Contemporary devices for hydroelectric power generation consist of high pressure devices built in fixed locations whereby requiring that rivers or streams be artificially damned, affecting the sanctity of the body of water as well as adversely altering the natural habitats of its aquatic life.

Contemporary devices utilize the potential energy of rivers and streams by artificially raising the level or head thus physically altering the shoreline and blocking access paths up and down waterways for migration.

This invention utilizes the kinetic energy of the waterway to drive the apparatus. The invention is portable and may be simply positioned in a moving body of water without altering greatly its flow pattern, physical shape or terrain along the shoreline.

This invention revolutionizes the method of harnessing power from moving bodies of water as it provides an alternative to the utilization of low or high head hydroelectric turbine installations.

The inventive idea of this apparatus is to couple a propulsion device such as a"screw" blade with a generator and position the apparatus in a specific key location of moving water where the flow is greatest, having the greatest kinetic energy.

In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention, Figure 1 shows a general layout of the complete unit including Hydroscrew, pivot arm linkage, floating connection and piling complete with lockable stop cap. Figure 2 is a detailed cross section of the head end including component parts. Figure 3 shows the tail end of the apparatus including the shaft and screw blade. Figure 4 shows two cross sections of the planetary gear drive.

The Hydroscrew shown in the general arrangement and section drawings is designed to drive a 2000 watt generator or alternator, however, this device can be manufactured larger or smaller to drive most any size generator required.

The Hydroscrew illustrated comprises a shaft 1 having welded to it a helical blade 2 which together are allowed to rotate freely from within a housing 3,4,5 and 6. The housing provides a watertight shell encapsulating the internal machine components and generator 61.

The shaft and screw section of the apparatus shall be referred to as the"tail". The housing and internal components shall be referred to as the"head". The head is divided into three compartments; aft section, mid section and bow section.

The aft section consists of a 0.18"thick shell 3a, a shaft sleeve 3b, and a flange ring 3c.

The shaft sleave is drilled and tapped and fitted with a double mechanical seal 31, gasket 32 and fastening bolts 33 to prevent water from entering the housing.

The mid section consists of 0.18" thick shell 4a with two flange rings 4b and 4c welded to either end. The flange ring 4b is drilled and tapped for placement of watertight gasket 11 and fastening bolts 13. On the top side of the shell an oil intake coupling 4h, 0-ring seal 15 and plug 17 are provided.

Welded to the mid section housing are two mounting plates 4d and 4e. To these plates are welded each a sleeve 4f and 4g and to each sleeve backing rings 41b and 42b fastened by bolts 41c and 42c. The tail end bearing 41a and the head end bearing 42a are angular contact ball bearings and provide a cantilever shaft mount allowing free rotation. As well, the head end bearing provides thrust restraint from the drag force of the screw. This thrust force is transmitted through the shaft into the taperlock device 21, and then transmitted through the spacer ring 43 onto the head end bearing.

The head end mounting plate 4e is drilled and tapped to suit mounting of the planet gear carrier block 45a which is fastened by pinching the spacer sleave 45d with bolts 45e. The aluminum planet carrier is bored suitably for the mounting of six planet gear bearings 45b and two sun gear bearings 45c.

The planet gear assembly is designed for a input: output ration of 1: 12.4. Power from the torque of the screw is transmitted directly onto a ring gear 44d. The ring gear is mounted onto the shaft by the taperlock device 21 (referred to previously), inserted into a hub 44a. A back plate 44b is mounted to the hub by bolts 44c. The ring gear is mounted to the back plate with bolts 44e.

The ring gear transmits power to three input planet gears 47 which in turn transmit power to three output planet gears 48 which are mounted each on respective shafts 46.

The power from the three planet gears is then transmitted onto a single sun gear 51 mounted to output shaft 50.

The output shaft fits through the generator mounting plate 5a which separates the mid section from the bow section. Welded to the plate is a mounting bracket 5b complete with mounting clips 5c. This plate is drilled and tapped and fitted with a single mechanical seal 52, gasket 53 and fastening bolts 54 which isolate the two sections, preventing oil from contaminating the generator compartment. A U-shape gasket 12 is placed over the outer edge of the plate to provide a watertight seal for the joining of the mid section to the bow section.

The bow section consists of a 0.18"shell 6a, flange ring 6b, electric cable seal box 6c and attachment lug 6d. The flange ring is drilled and tapped for fastening bolts 14.

The electric cable seal box is fitted with a rubber seal gasket 16 and compression plug 18 to provide a watertight seal around the cable. An elastomeric adapter coupling 55 joins the sun gear shaft to the generator shaft. The generator 61 is mounted by fastening bolts 62. The bow section is essentially a single shell compartment and is designed such to allow for adequate cooling of the generator.

All wetted parts of the Hydroscrew and internal welded attachments are fabricated from type 304 stainless steel with exception of the shaft which is type 416 stainless steel. All internal parts not part of the housing are generally machined from type A36 mild steel with exception of machined internal shafts which are type 1020. For lightness and ease of machining, the planet carrier block is machined from aluminum.

The head consisting of aft, mid and bow sections are designed to be assembled in sequential order. First the aft section housing is assembled with a double mechanical seal and then slid over the shaft. The angular contact bearings are then mounted into the sleeves of the mid section. The flange gasket is placed against the aft section flange ring and the mid section housing is slid onto the shaft and fastened. At this point the spacer ring is slid over the shaft and then the taperlock device is mounted into the hub at which point the planet ring gear may be assembled. The planetary gear block may be assembled as one unit including planet gears and sun gear and then slid into the housing and installed against the spacer sleeve and mounting plate. The generator mounting plate is then installed with the U-shape gasket and temporary holding bolts afterwhich the generator with adapter coupling can be aligned and fastened. Finally the bow section housing is placed onto the midsection flange ring and fastened enclosing the generator.

After the unit is assembled, oil lubricant should be added into the fill port and the plug replaced. The electric cable may be pulled taut and the compression plug may be tightened.

BILL OF MATERIALS PARITY DESCRIPTION 1 1 SHAFT - 1.25"DIA./1.181"DIA. - MAT'L 416SS PSQ 2a I HELIX BLADE-1/8"THICK PLATE-MAT'L 304SS 2b I OPTIONAL-DOUBLE/TRIPLE/MULTI HELIX BLADES 3a I HOUSING-AFT SECTION-12"X5"CONC. REDUCER-SCH. IOS-MAT'L 304SS 3b I SHAFT SLEEVE-5.295"O. D. X2. 000"1. D. X2. 250"LG. - MAT'L 304SS 3c I FLANGE RING-AFT SECTION-0. 325"XI4. 500"O. D. XII. 000"I. D.-MAT'L 304SS 4a I HOUSING-MID SECTION-12 PIPE X 19. 905"LG.-SCH. IOS-MAT'L 304SS 4b I FLANGE RING-MID SECTION-1. 500"XI4. 500"O. D. XI2. 000"I. D.-MAT'L 304SS 4c I FLANGE RING-MID SECTION-0. 750"XI4. 500"O. D. XI2. 390"I. D.-MAT'L 304SS 4d I MOUNTING PLATE-0. 250"X12.390"0. D. X2. 375"I.D.-MAT'L 304SS 4e I MOUNTING PLATE-0. 375"X12.390"0. D. X2. 380"I.D.-MAT'L 304SS 4f I BEARING SLEEVE-1. 189"X4. 250"O. D. X2. 835"I.D.-MAT'L 304SS 4g 1 BEARING SLEEVE-1.189"X4.250"0. D. X2. 835"I.D.-MAT'L 304SS 4h I LUBRICATION FILL HALF COUPLING-I" DIA. C/W PLUG-MAT'L 304SS 5a I GEN/ALT MOUNTING PLATE-0.250"XI4. 250"0. D. XI. 250"I. D.-MAT'L A36 5b I GEN/ALT MOUNTING BRACKET-MAT'L A36 5c 2 GEN/ALT MOUNTING CLIPS-MAT'L A36 6a 1 HOUSING-BOW SECTION-12"PIPE X 8.156"LG.-CAP-SCH.IOS-MAT'L 304SS 6b 1 FLANGE RING-BOW SECTION-1.5"X14"0. D. XI2. 39"I. D.-MAT'L 304SS 6ELECTRIC CABLE SEAL BOX-I 1/2"I.D.-MAT'L 304SS 6d I ATTACHMENT LUG-MAT'L 316SS # 1 GASKET-1/8"-MAT'L GARLOCK 12 1 GASKET-U SHAPE-1/8"THICK-MAT'L BUNA RUBBER 13 12 BOLT-7/16"XI"UNC-MAT'L 316SS 14 12 BOLT-7/16"XI 1/2"UNC-MAT'L 316SS 15 1 O-RING SEAL-OIL LUBRICATION FILL COUPLING-MAT'L BUNA RUBBER 16 1 SEAL GASKET-ELECTRIC CABLE SEAL BOX-MATERIAL BUNA RUBBER 17 1 PLUG-I"-OIL LUBRICATION FILL COUPLING-MAT'L 304SS 18 1 PLUG-I 1/2"-ELECTRIC CABLE SEAL BOX-MAT'L 304SS 21 1 TAPERLOCKING DEVICE-KEYLESS-SIZE I 3/16" BILL OF MATERIALS PART QTY DESCRIPTION 31 I DOUBLE MECHANICAL SEAL-ELASOMER O-RING CARTRIDGE-1.25"BORE 32 1 GASKET-GARLOCK 33 4 BOLT-3/8"X2 1/4"-MAT'L 316SS 41a I BEARING-ANGULAR CONTACT BALL-DOUBLE ROW-30MM I. D. X 72MM O. D. 41b 1 BACKING RING-3/16"X4.25"0. D. X2.5"l. D.-MAT'L 316S. S. 41c 4 BOLT-1/4"XI"-MAT'L 316SS 42a I BEARING-ANGULAR CONTACT BALL-DOUBLE ROW-30MM I. D. X 72MM O. D. 42b 1 BACKING RING-3/16"X4.25"0. D. X2. 5"I.D.-MAT'L 316S. S. 42c 4 BOLT-1/4"XI"-MAT'L 316SS 43 I SPACER RING-0. 500"XI. 190"I. D. X3.500"O. D.-MAT'L A36 44a ! HUB-RING GEAR-1. 620"X3. 500"O. D. X2. 165"I.D.-MAT'L 1020 44b 1 BACK PLATE-RING GEAR-1/4"X8.25"0. D. X2. 165"I.D.-MAT'L A36 44c 6 BOLT-HUB-3/8"X !"UNF SAE GR. 5 44d I RING GEAR-I"FACE-20DEG. PRES. ANGLE-12 PITCH-7. 0"P. D.-84T 44e 6 BOLT-RING GEAR-1/4"XI"UNF SAE GR. 5 45a 1 PLANET CARRIER BLOCK-2. 000"X12.390"O.D.-MAT'L ALUMINUM 45b 6 BEARING-DEEP GROOVE BALL-TWO SEALS-3/4"XI 7/8"0. D. 45c 2 BEARING-DEEP GROOVE BALL-TWO SEALS-3/4"X) 7/8"O. D. 45d 1 SPACER SLEEVE-5. 592"X12.390"0. D. XII. 750"1. D.-MAT'L 1026 D. O. M. 45e 3 BOLT-1/2"X8"-UNC GR. 5 46 3 SHAFT-0. 750"DIA. X5. 750"-MAT'L 1020 47 3 PLANET GEAR-SPUR-l'FACE-20DEG. PRES. ANGLE-12 PITCH-1. 5"P. D.-18T 48 3 PLANET GEAR-SPUR-@'FACE-20DEG. PRES. ANGLE-12 PITCH-4. 0"P. D.-48T 50 I SHAFT-0. 75"DIA. X7. 75"-MAT'L 1020 51 1 SUN GEAR-SPUR-@"FACE-20DEG. PRES. ANGLE-12 PITCH-1. 5"P. D.-18T 52 1 SINGLE MECHANICAL SEAL-ELASTOMER O-RING CARTRIGE-1.181"BORE 53 1 GASKET-GARLOCK 54 4 BOLT-1/4"X3/4"-UNC-GR.5 55 I ADAPTER COUPLING-BORE 0.75"DIA. X 0. 625"DIA.-0.1875"KEY-MAT'L 1020 61 I GENERATOR/ALTERNATOR-750RPM-12VOLT 622 BOLT-3/8"X4. 5"-UNC-GR. 5 63 1 ELECTRIC CABLE-PVC ARMOURED TECH.