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US 4,084,918 AGranted
Wind motor rotor having substantially constant pressure and relative velocity for airflow therethrough
AssigneeTurbomachines, Inc.
InventorVladimir H. Pavlecka
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of generating power from wind comprising providing a turbine in an airstream with the turbine having a rotor with a plurality of blades and a stator with a plurality of blades upstream of the rotor. A portion of the ambient airstream is increased in velocity and reduced in pressure by passing such portion of the ambient airstream through the stator to provide an incoming airstream. The incoming airstream is passed through the rotor to drive the rotor and to provide an exiting airstream. The exiting airstream is conducted through a duct to increase the pressure and decrease the velocity of the exiting airstream, and subsequently the exiting airstream is discharged from the duct to the atmosphere.
Claims19
A method of generating power from wind comprising:
- providing a turbine in an ambient airstream with the turbine having a rotor with a plurality of blades and a stator with a plurality of blades upstream of the rotor;
- expanding a portion of the ambient airstream by passing some of the ambient airstream through the stator to provide an incoming airstream of less pressure and greater absolute velocity than the ambient airstream;
- passing the incoming airstream through the rotor to drive the rotor and to provide an exiting airstream;
- conducting the exiting airstream through a duct to increase the pressure and decrease the absolute velocity of the exiting airstream;
- discharging the exiting airstream from the duct;
- and
- said step of passing being carried out without substantially changing the pressure and relative velocity of the airstream in the rotor.
4 more elements
A method of generating power from wind comprising:
- providing a turbine having a rotor with a plurality of blades in an ambient airstream;
- expanding the airstream in a region upstream of the rotor to provide an incoming airstream of less pressure and greater absolute velocity than the ambient airstream;
- passing the incoming airstream through the rotor in a generally radial direction and without substantially changing the pressure and relative velocity of the airstream to drive the rotor and to provide an exiting airstream in a second region downstream of the rotor;
- and
- increasing the pressure and decreasing the absolute velocity of the exiting airstream in said second region.
2 more elements
A fluid motor comprising:
- a turbine adapted to be positioned in a fluid stream, said turbine including a rotor having a rotational axis;
- said rotor including a plurality of blades and means for mounting said blades in a ring around the rotational axis of the rotor, adjacent pairs of said blades being spaced circumferentially to define rotor channels, said rotor having a cavity within said ring;
- said turbine having an inlet to said rotor and an outlet to said rotor, said inlet and said outlet being at the periphery of the rotor;
- means for increasing the velocity of the fluid stream upstream of the rotor to provide an incoming fluid stream and for directing the incoming fluid stream against the blades and into said rotor channels at the rotor inlet to drive the rotor;
- said blades being arranged to direct at least some of the incoming fluid stream at said inlet into said cavity;
- said rotor channels being sized so that the passage of fluid therethrough is substantially at constant relative velocity whereby the fluid can pass through said rotor channels at said inlet into said cavity and from said cavity through said rotor channels at said outlet without substantially altering the relative velocity of the fluid passing through the rotor channels;
- and
- a duct having a passage with a discharge opening, said passage being arranged to receive the fluid stream exiting from the rotor outlet.
5 more elements
A fluid motor comprising:
- a turbine adapted to be positioned in a fluid stream, said turbine including a rotor having a rotational axis;
- said rotor including a plurality of blades and means for mounting said blades in a ring around the rotational axis of the rotor, adjacent pairs of said blades being spaced circumferentially to define rotor channels, said rotor having a cavity within said ring;
- said turbine having an inlet to said rotor and an outlet to said rotor, said inlet and said outlet being at the outer periphery of said rotor;
- means for increasing the velocity of the fluid stream upstream of the rotor to provide an incoming fluid stream and for directing the incoming fluid stream against the blades and into said rotor channels at the rotor inlet to drive the rotor;
- said blades being arranged to direct at least some of the incoming fluid stream at said inlet to said cavity;
- the effective cross sectional area of each of said rotor channels increasing as the rotor channel extends radially inwardly to make said rotor channels substantially constant relative velocity rotor channels;
- and
- a duct having a passage with a discharge opening, said passage being arranged to receive the fluid stream exiting from the rotor outlet.
5 more elements
A wind motor comprising:
- a housing adapted to be in an ambient airstream;
- means for mounting said housing for pivotal movement about a generally vertical pivotal axis;
- a turbine mounted on said housing;
- said turbine including a rotor with a plurality of blades and a stator with a plurality of blades upstream of the rotor;
- adjacent pairs of said stator blades being spaced apart to define stator channels which are adapted to receive the ambient airstream, said stator channels being sized to increase the velocity and reduce the pressure of the ambient airstream to thereby provide an incoming airstream, said stator blades being adapted to direct the incoming airstream against the rotor blades to rotate the rotor, with the air leaving the rotor at a rotor outlet, said stator being out of the airstream exiting from the rotor outlet;
- a duct having a passage with a discharge opening, said passage communicating with the rotor at the outlet thereof, said passage diverging as it extends away from the outlet and toward the discharge opening;
- means responsive to the direction in which the ambient airstream is moving to adjust the angular position of the housing about said pivotal axis;
- means for reducing the pressure of the ambient air adjacent a region of the duct where the exiting airstream is discharged;
- and
- said turbine being a first turbine, said wind motor including a second turbine mounted on said housing, said second turbine having a rotor, the rotational axes of said rotors being generally parallel, means defining a passage extending through said housing intermediate said rotors, said passage having an inlet open to the ambient airstream and an outlet adjacent the discharge opening of the duct, the inlet of said passage being of greater cross sectional area than the outlet of said passage.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.