Buoyancy prime mover

A buoyancy prime mover having a wheel rotating within a housing. An upper portion of the housing communicates with a lower portion of the housing through pipes and a blower. The blower pumps high pressure operating gas through a blower pipe into a lower portion of the housing. The housing contains operating liquid having a lower buoyancy than the operating gas. The wheel has a plurality of circumferentially disposed buckets. In operation, the blower pumps operating gas into the lower housing portion, where it bubbles up into the buckets. The greater buoyancy of the operating gas causes the wheel to turn. A venturi pipe connects a gas return pipe to to a venturi disposed within the lower housing portion. A venturi low pressure area pulls operating gas through the venturi pipe into the buckets, which also causes the wheel to rotate. At steady state operation, approximately half the operating gas in the buckets comes from the blower, and about half is pulled in through the venturi. The blower reduces the operating gas pressure in the gas return pipe and increases the operating gas pressure flowing into the housing. The operating gas in that portion of the wheel which is travelling upwards reduces the weight acting on that portion of the wheel and therefore creates a down pressure on that portion of the wheel which is travelling downwards, thus increasing speed and torque. The operating liquid weight in the buckets and the speed of the rotating liquid develop the main rotating power.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention, together with the other objects, features, aspects and advantages thereof will be more clearly understood from the following in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Six sheets of drawings are provided. Sheet one contains FIG.

1. Sheet two contains FIG.

2. Sheet three contains FIG.

3. Sheet four contains FIG.

4. Sheet five contains FIG.

5. Sheet six contains FIG.

6.

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a buoyancy prime mover.

FIG. 2 is a front cross-sectional view of a wheel within a housing.

FIG. 3 is a side schematic view of an array of four buoyancy prime movers in parallel.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of a wheel within a housing.

FIG. 5 is a top cross-sectional view of a venturi.

FIG. 6 is a side schematic view of an array of four buoyancy prime movers in series.

1. A buoyancy prime mover comprising a wheel and a housing, said housing comprising a housing wheel chamber containing operating liquid, said wheel rotatably constrained within said house wheel chamber, an upper portion of said house communicating with a lower portion of said housing by means of a gas return pipe and a blower, said wheel comprising a plurality of buckets around its perimeter, whereby operating gas pumped by said blower enters said lower portion of said housing and becomes entrapped in some of said buckets, and a greater buoyancy of said operating gas compared to a buoyancy of said operating liquid causes said wheel to turn and a venturi disposed in said lower portion of said housing, a venturi operating gas intake disposed within said venturi, and a venturi pipe connecting said gas return pipe to said venturi operating gas intake, whereby operating gas is pulled into said housing lower portion by means of a venturi low pressure area disposed within said venturi.

2. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 1 further comprising an accumulator communicating with said gas return pipe through an accumulator pipe.

3. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 2 further comprising a surge tank communicating with said accumulator through an accumulator pipette pipe and an accumulator pipette, said surge tank communicating with an exterior of said surge tank through a surge tank vent, surge tank liquid disposed within said surge tank, said accumulator pipette pipe and said accumulator pipette, and accumulator pipette indicia associated with said accumulator pipette whereby operating gas pressure may be ascertained.

4. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 1 wherein said wheel comprises a pair of wheel sides, each said bucket being defined by said wheel sides, a wheel floor, and bucket walls, each said bucket wall being disposed at a bucket wall angle of 32°±10° relative to a line tangent to said bucket floor at an intersection of said bucket wall and said bucket floor.

5. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 4 wherein each said bucket wall further comprises a bucket wall lip attached to an extreme of said bucket wall opposite said bucket floor.

6. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 5 wherein each said bucket comprises a bucket opening defined by said pair of wheel walls, a bucket wall, and a bucket lip, a width of said bucket lip measuring 25%±10% of a width of said bucket opening.

7. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 1 wherein said venturi comprises a venturi intake funnel communicating with a venturi outflow nozzle through a venturi throat, a flow of said operating liquid proceeding through said venturi intake funnel, through said venturi throat, and thence through said venturi outflow nozzle, said venture low pressure area being disposed within said venturi outflow nozzle, said venturi operating gas intake being disposed within said venturi outflow nozzle adjacent said venturi throat.

8. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 7 wherein an operating liquid exit of said venturi outflow nozzle is located at a bottom-most point of said housing wheel chamber.

9. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 8 wherein a length of said venturi intake funnel is 30%±10% of a length of said venturi, and wherein a length of said venturi outflow nozzle is 70%±10% of a length of said venturi.

10. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 9 wherein said venturi intake funnel is defined by said housing wheel chamber, a pair of venturi intake funnel walls, and a venturi roof, said pair of venturi intake funnel walls being disposed at a venturi intake funnel wall angle of 30°±10° relative to each other.

11. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 10 wherein said venturi outflow nozzle is defined by said housing wheel chamber, a pair of venturi outflow nozzle walls, and a venturi roof, said pair of venturi outflow nozzle walls being disposed at a venturi outflow nozzle wall angle of 24°±10° relative to each other.

12. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 1 wherein said housing comprises a gas/liquid separation chamber disposed in said housing upper portion, said gas/liquid separation chamber communicating with said housing lower portion through a gas outflow pipe, then through said gas return pipe, then through said blower, then through a blower pipe, and then through a blower gas ingress pipe.

13. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 12 further comprising a valved blower bypass pipe connecting said gas return pipe to said blower pipe.

14. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 12 further comprising a gas outflow pipe valve in said gas outflow pipe, a venturi pipe valve in said venturi pipe, and a blower gas ingress pipe valve in said blower gas ingress pipe.

15. The buoyancy prime mover of claim of claim 12 further comprising a gas return pipe pressure gage on said gas return line, and a blower pipe pressure gage on said blower pipe.

16. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 15 further comprising a valved drain pipe communicating with said lower housing portion.

17. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 13 further comprising at least one additional buoyancy prime mover, each said at least one additional buoyancy prime mover comprising no blower, gas return pipes and blower pipes of said at least one buoyancy prime mover communicating with corresponding said gas return pipe and said blower pipe respectively of said buoyancy prime mover.

18. The buoyancy prime mover of claim 1 wherein said wheel turns on an axle and comprises a wheel buoyancy tank, whereby a buoyancy of said wheel is rendered neutral when said wheel is disposed within said operating liquid.

19. An array of buoyancy prime movers connected in series, said series array comprising a plurality of buoyancy prime movers, each said buoyancy prime mover comprising a wheel and a housing, each said housing comprising a housing wheel chamber containing operating liquid, said wheel being rotatably constrained within said housing wheel chamber, a gas/liquid separation chamber being disposed at an upper portion of said housing, a gas outflow pipe communicating with said gas/liquid separation chamber, a blower gas ingress pipe communicating with a lower portion of said housing, a venturi disposed in said lower portion of said housing, a venturi operating gas intake disposed within said venturi, and a venturi pipe connecting said gas return pipe to said venturi operating gas intake, whereby operating gas is pulled into said housing lower portion by means of a venturi low pressure area disposed within said venturi, said wheel comprising a plurality of buckets around its perimeter, whereby operating gas entering said housing via said blower gas ingress pipe enters said lower portion of said housing and becomes entrapped in some of said buckets, and a greater buoyancy of said operating gas compared to a buoyancy of said operating liquid causes said wheel to turn, a first said buoyancy prime mover blower gas ingress pipe communicating with a blower, said gas outflow pipe of each said buoyancy prime mover communicating with said blower gas ingress pipe of an adjacent buoyancy prime mover except said gas outflow pipe of a last buoyancy prime mover communicates with said blower by means of a gas return pipe.