execution-specific data in order to forecast which tasks are likely to be successfully completed by a future time. And, if the likelihood of a particular task's completion by a future time is sufficiently great then other examples of the present disclosure which have been notified of the task at an earlier time, and which are potentially storing the task in their respective task queues, may be notified of that task's likely completion by an example. The notified examples may then elect to reduce the priority of the task, or to remove it from their task queues.

[0191] An example of the present disclosure executes encrypted programs and / or data for which a decryption key, algorithm, and / or parameter, is not available, nor accessible, to other tasks, programs, and / or computing circuits and / or devices, executing on the example. An example of the present disclosure executes encrypted programs and / or data for which a decryption key, algorithm, and / or parameter, is not available, nor accessible, to any example and / or device, nor to the remote source(s) and / or server(s) which transmitted the encrypted program and / or data to the example.

[0192] An example of the present disclosure simultaneously executes two or more encrypted programs that are encrypted with different encryption keys, algorithms, and / or parameters, and must be decrypted with different decryption keys, algorithms, and / or parameters.

[0193] An example of the present disclosure utilizes a plurality of CPUs and / or computing circuits to independently, and / or in parallel, execute (copies of) the same program, operating on (copies of) the same data set, wherein each execution will nominally and / or typically produce identical task results.

[0194] An example of the present disclosure comprises one element of a multi-example, and / or multi-device collection, cohort, and / or set of devices, wherein each example contains a plurality of CPUs and / or computing circuits, and wherein a plurality of CPUs and / or computing circuits on the example, and a plurality of CPUs and / or computing circuits on a different example, all simultaneously: execute in parallel (copies of) the same program; operate on (copies of) the same data set; search for a "golden nonce" value for the same cryptocurrency block and / or blockchain block; perform in parallel the same computational task; or perform in parallel a divide-and-conquer algorithm pertaining to the same computational task.

[0195] An example of the present disclosure utilizes a plurality of CPUs and / or computing circuits to execute the same program, operating on the same data set, in a parallelized fashion wherein each individual CPU and / or computing circuit within the example will execute the program with respect to a portion of the full data set, thereby contributing piecemeal to the complete execution of the task.

[0196] An example of the present disclosure communicates data to and from a remote and / or terrestrial digital data network and / or internet, and / or exchanges data with other computers and / or networks remote from the example, and / or not physically attached to, nor incorporated within, the example, by means of "indirect network communication links" which include, but are not limited to: satellite, Wi-Fi, radio, microwave, modulated light (e.g. laser, LED), "quantum-data-sharing network" (e.g., in which quantum entangled atoms, photons, atomic particles, quantum particles, etc., are systematically altered so as to transmit data from one point [e.g., the location of one particle] to another point [e.g., the location of another particle]), as well as: fiber-optic cable(s), LAN cable(s), Ethernet cable(s), and / or other electrical and / or optical cables.

[0197] A free-floating example of the present disclosure, as well as an anchored and / or moored example of the present disclosure, neither of which are directly connected to land by means of a cable, utilize one or more indirect network communication links, including, but not limited to: satellite, Wi-Fi, radio, microwave, modulated light (e.g. laser, LED).

[0198] An example of the present disclosure communicates with other examples, devices, and / or terrestrial data transmission and / or exchange networks, by transmitting data to a remote receiver by means of modulated light (e.g. laser or LED) which is limited to one or more specific wavelengths and / or ranges of wavelengths. The sensitivity of the remote receiver is then improved through the receiver's use of complementary filter(s) to exclude wavelengths of light outside the one or more specific wavelengths and / or ranges of wavelengths used by the example. Another remote receiver with which the example communicates utilizes multiple such wavelength-specific filters, e.g. utilizing a specific filter to communicate with a specific receiver, so as to limit and / or discriminate its receipt of data to that transmitted from one or more specific remote sources at a time and / or from among many such remote sources, each of which, and / or each subset of which, utilizes a specific wavelength(s) and / or range(s) of wavelengths.

[0199] An example of the present disclosure exchanges data with neighboring and / or proximate other examples, and / or complementary devices, through the use of one or more types and / or channels of data communication and / or transmission, e.g. Wi-Fi, modulated light, radio, and / or microwave, while exchanging data with remote computer(s) and / or network(s) (e.g. the internet) through the use of one or more other and / or different types and / or channels of data communication and / or transmission, e.g. satellite.

[0200] An example of the present disclosure exchanges data with neighboring and / or proximate other examples, and / or complementary devices, and / or remote and / or terrestrial computers and / or networks, through the transmission and / or exchange of data to, from, through, and / or between, aerial drones, surface water drones, underwater drones, balloon-suspended transmitter / receiver modules, buoy-mounted transmitter / receiver modules, devices, or systems, manned planes, boats, and / or submarines.

[0201] An example of the present disclosure exchanges data with neighboring and / or proximate other examples, and / or complementary devices, and / or remote and / or terrestrial computers and / or networks, through the transmission and / or exchange of data to, from, through, and / or between, underwater transmitter / receiver modules, devices, or systems drifting on, and / or in, the body of water, and / or modules, devices, or systems resting on, and / or attached to, the seafloor, by means including, but not limited to, the generation, detection, encoding, and / or decoding, of acoustic signals, sounds, and / or data.

[0202] An example of the present disclosure receives "global" transmissions of data from a remote and / or terrestrial computer and / or network via one channel, frequency, wavelength, and / or amplitude modulation, broadcast by a satellite, radio, microwave, modulated light, and / or other means of electro-magnetic data transmission. The example transmits device-specific, and / or device-group-specific (e.g. two or more "cooperating" devices, two or more devices whose device-specific computer(s) and / or computer network(s) are linked, e.g. by Wi-Fi), on one or more different channels, frequencies, wavelengths, and / or amplitude modulations, to a compatible and / or complementary receiver on a satellite, and / or other receiver of radio, microwave, modulated light, and / or other means of electro-magnetic data transmissions.

[0203] In some deployments of some examples of the present disclosure, a satellite will broadcast to a plurality of the deployed devices, on a channel and / or frequency shared by many, if not all, of the devices in a deployment, information including, but not limited to: data, tasks, requests for information (e.g. status of tasks, geolocation of a device or group of devices, amount(s) of energy available for computational tasks and / or for locomotion, amount of electrical power being generated in response to the current wave conditions of a device and / or group of devices, status of computational hardware and / or networks, e.g. how many devices are fully functional and / or how many are non-functional, status of power-generating hardware and / or associated electrical and / or power circuits, e.g. how many power take-off assemblies and / or generators are fully functional and / or how many are non-functional, how many energy storage components (e.g. batteries) are fully functional and / or how many are non-functional, etc.).

[0204] In some deployments of some examples of the present disclosure, a satellite will broadcast to a specific deployed device, and / or subset or group of deployed devices, on a channel and / or frequency specific to the device, and / or subset or group of deployed devices, information including, but not limited to: device- or group-specific data (e.g. which range of Bitcoin nonce values to evaluate), device- or group-specific tasks (such as which types of observations to prioritize, e.g. submarines), requests for information (e.g. wave conditions at location(s) of device), etc.

[0205] In some deployments of some examples of the present disclosure, each device, or subset of devices, will broadcast to a satellite on a channel and / or frequency specific to the device, or subset of devices, (i.e. and not shared by other devices in a deployment) information including, but not limited to: data, task results (e.g. Bitcoin headers and / or header templates and corresponding nonce values), requests for information (e.g. new tasks, weather and / or wave forecasts for a given geolocation, results of self-diagnostics on hardware, software, memory integrity, etc., status of computational hardware and / or networks, e.g. how many devices are fully functional and / or how many are non-functional, status of power-generating hardware and / or associated electrical and / or power circuits, e.g. how many power take-off assemblies and / or generators are fully functional and / or how many are non-functional, how many energy storage components (e.g. batteries) are fully functional and / or how many are non-functional, observations (e.g. visual, audio, radar) of aircraft, observations of other floating vessels, observations of submarines, observations of marine life, observations of weather and / or wave conditions, environmental sensor readings, etc.).

[0206] By providing alternate computational resources, that draw their power directly from the environment, and by completing computational tasks currently executed in terrestrial clusters of computers, the amount of electrical power required on land can be reduced. And, thereby, the amount of electrical power generated through the consumption of fossil fuels, and the concomitant generation of greenhouse gases, can be reduced.

[0207] All potential variations in sizes, shapes, thicknesses, materials, orientations, methods, mechanisms, procedures, processes, electrical characteristics and / or requirements, and / or other example-specific variations of the general inventive designs, structures, systems, and / or methods disclosed herein are included within The present disclosure.

[0208] Examples of the current disclosure that incorporate, contain, and / or utilize a water reservoir of substantial volume, are inherently well suited to the raising of fish, shrimp, and other animals, as well as to the growing of seaweeds, other algae, and other aqueous plants. Thus, while they extract energy from the waves about them, these examples can utilize at least a portion of that energy to facilitate and / or promote the growth of rich sources of nutrients which may then be harvested.

[0209] An example of the present disclosure utilizes at least a portion of the energy that it generates to aerate water stored and / or cached within its reservoir so as to promote the health, growth, and / or wellbeing of the fish living therein. An example of the present disclosure utilizes at least a portion of the energy that it generates to energize and / or illuminate lights, and to thereby illuminate at least a portion of the water stored and / or cached within its reservoir. An example of the present disclosure utilizes at least a portion of the energy that it generates to energize and / or illuminate lights, and to thereby illuminate at least a portion of the water within its inertial water tube. An example of the present disclosure utilizes at least a portion of the energy that it generates to energize and / or illuminate lights, and to thereby illuminate at least a portion of the water outside the example.

[0210] Examples of the current disclosure that incorporate, contain, and / or utilize a water reservoir of substantial volume, can utilize at least a portion of the energy that they extract from waves to desalinate water and to store at least a portion of that desalinated water within their water reservoirs (e.g., by incremental replacement of the seawater stored within a plurality of reservoir tanks with desalinated water) or other water compartments. Such desalinated water can then be offloaded from such examples to ships or port installations, and the respective reservoir tanks refilled with seawater to initiate a new cycle of desalinated water production.

[0211] Examples of the current disclosure that incorporate, contain, and / or utilize a water reservoir of substantial volume, can utilize at least a portion of the energy that they extract from waves to remove (e.g., boil off) water from the seawater stored within their respective reservoirs thereby creating brines of high salinity, and also brines rich in minerals. Such mineral-rich brines can then be offloaded from such examples to ships or port installations, and desirable minerals can then be extracted from the respective brine solutions with relative efficiency.

[0212] Examples of the current disclosure can utilize a portion of the energy that they extract from waves to spray or pump seawater into the air, or otherwise aerosolize seawater, so as to promote cloud formation and reduce, at least to a degree, the amount of energy absorbed by the Earth from the Sun.

[0213] The current disclosure includes an example in which a portion of the pressurized water within the example's pressurized reservoir is discharged through a nozzle in order to generate a spray, mist, and / or aerosolization of that water.

[0214] The current disclosure includes an example in which a portion of the water within the example's elevated reservoir is discharged through a nozzle in order to generate a spray, mist, and / or aerosolization of that water.

[0215] The current disclosure includes an example in which an electrically powered pump and / or blower is used to aerosolize seawater and project, propel, and / or spray, it into the atmosphere.

[0216] Examples of the current disclosure generate power (e.g., electrical, chemical, etc.) far from shore. And, there are many uses for electrical power that is generated and made available far out at sea.

[0217] Ocean charging stations for autonomous and / or remotely operated, ocean-going or airborne, "drones," especially military drones, can consume large amounts of power, and the effective ranges of operation of those drones can be limited if the only source of energy available to those drones is from an onshore on nearshore facility. Surveying of the ocean floor and the detection of submarines far from shore can consume large amounts of power and are impractical in the absence of a source of abundant energy far from shore. Communications relays (e.g. for submarines) and radar stations floating on the deep sea can consume large amounts of power and require a source of energy from which they can obtain that power while far from shore. Ocean-floor mining operations can consume large amounts of power over long periods of time. Examples of the present disclosure can provide power to such mining operations.

[0218] Examples of the present disclosure may present tethers, mooring lines, cables, arms, sockets, berths, chutes, hubs, indentations, and / or connectors, to which another vessel may attach, and / or moor, itself. Examples of the current disclosure can utilize a portion of the energy that they extract from waves to charge, and / or to provide energy, e.g., transmitting that energy conductively and / or inductively via charging connections and / or pads, to manned vessels and / or aircraft, and / or to autonomous vessels and / or aircraft (i.e. "drones"), including, but not limited to, boats, ships, submarines, aircraft (e.g., helicopters), unmanned surface vessels, unmanned submersible vessels, unmanned aircraft, and / or ocean-going and airborne drones.

[0219] Such examples, when incorporating appropriate surfaces, enclosures, extensions, connections, and / or interfaces, may provide a suitable docking, landing, resting, and / or staging, location at which certain compatible vessels and / or vehicles can recharge, and subsequently disengage from the respective examples and resume their journeys and / or missions. Such examples, when incorporating adequate communications channels may also facilitate the exchange of data between docked vessels and / or vehicles and remote computers, networks, facilities, individuals, and / or installations.

[0220] Examples of the present disclosure may present connectors, protocols, APIs, and / or other devices or components or interfaces, by and / or through which energy may be transferred and / or directed to be transferred from the examples to another vessel. The vessels that might receive such energy include, but are not limited to: autonomous underwater vehicles, autonomous surface vessels, autonomous aircraft; and / or manned underwater vehicles (e.g. submarines), manned surface vessels (e.g. cargo and / or container ships), and manned aircraft (e.g. helicopters).

[0221] The deployment of examples of the present disclosure for the purpose of charging of drones in the deep sea and / or far from shore may not utilize all of the power generated by those examples. Their cost of energy may therefore be relatively high. However, such deployments can be made more economical, and / or the cost of their energy can be reduced, if there is a use to which each example's electrical power can be applied after the power requirements of any charging drones have been satisfied. The execution of computationally intensive tasks using computational circuits incorporated within, and powered by, each example is one of the simplest, most low-capital-cost and low-maintenance ways of using electrical power.

[0222] When any connected drones are fully charged and / or a device's energy stores are full, then some examples of the present disclosure will consume surplus and / or supplemental generated electrical power performing other useful tasks (e.g., concentrating brine, or performing energy-intensive computations, such as Bitcoin mining and / or arbitrary or custom computational tasks for third parties), and / or creating useful products (e.g., hydrogen), in order to generate (additional) revenue and / or profits. Such a dual purpose and / or application may also facilitate an example's charging of drones (e.g., through the production of hydrogen), and / or may facilitate the concealment and / or hiding of drones when the ratio of example devices to drones is relatively high.

[0223] Examples of the present disclosure, when deployed in anchored farms of devices, or when free-floating, especially as individual devices, will primarily energize, operate, and monitor various sensors, such as, but not limited to: sonar, radar, cameras, microphones, hydrophones, antennae, gravimeters, magnetometers, and Geiger counters, in order to monitor their environments (air and water) in order to detect, monitor, characterize, identify, and / or track other vessels and / or aircraft, or to survey the ocean floor for minerals and other characteristics.

[0224] Examples of the present disclosure may detect, monitor, log, track, identify, and / or inspect (e.g. visually, audibly, and / or electromagnetically), other vessels passing within a sufficiently short to distance of a device such that at least some of the device's sensors are able to detect, analyze, monitor, identify, characterize, and / or inspect, such other vessels.

[0225] Aircraft operating near examples of the present disclosure are detected and / or characterized by means and / or methods that include, but are not limited to: visually (e.g. with one or more cameras, detecting one or more wavelengths of light, including, but not limited to visible light and infrared light), the detection of specific, e.g. engine-related, noises, the detection of electromagnetic emissions and / or radiation (e.g. radio transmissions and heat), the detection of gravimetric distortions, the detection of magnetic distortions, the detection of changes in ambient radioactivity, the detection of gamma-ray emissions, and / or the detection of noise and / or other vibrations induced in the water on which the device floats.

[0226] Surface vessels operating near examples of the present disclosure are detected and / or characterized by means and / or methods that include, but are not limited to: visually (e.g. with one or more cameras, detecting one or more wavelengths of light, including, but not limited to visible light and infrared light), the detection of specific, e.g. engine-related, noises and / or vibrations, especially those that might be transmitted through and / or in the water on which the device floats, the detection of electromagnetic emissions and / or radiation (e.g. radio transmissions and heat), the detection of gravimetric distortions, the detection of magnetic distortions, the detection of changes in ambient radioactivity, the detection of gamma-ray emissions, and / or the detection of observed changes in the behavior of local marine organisms (e.g. the direction in which a plurality of fish swim).

[0227] Sub-surface vessels operating near examples of the present disclosure are detected and / or characterized by means and / or methods that include, but are not limited to: the detection of specific, e.g. engine-related, noises and / or vibrations, transmitted through and / or in the water on which the device floats, the detection of electromagnetic emissions and / or radiation (e.g. radio transmissions and heat), the detection of gravimetric distortions, the detection of magnetic distortions, the detection of changes in ambient radioactivity, the detection of gamma-ray emissions, the detection of changes in the behavior of local marine organisms (e.g. the direction in which a plurality of fish swim), and / or the detection of changes in the volume and / or clarity of ambient noises nominally and / or typically generated by marine organisms, geological phenomena (e.g. volcanic and / or seismic events), current-induced noises (e.g. water movements around geological formations), and / or reflected noises (e.g. the noise of overpassing planes reflecting in specific patterns off the seafloor).

[0228] A plurality of examples of the present disclosure are able to exchange data, messages, and / or signals, and / or otherwise operate as a virtually interconnected network of devices, and their diverse locations and perspectives may permit them to obtain high-resolution information about the nature, structure, behavior, direction, altitude and / or depth, speed, condition (e.g. damaged or fully functional), incorporation of weapons, etc., of observed vessels and / or aircraft through their sharing and synthesis of data gathered from the unique perspectives of each individual device.

[0229] Examples of the present disclosure may present connectors, APIs, and / or other devices or components, by and / or through which data may be exchanged between the example and another vessel. Such other vessels might utilize such a data connection in order to obtain cached data, messages, signals, commands, and / or instructions, preferably encrypted, transmitted to the device from a remote source and / or server, and stored within the device, and / or within a plurality of devices, any one of which may be accessed by another vessel for the purpose of obtaining command and control information.

[0230] While the variety of examples of the present disclosure that are provided in the illustrations and examples in the disclosure are limited, the scope of those portions of the disclosure that are not limited or constrained to a particular example, or type of example, of a particular wave energy technology, and / or those portions and / or elements that may be applied to other types of wave energy technologies and / or designs, shall apply and / or extend to all wave energy devices and / or technologies. Those elements of the presently disclosed wave energy technology which may be incorporated within, added to, and / or utilized in conjunction with, other wave energy technologies and / or devices, including, but not limited to, those of a future disclosure, are included within The present disclosure, as are those wave energy devices and / or technologies which include and / or benefit from them. It is to be understood that the disclosed inventive elements of the disclosure apply to any compatible wave energy converter type, category, variety, species, and / or design.

[0231] The current disclosure includes many novel devices, features, elements, components, methods, processes, and systems. It includes devices that are hybrid combinations of those novel devices, features, elements, components, methods, processes, and systems, and variations, modifications, and / or alterations, of those novel devices, features, elements, components, methods, processes, and systems, all of which are included within the disclosure. All derivative devices, features, elements, components, methods, processes, and systems, combinations of devices, features, elements, components, methods, processes, and systems, and variations thereof, are also included within the disclosure.

[0232] The present disclosure includes examples that include, incorporate, and / or utilize, water turbines, valves, and other means of regulating and / or controlling the flow of water, in any combination, and incorporating and / or characterized by any and all embellishments, modifications, variations, and / or changes, that would preserve the function and / or functionality disclosed herein.

[0233] The disclosure, as well as the discussion regarding same, is made in reference to wave energy converters on, at, or below, the surface of an ocean. However, The disclosure applies with equal force and equal benefit to wave energy converters and / or other devices on, at, or below, the surface of an inland sea, a lake, extraterrestrial ocean and / or any other body of water or liquid.

[0234] All potential variations in sizes, shapes, thicknesses, materials, orientations, and / or other example-specific variations of the general inventive designs, structures, systems, and / or methods disclosed herein are included within The present disclosure, and will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

[0235] While much of the disclosure is discussed in terms of a novel variety of wave energy converter, the examples of which include both floating and submerged components and / or modules, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that most, if not all, of the disclosure, and / or of the disclosed methods, devices, and technologies, related to the creation of wave induced ejections of water and the subsequent and / or associated conversion of such ejected waters into alternate forms of energy, is applicable to, and of benefit with regard to, other types of buoyant devices and / or partially or fully submerged devices, and all such applications, uses, and examples, are included within The present disclosure.

[0236] The examples illustrated and discussed in relation to the figures included herein are provided for the purpose of explaining some of the basic principles of the disclosure. However, the disclosure covers all examples, even those differing from the idealized and / or illustrative examples presented. The disclosure covers even those examples which incorporate and / or utilize modern, future, and / or as of the time of this writing unknown, components, devices, systems, etc., as replacements for the functionally equivalent, analogous, and / or similar, components, devices, systems, etc., used in the examples illustrated and / or discussed herein for the purpose of explanation, illustration, and example.

[0237] The disclosure includes examples that incorporate, include, and / or utilize, a control system, wherein the control system controls valves (e.g., opening and closing valves to regulate the level of water within an example's water reservoir), controls pumps (e.g., to alter, adjust, and / or change the pressure of the air trapped within a pressurized water reservoir), controls lights (e.g., to illuminate seaweeds and / or algae growing within an example's water reservoir), adjusts and / or alters the torque imparted by generators to turbines, adjusts and / or alters the volume of water ballast (e.g., thereby altering, adjusting, and / or changing, an example's draft, waterplane area, and / or waterline), controls the activation and deactivation of computers and / or other electronic devices so as to adjust the example's electrical load to approximately match the amount of power being generated by its power take off, controls the propulsion of the example so as to steer the example in and / or along a desirable course, and / or toward or to a desirable location, controls the communication systems so as to provide data to a remote receiver (e.g., a receiving computer, network, and / or operator) and / or to receive data from a remote receiver (e.g., weather forecasts, shipping data, computational tasks requiring execution, etc.), etc.

[0238] Any "generator" mentioned, discussed, and / or specified, in the disclosure includes, but is not limited to, any device, machine, module, and / or system, that generates electrical power, pressurized hydraulic fluid, compressed air, and / or performs some other useful work or produces some other useful product. Any "generator" mentioned, discussed, and / or specified, in the disclosure may be a generator, and alternator, or any other mechanism, device, and / or component, that converts energy from one form to another, including, but not limited to, any mechanism, device, and / or component, that converts the rotary motion of a turbine's shaft or the repeated motion of some other component into electrical power.

[0239] The disclosure includes examples possessing, incorporating, including, and / or utilizing, any number of inertial water tubes, and inertial water tubes of any and all shapes, sizes, diameters, drafts, tapers, cross-sectional areas, and possessing and / or incorporating any number of constrictions, and constrictions of any all absolute and / or relative cross-sectional areas, shapes, profiles, relative positions within and / or along an inertial water tube. The disclosure includes examples possessing, incorporating, including, and / or utilizing, inertial water tubes made of any and all materials.

[0240] The disclosure includes examples possessing, incorporating, including, and / or utilizing, water and / or hydrokinetic turbines of any and all types, any and all diameters, any and all efficiencies, any and all power ratings, and made of any and all materials.

[0241] The disclosure includes examples possessing, incorporating, including, and / or utilizing, multiple water turbines in series, e.g., multiple turbines extracting energy from a same flow of water and / or within a same effluent tube.

[0242] The disclosure includes examples possessing, incorporating, including, and / or utilizing, any number of water reservoirs, and water reservoirs of any design, size, shape, volume, relative and / or absolute position within an example. The disclosure includes examples possessing, incorporating, including, and / or utilizing, water reservoirs made of any and all materials.

[0243] The disclosure includes generators, alternators, etc., in which the amount, degree, and / or magnitude, of the resistive torque imparted by to the water turbines operatively connected to those generators, alternators, etc., may be actively controlled so as to optimize the extraction of energy from the water flowing through the respective inertial water tubes and / or turbines.

[0244] The disclosure includes the use of adjustable guide vanes, dampers, and / or other flow-control surfaces, and / or other obstructions to flow, that may be used to adjust the rate at which water flows through the respective water turbines, especially so as to optimize the extraction of energy from the water flowing through the turbines and their respective inertial water tubes.

[0245] A portion of many examples of the present disclosure include, incorporate, and / or utilize, at least one buoyant portion. These buoyant portions may be referred to as hollow flotation modules, upper hull enclosures, buoys, buoyant capsules, buoyant chambers, buoyant compartments, buoyant enclosures, buoyant vessels, hollow balls, and / or hollow spheroids. Many terms, names, descriptors, and / or labels, could adequately distinguish an example's buoyant portion from among its other components, features, and / or elements, and the present disclosure incorporates any naming convention and / or choice, and is not limited by the nomenclature used to describe an example or its parts.

[0246] These and other objects of the disclosure will best be understood with reference to the accompanying figures and the detailed description of the preferred examples below.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0247] FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a side view of the example of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a back-side view of the example of FIGS. 1 and 2; FIG. 4 is a top-down view of the example of FIGS. 1-3; FIG. 5 is a bottom-up view of the example of FIGS. 1-4; FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 1-5; FIG. 7 is a sectional view of FIG. 6 from a perspective orientation; FIG. 8 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 9 is a side view of the example of FIG. 8; FIG. 10 is a back-side view of the example of FIGS. 8 and 9; FIG. 11 is a front-side view of the example of FIGS. 8-10; FIG. 12 is a top-down view of the example of FIGS. 8-11; FIG. 13 is a bottom-up view of the example of FIGS. 8-12; FIG. 14 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 8-13; FIG. 15 is a sectional view of FIG. 14 from a perspective orientation; FIG. 16 is a front-side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 8-15; FIG. 17 is a front-side partial sectional view of the example of FIGS. 8-15; FIG. 18 is a top-down perspective sectional view of the example of FIGS. 8-17; FIG. 19 is a side sectional view of another example of the present disclosure similar to the one illustrated in FIGS. 8-18; FIG. 20 is a sectional view of the example of FIG. 19 from a perspective orientation; FIG. 21 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 22 is a side view of the example of FIG. 21; FIG. 23 is a front-side view of the example of FIGS. 21 and 22; FIG. 24 is a back-side view of the example of FIGS. 21-23; FIG. 25 is a top-down view of the example of FIGS. 21-24; FIG. 26 is a bottom-up view of the example of FIGS. 21-25; FIG. 27 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 21-26; FIG. 28 is a top-down sectional view of the example of FIGS. 21-27; FIG. 29 is a horizontal sectional view from a perspective orientation of the example of FIGS. 21-28; 0FIG. 30 is a bottom-up view of another example of the present disclosure that is similar to the one illustrated in FIGS. 21-29; FIG. 31 is a bottom-up view of FIG. 30 from a perspective orientation, and illustrates the example of FIG. 30; FIG. 32 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 30 and 31; FIG. 33 is a sectional view of FIG. 32 from a perspective orientation, and illustrates the example of FIGS. 30-32; FIG. 34 is a top-down sectional view of the example of FIGS. 30-33; FIG. 35 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 36 is a side view of the example of FIG. 35; FIG. 37 is a front-side view of the example of FIGS. 35 and 36; FIG. 38 is a top-down view of the example of FIGS. 35-37; FIG. 39 is a bottom-up view of the example of FIGS. 35-38; FIG. 40 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 35-39; FIG. 41 is a top-down view of a horizontal section of the example of FIGS. 35-40; FIG. 42 is a side-view of another example that is similar to the one illustrated in FIGS. 35-41; FIG. 43 is a side view of FIG. 42 from a perspective orientation, illustrating the differing lengths of each of the example's four inertial water tubes; FIG. 44 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 45 is a side view of the example of FIG. 44; FIG. 46 is a front-side view of the example of FIGS. 44 and 45; FIG. 47 is a back-side view of the example of FIGS. 44-46; FIG. 48 is a top-down view of the example of FIGS. 44-47; FIG. 49 is a bottom-up view of the example of FIGS. 44-48; FIG. 50 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 44-49; FIG. 51 is a sectional view of FIG. 50 from a perspective orientation; FIG. 52 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 44-51; FIG. 53 is a sectional view of FIG. 52 from a perspective orientation; FIG. 54 is a back-side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 44-53; FIG. 55 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 56 is a left-side view of the example of FIG. 55; FIG. 57 is a top-down view of the example of FIGS. 55 and 56; FIG. 58 is a right-side view of the example of FIGS. 55-57; FIG. 59 is a back-side view of the example of FIGS. 55-58; FIG. 60 is a right-side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 55-59; FIG. 61 is a perspective view of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 60; FIG. 62 is a right-side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 55-61; FIG. 63 is a perspective view of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 62; FIG. 64 is a bottom-up sectional view of the example of FIGS. 55-63; FIG. 65 is a top-down sectional view of the example of FIGS. 55-64; FIG. 66 is a perspective view of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 65; FIG. 67 is a perspective side view of the removable spar module 612 that is a part and / or component of the example of FIGS. 55-66; FIG. 68 is a top-down view of the same removable spar module 612 that is illustrated in FIG. 67; FIG. 69 is a side sectional view of the same removable spar module that is illustrated in FIGS. 67 and 68; FIG. 70 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 71 is a left-side view of the example of FIG. 70; FIG. 72 is a right-side view of the example of FIGS. 70 and 71; FIG. 73 is a top-down view of the example of FIGS. 70-72; FIG. 74 is a bottom-up view of the example of FIGS. 70-73; FIG. 75 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 70-74; FIG. 76 is a perspective view of the side section of the present disclosure that is illustrated in FIG. 75; FIG. 77 is a top-down sectional view of the example of FIGS. 70-76; FIG. 78 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 70-77; FIG. 79 is a top-down sectional view of the example of FIGS. 70-78; FIG. 80 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure;

[00415] FIG. 81 is a right-side view of the example of FIG. 80; FIG. 82 is a front-side view of the example of FIGS. 80 and 81; FIG. 83 is a left-side view of the example of FIGS. 80-82; FIG. 84 is a back-side view of the example of FIGS. 80-83; FIG. 85 is a top-down view of the example of FIGS. 80-84; FIG. 86 is a bottom-up view of the example of FIGS. 80-85; FIG. 87 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 80-86; FIG. 88 is a side perspective of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 87; FIG. 89 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 80-88; FIG. 90 is a side perspective of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 89 where water outside the example and inside the example's inertial water tube has been omitted; FIG. 91 is a top-down sectional view of the example of FIGS. 80-90, where the section is taken along the section line 91-91 specified in FIG. 89; FIG. 92 is a side perspective of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 91 wherein the water inside and outside the example has been omitted; FIG. 93 is a same perspective sectional view illustrated in FIG. 88; FIG. 94 is a side perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 95 is a left-side view of the embodiment of FIG. 94; FIG. 96 is a back-side view of the embodiment of FIGS. 94 and 95; FIG. 97 is a front-side view of the embodiment of FIGS. 94-96; FIG. 98 is a top-down view of the embodiment of FIGS. 94-97;FIG. 99 is a bottom-up view of the embodiment of FIGS. 94-98; FIG. 100 is a side sectional view of the embodiment of FIGS. 94-99; FIG. 101 is a side perspective of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 99; FIG. 102 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 103 is a left-side view of the example of FIG. 102; FIG. 104 is a back-side view of the example of FIGS. 102 and 103; FIG. 105 is a right-side view of the example of FIGS. 102-104; FIG. 106 is a front-side view of the example of FIGS. 102-105; FIG. 107 is a top-down view of the example of FIGS. 102-106; FIG. 108 is a bottom-up view of the example of FIGS. 102-107; FIG. 109 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 102-108; FIG. 110 is a side perspective of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 109; FIG. 111 is a horizontal sectional view of the example of FIGS. 102-110; FIG. 112 is a top-down perspective of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 111; FIG. 113 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 114 is a side view of the example of FIG. 113; FIG. 115 is a side view of the example of FIGS. 113 and 114; FIG. 116 is a top-down view of the example of FIGS. 113-115;

[00451] FIG. 117 is a bottom-up view of the example of FIGS. 113-116; FIG. 118 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 113-117; FIG. 119 is a side perspective of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 118; FIG. 120 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 113-119; FIG. 121 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 113-120; FIG. 122 is a side perspective of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 121; FIG. 123 is a top-down sectional view of the example of FIGS. 113-122; FIG. 124 is a top-down perspective of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 123; FIG. 125 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 126 is a side view of the example of FIG. 125; FIG. 127 is a side view of the example of FIGS. 125 and 126; FIG. 128 is a side view of the example of FIGS. 125-127; FIG. 129 is a top-down view of the example of FIGS. 125-128; FIG. 130 is a bottoms-up view of the example of FIGS. 125-129; FIG. 131 is a top-down sectional view of the example of FIGS. 125-130; FIG. 132 is a side perspective of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 131; FIG. 133 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 125-132; FIG. 134 is a side perspective of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 133; FIG. 135 is a side perspective sectional view of the example of FIGS. 125-134; FIG. 136 is a side sectional view of the example of FIGS. 125-135; FIG. 137 is a side perspective of the same sectional view illustrated in FIG. 136; FIG. 138 is a side perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 139 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 138; FIG. 140 is a front view of the embodiment of FIGS. 138 and 139; FIG. 141 is a top-down view of the embodiment of FIGS. 138-140; FIG. 142 is a bottom-up view of the embodiment of FIGS. 138-141; FIG. 143 is a vertical cross section of the same embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 138-142, with the section plane taken across line 143-143 in FIG. 139; FIG. 144 is a perspective view of the vertical cross section illustrated in FIG. 143; FIG. 145 is a horizontal cross section of the same embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 138-144, with the section plane taken across line 145-145 in FIG. 139; FIG. 146 is a perspective view of the horizontal cross section illustrated in FIG. 145; FIG. 147 is a detail view of the same embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 138-146; FIG. 148 is a side view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 149 is a side perspective of a sectional view of the example illustrated in FIG. 148; FIG. 150 is a close-up side sectional view of the example illustrated in FIG. 149; FIG. 151 is a close-up perspective view of the sectional view of the example illustrated in FIG. 150; FIGS. 152-154 show an inertial water tube of a frustoconical type, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 152), side sectional view (FIG. 153), and side perspective sectional view (FIG. 154); FIGS. 155-157 show an inertial water tube of a frustoconical type, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 155), side sectional view (FIG. 156), and side perspective sectional view (FIG. 157); FIGS. 158-160 show an inertial water tube of a bell-shaped type, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 158), side sectional view (FIG. 159), and side perspective sectional view (FIG. 160); FIGS. 161-163 show an inertial water tube of an hourglass-shaped type, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 161), side sectional view (FIG. 162), and side perspective sectional view (FIG. 163); FIGS. 164-166 show an inertial water tube of a conical partial plug type, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 164), side sectional view (FIG. 165), and side perspective sectional view (FIG. 166); FIGS. 167-170 show an inertial water tube of a partial plug type, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 167), side sectional view (FIG. 168), side perspective sectional view (FIG. 169), and bottom-up view (FIG. 170); FIGS. 171-173 show an inertial water tube of a conical partial plug type, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 171), side sectional view (FIG. 172), and side perspective sectional view (FIG. 173); FIGS. 174-176 show an inertial water tube of a conical partial plug type, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 174), side sectional view (FIG. 175), and side perspective sectional view (FIG. 176); FIGS. 177-180 show an inertial water tube of a multi-squirter plug type, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 177), side sectional view (FIG. 178), side perspective sectional view (FIG. 179); FIGS. 181-183 show a different example of the approximately cylindrical squirter plug illustrated in FIGS. 177-180, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 181); FIGS. 184-186 show an inertial water tube of a rectilinear type, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 184), side sectional view (FIG. 185), and side perspective sectional view (FIG. 186); FIGS. 187-189 show an inertial water tube of an orifice plate type, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 187), side sectional view (FIG. 188), and side perspective sectional view (FIG. 189); FIGS. 190-192 show an inertial water tube of a single-squirter plug type, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 190), side sectional view (FIG. 191), and side perspective sectional view (FIG. 192); FIGS 193-195 show an inertial water tube of frustoconical type with a curved water diverter 1534, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 193), side sectional view (FIG. 194), and side perspective sectional view (FIG. 195); FIGS. 196-198 show an inertial water tube of plug type, in elevated perspective view (FIG. 196), side sectional view (FIG. 197), and side perspective sectional view (FIG. 198); FIGS. 199-204 show an inertial water tube of swivel type, in four different side views (FIGS. 199-202), bottom-up view (FIG. 203), and top-down view (FIG. 204); FIG. 205 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 206 is a front-side view of the example of FIG. 205; FIG. 207 is a side view of the example of FIGS. 205 and 206; FIG. 208 is a back-side view of the example of FIGS. 205-207; FIG. 209 is a top-down view of the example of FIGS. 205-208; FIG. 210 is a bottom-up view of the example of FIGS. 205-209; FIG. 211 is a side perspective view of the example of FIGS. 205-210; FIG. 212 is a top-down cross-sectional view of the example of FIGS. 205-211; FIG. 213 is a top-down perspective view of the same cross-sectional view illustrated in FIG. 212; FIG. 214 is a side cross-sectional view of the example of FIGS. 205-213, where the section is taken along the section line 214-214 specified in FIG. 210; FIG. 215 is a side perspective view of a modified version of the example of FIGS. 205 - 213; FIG. 216 is a side perspective view of a modified version of the example of FIGS. 205 - 213; FIG. 217 is a side perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 218 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 217; FIG. 219 is a side cross sectional view of the embodiment of FIGS. 217-218; FIG. 220 is a side perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 221 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 220; FIG. 222 is a side cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIGS. 220-221; FIG. 223 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 224 is a side cross-sectional view of the example of FIG. 223; FIG. 225 is a right-side view of a modified version of the example of FIGS. 205 - 213; FIG. 226 is a back-side view of the example of FIG. 225; FIG. 227 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the example of FIGS. 225 and 226; FIG. 228 is a right-side view of a modified version of the example of FIGS. 205 - 213; FIG. 229 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 230 is a side view of the example of FIG. 229; FIG. 231 is a side view of the example of FIGS. 229-230; FIG. 232 is a vertical cross sectional view of the example of FIGS. 229-231; FIG. 233 is a perspective view of the same cross-sectional view illustrated in FIG. 232; FIG. 234 is an enlarged, cut-away view of a water turbine, etc. of the present disclosure; FIG. 235 is a perspective view of the example of FIG. 234; FIG. 236 is an enlarged, cut-away view of a modified version of the water turbine of FIG. 234; FIG. 237 is a perspective view of the water turbine of FIG. 236; FIG. 238 is an enlarged, cut-away view of the water turbine of FIG. 236; FIG. 239 is a side perspective view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 240 is a side view of the example of FIG. 239; FIG. 241 is a side view of the example of FIG. 239; FIG. 242 is a top down view of the example of FIGS. 239-241; FIG. 243 is a bottom up view of the example of FIGS. 239-241; FIG. 244 is a cross-sectional view of the example of FIGS. 239 - 243; FIG. 245 is a perspective view of the vertical cross sectional view of FIG. 244; FIG. 246 is a side view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 247 is a side view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 248 is a side view of another example of the present disclosure; FIG. 249 is a perspective view of a modified configuration of the example of FIGS. 239 - 245; FIG. 250 is a perspective vertical cross-sectional view of the example of FIG. 249; FIG. 251 is a perspective side view of an autonomous underwater, ocean wave powered vehicle and is an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 252 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 251; FIG. 253 is another side view of the embodiment of FIG. 251; FIG. 254 is a top down view of the embodiment of FIG. 251; FIG. 255 is a bottom up view of the embodiment of FIG. 251; FIG. 256 is a side sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 251; FIG. 257 is a perspective view of the sectional view of FIG. 256; FIG. 258 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 251; FIG. 259 is another side view of the embodiment of FIG. 251; FIG. 260 is a side sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 251; FIG. 261 is a perspective side view of another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 262 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 261; FIG. 263 is another side view of the embodiment of FIG. 261; FIG. 264 is a top down view of the embodiment of FIG. 261; FIG. 265 is a bottom up view of the embodiment of FIG. 261; FIG. 266 is a side sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 261; FIG. 267 is a perspective side sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 261; FIG. 268 is a top down sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 261; FIG. 269 is another top down sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 261; FIG. 270 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 261; and FIG. 271 is a side sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 261. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0248] For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the disclosure, reference should be made to the preceding detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. The following figures offer explanatory illustrations, which, like most, if not all, explanations and illustrations are potentially useful, but inherently incomplete. The following figures, and the illustrations offered therein, in no way constitute limitations, either explicit or implicit, on the present disclosure.

[0249] FIG. 1 shows a side perspective view of an example of the current disclosure.

[0250] The buoyant example 100 floats adjacent to an upper surface 101 of a body of water over which waves tend to pass. The example incorporates a tapered inertial water tube 102-104 characterized by approximately circular cross-sections with respect to sectional planes normal to a (nominally vertical) longitudinal axis of the tube, and / or normal to an axis of inner-tube fluid flow, i.e., characterized by approximately "flow-normal cross-sectional shapes and / or areas". An upper first portion 102 of the inertial water tube 102-104 has a frusto-conical shape (having circular flow-normal cross-sectional areas that increase in diameter with respect to increasing depths within the body of water 101 on which the example floats). A second portion 103 of the inertial water tube 102-104 has a frusto-conical shape of a greater included angle. And, a bottommost third portion 104 of the inertial water tube 102-104 is approximately cylindrical (having circular flow-normal cross-sectional areas that are approximately constant with respect to increasing depths within the body of water 101 on which the example floats). Inertial water tube segment and / or portion 104 has a mouth 105 (which can also be referred to as an ingress orifice or water ingress / egress mouth) at its lower end that is open to the body of water 101 and allows water from the body of water to flow 106 in and out of the tube.

[0251] As the example 100 moves up and down in response to passing waves, water within the inertial water tube 102-104 will occasionally move up and out of the upper mouth (not visible) inside the example of the inertial water tube, thereby depositing water within an enclosed water reservoir 107. Water from that reservoir 107 drains through an effluent pipe 108 or channel in which is positioned a water turbine (not visible) within effluent pipe 108. As water flows from the reservoir 107 through effluent pipe 108 and back to the body of water 101, the flowing water causes the water turbine within the effluent pipe to rotate. And, rotations of the water turbine and an attached turbine shaft 109, causes to rotate the rotor (or other relevant rotating or moving element) of a generator 110 thereby generating electrical power.

[0252] As water exits an effluent pipe discharge mouth 111 (also referred to as an external effluent port) of a lower portion of effluent pipe 108B, it engages and / or is diverted by a rudder 112, which, when oriented with its broad surfaces at an angle to the effluent exiting effluent pipe discharge mouth 111, causes the example 100 to rotate about its nominally vertical longitudinal axis, thereby allowing the example's control system (not shown) to steer the example by altering, changing, and / or adjusting the position of the rudder 112.

[0253] A portion of the electrical power generated by the generator 110 is used to energize a plurality of computing devices positioned within a computer chamber 113, enclosure, module, or compartment. One wall of computer chamber 113 is adjacent to water reservoir 107 and the water therein, thereby facilitating the absorption by the water within the water reservoir of a portion of the heat generated by the computers inside computer chamber 113.

[0254] A computer within computer chamber 113 exchanges data with a computer not directly connected to example 100 via encoded electromagnetic transmissions generated and received by a phased array antenna 114 attached to a top surface of the water reservoir 107.

[0255] FIG. 2 shows a side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0256] FIG. 3 shows a back-side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0257] FIG. 4 shows a top-down view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 1-3.

[0258] FIG. 5 shows a bottom-up view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 1-4. At an upper end of the example's inertial water tube 104-102 is an upper mouth 115 through which water is occasionally, and / or periodically, ejected in response to wave-induced oscillations of the water within the inertial water tube. A water diverter 116 positioned at the upper mouth 115 diverts a portion of the ejected water in a lateral direction.

[0259] FIG. 6 shows a side sectional view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 1-5, where the section is taken along the section line 6-6 specified in FIGS 4 and 5.

[0260] As the example 100 moves up and down in response to passing waves, water 101 outside the example moves 106 into and out of the inertial water tube 102-104, through its lower mouth 105, resulting in a surface 117 of the water within the tube 102-104 moving 118 up and down, typically in an oscillatory fashion. Occasionally, and / or periodically, especially when the downward movements of the tapered walls of the inertial water tube impinge upon an upwelling body of water 117 within the inertial water tube thereby causing an increase in the pressure of the water within the tube, the surface 117 of the water within the inertial water tube 102-104 moves high enough to allow a portion of that water to escape the upper mouth 115 of the tube, thereby ejecting water 117 against a water diverter 116 which tends to break up the ejected stream of water into a spray. The ejected water tends to encounter the curved upper wall 119 of the water reservoir 107, and a plurality 120 of chains hanging therefrom, which tend to rob the ejected water of some of its kinetic energy and direct it into the lower portion 121 of the water reservoir where it is collected into a pool 123 that is divided by a cylindrically-shaped baffle 122 through which water can flow through an aperture 124. An example similar to the one illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 does not have a cylindrically-shaped baffle 122.

[0261] Water 123 from the reservoir 107 / 122 flows through an aperture 125 into effluent pipe 108 where that water 126 flows down and through a water turbine 127 (e.g., a Kaplan or propeller turbine) causing that water turbine and a connected, and / or attached, turbine shaft 109 to rotate, thereby energizing a generator 110 and causing that generator to produce electrical power. After passing through the water turbine 127, water flowing through the effluent pipe 108 flows 128 out of an effluent pipe discharge mouth 111 positioned at a lower end 108B of the effluent pipe, thereafter passing over and around a rudder 112 whose angular orientation relative to the effluent outflow can be adjusted so as to steer the example 100.

[0262] Inside the buoy 100, or buoyant portion, of the example to which the inertial water tube 102-104 is attached, and / or comprising, at least in part the walls of that buoy 100, is a layer or wall 129 of buoyant material, which can, for instance, comprise a hermetically sealed hollow metal wall whose interior contains air or closed-cell plastic foam. For clarity of exposition, the thickness of the layer or wall 129 is not drawn to scale; the thickness of this layer or wall 129 must be sufficient to provide buoyancy to the example sufficient to elevate reservoir 107 / 122 to the desired vertical level (taking into account the amount of water in water ballast 130) and will be subject to various thicknesses and configurations depending on desired performance characteristics and target wave conditions. Inside the hollow of the buoy 100 is an adjustable volume of water ballast 130. In relatively energetic wave conditions, when ejections of water from the upper mouth 115 of the inertial water tube are relatively vigorous, the amount of water ballast can be reduced, thereby lowering the waterline 131 relative to the example and decreasing the draft of the example, and raising the height of the water 123 in the reservoir 107 / 121, relative to the mean level 101 of the body of water on which the example floats, and thereby increasing the head pressure associated with the water 123 in the reservoir 107 / 121 (with respect to that water's discharge back into the body of water 101). Furthermore, by lowering the waterline 131 of the example 100, a decrease in the amount of water ballast 130 within the buoy 100 can decrease the waterplane area of the example (i.e., as the waterline is lowered, the effective diameter of the waterplane area decreases) which will tend to reduce the amount of wave energy absorbed by the example, which, in turn, will tend to help insulate the example from an excessive influx of energy which might stress the example and potentially cause it damage.

[0263] By contrast, in relatively mild wave conditions, when the level 117 of water within the inertial water tube 102-104 might not rise high enough to escape the upper mouth 115 of the inertial water tube (resulting in a cessation of electrical energy production), the amount of water ballast 130 can be increased, thereby raising the waterline 131 and increasing the draft of the example and lowering the height of the water 123 in the reservoir 107 / 121 relative to the mean level 101 of the body of water on which the example floats, and thereby decreasing the head pressure associated with the water 123 in the reservoir 107 / 121 (with respect to that water's discharge back into the body of water 101). By raising the waterline 131 of the example 100, an increase in the amount of water ballast 130 within the buoy 100 can increase the waterplane area of the example (i.e., as the waterline is raised up to and including the approximate middle of buoy 100 where the diameter of a flow-normal cross-sectional area is greatest, the effective diameter of the waterplane area increases) which will tend to cause the example to absorb a greater fraction of the wave energy impinging on it.

[0264] Thus, in certain circumstances, by decreasing the volume and mass of water ballast 130 within the example, a lesser amount of ambient wave energy can tend to be absorbed, but that energy will be processed more efficiently (e.g., through the availability of greater head pressure in the water 123 that flows through the water turbine 127). And, likewise, in certain circumstances, by increasing the volume and mass of water ballast 130 within the example, a greater amount of ambient wave energy can tend to be absorbed thereby helping to better preserve a more nominal level of electrical power production, albeit by means of a water turbine 127 driven by water 123 possessing less head pressure.

[0265] Note that water turbine 127 will typically have a set of blades on its runner (not shown for clarity of exposition) and will typically have a converging and expanding / diverging (Venturi) sections upstream and downstream of the runner respectively (also not shown for clarity of exposition). In many figures of this disclosure, schematic representations of water turbines are simplified for clarity of exposition, and one skilled in the art will understand that established design principles applicable to water turbines will be aptly considered, including considerations related to the prevention of cavitation.

[0266] The example includes a control system and / or module that controls and / or adjusts the level 130 and volume of the water ballast inside the buoy 100 through its control of a pump that connects the water within that water ballast to the water 101 outside the example. In one example, the level 130 and volume of the water ballast is controlled by actuating a valve that, when open, allows water to pass between the interior of the inertial water tube 118 and the water ballast chamber 130.

[0267] A portion of the electrical power generated by the example is consumed by computers 132 within a computer chamber 113. Thus, electrical energy generated by the example, and by extension the example itself, is, at least in part, monetized through the execution of computational tasks for third parties, wherein the tasks and / or the data for those tasks is received (at least in part) via encoded radio transmissions received, e.g., by satellite, by the example's phased array antenna 114. And, at least a portion of the results of the completed computational tasks are transmitted to a remote computer, server, receiver, or service, via encoded radio transmissions transmitted, e.g., to a satellite, by the example's phased array antenna 114.

[0268] The example illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 is an example of the disclosure herein and is not offered, nor should it be construed as, a limitation on the scope of the disclosure. The exact shape of the inertial water tube has many possible variants and any tube whose flow-normal diameter, and / or horizontal cross-sectional area, increases with depth, at least to an approximate degree, and / or at least at one point along the tube, is within the scope of the current disclosure. The configurations, positions, orientations, sizes, and / or designs, of the water reservoir 107 / 121, effluent pipe 108, water turbine 127, and generator 110, have many possible variants, and any alternate configurations and designs; any alternate numbers of effluent pipes, water turbines, and generators; any type of power takeoff, e.g., any mechanism and / or type of energy conversion, such as the production of pressurized air or desalinated water, and / or any other variation of the illustrated design, is within the scope of the current disclosure. Any type, shape, size, and / or design of the buoy, and / or buoyant portion, of the example is within the scope of the current disclosure. Any type of energy consuming task, mechanism, module, and / or system (e.g., other than a network of computing devices), or no energy consuming task (e.g., wherein the generated electrical power is transmitted to a terrestrial grid via a connected power cable), is included within the scope of the current disclosure. Any type, design, size, location, and / or configuration, of antenna, or no antenna at all, is included within the scope of the current disclosure.

[0269] FIG. 7 shows the sectional view of FIG. 6 from a perspective orientation, and illustrates the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 1-6. In this perspective sectional view the water (both outside and inside the device), as well as the chains (120 in FIG. 6) suspended from the upper surface of the water reservoir, have been omitted to afford greater clarity of the example's structural design. The example incorporates a hollow buoy 100 into the hollow 133 and / or void of which water ballast may be added in order to adjust (e.g., to increase or decrease) the mass and inertia of the example, and to thereby adjust (e.g., to lower or raise, respectively) its waterline (131 in FIG. 6).

[0270] FIG. 8 shows a side perspective view of an example of the current disclosure.

[0271] The buoyant example 200 floats adjacent to an upper surface 201 of a body of water over which waves tend to pass. The example incorporates an inertial water tube 202-203 comprised of both convex (e.g., 203) and concave (e.g., 202) tubular segments. A lower mouth 204 allows water to move 205 into and out from the interior of the inertial water tube 202-203. And, an upper mouth (not visible and inside the example) of the inertial water tube 202-203 allows water to be ejected up and out of the inertial water tube, and into a water reservoir 206, when the water inside the inertial water tube rises fast enough and / or far enough. A portion of the gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy of the water ejected from the upper mouth of the inertial water tube 202-203 is preserved through the capture of a portion of that water in the water reservoir 206 which is positioned above the surface 201 of the body of water to which it will return.

[0272] A portion of the water trapped in the water reservoir 206 is returned to the body of water 201 on which the example 200 floats through an effluent pipe (not visible) in which is positioned a water turbine (not visible). When water flows through the discharge pipe, the water turbine therein is caused to rotate at least in part due to the head pressure of the water flowing to and through it from the water reservoir. The rotation of the water turbine by outflowing water causes an operatively connected generator 207 to be energized resulting in the generation of electrical power.

[0273] A portion of the water trapped in the water reservoir 206 may be returned to the body of water 201 on which the example 200 floats through either or both of two effluent pipes 208 and 209. Because of their tangential orientation with respect to the vertical longitudinal axis of the example, the discharge of water through the effluent pipe discharge mouth positioned at the lower end of effluent pipe 208 will tend to rotate the example in a counter-clockwise direction (with respect to a top-down perspective). Likewise, the discharge of water through the effluent pipe discharge mouth at the lower end of effluent pipe 209 will tend to rotate the example in a clockwise direction (with respect to a top-down perspective). The discharge of water through both effluent pipes 208 and 209 at approximately equal rates of flow will tend to produce torques on the example that cancel each other and result in no rotation of the example.

[0274] Effluent regulation motors 210 and 211 control the rate at which water from the water reservoir 206 is discharged and / or able to flow through and from effluent pipes 208 and 209, respectively, e.g. by adjusting the degree of openness, and / or the degree of obstruction, of two respective effluent valves or stoppers (not visible) positioned and / or operated adjacent to an upper end and / or mouth of effluent pipes 208 and 209. A control module and / or system (not shown) controls the behavior of the effluent regulation motors, and therethrough the angular orientation (i.e., the direction of travel) of the example, as well as other aspects of the example's behavior and operation.

[0275] A buoy, chamber, enclosure, canister, and / or portion 212 of the example is hollow and contains water ballast, the volume of which may be adjusted, that is used to raise and lower the example's waterline, and respectively to lower and raise the head pressure of the water in the water reservoir 206. A buoyant collar 213 provides the example with a measure of permanent buoyancy which, following a reduction of water ballast within chamber 212, will tend to lift the example to a height that places its buoy 212 in a more elevated position relative to the surface 201 of the water on which the example floats.

[0276] The example's control module (not shown) controls and / or adjusts the volume of water ballast within the buoy 212 through its control of a pump and pump conduit (not shown) that connects the water ballast within the interior of the buoy 212 to the water 201 outside the example.

[0277] Attached to an upper exterior surface of the water reservoir 206 is a phased array antenna 214 comprised, at least in part, of a plurality of individual dipole antennas.

[0278] FIG. 9 shows a side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIG. 8.

[0279] Water trapped in water reservoir 206 flows 215 back into the body of water 201 from which it was initially captured through an effluent pipe discharge mouth 216 of effluent pipe 217, and, due to the lateral flow vector of the discharged water, will tend to generate and / or produce thrust that propels the example in a direction opposite to the direction 215 of the effluent discharge.

[0280] The downward flow of water through effluent pipe 217, under the influence of the head pressure imparted to the flow by the height of the water reservoir 206 above the surface 201 of the body of water into which it flows, engages, and / or energizes, a water turbine (not visible) positioned within the effluent pipe thereby causing it to rotate. And, the rotation of the water turbine within effluent pipe 217 causes an operatively connected generator 207 to generate electrical power. Baffles can be provided to limit sloshing in reservoir 206.

[0281] The discharge of a water from the water reservoir 206 through effluent pipes 208 (and 209 in FIG. 8) is controlled by the lifting and lowering of respective rods, e.g., 218, which disengage (when a rod is lifted) and engage (when a rod is lowered to its maximal extent) effluent stoppers or plugs that open and close, respectively, effluent valves positioned adjacent to upper mouths of the effluent pipes 208 (and 209 in FIG. 8) positioned within and / or adjacent to the water reservoir 206. In a different example, multiple effluent pipes are disposed at different locations around the circumferential periphery of the buoy, and by controlling the rate at which water from the water reservoir flows into each of those effluent pipes, and therethrough into the body of water 201 through said multiple effluent pipes (e.g. using valves or by variably controlling the resistance imparted to each generator, and / or the resistive torque imparted to each respective water turbine, associated with each said effluent pipe), the device can be steered.

[0282] FIG. 10 shows a back-side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9.

[0283] FIG. 11 shows a front-side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 8-10.

[0284] Effluent regulation motors 210 and 211 raise or lower respective rods 218 and 219, which in turn raise or lower respective stoppers (not visible) of respective effluent valves (not visible), that open or close respective apertures within the water reservoir 206. When an effluent pipe's respective effluent valve is opened, e.g., through a raising of its respective stopper, then water flows from the water reservoir 206, under, with, and / or in response to, the head pressure associated therewith, out of the effluent pipe discharge mouth of the respective effluent pipe. When water flows from the water reservoir through effluent pipe 208 and discharges 220 into the body of water 201 then a torque is applied to the example, with respect to a vertical longitudinal axis of the example, causing the example to turn to the right (with respect to the perspective of FIG. 11). By contrast, when water flows from the water reservoir through effluent pipe 209 and discharges 221 into the body of water 201 then a counter-torque is applied to the example, with respect to a vertical longitudinal axis of the example, causing the example to turn to the left (with respect to the perspective of FIG. 11). Through its control of the rate at which water is discharged from the water reservoir 206 through effluent pipes 208 and 209, the example's control system (not shown) is able to steer the example with respect to the forward propulsion generated by the discharge (215 in FIG. 9) of water through the effluent pipe in which the water turbine is positioned (pipe 217 in FIG. 10).

[0285] In the example configuration illustrated in FIG. 11, the rod 218 controlled and / or moved by effluent regulation motor 210 is maximally lowered, and the associated stopper is fully inserted into the aperture which controls the discharge 220 of water from the water reservoir 206 through effluent pipe 208, thereby preventing any significant flow therethrough. By contrast, the rod 219 controlled and / or moved by effluent regulation motor 211 is raised with respect to its maximally lowered and / or lowest position, and the associated stopper is, at least to a degree, separated from and above the aperture which controls the discharge 221 of water from the water reservoir 206 through effluent pipe 209, thereby allowing water to flow therethrough from the water reservoir 206 and into the body of water 201.

[0286] FIG. 12 shows a top-down view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 8-11.

[0287] FIG. 13 shows a bottom-up view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 8-12.

[0288] As the example 200 moves up and down in response to passing waves, water within the inertial water tube 203 will tend to oscillate, and be excited by the constricting / tapered walls of said water tube, and will tend to occasionally rise fast enough and far enough such that a portion of the water in the inertial water tube is ejected from the upper mouth 223 of the inertial water tube and into the reservoir (206 in FIG. 12) adjacent to, and / or surrounding, that upper mouth.

[0289] Note how discharges 220 and 221 of pressurized water from effluent pipes 208 and 209, respectively, will generate a torque about a longitudinal axis (e.g., passing through and normal to the upper mouth 223) of the example thereby causing the example to turn about that axis, and allowing the example's control system (not shown) to steer the example with respect to the more substantial forward thrust generated by the discharge 215 of water through effluent pipe 217.

[0290] FIG. 14 shows a side sectional view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 8-13, where the section is taken along the section line 14-14 specified in FIGS 12 and 13.

[0291] As example 200 moves up and down in response to waves traveling across the surface 201 of the body of water on which the example floats, the water within the inertial water tube 202-203, and the surface 224 of that water, tend to move up and down, the former being excited in oscillation by the rise and fall of the example. Occasionally, the surface 224 of the water within the inertial water tube 202-203 rises fast enough and far enough that a portion of that water is ejected and / or projected up and out of the upper mouth 223 of the inertial water tube. That ejected water may then collide with water diverter 225 whereupon it is, at least in part, dispersed, thereafter tending to fall into the pool 226 of water (or creating such a pool of water) within the water reservoir 206. The upper end 222 of the inertial water tube extends into the reservoir through an approximately cylindrical wall 236 at the center of the water reservoir 206.

[0292] Inertial water tube 202, 203, 227, 222 is comprised of segments that alternate between convex and concave. Segments 203 and 227 are convex (i.e., they differ from frustoconical in that they tend to bulge outward near the centers of the segments). Whereas segments 202 and 222 are concave (i.e., they differ from frustoconical in that they tend to bulge inward near the centers of the segments).

[0293] Note that this figure is not necessarily to scale, and the scope of the present disclosure includes inertial water tubes of any shape, design, size, and / or configuration. In one example of the present disclosure, the ratio of the total height of inertial water tube to the diameter of a flow-normal cross-sectional area of buoy 212 is significantly greater than the one depicted or implied in FIG. 14. For instance, in one example, the diameter of buoy 212 is approximately 50 meters, and the height of its inertial water tube 202, 203, 227, 222 is approximately 200 meters.

[0294] Some of the water 226 within the water reservoir 206 flows down through effluent pipe 217 thereby engaging, and causing to rotate, water turbine 228, positioned therein. The water turbine 228, in turn, imparts rotational kinetic energy to turbine shaft 229, which energizes operatively connected generator 207 causing it to produce electrical power. After passing and / or flowing through, and imparting rotational kinetic energy to, water turbine 228, the water in effluent pipe 217 flows 215 out of effluent pipe discharge mouth 216, thereby generating forward thrust that tends to propel the example to the right (with respect to the illustration in FIG. 14).

[0295] When, as illustrated in FIG. 14, stopper 230 is raised out of, and / or from, its respective aperture (not visible) through the lifting of rod 219 by effluent regulation motor 211, water 226 from water reservoir 206 flows into effluent pipe 209 and thereafter flows out and into the body of water 201 imparting a turning torque to the example. Conversely, when stopper 230 is positioned so as to close, obstruct, and / or shut its respective aperture through the lowering of rod 219 to its maximal downward position, then water 226 from water reservoir 206 is unable to flow into and / or through effluent pipe 209, thereby preventing a discharge of water from the effluent pipe discharge mouth of that effluent pipe from generating a turning torque.

[0296] A similar stopper is actuated by effluent regulation motor 210 (in FIG. 11) in order to permit or prevent the flow of water from water reservoir 206 through effluent pipe 208 (in FIG. 11).

[0297] Buoy chamber 212 is substantially hollow and nominally contains a water ballast 231 of adjustable volume and mass (e.g., wherein the volume of water ballast is adjusted by a pump, not shown, controlled by the example's control system (not shown), that pumps water from the water ballast into the body of water 201 on which the example floats in order to reduce the volume and mass of the ballast, thereby tending to cause the example's draft to decrease, or, conversely, pumps water from the body of water 201 on which the example floats into the buoy chamber 212 in order to increase the volume and mass of the water ballast 231, thereby tending to cause the example's draft to increase. A layer 232 of rocks, gravel, and / or other aggregate material, helps to reduce side-to-side flows of water within the water ballast, and to thereby stabilize the orientation of the example with respect to wave motion.

[0298] Within buoy chamber 212, and attached to a wall of the inertial water tube 227, is a computer chamber 233, enclosure, container, module, and / or vessel, which contains, at least in part, a plurality of computing devices which consume at least a portion of the electrical power generated by the example's generator. One wall 234 of the computer chamber is connected to, or shared by, the inertial water tube thereby facilitating the passive and / or conductive cooling of the computing devices within the enclosure 233.

[0299] Attached to an inner upper surface inside the buoy chamber 212 is a layer 235 of buoyant material which provides a degree of permanent buoyancy, and a measure of safety that the example will not sink following an unanticipated accident, or unanticipated damage (e.g., from a collision with a ship or other water vessel).

[0300] FIG. 15 shows the sectional view of FIG. 14 from a perspective orientation, and illustrates the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 8-14. In this perspective sectional view the water on which the example floats, as well as the water 224 (FIG. 14) nominally inside the example's inertial water tube 202, have been omitted to afford greater clarity of the example's structural design.

[0301] FIG. 16 shows a front-side sectional view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 8-15, where the section is taken along the section line 16-16 specified in FIGS 12 and 13.

[0302] Effluent pipes 208 and 209 are connected to water reservoir 206, and the water 226 therein, by apertures, e.g., 237, in a bottom wall of the water reservoir. Stoppers 238 and 230 control the flow of water, and / or the rate at which water flows, through each respective effluent pipe 208 and 209. When a stopper, e.g., 238, is fully lowered, thereby fully obstructing its respective aperture, then water 226 from the water reservoir is unable to flow into and / or through the respective effluent pipe, e.g., 208. Conversely, when a stopper, e.g., 230, is raised, and does not fully obstruct its respective aperture, e.g., 237, then water 226 from the water reservoir is able to flow into and through the respective effluent pipe, e.g., 209, thereby generating a tangential thrust that tends to turn the example and permit the example's control system (not shown) to steer the example in a desirable direction, along a desirable course, and / or to a desirable location. Stoppers 238 and 230 are raised and lowered by their respective lifting rods 218 and 219, which are raised and lowered by their respective effluent regulation motors 210 and 211.

[0303] FIG. 17 shows the sectional view of FIG. 16 from a perspective orientation, and illustrates the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 8-16. In this perspective sectional view the water on which the example floats has been omitted to afford greater clarity of the example's structural design.

[0304] FIG. 18 shows a top-down perspective sectional view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 8-17, where the section is taken along the section line 18-18 specified in FIG. 10.

[0305] FIG. 19 shows a side sectional view of an example of the current disclosure that, with the exception of one added feature, is identical to the one illustrated in FIGS. 8-18, and for this reason the elements of this augmented example share the same numbers as their counterparts in the example previously illustrated in FIGS. 8-18. With one exception, the sectional view illustrated in FIG. 19 is identical to the sectional view illustrated in FIG. 14.

[0306] The example illustrated in FIGS. 8-18 drains and / or releases water from its water reservoir 206 through three effluent pipes. Water that flows back to the body of water 201 on which the example floats through an effluent pipe 217 and a water turbine 228 positioned therein tends to convert some of the gravitational potential energy of the water in water reservoir 206 into electrical power. Water also flows back to the body of water 201 on which the example floats through two additional effluent pipes 208 and 209 that provide a turning force to the example. However, unlike the example illustrated in FIGS. 8-18, the example illustrated in FIG. 19 includes a fourth effluent pipe 239 through which water from water reservoir 206 drains and / or flows 241 back to the body of water 201.

[0307] The head pressure of the water that flows through pipe 239, and originates in and / or from the water reservoir 206, forces that water to pass through an effluent filter 240, mat, block, aggregation, collection of membranes, and / or puck comprised of material with a tendency to adsorb, absorb, or otherwise collect certain elements, minerals, and / or compounds from the seawater flowing through it (for instance, the effluent filter, mat, block, aggregation, collection of membranes and / or puck may be composed and / or comprised, at least in part, of adsorbing fibers, yarns, and / or solids contained within a porous fabric bag). When the gravitational potential energy and / or head pressure of the water within the water reservoir 206, is relatively high, then the efficiency with which effluent filter 240 adsorbs target and / or desirable chemical may tend to be increased. And, following its passage through the mineral-adsorbent effluent filter 240, water draining and / or flowing from the water reservoir 206 through effluent pipe 239 returns 241 to the body of water 201 outside the example, through effluent pipe discharge mouth 242, providing (additional) thrust to propel the example in a forward direction (i.e., toward the right with respect to the example configuration illustrated in FIG. 19).

[0308] Effluent filters 240, such as the one illustrated in FIG. 19, can collect useful, and valuable, minerals, atoms, substances, and / or other components, from the water on which an example, such as 200 floats. The adsorbent efficiencies of some of these mineral-adsorbent filters and / or mats is increased when the mineral-containing fluid is passed through the filter and / or mat under pressure, such as the head pressure of the water draining into, and through, effluent filter 240 from water reservoir 206.

[0309] In one example of the present disclosure, the adsorbing material of the example's effluent filter 240 preferentially adsorbs lithium and / or lithium compounds. In one example of the present disclosure, the adsorbing material of the example's effluent filter 240 preferentially adsorbs rubidium and / or rubidium compounds. In one example of the present disclosure, the adsorbing material of the example's effluent filter 240 preferentially adsorbs uranium and / or uranium compounds.

[0310] An example of the present disclosure similar to the one illustrated in FIG. 19 uses and / or incorporates, in place of, or in addition to, the effluent filter 240, and / or adsorbent mat, of the example illustrated in FIG. 19, mechanisms, modules, systems, and / or separators that separate water from the salt water on which they float, thereby producing deionized, potable, and / or purified water. The scope of the present disclosure includes examples that utilize pressurized water (as from an example's water reservoir(s)) to perform, accomplish, execute, and / or manifest, any type, variety, category, and / or manner, of processing, filtering, concentration, energy production, and / or other useful work or product.

[0311] The example illustrated in FIG. 19 is an example of the variety of beneficial applications for which the pressurized water stored within the water reservoir 206 of an example may be utilized. All such purposes, uses, processes, and applications of the water within water reservoir 206 are included within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0312] FIG. 20 shows the sectional view of FIG. 19 from a perspective orientation. FIGS. 19 and 20 show sectional views of an example of the current disclosure that, with the exception of one added feature, is identical to the example illustrated in FIGS. 8-18, and for this reason the elements of this augmented example share the same numbers as their counterparts in the example illustrated in FIGS. 8-18. With one exception, the sectional view illustrated in FIG. 20 is identical to the view illustrated in FIG. 15. In this perspective sectional view the water on which the example floats, as well as the water 224 (FIG. 19) nominally inside the example's inertial water tube 202, 203, 227, have been omitted to afford greater clarity of the example's structural design.

[0313] FIG. 21 shows a side perspective view of an example of the current disclosure.

[0314] The buoyant example 300 floats adjacent to an upper surface 301 of a body of water over which waves tend to pass. The example incorporates an inertial water tube 302 comprised of an approximately frusto-conical top portion (not visible) and an approximately cylindrical bottom portion 302. Surrounding the frusto-conical top portion of the inertial water tube is an annular ring 303 comprised of buoyant material that provides the example with at least a degree of permanent buoyancy and reduces the average density of the example 300. A hollow chamber 304, enclosure, buoy, and / or portion of the example provides structural support for four water reservoirs 305-308. And, each of the four water reservoirs 305-308 supports, and / or is attached to, a generator 309-312, respectively, that is operatively connected to a reservoir-specific water turbine (not visible).

[0315] As the example 300 moves up and down in response to waves traveling across the surface 301 of the body of water on which it floats, water within the example's inertial water tube 302 tends to oscillate in a direction approximately parallel to a longitudinal axis of the inertial water tube, occasionally ejecting water from tubes (not visible) and upper mouths and / or apertures (not visible) incorporated within and / or at an upper end of the inertial water tube 302. Water ejected from the top of the inertial water tube 302 enters one of the four water reservoirs 305-308 at an approximately tangential orientation to each respective water reservoir's radially-symmetrical interior, thereby tending to induce in the water therein a swirling motion.

[0316] Water within each water reservoir 309-312 flows back to the body of water 301 through a respective effluent pipe e.g., 313 and 314, each effluent pipe of which is oriented so as to release and / or discharge its effluent in an approximately lateral direction and to thereby generate a propulsive thrust that tends to move the example in a lateral direction (e.g., in a direction parallel to the surface 301 of the body of water on which the example floats). Two effluent pipes at a "front side" of the example (the side adjacent to reservoirs 305 and 306) are angled so as to release water in a direction that is, to a degree, tangential to the example, and tends to produce both forward (to the left of the illustrated example) and tangential thrust, the tangential thrust tending to cause the example to turn relative to a vertical longitudinal axis of the example.

[0317] The energy extracted by the water turbine within the effluent pipe operatively connected to each water reservoir 305-308 arises from both the gravitational potential energy (i.e., head pressure potential energy) of the water, and the rotational (or angular) kinetic energy of the water's swirling.

[0318] Attached to an upper surface of the exterior wall of the inertial water tube 302 is a computer chamber 315 compartment, enclosure, and / or module that contains a plurality of computing devices, components, and / or other electronic components, modules, systems, and / or equipment. The computing devices within the computer chamber 315 are energized with electrical power generated at least in part by the generators 309-312. And, the computing devices within the computer chamber 315 receive instructions, programs, and / or data from a remote transmitter, e.g., from a satellite, by means of encoded electromagnetic signals transmitted to, and captured by, an antenna 316. Completed computational results and data are transmitted to a remote transmitter, e.g., to a satellite, by means of encoded electromagnetic signals transmitted from antenna 316. For clarity, as in all examples of this disclosure, such a computer chamber can be located anywhere in and / or on the example, and in some examples it is located at least partially below a mean waterline of the example and has an outer wall, and / or an operatively connected heat exchanger, that is in contact with the water 301 on which the example floats so as to allow the ambient external water to cool the computer chamber.

[0319] Water flows 317 into, and out from, a lower mouth 318 at a bottom end of inertial water tube 302.

[0320] The hollow chamber 304, enclosure, and / or portion of the example is able to contain a variable and / or adjustable volume and / or mass of water ballast, e.g., comprised of water. The volume of that water ballast may be adjusted by the example's control system (not shown) through its activation and / or control of one or more pumps (not shown) which are able to remove water from the water ballast, thereby reducing the example's draft, and to add water to the water ballast, thereby increasing the example's draft.

[0321] FIG. 22 shows a side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIG. 21.

[0322] In response to the discharge of water from the water reservoirs 305-308, the example 300 will tend to be propelled to the left (with respect to the example orientation illustrated in FIG. 22).

[0323] FIG. 23 shows a front-side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 21 and 22.

[0324] A discharge of water from water reservoir 306 through and / or from effluent pipe 319 will tend to generate a first tangential thrust that, at least to a degree, will tend to cause the example 300 to rotate about a vertical longitudinal axis in a counter-clockwise direction (as viewed from above the example). Whereas a discharge of water from water reservoir 305 through and / or from effluent pipe 313 will tend to generate a second tangential thrust that, at least to a degree, will tend to cause the example 300 to rotate about a vertical longitudinal axis in a clockwise direction (as viewed from above the example).

[0325] By adjusting the relative rates at which water flows from the water reservoirs 306 and 305 and out of the respective effluent pipes 319 and 313, such that those rates of relative outflow and / or discharge are unequal and / or imbalanced, a differential torque can be applied to the example, causing the example to turn about a vertical axis in the direction dictated by the effluent pipe with the greater rate of flow. By contrast, when the rates of outflow and / or discharge out of effluent pipes 319 and 313 are approximately equal, then the example will tend to move forward in a lateral direction across the surface 301 of the body of water on which the example floats (e.g., in a direction normal to, and out of the page, and toward the reader, with respect to the orientation of the example illustrated in FIG. 23) without appreciable turning.

[0326] A control system and / or module (not shown) controls the relative torques, and or resistance, imparted by generators 310 and 309 to their respective water turbines (not visible, inside respective effluent pipes 319 and 313) in order to control the relative rates of outflow and / or discharge of water from effluent pipes 319 and 313, respectively. By increasing the torque and / or resistance imparted by a generator to its respective operatively connected shaft and water turbine, the example's control system can reduce the rate at which water flows out of that generator's respective effluent pipe. Conversely, by reducing the torque and / or resistance imparted by a generator to its respective operatively connected shaft and water turbine, the example's control system can increase the rate at which water flows out of that generator's respective effluent pipe. Thus, by controlling and / or adjusting the torque and / or resistance imparted by a generator to its respective operatively connected shaft and water turbine, the example's control system can control and / or adjust the rate and direction at which the example will turn, thereby allowing the control system to steer the example with respect to the thrust, and / or components of thrust, that tend to propel the example forward. However, in some examples, increasing and reducing the torque imparted by a generator is not used to adjust the rate of flow out of a generator's respective effluent pipe, but instead, a valve is used to adjust the rate of flow. In either case, the turbine or valve is a species of flow governor that limits the flow rate of water from the respective reservoir so as to maintain a relatively constant flow out of the example despite the fact that injections of water to the respective reservoir is sporadic and stochastic.

[0327] FIG. 24 shows a back-side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 21-23.

[0328] Water that flows from water reservoirs 305-308 and is discharged into the body of water 301 through effluent pipes 313, 319, 320, and 314, respectively, tends to generate and / or produce, at least to a degree, thrust that tends to the propel the example forward (i.e., normal to, and into, the page with respect to the example orientation illustrated in FIG. 24).

[0329] FIG. 25 shows a top-down view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 21-24.

[0330] Example 300 floats at the surface of a body of water and tends to move up and down in response to passing waves. As the example rises and falls, water within an inertial water tube 302 (in FIG. 24) and 321 moves up and down within the tube. Occasionally, water reaches an upper end 321 of the inertial water tube with sufficient energy to be ejected through one of four ejection pipes 322-325, and / or branching tubes, that are connected to the main tube 302 / 321. At the distal end of each ejection pipe is an aperture or mouth (not visible) through which the water escapes the respective ejection pipe. Each ejection pipe 322-325 discharges water into its respective water reservoir 305-308 at, near, and / or adjacent to, the periphery of the respective water reservoir so as to tend to cause water within each water reservoir to rotate and / or swirl about a respective longitudinal and / or vertical axis (e.g., an axis of approximate radial symmetry).

[0331] Computer chamber 315 is attached to an upper end of inertial water tube 321, and antenna 316 is attached to an upper surface of the computer chamber 315.

[0332] FIG. 26 shows a bottom-up view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 21-25.

[0333] As the example 300 moves up and down in response to passing waves, water inside inertial water tube 302 tends to move up and down. Occasionally, water rising within tube 302 reaches the upper interior wall 326 of the tube and is thereby blocked. Upon reaching, or almost reaching, the top inertial tube wall 326, water rising within tube 302 tends to move laterally through apertures and / or ejection pipes 322-325, after which portions of such diverted flows of water may flow into corresponding and / or respective water reservoirs 305-308. When water reaches the upper end 326 of inertial water tube 302 with sufficient energy, then those portions of the inertial water tube's water that flow through ejection pipes 322-325 may still possess kinetic energy upon their ejection from those ejection pipes. Portions of such residual kinetic energy may be imparted to the water within the respective water reservoirs as rotational kinetic energy and / or angular momentum.

[0334] Water flowing from water reservoirs 305 and 306 (in FIG. 23), and out of respective thrust pipes 313 and 319, will tend to enter the body of water on which the example floats, and flow in directions 327 and 328, respectively, thereby generating tangential thrust that will tend to apply equal and opposite turning torques to the example (with respect to a vertical longitudinal axis of the example) as well as equal degrees of forward thrust (i.e., to the left with respect to the orientation of the example illustrated in FIG. 26). By adjusting the relative rates at which water flows out and / or is discharged from effluent pipes 313 and 319 the example may be turned so as to steer a course through the water.

[0335] Water flowing from water reservoirs 307 and 308 (in FIG. 24), and out of respective thrust pipes 320 and 314, will tend to enter the body of water on which the example floats, and flow in directions 329 and 330, respectively, thereby generating forward thrust. Because the water discharged from effluent pipes 320 and 314 is not discharged along an axis that passes through the centermost vertical longitudinal axis of the example, a differential rate of flow through effluent pipes 320 and 314 (e.g., as might be manifested through the adjustment of the degrees to which respective generators 311 and 312 resist the turning of their respective water turbines) will also tend to impart a turning torque to the example.

[0336] FIG. 27 shows a side sectional view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 21-26, where the section is taken along the section line 27-27 specified in FIGS 25 and 26.

[0337] As the example 300 moves up and down in response to passing waves, water inside inertial water tube 302 / 321 tends to move up and down. When the level 327 of the water inside the inertial water tube 302 / 321 rises high enough to reach the ejection pipes, e.g., 325, water will flow from the vertical inertial water tube 302 / 321 and through the ejection pipes, e.g., 325, and flow into a respective water reservoir, e.g., 308, from a point and / or aperture, e.g., 328, that is adjacent to the approximately circular interior wall of the respective reservoir, e.g., 308. The approximately tangential discharge of water from the ejection pipes, e.g., 325, into the respective water reservoirs, e.g., 308, tends to induce a swirling motion or vortex within the water trapped within each respective water reservoir. Thus, the sectional profile of the water within each reservoir can tend to be similar to that of a vortex wherein the level 329 of the water near the center of the vortex tends to the lower than the level 330 of the water at its periphery.

[0338] Adjacent to, and attached to, an upper exterior surface of each water reservoir, e.g., 306, is a generator, e.g., 310. Depending from, and operatively connected to, each generator, e.g., 310, is a turbine shaft, e.g., 331. A lower end of each shaft, e.g., 331, is connected to a water turbine, e.g., 332. Water, e.g., 330, from each water reservoir drains and / or flows into an effluent pipe, e.g., 319, wherein the rotational kinetic energy and head pressure of the flowing water imparts rotational kinetic energy to a respective water turbine, e.g., 332, therein. Water that flows through and past each water turbine is discharged into the body of water 301 through an effluent pipe discharge mouth at a lower end of each respective effluent pipe, e.g., 319, thereby generating lateral thrust that tends to push against the example in a direction normal to the example's vertical longitudinal axis and / or approximately parallel to the resting surface 301 of the body of water on which the example floats.

[0339] Within the hollow interior of hollow chamber 304 is water ballast 333. A pump (not shown) allows the example's control system (not shown) to alter, adjust, and / or control, the level, volume, and / or mass, of the water ballast within the hollow chamber 304, thereby allowing the example's control system to adjust, and / or control, the mass of the example, its displacement, its draft, and its waterline 334. When the mass of the ballast 333 is reduced, the example tends to rise in the water concomitantly lowering its waterline and decreasing its draft. Because the bottom portion of hollow chamber 304 is tapered, and because the cross-sectional area of the hollow chamber 304 decreases with increasing vertical distance from the top of the example, e.g., the top of antenna 316, a lowering of the example's waterline 334 tends to reduce the example's waterplane area. This in turn tends to reduce the fraction of the available wave energy that is imparted to the example, while also increasing the energy threshold that must be reached in order for water rising within inertial water tube 302 / 321 to reach and escape the ejection pipes. Thus, reducing the water ballast 333 tends to insulate, at least to a degree, the example from excessive wave energy as might be encountered during storms.

[0340] On the other hand, when wave conditions are of and / or at suboptimal energy levels, e.g., during relatively calm conditions, then the example's control system (not shown) can increase the level 333 of the water ballast, thereby raising the waterline, increasing the example's draft, and increasing the example's waterplane area, and thereby increasing the fraction of the available wave energy that is imparted to the example. The raising of the example's waterline also can tend to reduce the energy threshold that must be reached in order for water rising within inertial water tube 302 / 321 to reach and escape the ejection pipes. Thus, in an energy-poor wave climate, raising the waterline will tend to allow a greater volume of the less energetic water oscillating within the tube 302 / 321 to be collected and discharged through the example's water turbines. Increasing the water ballast 333 tends to compensate, at least to a degree, for the reduction in energy generation that an example might otherwise experience as a consequence of reduced wave energies.

[0341] It should be noted that, as in other examples of this disclosure, the shown figure (and in particularly the vertical length of the cylindrical tube segment 302 / 321) is not necessarily to scale. In particular, the vertical length of the inertial water tube 302 / 321 (measured from bottom 318 to top 315) may be 2, 3, 4, 5, or more, times the maximum horizontal diameter of the hollow chamber 304. In an example of the present disclosure, the vertical length of the inertial water tube 302 / 321 can be 100-200 meters or more, while the horizontal diameter of the hollow chamber 304 is 40-50 meters. In another example of the present disclosure, the vertical length of the inertial water tube 302 / 321 can be 25 meters, while the horizontal diameter of the hollow chamber 304 can be 8 meters.

[0342] FIG. 28 shows a top-down sectional view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 21-27, where the section is taken along the section line 28-28 specified in FIG. 22.

[0343] In response to wave-induced motion of the example, water oscillates approximately vertically and / or longitudinally within the central vertical inertial water tube 321 of the example 300. Occasionally, water rises within inertial water tube 321 with enough vigor that some of that water enters, and is subsequently discharged from, ejection pipes 322-325. Water discharged from ejection pipes 322-325 is ejected and / or discharged 335-338 into water reservoirs 305-308 in a direction approximately tangential to vertical longitudinal axes of approximate radial symmetry of the respective reservoirs 305-308. Because of their approximately circular horizontal cross-sections, especially at the vertical level at which water is discharged into them by the ejection pipes 322-325, water discharged 335-338 into water reservoirs 305-308 tends to induce swirling motions, e.g., 339-342, in the water contained within the reservoirs.

[0344] In order to reach, and then be discharged from, ejection pipes, water within an example's inertial water tube 321 must achieve enough gravitational potential energy to rise as high as the example's ejection pipes. The induction and / or creation of swirling in the waters stored within an example's water reservoir(s) permits not only the capture of a portion of the gravitational potential energy of the water ejected from an example's inertial water tube, it also permits the capture of a portion of any kinetic energy remaining within the discharged water (i.e., the amount of the kinetic energy, if any, that remains within the rising and / or discharged water after the requisite amount of kinetic energy in the rising water has been converted into the gravitational potential energy required by the water to reach the ejection pipes).

[0345] The water captured within the water reservoirs possesses head pressure potential energy (i.e., gravitational potential energy), and, because of the induced swirling motion of that water, the water also possesses rotational kinetic energy (i.e., angular momentum). By capturing and extracting portions of both of these types of energy, the efficiency of an example of the present disclosure is increased.

[0346] FIG. 29 shows the horizontal sectional view of FIG. 28 from a perspective orientation, and illustrates the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 21-28.

[0347] In the example configuration illustrated in FIGS. 21-29, the water discharged from the four ejection pipes 322-325 induces vortices that are counter-rotating, i.e., the vortices of reservoirs 305 and 307 swirl in directions opposite the vortices of reservoirs 306 and 308.

[0348] FIG. 30 shows a bottom-up view of an example of the current disclosure that is similar to the one illustrated in FIGS. 21-29. And, the view illustrated in FIG. 30 is identical to the one illustrated in FIG. 26 except that the one illustrated in FIG. 30 incorporates a partition, wall, divider, and / or wall 343-344 within its inertial water tube 302 that extends from the bottom-most mouth of inertial water tube up to the uppermost wall 326 of the inertial water tube. Partition 343-344 creates two distinct and operationally independent channels within inertial water tube 302 through which water may flow and / or oscillate up and down, e.g., in response to wave-induced motions of the example.

[0349] An upper part or portion 344 of the partition dividing tube 302 into two adjacent channels 345 and 346 is angled as its centermost longitudinal angle maintains a constant angular orientation with respect to the vertical longitudinal axis of the upper tapered portion of tube 302. A lower part or portion 343 of the partition dividing tube 302 into two adjacent channels 345 and 346 is approximately parallel to the vertical longitudinal axis of the cylindrical lower portion of tube 302.

[0350] The lower portion 343 of the partition wall is parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the inertial water tube, but is not positioned at the center of the inertial water tube, i.e., the partition wall is offset 347 from the longitudinal axis and / or from the lateral center of the inertial water tube 302. Because the partition wall 343 does not pass through the center of the inertial water tube 302, and is instead offset from such a central position, the flow-normal cross-sectional area of inertial water tube channel 345 is less than the flow-normal cross-sectional area of inertial water tube channel 346. Therefore, the average volume and / or mass of the water within inertial water tube channel 345 will tend to be less than the average volume and / or mass of the water within inertial water tube channel 346, and each channel will likely be most responsive to different wave heights, wave periods, wave states, and / or wave conditions.

[0351] Water flowing and / or oscillating within inertial water tube channel 345 occasionally flows into and out of ejection pipes 322 and 323, thereby flowing into respective water reservoirs 305 and 306. Water flowing and / or oscillating within inertial water tube channel 346 occasionally flows into and out of ejection pipes 324 and 325, thereby flowing into respective water reservoirs 307 and 308.

[0352] Because inertial water tube channels 345 and 346 have different relative cross-sectional areas, different included angles, and, in light of their approximately equal lengths, different volumes, each of the two inertial water tube channels will tend to oscillate most vigorously at different resonant frequencies, and will therefore tend to supplement their respective reservoirs at differing rates with respect to the same wave climate. However, and of greater benefit, will be their tendency to extend the range of wave climates over which at least one of the example's two inertial water tube channels is supplementing its respective reservoirs at a relatively high rate.

[0353] FIG. 31 shows the bottom-up view of FIG. 30 from a perspective orientation, and illustrates the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIG. 30, which is similar to the example illustrated and discussed in FIGS. 21-29.

[0354] FIG. 32 shows a side sectional view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 30 and 31, where the section is taken along the section line 32-32 specified in FIG. 30. The example illustrated in FIG. 32 is identical to the one illustrated and discussed in FIGS. 21-29 except that it contains a partition or dividing wall 343-344 that divides its inertial water tube into two channels 345 and 346 which are of unequal volume. Within the lower cylindrical portion 302 of inertial water tube the dividing wall 343 is approximately vertical and parallel to the central vertical longitudinal axis of the tube 302 / 321. However, at a vertical position 348, approximately equal to the plane and / or point 349 at which the lower cylindrical portion 302 of the tube transitions to a conical tapered portion 321 wherein the flow-normal cross-sectional area begins to progressively decrease, the approximately vertical portion 343 of the partition wall that is approximately parallel to the vertical longitudinal axis of the tube 302 / 321 transitions to an angled portion 344 of the partition wall that has an approximately constant angular orientation with respect to the tube's vertical longitudinal axis. The upper end 344 of the partition wall is connected to the upper wall 326 of the inertial water tube. Thus, water rising to a sufficient height within tube 302 / 321 is forced to exit through one of the two ejection pipes on either side of the partition wall.

[0355] In the example configuration and / or operational state illustrated in FIG. 32 the water 327A within inertial water tube channel 345 is descending 350, and some of the water therein is correspondingly flowing out 317A of that channel's lower mouth 318A. By contrast, the water 327B within inertial water tube channel 346 is rising 351 and some of the water therein is correspondingly flowing into 317B the inertial water tube channel through that channel's lower mouth 318B. Because the two inertial water tube channels 345 and 346 have different dimensions, flow-normal cross-sectional areas (with respect to any horizontal plane), included angles, and volumes, they will tend to have different resonant frequencies and therefore they will tend to produce optimal and / or maximal flows of water, and / or rates of water ejection, through their respective ejection pipes, and into their respective water reservoirs, e.g., 306 and 307, with respect to wave conditions of different wave amplitudes (and / or spectra or ranges of wave heights or amplitudes, e.g., with respect to different significant wave heights) and / or different wave periods (and / or spectra or ranges of wave periods, e.g., with respect to different dominant wave periods).

[0356] FIG. 33 shows the sectional view of FIG. 32 from a perspective orientation, and illustrates the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 30-32, which, with the exception of a single modification is the same example that is illustrated and discussed in FIGS. 21-29. In this perspective sectional view, only the structural elements are included in the illustration, and all water is omitted for the sake of clarity.

[0357] FIG. 34 shows a top-down sectional view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 30-33, which, with the exception of a single modification, is the same example that is illustrated and discussed in FIGS. 21-29. The sectional view illustrated in FIG. 34 the same as the one illustrated in FIG. 28 except that the example illustrated in FIG. 34 includes a partition and / or dividing wall 344 that separates its inertial water tube into greater and lesser inertial water tube channels 345 and 346. The sectional views illustrated in FIGS. 28 and 34 are taken along the section line 28-28 specified in FIG. 22.

[0358] Any water that rises to the top of inertial water tube 321 within inertial water tube channel 345 is forced by wall 344 to exit through one of the ejection pipes 322 or 323. Likewise, any water that rises to the top of inertial water tube 321 within inertial water tube channel 346 is forced by wall 344 to exit through one of the ejection pipes 324 or 325. And, because of their tendency to be characterized by different resonant frequencies, the water within each inertial water tube channel 345 and 346 will tend to exhibit a maximum rate of flow into its respective reservoirs in response to different wave climates.

[0359] FIG. 35 shows a side perspective view of an example of the current disclosure.

[0360] The buoyant example 400 floats adjacent to an upper surface 401 of a body of water over which waves tend to pass. The example incorporates four inertial water tubes each of which is comprised of a lower cylindrical portion, e.g., 402-404, a conical middle portion, e.g., 405-407, and an upper curved cylindrical portion, e.g., 408-410. The conical portions of the four inertial water tubes, e.g., 405-407, are attached to a central and / or centermost approximately frusto-conical hollow chamber 411, enclosure, buoy, and / or portion, that buoyantly holds the example at the surface 401 of the body of water, and / or imbues the example with an average density sufficiently less than that of that of water so that the example floats adjacent to the surface 401 of a body of water.

[0361] As the example rises and falls in response to waves traveling across the surface 401 of the body of water on which the example floats, water enters and leaves, e.g., 412-414, the inertial water tubes, e.g., 402-407, through the respective lower mouths, e.g., 415, at the base of each inertial water tube, and the water within each inertial water tube tends to move up and down, and / or oscillate, in a direction approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis of the respective inertial water tube. Occasionally, water rises within one or more of the example's inertial water tubes with sufficient speed, energy, momentum, and / or force, to cause a portion of that water to enter, and pass through, the ejection pipes, e.g., 408-410, at the upper end of each inertial water tube. Each inertial water tube's respective ejection pipe enters a central, shared, and / or common, water reservoir 416 through a space, e.g., 417-418, in a side wall of the water reservoir 416. Water is discharged into the water reservoir 416 from each ejection pipe in a direction that is approximately tangential to the flow-normal, and / or horizontal, cross-section of the water reservoir. Because of its tangential discharge and / or ejection into the water reservoir, any residual kinetic energy, speed, and / or momentum, in the water discharged from an ejection pipe will induce, and / or magnify, a swirling motion in the water within the water reservoir 416.

[0362] Water within the water reservoir flows and / or drains back to the body of water 401 on which the example floats through an effluent pipe within which is a water turbine that is operatively connected to a generator 419. The generator 419 is attached to an upper exterior surface of the water reservoir 416. At least a portion of the electrical power generated by generator 419, and / or by the example, is used to power a plurality of computing devices, circuits, modules, and / or systems, contained within a computer chamber 420, enclosure, box, container, housing, and / or locker. Some of the computing devices within computer chamber 420 perform and / or execute computational tasks specified by code, programs, instructions, and / or data transmitted by, and / or originating from, a remote transmitter (e.g., a satellite) and received as encoded electromagnetic signals by a phased array antenna 421 attached to an upper exterior surface of the water reservoir 416. Some of the computational results produced by the computing devices within computer chamber 420 are transmitted to a remote receiver (e.g., a satellite) by the phased array antenna 421.

[0363] The computer chamber is in thermal contact with a portion of the water reservoir's 416 wall thereby allowing a portion of the heat generated by the computing devices within the computer chamber 420 to pass into the water within the water reservoir 416, and thereby facilitating the passive and / or conductive cooling of those computing devices.

[0364] Some of the electrical power generated by generator 419, and / or by the example, is used to energize one or both of a pair of ducted fans, e.g., 422, which are used to propel and steer the example across the surface 401 of the body of water on which the example floats, and / or to maintain the example's geospatial position at the surface 401 of that body of water. In some examples, the geospatial position of the device is monitored and / or controlled using GPS signals.

[0365] FIG. 36 shows a side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIG. 35.

[0366] Ducted fan 422 is energized, at least in part, by electrical power generated by the example 400, and / or the example's generator 419, and it blows 423 a forceful stream of air, generating thrust, thereby tending to propel the example forward (i.e., to the left with respect to the example orientation illustrated in FIG. 36) across the surface 401 of the body of water on which it floats.

[0367] At the bottom end of each of the example's four inertial water tubes, e.g., 402-404, is a lower mouth, e.g., 415, 424 and 425, into and out of which tends to flow, e.g., 412-414, water when the example rises and falls in response to passing waves.

[0368] FIG. 37 shows a front-side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 35 and 36.

[0369] Four inertial water tubes, e.g., 406, 407, and 427, each of which incorporates a lower cylindrical portion 403, 404, 426, and 402 (in FIG. 35) and an upper an approximately frusto-conical middle portion 406, 407, 427, and 405 (in FIG. 35), tend to be partially filled with water, and that water tends to oscillate up and down, in directions approximately parallel to the longitudinal axes of their respective inertial water tubes, in response to wave-induced oscillations of the example. Each inertial water tube contains an upper, curved ejection pipe 409, 410, 428, and 408 (in FIG. 35). At an upper end of each ejection pipe (i.e., at the upper and / or distal end of each ejection pipe 408-410 and 428 is an upper mouth through water may be discharged and / or ejected into water reservoir 416. And, at a lower end of each inertial water tube is a lower mouth 424, 425, 429, and 415 (in FIGS. 35 and 36), through which water inside the inertial water tubes communicates with the water 401 outside the example by freely moving 413, 414, 430, and 412 (in FIGS. 35 and 36) through the respective lower mouths.

[0370] A pair of ducted fans 422 and 431 provide propulsive thrust to the example. And, by varying the amount of thrust generated by each fan, the example is able to turn and steer a course across the surface 401 of the body of water, and / or to maintain a particular desired geospatial location at the surface 401 of that water (e.g., in conjunction with mooring so as to reduce the requisite strength, and / or to extend the lifetime, of that mooring). The ducted fans are energized, at least in part, with electrical energy generated by generator 419.

[0371] FIG. 38 shows a top-down view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 35-37.

[0372] A pair of ducted fans 422 and 431 generate propulsive flows 423 and 432, respectively, that provide propulsive thrust to the example. And, by varying the amount of thrust generated by each fan, relative to the amount generated by the other fan, the example is able to turn and steer a course. A control module and / or system (not shown) controls the thrust generated by each fan, and tracks the geospatial position of the example, and thereby tends to be able to move the example, and / or to hold the position of the example, as programmed, instructed, and / or desired (with respect to other factors, such as wave climate, winds, antenna gain, e.g., with respect to a particular remote antenna, etc.).

[0373] FIG. 39 shows a bottom-up view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 35-38.

[0374] The example incorporates four inertial water tubes 402-404 and 426, attached to a central hollow chamber 411, enclosure, buoy, and / or portion. Water within the four inertial water tubes tends to oscillate vertically, occasionally reaching and discharging water from tube-specific upper mouths, into a water reservoir through four respective ejection pipes 408-410 and 428 (note that the bottom-up illustration in FIG. 39 shows the lower end and / or orifice of each ejection pipe, and not the upper mouth through which water is ejected into the water reservoir). At a bottom wall 433 of the hollow chamber 411, enclosure, buoy, and / or portion, is an effluent pipe 434 through which water from the example's water reservoir flows and / or drains back into the body of water (401 in FIGS. 35-37) on which the example floats. As water flows from the water reservoir through the effluent pipe and back into the body of water on which the example floats, it passes through and imparts energy to a water turbine 435 positioned within the effluent pipe. Water turbine 435 is operatively connected to a generator (not visible) which produces electrical energy in response to the water turbine's rotations.

[0375] FIG. 40 shows a side sectional view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 35-39, where the section is taken along the section line 40-40 specified in FIGS. 38 and 39.

[0376] As example 400 moves up and down in response to waves across the surface 401 of the body of water on which the example floats, water, e.g., 436 and 437, within the example's four inertial water tubes 402, 404, 426 and 403 (in FIG. 35) moves up and down in a direction that is approximately parallel to the longitudinal axes of the respective inertial water tubes. Occasionally, water rises high enough and / or fast enough to travel through an inertial water tube's ejection pipe, e.g., 408 and 428. Water reaching and traveling through an ejection pipe is discharged, e.g., 438 and 439, from the respective upper mouth, e.g., 408B, of the ejection pipe and is subsequently deposited into water reservoir 416 wherein the discharge tends to add angular momentum and / or rotational kinetic energy to the water 440 within the water reservoir. When the water 440 within the water reservoir 416 swirls it will tend to adopt a flow-parallel, and / or vertical, cross-sectional profile typical of a vortex wherein the surface 441 of the water will tend to be lower in the middle (e.g., near the longitudinal axis of radial symmetry of the vortex) than at the periphery 442.

[0377] Water within the water reservoir 416 flows and / or drains back into the body of water 401 on which the example floats through an effluent pipe 434 in which is positioned a water turbine 435. The combination of the swirling motion and head pressure of the water 440 flowing into effluent pipe 434 from water reservoir 416 tends to impart rotational kinetic energy and / or a torque to the water turbine 435 and to the turbine shaft 443 connected and / or attached to it. The turbine shaft 443 communicates at least a portion of the torque and / or rotational kinetic energy, produced by the water turbine 435 in response to water flowing through effluent pipe 434, to the generator 419 nominally resulting in the generation of electrical power. Water flows 445 out of, and / or is discharged by, the example through an effluent pipe discharge mouth 446 at a lower end of effluent pipe 434.

[0378] The ejection pipes, e.g., 408 and 428, enter the water reservoir through portals, apertures, spaces, and / or gaps, e.g., 444, in upper portions of the walls of the reservoir 416, and if the rate at the example's ejection pipes discharge water into the water reservoir exceeds, for too long a time, the rate at which water flows out of the water reservoir through effluent pipe 434, then water may leak out of the water reservoir through those apertures, e.g., 444.

[0379] A portion of the electrical power generated by generator 419 is used to energize a portion of a plurality of the computing devices 447 positioned, mounted, and / or housed, within a computer chamber 420. And a portion of the heat generated by those computing devices 447 tends to be transmitted to the water within the water reservoir 416 through a water reservoir wall 448 shared by, and / or in contact with, a wall of the computer chamber 420.

[0380] An adjustable amount, volume, and / or mass of water ballast 449 is held within the hollow chamber 411, enclosure, buoy, and / or portion, and adds to the mass of the example 400 thereby affecting the inertia of the example as well as the height of the example's waterline 450. A pump (not shown) is controlled by the example's control system (not shown), thereby enabling the control system to pump water 401 from outside the example into the hollow chamber 411, thereby increasing the volume and / or mass of the example's water ballast 449 and tending to raise the example's waterline 450 and increase the example's waterline draft, and to pump water out of the example's water ballast 449, thereby decreasing the volume and / or mass of the example's water ballast and tending to lower the example's waterline 450 and reduce the example's waterline draft.

[0381] In heavy seas, when wave energies are greater than normal, the example's control system can reduce the mass of the water ballast 449 thereby lowering the example's waterline 450 and decreasing the example's draft, and, since the hollow chamber 411 and / or buoy is conical and its cross-sectional area, and therefore its waterplane area, decreases as the waterline is lowered, the lowering of the example's waterline 450 tends to reduce the example's sensitivity to the waves, thereby tending to reduce its energy absorption efficiency, which may tend to protect the example from damage that might result from excessively vigorous energy absorption.

[0382] In periods of relative calm, the example's control system can increase the mass of the water ballast 449, thereby raising the example's waterline 450, and thereby tending to increase the example's waterplane area, to increase the example's sensitivity to the ambient waves, and to increase its energy absorption efficiency, which may permit the example to maintain a near nominal, and / or an acceptable, rate of energy production during weak wave states.

[0383] A compartment 451 within a lower portion of the hollow chamber 411 and / or buoy provides the example with a degree of permanent buoyancy.

[0384] Water moves 412, 414, 430, and 413 (in FIG. 35) in and out of the mouths 415, 452, 429, and 424 (in FIG. 36) at the lower ends of the example's inertial water tubes 402, 404, 426 and 403 (in FIG. 35).

[0385] FIG. 41 shows a top-down view of a horizontal section of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 35-40, where the section is taken along the section line 41-41 specified in FIG. 36.

[0386] Water that rises with sufficient force, momentum, speed, and / or kinetic energy to reach an ejection pipe 408, 409, 410, or 428, will flow out 438, 452, 453, or 439, respectively, through the ejection pipe's respective upper mouth, and will tend to enter the water reservoir 416 near the periphery of the water reservoir and with a tangential orientation, thereby tending to induce a swirling motion in the water within the water reservoir. Water within the water reservoir 416 flows down through effluent pipe 434 therein tending to engage and energize water turbine 435 and to induce, produce, and / or create a torque and / or rotational kinetic energy therein. The turning of water turbine 435 causes a rotation in the attached turbine shaft 443 which is operatively connected to a generator (419 in FIG. 35) thereby causing the generator 419 to generate electrical power.

[0387] FIG. 42 shows a side-view of an example of the current disclosure that is similar to the one illustrated in FIGS. 35-41. And, the view illustrated in FIG. 42 is identical to the view illustrated in FIG. 36 except that with respect to the example illustrated in FIG. 42 each of the four inertial water tubes are of different lengths, thereby imparting to each inertial water tube a different and / or unique resonant frequency, and causing each inertial water tube to exhibit optimal and / or maximal outflow and / or ejections into the shared water reservoir in response to wave climates of differing wave amplitudes, periods, significant wave heights, and / or dominant wave periods.

[0388] Inertial water tube 406 / 403, with lower mouth 424, is the shortest of the example's four inertial water tubes. And, inertial water tube 405 / 402, with lower mouth 415, is the longest. With respect to the example illustrated in FIG. 42, the lengths of the example's inertial water tubes vary with respect to the lengths of their respective lower cylindrical portions, whereas the lengths and / or other dimensions of the upper tapered portions of those inertial water tubes are approximately identical.

[0389] The scope of the present disclosure includes examples with any number of inertial water tubes, any inertial water tube shape(s), any inertial water tube length(s), any inertial water tube volume(s), inertial water tubes that taper with any included angle(s), and inertial water tubes with complex shapes (e.g., tubes not simply comprised of cylindrical and frusto-conical segments). The scope of the present disclosure includes examples with inertial water tubes whose lengths differ as a result of differences in the lengths of the cylindrical portions of those inertial water tubes (as in the example of FIG. 42). The scope of the present disclosure includes examples with inertial water tubes whose lengths differ as a result of differences in the lengths of their tapered portions. The scope of the present disclosure includes examples with inertial water tubes whose lengths differ as a result of differences in the included angles of their tapered portions. The scope of the present disclosure includes examples with inertial water tubes whose lengths differ as a result of any attribute, characteristic, dimension, pattern, design, and / or scale. The scope of the present disclosure includes examples with inertial water tubes whose lengths differ and whose inertial water tubes do not have discrete cylindrical and / or frusto-conical portions, but rather have continuously, smoothly, and / or occasionally varying wall slopes, diameters, etc., including inertial water tubes having shapes that can be characterized as hourglass-shaped, hyperboloid-shaped, hemi-hyperboloid-shaped, half-hyperboloid-shaped, parabola-shaped, bell-shaped, and bell-bottom-shaped.

[0390] FIG. 43 shows the side view of FIG. 42 from a perspective orientation, illustrating from a perspective orientation the differing lengths of each of the example's four inertial water tubes.

[0391] FIG. 44 shows a side perspective view of an example of the current disclosure.

[0392] The buoyant example 500 floats adjacent to an upper surface 501 of a body of water over which waves tend to pass. The example incorporates a buoyant platform or buoy 502 which causes the example to float upon the water 501. Attached to, and passing through, the buoy 502 is a nominally vertical, approximately cylindrical tube 503 which incorporates an inertial water tube (not visible) and a hollow chamber within which a water ballast of variable volume is located. A plurality of struts 504 strengthen the attachment of the cylindrical tube 503 to the buoy 502, reducing the likelihood that the changing buoyant forces applied to the buoy 502, in conjunction with the drag forces inhibiting lateral motions of the lower portion 503B of the cylindrical tube, will result in a weakening of the attachment and / or alignment of the cylindrical tube 503 to the buoy 502.

[0393] As the example 500 moves up and down in response to passing waves, water within the example's inertial water tube will tend to move up and down as well. In response to wave motion at and / or against the example, water will tend to enter and leave 505 the inertial water tube's lower mouth 506. Occasionally, water will rise within the inertial water tube with sufficient energy, speed, and / or to a sufficient height, that a portion of that water will exit, and / or be ejected from, the inertial water tube through an upper mouth (not visible) at its upper end, thereafter tending to enter a water reservoir 507.

[0394] If water rises within the inertial water tube so quickly, and / or with such force, that the upper mouths of the tube are unable to accommodate the requisite level of flow, then that water may continue rising within the inertial water tube. If water rises in the inertial water tube with sufficient energy or force, then a pressure activated pressure-relief valve (not visible) opens and thereby allows a portion of that rising water to exit 508, and / or be ejected from, the inertial wall tube through an upper pressure-relief nozzle 509, with the water so ejected tending to form an aerosol (which may promote cloud formation). Whether or not the pressure-activated, pressure-relief valve is open, the portion 510 of the inertial water tube that extends above the upper mouths (not visible, but positioned adjacent to the interior of the water reservoir 507) of the inertial water tube, through which water may exit the inertial water tube and enter the water reservoir, will tend to contain air and the compression of that air (e.g., when the pressure-relief valve is closed, and the air at the top of that portion 510 of the inertial water tube is trapped) will tend to occur in response to the water rising above the upper mouths of the inertial water tube, and that pocket of air will tend to act as a shock-absorbing buffer or cushion. By smoothly, gently, gracefully, and / or gradually, countering the upward acceleration of upwelling water within the inertial water tube, the air pocket in the upper portion 510 of the inertial water tube will tend to reduce structural stress, fatigue, and damage that might otherwise result from a sudden collision of upward rising water against a rigid surface.

[0395] If the water rises within the inertial water tube with enough force to rise above the upper mouths, then either the pressure-relief valve will open thereby allowing a portion of rising water to escape the inertial water tube, and thereby tending to relieve and / or reduce at least a portion of the pressure of the water rising in the inertial water tube, of the pressure-relief valve will remain closed, in which case the pocket of air trapped within the inertial water tube, adjacent to the pressure-relief valve, will tend to be compressed and thereby absorb and / or dampen at least a portion of the pressure of the water rising in the inertial water tube.

[0396] Water within the reservoir 507 tends to flow and / or drain back into the body of water 501 on which the example floats through one of three effluent pipes fluidly connected to the water reservoir. One centermost effluent pipe (not visible) contains a water turbine (not visible) that tends to receive rotational kinetic energy and / or angular momentum from the water that flows through it from the water reservoir. The water turbine is operatively connected to a generator 511 that tends to generate electrical energy in response to the rotation of the water turbine. After passing through the water turbine, water flowing out and / or back into the body of water 501 through the centermost effluent pipe will tend to generate thrust that tends to propel the example in a forward direction (e.g., in a direction approximately toward the left and into the page with respect to the example configuration illustrated in FIG. 44).

[0397] Water within the water reservoir 507 is allowed to flow, or prevented from flowing, through one or both of two lateral effluent pipes (not visible). Effluent regulation motors 512 and 513 raise and / or lower respective stoppers or plugs (not visible) that, when raised, allow water to flow through the respective lateral effluent pipes, or, when fully lowered, prevent such flow. In energetic wave climates, when water is ejected from the inertial water tube, and thereby injected into the water reservoir at a rate that exceeds the nominal and / or desired value, then water can be caused (e.g., by the example's control system - not shown) to flow out of the water reservoir 507 through one or both of the lateral effluent pipes thereby generating (additional) forward thrust that will tend to propel the example in a forward direction (e.g., in a direction toward the left and into the page with respect to the example configuration illustrated in FIG. 44). The lateral effluent pipes do not contain water turbines, and, as such, water discharged from it would tend to be more vigorous than water discharged from the centermost effluent pipe which does contain a water turbine.

[0398] By releasing water from the water reservoir 507 through two lateral effluent pipes in addition to the centermost effluent pipe, water may be released from the water reservoir at a faster rate than might otherwise be achieved through the release of water only through the centermost effluent, thereby perhaps avoiding an overflow of the water reservoir, and also thereby perhaps providing additional forward thrust and speed in a wave climate where additional speed might be helpful in maintaining the example's most desirable course and direction. In the event that the release of water from the water reservoir 507 through all three of the effluent pipes is unable to avoid the overfilling of the reservoir, then water may flow out of the water reservoir 507 through apertures 514 positioned about an upper portion of the water reservoir wall.

[0399] In conjunction with the generation of forward thrust through the release of water from the water reservoir 507, the example utilizes a rudder 515, the angular orientation of which is controlled by a motor 516, which, in turn, is controlled by the example's control system (not shown) in order to steer a course that is determined and executed by that control system.

[0400] A portion of the electrical energy generated by the generator 511 is used to energize a plurality of computing devices, circuits, modules, and / or systems positioned, stored, enclosed, and / or protected, within a computer chamber, enclosure, box, housing, locker, cavity, and / or compartment 517. A portion of those computing devices execute computational tasks for which the tasks, programs, codes, parameters, and / or data, are received from a remote computer, network, transmitter, and / or antenna via encoded electromagnetic signals received by the example's phased array antenna 518. A portion of the results, data, values, products, and / or information, generated through and / or by the execution of such remotely-received computational tasks are transmitted to a remote computer, network, receiver, and / or antenna via encoded electromagnetic signals transmitted by the example's phased array antenna 518. Computational task and / or result data might be received from, and / or transmitted to, any of a variety of remote systems, computers, networks, transceivers, and / or antennas, including, but not limited to, those incorporated within and / or accessed via: satellites, surface drones, flying drones, balloon drones, terrestrial stations, boats, planes, and submarines.

[0401] FIG. 45 shows a side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIG. 44. The lateral effluent pipe 520 controlled by effluent regulation motor 512 releases 519 water from the effluent pipe discharge mouth at its lower end 520 thereby generating forward (i.e., to the left in FIG. 45) thrust when effluent regulation motor 512 raises the plug that when fully lowered obstructs the upper mouth of that effluent pipe and prevents reservoir water from entering and flowing through it.

[0402] The example's control system (not shown) steers the example through its control of the rudder control system 516 and its rudder-turning motor, which rotates shaft 521 to which rudder 515 is fixedly attached.

[0403] FIG. 46 shows a front-side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 44 and 45.

[0404] FIG. 47 shows a back-side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 44-46. In the example configuration illustrated in FIG. 47, the effluent regulation motor 512 has raised its respective plug (not visible), as evidenced by the raised configuration and / or position of the plug rod 522 that it controls, thereby allowing water in the water reservoir 507 to flow into, through, and out of, lateral effluent pipe 520, thereby generating additional thrust to augment the thrust (if any) generated by the outflow of water from the centermost effluent pipe 523. In the example configuration illustrated in FIG. 47, the effluent regulation motor 513 has lowered its respective plug (not visible), as evidenced by the lowered configuration and / or position of the plug rod 524 that it controls, thereby preventing water in the water reservoir 507 from flowing into, through, and out of, lateral effluent pipe 525.

[0405] Because water is flowing out of lateral effluent pipe 520, but not out of lateral effluent pipe 525, the unbalanced and / or tangential component of the thrust generated by the water flowing out of lateral effluent pipe 520 will tend to generate a torque on the example, about a centermost longitudinal axis, thereby tending to cause the example to rotate in a clockwise direction (if viewed from above the example). However, the example's control system (not shown) can correct for this, or augment it, through its control of the rudder's 515 angular orientation (about the longitudinal axis of its shaft 521 (in FIG. 45) through its activation and control of rudder control system 516 and its rudder-turning motor.

[0406] FIG. 48 shows a top-down view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 44-47.

[0407] FIG. 49 shows a bottom-up view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 44-48.

[0408] FIG. 50 shows a side sectional view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 44-49, where the section is taken along the section line 50-50 specified in FIG. 48.

[0409] Within the cylindrical outer tube 503 is an inertial water tube 526 that includes a bottom-most cylindrical portion, a middle frusto-conical portion, and an upper cylindrical portion. As the example moves up and down in response to waves passing across the surface 501 of the body of water on which the example floats, water moves 505 into and out from the lower mouth 506 of the inertial water tube 526, and water 527 within the inertial water tube 526 likewise moves 528 up and down. Occasionally, water rises within inertial water tube 526 with sufficient energy, speed, and / or momentum to raise the upper level 527 of that water up to, and / or above, the upper mouths 529 of the inertial water tube, thereby causing a portion of that rising water to pass from, and / or be ejected by, the inertial water tube 526, into the water reservoir 507, thereby, at least momentarily, raising the level 530 of the water within the water reservoir 507.

[0410] If the water rising in the inertial water tube 526 is so great that the rate of up flow exceeds the rate at which water flows into the water reservoir through upper mouths 529, then the water that rises above those upper mouths may trap a pocket of air within the upper portion 510 of the tube 526, and with further rising of the level 527 of the water within the inertial water tube 526 the air within that air pocket may be compressed thereby exerting a counterforce upon the rising water, and thereby tending to cause its deceleration. If the resulting rate of deceleration in the up flow is insufficient to dissipate the momentum of the rising water to a sufficient degree, then a pressure-actuated valve 531 will open and allow a portion of the rising water to escape 508 through nozzle 509 as a spray, potentially creating an aerosol useful in the promotion of cloud formation, and cooling of the Earth.

[0411] Another example utilizes a valve 531 that is opened and closed in response to the control signals generated by the example's electronic or fluidic control system. In one such example, the valve 531 is actuated through the variation of an electrical signal, voltage, and / or current, controlled, adjusted, and / or set, by the example's control system.

[0412] A portion of the water within the water reservoir 507 flows into an effluent pipe 523 and passes over and / or through a water turbine 532 therein. As water from the water reservoir 507 flows through water turbine 532 a torque is applied and / or imparted to the water turbine. That water turbine torque is shared with a shaft 533 that is operatively connected to a generator 511. The rotation of water turbine 532 by water flowing under pressure from the water reservoir, results in the generation of electrical energy. After passing through the water turbine 532, the water flowing through effluent pipe 523 flows out of the pipe at effluent pipe discharge mouth 534 and thereby flows 535 out and / or into the body of water 501 on which the example floats in an approximately horizontal direction thereby tending to generate forward (i.e., to the left with respect to the example configuration and orientation illustrated in FIG. 50) thrust which tends to propel the example across the surface 501 of the body of water.

[0413] Within a middle portion of cylindrical outer tube 503B is buoyant material 536, positioned between the wall of the cylindrical outer tube 503B and the wall of the inertial water tube 526, which provides the example with a degree of permanent buoyancy. Above the buoyant material 536, and within the hollow gap between the wall of the cylindrical outer tube 503B and the wall of the inertial water tube 526, is water ballast 537, the volume and mass of which may be altered by a pump (not shown) that is able to pump additional water into the hollow gap and increase the volume of the water ballast, thereby tending to increase the draft of the example, and is able to pump water from the water ballast to the water 501 outside the example, thereby tending to decrease the draft of the example. By adjusting the example's amount of water ballast 537, the example's control system (not shown) is able to adjust the example's average mass, its average inertia, its average draft, its average displacement, and its waterline. The example's extraction of energy from passing waves may be optimized with appropriate adjustments of the example's inertia.

[0414] A portion of the electrical power generated by generator 511 is used to power some or all of the computing devices 538, circuits, modules, and / or systems positioned, stored, enclosed, and / or protected, within a computer chamber, enclosure, box, cavity, and / or compartment 517. A portion of the heat generated by those computing devices 538 may be conductively communicated and / or transferred to the air outside the example.

[0415] FIG. 51 shows the sectional view of FIG. 50 from a perspective orientation. In this perspective sectional view only the structural elements are included in the illustration, and all water is omitted for the sake of clarity.

[0416] Within the outer cylindrical wall or casing 503 is an inertial water tube 526. The inertial water tube has an approximately cylindrical bottom portion 539, a middle approximately frusto-conical portion 526, and an approximately cylindrical upper portion 540. At an upper end of the upper cylindrical portion 540 of the inertial water tube are a plurality of apertures 529 through which water that rises high enough within the inertial water tube is ejected, and / or flows, into the water reservoir 507.

[0417] In addition to the effluent pipe 523 through which water from water reservoir 507 flows back into the body of water on which the example floats, a pair of lateral effluent pipes, e.g., 525, allow water from the water reservoir 507 to flow back into the body of water on which the example floats generating thrust in the process. When a stopper or plug, e.g., 541, is in its lowered and / or closed position (i.e., as illustrated by plug 541 in FIG. 51), then water from the water reservoir is prevented from flowing into and / or through the respective lateral effluent pipe, e.g., 525. However, when a stopper or plug is in its raised and / or open position, and / or not in a fully lowered and / or a fully closed position, then water from the water reservoir is able to flow into and through the respective lateral effluent pipe.

[0418] Between the walls of the inertial water tube 539 / 526 / 540 and the outer cylindrical tube 503 is a hollow space 542, chamber, and / or cavity, in which water may be deposited and / or trapped as water ballast.

[0419] FIG. 52 shows a side sectional view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 44-51, where the section is taken along the section line 52-52 specified in FIG. 48.

[0420] Some of the water that rises far enough inside the inertial water tube 526 is ejected from, and / or spills into, the water reservoir 507 and is trapped there as a pool 530 of water with substantial head pressure and gravitational potential energy relative to the surface 501 of the body of water on which the example floats. Water 530 inside the water reservoir 507 returns, and / or flows back, to the body of water 501 through three effluent pipes 520, 523, and 525. Water continuously flows from the water reservoir 507 through a centermost effluent pipe 523 within which it engages, energizes, and tends to cause to rotate a water turbine 532 positioned therein. The water turbine 532 in turn rotates a turbine shaft (533 in FIG. 50) that then rotates the rotor, or some other component, of an operatively connected generator 511, thereby causing the generator to generate electrical energy.

[0421] Water can flow out of the water reservoir 507 through two additional effluent pipes 520 and 525 if and when respective pipe stoppers or plugs 543 and 541 are raised from their respective upper effluent pipe mouths 544 and 545. In the example configuration illustrated in FIG. 52, stopper 543 is raised and thereby separated from its respective and / or corresponding upper effluent pipe mouth 544, thereby permitting water 530 from the water reservoir 507 to flow through pipe 520 back into the body of water 501 on which the example floats, and to thereby generate thrust that tends to propel the example forward (i.e., into the page with respect to the example configuration and orientation illustrated in FIG. 52). In the example configuration illustrated in FIG. 52, stopper 541 is fully lowered and its respective and / or corresponding upper effluent pipe mouth 545, is therefore fully obstructed, thereby preventing the entry of water 530 from the reservoir 507 into pipe 525.

[0422] The section plane of the sectional view illustrated in FIG. 52 passes through, and removes from view, the lower effluent pipe discharge mouths of the centermost 523 and lateral 520 and 525 effluent pipes. For example, the illustrated end 520B of lateral effluent pipe 520 continues out of the page and toward the reader where water flowing through it exits the effluent pipe and returns to the body of water 501.

[0423] FIG. 53 shows the sectional view of FIG. 52 from a perspective orientation. In this perspective sectional view only the structural elements are included in the illustration, and all water is omitted for the sake of clarity. The effluent pipe 523 and the two lateral effluent pipes 520 and 525 descend from the water reservoir 507 and exit the outer cylindrical tube 503 in an approximately horizontal orientation thereby creating approximately parallel lateral (forward) thrusts in response to the discharge of water from the water reservoir through those effluent pipes.

[0424] FIG. 54 shows a back-side sectional view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 44-53, where the section is taken along the section line 54-54 specified in FIGS. 48 and 49.

[0425] FIG. 55 shows a side perspective view of an example of the current disclosure.

[0426] Example 600 floats adjacent to the surface 601 of a body of water. And, when in operation, example 600 moves up and down in waves moving across the surface 601 of the water on which it floats, and it generates electrical power from the rotation of a water turbine (not visible) positioned inside a turbine-generator assembly, compartment, and / or housing 602.

[0427] A portion of the electrical power generated by the example is used to energize and / or operate a computer array (not visible and positioned within a chamber below and adjacent to the turbine-generator assembly 602) and a phased array antenna 603. In one example, the computer array processes computational tasks that the example 600 receives by radio signals transmitted to, and converted into electrical signals by, its phased array antenna 603, or performs computational operations using input data that the example 600 receives by radio signals transmitted to, and converted into electrical signals by, its phased array antenna 603. In one example, the example and / or its computers return computational results to a computer and / or computer network on land by radio-encoded versions and / or analogues of those computational results transmitted to a remote antenna, flying drone, balloon-suspended antenna / transceiver, satellite, or other receiver, by its phased array antenna 603.

[0428] Example 600 includes several functional and / or structural elements including, but not limited to: a hollow flotation module 604 / 605 (having an approximately spherical-cap-shaped lower flotation module surface 604 and an approximately spherical-cap-shaped upper flotation module surface 605); a tube jacket wall 606; tube ballast (not visible, and positioned inside a tube ballast void between the inertial water tube 625 and the tube jacket walls 606 / 614); a turbine-generator assembly 602; an air pump 607; a turbine ingress pipe 608; an effluent pipe 609; an effluent pipe discharge mouth (not visible, and located in and / or passing through, tube jacket wall 606); a phased array antenna 603; a plurality of radial structural support fins 610; an inertial water tube (not visible, and located within hollow flotation module 604 / 605 and tube jacket wall 606, having an upper mouth at its top and a lower mouth at its bottom, and from which wave-induced ejections of water enter into, and are stored within, hollow flotation module 604 / 605), a pressure-relief tube 611, and several other elements that will be identified and discussed in subsequent figures.

[0429] Radial structural support fins 610 are connected to hollow flotation module 604 / 605, and tube jacket walls 606 / 614, and provide structural support to tube jacket walls 606 / 614 (and to the inertial water tube contained therein).

[0430] Hollow flotation module 604 / 605 is a broad, and / or large-diameter, upper structural component of the example, and has an approximately spherical or ellipsoidal curvature, with an approximately spherical bottom surface 604.

[0431] Hollow flotation module 604 / 605 is substantially hollow and its walls are substantially hermetically sealed with the exception the inertial water tube (not visible), concentrically enclosed inside of tube jacket 606 / 614, is fluidly connected to the body of water 601 on which the example floats. As shown and described in detail in subsequent figures, the inertial water tube (not visible) creates a passageway between the water below the example (below the lower mouth (not visible) of the inertial water tube) and the interior of the hollow flotation module 604 / 605, and enables water to be "pumped" into the hollow interior of the hollow flotation module, when wave-induced oscillations of the water within the inertial water tube achieve sufficient energy, height, and / or momentum to escape and / or to be ejected by the upper mouth of the inertial water tube.

[0432] Between the wall of the inertial water tube (not visible) and the wall of the tube jacket 606 is a substantially hollow, preferably rigid, enclosure that is concentric with the inertial water tube (not visible) and substantially traps, encloses, and / or holds, therein a volume of water (e.g. seawater), i.e., a tube ballast, adjacent to a bottom portion of the inertial water tube (not visible), thereby providing additional mass (inertia) to the example without substantially adding to its wet weight (i.e., the weight of the example when dry and / or free of any water less the weight of the water displaced by the example's dry portions). In some examples, a part of the tube ballast consists of and / or contains an additional volume of material denser than water, e.g. rock, iron, steel, aggregate stone or gravel, or concrete, in order to provide additional hydrostatic stability to the example.

[0433] When in operation, the up and down motions of the example due to the motion of waves acting on and / or against the example cause water in the example's inertial water tube (not visible and substantially inside the tube jacket 606 / 614) to periodically and / or occasionally be forced upward, and to be ejected into the hollow interior of flotation module 604 / 605. This periodic pumping of water, from the body of water 601 on which the example floats, into the interior of the hollow flotation module 604 / 605 via the inertial water tube tends to raise and / or increase the average pressure of the water and gas inside the hollow flotation module. When the pressure of the air and water trapped inside the hollow flotation module is sufficiently great, then water trapped, cached, and / or stored, within the interior of the hollow flotation module 604 / 605 tends to rise up from the interior of the hollow flotation module through turbine ingress pipe 608 and therethrough to flow into turbine generator assembly 602, where it tends to flow through, and / or to cause the rotation of, a water turbine therein (not visible). And, having passed through, and imparted energy to, the water turbine, the risen water then tends to flow downwardly through turbine effluent pipe 609 and emerge from effluent pipe discharge mouth (not visible; penetrates through the tube jacket wall 606) into the body of water 601.

[0434] The thrust generated by the exit of water from the effluent pipe discharge mouth (not visible) and into the body 601 of water causes the example to move through the body of water 601 in a direction substantially opposite that of the water outflow and / or discharge.

[0435] An example of the present disclosure includes, incorporates, and / or utilizes, "steering elements" including, but not limited to, multiple effluent pipe discharge mouths (whose relative flow magnitudes can be controlled and / or adjusted e.g. using a valve and / or using variations in the torque of an operationally connected water turbine), and a pair of rudders. The example can utilize its steering elements to propel and steer the example in a specific direction, and / or to a specific location. In a similar example, an electrical control system controls the steering elements in order to maintain and / or adjust the position of the example in response to electromagnetically encoded signals and / or instructions received by a phased array antenna.

[0436] The example's turbine-generator assembly 602, computer chamber (not visible), and air pump 607, are all contained on and / or within a removable spar module 612 which incorporates pad eyes, e.g., 613, that facilitate the placement and / or removal of the removable spar module 612 by a ship crane or aircraft, e.g. for servicing or replacement. In some examples, the removable spar module's removal is limited or prevented by an electronically controlled locking mechanism. In some examples, the electronically controlled locking mechanism is controlled by a computer that receives electromagnetically encoded instructions via the respective examples' phased array antennas, e.g. signals that are sent from a land-based control center or a maintenance vessel to unlock the removable spar module at a time corresponding to the presence of said maintenance vessel in the vicinity of the example.

[0437] In the example 600 illustrated in FIG. 55, the volume of water enclosed and / or entrained by the tube jacket 606 / 614 wall, and / or within the tube ballast void 647, is substantially greater at a deeper portion 614 than at an upper portion 606. And, the flow-normal and / or horizontal cross section of the tube ballast is substantially greater at a deeper portion 614 of the tube jacket than at an upper portion 606.

[0438] In some examples, the horizontal diameter of hollow flotation module 604 / 605 may be 30 meters, 40 meters, 50 meters, 60 meters, or 70 meters. In some examples, the vertical height of the example, from the top of hollow flotation module 605 (e.g. at the turbine-generator assembly 602), to the lower mouth 619 of the inertial water tube, may be 100 meters, 130 meters, 160 meters, 190 meters, or 220 meters.

[0439] In some examples, a different type of antenna, i.e., other than a phased array, and / or a different means of transmitting and / or receiving coded signals, computational tasks, and / or other forms and / or types of data, is used in place or, or in addition to, a phased array antenna. For instance, a dipole antenna or a satellite dish may be used.

[0440] FIG. 56 shows a left-side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIG. 55.

[0441] Turbine-generator assembly 602 includes a generator 615 that is operatively connected to the water turbine (not visible) inside the turbine-generator assembly 602.

[0442] Water from within the hollow flotation module 604 / 605 flows up and into the turbine-generator assembly 602 through ingress pipe 608, and imparts energy to the water turbine therein (not visible) and causes it to rotate. Water discharged from the water turbine flows out of the turbine-generator assembly 602 through effluent pipe 609 and thereafter exits through effluent pipe discharge mouth 616, thereby leaving the example 600 and entering the body of water 601 on which the example floats, and thereby tending to generate thrust that tends to move the example 600 in a "forward" direction (i.e., to the left in the example configuration and / or orientation illustrated in FIG. 56). An adjustable rudder 617 is controlled and / or adjusted by an example control system (not shown). The rudder 617 enables that example control system to steer the example so as to follow a specified and / or desirable course, e.g., such as a course and / or a destination specified in a message and / or instruction received via a radio signal captured by the example's phased array antenna 603.

[0443] As the example 600 moves up and down in response to waves passing across the surface 601 of the body of water on which the example floats, water enters and leaves 618 a lower mouth and / or aperture 619 in the inertial water tube (not visible and inside, and substantially coaxial with, the tube jacket 606 / 614).

[0444] If the pressure of the air and / or water within the hollow flotation module 604 / 605 exceeds a threshold pressure, then pressurized water from within the hollow flotation module will tend to be ejected 620 from an upper mouth and / or aperture in a pressure-relief pipe 611 thereby relieving and / or reducing that pressure, and potentially preventing damage to the example that might otherwise result from an excessive pressure within the hollow flotation module.

[0445] FIG. 57 shows a top-down view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 55 and 56.

[0446] The individual dipole antennas of which the example's phased array antenna 603 is comprised are visible on a top surface of the hollow flotation module 605. Each individual antenna element 621 (e.g., each dipole antenna) of the phased array antenna 603 is mounted to a mounting plate 622 which secures it to the hollow flotation module 605. Phased array antenna 603 enables electromagnetically encoded transmissions to be sent from, and received by, the example to remote antennas, e.g. the antenna(s) of a satellite.

[0447] The individual antenna elements, e.g., 621, of the phased array antenna 603 are arranged radially around the example's central removable spar module 612. The phased array antenna 603, the removable spar module 612, the hollow flotation module 605, and the inertial water tube (not visible), share, at least to an approximate degree, a common flow-normal and / or vertical longitudinal axis (i.e., normal to the page and at the approximate center of the circular perimeter 600 of the example with respect to the orientation of the example illustrated in FIG. 57).

[0448] The air pump 607, when activated, pumps pressurized air into the interior of the hollow flotation module 605 through air pipe 623. Air pump 607 can be used to increase the mass and / or pressure of air inside the interior chamber, and / or enclosure, of the example 600. Air pump 607 can be powered, at least in part, by electricity generated by turbine-generator assembly 602, electricity generated by a solar panel (not shown), and / or it can be directly mechanically driven by the rotating water turbine of turbine-generator assembly 602, or by any other means, mechanism, and / or source of electrical power.

[0449] Pressurized water from within hollow flotation module 605 is forced up, as a consequence of its pressure, through turbine ingress pipe 608 whereupon it flows through, engages, and causes to turn, a water turbine (not visible) inside turbine-generator assembly 602, which, in turn, causes the rotor of an operatively connected generator 615 to turn, thereby generating electrical power in response to the passage of water through the water turbine. Effluent from the water turbine flows out of the turbine-generator assembly 602 through effluent pipe 624. Water flowing out of the water turbine through effluent pipe 624 flows down and into a heat-exchanging, and / or heat-absorbing, cooling chamber (not visible) located within the removable spar module 612 and positioned directly beneath the upper wall of the removable spar module and the turbine-generator assembly 602 thereon. After flowing through the cooling chamber, the water turbine effluent flows up and into effluent pipe 609, and therethrough down to effluent pipe discharge mouth (616 in FIG. 56) where it enters the body of water 601 on which the example floats, thereby generating thrust that tends to propel the example across the surface of the water on which the example floats.

[0450] FIG. 58 shows a right-side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 55-57.

[0451] FIG. 59 shows a back-side view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 55-58.

[0452] FIG. 60 shows a right-side sectional view of the same example of the current disclosure that is illustrated in FIGS. 55-59, where the section is taken along the section line 60-60 specified in FIG. 57.

[0453] As the example moves up and down in response to the passage of waves across the surface 601 of the body of water on which the example floats, water moves 618 in and out of a lower mouth 619 of the example's inertial water tube 625. The water inside inertial water tube 625, as well as the upper surface 626 of that water, moves 627 up and down in response to the passage of waves at, around, and / or beneath, the example. Occasionally, the surface 626 of the water inside the water tube 625 rises so high, and / or with such speed, momentum, and / or kinetic energy, that it escapes an upper mouth 628 of the inertial water tube 625 and collides with a water diverter 644 and is diverted 630 laterally such that it tends to fall into the hollow 631, and / or interior space, enclosure, and / or chamber, within the hollow flotation module 604 / 605, thereby adding water to a water reservoir and / or pool 632 of water therein.

[0454] Inertial water tube 625 is a substantially cylindrical tube and is concentric and / or coaxial with both the cylindrical tube ballast wall 606 and the oblong tube ballast wall 614. Inertial water tube 625 passes vertically through, and / or within, the center of tube ballast jacket 606 / 614. Inertial water tube 625 is open to the body of water 601 on which the example floats at lower mouth 619, such that the interior of inertial water tube 625 communicates with the water outside (e.g. below) the example, and water can pass freely 618 into (upwardly) and out from (downwardly) inertial water tube 625 via lower mouth 619.

[0455] As a consequence of the ejection of water from the upper mouth 628 of inertial water tube 625, and its subsequent addition to the interior hollow, chamber, and / or enclosure 631 of the hollow flotation module, and / or the addition of pressurized air to the interior hollow, chamber, and / or enclosure 631 by air pump 607, and / or the addition of both, the pressure of both the air (occupying the upper portion of the hollow flotation module's interior hollow, chamber, and / or enclosure 631 that lies above the surface 632 of the pool of water therein) and the water 632 within that hollow, chamber, and / or enclosure 631. The pressure of the water 632 causes water to flow 633 into, and up through, the lower mouth 634 of that portion 635 of the turbine ingress pipe 608 that is connected, via pipe coupler 636, to that portion 608 of the turbine ingress pipe that is directly connected to turbine-generator assembly 602. The water flowing up through turbine ingress pipe 635 / 608 flows into, onto, and / or through, water turbine 651 thereby tending to cause that turbine to rotate.

[0456] Hollow flotation module 604 / 605 contains a hollow, chamber, enclosure, vessel, and / or void 631 that can contain quantities of water 632 and / or air (above the water 632) at various pressures, including pressures significantly elevated from atmospheric pressure. Hollow flotation module void 631 has a top interior surface defined by the upper hollow flotation module wall 605, and a bottom interior surface defined by the lower hollow flotation module wall 604 of the flotation module.

[0457] Following its passage through water turbine 651, the water that reached the water turbine via turbine ingress pipe 635 / 608 flows out of the turbine-generator assembly through effluent pipe 624 and therethrough down and into a water cooling chamber 637 where it will tend to absorb at least a portion of the h...

Claims

1. An underwater autonomous wave energy powered vessel (2358), comprising: a chamber (2300) configured to contain a quantity of air and water having a combined pressure of more than one atmosphere; a water tube (2304) having an open first end (2303) outside of the chamber (2300), and an open second end inside of the chamber (2300), and further having a reduced inner diameter adjacent the second end; an air management system configured at a first opening in the chamber (2300) for controlling a quantity of air within the chamber (2300); a water management system configured at a second opening in the chamber (2300) for controlling a quantity of water in the chamber (2300); and a second control system for operating the air management system and water management system to establish a preferred buoyancy of the vessel (2358); characterised in that the underwater autonomous wave energy powered vessel further comprises: an energy recovery system (2346) for converting and storing electrical energy from at least one of air exiting the chamber (2300), air entering the chamber (2300), water exiting the chamber (2300), and water entering the chamber (2300); a plurality of thrust generators (2311, 2312, 2318) mounted to the vessel (2358) and configured to move at least a portion of the vessel in water, the plurality of thrust generators (2311, 2312, 2318) powered by said stored electrical energy; and a first control system cooperating with the plurality of thrust generators (2311, 2312, 2318) to establish a position and an orientation of the vessel (2358).

2. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, wherein the preferred buoyancy of the vessel (2358) is selected to optimize the energy control system.

3. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, wherein the preferred buoyancy of the vessel (2358) is selected to optimize maneuverability of the vessel (2358).

4. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, wherein the air management system includes a pump (2306, 2347).

5. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, wherein the air management system includes an open pipe extending from the chamber, and a valve (2314) selectively fluidly coupling the open pipe with the chamber (2300).

6. The vessel (2358) of Claim 5, further comprising a turbine (2316) in the open pipe.

7. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, wherein the water management system includes an effluent pipe (2310), and a valve selectively fluidly coupling the effluent pipe (2310) with the chamber (2300).

8. The vessel (2358) of Claim 7, further comprising a turbine in the effluent pipe (2310).

9. The vessel (2358) of Claim 8, wherein the turbine (2316) is a two direction turbine.

10. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, further comprising a battery for storing the electrical energy, said battery at least partially powering the plurality of thrust generators (2311, 2312, 2318).

11. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, further comprising a fuel cell (2307) adapted to produce electrical energy from hydrogen and oxygen within the chamber (2300).

12. The vessel (2358) of Claim 11, further comprising an electrolyzer (2313) adapted to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water in the vessel (2358).

13. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, further comprising a phased array antenna disposed on an upper surface of the chamber (2300).

14. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, wherein the energy recovery system (2346) operates when a pressure within the chamber (2300) is above one atmosphere.

15. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, wherein the first control system is adapted to position the vessel (2358) at any desired pitch angle and roll angle relative to a longitudinal axis of the water tube (2304).

16. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, wherein the plurality of thrust generators (2311, 2312, 2318) comprises at least four longitudinal thrusters (2311) and four roll thrusters (2312, 2318).

17. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, further comprising a buoyant foam within the chamber (2304).

18. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, further comprising an electronics module mounted to an exterior of the water tube (2304), the electronics module comprising batteries, a computing system, and an electronic signal tranceiving device.

19. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, further comprising a water diverting member (2335) within the chamber (2300) and configured to laterally deflect water vertically exiting the water tube (2304).

20. The vessel (2358) of Claim 19, wherein a position of the water diverting member (2335) is longitudinally adjustable using a lift mechanism (2339).

21. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, wherein a nominal absolute pressure of a gas in the chamber (2300) is between 1.1 and 5 atmospheres.

22. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, further comprising canisters for collecting compressed gas in the chamber (2300).

23. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, further comprising a water jet tube (2308) having an inlet within the chamber (2300) below a water level inside the chamber (2300) and an outlet outside the chamber (2300) and above an elevation of the inlet.

24. The vessel (2358) of Claim 1, further comprising a gas partition within the chamber (2300) operating as an electrolyzer shroud to separate oxygen and hydrogen inside the chamber (2300).