Field and Background The invention relates to a torque generating apparatus.

There have been numerous proposals and attempts to create a torque generating apparatus based on Archimedes Principle (that any volume of air displacing water develops an upward force equal to the mass of the water displaced) but none of these apparatuses is able to generate torque efficiently.

Thus, it is desirable to provide a torque generating apparatus which addresses at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art and/or to provide the public with a useful choice.

Summary

In a first aspect, there is provided a torque generating apparatus comprising an endless conveyor having a top section, a main section and a base section, the endless converter arranged to be partially submerged in a liquid medium with the top section having an air cavity arranged above the liquid medium's level; a number of vessels arranged to be connected to the endless conveyor, the number of vessels being spaced apart from each other and each vessel includes an inner vessel cavity for entrapping fluid and a vessel aperture at one end for allowing the fluid to enter the inner vessel cavity, a gas injection mechanism arranged at the base section to inject a predetermined amount of gas within a specific time into the inner vessel cavity of the respective ones of the number of vessels via its vessel aperture to cause the respective vessels to be buoyant and rise towards the air cavity; and at the top section, the vessels are arranged to pass through the air cavity and the inner vessel cavity of each vessel is arranged to be filled with the liquid medium as the vessels submerge into the liquid medium and expel air from the vessels to cause the vessels to sink downwardly towards the base section under their own weight; wherein the conveyor is arranged to move to generate torque in response to the rising and downward movements of the respective ones of the plurality of vessels.

The described embodiment is able to create a balanced arrangement and continuous movement of the vessels. The upward and downward thrusts of the vessels created by the injection of gas and use of gravity respectively generate inertia to drive the conveyor and consequently generate torque which may be harvested to generate faster rotational speed, mechanical work, electrical power or the like.

Advantageously, the torque generating apparatus may further comprise a housing for containing the liquid medium and housing the conveyor within a confined space. In an embodiment, the housing may be at least 10m in height and has a diameter of 1.4m. Preferably, the torque generating apparatus may further comprise a divider to separate the housing into a first chamber and a second chamber, and wherein the endless conveyor is movably mounted in the first and second chambers.

In an embodiment, the divider may include a mounting frame and multiple panels mounted to the mounting frame with an open section at either end to correspond to the air cavity and base section of the conveyor.

Specifically, the vessels may be disposed at equidistant intervals to each other. In one example, the equidistant interval may be about 130mm, or other values such as between 120mm and 140mm, or between 125mm and 135mm may be used.

The vessels may be arranged to surface through the air cavity at a predetermined speed to cause turbulence at the liquid medium's surface. In one example, the speed may be at least 20 rpm.

The endless conveyor may include a sprocket-and-chain arrangement, and the vessel aperture may include a number of discrete vessel openings which may be two or more openings. Specifically, each vessel opening may be 13.5cm by 20.9cm.

In one embodiment, the gas may be air and the air injection mechanism may be arranged to inject a predetermined amount of compressed air into each vessel. In one example, the predetermined amount of compressed air may be 35 litres.

In one embodiment, the gas injection mechanism may include a number of gas pipes for directing the gas into the inner vessel cavity, and the gas pipes may be mounted to a spring-loaded holder. In addition or alternatively, the gas injection mechanism may include a vessel gas plunger mounted to each of the vessels and arranged to cooperate with corresponding gas delivery plungers for directing gas into the inner vessel cavity. Preferably, the torque generating apparatus may further comprise a vessel positioning sensor arranged to detect positions of the vessels at the top section, the vessel positioning sensor arranged to activate the gas injection mechanism in response to the detected positions. The gas injection mechanism may further comprise a control valve to regulate flow of gas, and the vessel positioning sensor may be arranged to control the control valve.

In one example, each vessel may include a cylindrical drum having a length of 80cm and diameter of 38cm, and the liquid medium may be water. In a second aspect, there is provided a power generating apparatus comprising the torque generating apparatus of the above aspects. The power generating apparatus may further comprise a gearbox connected to an output of the torque generating apparatus, a generator coupled to an output of the gearbox and an inverter-converter coupled to an output of the generator; wherein the inverter- converter is arranged to generate electrical power in response to the torque generating apparatus' output. It should be appreciated that features relevant to one aspect may also be relevant to the other aspects.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a cross sectional side view of a torque generating apparatus comprising a divider according to an embodiment;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional front view of the torque generating apparatus of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a closed-up view of a mounting frame of the divider used in the torque generating apparatus of Figure 1 but not illustrating the other components;

Figure 4 is a side view of the mounting frame of the divider of Figure 3; Figure 5 illustrates the divider of Figure 3 mounted with flat separator sheets;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a vessel in the forms of a cylindrical drum used in the torque generating apparatus of Figure 1 ;

Figure 7 is a slightly enlarged top view of the drum of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is an end view of the drum of Figure 7;

Figure 9 illustrates how the drum of Figure 6 is attached to a set of roller chains used in torque generating apparatus of Figure 1 from a side perspective; and

Figure 10 is an end view of the drum to illustrate the attachment of Figure 9 from another view;

Figure 11 is a close-up view of a top section of the torque generating apparatus of Figure 2 to show further components of the torque generating apparatus which includes a gas injection mechanism and a drum position sensor; Figure 12 is a close-up view of a base section of the torque generating apparatus of Figure 2 to illustrate further aspects of the gas injection mechanism of Figure 11 ;

Figure 13 illustrates a similar close up view of Figure 13 with five drums to illustrate how the drums are injected with compressed air sequentially;

Figure 14 is similar to Figure 2 and illustrating the torque generating apparatus in operation;

Figures 15, 16 and 17 are respective close-up views of portions FF, GG and HH of Figure 14;

Figure 18 is a schematic block diagram of a power generating apparatus including the torque generating apparatus of Figure 1 ;

Figure 19 illustrates an alternative air injection mechanism based on the torque generating apparatus of Figure 2;

Figure 20 is an enlarged view of portion LL of Figure 19; and

Figure 21 is a further enlarged view of one of the drums of Figure 20 to illustrate aspects of the alternative air injection mechanism.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiment Figure 1 illustrates a cross sectional side view of a torque generating apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the invention, and Figure 2 illustrates a front view of the torque generating apparatus 100.

The torque generating apparatus 100 includes a housing 102 and in this embodiment, the housing 102 is in the form of a 12-m high cylinder 104 (or cylindrical container) made of galavanised steel to reduce corrosion and has a diameter of 1.4m. The cylinder 104 includes a top section 106, a main section 108 and a base section 110, and comprises a divider 112 to divide the cylinder 104 linearly into first and second chambers 114,116.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the divider 112 includes a mounting frame 112a coupled vertically to the base section 110 of the cylinder 104 and a dividing panel formed by a number of flat separator sheets 112b mounted to corresponding horizontal and vertical bars of the mounting frame 112a to separate the first and second chambers 14,116 but the separator sheets 112b are not mounted at an upper portion 112c and a bottom portion 112d of the mounting frame 112a to correspond to the top section 106 and the base section 110 of the cylinder 104. It should be apparent that since there is no separator sheet, the top portion 112c and the bottom portion 112d are unblock or "open". In this embodiment, the separator sheets 112b are also made of galvanised steel, although other materials are possible. The divider 112 further includes an upper set of inwardly projecting lugs 112e disposed at the top portion 112c and a lower set of inwardly projecting lugs 112f disposed at the bottom portion 112d and the purpose of these sets of lugs 112e,112f would be described later.

It should be appreciated that the housing 102 may also use other types of material or come in different shapes and sizes as long as the housing 102 is able to hold or contain a required volume of the fluid medium as necessary or depending on application. As such, the housing 102 may be a reinforced concrete chamber or a well-like structure in the ground.

The cylinder 104 is arranged to hold or contain a liquid medium. In this embodiment, water 118 is chosen as the fluid medium because of its viscosity and availability, and the cylinder 104 is arranged to hold the water 118 up until the main section 108 but not the top section 106. The water's level is indicated as AA in Figure 2 and this creates an air cavity 120 at the top section 106 of the torque generating apparatus 100. It is envisaged that other liquid mediums may be used such as sea water, or other non-highly corrosive fluids that has viscosity similar to water. The torque generating apparatus 100 further comprises an endless conveyor 122 movably mounted in the first and second chambers 114,116 and arranged to be partially submerged in the water 118 due to the presence of the air cavity 120 at the top section 106 of the torque generating apparatus 100. Thus, broadly, the endless conveyor 122 also has portions which correspond to the top section 106, main section 108 and the base section 110 of the cylinder. The torque generating apparatus 100 further includes a plurality of vessels 200 fixedly mounted to the endless conveyor 122 at regular spaced apart distances BB. The distance BB should be sufficient to allow displacement of the water when the vessels 200 are filled with gas as will be described below. In this embodiment, the distance BB is an equidistant gap of about 130mm, although it should be apparent that the distance BB may be varied. Centre-to-Centre distance AB between the vessels 200 is about 510mm as illustrated in Figure 2. Again, the distance AB may be varied and take other values. In this embodiment, the endless conveyor 122 includes a top sprocket pair 124 coupled to an axially rotatable top sprocket axle 126 having a torque generation end 128 which extends out of the housing 102. In other words, when the top sprocket pair 124 turns or rotates axially, the top sprocket pair 124 drives the top sprocket axle 126 to rotate in the same way too. As illustrated in Figure 1 , the top sprocket pair 124 and the top sprocket axle 126 are supported by the upper set of inwardly projecting lugs 112e so that a major part of the top sprocket pair 124 is in the air cavity 120 and the top sprocket axle 126 is above the water level AA.

Further, the conveyor 122 includes a bottom sprocket pair 130 disposed at the base section 110 and coupled to an axially rotatable bottom sprocket axle 132 and when the bottom sprocket pair 130 turns or rotates axially, the bottom sprocket axle 132 similarly rotates. The bottom sprocket pair 130 and the bottom sprocket axle 132 are supported by the lower set of inwardly projecting lugs 112f so that the bottom sprocket axle 132 are freely rotatable with respect to the projecting lugs 112f.

In this embodiment, the distance BB between the vessels 200 is 130mm but this may be varied. It is preferred that the distance BB is based on a circumference of the top sprocket pair 124 divided by four. Also, teeth of the bottom sprocket pair 130 should be divisible by four to optimize the efficiency of the torque generating apparatus 100. The conveyor 122 also includes a set of roller chains 134 which is arranged to mesh or mate respectively with the top sprocket pair 124 and the bottom sprocket pair 130 to form an endless loop as the roller chains 134 are caused to move linearly and about two end points as defined by the top sprocket pair 124 and the bottom sprocket pair 130. In this way, when the roller chains 134 are operated together with the top and bottom sprocket pairs 124,130, the arrangement transfers rotational energy between parallel axes over the height of the cylinder 102. It should be mentioned that the roller chains 134 are preferred because of the stability obtained as the sprockets' teeth mesh with the roller chains 134 and this is useful in the water 118 which is constantly displaced.

In this embodiment, the vessels 200 are in the form of hollow-cylindrical drums 202 made of galvanised steel to minimize corrosion, and each drum 202 has an inner drum cavity for entrapping fluid. Since all the drums 202 are the same, only one exemplary drum 202a will be described with its perspective view illustrated in Figure 6. Figure 7 is a slightly enlarged top view of the drum 202a of Figure 6, and Figure 8 is an end view of the drum 202a of Figure 7. As illustrated, the cylindrical drum 202a includes a drum body 204 of about 80cm in length and a diameter of about 38cm. The cylindrical drum 202a further includes a drum aperture 206 extending longitudinally along the drum body 204 and the drum aperture 206 is about 60 cm in length. In this embodiment, the drum aperture 206 includes four drum openings 208 separated by three separators 210 with each drum opening 208 having a width of about 13.5cm by 20.9cm. It should be mentioned that having four drum openings 208 are preferred to one single larger opening to enhance the solidity of the cylindrical drum 202a which would be subjected to thrust of the current or flow of the water 118. Of course, the drum aperture 206 may include other numbers of drum openings, not just four. However, it is preferred for the drum aperture 206 to be about 1/8 of the drum's external surface to minimize air escaping out of the drum 202a. The cylindrical drum 202a includes a centre shaft 212 which extends through the inner vessel cavity along the drum body's longitudinal axis so that the centre shaft's ends 214 protrude through respective ends 216,218 of the drum body 204. The centre shaft ends 214 are then used to couple the cylindrical drum 202a to a fixed position along the roller chains 134 as illustrated in Figures 9 and 10, with the drum openings 208 facing a predetermined direction. In this embodiment, the drums 202 are arranged to rotate in a clockwise direction (with reference to Figure 2) and thus, when the drums 202 are in the first chamber 114, the drum openings 208 of each drum 202 are positioned to face downwards toward the base section 110, whereas when the drums 202 are in the second chamber 16, the drum openings 208 of each drum 202 are arranged to face upwards toward the air cavity 120 as would be elaborated further later. The centre shaft 212 fixed across the drum body 204 also adds to the strength and solidity of the cylindrical drum 202a.

The torque generating apparatus 100 further comprises a gas injection mechanism 300 arranged to inject air into the respective ones of the plurality of the drums 202 within a specific time when the drums 202 are at a particular location in the cylinder 104. Figure 11 illustrates a close-up view near the top section 106 and Figure 12 is a close-up view near the base section 10 of the torque generating apparatus of Figure 1.

In this embodiment, the gas injection mechanism 300 includes an air compressor (not shown) for generating compressed air 302 which is stored in a compressed air tank (not shown). The air compressor may be self or externally powered. The air compressor fills the air tank until the pressure attains a predetermined level. The gas injection mechanism 300 further comprises a tube 304 for directing the compressed air 302 from the air tank to an air outlet 306 and an air control valve 308 for controlling the release of the compressed air 302 to the air outlet 306 and into each of the drums 202 sequentially. In this embodiment, the air outlet 306 comprises four gas pipes 310 coupled to the tube 304 with the tube 304 running from the top section 106 of the cylinder 104 along its sides and to the base section 110. The four gas pipes 310 are mounted to a spring-loaded holder 312 coupled to the mounting frame 112a of the divider 112 at the base section 110. The four gas pipes 310 are arranged to extend about 5cm into the respective four drum openings 208 of each drum 202 when each drum 202 is in an air injection position to inject the compressed air 302 into the drums 202. The operation of the four gas pipes 310 is further explained with reference to Figure 13 which is a close-up view of the base section 110 of Figure 2 which illustrates five cylindrical drums 202 and for ease of explanation, the five drums are labeled as 202b,202c,202d,202e and 202f in Figure 13.

As it can be appreciated, in the positions shown in Figure 13, the second drum 202c is in the air injection position and engaged with the four gas pipes 310 (see also Figure 12) and compressed air is released via the air control valve 308 to inject the compressed air 302 into the second drum 202c via the drum openings 208. In this embodiment, it takes approximately 0.8 seconds to inject the second drum 202c with the required amount of compressed air 302. The compressed air 302 in the second drum 202c creates an inertia or uplift for the second drum 202c to move up (thus moving the roller chains 134 and similarly the first drum 202b would move further upwards toward the top section 106 i.e. this being an ascend phase) and the four gas pipes 310 are thus pushed outside of the second drum 202c. As the second drum 202c rises within the cylinder 104, the pressure of the water 118 in the cylinder 104 decreases allowing the compressed air 302 in the second drum 202c to expand and expulse the water out of the second drum 202c creating a further momentum for the second drum 202c to move further upwards. Thus, it can be appreciated that the distance BB (see Figure 2) between the drums 202 is needed for an effective displacement of the water when the drums 202 are filled with the compressed air and when the compressed air expands.

When the third drum 202d moves from the lowermost position and into the first chamber 114 (i.e. to the position vacated by the second drum 202c and as shown by arrow CC in Figure 13), due to the spring-loaded holder 312, the four gas pipes 310 are brought back in position to protrude about 5cm inside the respective drum openings 208 of the third drum 202d. When the air control valve 308 is activated, the compressed air 302 is injected inside of the third drum 202d and the entrapped compressed air in the third drum 202d similarly causes the third drum 202d to be buoyant and float towards the top section 106 and expelling the water in the third drum 202d similar to the second drum 202c. The buoyancy of the third drum 202d thus drives the movement of the roller chains 134 which further rotates the top and bottom sprocket pairs 124,130 and their respective top and bottom sprocket axles 126,132.

The process above thus repeats and the gas injection system 300 is arranged to inject air into the drums 202 within a defined time when the drums 202 move sequentially to the gas injection position as illustrated in Figure 13. It should be appreciated that the time to inject sufficient air into the drums 202 depends on the capacity of the drums 202 and speed of the movement of the drums 202 on the conveyor 122. The speed of the movement of the drums 202 is then dependent on the speed of the air rising in the water 118.

It should also be mentioned that when one of the drums 202 and in this case the third drum 202d is in the lowermost position as that illustrate din Figure 13, the drums 202 in the first chamber 114 are symmetrical to the drums 202 in the second chamber 116. Specifically, it should be noted that the second and fourth drums 202c,202e before and after the third drum 202d are aligned and form a longitudinal axis DD which is perpendicular to a vertical axis EE of the third drum 202d. This arrangement also applies to the top section 106 when one of the drums 202 is positioned at the topmost part of the top section 106.

For a more accurate activation of the air control valve 308, the torque generating apparatus 100 of this embodiment includes a drum position sensor 136 positioned at the top section 106 and an electronic controller 138 for controlling the activation of the air control valve 308 (as illustrated in Figure 11 ). The drum position sensor 136 is communicatively coupled to the electronic controller 138 and is arranged to detect when the top most drum is at a certain position (which coincides with the gas pipes 310 being inside one of the drums 202 at the air injection position shown in Figure 13). The drum position sensor 136 then sends a control signal to the electronic controller 138 which activates the air control valve 308 to release the compressed air to the four gas pipes 310 for injection into the drums 202.

When the drums 202 reach the top section 310 and into the air cavity 120 of the cylinder 104, as the drums 202 are rotated past the top sprocket pair 124 and transit from the first chamber 114 into the second chamber 116, the drum openings 208 of the drums 202 are arranged to face upwards as the drums 202 are submerged below the water level AA. Consequently, the water 118 rapidly enters the hollow drums 202 as they enter the second chamber 116 and the drums 202 thus submerge under the water level AA pulled by gravity towards the base section 110 of the cylinder 104 (i.e. descent phase). It should be noted that once the drums 202 are submerged in the water 118 in the descent phase, all the air in the drums 202 would have been expelled to create more efficient descent.

When the drums 202 reach the base section 110, and into the path of the four gas pipes 310, the drums 202 are injected with the compressed air to cause them to ascend and in this way, the drums 202 continuously cause the roller chains 134 to move which in turn rotates the top and bottom sprocket axles 126,132 to generate torque. An overview of an operation of the torque generation apparatus 100 will now be described with reference to Figures 14 to 17. As it can be appreciated, there are forty-four drums 202 in this embodiment, and when there if one drum each at the topmost and bottommost location of the cylinder 104, there are exactly twenty-one drums in each of the first and second chambers 114,116. Since the same number of drums 202 are attached to the roller chains 134 on either side of the divider 112, an exact counterbalance between the drums 202 is achieved and this achieves a more efficient movement or rotation of the roller chains 134 since less energy is needed, regardless of the weight of each drum 202. It should also be apparent that when the drums 202 are in the first chamber 114 (configured as "ascending"), the drum openings 208 of the drums 202 face downwards toward the base section 110, when the drums 202 are in the second chamber 116 (configured as "descending"), the drum openings 208 of the drums 202 would face upwards due to the movement of the roller chains 134 about the top and bottom sprocket pairs 124,130. At rest, the torque generation apparatus 100 is set in motion by powering the air compressor of the gas injection mechanism 300 on and activating the air control valve 308 to inject air into the drum 202 at the air injection position (i.e. with the four gas pipes 310 engaged with that particular drum 202). For ease of explanation, the second drum 202c illustrated in Figure 13 would be used to explain the operation and how the second drum 202c progresses through the ascending and descending phases, although it would be apparent that each of the forty four drums 202 would go through a similar process.

As shown in Figure 15, with the shaded portions representing a volume in drums 202 representing the compressed air 302, in the air injection position, compressed air is being injected into the drum opening 208 of the second drum 202c to create an uplift to cause the second drum 202c to rise. Since the drum openings 208 of the second drum 202c faces downwards, the injected compressed air 302 is trapped within the drum body 204. The ascending movement of the second drum 202c (and likewise, the rest of the drums 202) creates an upward current flow of the water 118 in a similar direction as illustrated by arrow JJ. As the second drum 202c rises in the first column 114 of the cylinder 104, and the surrounding pressure at depth decreases in the cylinder 104, the compressed air 302 trapped in the drum body 204 expands according to Boyle's law as illustrated Figure 16 (left side of Figure 16). The expansion of the compressed air 302 thus expulse more water out of the second drum 202c to create further momentum for the second drum 202c to rise until the second drum 202c reaches the water level AA illustrated in Figure 17, when the second drum 202c is about 80% filled with air. As the second drum 202c clears the water level AA and rotates around the top sprocket pair 124, the compressed air 302 is released and any remaining water in the second drum 202c gushes out due to gravity and the rotation of the second drum 202c around the top sprocket pair 124 also positions the drum opening 208 to face upwards towards the top section 120 when the second drum 202c moves into the descending phase in the second chamber 116.

As the second drum 202c submerges below the water level AA, water fills up rapidly into the hollow drum body 204 via the drum openings 208 and bubbles of air escape. It should be mentioned that the second drum 202c fills up with water rapidly and efficiently not just due to the structure of the drum openings 208 and positioning of the drums 202 (which are spaced apart) but also due to the turbulent current flow of the water which has an effect of pumping or channeling water into the second drum 202c. As the water fills up the second drum 202c, gravity pulls the second drum 202c to cause the second drum 202c to sink towards the base section 110 (Archimedes' Principle). The second drum 202c and thus, each drum 202, is subject to an upward force equal in magnitude to the weight of the water each drum 202 displaces. Thus, the rate of immersion or the speed at which each drum 202 is filled up with the water is determined by the weight of the water each drum 202 displaces in the descending phase.

As the second drum 202c is completely submerged in water in the descending phase (arrow KK) of the second chamber 6 as shown in Figure 6 which is the main section 108 of the cylinder 104, there is no air in the drum body 204 of the second drum 202c to assist the descend. It should also be mentioned that the descending of the second drum 202c in the second chamber 116 similarly creates inertia to move the roller chains 134 in the same direction when the second drum 202c is in the ascending phase in the first chamber 114.

As the second drum 202c moves into the base section 110 (see Figure 15 again), the second drum 202c progresses around the bottom sprocket pair 130, enters into the first chamber 114 and the roller chains 134 positions the drum opening 208 of the second drum 202c initially sideways and then downwardly as the second drum 202c moves into the air injection position again for the ascending phase. As it can be appreciated from the above, when the drums 202 are in the ascend phase in the first chamber 114, the drums 202 are positioned to allow the injection and entrapment of gas (in this case air) to create buoyancy to thrust the drums 202 upwardly. In the descend phase in the second chamber 116, the drums 202 become filled with liquid (in this case water) and sink downwardly with gravity. The balanced arrangement and continuous movement of the drums 202 as well as the upward and downward thrusts of the drums created by the injection of gas and use of gravity respectively generate inertia to drive the roller chains 134 and consequently generate torque at the top sprocket axle 128. Accordingly, this torque may be harvested to generate faster rotational speed, mechanical work, electrical power or the like.

The drums 202, in addition to creating friction in the water 118 due to the drums' movement, also creates and continue the inertia in the current flow of the water 118, which aids to enhance the speed of movement of the drums. While not illustrated in the drawings, it should be mentioned that rotational movement of the drums 202 is also assisted and stabilized by the current or flow of the water 118 in the rotational direction (see directional arrows in Figure 14) of the drums generated by the continuous displacement of the water in both the ascend and descent phases of the drums 202. Indeed, the continuous displacements of the drums 202 create turbulence in the water 118 and slipstream (friction and vacuum created by the drums moving in both directions in the first and second chambers 114,116) behind or trailing the moving drums 202 and these assist the flow of liquid in a common rotational direction of the drums 202. In other words, the turbulence and slipstream aid to maintain the rotational speed and force of the drums 202 and contribute to the continuous movement of the roller chains 134. As a result, the energy created by the current flow of the water is also harvested. The dividing panel/separator sheets 112b of the divider 112 (and opened at the top section 106 and base section 110) between the two sets of ascending and descending drums 202 helps to reduce cross-contamination and turbulence of the current flow allowing the drums and water flow to circulate through the top and base sections 106,110. By injecting the compressed air 302 into the hollow drum body 204 of the drums 202, the air raising and expanding through the column of water (i.e. first column 1 4) in the cylinder 104 provides an increasing upward force. It has been estimated that only 400 watts used to compress one cubic meter of air, that same 400 watt generates one ton of lift through a column of water. As a result, the torque generating apparatus 100 traps the compressed air in the drums 202 and uses the momentum created by the expanding compressed air to cause the drums 202 in the first column 114 to ascend. The energy created in the process may then be harvested to generate torque. The uplift speed is determined by the speed of air in the fluid/water.

Indeed, as an example, the torque generating apparatus 100 may be adapted to generate power and Figure 18 illustrates a schematic block diagram of the torque generating apparatus 100 with its top sprocket axle 128 connected to a gearbox 400, a generator 402 and an inverter-converter 404 to generate electrical power and these components are collectively called power generating apparatus 1000.

Experimental data The power generating apparatus 1000 including the torque generating apparatus 100 of the described embodiment has been put to use and operated to power an adjoining stone crushing plant.

Data and parameters:

In a test, a 12-metre-tall cylinder 104 of diameter 1.4 metres, containing 22,000 litres of water 118 has been used to house the conveyor 122 (or prime mover) and the drums 202. It has been found that the cylinder 104 should be more than 10 metres tall so as to harvest the effect of buoyancy more effectively. It was appreciated that air would double its volume at every 5 meters, and an increase in the height of the cylinder 104 or the conveyor 122 would not increase rotational speed, but would increase the torque generated. If the height of the apparatus 100 is doubled, it is estimated that the torque may increase by 1.5 times, which could in turn generate more electricity.

The mounting frame 112a of the divider 112 is 12 metres long and there are 44 drums 202 on a chain and sprocket system as described above. Each drum 202 has a capacity of 70 litres. In the test, the gas pipes 310 were arranged to inject 35 litres of compressed air into the drums 202 in about 0.8 seconds when the drums 202 are in the air injection position (i.e. at the 10m depth of the cylinder 104). The 35 litres of compressed air eventually expands to 70 litres as the drums ascend to expulse the water in the drums 202.

Based on the above parameters, it was noted that the conveyor 122 (i.e. roller chains 134) rotates or moves at approximately 20 rpm which turns the top sprocket axle 128. The rotational torque is then converted through the gearbox 400 to a speed of 375 rpm, which turns the generator 402. It is noted that about 40% of the rotational torque is lost in the gearbox 400 so effectively a lower torque is experienced by the generator 402 than what is generated by the torque generating apparatus 100. For example, it was found that if the torque generating apparatus 100 generates a torque of about 4708 Nm, about 1800 to 2000 Nm is lost in the gearbox 400. It should be appreciated that the amount of torque generated by the torque generating apparatus 100 is dependent on the efficiency of injecting air into the drums 202, which would affect uplift/ascending speed of the drums 202 in the first column 114.

The generator 402 used in the test is a 16-pole/375 rpm generator producing 115 KWH electricity. This electricity is then passed through the inverter- converter 404 which converts the AC produced into DC which is then stabilized and reconverted back to AC to the stabilized-required norms in terms of Wattage/Voltage and frequency of the utility authority. The described embodiment should not be construed as limitative. For example, the housing 102 or cylinder 104 may take other forms, shapes and height. In considering this parameter, it would be useful to note that the height of the housing or cylinder 102,104 is relevant described embodiments relies on the inverse relationship between pressure of gas and volume of liquid at depth in the cylinder 104. In the described embodiment, the liquid is water which is preferred because of its viscosity and availability. However, other types of liquid or fluids may be used but a useful consideration is that the viscosity of the liquid determines the speed of rising air (i.e. compressed air or other types of gaseous fluid in the drums 202) as well as the speed at which the drums 202 would fill up with the liquid in the descending phase.

In the described embodiment, the cylinder is made of galvanised steel to reduce corrosion but other types of materials may be used. The important point is that the cylinder 104 is able to hold the required amount of the liquid medium and support the conveyor 122 etc. Thus, the cylinder 104 may be made of reinforced concrete or even a water well-like structure in the ground. However, while this is envisaged, it is not preferred since it exposes the conveyor 122 and the vessels 200 to external current or movement of water which reduces the rotational efficiency of the conveyor 122. Thus, it is preferred for the torque generating apparatus to have a confined space of specific dimensions such as the cylinder 104 whose dimensions may be defined in relation to the dimensions of the drums 202 and conveyor 122. The described embodiment includes the divider 112 which helps to reduce cross-contamination of the water flow between the first and second chambers 114,116 and adds stability for a more efficient rotation of the conveyor 122, but the divider 112 (including the separating panel) may be omitted. Also, instead of having the number separator sheets 112b, the separating panel may simply be a single piece of flat sheet.

The conveyor 122 includes the sprocket pairs 124,130 and roller chain set 134 assembly but other forms of conveyor or rotational mechanism may be used. The vessels are in the form of drums 202 which are generally cylindrical. However, the shape of the drums 202 may take other forms such as spherical shape although the shape of the drums 202 should be chosen taking into account the amount of friction which may be created as the drums 202 move in the water 118. The material of the vessels may vary too, as long as the material used for the vessels has a greater density than the fluid medium chosen so as to enable the vessels to sink in the second chamber 116. Further, while the described embodiment uses an even number of drums 202 to enhance efficiency, an odd number of drums 202 may also be used.

The distance between the vessels or drums 202 may also be adjusted depending on the application. However, the distance between the drums 202 should have a sufficiently large gap to allow the drums 202 to be filled up rapidly and perhaps almost instantaneously when the drums 202 start to be immersed in the water 118 in the descending phase. The size of the drum aperture 206 or drum openings 208 also plays a part. The number of drums 202 may change and varied depending on application. An increase in the number of drums 202 with a corresponding increase in the height of the cylinder 104 and also length of the conveyor 122, this would increase the torque created by the rotation of the drums 202. While the embodiment describes harvesting the torque from the rotating top sprocket axle 128, the torque may also be harvested form the bottom sprocket pair 130 (with suitable modification to the bottom sprocket axle 132) or even from both top and bottom sprocket pairs 124,130. Indeed, multiple units of the torque generating apparatus 100 may be daisy chained to generate a greater amount of torque.

Although the embodiment describes using compressed air, other types of gases may also be used, such as compressed oxygen or other gases of a lower density than the chosen liquid medium. The gas injection mechanism 300 may take other forms not just the four gas pipes 310. For example, Figure 19 illustrates that the gas injection mechanism 300 further includes an air system 350 to complement the four gas pipes 310, and the air system 350 includes a vessel gas plunger mounted to each of the drums 202 and arranged to cooperate with corresponding gas delivery plungers for directing gas into the inner vessel cavity of the drums 202. Figure 20 is an enlarged view of portion LL of Figure 19 to illustrate the air system 350 more clearly. In this embodiment, the gas delivery plunger comprises four male gas plungers 352 spaced apart angularly and carried by the bottom sprocket pair 130 and arranged to mate with the corresponding vessel gas plungers in the form of female gas plungers 354 mounted to the drums 202. Figure 21 is a further enlarged view of one of the drums 202g in a position MM to show one of the female gas plunger 354 more clearly.

The female gas plunger 354 is mounted to one of the ends 216/218 of the drum 202g and includes a female connector 356, a female connector plunger 358 and a female connector pipe 360 with one end coupled to the female connector plunger and the other end leading into the drum 202g via a female connector opening (not shown).

As mentioned above, the four male gas plungers 352 are mounted to the bottom sprocket pair 130 and specifically at four quadrant points, as illustrated in Figure 20. The air system 350 further includes connecting pipes (not shown) in fluid communication with respective male gas plungers 352 and the tube 304. In other words, the compressed air 302 from the air tank is also used for the air system 350.

An operation of how the air system 350 works will now be described using the drum 202g as it moves from the second chamber 116 into the first chamber 116 and into the position MM. As the drum 202g enters the base section 110 from the second chamber 116, and at position NN, the female air plunger 354 becomes coupled with one of the male gas plungers 352. Specifically, the female connector 356 is arranged to mate with a corresponding male connector of the male gas plunger 352 and the female plunger 358 cooperates with a male plunger (not shown) from the male gas plunger 352 create an air tight connection. As the drum 202g moves to position PP, compressed air is activated, and is channeled into the drum 202g via the male gas plunger 352, the female plunger 358 and the female connector pipe 360. It should be appreciated that the position of the drum 202g may similarly be detected using the drum position sensor 136. As the drum 202g is rotated from the position PP to position QQ, it should be appreciated that the drum 202g also becomes engaged with the four gas pipes 310 as explained earlier to receive further compressed air. At position PP, and as the drum 202g is rotated towards position MM, the male gas plunger 352 disengages or decouples from the female gas plunger 354, and between the position NN and QQ, the male gas plunger 352 is arranged to disengage from the female gas plunger 354 after about 180° turn.

The use of the air system 350 is intended to complement the four gas pipes 310 and enhance the efficiency of the air injection mechanism 300 (since this affects the ascending speed of the drums 202 which affects the amount of torque generated). While this is preferred, it should be appreciated that the air system 350 may be an alternative to the gas pipes 310 and need not be used together. Of course, the male and female connections of the male and female gas plungers 352,354 may be swapped, and other ways of feeding air into the vessels 200 may also be used.

Having now fully described the invention, it should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications can be made hereto without departing from the scope as claimed.