Generator

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a generator which is driven utilizing water pressure. [Solution] A drive mechanism of a generator 240 is provided with a pair of bellows pump chambers 221, 231 in which bellows pumps 222, 232 are disposed respectively, a pair of piston chambers 226, 236 in which pistons 227, 237 that move in tandem with the expansion and contraction of the bellows pumps are disposed respectively; and crankshafts 228, 238 that convert the reciprocating motion of the pistons into rotational force of a rotation shaft 241 of the generator 240. At least the pair of bellows pump chambers are disposed below a water surface 300, and by alternately opening opening and closing doors 223, 233 of the pair of bellows pump chambers, the bellows pumps and the pistons operate, causing the rotation shaft of the generator to rotate, thereby generating electricity.

Description

generator

[0001] The present invention relates to a generator having a novel drive mechanism that uses water pressure to rotate the rotating shaft of the generator.

[0002] Conventionally, known generators include high-speed generators driven by gas or steam turbines, low-speed generators driven by water wheels, synchronous generators using various engines as prime movers, low-speed generators driven by wind turbines, etc. Furthermore, Patent Document 1 (JP 2007-82386 A) listed below describes a generator that rotates using the torque of a disk.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-82386

[0004] A generator generally comprises a coil formed by winding a conductor, a magnet placed in the coil adjacent to the coil, a rotating shaft that rotates the magnet around the center of the coil, and a drive means for rotating the rotating shaft. Electricity is generated by electromagnetic induction that causes current to flow in the coil as the magnet moves relative to the coil. The current generated in the coil is conducted through an electric wire connected to the coil and stored in, for example, a capacitor. In such a generator, it is important that the magnet rotates efficiently. The present invention aims to provide a generator with a novel structure that uses water pressure to rotate the rotating shaft of the generator.

[0005] The present invention provides a generator including a drive mechanism for driving a rotating shaft of the generator, the drive mechanism including a pair of bellows pump chambers each containing a bellows pump, a pair of piston chambers each containing a piston that is operatively coupled to the expansion and contraction of the bellows pump, and a crankshaft that converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into torque for the rotating shaft of the generator, wherein at least the pair of bellows pump chambers are disposed below the water surface. Each of the pair of bellows pump chambers has an opening / closing door that opens and closes a water inflow path to the bellows pump chamber, and a drain tower that serves as a water discharge path for the bellows pump chamber when the opening / closing door is closed. Each of the opening / closing doors is controlled so that water alternately flows into the pair of bellows pump chambers. A pipe through which air flows is installed between the bellows pump chamber and the piston chamber, and air moves between the bellows pump chamber and the piston chamber through the pipe as the bellows pump or the piston moves. In addition, a guide passage is provided between the pair of piston chambers so that air compressed by the movement of the piston in one of the piston chambers flows into the other piston chamber.

[0006] In this generator, when the door of one bellows pump chamber is closed and the door of the other bellows pump chamber is opened, water around the other bellows pump chamber flows into the other bellows pump chamber. The water pressure of the inflowing water compresses the other bellows pump, and the air inside the other bellows pump is sent through a pipe to the other piston chamber, causing the other piston in the other piston chamber to descend. When the other piston descends, the air below the other piston is pushed into the one piston chamber through a connecting passage between the piston chamber and the one piston, causing the one piston to ascend. When the one piston ascends, the air above the one piston is sent through a pipe to the one bellows pump chamber, causing the one bellows pump in the one bellows pump chamber to expand. Therefore, the water inside the one bellows pump chamber, whose door is closed, is discharged into the air through a drain tower.

[0007] During this process, the movement of the descending piston in the other piston chamber and the ascending piston in one piston chamber causes the crankshaft to rotate, which in turn rotates the rotating shaft of the generator, generating electricity.

[0008] Next, when the door of one bellows pump chamber opens and the door of the other bellows pump chamber closes, the water around one bellows pump chamber flows into the other bellows pump chamber, compressing one bellows pump, sending the air in one bellows pump into one piston chamber, causing one piston to descend and the other piston to ascend. When the other piston ascends, the air above the other piston is sent into the other bellows pump chamber, causing the other bellows pump to expand, and the water inside the other bellows pump chamber, whose door is closed, is discharged into the air through the drain tower.

[0009] During this process, the movement of one piston descending and the other ascending causes the crankshaft to rotate in the same direction as before, and electricity continues to be generated by the generator.

[0010] In the generator of the present invention, the pair of piston chambers and the generator may be disposed below the water surface together with the pair of bellows pump chambers.

[0011] In the generator of the present invention, the pair of bellows pump chambers may be disposed below the water surface, and the pair of piston chambers and the generator may be disposed above the water surface.

[0012] This makes generator maintenance easier as it can be carried out on the water.

[0013] In this case, in the present invention, two buildings that house each of the bellows pump chambers are installed underwater with foundations on the bottom of the water, a tower-structured structure is installed on the roof of each of the buildings, and a building that houses the pair of piston chambers, crankshaft, and generator is installed so as to straddle the two tips of the structures that protrude above the water surface, and the pipes and drainage channels that protrude from each of the buildings installed underwater are positioned inside the tower-structured structure.

[0014] This configuration allows the piston chamber, crankshaft and generator to be stably mounted above the water surface.

[0015] The present invention can provide a generator with a new structure that uses water pressure to rotate the rotating shaft of the generator.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a first cross-sectional view of a first embodiment in which a generator and its drive mechanism are disposed underwater. FIG. 2 is a second cross-sectional view of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between a piston, a crankshaft, and a generator. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a generator and a drive mechanism of the first embodiment are disposed underwater. FIG. 5 is a first cross-sectional view of a second embodiment in which a bellows pump chamber is disposed underwater and a piston chamber and a generator are disposed above water. FIG. 6 is a second cross-sectional view of the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a building in which a bellows pump chamber of the second embodiment is housed and a building in which a piston chamber and a generator are housed.

[0017] Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0018] (First embodiment) As shown in Figure 1, a generator equipped with a drive mechanism of the first embodiment includes a pair of bellows pump chambers 221, 231 in which bellows pumps 222, 232 are arranged, a pair of piston chambers 226, 236 in which pistons 227, 237 are arranged, and crankshafts 228, 238 that convert the reciprocating motion of the pistons 227, 237 into rotational force of a rotating shaft 241 of a generator 240.

[0019] Electrically slidable doors (sliding doors) 223, 233 are provided at the upper ends of the bellows pump chambers 221, 231 bodies, and these sliding doors 223, 233 are controlled so that when one of them is opened, the other closes.

[0020] In addition, the bellows pump chamber 221 has a drain tower 224 which serves as a drain path for water in the bellows pump chamber 221 when the sliding door 223 is closed, and the bellows pump chamber 231 has a drain tower 234 which serves as a drain path for water in the bellows pump chamber 231 when the sliding door 233 is closed.

[0021] The discharge tower 224 extends upward from the upper end of the bellows pump chamber 221, and the tip of the discharge tower 224 is exposed above the water surface 300. Similarly, the discharge tower 234 extends upward from the upper end of the bellows pump chamber 231, and the tip of the discharge tower 234 is exposed above the water surface 300. Therefore, the water discharged from the discharge towers 224, 234 mixes with the water surrounding the bellows pump chambers 221, 231 after being discharged into the air.

[0022] The pair of piston chambers 226, 236 are connected to each other at their lower ends. The lower part of the bellows pump chamber 221 and the upper part of the piston chamber 226 are connected by a pipe 225 that allows air to pass through, and similarly, the lower part of the bellows pump chamber 231 and the upper part of the piston chamber 236 are connected by a pipe 235 that allows air to pass through.

[0023] 1, in this drive mechanism, when the sliding door 233 of one bellows pump chamber 231 is closed, the sliding door 223 of the other bellows pump chamber 221 is open, so that water enters the bellows pump chamber 221, and the resulting water pressure presses down the bellows pump 222 of the bellows pump chamber 221. As a result, some of the air that had accumulated in the bellows pump 222 is sent through the pipe 225 to the piston chamber 226, causing the piston 227 of the piston chamber 226 to descend.

[0024] When piston 227 in piston chamber 226 descends, the air below piston 227 flows into adjacent piston chamber 236 and pushes up piston 237 in piston chamber 236. As a result, the air above piston 237 is sent to bellows pump chamber 231 through pipe 235, and the upper end of bellows pump 232 in bellows pump chamber 231 is pushed up. As a result, water present at the upper end of bellows pump chamber 231 is discharged from drain tower 234 into the atmosphere.

[0025] 3 shows the relationship between the generator 240 and the pistons 227, 237 and crankshafts 228, 238 that drive it. When the piston 227 in the piston chamber 226 descends and the piston 237 in the piston chamber 236 ascends, these movements cause the crankshafts 228, 238 to rotate, which in turn rotates the rotary shaft 241 of the generator 240, generating electricity.

[0026] Next, as shown in Figure 2, when the sliding door 233 of the bellows pump chamber 231 opens and the sliding door 223 of the bellows pump chamber 221 closes, water enters the bellows pump chamber 231, and the water pressure pushes down the bellows pump 232 in the bellows pump chamber 231, causing the piston 237 in the piston chamber 236 to descend and the piston 227 in the piston chamber 226 to rise, pushing up the upper end of the bellows pump 222 in the bellows pump chamber 221, and the water present at the upper end of the bellows pump chamber 221 is discharged into the atmosphere through the drain tower 224.

[0027] During this process, the crankshafts 238, 228 rotate in accordance with the movement of the piston 237 descending in the piston chamber 236 and the piston 227 ascending in the piston chamber 226, and the rotating shaft 241 of the generator 240 continues to rotate in the same direction, thereby continuously generating electricity.

[0028] In this way, in the driving mechanism of this generator, by alternately opening the sliding doors 223, 233 of a pair of bellows pump chambers 221, 231 arranged underwater, the rotating shaft 241 of the generator 240 can be rotated continuously to generate electricity.

[0029] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the generator and drive mechanism of the first embodiment disposed in water.

[0030] (Second embodiment) In the drive mechanism of the second embodiment, as shown in Figure 5, a pair of bellows pump chambers 221, 231 are arranged below the water surface 300, and piston chambers 226, 236 and crankshafts 228, 238 are arranged above the water together with a generator 240.

[0031] The bellows pump chamber 221 is provided with an electric sliding door 223 that opens and closes the inflow path for water into the pump chamber, and the bellows pump chamber 231 is provided with an electric sliding door 233 that opens and closes the inflow path for water into the pump chamber. The sliding doors 223 and 233 alternately open and close the inflow path, and are controlled so that when one is open, the other is closed.

[0032] Furthermore, a pipe 225 through which air flows is provided between the bellows pump chamber 221 and the piston chamber 226, and similarly, a pipe 235 through which air flows is provided between the bellows pump chamber 231 and the piston chamber 236. Pipe 225 connects the lower end of the bellows pump chamber 221 to the upper end of the piston chamber 226, and pipe 235 connects the lower end of the bellows pump chamber 231 to the upper end of the piston chamber 236.

[0033] Furthermore, the lower portion of the piston chamber 226 is electrically connected to the lower portion of the piston chamber 236 via a conductive passage 150 .

[0034] Furthermore, the bellows pump chamber 221 has a drain tower 224 which serves as a discharge path for water from the bellows pump chamber 221 when the sliding door 223 is closed, and the bellows pump chamber 231 has a drain tower 234 which serves as a discharge path for water from the bellows pump chamber 231 when the sliding door 233 is closed. The drain tower 224 extends upward from the upper end of the bellows pump chamber 221, and the tip of the drain tower 224 is exposed above the water surface 300. Similarly, the drain tower 234 extends upward from the upper end of the bellows pump chamber 231, and the tip of the drain tower 234 is exposed above the water surface 300. Therefore, the water discharged from the drain towers 224, 234 mixes with the water surrounding the bellows pump chambers 221, 231 after being discharged into the air.

[0035] 5, in this drive mechanism, when the sliding door 233 of the bellows pump chamber 231 is closed and the sliding door 223 of the bellows pump chamber 221 is opened, the water around the bellows pump chamber 221 flows into the bellows pump chamber 221. Therefore, the water pressure of the flowing-in water compresses the bellows pump 222, and the air in the bellows pump 222 is sent to the piston chamber 226 through the pipe 225, and as a result, the piston 227 in the piston chamber 226 descends.

[0036] When piston 227 descends, the air below piston 227 is pushed into piston chamber 236 through conduit 150 connecting piston 227 to piston chamber 226, causing piston 237 to ascend. When piston 237 ascends, the air above piston 237 is sent to bellows pump chamber 231 through pipe 235, causing bellows pump 232 in bellows pump chamber 231 to expand. Therefore, water inside bellows pump chamber 231, with sliding door 233 closed, is discharged into the air through drain tower 234.

[0037] During this process, the crankshafts 228, 238 rotate with the movement of the descending piston 227 in the piston chamber 226 and the ascending piston 237 in the piston chamber 236, thereby rotating the rotating shaft 241 of the generator 240 and generating electricity in the generator 240.

[0038] On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 6, when the sliding door 233 of the bellows pump chamber 231 is opened and the sliding door 223 of the bellows pump chamber 221 is closed, the bellows pump chambers 231, 221 and the piston chambers 236, 226 perform the reverse operation to that shown in Fig. 5. That is, water around the bellows pump chamber 231 flows into the bellows pump chamber 231, compressing the bellows pump 232, and the air in the bellows pump 232 is sent to the piston chamber 236, causing the piston 237 to descend and the piston 227 to ascend. As a result, the air above the piston 227 is sent into the bellows pump chamber 221, causing the bellows pump 222 to expand, and the water inside the bellows pump chamber 221, with the sliding door 223 closed, is discharged into the air through the discharge tower 224.

[0039] During this process, the movement of the descending piston 237 and the ascending piston 227 causes the crankshafts 238, 228 to rotate in the same direction as in Figure 5, thereby causing the rotating shaft 241 of the generator 240 to rotate in the same direction as in Figure 5, and power generation by the generator 240 continues.

[0040] In this way, in the case of the drive mechanism of the second embodiment, by alternately opening the sliding doors 223, 233 of a pair of bellows pump chambers 221, 231 arranged underwater, the rotating shaft 241 of the generator 240 can be rotated continuously to generate electricity.

[0041] In the second embodiment, since the generator 240 is located on the water, it is easier to safely extract the electricity generated by the generator 240 than in the first embodiment, and maintenance work on the generator 240 is also easier than in the first embodiment.

[0042] 7 illustrates an example of an installation form of the generator and the drive mechanism in the second embodiment. Here, a rectangular parallelepiped first building 151 that houses the bellows pump chamber 221 and a rectangular parallelepiped second building 152 that houses the bellows pump chamber 231 are installed separately underwater on foundations provided on the bottom of the water, and tower-like structures 161 and 162 are installed on the roofs of the first building 151 and the second building 152, respectively.

[0043] A third building 153 is constructed so as to straddle the two tips of these structures 161, 162 that protrude above the water surface, and inside this third building 153, piston chambers 226, 236, crankshafts 228, 238, and generator 240 are housed.

[0044] In addition, the pipe 225 connecting the bellows pump room 221 and the piston room 226, and the drainage tower 224 extending from the bellows pump room 221 to above the water surface are arranged inside a tower-structured structure 161 installed on the roof of the first building 151, and the pipe 235 connecting the bellows pump room 231 and the piston room 236, and the drainage tower 234 extending from the bellows pump room 231 to above the water surface are arranged inside a tower-structured structure 162 installed on the roof of the second building 152.

[0045] This structure makes it possible to stabilize the piston chambers 226, 236, the crankshafts 228, 238, and the generator 240, which are arranged above the water.

[0046] The generator of the present invention is capable of generating electricity by utilizing changes in water pressure, and can be widely used as a clean means of generating electricity.

[0047] 150 Conduction passage 151 First building 152 Second building 153 Third building 161 Tower-type structure 162 Tower-type structure 221 Bellows pump room 222 Bellows pump 223 Sliding door 224 Drainage tower 225 Pipe 226 Piston room 227 Piston 228 Crankshaft 231 Bellows pump room 232 Bellows pump 233 Sliding door 234 Drainage tower 235 Pipe 236 Piston room 237 Piston 238 Crankshaft 240 Generator 241 Rotating shaft 300 Water surface

Claims

1. A generator having a drive mechanism for driving a rotary shaft of the generator, the drive mechanism comprising a pair of bellows pump chambers in which bellows pumps are disposed, a pair of piston chambers in which pistons that are linked to the expansion and contraction of the bellows pumps are disposed, and a crankshaft that converts the reciprocating motion of the pistons into rotational force for the rotary shaft of the generator, at least the pair of bellows pump chambers being disposed below the water surface, each of the pair of bellows pump chambers having an opening / closing door that opens and closes a water inflow path to the bellows pump chamber, and a drain tower that is used to discharge water from the bellows pump chamber when the opening / closing door is closed, each of the opening / closing doors being controlled so that water flows alternately into the pair of bellows pump chambers, a pipe is installed between the bellows pump chamber and the piston chamber as the bellows pump or the piston is displaced, and a conduit is installed between the pair of piston chambers to allow air compressed by the movement of the piston in one of the piston chambers to flow into the other piston chamber, a generator characterized in that, by alternately opening and closing doors of the pair of bellows pump chambers disposed underwater, the bellows pump and the piston move, causing a rotating shaft of the generator to rotate and generating electricity.

2. A generator according to claim 1, characterized in that the pair of piston chambers and the generator are disposed below the water surface together with the pair of bellows pump chambers.

3. A generator according to claim 1, characterized in that the pair of bellows pump chambers are disposed below the water surface, and the pair of piston chambers and the generator are disposed above the water surface.

4. A generator as described in claim 3, characterized in that a first building and a second building housing each of the bellows pump chambers are installed underwater, a tower-like structure is installed on the roof of the first building and the second building, a third building housing the pair of piston chambers, crankshaft and generator is installed so as to straddle the two ends of the tower-like structure protruding above the water surface, and the pipes and drainage channels protruding from each of the first building and the second building are arranged inside the tower-like structure.

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