Propulsion system for a seagoing vessel
AssigneeJohn Matthew Nicklas
InventorJohn Matthew Nicklas
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A propulsion system for a seagoing vessel includes a rotatable frame and either (a) at least two masts coupled to the frame and each having a sail and a boom, or (b) at least two blades coupled to the frame. The rotatable frame and either the rotatable boom or at least two blades may be locked in position in a locked mode and unlocked and freely rotatable in an unlocked mode. A control system that is in communication in communication with a frame lock and either a boom lock or a blade lock and may be configured to determine when the vertical axis wind turbine should be in either the locked mode or the unlocked mode based on the direction of the wind and a direction that the seagoing vessel is traveling.
Claims11
A propulsion system for a seagoing vessel, the propulsion system comprising:
- a vertical axis wind turbine having a locked mode and an unlocked mode, the vertical axis wind turbine having:
- a frame having a frame lock that is locked in the locked mode and unblocked in the unlocked mode, the frame freely rotatable about a central axis when in the unlocked mode and non-rotatable about the central axis when in the locked mode,
- either (a) at least two masts coupled to the frame and each having a sail, the at least two masts each having at least one boom having an axis of rotation defined by one of the at least two masts, the at least one boom having a boom lock that is locked in the locked mode unblocked in the unlocked mode, wherein the at least one boom is rotatable about the axis of rotation defined by one of the at least two masts when in the unlocked mode and non-rotatable about an axis defined by one of the at least two masts when in locked mode, or (b) at least two blades coupled to the frame, the at least two blades having a blade lock that is locked in the locked mode unblocked in the unlocked mode, the at least two blades being rotatable about axes of rotation substantially perpendicular to the central axis when in the unlocked mode and non-rotatable about the axes of rotation substantially perpendicular to the central axis when in the locked mode, and
- a mechanical member having a first portion coupled to the boom of one of the at least two masts and a second portion coupled to the boom of the other of the at least two masts or having the first portion of the mechanical member coupled to one blade of the at least two blades and the second portion of the mechanical member coupled to the other blade of the at least two blades, the of the mechanical member being configured to regulate a position of the sail or the blade when in the unlocked mode;
- and
- a control system in communication in communication with the frame lock and either the boom lock or the blade lock, wherein the control system is configured to lock the frame lock, and either the boom lock or the blade lock when in the locked mode and unlock the frame lock and either the boom lock or the blade lock when in the unlocked mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.