Electric power production device using all or part of the hydraulic power available in water supply networksThe present invention relates to a self-contained electric power production device using all or part of the hydraulic power available in water supply networks, during operations for filling and emptying the reservoirs.
The automation, centralized control of water supply networks and the permanent checking of the quality of the water distributed (pollution of the groundwater table and of rivers) involve the positioning of electric or electronic apparatus in the structural works, such as tower, half buried or buried reservoirs, different sensors placed on the ducts, etc...Such apparatus must necessarily be supplied with electric power, whereas most of the sites to be equipped are generally ill provided therewith.
The solutions used at the present time are not satisfactory either because of their limited independence, such as industrial cells or batteries, which involve frequent maintenance operations, or by their exposure to vandalism and bad weather, such as solar panels and wind power engines, or by the disproportion of the investment with respect to the required power, such as connection to the mains requiring the installation of an electric line of several hundred meters, even several kilometers, for a consumption of a few tens of watts and, in addition, increasing the susceptibility of the installation to atmospheric disturbances.
The device of the invention overcomes these drawbacks. It comprises in fact a rotary machine, able to supply electric power, which is integral with a propeller driven by the passage of the water. The whole is held in position ,in the axis of the path of the water, by a mechanical assembly which makes it possible to install it simply in the ducting currently used in water supply networks. The different parts are dimensioned as a function of the existing installations and the power of the generating machine.
Since the water flow is generally intermittent, the device will be advantageously completed, without modifying the spirit of the invention, by a battery equipped with the usual charge limiting and regulating circuits. The devices designed in accordance with the spirit of the invention provide permanent electric power where it is needed, for a limitless time, since the reservoirs are filled and emptied regularly, said devices placed inside the structural works being protected against vandalism and bad weather, remaining insensitive to the overvoltages induced by atmospheric disturbances and the amount of the investment remains related to the end sought.
Improved operation is obtained by using a casing, made of one or more parts, completely surrounding the machine. Each end comprises an opening whose section defines a "current tube" independent of the dimensions of the piping of the water supply network and which defines the operating conditions of the installation. The flow section of the casing(s), defining the motive power, may be modified by optional reduction rings of different diameters.
To regulate the rotational speed of the machine, as a function of the hydraulic conditions of the duct in which it is placed, the end of the casing surrounding the propeller may receive - fixed orientable blades. By adjusting the slant of these blades, with respect to the axis of the machine, the angle of the water current is varied with respect to the plane of the blades of the propeller. Since the speed of rotation of a propeller depends on this angle, the possibility of being able to orient these blades makes it possible to adjust the rotational speed of a given propeller, in a certain range of flow speed and water flow through the duct. Devices for adjusting these fixed blades, manually, automatically by using the speed of the water or by slaving to the output voltage of the alternator by means of an external drive member, for example, remain within the spirit of the invention.
In one embodiment of the invention, the rotary machine producing the electric power is a single or multiphase alternator comprising neither collector, nor rings nor brushes. The armature is fixed so that the two ends of each coil leave directly through a multi-conductor cable which will be connected to known AC rectifying circuits.
Said coils may be connected in series or in parallel for 12 or 24 volt battery charging. The inductor, fast with the propeller and carrying permanent magnets, may rotate in one direction or the other. T his feature is particularly advantageous in certain works where the direction of water flow may be reversed.
The design of the alternator, the choice of non oxidizing or plastic materials, overmolding of the coils mean that it may be immersed without bothering about rotary seals, which result in friction, wear and leaks. It is filled and operates full of water. The only sealing to be provided is the passage of the fixed cable through the duct, a function usually fulfilled by a gland. Holes, formed in the body and the covers, provide cooling of the armature and lubrication of the bearings. The machine thus designed is particularly reliable and consequently quite well adapted to isolated installations operating without supervision.
Other features of the invention will be clear from the following description given by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichFigure 1 shows in half section a first possible design of the invention, with the central fixed armature covered by the rotary inductor and carrying the propeller,Figure 2 shows a front view of this first version, showing one method, among other possible ones, of fixing the machine inside the duct, as well as the propeller which may not occupy the whole flow section of said duct,Figure 3 shows a possibility of installing this version, with its two casings, at any position in a duct, using two adapter cones for conserving the initial flow section,Figure 4 shows in half section a second possible version of the invention, with the fixed armature inside which rotates the inductor fast with the propeller placed at the end of the machine,Figure 5 is a front view of this second version of the invention, showing the arms for holding the machine in position inside a duct,Figure 6 shows one possibility of installing this version, with casings, fixed blades and reduction ring, in any position in a duct,Figure 7 is a front view of the preceding Figure showing the arms for holding the machine in position in its casing via a crown ring, as well as the arms for holding this ring inside a duct,Figure 8 shows the propeller casing and its blades which are orientable by rotation of said casing on the crown ring,Figure 9 is an end view of the propeller casing, showing the orientable blades,Figure 10 shows a possible device, among others, for manually controlling the fixed blades,Figure 11 shows a possible device, among others, for automatically controlling the position of the fixed blades, using the force of the water current in the duct,Figure 12 shows a possible device, among others, for automatically controlling the position of the fixed blades by means of an external control motor,Figures 13, 14 and 15 show possibilities, among others, of fixing the machine at the water intake of a filling duct at the top of a reservoir, at the start of an emptying duct at the bottom of a reservoir and at any position in a duct.
Referring to these drawings, the device comprises a body 1 with two bearings 2a, 2b, ball bearings for example, in which is placed a shaft 3. The fixed armature, formed of a laminated magnetic circuit 4 and coils 5, is fixed to body 1. Overmolding of the assembly with an insulating material 6 provides sealing. The inductor 7 with permanent magnets 8 is fast with shaft 1. In the design of Figure 1, propeller 9 is fixed directly on the inductor 7, whereas in the design of Figure 4, the propeller is fixed to the end of shaft 3. Two covers 10a, lOb of a conical shape are fixed to the two ends of the machine.
Figures 1 and 2 for the first version and Figures 4 and 5 for the second version show the fixing of the machine, by arms 11, at the end of an existing duct 12 whose diameter has been increased by an adapter cone 13.
Fixing is provided by bolts 14 passing through holes formed in the pipe 15 integral with cone 13 and screwed into the ends of arms 11. The holes 38, visible in Figures 1 and 4, provide water flow inside the machine for cooling the armature and lubricating the bearings.
Figures 3 and 6 show the machine secured to a crown ring 16 by arms 17. Said crown ring, which supports the casing 19, 20, is held in position by spacers 23 inside the pipe 22, which is fitted by the two reversed cones 13a and 13b to duct 12. The assembly is held by bolts 14 screwed into the arms 17 through holes formed in pipe 22.
Figures 6 and 7 show the fixed blades 21, whose end spurs 25 are placed in the recesses 18 of the crown ring and the reduction rings 37a, 37b at each end of the casings.
Figure 8 shows a means for pre-adjusting the angle of the fixed blades. Said blades are fast with each other and with the casing 20 on the opening side but are free over all the conical part thereof. The free ends are provided with a spur 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d which, on assembly, is engaged in the recesses 18a, 18b, 18c, 18d of the crown ring 16. By rotating casing 20 within the limits of the oblong hole(s) 26 which are there provided, and guided by screws 27 screwed into the crown ring 16 but slackened during this adjustment, a twisting effect is caused on the fixed blades 21 which are held in position at their other ends in recesses 18 but in which they may slide. Such twisting results in slanting said blades in one direction or the other, as can be seen for blade 21a.
The movement is shown by the reference 28 of casing 20 and the graduation 29 of the crown ring 16.
Figures 9 and 10 show an assembly, among other possible ones, for manually controlling the fixed blades,in accordance with the above described principle.
Control rods 30 cause a ring 31 to pivot about the casing 20. The fixed blades 21 fast with ring 31 are rotated, which has the same effect as causing casing 11 to rotate.
In the example shown in Figure 8, locking is obtained by screwing up the rods 30, which results in nipping the casing 16 between the lips of ring 31.
Figure 11 shows one means among others for automatically controlling the fixed blades by the water current. Ring 31, mounted on casing 20 by means of balls 33, which are imprisoned in holes formed in said casing, may pivot freely within the limits of the oblong holes 32.
Blades 21 are still fast with ring 31 which also carries, on the outer side, other blades 34 placed in the main current of the duct. These blades, slanted with respect to the flow direction, cause a rotational torque which drives the inner blades 21 via ring 31. The slant of blades 34 is chosen so that an increase in tne flow speed in the duct causes a modification of the angle of the current inside the machine, so as to maintain the rotational speed of the propeller constant. Blades 21, made from a material having a certain elasticity, serve as return springs.
Figure 12 shows an assembly for automatically controlling the rotational speed of the machine by means of an external motor means. Ring 31 mounted at the end of casing 20, by means of balls 33, carries a conical pinion sector 35 on which meshes the drive pinion 36. By modifying the position of blades 21, the rotation of this pinion changes the operation of the machine.
Figures 13, 14 and 15 show different possibilities of installing the machine, at the end or in the middle of a water supply duct, using all or parts of the above described members.
The invention is not limited to the forms described and lends itself to numerous variants in accordance with its Spirit. Ir particular, the form and nature of the different elements forming the machine and those for mounting it may be modified for reasons of convenience of manufacture or installation. Similarly, the design of the electricity generating machine may undergo numerous variants, including the use of conventional electric machines. A machine may also be designed approximating those described above but whose elements are disposed differently. All these modifications remain within the scope of the main means of the invention.
The device of the invention is particularly intended for the production of electric power in isolated works of water supply networks. It is a practical, economic and particularly reliable solution for supplying electric or electronic apparatus indispensable for the automation, remote control and quality controls, which are more and more frequent in such installations.