The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 10, 1984
Filed:
Mar. 25, 1982
Stuart L Ridgway, Santa Monica, CA (US);
R & D Associates, Marina del Rey, CA (US);
Abstract
An ocean thermal energy converter (OTEC) generates electricity from warm surface water in dropping 100 meters or so, and then raises it back to the surface using its own thermal energy in a large floating vacuum chamber. The mist flow process as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,657 is employed to accelerate water droplets and water vapor upward from the bottom of the chamber under a pressure difference created by spraying cold water from lower ocean levels into the same chamber. The cold water is sprayed upward and parallel to the upper side walls of the chamber to control the flow of the warm droplets, as well as condense the vapor. This cold spray has too small an initial velocity to reach the top of the chamber, but receives momentum from the accelerated warm droplets. The warm water may be injected substantially vertically or alternatively at an angle inclined toward the axis of the chamber to assist in coalescing and concentrating the stream after the individual droplets have been accelerated upward.