Vertical axis wind turbine with self-orientating blades
OwnerAlexander Margolisinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention is a wind turbine that is part of a system for utilizing the energy of wind to produce electrical energy. The turbine is a vertical axis wind turbine that is characterized by the design of its blades. The blades are shaped and attached to the turbine in a way that allows them to self-adjust their orientation with respect to the direction in which the wind is blowing. In this way the torque that each blade exerts on the turbine consist of two portions. When the blade is on the windward side of the turbine, it exerts on the turbine torque from the drag force. When the blade is on the leeward side of the turbine, the torque that the blade exerts on the turbine is from lift force.
Claims10
A vertical axis wind turbine comprised of the following elements:
- a base;
- a vertical shaft fixed to said base;
- at least three equally spaced horizontal arms attached to said vertical shaft;
- at least three vertical blade shafts, each blade shaft connected to one of said arms;
- at least three blades, each of said blades attached by means of bearings to one of said blade shafts;
- and
- two stoppers at the ends of each of said arms positioned to limit the range of rotation of said blades around said blade shafts;
- wherein, each of said blades has a rectangular central portion and one rectangular vertical tab attached to each vertical edge of said central portion and said central section of said blade is attached to said blade shaft at distances “a” and “b” from the respective inside edge of each of said tabs, wherein a<b
- wherein each blade is composed of one of the following:
- a) a single planar piece of stiff material bent at opposite edges to form a central section and two tabs:
- b) stiff material and shaped as a non-symmetric airfoil bent on its two edges;
- c) a central section and tabs made from planar pieces of stiff material and each of the tabs is rigidly connected to the central section respectively at angles β1 and β2 that remain constant as the blade rotates around the blade shaft;
- d) a central section and tabs made from planar pieces of stiff material and each of the tabs is connected to the central section by means that allow them to rotate about a vertical tab axis and allow respective angles β1 and β2 between each of the tabs and the central section to constantly change as the blade rotates around the blade shaft;
- e) a central section and tabs made from a single rectangular sheet of stiff material that is bent into a wave-like shape;
- and
- f) a central section and tabs made from rectangular pieces of stiff material that have been bent into a wave-like shape and each of the tabs is rigidly connected to the central section.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.