Horizontal-axis ocean current power generation device for underwater vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11215160-B2
Application number	US-202117222973-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 5, 2021
Priority date	Nov 5, 2019
Publication date	Jan 4, 2022
Grant date	Jan 4, 2022

Abstract

The present disclosure discloses a horizontal-axis ocean current power generation device for an underwater vehicle. The power generation device is disposed in a groove of a rotary body of the underwater vehicle, and includes an undercarriage unit, a yawing unit, and a power generation unit. The undercarriage unit can realize elevation and descent of the entire power generation device, and the power generation unit is capable of realizing arbitrary rotation within 360° in a horizontal plane through the yawing unit. The power generation device can actively yaw based on change of an ocean current direction to perform an incident flowing function. The power generation unit respectively drives an outer shaft and an inner shaft to rotate through a front blade and a rear blade that rotate in opposite directions, so as to drive inner and outer rotors of a motor, thereby cutting magnetic induction to generate electric power.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A horizontal-axis ocean current power generation device for an underwater vehicle, the power generation device being disposed in a groove of a rotary body of the underwater vehicle, wherein the horizontal-axis ocean current power generation device comprises an undercarriage unit, a yawing unit, and a power generation unit;
wherein the undercarriage unit comprises a retractable tube that is rotatable and has a power source, a first connecting rod, a second connecting rod, and a support post, one end of the retractable tube and one end of the first connecting rod are both rotatably connected to a bottom of the groove of the rotary body of the underwater vehicle, one end of the second connecting rod is rotatably connected to the support post, the other ends of the retractable tube, the first connecting rod and the second connecting rod are rotatably connected together, and the support post has a bottom end rotatably connected to the bottom of the groove of the rotary body of the underwater vehicle and a top end connected to the yawing unit; and the first connecting rod is driven to rotate with stretching and retraction of the retractable tube that is rotatable and has the power source, thereby driving the second connecting rod and the support post to rotate;
wherein the yawing unit comprises a yawing ring gear, a plurality of yawing pinions, yawing driving devices, and a yawing support plate, the plurality of yawing pinions meshes with the yawing ring gear, each of the plurality of yawing pinions is fixedly connected with one of the yawing driving devices, the yawing driving devices are fixed on the yawing support plate, the yawing ring gear is fixed on the support post, and the yawing support plate is rotatably sleeved on the support post and supported by the support post;
wherein the power generation unit is fixed on the yawing support plate; and
wherein the plurality of yawing pinions rotate relative to the yawing ring gear under the drive of the yawing driving devices, to adjust the power generation unit to actively yaw so as to achieve an incident flow, such that the power generation unit generates electric power in an inflow direction.

2. The horizontal-axis ocean current power generation device for an underwater vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the power generation unit comprises a set of contra-rotating blades, inner and outer sleeve shaft devices, and contra-rotating inner and outer rotor devices of a direct-drive motor, a front blade is fixedly connected to an inner shaft, the inner shaft is fixedly connected to an inner rotor of the motor, the front blade drives the inner rotor of the motor to rotate through the inner shaft, a rear blade is fixedly connected to an outer shaft, the outer shaft and an outer rotor of the motor are connected into one piece, rotation of the rear blade is transmitted to the outer rotor of the motor by the outer shaft, the front blade and the rear blade rotate in opposite rotation directions to respectively drive the inner rotor and the outer rotor of the motor to rotate in opposite directions, to cut magnetic induction lines to generate electric power.

3. The horizontal-axis ocean current power generation device for an underwater vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein each of the front blade and the rear blade is a two-blade structure, and installation directions of the front blade and the rear blade are opposite to each other in a direction of the incident flow.

4. The horizontal-axis ocean current power generation device for an underwater vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the first connecting rod, the second connecting rod, the retractable tube that is rotatable and has the power source, and the support post satisfy a following condition:
when the support post rotates to an upright state, the first connecting rod and the second connecting rod are arranged in a straight line, that is, the undercarriage unit is in a dead center position.

Assignees

• Univ Zhejiang
• Fujian Fuqing Nuclear Power Co Ltd

Inventors

• Huang Bin
• Wang Pengzhong
• Du Pengcheng
• Wu Dazhuan
• Wu Peng
• Yang Shuai
• Pu Kexin
• Wang Lu

Classifications

• Y02E10/20

  Hydro energy · CPC title

• F03B13/00 Primary

  Adaptations of machines or engines for special use; Combinations of machines or engines with driving or driven apparatus (if the apparatus aspects are predominant, see the relevant subclasses for such apparatus, e.g. H02K7/18); Power stations or aggregates (incorporating only machines or engines of positive-displacement type F03C; hydraulic engineering aspects E02B; {combinations with wind energy converters F03D9/008}) · CPC title

• H02K7/1823 Primary

  structurally associated with turbines or similar engines · CPC title

• F05B2220/7066

  via a direct connection, i.e. a gearless transmission · CPC title

• Y02E10/30

  Energy from the sea, e.g. using wave energy or salinity gradient · CPC title