An Improved Method of and Means for Obtaining Motive Power from the Action of the Tides.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Aug., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 21st Oct., 1889-Accepted, 30th Nov., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Method of and Means for Obtaining Motive Power from
the Action of the Tides.
We CHRISTIAN KUSSMAUL of No. 38 Fawkner Street, South Yarra, near Melbourne
in the Colony of Victoria, and IGNAGE DIAMANT of No. 44 Latrobe Street West,
Melbourne aforesaid, Civil Engineers do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows :-
This invention relates to the obtaining of motive power from the action of the
tides in a continuous comparatively simple, inexpensive and yet efficient manner.
It consists in the employment of two large suitably constructed reservoirs
adapted to be filled and emptied alternately by the rise and fall of the tide. Each
of these reservoirs is connected with one or several turbines in any conveniont
manner and these turbines are arranged to be operated by the water being run
either out of or into the said reservoirs.
We prefer to arrange these reservoirs and turbines to work as follows:-
Assuming that the total rise and fall of the tide is twenty-four feet and that one
of the said reservoirs is full whilst the other one is empty, then as soon as the
tide has fallen a certain extent, say eight feet we set the turbine or turbines con-
nected with the full reservoir to work by allowing the water to rise past or
through the said turbines into the sea or other outlet until the tide by its next
rising reaches the height of the level of water in the reservoir say at sixteen feet
above low water. The turbine connected with the empty reservoir is inoperative
until the tide has risen a certain distance say for instance eight feet above low
water when the water is allowed to flow into the said reservoir past or through
the turbine connected therewith which will continue to work until the level of the
water of this reservoir is equal to that of the sea by its next falling. Effective
power will thus be obtained from each reservoir for about seven and a half hours
in each tide thus giving fifteen hours effective working per day for each turbine.
It will be obvions that in order to obtain a uniform motion from the two
turbines they must be provided with suitable regulating or adjusting devices.
Dated this Twenty-first day of June One thousand eight hundred and eighty
nina
C. KUSSMAUL.
I. DIAMANT.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Method of and Means for Obtaining Motive Power from
the Action of the Tides.
We, IGNACE DIAMANT of No. 44 Latrobe Street West, Melbourne in the Colony
of Victoria, Civil Engineer and CHRISTIAN KUSSMAUL of No. 38 Fawkner Street,
South Yarra near Melbourne aforesaid, Civil Engineer 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 :-
This invention relates to the utilization of the tides for obtaining motive power
its object being to enable their rise and fall to be used in such a manner as to
render them a source of continuous power.
It consists essentially in the employment of a pair of large reservoirs each con-
nected with a turbine, turbines or other water motors arranged to work when the
water is flowing into as well as when it is flowing out of said reservoirs.

page_text: We prefer to arrange these turbines and reservoirs as illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings, wherein
Figure 1, is a plan of a pair of reservoirs constructed according to our
invention.
Figure 2, a horizontal section of a part of the dams enclosing said pair of
reservoirs and
Figure 3, a sectional elevation of same, whilst,
Figures 4 and 5 are diagrams illustrative of the operation of our invention.
In carrying our invention into practice we form two reservoirs A and B by means
of two dams or walls C and D which may be constructed in any convenient manner
and of any suitable material. The dain D, is preferably connected to the dam C,
as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 in such a manner as that a large opening E, is
provided for the inflow and outflow of the sea. The water motors F, F, may be
arranged within the hollow walls as shown and are adapted to work as hereinbefore
mentioned with an inflowing as well as an outflowing tide. Stairs or ladders G
are provided so that the engineers may be enabled to attend to the water motors
as required.
In order that the power obtained from the water motors may be constant we
regulate the flow of water into or from the reservoirs as follows:-
Assuming that the difference of level between high and low tide is twelve meters
and that each of the reservoirs is about half a square kilometer in extent we proceed
as follows ;-
Starting with the tide falling and at about three meters below its highest point
as illustrated in full lines in Figure 4, the reservoir A, full, and the reservoir B
empty, we allow two thirds of the water in reservoir A, to flow out through its set
of motors during the time the tide is falling from three meters below high tide to low
tide and again rising to three meters above low tide, that is during the six hours
that the tide is falling from 9 to 0 and rising to 3 as indicated by the arrow a, in
figure the water in the reservoir A will have fallen from twelve meters to four
meters in height that is two thirds of its contents will have been allowed to flow out
into the sea. We then allow the sea to flow into the empty reservoir B, during the
time that the tide is rising from three meters in height to full tide and falling again
to three meters below full tide as indicated by the arrow in figure 4. Thus during
the twelve hours that the tide takes in falling from three meters below high tide to low
tide then rising to its highest and again falling three meters we allow two thirds of
the water in reservoir A to flow out and we fill reservoir B up to about two-thirds
of its height.
In addition to this the reservoir A can be refilled during the time that the tide is
rising say from five meters to twelve meters in height and similarly the water in
reservoir B may be allowed to flow out whilst the sea level is falling from seven
meters in height to low tide as illustrated in figure 5.
We would have it understood that we do not confine ourselves to the exact arrange-
ment herein described because it is obvious that it would have to be varied to suit the
beights of different tides &c.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is
The improved method herein described for obtaining motive power from the action
of the tides said method consisting essentially in allowing water to flow into and out
of a pair of reservoirs such as A and B, through a water motor or motors in such a
manner as to obtain a source of continuous power substantially as and for the purpose
specified and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this Tenth day of September One thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine.