A New or Improved Method and Apparatus for Obtaining Motive Power from the Movement of the Waves of the Sea.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 12th May, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 4th Feb., 1895 Accepted, 4th May: 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
11
A New or Improved Method and Apparatus for Obtaining Motive
Power from the Movement of the Waves of the Sea.
.
I, RICHARD BALLARD of No. 4 Upper North Street, Brighton, in the County
of Sussex, Solicitor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The object of this invention is by means of the method or apparatus or com-
bination hereinafter described to make the power of the rise and fall of the waves.
of the sea available as a motive power to work suction pumps or force pumps
and thereby obtain hydraulic and other power and the other results consequent
upon the power capable of being developed from or by the working of suction
pumps and force punips.
I propose to effect this object by ineans of a floating weight hereinafter called
a float in connection with a suction pump or suction pumps or a force pump or
force pumps.
It is well known that a suction pump or a force pump will pump other liquids
as well as water and that such pumps will equally pump air or any gas or mixture
of gases.
: :
I hereinafter refer to a suction pump and a force pump whether for water or
other liquids or air or any gas or mixture of gases as a pump."
66
Hereinafter in referring to pumping water I include in the word water any other
liquid and I include in the word air any other gas or mixture of gases.
The float must float in or on the sea so as to rise and fall with the rise and fall
of the waves.
The float can be of any suitable substance, size, shape or weight according to
circumstances and the work or power required of it.
The float must be attached to or connected with a pump or pumps so that by the
upward and downward movement of the float it will work such pump or pumps.
There are many ways in which a float can be attached to or connected with
the pump so as to work the pump, for instance, the float may be connected by
an arm or arms to a fixed pivot and work the pump by leverage in the same
way as a common hand pump is worked, in such case the arm or arms should
be of sufficient length to allow for the rise and fall of the tides and the height
and depression of the waves or the float may be attached to or connected with
the pump or it may wholly or partly surround the pump, so that the float will
rise and fall perpendicularly and work the pump by a perpendicular motion.
The attachment or connection between the float and the pump can be so arranged
as to be disconnected when it is desired to stop the pumping.
The pump can be fixed to the land' under the sea or to any rock or rocks or to
the shore adjacent or convenient thereto or to or on or in any floating object such
as a ship or boat.
Having now shewn how the motive power to work the pump can be obtained
by the rising and falling of the float by the rise and fall of the waves it is
obvious that the pump will do the work hitherto performed and develop any of
the various kinds of hydraulic and other power capable of being obtained or
developed by the various kinds of suction pumps and force pumps as worked by
steam engines and other motive powers hitherto used, for instance, the pump will
if required force water or air into an accumulator thus obtaining any desired

page_text: pressure and the water or air can under pressure be conveyed from the accumulator
by a pipe or pipes to any convenient place and will emerge from such accumulator
or such pipe or pipes capable of supplying motive power to a motor capable of
transmitting its power or energy to any machinery which it may be required to
work or in the case of water it will, if preferred, under such pressure as aforesaid
rise to a higher level where it can be stored in reservoirs from which it can be
drawn to supply motive power or for other uses, or if it is preferred to pump air
and to use compressed air as a motive power or for other purposes the compressed
air can be carried direct to a motor or such compressed air can be stored in
accumulators ready for use when required.
Dated this 12th day of May 1894.
.
RICHARD BALLARD.
A New or Improved Method and Apparatus for Obtaining Motive
Power from the Movement of the Waves of the Sea.
I RICHARD BALLARD of No 4 Upper North Street, Brighton in the County
of Sussex, Solicitor do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
The object of this invention is by means of the method or apparatus or com-
bination hereinafter described to make the power of the rise and fall of the waves
of the sea available as a motive power to work suction pumps or force pumps and
thereby obtain hydraulic and other power and the other results consequent upon
the power capable of being developed from or by the working of suction pumps and
force pumps.
With this object I employ a floating body hereafter termed "float" of suitable
size, shape, and construction, and adapted to float upon the sea and be raised and
lowered by the waves thereof. Such a float I suitably connect with a pump of
proper design either a force or suction pump, by which water or other liquid or
air or gas may be raised to a height, forced into an accumulator or compressed (in
the case of air or gas). The rise and fall of the float placing the pump into action,
whereby I am enahied to store energy which may be expended in operating
machinery, or for other useful purposes.
There are many ways in which the float may be attached or connected to operate
the pump; and in order that my invention may be easily understood I will refer to
the accompanying drawings whereon is illustrated at Figs. 1 to 4, certain diagrams
shewing by way of example, some applications of my invention,
At Fig. 1, the float A, is connected by rod A', to one arm of a lever B, centred
at B', on a fixed bracket C. The opposite arm of the lever B, is pivotted to the
connecting rod D, of a pump plunger D'. E, is the pump by which water is drawn
up by pipe F, and forced by pipe G, to an accumulator H, of known construction,
from which the water under pressure may be utilized as required for motive power
or other suitable purposes. The vertical rise and fall of the float A, caused by the
sea waves, will thus constitute the motive power for operating the pump and
keeping the accumulator charged. The rod A', is connected to the lever B, by a
pin and may be readily disconnected when required, as also the length of the rod A',
between the lever B, and float A, may be adjusted to suit the rise and fall of the
tide. When it is desired or required to give an even stroke to the pump irrespective
of the height of the waves, I may employ simple mechanical means such as at
Fig. 2, where the lever B, is fixed to a rock-shaft B', upon which is keyed a cam-
shaped arm or segment J, the inner edge of which acts upon the pump operating

page_text: lever, which will always receive a lift equal to the radius of the segment J, any
further motion of the latter being then inoperative.
The pump, accumulator, and accessories can be fixed to the land under the sea,
or to any rock or rocks, or to the shore adjacent or convenient thereto, or to or on
or in any floating object, such as a ship or boat, or floating platform.
The pump can be fixed to the land under the sea or to any rock or rocks or to
the shore adjacent or convenient thereto or to or on or in any floating object such
as a ship or boat.
Having now shewn how the motive power to work the pump can be obtained
by the rising and falling of the float by the rise and fall of the waves it is
obvious that the pump will do the work hitherto performed and develop any of
the various kinds of hydraulic and other power capable of being obtained or
developed by the various kinds of suction pumps and force pumps as worked by steam
engines and other motive powers hitherto used, the pump will force water or
air into an accumulator connected with the pump thus obtaining any desired
pressure and the water or air can under pressure, if required, be conveyed from
the accumulator by a pipe or pipes to any convenient place and will emerge
direct from such accumulator or from such pipe or pipes capable of supplying
motive power to machinery or to a motor capable of transmitting its power or
energy to any machinery which it may be required to work, or in the case of water
it will, if preferred, under such pressure as aforesaid, rise to a higher level where it
can be stored in reservoirs from which it can be drawn to supply motive power or
for other uses, or if it is preferred to pump air and to use compressed air as a
motive power or for other purposes the compressed air can be carried direct to a
motor, or such compressed air can be stored in accumulators ready for use when
required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The combination of a pump operated by a float either directly or by intervening
mechanism as hereinbefore described together with an accumulator, all arranged
and acting substantially as and for the purposes described, and illustrated by the
accompanying drawings.
Dated thie 4th dev of February 1895