Through-hull passive inboard hydro-generator for a marine vessel

A passive generator system for a marine vessel using an intake manifold having an opening at the bottom of the hull of the vessel. The intake manifold tapers to a point at the rear of the opening and extends upward to an intake funnel that reduces down to a conduit. The conduit has a first portion angled relative to the opening which joins to a second portion at an elbow. The second portion of the conduit extends horizontally to a rear of the vessel, to a conduit exit where water can exit the conduit. An impeller is location in the first portion of the conduit that drives a generator through a shaft between the impeller and the generator, the shaft passing through a top of the first portion of the conduit.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to electric generators, and, more particularly, relates to a passive hydro-powered generator system for marine applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many marine vessels use electric power for a variety of applications, including, for example, electronic navigation systems, sonar systems for depth/fish finding, climate control systems, engine starting, engine lift, trim systems, and so on. Further, there are also electrical motor used on vessels that range from conventional trolling motors to the main propulsion system. Battery systems are used to provide a reservoir of electric power, and in more sophisticated vessels, particularly those with in-board motor systems, a generator can provided to recharge the battery. Typically the in-board propulsion system is an internal combustion engine that can drive a generator system as well as a propeller. Alternatively, electric motors can be used as the main propulsion system. Vessels outfitted for live-aboard conditions may include a separate generator, as well as solar panels, wind-driven generators, and/or towed or transom mounted hydro generators that can be used to replenish charge in the vessel's battery system. However these systems can be cumbersome to install and maintain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with some embodiments of the inventive disclosure, there is provided a passive marine electrical generator that includes an intake manifold that has an opening. The opening has an area, and a wall surrounding the opening that extends upward from the opening and reduces to an intake manifold exit that is positioned over a rear of the opening. There is further included a funnel member coupled to the intake manifold exit that reduces from the intake manifold exit and that extends upwards and to the rear of the intake manifold to a funnel member exit. The generator system further includes a conduit having a first portion coupled to the funnel member exit, where the first portion extends further upward and to the rear of the intake manifold to an elbow transition, and then to a second portion which extends horizontally in a direction away from the intake manifold to a conduit exit. The passive marine generator system further includes an impeller disposed in the first portion of the conduit proximate to the funnel exit, and a shaft coupled to a center of the impeller at a first end of the shaft, the shaft extends from the impeller upward along the first portion of the conduit and through a sealed opening in a top of the elbow transition. A generator is mounted on top of the conduit and is coupled to a second end of the shaft.

In accordance with a further feature, the first portion of the conduit is angled at forty degrees relative to the opening of the intake manifold, with a range of +/−five degrees.

In accordance with a further feature, the opening of the intake manifold has a front edge and sides extending from the front edge to a point at a back of the opening.

In accordance with a further feature, the intake manifold opening has a five sided shape including a rectangular portion comprised of the front edge and having parallel opposing sides that extend towards the back of the opening to a triangular portion having sides that meet at the point centrally at the back of the opening.

In accordance with a further feature, the point at the back of the opening is positioned behind the funnel portion.

In accordance with a further feature, the parallel opposing sides extend from the front edge to halfway to the back of the opening.

In accordance with a further feature, there is further included a screen over the opening of the intake manifold.

In accordance with a further feature, the conduit exit is positioned to be above a resting water line.

In accordance with a further feature, the intake manifold has a top wall that extends at an angle from the front edge toward the intake funnel, wherein the top wall becomes rounded from in a direction parallel to the front edge where it meets the intake funnel.

In accordance with a further feature, there is further included a battery controller, a first battery bank, a second battery bank, and the charge controller is configured to switch connections of the first and second battery to the generator based on a charge state of the first and second battery banks.

In accordance with some embodiments of the inventive disclosure, there is provided a marine vessel that includes a hull having a bottom and a transom at a rear of the hull. The marine vessel further includes an intake manifold mounted at the bottom of the hull and which has an opening co-located over an opening in the hull. The opening of the intake manifold has an area, and a wall surrounding the opening of the intake manifold that extends upward from the opening of the intake manifold and which reduces in area to an intake manifold exit that is positioned over a rear of the opening of the intake manifold. The vessel further includes a funnel member coupled to the intake manifold exit that reduces in area from the intake manifold exit that extends upwards and to the rear of the intake manifold to a funnel member exit. The vessel further includes a conduit having a first portion coupled to the funnel member exit which extends further upward and to the rear of the intake manifold to an elbow transition and then to a second portion which extend horizontally to the rear and in a direction away from the intake manifold to a conduit exit at the transom of the hull. The vessel further has an impeller disposed in the first portion of the conduit proximate to the funnel exit, a shaft coupled to a center of the impeller at a first end of the shaft, the shaft extends from the impeller upward along the first portion of the conduit and through a sealed opening in a top of the elbow transition, and a generator mounted on top of the conduit that is coupled to a second end of the shaft.

In accordance with a further feature, the first portion of the conduit is angled at forty degrees relative to the opening of the intake manifold.

In accordance with a further feature, the opening of the intake manifold has a front edge and sides extending from the front edge to a point at a back of the opening.

In accordance with a further feature, the intake manifold opening has a five sided shape including a rectangular portion comprised of the front edge and having parallel opposing sides that extend towards the back of the opening to a triangular portion having sides that meet at the point centrally at the back of the opening.

In accordance with a further feature, the point at the back of the opening is positioned behind the funnel portion.

In accordance with a further feature, the parallel opposing sides extend from the front edge to halfway to the back of the opening.

In accordance with a further feature, there is further included a screen over the opening of the intake manifold.

In accordance with a further feature, the conduit exit is positioned to be above a resting water line.

In accordance with a further feature, the intake manifold has a top wall that extends at an angle from the front edge toward the intake funnel, wherein the top wall becomes rounded from in a direction parallel to the front edge where it meets the intake funnel.

In accordance with a further feature, there is further included a battery controller, a first battery bank, a second battery bank, and the charge controller is configured to switch connections of the first and second battery to the generator based on a charge state of the first and second battery banks.

“In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, azimuth or positional relationships indicated by terms such as “up”, “down”, “left”, “right”, “inside”, “outside”, “front”, “back”, “head”, “tail” and so on, are azimuth or positional relationships based on the drawings, which are only to facilitate description of the embodiments of the present invention and simplify the description, but not to indicate or imply that the devices or components must have a specific azimuth, or be constructed or operated in the specific azimuth, which thus cannot be understood as a limitation to the embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, terms such as “first”, “second”, “third” and so on are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly defined and limited, terms such as “installed”, “coupled”, “connected” should be broadly interpreted, for example, it may be fixedly connected, or may be detachably connected, or integrally connected; it may be mechanically connected, or may be electrically connected; it may be directly connected, or may be indirectly connected via an intermediate medium. As used herein, the terms “about” or “approximately” apply to all numeric values, whether or not explicitly indicated. These terms generally refer to a range of numbers that one of skill in the art would consider equivalent to the recited values (i.e., having the same function or result). In many instances these terms may include numbers that are rounded to the nearest significant figure. In this document, the term “longitudinal” should be understood to mean in a direction corresponding to an elongated direction of the element being described. The terms “program,” “software application,” and the like as applicable herein, are defined as a sequence of instructions designed for execution on a computer system. A “program,” “computer program,” or “software application” may include a subroutine, a function, a procedure, an object method, an object implementation, an executable application, an applet, a servlet, a source code, an object code, a shared library/dynamic load library and/or other sequence of instructions designed for execution on a computer system. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above-mentioned terms in the embodiments of the present invention according to the specific circumstances.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG.1is a side view of a marine vessel100having a through-hull passive electric generator, in accordance with some embodiments. In particular, the vessel is a boat having a hull102that sits in the water, and is powered by an outboard motor106that is mounted at the transom116of the vessel100. The outboard motor106is generally a self-contained system but requires an external battery118to provide electric power for the starter of the outboard motor106, or for propulsion operation of an electric motor. The boat may also have electronic systems114operated by the battery118, such as, for example, radio communication, radar, depth/fish finder, as well as running lights120,122. Since all of these devices and the outboard motor106depend on the battery118, it is imperative that the battery118be charged and able to provide power, or that at least an additional power source is present that can provide power in order to avoid being without communications, navigation, or light.FIG.8shows a vessel schematic diagram as an example. Briefly, a battery802is used to power an engine starter804motor for the outboard engine (e.g.106), as well as various vessel electronics and the vessel lights806. As both the engine starter804and vessel electrical system806consume energy from the battery802, a generator808is required to charge the battery802.

The through-hull passive generator system employs a specialized water conduit system that has an intake manifold110at the bottom of the hull102that forces water through a generator conduit108and out through the side of the hull or the transom116at the exit112, which is generally above the resting water line104of the vessel100, when the vessel is not moving. The intake manifold110is positioned at an opening in the bottom of the hull102. As the boat begins to move, propelled by the outboard motor106, the design of the intake manifold creates a pressure differential that forces water through the generator conduit108. The water flowing through the generator conduit108causes an impeller disposed in the generator conduit to turn.

FIG.2shows a side cut-away view of a through-hull passive generator system, in accordance with some embodiments. The view here is along a central plane in a direction from the front of the vessel to the rear of the vessel.FIGS.3-5show other views of the through passive generator system. In these figures, the intake manifold is shown having a tapered opening at the bottom of the vessel. The opening of the intake manifold110, for example, has a front edge204having a width, and tapers to a rear point206. Forward side walls210extend from the front edge204towards the rear about halfway across the total distance of the opening from front to rear. Rear sidewalls208extend from the forward sidewalls210at an angle to the rear point206. The angle can be about forty degrees relative to the direction of the forward side walls210, with a tolerance of +/−five degrees in some embodiments. A top wall202of the intake manifold110extends from the front edge204over the opening and upward to an intake funnel212at the top of the intake manifold, and generally behind the centerline, from front to rear, where the forward side walls210meet the rear sidewalls208at the opening (bottom) of the intake manifold110. The distance from the front edge204to the centerline is given by arrow222. The rear point206is behind, from front to rear, of the bottom and rear of the intake funnel214by distance224. Distance226indicates the distance from the centerline to the rear point206in the front to rear direction. The top wall202is relatively flat at the front edge204, but narrows and becomes convex at the back of the tope wall where it meets the intake funnel212.

The intake funnel has an opening at the top of the intake manifold110, starting at about the centerline, and a funnel section212that reduces in diameter to a coupling section214that is coupled to the first section216of the generator conduit108. The first section216of the generator conduit108is a tubular section of conduit angled upward at about a forty degree angle, but can be less or slightly more (e.g. +/−10%). The first portion216is joined to an elbow portion218that curves to meet the exit portion220of the generator conduit108that terminates at exit112of the generator conduit108. The exit112of the generator conduit108can be covered with a cover238that is biased to a closed position by a spring240. A screen or mesh242can be used to cover the intake opening to prevent objects in the water from entering the intake manifold110. As can be seen here, the conduit exit112can be completely above the resting water line104.

An impeller228is disposed in the first portion216proximate to the coupling section214of intake funnel. The impeller is coupled to a shaft230that runs along the first portion216and exits the top of the elbow section218at sealed opening232, and is further coupled to a generator motor234that is mounted on a base236. In general, when the vessel begins to move, water pressure forces water up through the intake manifold110and generator conduit108, acting on the impeller228and causing it, and the shaft230to rotate, which in turn rotates the armature of the generator motor234to generate electricity. The forward motion of the vessel, as pushed by the outboard motor106, combined with the particular geometry of the intake manifold110and the tapered opening of intake manifold110result in sufficient pressure to force water up and through the generator conduit108. That force can also displace the cover238, causing the cover238to be deflected open to allow water diverted through the generator conduit108to pass and exit out of the generator conduit108.

As can be seen inFIG.3, the intake opening of the intake manifold110is shown here as following a five sided shape including a rectangular portion comprised of the front edge204, which is the bottom of the top wall202, and the bottoms of the two forward side walls210at opposite sides of the front edge204and at right angles to the front edge. The bottom of the forward side walls extend back from the front edge to a point that is about halfway (distance222) to the rear point206from the front edge204(in a line normal to the front edge204). Where the bottoms of the forward side walls210end the bottoms of the rear side walls208extend therefrom to the rear, meeting at the rear point206to form a triangular section of the opening that is contiguous with the rectangular portion in the forward region of the intake opening. The width of the front edge204can be about twice that of distance222and distance226.FIGS.4and5show a top view and a front view of the intake manifold110and the generator conduit108. In these views the generator234and shaft232can be seen on top of the generator conduit108. InFIG.5it can be seen that the top wall202has a rounded upper portion502that follows the opening of the intake funnel212and transitions from a rounded profile to a flat, linear edge at front edge204. Further, the forward side walls210and rear side walls208are shown here as flat surfaces. However, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that similar shapes that use more rounded/curved surfaces can be used equivalently.

FIGS.6and7show water flow through the intake manifold as the vessel begins to move (FIG.6) and as the vessel is at a cruising speed (FIG.7). Initially, when a boat is not moving, the hull sits in the water such that the water level comes the side of the boat to the water line104. Upon engaging the outboard engine106the front of the boat will rise as the rear of the boat pushes through the water, creating an angle of the hull102relative to the direction of travel602as shown inFIG.6. Water pressure will increase against the bottom of the hull102, resulting in water flow606into the intake manifold, and water pressure at the rear of the opening of the intake manifold110created by the narrowing/tapered geometry of the rear portion of the opening of the intake manifold110results in a further upward flow607, and as a result, water is displaced through the generator conduit108until it exits the conduit as indicated by arrow608. This water flow can turn the impeller228and shaft230, and then the generator armature, to create electricity that can be used to charge the battery (e.g.802). Thus, the action of the boat upon moving and the geometry of the intake manifold act to create a flow of water through the generator conduit. Once this flow of water is established, and the boat continues increasing in speed, the boat will be on plane, and the water line relative to the hull will be far below the resting water line104. This situation is shown inFIG.7.

FIG.7illustrates a state where the boat is moving through the water on plane. In that state, the front of the boat and the rear of the boat are more even or level, and bottom of the hull102is less angled relative to the surface of the water relative to when it is moving slowly as inFIG.6. However, because water was forced through the generator conduit108initially, there is an exit water flow702out of the exit112of the generator conduit108. The momentum of that water flow creates a pressure differential at the opening of the intake manifold110, which combined with the pressure differential resulting from the opening of the intake manifold110continues to move water through the generator conduit108, turning the generator armature in the process.

FIG.9shows a block diagram of a battery system900including a load, a through-hull passive generator, and battery banks where connection of the load and generator is controlled by a charge controller, in accordance with some embodiments. The system900includes a first battery bank904and a second battery bank906, each of which are separately coupled to the charge controller902. A load motor908is further connected to the charge controller902and is configured to provide vessel propulsion. A generator motor910is substantially similar to generator motor234and is coupled to a through-hull system substantially equivalent to that shown inFIGS.1-5. As an example, the charge controller902can first connect the load motor908to battery bank904and the generator motor910to the other battery bank906. In this configuration, load motor908will drain charge from the first battery bank904while the second battery bank906is charged (or maintained at a charged level if already charged) by the generator10. Once the load motor908depletes the first battery bank904, the charge controller switches the connections such that the load motor908is then connected to the second battery bank906and the generator910is connected to the first battery bank904and recharges the first battery bank904. The system900is a replacement of a single battery bank system without any recharge capability. Then when the second battery reaches a discharge threshold, the charge controller902switches back to the initial configuration, and the cycle repeats until both batteries are discharged. Since the generator motor910is powered by movement of the vessel, it simply recovers some energy based on water pressure against the hull of the vessel. As a result, the system gains efficiency by achieving some replenishment, but eventually both battery banks become discharged.

FIG.10shows an exemplary chart1000of a test of a system as shown inFIG.9. In the test both the load motor and the generator motor were Nema-17 stepper motors. Each of the battery banks consisted of four HAKADI LiFePO4cells connected in series to create a nominal 12.8 Volt. The test was run using a battery manager that switches connections between the battery banks and the load and generator motors as described in reference toFIG.9. In the chart1000the vertical axis1002represents voltage for each of the two battery banks, which are separately charted on lines1006and1008. Along the bottom, the horizontal axis represents time. Both battery banks start off charged. For the sake of description, line1006will represent the first battery bank and line1008will represent the second battery bank. Initially the second load motor is connected to the second battery bank and operated at a load of 1.8 amps, and the generator motor is connected to the first battery bank. To drive the generator motor, water is pumped towards the intake manifold which results in water passing through the conduit (e.g.108) to turn the generator motor.

The load motor discharges the second battery bank until it reaches what is considered by the battery manager to be a fully discharged state at time1010, at which point the connections are switched; the load motor is connected to the first battery bank and the generator motor is connected to the second battery bank. As a result, the first battery bank begins to discharge and the second battery bank begins to be charged. At time1012the first battery bank becomes discharged, and in response, the battery manager again switches the connections back to the initial configuration, and the first battery bank begins charging and the second battery bank is discharged by the load motor. The connections are again switched at time1014, and finally at time1016both batteries are fully discharged.

FIG.11shows a bar graph1100of a test using a system in accordance with that shown inFIG.9compared to using a single battery bank. The test can be similar to that shown inFIG.10where the battery voltages of both battery banks are charted over time. Bar1102shows the use of a single battery bank, without a generator, and bar1104shows the system ofFIG.9in which two battery banks are used with a generator, and the load and generator connections are changed as one battery bank becomes discharged. Of course, using two battery banks, there will an increase (a doubling of operation time), but using the generator system there is more than a mere doubling of operation time as some energy can be recovered by the inventive through-hull generator system.

Thus, the inventive through-hull passive generator system allows the generation of electricity to charge a battery and/or power electrical systems on the boat while the boat is moving. The disclosed system avoids the need for a separate fuel-burning generator, it works at night when solar energy is not available, and it avoids adding super structure to the boat in the form of a wind turbine, which can interfere with activities such as fishing, for example.

The claims appended hereto are meant to cover all modifications and changes within the scope and spirit of the present invention.