A floating platform that tethers a kite that has been raised into the air.

Abstract

In a floating body 1 that moores a kite 4, such as an aerial wind power generation kite, which is raised into the air, with a tether 3a, the tether 3a connected to the kite 4 is prevented from getting caught on any protruding parts of structures such as a sail 5a on the deck 2a of the floating body 2 that protrude outwards. [Solution] In a floating watercraft 1, structures 5a, 5b, and 5c, such as sails, having multiple outwardly protruding parts are provided on the deck 2a, and a tether 3a extends from the deck to a kite 4 that is raised into the air, a linear member 6 is stretched between the tips t of the protruding parts of the structures.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a floating body on water that moors a kite lifted in the air, such as a kite for airborne wind power generation, and more specifically, to a floating body on water on which a sail, a tail and / or a boom, and a mooring device for a tether connected to a kite lifted in the air are installed on a deck.

Background Art

[0002] As one method of obtaining renewable energy, a method has been proposed and is being put into practical use in which a kite is lifted from a floating body on water and power is generated by the wind force received by the kite. For example, in Patent Document 1, a sailing ship including a hull equipped with a sail, a kite connected to the hull via a tether, a lateral force generating section that generates a lateral force in a direction substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the hull, a steering device that controls the direction of the bow of the hull, and a control section that controls at least one of the angle of the sail and the steering device so that the tension of the kite is reduced by the lateral force is used in an airborne wind power generation system so that it is possible to suppress a decrease in power generation efficiency with less energy.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Referring to Figure 3, in the configuration described above, where a kite 4 moored by a tether 3a for aerial wind power generation is lifted into the air from the deck 2a of a floating body 1 on the water surface w, the deck 2a of the floating body 1 may be provided with structures having outwardly protruding parts, such as a sail 5a that provides thrust to the floating body 2, a tail 5b that controls the direction of movement of the floating body, and a boom 5c that balances the tail and the sail. In such a configuration, depending on the direction of lifting the kite, the tether 3a connected to the kite 4 may get caught and entangled with structures on the deck 2a such as the sail 5a, tail 5b, or boom 5c, as shown by X in the figure, and if this happens, control of the kite and the sail may become impossible. Therefore, it is advantageous to have a structure on the sail or other structures of the floating body on the water to prevent entanglement with the kite's tether.

[0005] In light of the above circumstances, the main object of the present invention is to provide a configuration for a floating body that tethers a kite being raised into the air to be moored by a tether, so that the tether connected to the kite does not get caught on any protruding parts of structures such as sails on the deck of the floating body that protrude outwards. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the present invention, the above problem is solved by a floating watercraft having a structure on a deck that has a plurality of outwardly protruding parts, and a tether extending from the deck to a kite that is lifted into the air, wherein a linear member is stretched between the tips of the protruding parts on the structure.

[0007] In the above configuration, "floating body" refers to a ship or other floating body that floats on water or the ocean, and "structure" refers to any structure installed on the deck of such floating body, such as a mast, sail, tail, or boom. "Outwardly projecting portion" refers to a portion of a structure such as a mast, sail, tail, or boom that protrudes outward from its tip. The kite to be hoisted into the air may be connected to a tether that is extended from a winding device or mooring device installed on the floating body and hoisted into the air. The tether may be a metal or resin rope commonly used in this field.

[0008] In the above-described floating structure, in the present invention, a linear member is stretched between the tips of the protruding parts of the structure. Here, the linear member may be a rope made of metal or resin, similar to the tether. The tension of the linear member may be adjusted so that the linear member extends in a substantially straight line between the tips of the protruding parts. With this configuration, even if the tether moves in a direction that approaches the structure on the deck and crosses the line connecting the tips of the multiple protruding parts of the structure, depending on the direction in which the kite is raised, the linear member is stretched taut, preventing it from crossing the line connecting the tips of the protruding parts and entering between the multiple protruding parts. This prevents the tether from getting caught on the structure on the deck.

[0009] In the above configuration, it is preferable that the linear member stretched between the tips of the protruding parts of the structure is designed so that when it comes into contact with the tether, as little force as possible is applied to the structure via the linear member. Therefore, friction-reducing means may be formed on the surface of the linear member to reduce friction when it comes into contact with the tether. Specifically, such means may include, for example, a treatment applied to the surface of the linear member to create a low-friction state, or a coating that provides a low-friction state. Alternatively, the linear member may have a single central shaft and a plurality of cylindrical outer shells arranged to surround the central shaft, with each outer shell being rotatable around the central shaft. With such a configuration, even if the tether comes into contact with the linear member and applies force, that force is dissipated by the rotation of the outer shells, preventing the force from directly acting on the central shaft, and thus reducing the force acting on the structure. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] Thus, according to the configuration of the present invention, in a floating body that moores a kite, such as an aerial wind power generation kite, which is raised into the air, with a tether, even if the tether connected to the kite approaches a structure such as a sail on the deck of the floating body, the linear member stretched between the outwardly protruding portions prevents the tether from crossing the line connecting the protruding portions and thus prevents it from getting caught on the protruding portions. The configuration of the present invention is also advantageous because it can be easily achieved, as it only requires connecting the tips of the outwardly protruding portions of the structure with a linear member.

[0011] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the present invention. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a floating body that tethers a kite that has been raised into the air to which this embodiment is applied. [Figure 2]Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a linear member stretched between the tips of protruding portions of structures on the deck of a floating vessel to which this embodiment is applied. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a floating body that tethers a kite that has been raised into the air and is not to which this embodiment applies. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0013] 1...Floating body, 2...Floating body body, 2a...Deck, 3...Tether mooring device, 3a...Tether, 4...Kite, 5a...Sail, 5b...Tail, 5c...Boom, 6...Linear member, 6a...Central shaft, 6b...Outer shell, w...Water surface [Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]

[0014] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached figures, with reference to several preferred embodiments. In the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same parts.

[0015] Referring to Figure 1, in the floating body 1 to which this embodiment is applied, structures such as a sail 5a that provides propulsion to the floating body 2, a tail 5b that controls the direction of travel of the floating body 2, and a boom 5c for balancing them are provided on the deck 2a of the floating body 2 that floats on the water surface w. In addition, a tether mooring device 3 for wrapping and mooring a tether 3a is arranged on the deck 2a of the floating body 2 as shown in the figure, and the tether 3a connected to a kite 4 that is raised into the air is extended from there.

[0016] In the floating body 1 described above, as already explained in relation to Figure 3, depending on the direction of ascent of the kite 4, the tether 3a may enter between the tips of protruding parts of structures such as the sail 5a and tail 5b. When this happens, the tether 3a may get caught on the protruding part, hindering the extension and retraction of the tether 3a, and potentially making it impossible to control the kite 4 and the sail 5a, etc.

[0017] Therefore, in the present embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 1, a linear member 6 is stretched between the tips t of the portions protruding outward from structures such as the sail 5a, the tail 5b, and the boom 5c. As a result, the tether 3a is prevented from entering between the multiple protruding portions of the structure, and the tether 3a is prevented from getting caught on the protruding portions.

[0018] Basically, the above-mentioned linear member 6 may be formed using a rope material made of metal or resin, etc., and a tension may be applied such that it extends in a substantially straight line between the tips t of the protruding portions where they are stretched. Thereby, even when the tether 3a contacts the linear member 6 and acts with a force, due to the tension in the linear member 6, the tether 3a will bounce back.

[0019] Also, the surface of the linear member 6 may have a configuration for reducing the friction during contact with the tether 3a so that the force generated when the tether 3a contacts does not act on the linear member 6 as much as possible. Specifically, in one aspect, the surface of the linear member may be treated to be in a low-friction state or a coating providing a low-friction state may be applied.

[0020] Also, as another configuration for reducing the friction when the surface of the linear member 6 contacts the tether 3a, as schematically depicted in FIG. 2, the linear member 6 may be formed from a central shaft body 6a and a plurality of cylindrical or sheath-like outer shell bodies 6b arranged to surround it along the central shaft body 6a. As shown in the figure, the plurality of outer shell bodies 6b may each be rotatable independently around the central shaft body 6a. Thereby, when the tether 3a contacts the outer shell body 6b, the force from the tether 3a is released by the rotation of the outer shell body 6b, and the action of pushing the linear member 6 is reduced.

[0021] As described above, when the tether 3a comes into contact with the linear member 6, friction between the tether 3a and the linear member 6 is minimized, allowing the force from the tether 3a to dissipate. This prevents excessive tension from acting on either the linear member 6 or the tether 3a, thereby preventing the linear member 6 or the tether 3a from breaking. Furthermore, providing the linear member 6 with the above-described friction-reducing configuration is advantageous because it eliminates the need to increase the weight of the tether 3a that is lifted into the air.

[0022] While the above description is made in relation to embodiments of the present invention, many modifications and changes are readily possible for those skilled in the art, and it will be clear that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated above, but can be applied to various devices without departing from the concept of the present invention.

Claims

1. A floating watercraft having a structure on its deck with multiple outwardly protruding portions, and a tether extending from the deck to a kite being raised into the air, wherein a linear member is stretched between the tips of the protruding portions of the structure.

2. A floating body according to claim 1, wherein the structure is a sail, a tail and a boom, and the linear member is stretched between their tips.

3. A floating body according to claim 1, wherein the linear member has friction-reducing means formed on its surface to reduce friction when in contact with a tether.

4. A floating body on a water surface according to claim 1, wherein the linear member comprises a single central shaft and a plurality of cylindrical outer shells arranged to surround the central shaft, and each of the outer shells is rotatable around the central shaft.

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