Autonomous and unmanned wave energy conversion vessel with propulsion means.

Abstract

Autonomous and unmanned wave energy conversion vessel with propulsion means. The invention relates to the field of energy production and more specifically to the field of electrical energy production from the potential and kinetic energy of alternating swell contained in the vertical back-and-forth motion of waves, called wave energy.The autonomous, unmanned wave energy conversion vessel with propulsion means (1) consists of at least one hull (2) and at least one keel (3), characterized in that said keel (3) is mounted to move vertically on said hull (2), connected to each other by means of a power take-off system (4) integral with said hull (2), transforming the kinetic and potential energy of the waves, causing a relative motion of said keel (3) with respect to said hull (2), into electrical energy, said energy powering the elements of said vessel (1) and stored on said vessel (1). The device is particularly intended to extract electrical energy from wave motion and to store, transport, and distribute it at sea and on land.

Description

Title of the invention: Autonomous and unmanned wave energy conversion vessel with propulsion means.

[0001] The invention relates to the field of energy production and more specifically to the field of electrical energy production from the potential and kinetic energy of the alternating swell contained in the vertical back-and-forth movement of the waves, called wave energy.

[0002] The present invention relates to an autonomous and unmanned wave energy conversion vessel with propulsion means, which converts the potential and kinetic energy of the wave into electrical energy, said vessel being able to store, transport, and distribute this energy on land and at sea.

[0003] Wave energy appears as a promising renewable energy source, offering an environmentally preferable alternative to non-renewable energy sources such as oil and coal.

[0004] Most energy distribution systems do so only in a limited and predetermined manner and lack the capacity to distribute accumulated energy dynamically and adaptively. They cannot selectively distribute energy at different locations and times.

[0005] Various wave energy production devices have emerged as a potential method for capturing this energy. However, current devices have many limitations, and none of them has proven its ability to reliably and sustainably exploit the available resource, their development being limited by several factors.

[0006] Current wave energy converter technology is based on a design in which a floating body moves on the surface of the waves in phase with them, mounted movably on a second body which generally has one submerged end anchored to the seabed. The vertical oscillation of the movable floating body induced by the wave undulation is converted into electrical energy. This design is dependent on the weather and does not withstand extreme weather conditions, resulting in frequent failures, including dislocation or breakage of the anchor.

[0007] Existing wave energy devices often rely on anchors or fixings to the shoreline or the ocean floor, which limits their deployment locations. Indeed, beyond a certain depth of the ocean floor, installation costs skyrocket. In areas near the shore, the presence of these structures can also disrupt seabed ecosystems and have undesirable ecological effects.

[0008] The technologies are currently expensive because cables are needed to carry electricity to the grid. Some islands have never been able to be connected to the mainland due to the cost of these cables and their distances from the coast.

[0009] Prior art presents conversion devices that sometimes convert wave energy several times before obtaining useful energy. Their energy efficiencies are therefore rather low compared to the kinetic and potential energy exploited.

[0010] Offshore installations often require rapid human intervention for various essential maintenance and operational activities. However, these activities are hampered by the presence of waves, which can create hazardous conditions. Wave movement not only complicates safe access to offshore installations but also introduces a risk of destabilization and capsizing. This is particularly true for floating platforms, making access to offshore installations difficult, perilous, or even impossible.

[0011] Wave energy conversion technologies rarely offer a method for optimizing energy recovery that can adapt to all types of waves. One wave energy converter device exists that incorporates an element for optimizing recovered energy using ballast tanks that can be filled with water to increase their inertia. However, this technology, which is generally attached to the seabed, is not mobile, and there is no way for the device to achieve a transport configuration and optimize the location where energy is collected.

[0012] There are indeed autonomous and unmanned vessels dedicated to energy collection, but none seem to extract and convert wave energy.

[0013] The present invention aims to resolve the drawbacks of the prior art and proposes for this purpose an autonomous and unmanned wave energy conversion vessel with propulsion means, capable of converting wave energy into electrical energy in a nomadic manner and optimizing and storing, transporting and distributing this energy on land or at sea, comprising at least one hull and at least one keel, said vessel being remarkable in that said keel is mounted movably in vertical translation on said hull, connected to each other by means of a power take-off system, integral with said hull, transforming the kinetic and potential energy of the wave, causing a relative movement of said keel with respect to said hull, into electrical energy, said energy powering the elements of said vessel and stored on said vessel.

[0014] Thus, the invention proposes to extract wave energy in a mobile manner and convert it into electrical energy, as well as to store, transport and distributing it while having the advantages of adaptability to weather constraints, good energy efficiency, easy maintenance, and the choice of time and place for energy discharge.

[0015] The invention is implemented according to the embodiments and variants set out below, which are considered individually or according to any technically feasible combination.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the vessel includes at least one anchor connected to the hull by at least one line, which can be lowered and raised, and at least one beacon for locating said anchor.

[0017] Thanks to the anchor being able to be lowered and raised, it is possible to change anchoring locations. The vessel can then harness waves in deep-water areas and those with significant energy potential by deploying in the most suitable zones. Furthermore, this allows for the extraction of wave energy while adapting to the weather, thus reducing the risk of breakage of the anchor, which is usually fixed to the seabed, and the associated impacts on the ecosystem.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the propulsion means of said ship comprise at least one control unit in communication with sensors configured to measure the speed and direction of said ship, the wind force, the relative or absolute wind speed, the pitch angle of said ship, i.e. its angle of rotation around its transverse axis, the roll angle of said ship, i.e. its angle of rotation around its longitudinal axis, the height, frequency and amplitude of the swell, the forces on the hull and on said propulsion means.

[0019] This embodiment allows the vessel to move while adapting to external conditions. Thus, the sensors allow the control unit to control the vessel's propulsion systems and thereby adapt its speed, acceleration, or direction.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the propulsion means of said vessel comprise at least one autopilot device for receiving and transmitting piloting instructions, an autonomous piloting module capable of piloting said vessel during the autonomous piloting phase, the whole communicating with the control unit of the propulsion means.

[0021] This embodiment allows wave energy to be collected autonomously and without a crew being on board the vessel. This thus reduces the risks associated with energy harvesting at sea.

[0022] According to one embodiment, the power take-off system connecting the hull and the keel, transforming their relative motion into electrical energy, is composed of at least one rack and at least one pinion, said rack being connected to said keel and said pinion being connected to said hull, with at least one of said pinions connected to at least one generator arranged to be watertight and attached to the hull, said generator producing electrical energy.

[0023] This embodiment makes it possible to convert wave energy directly into electrical energy without loss of force due to friction. The efficiency is then close to 1.

[0024] According to one embodiment, the power take-off system is equipped with a braking mechanism.

[0025] This embodiment makes it possible to inhibit the relative movement between the hull and the keel in different positions, facilitating among other things navigation and allowing the power take-off system to be put in a safe position.

[0026] According to one embodiment, the ship includes ballast tanks and means for filling and emptying said ballast tanks.

[0027] This embodiment allows, among other things, the management of the roll and pitch of the ship if the ballast tanks are in the hull and the management of the immersion depth of the keel if the ballast tanks are in the keel.

[0028] According to one embodiment, a computer pilots, based on wave parameters, geolocation, tide, system commands and propulsion requirements of said ship, the filling and emptying of said ballast tanks.

[0029] This operating mode allows the filling and emptying of ballasts to be controlled and thus the immersion of the keel and hull to be adapted in order to optimize the conversion of wave energy and the navigation of the ship.

[0030] According to one embodiment, the vessel comprises storage batteries suitable for storing the energy produced by the power take-off system and capable of distributing it to the various elements of the vessel, arranged so as to be watertight and housed in a removable manner so as to be able to be loaded and unloaded, with at least one control system communicating with at least one sensor, configured to measure the temperature, current, intensity, and state of charge and discharge of said batteries. Thus, the vessel can store energy managed by a control system that communicates with sensors in order to optimize the charging and discharging of the battery.

[0031] According to one embodiment, the vessel includes at least one watertight socket and at least one locking device for said socket.

[0032] This embodiment allows the ship to discharge its energy using a suitable cable on land and at sea.

[0033] According to one embodiment, the vessel is autonomous and unmanned and includes an autonomy management system (19) consisting of several elements, with at least one telecommunications satellite (20), at least one remote control station (21) for the vessel (1), said vessel and said control station (21) comprising means for establishing a radio link (22) with said telecommunications satellite (20), said control station (21) remotely piloting said vessel (1) via said radio link (22) with suitable antennas (23), at least one communication system which may include at least one satellite receiver (25), at least one GNSS transmitter and at least one receiver with compass and compass (24), at least one obstacle detection means (26), such as a LIDAR or a camera carried by said vessel (1), a human-machine interface (27), environmental sensors (28) such as anemometers, wind vanes, radars, radio frequency interceptors, optical sensors in the visible and infrared spectrum, chemical and biological sensors, ocean current sensors, acoustic sensors, and bathymetric sensors,communicating with the various elements of the ship (1) such as the anchor locating beacon, the autopilot system (12) and its associated sensors, the computer (15) which controls the ballast tanks (14) and the battery control system (17), the whole being controllable manually or by parameters established by artificial intelligence.

[0034] GNSS is the English abbreviation for Global Navigation Satellite Systems, i.e., a global positioning system. LIDAR is the English abbreviation for Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging, i.e., a remote sensing device for obstacles.

[0035] The autonomous nature of the vessel means that it operates without human intervention. Its autonomy is managed by a system comprising numerous sensors and enabling the regulation of wave energy collection and the piloting of the vessel using all the vessel's sensors and the systems necessary for its proper functioning such as the anchor location beacon, the autopilot device and its associated sensors, the computer that controls the ballasts and the battery control system, all operating automatically by parameters established by artificial intelligence and able to be fully controlled manually through the human-machine interface.

[0036] We will now describe an example of implementation of the present invention, with reference to the attached drawings.

[0037] Fig. 1 is an overview of the ship according to one embodiment of the system comprising a satellite and a telecommunications satellite and a remote control station.

[0038] Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view AA of the ship along its axis of symmetry.

[0039] Fig. 3 schematically shows the vessel of the invention from a right-hand view with the swell.

[0040] Figure 4 presents a variant of the ship.

[0041] With reference to [Fig. 1], according to an example of an embodiment, the vessel (1), the object of the invention, is an autonomous and unmanned wave energy conversion vessel with propulsion means (1), comprising at least one hull (2) and at least one keel (3), said vessel (1) being notable in that said keel (3) is mounted movable in vertical translation on said hull (2) connected to each other by means of a power take-off system (4) integral with said hull (2), transforming the kinetic energy of the wave, which causes a relative movement of said keel with respect to said hull, into electrical energy, said energy powering the elements of said vessel (1) being able to be stored on the vessel (1).

[0042] The hull (2) carries, according to this embodiment, a single anchor (9) which can be raised and lowered.

[0043] The ship includes propulsion means (5), in this embodiment example, the propulsion means (5) consist of two engines with a propeller capable of changing the direction of the ship (1) one installed on the keel (3) and the other on the hull (2).

[0044] The hull (2) is attached to the keel (3) by a power take-off system (4) driven by the relative movement of the hull (2) and the keel (3) in response to the swell.

[0045] The ship (1) comprises, according to one embodiment, two brakes (13) capable of inhibiting the relative movement between the hull (2) and the keel (3).

[0046] The vessel (1) comprises, according to one embodiment, a range management system consisting of various antennas installed at the highest point of the vessel on the keel (3) to obtain the best reception, and a telecommunications satellite (20) which communicates bidirectionally via a radio link (22) with a remote control station (21) and with the vessel (1) via suitable antennas (23). A remote control station (21) also communicates bidirectionally with the vessel (1) via the radio link (22). In addition, a GNSS global positioning system receiver with compass and compass (24) and a satellite receiver (25)

[0047] According to one embodiment, the vessel (1) includes obstacle detection means (26). A LIDAR located at the front of the vessel (1) on the hull (2) allows it to scan its environment regularly in 360° in order to avoid obstacles.

[0048] The human-machine interface (27) is an integral part of the remote control station (21) and allows the ship to be controlled manually or via parameters established by artificial intelligence, thus allowing information to be obtained from the various sensors and systems of the ship (1).

[0049] The environmental sensors (28) are, in this embodiment, located under the hull (2).

[0050] Figure 2 shows a cross-section of the vessel (1). The hull (2) and the keel (3) are hollow and house several elements of the vessel (1), such as two control units (11) positioned next to the propulsion means (5) to facilitate their wiring. An autopilot device (12) is also located, in one embodiment, in the hull (2) near one of the two control units (11).

[0051] According to one embodiment, the keel (3) includes batteries (16) capable of storing the energy produced by the power take-off system (4). These batteries have the advantage of functioning as ballast in the keel (3). According to another embodiment, the vessel (1) also includes a battery control system (17), positioned in the keel (3) adjacent to the batteries (17), allowing the charging and discharging of the entire system to be managed.

[0052] According to one embodiment, the vessel includes at least one watertight socket (18) and at least one locking device for said socket (18) which allows power to be delivered to the shore using a suitable cable. The watertightness of the socket (18) allows this electricity to be distributed on land and at sea.

[0053] According to one embodiment, the power take-off system (4) linking the hull (2) and the keel (3) and which converts their relative motion into electrical energy is composed of a rack (6) and two pinions (7), said rack (6) being connected to said keel (3) and each pinion (7) is connected to a generator (8), themselves fixed to the hull (2), transforming the rotational motion of the pinions (7) driven by the translational motion of the rack (6) into electrical energy.

[0054] According to one embodiment, the vessel (1) has ballast tanks (14) located in the keel (3) which allow it to be raised and lowered relative to the hull (2), depending on the filling and emptying of said ballast tanks (14). Near the ballast tanks (14) in the keel (3) is the computer (15) which controls the filling of said ballast tanks (14) and therefore the raising and lowering of the keel (3) in order to optimize the extraction of wave energy.

[0055] Fig. 3 presents the ship (1) under the effect of the swell; according to this embodiment, the variation in relative movement between the keel (3) and the hull (2) can be significant.

[0056] Fig. 4 presents a second example of an embodiment presenting a variant of the keel (3).

[0057] The above embodiment examples show that the invention achieves the intended purpose and that it allows wave energy to be collected in a nomadic, optimized and adaptable manner, stored, transported and distributed at sea or on land, without occupying marine space or degrading marine fauna and flora, without the need for raw materials, without changes to the landscape, without significant cabling and maintenance costs, and without fixed port infrastructure.

[0058] The vessel that is the subject of the invention offers a dynamic and adaptive wave energy extraction system capable of supplying electricity to areas far from the grid but close to the sea, such as islands. This vessel can be easily redeployed to other areas. Unmanned and autonomous, this vessel drastically reduces the weather dependence encountered in other wave energy technologies and can contribute to providing electricity to an area without interruption.

Claims

Demands

1. Autonomous and unmanned wave energy conversion vessel with propulsion means (1), comprising at least one hull (2) and at least one keel (3), characterized in that said keel (3) is mounted movably in vertical translation on said hull (2), connected to each other by means of a power take-off system (4), integral with said hull (2), transforming the kinetic and potential energy of the waves, causing a relative movement of said keel (3) with respect to said hull (2), into electrical energy, said energy powering the elements of said vessel (1) and stored on said vessel (1), comprising ballast tanks (14) located in the keel (3) allowing the keel (3) to be raised and lowered with respect to the hull (2) according to the filling and emptying of said ballast tanks (14), means for filling and emptying said ballast tanks (14),and a computer (15) which controls the filling of said ballast tanks (14) and therefore the raising and lowering of the keel (3) with a view to optimizing energy extraction.

2. Vessel according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises at least one anchor (9) connected to the hull (2), by at least one line (10), which can be lowered and raised, and at least one beacon for locating said anchor (9).

3. Vessel according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the propulsion means (5) of said vessel (1) comprise at least one control unit (11) in communication with sensors configured to measure the speed and direction of said vessel (1), the wind force, the relative or absolute wind speed, the pitch angle of said vessel (1), the roll angle of said vessel (1), the height, frequency and amplitude of the swell, the forces on the hull and on said propulsion means (5).

4. Vessel according to claim 3, characterized in that the propulsion means (5) of said vessel (1) comprise at least one autopilot device (12) for receiving and transmitting piloting instructions, an autonomous piloting module capable of piloting said vessel (1) during the autonomous piloting phase, the whole communicating with the control unit (11) of the propulsion means (5).

5. Vessel according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the power take-off system (4) connecting the hull (2) and the keel (3), transforming their relative motion into electrical energy, is composed of at least one rack (6) and at least one pinion (7), said rack (6) being connected to said keel (3) and said pinion (7) being connected to said hull (2), with at least one of said pinions (7) connected to at least one generator (8) arranged so as to be watertight and integral with the hull (2), said generator (8) producing electrical energy.

6. Vessel according to claim 5, characterized in that the power take-off system (4) is equipped with a braking mechanism (13).

7. Vessel according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the computer (15) controls, according to the parameters of the swell, geolocation, tide, system commands and propulsion requirements of said vessel (1), the filling and emptying of said ballast tanks (14).

8. Vessel according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises storage batteries (16) capable of storing the energy produced by the power take-off system (4) and capable of distributing it to the various elements of the vessel (1), arranged so as to be made watertight and housed in a removable manner so as to be able to be loaded and unloaded, with at least one control system (17) communicating with at least one sensor, configured to measure the temperature, current, intensity, state of charge and discharge of said batteries (16).

9. Vessel according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it comprises at least one watertight socket (18) and at least one locking device for said socket (18).

10. A vessel according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is autonomous and unmanned and comprises an autonomy management system (19), with at least one telecommunications satellite (20), at least one remote control station (21) for the vessel (1), said vessel and said control station (21) comprising means for establishing a radio link (22) with said telecommunications satellite (20), said control station (21) remotely piloting said vessel (1) via said radio link (22) with suitable antennas (23), and at least one communication system which may include at least one satellite receiver (25), at least one GNSS transmitter and at least one GNSS receiver with compass and compass (24), at least one means of obstacle detection (26), such as a LIDAR or a camera carried by said vessel (1), a human-machine communication interface (27), environmental sensors (28) such as anemometers, wind vanes, radars, radio frequency interceptors, optical sensors in the visible and infrared spectrum, chemical and biological sensors, ocean current sensors, acoustic sensors, and bathymetric sensors, communicating with the various elements of the vessel (1) such as the anchor locating beacon, the autopilot device (12) and its associated sensors, the computer (15) which controls the ballasts (14) and the battery control system (17), the whole being able to be controlled manually or by parameters established by artificial intelligence.

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