Ocean Power Technologies, Inc.

Other

General Electric Technology Gmbh

Mark R Draper

Robin Rhodes

Keith Robert Pullen

Timothy J Fawcett

Antoine Garcia

David Henry Silcock

Timothy Liska

Stuart Bower

Keith Buffard

In the field of power distribution networks, a digital output circuit, for controlling an item of equipment within a power distribution network, comprises a switch element openable and closeable to selectively permit the flow of current to an item of equipment being controlled in use by the digital output circuit. The digital output circuit also includes a current acquisition circuit to measure the current flowing through the switch element. In addition, the digital output circuit includes a condition monitoring circuit that is arranged in communication with the current acquisition circuit. The condition monitoring circuit is configured to record the measured current flowing through the switch element as the switch element closes and thereby establish a switch element closing signature.

Or relating to digital output circuits

For reducing the number of anchors required for mooring a plurality of WECs in a body of water, the WECs are arrayed in two patterns enabling the sharing of anchors among the WECs. One pattern comprises pluralities of WECs disposed in polygonal shaped cells with an anchor disposed beneath each cell connected to all the WECs in the cell. A second pattern comprises a tessellated pattern of contiguous cells with WECs at the interface between contiguous pairs of cells being common to both cells of the pairs.

Mooring of multiple arrays of buoy-like WECs

An underwater substation pod (USP) adapted to collect and process the electrical outputs of an array of offshore power generating devices includes a voltage boosting transformer for combining and transmitting with increased efficiency an amplified version of the collected electrical outputs to an on shore facility. Combining the outputs and transmitting at a higher voltage reduces transmission losses and the number of cables required to transmit the electrical outputs. The USP is mounted on the seabed but operated at atmospheric pressure to accommodate standard components. The pod may be designed to include remotely controlled operation and to have a long service life since few, if any, moving parts are used. Also, the equipment may be designed to have a high degree of redundancy to provide greater reliability.

Underwater substation

For reducing the number of components required for mooring (by means of three, 120&#xb0; spaced apart mooring lines) multiple floating wave energy converters (WECs), a group of six WECs is disposed in a hexagonal pattern with each WEC being disposed at a corner of the hexagon. The WECs are connected to one another by mooring lines extending along sides of the hexagon, each WEC thereby being connected by two, 120&#xb0; spaced apart mooring lines and with each WEC serving as a mooring point for each of its two adjacent neighbors. A third mooring line for each WEC, spaced 120&#xb0; from the other two mooring lines, is connected to an auxiliary surface buoy and thence to an anchor.

Mooring of arrays of buoy-like WECs

A wave energy converter with air compression (WECWAC) includes a cylinder and a piston located within the cylinder dividing the cylinder into an upper chamber and a lower chamber. The cylinder is fixedly attached to a spar whose up/down (heave) motion is restrained. The piston is fixedly attached to, and driven by, a float which moves generally in phase with the waves. Under typical wave conditions the piston functions to compress air within the upper chamber on its up stroke and within the lower chamber on its down stroke, i. e., the system is thus double-acting. In still water, the spar and cylinder combination is designed to drift down into the body of water relative to the piston whereby the size/volume of the upper chamber is decreased (while that of the lower chamber is increased). For small amplitude waves the piston continues to compress air in the upper chamber and this asymmetrical compression continues until the waves reach a predetermine level when 'double-action' is resumed. Controlling the position of the cylinder relative to the piston enables the WECWAC to automatically regulate its compression 'stroke' to suit varying wave conditions. The pressurized air from a WECWAC may be stored and/or processed to drive a turbo-generator or it may be combined with the outputs of other WECWACs to drive a single large and highly efficient turbo-generator.

Growing community of inventors

Kenilworth, United Kingdom

Mark R Draper