This invention is an improvement of the apparatus shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,895, issued May 8, 1979, entitled Wave Powered Motor, by the present inventor and assigned to the assignee hereof, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The structure described in the aforementioned prior patent employs a dome-shaped shell which may be floated in a partially submerged condition within the open sea, with the open mouth of the shell nearest the floor. This prior structure causes the surface waves to break and captures these waves by directing such breaking waves into a vertical standpipe centrally disposed within the shell. Inlet guide vanes impart a rotational motion to the water entering the standpipe. The water within the standpipe flows vertically downward with a vortex motion and is discharged through a diffuser in the area of the open mouth at the base of the shell. The energy of the waves is extracted by placing a turbine rotor within the flow in the standpipe.
Although the structure of this prior invention is very useful in extracting wave energy, it has been found that this prior structure can be adapted to the efficient extraction of floating material. Floating material basically comprises salvageable material and discardable material. One example of salvageable material is oil which, as is well known, is becoming an ever-increasing problem on the surface of the sea. Examples of discardable floatable material are organic matter (dead fish, jetsam and the like) and inorganic matter (such as empty bottles, cans, and the like).
It is, therefore, a general object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved structure for the extraction of floating material.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved structure for the extraction of floating material which is partially submerged in the sea.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved structure for the extraction of floating material, which structure also converts wave energy into useful work.