WO2019016818A1

WO2019016818A1 - Sea waves generator

Info

Publication number: WO2019016818A1
Application number: PCT/IL2018/050805
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eitan ADLER
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-07-20
Filing date: 2018-07-19
Publication date: 2019-01-24
Anticipated expiration: 2020-01-20
Also published as: IL253602A0

Abstract

A device for utilizing the motion energy of waves. The device has a freewheel hub mounted on a driving shaft having a main axis, and, a pendulum mounted on the freewheel hub. Rotation of the pendulum around the main axis induces rotation of the driving shaft. The freewheel hub comprises a multitude of rollers that are outwardly urged by plungers. Each plunger comprises a plunger roller that rotates with the roller and parallel thereto.

Description

The present invention relates to the field of electric power generation using the energy of the sea waves, and more particularly to the field of sea waves generators utilizing the rolling motion created by the sea waves.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Devices for generating power from the energy of sea waves are known. Some devices utilize the side movement of the waves and some devices utilize the up and down motion of the waves.

in JPS621 82480(A) there is described a power generating method utilizing wave energy. The device of '480 comprises a floating body A, a pendulum 1, a converter 2 and an accelerator 3. A flywheel 4 is arranged on a rotary shaft 5, and a generator G is connected. The flywheel 1 is moved by the oscillation of the floating body A, and the rotating torque is transmitted to the accelerator 3 by the converter 2 in the same cycle. The accelerated intermittent rotation is converted into the uniform rotary motion with no rotating irregularity by the flywheel 4 and is transmitted to the generator G.

The device of '480 encounters several disadvantages. First, the use of an accelerator complicates the device and makes it more expensive. There are many generators who produce electricity at 60 to 80 revolutions per minute, and, therefore, an accelerator may be omitted from such a system. Second, the hits and forces exerted on the pin of the rotating tooth cause wear of the pin and loosen the rotating tooth. The loosening causes by time a change of the pressure angle on the gear, and, by excessive wear, the tooth may jump out of the gear and cease from rotating it. Third, the rotating speed is not best regulated since the rotating tooth pushes the gear in every movement of the pendulum. Fourth, since the revolutions of the device directly depend on the movements of the floating body, faster movements increase the revolutions of the device, a fact that has a negative effect on the electricity production.

In TW201 107593(A) there is described an ocean wave power device. The device mainly consists of a floating barge or a raft, a four-leg steel frame, a pair of fly wheels with pendulums, a sprocket wheel and a generator with gear box that serves as a speed increaser. Again, as mentioned before, the use of an accelerator complicates the system and makes it more expensive. Furthermore, despite the fact that '593 utilizes two diametrically opposite sprocket teeth, instead of one as described in '480, it still encounters the same disadvantages.

In DE3400532(A1) there is described a system for converting the energy of ocean waves into utilizable useful energy. The '532 system comprises a support column and a ship loosely held on this as heavy float and at the same time as power source due to its movements on the water, in particular the up and down movement, which as compression and tensile energy is transmitted by steel cables to the pendulum weights. By means of a cable this pendulum weights apply the kinetic energy of the pendulum to crown gears, and by means of notched levers (31.) as drivers, to the flywheels. Despite the fact that the system uses the up and down movements of the water, instead of the rolling motion, it encounters the same disadvantages regarding the notched levers as described above.

In CN201092929(Y) there is described an electric generator using wave energy that is fixed on a center of a ship's hull. An upper pendulum shaft is installed on a supporting stand. A pendulum frame is installed in the middle.

A lower pendulum shaft is installed on the lower portion of the pendulum frame and is vertically bisected with a different surface, and a pendulum mass is installed in the middle.

A converter is composed of a gear pendulum head, a diverted gear, flywheels, and inertia gear and a chain. The gear pendulum head and a shaft are concentrically fixed on ends of the upper pendulum shaft and the lower pendulum shaft, one side is connected with one flywheel, the other side is connected with the other flywheel. The flywheels are connected with the inertia gear through the chain, and the engine is connected on the inertia gear. The fluctuation type power generating set can transform complicated wave motion into uniform circular motion to drive the engine to generate power.

The '929 publication suffers from the disadvantages that is more complicated than similar power generating units. Amongst other things, it comprises a multitude of parts, e.g., two pendulum shafts instead of one, flywheels instead of one flywheel, a diverted gear, and inertia gear, and, a chain, which add energy loses when producing energy.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a device for generating power from the sea waves that significantly reduces or overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device for generating power from the sea waves that is relatively simple in construction and cheap to install and maintain.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a sea waves generator that functions without an accelerator.

It is still yet a further object of the present invention to provide a sea waves generator that functions relatively without being influenced by the deterioration of moving parts.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a sea waves generator that provides a stable rotating speed.

it is still another object of the present invention to provide a sea waves generator that engages into operation only after the flywheel and the driving shaft reach the desired revolutions.

it is yet another object of the present invention to provide a sea waves generator that may operate without a flywheel. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a device for utilizing the motion energy of sea waves, the device comprises:

a freewheel hub mounted on a driving shaft having a main axis, and a pendulum mounted on the freewheel hub, wherein

rotation of the pendulum around the main axis induces rotation of the driving shaft.

Preferably, the freewheel hub comprises a multitude of driving sections. Further preferably, the freewheel hub comprises a multitude of rollers, each roller located within a roller groove of a driving section and having a roller diameter and a roller length, and

the roller length is much larger than the roller diameter.

If desired, each roller is outwardly urged by a multitude of springs. Typically, the driving shaft is supported by a front supporting bearing, at a front side of the device, and, by a rear supporting bearing located rearwardly to the front supporting bearing.

Further typically, the pendulum is located between the front supporting bearing and the rear supporting bearing.

Generally, the pendulum comprises:

a pendulum housing that is aligned with the main axis,

an operating weight remote from the pendulum housing, and a connecting rod that connects between the pendulum housing and the operating weight.

Advantageously, the pendulum is connected to the driving shaft through a pendulum bearing, and wherein

the pendulum bearing is connected to the driving shaft at a bearing inner portion and to the pendulum housing at a bearing outer portion.

Further advantageously, rotation of the pendulum with respect to the freewheel hub around the main axis is freely enabled in a free rotation direction, and wherein rotation of the pendulum with respect to the freewheel huh around the mam axis is prevented in a locking direction.

Typically, the front supporting bearing is located within a front bearing housing, and

the rear supporting bearing is located within a rear bearing housing.

Preferably, the front bearing housing and the rear bearing housing are connected to a floating body.

If desired, the driving shaft is directly connected to a power generator. Further if desired, the driving shaft is connected to a generating shaft through a clutch, and wherein

the generating shaft is directly connected to a power generator.

Preferably, the clutch comprises a rotation receiving portion that is connected to the driving shaft and a rotation transferring portion that is connected to the generating shaft, and wherein

the rotation receiving portion engages with the rotation transferring portion at a predetermined rotation speed of the driving shaft.

in most cases, a flywheel is connected to the driving shaft between the front supporting bearing and the rear supporting bearing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how the same may be carried out in practice, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which;

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sea waves generator according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the sea waves generator of Fig. 1 ; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the pendulum and the freewheel assembly;

Fig. 4 is an exploded view of the pendulum and the freewheel assembly of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the freewheel assembly of Fig. 3 taken in a plane perpendicular to the main axis;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the operating weight and the freewheel assembly in a first tilting position of the floating vessel;

Fig. 7 is an end view of the operating weight and the freewheel assembly in a second tilting position of the floating vessel;

Fig. 8 is an end view of the operating weight and the freewheel assembly in a third tilting position of the floating vessel;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the device according to the present invention using the up and down motion of the waves;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the device according to the present invention using linear motion of water;

Figs. 11 to 14 are side views of four different positions of the operating mechanism of the device of Fig. 10;

Fig. 15 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a sea -waves generator according to the present invention;

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of the centrifugal clutch;

Fig. 17 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the clutch of Fig. 16;

Fig. 18 is a perspective view of a plunger according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 19 is a perspective exploded view of the plunger of Fig. 18 and the freewheel hub;

Fig. 20 is a transparent sectional perspective view of the plunger of Fig. 18 within the freewheel hub;

Fig. 21 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the plunger of Fig. 18 within the freewheel hub;

Fig. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the freewheel assembly of Fig. 3 and the plunger of Fig. 18 taken in a plane perpendicular to the main axis;

Fig. 23 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the freewheel assembly of Fig. 3 and the plunger of Fig. 18 taken in a plane perpendicular to the main axis; Fig. 24 is a perspective view of a plunger according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 25 is a perspective exploded view of the plunger of Fig. 24 and the freewheel hub;

Fig. 26 is a transparent sectional perspective view of the plunger of Fig.

24 within the freewheel hub;

Fig. 27 is a perspective view of a plunger according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 28 is a perspective view of the plunger of Fig. 27, (a) in an assembled position and (b) in an exploded position;

Fig. 29 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the freewheel assembly of Fig. 3 and the plunger of Fig. 27 taken in a plane perpendicular to the main axis;

Fig. 30 is a perspective view of a plunger according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 31 is a perspective view of the plunger of Fig. 30, (a) in an assembled position and (b) in an exploded position;

Fig. 32 is a perspective exploded view of the plunger of Fig. 30 and the freewheel hub; and

Fig. 33 is a transparent sectional perspective view of the plunger of Fig.

30 within the freewheel hub.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED .EMBODIMENTS

Attention is drawn to Figs. 1 to 5 that show a device for generating power from the sea waves or a sea waves generator 10 according to the present invention. For a matter of simplicity the sea waves generator 10 will hereinafter be called the "device".

The device 10 comprises a driving shaft 12, having a main axis A. The mam axis A merges with a main axis of the device 10 and, therefore, the main axis A constitutes also a mam axis of the device 10. The driving shaft 12 is supported between a front supporting bearing 14 and a rear supporting bearing 16. The front supporting bearing 14 is positioned within a front bearing housing 18, and, the rear supporting bearing 16 is positioned within a rear bearing housing 20.

It should be noted that directional terms appearing throughout the specification and claims, e.g. "forward", "rear", "upper", "lower" etc., are used as terms of convenience to distinguish the location of various surfaces relative to each other. These terms are defined with reference to the figures, however, they are used for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims.

The front bearing housing 18 and the rear bearing housing 20 are positioned and fastened to a suitable platform of a floating body or vessel (not shown). The floating body may be a ship, a boat, a raft, a barge, or any other floating body that can support the device 10.

The device 10 best utilizes the energy of the sea waves when the driving shaft 12 is positioned such that it is directed substantially perpendicularly to the direction of propagation of the sea waves. Typically, a relatively constant motion and direction of the sea waves is obtained near sea shores where the shore waves are formed generally parallel to the shore and propagate in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the shore line.

Therefore, in order to best utilize the device 10, it is positioned along a longitudinal axis of the floating body, and the floating body is anchored, e.g., by two anchors, one at its forward portion and one at its rear portion, such that it floats on a line that is generally parallel to the shore line wherein the waves hit the long side of the floating body and cause it mainly a rolling motion around its longitudinal axis, wherein pitching and yawing motions are significantly small, comparing to the rolling motion, and are not taken into consideration when operating the device 10 according to the present invention.

A pendulum 22 is located between the front supporting bearing 14 and the rear supporting bearing 16. The pendulum 22 comprises a pendulum housing 24 that is aligned with the mam axis A and centered with respect thereto, an operating weight 26 remote from the pendulum housing 24, and, a connecting rod 28 that connects between the pendulum housing 24 and the operating weight 26,

In order to enable free rotation of the pendulum 22 with respect to the driving shaft 12, and, in order to carry the weight of the entire pendulum without letting the weight of the entire pendulum interfere with the rotation of the pendulum 22, the pendulum 22 is connected to the driving shaft 12 through a pendulum bearing 30 that is connected to the driving shaft 12 at a bearing inner portion 32, and, to the pendulum housing 24 at a bearing outer portion 34.

The pendulum housing 24 comprises, concentrically therewith, a freewheel housing 36 for receiving therein a freewheel assembly 38. The freewheel assembly 38 comprises a freewheel hub 40 that is rigidly mounted on the driving shaft 12 by means of a tenon and mortise arrangement or other coupling arrangement known in the art. The coupling arrangement between the freewheel hub 40 and the driving shaft 12 ensures that any rotation of the freewheel hub 40 will induce an equal rotation of the driving shaft 12.

The freewheel hub 40 comprises a multitude of driving sections 42. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the freewheel hub 40 comprises six driving sections 42. Each driving section 42 comprises a roller groove 44 for receiving therein a roller 46, and, a spring housing 48 for receiving therein a coil spring 50 that is connected to the spring housing 48 at a housing inner end 52 of the spring housing 48.

According to some embodiments, each roller 46 has a large roller length L relative to a roller diameter D of the roller 46, therefore, each roller 46 has a large length-to-diameter ratio. This feature enables transferring large torques without exerting excessive stress on a single component. Thus, and in order to uniformly press any roller 46 against the freewheel housing 36, each driving section 42 comprises a multitude of spring housings 48, wherein each of them houses a coil spring 50. Each of the coil springs 50 exerts a force in a plane that is substantially perpendicular to the main axis A. The spring housings 48 are typically overlapping as seen in a cross-section of the freewheel assembly 38 taken in a plane perpendicular to the main axis A. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, each driving section 42 comprises three spring housings 48.

The roller groove 44 is divided into three groove sections 54 that are consecutively merging with each other. A first groove section 56, at a forward end of the roller groove 44, constitutes a groove front wall 58. A second groove section 60, consecutively following the first groove section 56, constitutes a groove bottom 62. A third groove section 64, consecutively following the second groove section 60 constitutes a groove ramp 66.

According to some embodiments, the groove bottom forms a part of the groove ramp. Thus, in those cases, the roller groove comprises two groove sections only, i.e., a first groove section that constitutes a groove front wall, and, a second groove section that constitutes a groove ramp.

As can be best seen in Fig. 5, a freewheel housing internal diameter DF is slightly larger than a hub external diameter DH. Thus, if there were no rollers 46 involved, the pendulum housing 24 could freely rotate with respect to the freewheel hub 40. The roller diameter D is slightly larger than a roller groove depth P, however, when the freewheel housing 36 rotates in a free rotation direction 68, even though the freewheel housing 36 is peripherally in contact with the multitude of outwardly urged rollers 46 by the force exerted thereon by the coil springs 50, each of the rollers 46 can freely rotate, and, also the freewheel housing 36 can freely rotate with respect to the freewheel hub 40.

When the freewheel housing 36 rotates in a locking direction 70 with respect to the freewheel hub 40, each of the rollers 46 is urged to climb the groove ramp 66 until the roller 46 is locked between the freewheel housing 36 and the groove ramp 66. In this position, also the freewheel housing 36 is locked and cannot rotate.

A flywheel 72 is connected on the driving shaft 12, between the front supporting bearing 14 and the freewheel assembly 38. The flywheel 72 has the majority of its mass concentrated near a flywheel periphery 74 thereof. Thus, it enables to provide the maximum momentum with the minimum mass.

According to some embodiments, the driving shaft 12 ends, at a portion thereof remote from the front supporting bearing 14, at a rotation receiving portion 76 of a clutch 78. Another portion of the clutch 78 constitutes a rotation transferring portion 80. A generating shaft 82 extends rearwardly from the rotation transferring portion 80 and is connected to, or, form a part of, a power generating generator (not shown). According to other embodiments, the clutch 78 is omitted and the driving shaft 12 is connected directly to a power generating generator.

The operation of the device 10 will now be described. Since the device 10 is located on a floating body, it is subjected to the motion of the waves that hit the floating body. Thus, as the floating body acquires a back-and-forth rolling or rotational movement around its longitudinal axis, also the device 10 acquires a back-and-forth rotational movement around the mam axis A.

When the device 10 rotates in a direction that is opposite to the free rotation direction 68, the weight of the operating weight 26 pulls it downwardly, therefore, the pendulum 22 remains in its position while the rest of the device 10 rotates.

At the end of the above mentioned rotation, when the device 10 changes the rotation direction and starts to rotate at the free rotation direction 68, the pendulum 22 cannot rotate freely with respect to the device 10 since the pendulum 22 is forced now in the locking direction 70 with respect to the device 10, a fact that causes the operating weight 26 to rise.

Now, since the weight of the operating weight 26 pulls it downwardly, a great turning torque, due to the length of the connecting rod 28 and the weight of the operating weight 26, is applied on the pendulum housing 24. Since the pendulum housing 24 rotates now together with the freewheel hub 40, a rotational movement is applied to the driving shaft 12. At this position, also the flywheel 72 starts to rotate since it is connected to the driving shaft 12. Due to the large mass of the flywheel 72 it acquires a rotational momentum and keeps rotating even at the parts of a stroke or cycle where the pendulum 22 does not turn the driving shaft 12. As a consequence, a steady rotation of the driving shaft 12 is obtained.

At a predetermined rotation speed of the driving shaft 12, the clutch 78 engages the driving shaft 12 with the generating shaft 82. Now, the shaft of the generator rotates at a constant and predetermined speed and the generator starts generating power, which is then transferred by electrical conductors to the shore.

At some cases, as mentioned above, when the device 10 does not comprise a clutch 78, at the beginning of a steady rotation of the driving shaft 12, the generator starts generating power, and the output voltage is stabilized at the set value when the driving shaft 12 gets to its nominal rotation speed.

It is appreciated that variations at the speed of waves, intensity of waves, and irregularity of their strike against the floating body, are considerably smoothed by the aid of the flywheel 72.

In order to overcome disadvantages of prior art freewheel assemblies, especially the fact that the friction between roiling parts and non-rolling parts causes premature and un-necessary wear of the parts, the present invention provides several embodiments of plungers, for urging the rollers 46, as shown m Figs. 18, 24, 27 and 30.

As shown in Fig. 18, a large plunger 84 is supported by a multitude of coil springs 50. Each coil spring 50 is supported against the large plunger 84 by a base pin 86, that is integrally formed with the large plunger 84, thus ensuring that the large plunger 84 will move in a back and forth linear movement along a predetermined path. Such a construction of the large plungers 84 enables to produce long rollers 46 having a large roller length L, thus increasing the length-to-diameter ratio as explained above and enabling transferring large torques without exerting excessive stress on a single component. The freewheel assembly 38 may be provided with an oiling spout 88 for enabling oiling of the internal parts of the freewheel assembly 38 without the necessity to open it.

Fig. 24 shows another embodiment of the plunger, whereas instead of being a large plunger as shown in Fig. 18, it is divided into three distinct plungers 90. in this case, each distinct plunger 90 is connected to a coil spring 50 by means of its base pin 86.

A further improvement of the plunger is shown in Fig. 27 which shows another embodiment of the plunger. As shown, a plunger assembly 92 comprises a plunger housing 94 and a plunger roller 96 that is received within the plunger housing 94 and can rotate with respect thereto around a plunger rotation axis B. The plunger housing 94 is connected to the coil springs 50 by means of three base pins 86. The arrangement of the plunger assembly 92 ensures that the plunger rotation axis B will always be parallel to the roller 50 of which the plunger roller 96 is urged against.

Thus, the plunger roller 96 is in contact with the roller 46 along a contact line (not specifically shown) that extends along the entire roller length L. In that manner, the roller 46 rolls on the plunger roller 96 instead of having a sliding friction against the freewheel hub 40 as in prior art systems. Thus, any sliding friction of the roller 46 is effectively avoided and the device 10 lifetime is considerably increased.

Fig. 30 shows another embodiment of the plunger assembly similar to the one shown in Fig. 27. However, in this embodiment, the plunger assembly 92 is replaced by three distinct plunger assemblies 98. Each distinct plunger assembly 98 comprises a distinct plunger roller 100 that is received within a distinct plunger housing 102 and can rotate with respect thereto around the plunger rotation axis B. Each of the distinct plunger housings 102 is connected to an individual coil spring 50 by a base pin 86.

Such a construction of the distinct plunger assemblies 98 has another advantage except the fact that any sliding friction of the roller 46 is effectively avoided. The presence of three distinct plunger assemblies 98 instead of one large plunger assembly 92 enables overcoming minor misalignments or wear with respect to the roller 46.

The effective rotation between the plunger roller 96 and the plunger housing 94, and, between the distinct plunger roller 100 and the distinct plunger housing 102, is enabled by a plunger roller bearing 104.

According to some preferred embodiments of the device 10, the device 10 includes a clutch 78, as shown in Figs. 16 and 7, that is positioned between the driving shaft 12 and the generating shaft 82, both coaxial with the main axis A.

The clutch 78 comprises a driving portion 106 that is secured to the driving shaft 12 by a driving shaft key 108, and, a driven portion 110 that is secured to the generating shaft 82 by a generating shaft key 112.

The driving portion 106 comprises a clutch hub 114 having three equally peripherally distributed hub wings 116. A clutch shoe 118 rests in the space between each two hub wings 116 and is connected to a hub wing 116 by a connecting link 120. Each of the connecting links 120 is connected, at both ends thereof, by a pivot 122, and may rotate relative to the pivot 122, and, thereby, relative to the hub wing 116 and to the clutch shoe 118. The three connecting links 120 are connected therebetween by means of three connecting springs 124.

In operation, when the driving shaft 12 rotates, the increasing rotation speed increases the centrifugal force acting on the clutch shoes 118. The radially outwardly directed force acting on the clutch shoes 118 is counter- balanced by a radially inwardly directed force acting on the clutch shoes 118 by the connecting springs 124 through the connecting links 120. When the rotation speed of the driving shaft 12 reaches a pre-determined set value, the centrifugal force acting on the clutch shoes 118 overcomes the inwardly- directed force caused by the connecting springs 124, and the clutch shoes 118 move radially outwardly to an extent that press the clutch shoes 118 against an inner driven surface 126 of the driven portion 110, thus rotating the generating shaft 82 together with the driving shaft 12.

Although the present invention has been described to a certain degree of particularity, it should be understood that various alterations and modifications could be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

For example, the device described above comprises a clutch for enabling the device to acquire the desired speed before rotating a generator. However, the device according to the present invention may also function without a clutch.

The device does not have to comprise six driving sections and any other number of driving sections may be chosen according to the size of the device, torque required, materials used, cost of materials, and power generating requirements.

According to some embodiments, an electrical control system may regulate large fluctuations of the output voltage due to large fluctuations of the rotation speed. In those cases, the device may operate without a flywheel that typically serves as a "buffer" to the rotation speed variations.

The device can function as a large single unit that produces energy from the motion of the sea waves. Alternatively, a system for producing electricity from the energy of the motion of the sea waves can be formed from a multitude of devices as described above, wherein each device is relatively small and produces a relatively small wattage.

However, such a system encounters several advantages. First, each device is relatively cheap. Second, each device is easier to install and maintain. Third, the floating bodies required for small devices are much smaller therefore they are significantly cheaper relatively to large vessels. Fourth, since the system comprises a multitude of devices, they can be positioned in a more efficient manner with respect to the shore waves relatively to a single unit which is positioned in only one direction with respect to the shore waves. Thus, for example, if a generally circular bay comprises shore waves, they significantly vary in their propagating direction. In this case, a large device will not best use the energy of the waves since the majority thereof will not be directed perpendicularly to the driving shaft of the device. However, when a multitude of small devices are used, each of them could be positioned in a different location, on a different floating body, thus enabling each of the devices have its driving shaft directed perpendicularly to the direction of propagation of the waves at their specific location, thus best utilizing the energy of the sea waves.

Fifth, since the system comprises a multitude of devices, a malfunction of a single device will not affect the electricity generating capability of the entire system. Moreover, it will be cheaper and faster to repair the malfunction at a small device, comparing with a large device.

The rollers do not have to be urged by coil springs only and other kinds of springs or urging means may be used. Furthermore, each driving section does not have to comprise three spring housings and any other number of spring housings may be used according to the size of the system, spring qualities, roller length or any other design requirements.

The base pins do not have to be integrally formed with the large plunger and they may be connected therewith by any other method known in the art.

The plunger rollers and the distinct plunger rollers do not have to be provided with roller bearings, and they may rotate directly within a round bracket.

Throughout the description, reference is made to utilizing the energy of sea waves. However, the present invention is not limited to using sea waves only and any other waves creating the same effect may be used. For example, waves of a lake shore, waves of a river bank, and the like.

Furthermore, according to other embodiments of the present invention, the device does not have to be located within a floating body and it may be similarly used by utilizing wind or wind blasts heating a side of a body holding the device. In such a case, the body is capable of moving in a rocking motion by being placed on arcuate bases or skids.

The shape and size of the operating weight does not have to be as shown. According to other embodiments, the operating weight extends radially and/or peripherally with respect to the connecting rod. Furthermore, according to still other embodiments, the operating weight extends axial ly with respect to the connecting rod, preferably forwardlv and rearwardiy at an equal amount with respect to the connecting rod.

Claims

1. A device (10) for utilizing the motion energy of waves, the device comprises:

a freewheel hub (40) mounted on a driving shaft (12) having a main axis (A), and

a pendulum (22) mounted on the freewheel hub, wherein

rotation of the pendulum around the main axis induces rotation of the driving shaft. 2. The device (10) according to claim 1, wherein:

the freewheel hub (40) comprises a multitude of driving sections (42),

3. The device (10) according to claim 2, wherein:

the freewheel hub (40) comprises a multitude of rollers (46), each roller located within a roller groove (44) of a driving secti on and having a roller diameter (D) and a roller length (L), and wherein

the roller length is much larger than the roller diameter,

4. The device (10) according to claim 3, wherein:

each roller (46) is outwardly urged by a multitude of springs (50).

5. The device according to claim 3, wherein:

each roller (46) is outwardly urged by a plunger (84). 6. The device according to claim 5, wherein:

the plunger extends along a length similar to the length of the roller.

The device according to claim 5, wherein:

the plunger comprises a multitude of distinct plunger sections (90).

The device according to claim 5, wherein: the plunger comprises a plunger roller (96) that rotates with the roller (46) and parallel thereto.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein:

the plunger roller comprises a multitude of distinct plunger roller sections (100).

10. The device (10) according to claim I, wherein:

rotation of the pendulum (22) with respect to the freewheel hub (40) around the main axis (A) is freely enabled in a free rotation direction (68), and wherein

rotation of the pendulum with respect to the freewheel hub around the main axis is prevented in a locking direction (70).

11. The device (10) according to claim 10, wherein:

a front supporting bearing (14) is located within a front bearing housing (18) and a rear supporting bearing (16) is located within a rear bearing housing (20), and

the front bearing housing (18) and the rear bearing housing (20) are connected to a floating body.

12. The device (10) according to claim 1, wherein:

the driving shaft (12) is directly connected to a power generator.

13. The device (10) according to claim 1, wherein:

the driving shaft (12) is connected to a generating shaft (82) through a clutch (78), and wherein

the generating shaft is directly connected to a power generator.

14. The device (10) according to claim 13, wherein: the clutch (78) comprises a rotation receiving portion (76) that is connected to the driving shaft (12) and a rotation transferring portion (80) that is connected to the generating shaft (82), and wherein

15. The device (10) according to claim 11, wherein:

a flywheel (72) is connected to the driving shaft (12) between the front supporting hearing (14) and the rear supporting bearing (16).

16. The device (10) according to claim 1 , wherein:

the waves are sea waves.