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US 2010/0303623 A1Published application
Wind power device
OwnerGuirguis Dawoud, Annetta Attia Yacoubinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A new reduced cost easily manufactured light weight wind turbine design combining the use of downwind passive yaw, large take off rim on the outside of the semi rigid sails, a new method of furling or changing sail AOA, new semi rigid sail design, and new tower design that allows passive yaw for high installation of wind wheels to gain energy from higher wind speeds. Combining these features dramatically lowers weight/simplifies manufacture/avoids need for expensive composite materials/avoids the need for heavy high reduction gearboxes/reduces friction losses to air/reduces noise/reduces bird strikes/catches more energy per area of sails/and ultimately reduces cost in US$ per kwh generated ratio.
Claims8
1-A wind wheel for producing energy comprises:
- a rotor on a shaft. Said rotor has anti friction bearings installed by which it rotates on said shaft. Said shaft is stationary and fixed to a tower. In another embodiment, the rotor and the shaft are fixed to each other, and the shaft rotates inside antifriction bearings fixed to the tower. Said rotor supporting a plurality of bend resistant longitudinal elements called spokes or poles each having a tip, thereby being a plurality of tips on said wind wheel. Some of the said spokes run through, and are connected to the force generating surfaces or wings, and being rotatably mounted on said rotor, thereby being a plurality of tips on said wind wheel. Said tips being connected to support a circular shaped, bending resistant element called a ring that extends around a circumference formed by said tips, said ring may be connected to said rotor hub by a tension element, preferably wire ropes or bars. Said wings angle relative to wind can be changed, by an angle changing mechanism. Said ring having a front and rear surfaces with rotating wheels or gears mounted in frictional or positive contact with said ring on said front, rear, and possibly parts of upper and lower surfaces, such that said rotators press on one or more sides of said ring forming a positive or frictional contact. Each of said rotators being connected to energy producing equipment. Said energy production equipment may be electrical generators, heat generators, or gas and liquid compressors. Said rotators rotating with said ring, when said ring rotates, thereby driving said energy generating equipment. Said turbine being controlled by a controller. Said controller sends commands that initiate changing of said wings angle of attack, the rotational resistance of said generators, and the amount of energy produced by said generators in response to the wind speed.
2-A wind wheel as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
- said wind wheel shaft is supported by a tower, said tower is composed of two upper and lower bending resistant elements called tubes, towers, or columns. Said two tubes are concentric along the longitudinal axis of said tower. Said upper and lower columns have two anti friction bearings, or ball/roller bearings;
- one located on the upper tip of the said lower column, and the other connected at the lower tip of the said upper column. Said wind wheel shaft is fixed to the said upper column. The lower part of said upper tower supports the energy production rotators. Said energy production rotators swivel with said upper tower along the longitudinal axis of said tower, thus maintaining contact with said outer rim of said wind wheel which rotates with said upper tower. Said tower comprises cable, or hose reels that permits swiveling of upper column without damaging cables or hoses by over twisting, while still transmitting energy through said cables, or hoses. Said upper tower comprises a streamlined fairing fixed to and swivels with upper tower tube, reducing air turbulence before wind reaches the wings.
3-A wind wheel as claimed in claim 2 wherein:
- said tower comprises over twisting limiting chains.
4-A wind wheel as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
- said wings also named wind catching sails or blades can be constructed of a solid bending resistant material, or of bending resistant structure of airfoil ribs and spars, covered with canvas or any flexible tension bearing sheets material. Said airfoil ribs, define the shape of said wing, thus dictating the amount of rotational force generated by said wings as a result of the wind force pushing against it.
5-A wind wheel as claimed in claim 4 wherein:
- said wings can be a single or double sheets of sails. Inside said sails, airfoil shaped bending resistant elements may be embedded longitudinally to the wind direction, thus supporting said flexible sail material and giving it a shape closely approximating an airfoil lift generating shape.
6-A wind wheel as claimed in claim 4 wherein:
- a bending resistant element called a sail beam extends across the chord of said wing. Said beam is rigidly connected to, or pivots on, the spoke or the pole carrying said wings, and connected to said wing in one or several points along its cross section. Said wing angle is changed by pulling the said beam element using one or more wire ropes or tension elements acting on one or more points along is length. Each of said wire ropes rolls or slides on a rotating roller, or a smooth low friction surface fixed to the adjacent spoke. Said wire ropes run along the inside or outside length of spokes to a central point on the hub. Said ropes are pulled together with one or more spring loaded mechanisms, or fluid actuated pressurized cylinders, or electrically actuated mechanisms. In case of using said fluid actuated cylinders, the fluid pressure inside said cylinder governs the pull of all said ropes, thus adjusting the angle of said wing to suit the operating conditions, like desired rotational speed, rotational torque, or to completely furl out of the wind storms.
7-A wind wheel as claimed in claim 5 wherein:
- In case of using single or double sheet sails as described in claim 5, said beam element may be a fork shaped element, comprising two or more bending resistant elements, called the sail beams which has the sails located in between. Said sail beams as described in claim 6 are also used to stretch said sails.
8-A wind wheel as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
- the described energy generators rotated by said rotators, are electrical generators, the controller described in claim 1 energizes the necessary number of generators, to balance the resistance torque of these rotators to the torque generated by the wings from the wind, in order to keep the speed of rotation within a desired speed. Said controller also controls the angle of said wings with respect to the wind by use of said wing angle changing mechanism.