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US 4,047,833 AGranted
Horizontal windmill
OwnerBert J. Deckerinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerBert J. Deckerinventor
Estimating the term…
A horizontal windmill includes a vertical tubular internal baffle member, a plurality of vanes responsive to the wind, mounted and positioned so that they revolve horizontally when the wind blows, partially rotating to resist the force of the wind in some positions during such revolution and being feathered with respect to it in other positions, and a vertical baffle located outside the path of rotation of the vanes, for increasing the wind speed as the wind is directed against the wind-resisting vanes. To secure the benefits of low cost of the structure for supporting such a windmill it is mounted on a building, with the vertical tubular member surrounding the building and being transparent to allow entry of light. In preferred embodiments of the invention various portions of the windmill are of light weight plastic material, such as the vanes and external baffles, and thin light weight tension members are employed to strengthen compression members and hold them in position. Also, to obtain most efficient wind trapping and spilling effects the vanes may be at least partially in the forms of horizontal channels or V's with the open side thereof facing the wind when the wind is in the direction the vane is moving and being of a coarser or rougher surface than the opposite side. A boat powered by such a windmill is also described.
A horizontal windmill comprising a plurality of vanes, a substantially cylindrical internal baffle member fixedly mounted on and surrounding a vertical tower-shaped office building at a distance at least 10 meters above ground level, means for mounting and positioning the vanes about the substantially cylindrical baffle member for horizontal partial rotational movements thereof about vertical axes so as to place them in wind-resisting positions at substantially all times when moving with the wind and in feathered positions at substantially all times when moving against it, so as to promote horizontal revolution of the windmill when the wind blows, and a substantially vertical movable baffle which is straight sided, located outside the path of movements of the vanes and self-aligning so as to be maintained parallel to the direction of the wind, for increasing the wind speed, in conjunction with the substantially cylindrical internal baffle, as the wind is directed against the wind-resisting vanes, the location of which substantially vertical, straight sided baffle is such that the minimum free area through which the wind can flow between said baffle and the substantially cylindrical internal baffle, calculated without the vanes in place, is about 10 to 50% of the maximum of such free area and the rotating vanes are limited in travel by stop members which allow only about a 90.degree. movement of the vanes between a radial position and a tangent position.
A horizontal windmill comprising a plurality of vanes, a vertical tubular internal baffle member, substantially curviform in horizontal cross-section, fixedly mounted on and surrounding a building at a distance at least ten meters above ground level, means for mounting and positioning the vanes about the tubular baffle member for horizontal partial rotational movements thereof about vertical axes so as to place them in wind-resisting positions at substantially all times when moving with the wind and in feathered positions at substantially all times when moving against it, so as to promote horizontal revolution of the windmill when the wind blows, and a substantially vertical baffle, which is movable and self-aligning in the direction of the wind, located outside the path of movements of the vanes and being maintained parallel to the direction of the wind, for increasing the wind speed, in conjunction with the tubular internal baffle, as the wind is directed against the wind-resisting vanes, the location of which substantially vertical baffle is such that the minimum free area through which the wind can flow between such baffle and the tubular internal baffle, calculated without the vanes in place, is less than 80% of the maximum of such free area.
A horizontal windmill comprising a plurality of vanes, a vertical tubular internal baffle member, substantially curviform in horizontal cross-section, fixedly mounted on a tower-shaped office building at a distance at least 10 meters above ground level, means for mounting and positioning the vanes about the tubular baffle member for horizontal partial rotational movements thereof about vertical axes so as to place them in wind-resisting positions at substantially all times when moving with the wind and in feathered positions at substantially all times when moving against it, so as to promote horizontal revolution of the windmill when the wind blows, which means for mounting and positioning the vanes include means for preventing them from being moved out of their desired paths, which include supporting means for the vanes, opposed flanges on ends of said suporting means and a plurality of three-wheel structures, with separate wheels thereof each bearing on tops, ends and bottoms of said flanges to hold the vanes positively in desired relationships with the supporting means, and a substantially vertical baffle which is movable and self-aligning in the direction of the wind, located outside the path of movement of the vanes and being maintained parallel to the direction of the wind, for increasing the wind speed, in conjunction with the tubular internal baffle, as the wind is directed against the wind-resisting vanes, the location of which substantially vertical baffle is such that the minimum free area through which the wind can flow between such baffle and the tubular internal baffle, calculated without the vanes in place, is less than 80% of the maximum of such free area.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.