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US 2008/0290665 A1Published application
Funneled wind turbine aircraft
OwnerLynn Potterinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An aircraft adapted to house a wind funnel and a wind turbine configured to convert the airflow through the wind funnel into electricity. An electrical cable between the aircraft and a ground station transfers the generated electricity from the aircraft to the receiving ground station for distribution. A plurality of aircraft according to certain embodiments may form a system for generating electricity from airflow.
Claims20
A wind-to-power generator aircraft comprising:
- a primary body filled with a lighter-than-air gas to provide buoyancy to the aircraft;
- a wind funnel coupled along a length of the primary body, a large end of the wind funnel located at a front of the aircraft and a small end of the wind funnel located approximately at a middle of the aircraft, the wind funnel positioned to concentrate airflow from the large end to the small end;
- a wind-to-electricity turbine coupled at the small end of the wind funnel wherein the turbine is ducted;
- and
- a tether coupled to the aircraft at a point near the turbine to secure the aircraft to the ground and transmit electricity from the turbine to a ground station.
2 more elements
An aircraft comprising:
- a primary body filled with a lighter-than-air gas to provide buoyancy to the aircraft;
- a wind funnel defined within the primary body along a length of the primary body, a large end of the wind funnel located at a front of the aircraft and a small end of the wind funnel located approximately in the middle of the aircraft, the wind funnel positioned to concentrate airflow from the large end to the small end;
- a pivotless wind-to-electricity turbine coupled at the small end of the wind funnel wherein the turbine is ducted;
- and
- a tether coupled to the turbine to secure the aircraft to the ground and transmit electricity from the turbine to a ground station.
2 more elements
A system for generating electricity from airflow, comprising:
- a plurality of primary bodies filled with a lighter-than-air gas to provide buoyancy to each body;
- a wind funnel coupled along a length of each primary body, a large end of the wind funnel located at a front of each body and a small end of the wind funnel located approximately at a middle of each body, the wind funnel positioned to concentrate airflow from the large end to the small end;
- and
- a wind-to-electricity ducted turbine coupled at the small end of each wind funnel, wherein the plurality of primary bodies are connected together to form a truss.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.