Wave-Powered Device Tether Transitioning Between Compact and Rigid Positions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wave-powered devices face challenges in transporting, storing, and launching due to the difficulty of handling rigid tethers, which are prone to distortion and require complex mechanisms for deployment and recovery.
Innovation Solution
A wave-powered device with a tether that can transition from a compact adjacent position to an extended substantially rigid position, allowing for easy transportation and storage, and subsequent deployment in the extended position for operation, with the ability to revert to the adjacent position for recovery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid tether is used in a wave-powered device, then operational effectiveness is improved, but difficulty of transportation and storage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tether is designed with dynamic configurability, allowing it to transition between a deployed substantially rigid configuration during operation and a stowed compact configuration for transportation and storage. This dynamic reconfiguration capability resolves the contradiction by making the tether rigid when needed for operational effectiveness and compact when needed for ease of handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The tether can be folded or nested into a compact form factor that fits within or alongside the float structure during transportation and storage. This nesting capability allows the rigid tether to be stored in a space-efficient manner, resolving the contradiction between maintaining rigidity for operation and reducing size for storage.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid tether is used in a wave-powered device, then structural stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tether system incorporates dynamic mechanisms that allow automatic or controlled transition between rigid and compact states. This dynamic capability provides structural stability during operation while managing the complexity of deployment and recovery through engineered mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The tether may be divided into multiple segments or sections that can be independently controlled or folded. This segmentation allows the rigid structure to be broken down into manageable portions for storage and deployment, reducing the overall complexity of handling the rigid tether.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient transportation, storage, and operation of wave-powered devices with rigid tethers by allowing the tether to change positions, simplifying the launch and recovery processes while maintaining operational effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
when the device is in wave-bearing water and the tether is in the extended position, (i) the float is on or near the surface of the water, (ii) the tether is submerged below the float, and (iii) the wave-actuated component interacts with the water to generate forces that can be used for a useful purpose, for example to move the swimmer in a direction having a horizontal component
Data Source
AI summary
Many of the known wave-powered devices (“WPDs”) comprise (1) a float, (2) a swimmer, and (3) a tether connecting the float and the swimmer. The swimmer generates thrust as the float moves up and down due to surface waves. A WPD is provided with a rigid tether that can be moved from (a) a first position (“adjacent position”) in which at least a part of the tether is adjacent to the float to (b) a second position (“extended position”) in which the tether (i) is extended below the float and (ii) is at least in part substantially rigid. The WPD can if desired be transported, stored, or launched while the tether is in the adjacent position, and the tether can be moved into the extended position after the device has been launched and remain in the extended position while the device is being operated.