System Description

• The illustration shown consists of a buoy and a subsea pulley assembly located on the underside of the buoy, connected to a seabed anchor via a subsea interconnecting cable. The subsea cable assembly is  attached to the subsea anchor.  The seabed anchor is sized to rise off the seabed to release excess tension on the subsea interconnecting cable when the wave heights exceed design height limit. Not shown in the illustration is a sets of cable chain anchor systems which hold the buoy in position over the subsea anchor assembly.
• As seen in the illustration, the bottom set of sheaves in the subsea pulley assembly maintain a relative constant vertical distance from the seabed. The upper set of sheaves of the subsea pulley assembly, travel up and down with the buoy. As the sheaves in the subsea pulley assembly are in a “block and tackle” configuration, the linear travel of the cable exiting the subsea pulley assembly, is greater than the relative vertical travel of the buoy. If four sheaves are used, the travel of the cable will be four times the vertical travel of the buoy.
• The cable, once it exits the subsea pulley assembly, is attached to and wraps around the power drive drum of the power conversion apparatus. The increased linear travel and velocity of the subsea cable that exits the subsea pulley assembly, increases the revolutions per minute (rpm) of the power drive drum. The increase in rpm of the power drive drum will be in direct proportion to the number of sheaves and inversely proportional to the power drive drum diameter. Increasing the drum rpm lowers the drum shaft torque required to drive the power takeoff assembly. The tensioner drive, in this illustration, connects to and is driven by the power drum drive. A cable that is attached to and wraps around the tensioner drive is routed through the sheaves of the tensioning apparatus.
• System Operation As shown in the illustration, when the buoy travels from a wave trough to a wave crest, during the first half or a wave period, the cable exiting the subsea pulley assembly results in the rotation of power drive drum. Rotational motion and torque of the power drive drum is utilized to power a generator. The torque and rotation applied by the power drive drum is also applied to the tensioner drive drum. Rotation of the tensioner drive drum causes the tensioner drive drum cable to retract the tensioning apparatus. The retraction of the tensioning apparatus builds up stored energy within the tensioning apparatus.    
• During the second half of the wave period, as the buoy travels from a wave crest to a wave trough, the stored energy within the tensioning apparatus causes the tensioning apparatus to extend, which, through the tensioner cable applies torque and rotational motion to the tensioner drive drum. Rotational motion and torque of the tensioner drive drum applies rotational motion and torque to the power drive drum, which supplies rotation and torque to a generator.   

                                                        US Patent  US 12,372,053 B2  International Patents Pending