Back to results
US 2016/0097371 A1Published application
Windraider
OwnerAndrew Lovasinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The Windraider process, the Wind Wing, and the Armstrong electrical generator are innovations in converting wind energy into electrical energy which show significant promise in improving the economic and ergonomic utility of wind power.
Claims6
Claim 1 is for a process
- wherein an air flow is directed as equally as possible into two nearly equal low drag rectangular channels of equal perpendicular cross sectional area whose height is inconsequential, but whose horizontal cross section remains the same from floor to ceiling,
- where into each channel extends a moving element extending from floor to ceiling,
- such that said moving element simultaneously restricts air flow through the local area adjacent to the moving element in one channel,
- while it un-restricts its restriction of air flow through the local area adjacent to the moving element in the other channel,
- said movement of said moving element
- powered by higher static pressure in the local area adjacent to said moving element in the channel becoming more un-restricted by said moving element,
- than the static pressure in the local area adjacent to said moving element in the channel becoming more restricted by said moving element,
- said higher static pressure in the local area of the channel adjacent to said moving element becoming more un-restricted
- due in large part to the extraction of kinetic energy from its air flow to powering said moving element,
- this loss of kinetic energy slowing down this air flow,
- which, according to Bernoulli's Equation, increases its static pressure,
- and by the prevention of said local area of higher static pressure dissipating further by a further restriction of both channels downwind in these channels,
- while, according to the Continuity Equation, air flow in the local area adjacent to said moving element of the channel becoming restricted by said movement has its velocity increased,
- which, again according to Bernoulli's Equation, decreases its static pressure,
- until such time as the movement of the moving element restricting the local area adjacent to it, creates eddies which catastrophically disrupts this air flow,
- slowing it down sufficiently that, again according to Bernoulli's Equation, the local static pressure increases sufficiently to overcome the static pressure in the local area of the channel adjacent to said moving element up to that point becoming un-restricted,
- whereupon said moving element begins moving from the channel it had been increasingly restricting toward the one it had been increasingly un-restricting, thus un-restricting the former and restricting the latter,
- such movement being powered by the transfer of energy from the air flowing through the now increasingly un-restricted local area adjacent to moving said moving element,
- such transfer of energy slowing down the air flowing through the now increasingly un-restricted local area adjacent to said moving element,
- which, again according to Bernoulli's Equation, decreases its static pressure,
- further increasing the force moving said moving element
- which along with the movement of said moving element consumes the energy being supplied by the air flowing through the now increasingly unrestricted local area adjacent to said moving element
- until such time as the amount of energy being transferred approaches the Betz limit, 59.3% of the kinetic energy of the air flow from which it is being extracted,
- which process continues extracting near or at the Betz limit until such time as the moving element again disrupts the air flow in the now closing channel sufficiently to increase its static pressure sufficiently to overcome the static pressure resulting from the slowing down of the air flow giving up kinetic energy to powering the moving element,
- such process resulting in the moving element oscillating over a significant range, regularly in response to the speed of the entering airflow.
22 more elements
Claim 2 is for a vertical rotating collapsible airfoil, its degree of collapse programmable by the user to specific wind speed ranges,
- the airfoil having a horizontal cross-section whose outline when collapsed is the outline of the section of a streamlined symmetrical airfoil that remains when a forward section outlining a forward nacelle, and an aft section outlining an aft nacelle have been removed,
- the delineating line between the outline of this collapsed airfoil and the outline of this forward nacelle being the intersecting arc of a circle whose diameter is the width of originating airfoil and whose center is midway between the sides of the originating airfoil at its widest extreme,
- the delineating line between the outline of this collapsed airfoil and the outline of this aft nacelle being the intersecting arc of a circle whose center is midway between the sides of the originating airfoil at its widest extreme, whose radius is 40+30/−20% of the distance to the aft most point on the originating airfoil,
- the point midway between the sides of the originating airfoil at its widest extreme becoming the axis of rotation for the developed airfoil (hereafter simply “the airfoil”), and the axis of the mast around which it rotates
- the airfoil un-collapsing along an imaginary line extending from its axis of rotation to the midpoint of the arc forming its aft side,
- the two un-collapsing elements each having the form of half of a barrel hinge, with skins wrapped around frames having the forms of barrel hinge knuckles,
- the airfoils being forced toward their maximum un-collapsed configuration by an elliptical spring whose center remains on the imaginary line extending from the airfoil's axis of rotation to the midpoint of the arc forming its aft side, this maximum un-collapsed configuration occurring when the angle between the two then-open elements approaches 84 degrees,
- the opening force of the elliptical spring kept in balance by the centrifugal force generated by rotation of the airfoil being exerted on a mass connected to the airfoil's opening elements in the same manner as the ribs of an umbrella are connected to its runner by stretchers, the difference being that stretchers are normally used to extend the ribs of an umbrella outward, while here the connections being to draw the sides of the un-collapsed elements inward, collapsing them,
- the effect of this centrifugal force, leveraged around pivots who themselves trace a user-programmed program bar so that as the wind speed increases, producing increased oscillations of the airfoil, resulting in increased rotational speeds, producing increased centrifugal force on the mass connected to the airfoil's opening elements, so that the degree of closure is determined in very significant part by the position of, and the distance between the pivots, which has been programmed by varying the thickness of the user-programmed program bar so that there is a user-determined distance between the pivots for each position of the mass from the axis of rotation, such position being determined by the centrifugal force of the collapsible airfoil's rotations which, in turn is ultimately determined by the specific wind speed range powering the collapsible airfoil's rotations.
6 more elements
Claim 3 depending upon claim 2 is for the principal sub-elements of same, including but not limited to the method of outlining the collapsing airfoil, the collapsing airfoil, the use of the centrifugal force of oscillating rotational motion to power its collapse, and the programmable proportionate control employed to achieve and maintain the angle of collapse.
Claim 4 is for an electrical generator powered by oscillating rotational motion
- mounted on, and constructed around a rigid mast,
- its moving elements resting on and rotating around three circular platforms each concentric with the mast:
- the middle platform, a cylinder which has imbedded in its perimeter surface, 90 degrees apart, the insides of the yokes of four vertical dual-yoke permanent magnet dipoles,
- the other two platforms, each a slip-on flange, the top one further lathed to support the floor of the powering source,
- all three platforms made fast to the mast by set screws, which, when loosened, allow the generator and its powering source to be installed on any street pole, flagpole, other pole or tower of sufficient strength, diameters and purchase allowing use as the generator's mast,
- the platforms that are slip-on flanges each supporting one of two circular transports each of which both provides vertical wrapping edge definition around equally spaced equal length arcs in the range of at least 47 degrees and no greater than 54 degrees, and horizontal rotational transport for generator's two coils such that these vertical windings each rotate through the gaps between the magnets in two of the permanent magnet dipoles for each face of vertical windings,
- rotational torsion for the circular transports provided by their attachment to the generator′ rotating cover, itself being powered a circular limited-slip, spring-terminated clutch allowing the powering element to be unloaded from the inertia of the circular transports and the coils when starting up and at the extremes of each oscillation.
4 more elements
Claim 5 depending upon claim 1 is for an apparatus capable of executing the process therein claimed, such apparatus being comprised of
- a floor and a roof,
- a mast which extends through this floor and this roof and around which they are free to rotate,
- an unarticulated vertical airfoil which oscillates around the axis of this mast, and whose horizontal outline is developed by cutting out an outline from a the middle section of an outline of a streamlined symmetrical airfoil close to NACA 0030, such about to be cut outline bordered forward by a circle, whose axis is the same as the mast and whose diameter is the width of this airfoil, and aft by a circle whose radius is 40+30/−20% of the distance from the axis of the mast to the aft most point of this symmetrical airfoil, copying the outline of this section, rotating this copy 29±15 degrees around the mast, and combining the two outlines, and
- whose height is slightly less than the distance between the floor and the roof allowing sufficient clearances between itself and this roof and between itself and this floor so as to be able to rotate freely,
- a forward nacelle and an aft nacelle both of which extend from the floor to the roof and are connected to each, and which have their horizontal outlines formed by remaining sections of the streamlined symmetrical airfoil used to develop the unarticulated vertical airfoil which oscillates, positioned fore and aft respectively of the unarticulated vertical airfoil which oscillate such that their chords if extended would pass through the axis of the shaft, positioned at a distance apart from the oscillating wing, and with the corners of the forward nacelle trimmed such that the unarticulated vertical airfoil can rotate freely at least 29 degrees to each side,
- two outside airfoils each having the horizontal outline of an airfoil close to NACA 0020 extending from the floor to the roof and connected to each, the length of their chords each approximately 66% of the length of the airfoil close to NACA 0030 used to create the outlines of the forward nacelle, unarticulated vertical airfoil which oscillates and aft nacelle, and are parallel to it, and whose leading edges are positioned approximately 12.5% the length of the airfoil close to NACA 0030 used to create the outlines of the forward nacelle, unarticulated vertical airfoil which oscillates and the aft nacelle, aft of the leading edge of the forward nacelle
- the height of the forward nacelle, the aft nacelle and the two outside airfoils, extending from the floor to the roof, and being high enough to allow the unarticulated vertical airfoil which oscillate to rotate, and
- the aft nacelle extended sufficiently aft to allow it to serve as a rudder, using the wind to keep the apparatus face to the wind.
5 more elements
Claim 6 depending upon claim 3 is for a rack and pinion mechanism where:
- the rack is the driver and the pinion is the follower,
- the rack is an approximate 60 degree arc of a full circular rack,
- is attached on one side to a rotating element, with pinion meshing teeth on the other side,
- with some number of teeth missing from the center of, and at the ends of the arc,
- so that the rotating element can rotate up to some threshold angle from the centerline without the teeth of its rack engaging the teeth of the pinion,
- after which it engages the teeth of the pinion until a second threshold angle is reached,
- after which lack of additional teeth causes the rack to again disengage from the pinion,
- unit such time as the rotating element reveres the direction of its rotation, returning to this second threshold angle where the rack teeth reengage the pinion teeth.
5 more elements