Water Powered Motor for Producing Useful Work

Abstract

A water driven power generating system has a frame with a waterwheel carried within the frame in an upright manner having a plurality of water receiving elements for turning the waterwheel. A water discharge manifold is used to discharge water from a supply tank onto the water receiving elements. The water supply tank is supplied with water from an adjacent water reservoir, such as a stock tank. After passing over the water receiving elements of the water wheel, the discharge water is allowed to flow back to the water reservoir by gravity. The water used in the system is pumped from the reservoir to the supply tank by a truck mounted pump which is powered by the power take-off of the truck.

Claims

1. A water powered motor for producing useful work, the motor comprising: a frame serving as an enclosure for a waterwheel, the frame having opposing side elements and oppositely arranged, open ends; a waterwheel carried within the frame in an upright manner having a plurality of water receiving elements for turning the waterwheel in response to a discharge of water against the water receiving elements; a water supply tank having an interior, an exterior, and a water discharge manifold communicating with the interior of the water supply tank, the discharge being disposed above the waterwheel in discharge alignment with the water receiving elements; a water pump for pumping water from an adjacent water reservoir to the interior of the water supply tank, water flowing from the supply tank through the water discharge manifold onto the water receiving elements as the elements turn within the waterwheel frame, the water which is being discharged from the water receiving elements as the elements turn being allowed to flow back to the water reservoir under the force of gravity; wherein the waterwheel has a pair of spaced apart wheel shaped side plates each having an exterior surface and an interior surface, and wherein each of the side plates has an axle shaft welded thereon at a right angle to the exterior surface at a central location on each of the side plates, the axle shafts each being mounted in a bearing structure on the frame for rotational movement with respect to the frame; wherein the rotational movement of the axle shafts is used to power a motor for producing useful work; and and wherein the water receiving elements of the waterwheel are comprised of a series of bent metal sheets which radiate outwardly from a central axis of the waterwheel and which are welded between the two side plates, each bent metal sheet having a back panel, a relatively longer inner extent and a relatively shorter outer extent which is bent at an angle with respect to a line drawn perpendicular to the plane of the inner extent, each of the bent metal sheets forming a trough for receiving water from the water discharge manifold.

2. The water powered motor claim 1, wherein each of the bent metal sheets has a relatively longer inner extent and a relatively shorter outer extent which is bent at an angle in the range from about about 20 to 40 with respect to a line drawn perpendicular to the plane of the inner extent.

3. The water powered motor of claim 2, wherein the angle is in the range from about 25 to 35.

4. The water powered motor of claim 3, wherein the angle is approximately 30.

5. The water powered motor of claim 4, wherein each of the troughs is formed by spot welding a back panel and a longer piece of metal and a relatively shorter piece of metal to the respective side plates of the waterwheel in the bent shape previously described.

6. The water powered motor of claim 5, wherein the longer piece of metal makes up approximately two thirds of the length of a bottom wall of each trough, the shorter piece making up the remaining approximate one third portion of the overall length.

7. The water powered motor of claim 1, wherein the troughs are supported on outwardly radiating metal sheets which form spokes of the waterwheel in a star shaped pattern approximately 72 apart about the axis of the central shaft.

8. The water powered motor of claim 1, wherein there are five water receiving troughs formed between the side plates of the waterwheel.

9. The water powered motor of claim 1, wherein the water pump is mounted on a bed of a truck having a power take-off, the power take-off being used to power the water pump.

10. The water powered motor of claim 9, wherein the bed of the truck on which the pump is mounted is raised and lowered by a fifth wheel assembly of the truck, lowering of the bed being used to properly position one end of the water pump at a correct depth in the water reservoir.

11. The water powered motor of claim 10, wherein the water pump has a pump inlet and a pump outlet and wherein a by-pass valve is located between the inlet and outlet for temporarily by-passing water from the pump back to the water reservoir.

12. The water powered motor of claim 1, wherein the rotational movement of the axle shafts is used to drive a hydraulic motor/pump which is used to produce useful work.

13. The water powered motor of claim 12, wherein a gear/sprocket/pulley type multiplier system is used to create an increased rpm output for driving the hydraulic motor/pump.

14. The water powered motor of claim 1, wherein the waterwheel frame is a portable skid which allows the system to be moved from one location to another.

15. A method for producing useful work using a water powered motor, the method comprising the steps of: providing a frame serving as an enclosure for a waterwheel, the frame having opposing side elements and oppositely arranged, open ends; locating a waterwheel within the frame in an upright manner, the waterwheel having a plurality of water receiving elements for turning the waterwheel in response to a discharge of water against the water receiving elements; providing a water supply tank located adjacent the waterwheel, the water supply tank having an interior, an exterior, and a water discharge manifold communicating with the interior of the water supply tank, the discharge being disposed above the waterwheel in discharge alignment with the water receiving elements; providing a water pump for pumping water from an adjacent water reservoir to the interior of the water supply tank, water flowing from the supply tank through the water discharge manifold onto the water receiving elements as the elements turn within the waterwheel frame, the water which is being discharged from the water receiving elements as the elements turn being allowed to flow back to the water reservoir under the force of gravity; wherein the rotational movement of the axle shafts is used to power a motor for producing useful work.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the waterwheel has a pair of spaced apart wheel shaped side plates each having an exterior surface and an interior surface, and wherein each of the side plates has an axle shaft welded thereon at a right angle to the exterior surface at a central location on each of the side plates, the axle shafts each being mounted in a bearing structure on the frame for rotational movement with respect to the frame; and and wherein the water receiving elements of the waterwheel are comprised of a series of bent metal sheets which radiate outwardly from a central axis of the waterwheel and which are welded between the two side plates, each bent metal sheet having a back panel and a relatively longer inner extent and a relatively shorter outer extent which is bent at an angle with respect to a line drawn perpendicular to the plane of the inner extent, each of the bent metal sheets forming a trough for receiving water from the water discharge manifold.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the water pump is mounted on a bed of a truck having a power take-off, the power take-off being used to power the water pump.

18. The water powered motor of claim 17, wherein the bed of the truck on which the pump is mounted is raised and lowered by a fifth wheel assembly of the truck, lowering of the bed being used to properly position one end of the water pump at a correct depth in the water reservoir.

19. The water powered motor of claim 15, wherein the rotational movement of the axle shafts is used to drive a hydraulic motor/pump which is used to produce useful work.

20. The water powered motor of claim 19, wherein a gear/sprocket/pulley type multiplier system is used to create an increased rpm output for driving the hydraulic motor/pump.

21. The water powered motor of claim 15, wherein the waterwheel frame is a portable skid which allows the system to be moved from one location to another.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] FIG. 1 is a simplified, partly schematic, of the water driven system for producing useful work of the invention.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a simplified side view of the waterwheel and frame used as an enclosure in the water driven system of FIG. 1.

[0024] FIG. 3 is a side view of the waterwheel of FIG. 2 with one of the end plates removed for ease of illustration.

[0025] FIG. 4 is a simplified, perspective view of the waterwheel and wheel enclosure used in the water driven system of the invention.

[0026] FIG. 5 is a cut-away view of the power take-off of the diesel tractor used to power the water pump used in the system of the invention.

[0027] FIG. 6 is side view of the diesel tractor and bed-mounted water pump used in the system of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] The present invention provides a water driven system for generating useful work which meets the foregoing objectives. The invention described herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting examples which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processes and manufacturing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the workings of the invention. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the invention herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the invention. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed invention.

[0029] FIG. 1 is a simplified, partly schematic view of the water powered motor and water delivery system. The principal components of the motor and system include a waterwheel 1, water supply tank 13, and a powered delivery source 15 for delivering water from an adjacent water reservoir 17 to the supply tank 13 and, in turn, to the waterwheel 11. In the example shown, the water reservoir 17 is, in this case, a farm pond or stock tank of the type found on many western ranches and the like. As briefly mentioned, a stock tank is used to provide drinking water for animals such as cattle or horses, or to irrigate fields, or the like. These tanks are typically filled either by a pump, windpump, creek, spring, or may rely on runoff water from rain or melting snow. There are thousands of water ponds in Texas rangelands that locals call a tank.

[0030] The figures which follow explain the components of the water powered motor and water delivery system in greater detail. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a frame 19 serves as an enclosure for the waterwheel 11. Perhaps as best seen in FIG. 4, the frame 19 has opposing side elements or panels 21, 23, and oppositely arranged, open ends 25, 27, respectfully. The waterwheel 11 is located within the frame 19 in an upright manner. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the wheel itself has outwardly extending axle shafts, such as shaft 29, mounted within a suitable bearing assembly 31, which allows the wheel to rotate about the horizontally oriented axle shafts 29. The waterwheel 11 has a plurality of water receiving elements, such as troughs 33 for turning the waterwheel in response to a discharge of water against the water receiving elements.

[0031] As briefly described with respect to FIG. 1, a water supply tank 13 is located adjacent the waterwheel 11. The water supply tank could assume a variety of forms. For example, the water supply tank 13 shown in FIG. 1 is a vertically standing, cylindrical tower having an interior 35, an exterior 37, and a water discharge manifold 39 communicating with the interior of the water supply tank. The discharge manifold 39 is disposed above the waterwheel 11 in discharge alignment with the water receiving elements 33. In the prototype system of the invention, the tank 13 is a 1000 gallon tank with a manifold 39 which is approximately 30 inches in diameter and about seven feet long. A discharge chute 41 is angled downwardly at about a 45 angle and may be equipped with a mechanically operated shutter or gate (shown form the end view as 45 in FIG. 1) which can be raised and lowered in increments to provide a degree of control over the flow of water leaving the supply tank 13 and passing downwardly to the waterwheel 11. The discharge manifold 39 and discharge chute 41 act as a muffler to reduce the water coming from the supply tank to manageable flow rates. For example, it is envisioned that a 1000 gallon supply tank will be able to supply on the order of 6,500 gallons per minute of water, if left unregulated. The discharge manifold and discharge chute also take the water discharge point down to a desired height where it is needed to impinge upon the water receiving elements of the waterwheel. The discharge manifold and/or discharge chute may be braced against the frame of the waterwheel for added stability.

[0032] Some sort of water supply system is necessary to provide a convenient source of water to the waterwheel. Preferably, the water being supplied to the system is handled only one time and is hydraulically powered, rather than posing the possible hazards of electrical power systems. As shown in FIG. 1, a truck mounted water pump 47 is used for pumping water from the adjacent water reservoir 17 to the interior 35 of the water supply tank 13. Water flows from the supply tank through the water discharge manifold 39 onto the water receiving elements 33 as the elements turn within the waterwheel frame 19. Since the frame of the waterwheel is open at either of the two opposing ends (25, 27), the water which is being discharged from the water receiving elements 33 as the elements turn is allowed to flow back to the water reservoir 17 under the force of gravity. The resulting rotational movement of the axle shafts 29 of the waterwheel is used to power a motor for producing useful work. As shown in FIG. 1, the water supply tank 13 may rest on a support platform 46 which raises the supply tank 13 at least about 12 to 16 inches above the floor of the waterwheel frame 19.

[0033] The truck mounted pump 47 is, in this case, an adapted field irrigation pump of the type normally used to irrigate agricultural fields. A suitable pump, modified for purposes of the invention, can be obtained, for example, from Gator Pump Company, P.O. Box 57, Brownwood, Tex. 76804. A typical commercially available water pump is sold commercially as the Original Gator Agricultural PTO Trailer Pump. These general types of pumps are used for such diverse needs as high and low-volume pumping, de-watering flooded fields, managing tail water or supplying water to flood and furrow-irrigated farmlands.

[0034] For purposes of the present invention, the original agricultural pump has been mounted in the tilting bed (49 in FIGS. 1 and 6) of a diesel tractor truck 51. In this case, the truck 51 comes equipped with a 300 h.p. power take-off, shown in simplified fashion generally at 53 in FIG. 5. Power take-offs of this type are commercially available and will be familiar to those skilled in the relevant arts. The power take-off from the diesel tractor is connected by a U-joint assembly 55 to the drive shaft 57 of the agricultural pump for powering the pump. The diesel tractor 51 is used to properly position the pump adjacent the water reservoir 17. The fifth wheel assembly (shown generally at 59 in FIG. 6) is used to raise and lower the bed of the truck on which the pump is mounted. This action is used to properly position one end of the water pump at a correct depth in the water reservoir 17. The fifth wheel assembly is also a commercial item that comes as standard equipment with the tractor 59 and will be familiar to those skilled in the art.

[0035] Because of the particular arrangement of the water delivery system, the pump 47 will run at the particular rpm the truck motor runs at, e.g., 500 to 1,000 rpm. In order to provide additional control over the water supply, a by-pass assembly (shown as 61 in FIG. 6) may be employed. In the example shown, the by-pass assembly is a 6 inch diameter pipe 63 equipped with a manually operated, quick opening butterfly valve 65 which can be manually set at a range of desired openings. The by-pass valve 65 allows the operator to shunt off a portion, or all of, for example a gallon/minute flow of water which would otherwise pass out the supply hose (67 in FIG. 1) which is used to supply water from the pump 47 to the supply tank 13. The supply hose 67 can be, for example, a 12 inch flexible rubber hose. The discharged water from the by-pass assembly flows out a discharge end 69 of the pipe 63 back to the water reservoir 17.

[0036] FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show the preferred water wheel of the invention in greater detail. As perhaps best seen in FIG. 4, the waterwheel has a pair of spaced apart wheel shaped side plates 71, 73, each having an exterior surface and an interior surface, and wherein each of the side plates has an axle shaft (such as shaft 29 in FIG. 4) welded thereon at a right angle to the exterior surface at a central location on each of the side plates. The axle shafts are each being mounted in a conventional bearing structure 31 on the frame for rotational movement with respect to the frame 19. This allows the waterwheel to be rotatable about a horizontal axis aligned with the axle shaft with respect to the stationary frame 19. FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the movement of the waterwheel 11 within the frame 19 showing the outer diameter of the waterwheel nearly touching the bottom of the frame between the opposing open frame ends 25, 27 (see FIG. 4).

[0037] With reference now to FIG. 3, the water receiving elements 33 of the waterwheel 11 are comprised of a series of bent metal sheets which radiate outwardly from a central axis of the waterwheel made up by the axle 29. The bent metal sheets can be welded between the two side plates 71, 73 (FIG. 4), each bent metal sheet having a relatively longer inner extent 75 and a relatively shorter outer extent 77 which is bent at an angle with respect to a line drawn perpendicular to the plane of the inner extent 75. The relatively longer inner extent 75 is joined to a substantially vertical back panel 76 which, together with the inner and outer extents forms a trough receiving water from the water discharge manifold (39 in FIG. 1).

[0038] In the version of the waterwheel shown in FIG. 3, each of the trough bottom walls (such as wall 75) has an outer extent which is bent at an angle in the range from about 20 to 40, preferably from about 25 to 35, most preferably about 30, from the plane of the inner extent thereof. In other words, the bottom wall 75 in FIG. 3 is bent at an angle which in this case happens to be approximately 30 with respect to the imaginary line 61. The trough can conveniently be formed by spot welding a longer piece of metal 75 and a relatively shorter piece of metal 77 and a back panel 76 at the locations shown in FIG. 3. The longer piece 75 is approximately two thirds of the total length of the bottom wall, with the angled, shorter piece 77 making up the remaining approximate one third portion of the overall length. The troughs can be supported upon radiating sheets of metal (spokes) 78 which radiate outward from the axis 29 of the central shaft at approximately equidistant locations about the axis 29. The radiating sheets 78 form a star shaped pattern approximately 72 apart about the axis of the central shaft 37. In this version of the waterwheel of the invention, there are five buckets or troughs. The particular arrangement and shape of the trough bottom walls shown in FIG. 3 help to eliminate any tendency of the waterwheel to move in a backward direction in operation and provide increased efficiency for transmitting and converting the power generated by the turning waterwheel into useful work.

[0039] It is envisioned that, to produce useful work in an economical fashion to compete with, for example, a wind turbine, the production version of the waterwheel 11 will be quite massive in design. For example, one early prototype waterwheel was constructed which was 10 feet in diameter and 6 feet in width, weighing approximately 10,000 pounds. For the troughs on the prototype, a 6 foot wide sheet of metal was bent in a brake to have a front lip or edge 22 inches tall. The trough was formed with a 53 inch pan depth and with a 3 inch back lip or edge giving the trough a rectangular appearance. The holding capacity of the prototype waterwheel was about gallons with 70-80% of all the troughs being full at any given time during the rotation of the waterwheel.

[0040] Another prototype waterwheel is being constructed, as shown in FIG. 2, which will be 30 feet in diameter (d in FIG. 2), meaning a radius of 15 feet (r in FIG. 2). The bottom of the waterwheel comes almost to the floor of the waterwheel frame 19, leaving a gap g of only about inches. However, a much larger diameter waterwheel, i.e., 40, 50, 60, etc., feet or more in diameter, would have a much larger water trough holding capacity.

[0041] The rotational movement of the waterwheel and corresponding movement of the axle shafts 39 can be used to produce useful work, e.g., to drive an electrical generator for generating electrical power. While many such systems might be utilized in the generation of electricity, there are many other useful applications, as well. For example, the previously mentioned use of such systems to operate belts and drive shafts to turn machinery. It is possible that a conventional electrical generator might be mounted directly on the frame and be driven by the waterwheel to generate electrical power by one of the axle shafts of the waterwheel. However, in some versions of the invention, the frame 19 will also have mounted thereon a hydraulic pump, driven by the waterwheel axle shaft, which is used to drive a hydraulic motor, the hydraulic motor, in turn, being used to drive the electrical generator for generating electrical power. The hydraulic motor and pump may also be incorporated in one commercially available unit. The hydraulic motor/pump and electrical generator might even sit beside the frame, or at another more distant location. In some cases, it may be desirable to have a gear/sprocket/pulley system attached to the sprocket output gear (32 in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4) located between a selected one of the axle shafts of the waterwheel and the hydraulic motor/pump for creating an increased rpm output for driving the hydraulic motor/pump. This might comprise a suitable gear, sprocket or pulley multiplier type system, such as a gear box located between a selected one of the axle shafts of the waterwheel and the hydraulic pump/motor for creating an increased rpm output for driving the hydraulic pump/motor. The system could also be simplified, as by going from a sprocket on the main shaft to a transmission, using a chain or other means. This would eliminate the need for pulleys and belts.

[0042] A suitable multiplier system, for example, could be used to transform the 10-12 rpm rotational speed of the waterwheel to approximately 1800 rpm's at the hydraulic motor/pump drive shaft. The hydraulic motor/pump can then be used to produce useful work, one example being to drive an electric generator in conventional fashion. It should then be economically feasible; for example, to drive a 200-300 Kwatt generator of the type currently driven by wind powered sources, and the like.

[0043] An invention has been shown with several advantages. The water driven system of the invention uses water as the motive force for creating useful work. One application of the work produced by the system is to generate electricity, rather than using polluting fuels such as burning fossil fuels. This system is extremely simple in design and economical to manufacture. The waterwheel frame can be provided as a portable skid which allows the system to be moved from one location to another. The design of the waterwheel used in this version of the water driven system is particularly efficient in converting the energy of the moving water to useful work. This system of the invention thus provides a relatively inexpensive power generating system that can be used to generate a variety of forms of useful work as a water powered motor and the like.

[0044] While the invention has been shown in several of its forms, it is not thus limited but is susceptible to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, as described in the claims which follow.