Anti-fouling system using energy harvested from salt water

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10040525-B2
Application number	US-201515315171-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 19, 2015
Priority date	Jun 30, 2014
Publication date	Aug 7, 2018
Grant date	Aug 7, 2018

Abstract

The invention provides an anti-fouling lighting system (1) configured for preventing or reducing biofouling on a fouling surface (1201) of an object (1200) that during use is at least temporarily exposed to a liquid, by providing an anti-fouling light (211) to said fouling surface (1201), the anti-fouling lighting system (1) comprising: —a lighting module (200) comprising a light source (210) configured to generate an anti-fouling light (211); and —an energy system (500) configured to locally harvest energy and configured to provide electrical power to said light lighting module (200), wherein the energy system (500) comprises (i) a sacrificial electrode (510), and (ii) a second energy system electrode (520), wherein the energy system (500) is configured to provide electrical power to the lighting module (200) when the sacrificial electrode (510) and the second energy system electrode (520) are in electrical contact with the liquid.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An anti-fouling lighting system configured for preventing or reducing biofouling on a fouling surface of an object that during use is at least temporarily exposed to an electrically conductive aqueous liquid, by providing an anti-fouling light to said fouling surface, the anti-fouling lighting system comprising:
a lighting module comprising a light source configured to generate the anti-fouling light; and
an energy system configured to locally harvest energy and configured to provide electrical power to said lighting module, wherein the energy system comprises (i) a sacrificial electrode in electrical connection with a first electrode of the light source, and (ii) a second energy system electrode in electrical connection with a second electrode of the light source, wherein the energy system is configured to provide electrical power to the lighting module when the sacrificial electrode and the second energy system electrode are in electrical contact with the electrically conductive aqueous liquid.

2. The anti-fouling lighting system according to claim 1 , wherein the light source comprises a UV LED configured to provide one or more of UV-A and UV-C light.

3. The anti-fouling lighting system according to claim 1 , wherein the sacrificial electrode comprises one or more of zinc and magnesium, wherein the second energy system electrode comprises steel iron, and wherein the anti-fouling lighting system further comprises a voltage difference enhancer configured to increase a voltage difference between the first electrode and a second electrode of the light source.

4. The anti-fouling lighting system according to claim 1 , wherein anti-fouling lighting system comprises an optical medium, wherein the optical medium comprises one or more of a waveguide and an optical fiber configured to provide said anti-fouling light to the fouling surface.

5. The anti-fouling lighting system according to claim 1 , wherein the lighting module further comprises an optical medium configured to receive at least part of the anti-fouling light and configured to distribute at least part of the anti-fouling light through the optical medium, the optical medium comprising an emission surface configured to emit at least part of the distributed anti-fouling light in a direction away from the optical medium, wherein the fouling surface comprises said emission surface.

6. The anti-fouling lighting system according to claim 5 , wherein the light source is embedded in the optical medium, and wherein the optical medium comprises a transit for electrical connections with the light source.

7. The anti-fouling lighting system according to claim 1 , wherein the lighting module and one or more of said sacrificial electrode and said second energy system electrode are comprised in an integrated unit.

8. The anti-fouling lighting system according to claim 7 , wherein the integrated unit further comprises one or more of a control system and a sensor, wherein the control system is configured to control an intensity of the anti-fouling light as function of one or more of (i) a feedback signal from the sensor, the feedback signal related to a biofouling risk, and (ii) a timer for time-based varying the intensity of the anti-fouling light, and wherein the one or more of the control system and the sensor are also powered by the energy system.

9. The anti-fouling lighting system according to claim 8 , configured to provide the anti-fouling light in a pulsed way wherein periods with anti-fouling light are alternated with periods without anti-fouling light.

10. The object according to claim 8 , comprising a plurality of lighting modules arranged over at least part of a height (h) of the object, wherein the control system is configured to control an intensity of the anti-fouling light from a lighting module as a function of a position of the lighting module relative to a liquid level of the electrically conductive aqueous liquid at a side of the fouling surface.

11. An object comprising a fouling surface that during use is at least temporarily exposed to the electrically conductive aqueous liquid, the object further comprising the anti-fouling lighting system as defined in claim 1 .

12. The object according to claim 11 , wherein the object comprises a vessel, wherein the vessel comprises a steel hull, and wherein the hull is configured as second energy system electrode.

13. A method of anti-fouling a fouling surface of an object that is during use at least temporarily exposed to an electrically conductive aqueous liquid, the method comprising:
providing an anti-fouling lighting system as defined in claim 1 ;
locally harvesting energy by said energy system to provide electrical power to said lighting module;
generating the anti-fouling light by said lighting module; and
providing said anti-fouling light to said fouling surface.

14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the electrically conductive aqueous liquid is seawater.

15. A method of providing an anti-fouling lighting system to an object, that during use is at least temporarily exposed to an electrically conductive aqueous liquid, the method comprising providing a lighting module and an energy system as defined in claim 1 , to the object, with the lighting module configured to provide said anti-fouling light to a fouling surface of one or more of the object and the lighting module attached to the object.

Assignees

• Koninklijke Philips Nv

Inventors

• Salters Bart Andre
• Sempel Adrianus

Classifications

• B63B59/04 Primary

  Preventing hull fouling (anti-fouling paints C09D5/16) · CPC title

• B08B17/02 Primary

  Preventing deposition of fouling or of dust · CPC title

• C02F1/325

  Irradiation devices or lamp constructions · CPC title

• C02F2303/20

  Prevention of biofouling · CPC title

• B63B59/08

  of underwater surfaces while afloat (B63B59/10 takes precedence) · CPC title