Cantilever mounted wind turbine
OwnerDale T. Stjernholminventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cantilever mounted wind turbine having an interior stationary support column and a concentrically mounted rotatable rotor and having a first bearing between the support column and the rotor and a second flexibly coupled bearing between the support column and the rotor where the second bearing includes bearing surfaces and a flexible coupling between one of the bearing surfaces and the rotor in order to provide bending moment decoupling between the rotor and its support column.
Claims4
A moment decoupling connection between first and second concentrically mounted and respectively rotatably members, including:
- radial thrust bearing means having first and second bearing surfaces;
- means securing the first bearing surface to the said first member;
- and
- means flexibly coupling the second bearing surface to the said second member including:
- a pair of spaced apart flanges;
- a plurality of circumferentially equi-spaced torque transmitting drive pin means interconnecting the flanges;
- and
- elastic cushioning means disposed between the flanges.
In a self-supporting fluid turbine having a rotor shaft, a plurality of elongated blades and means attaching the ends of said blades to longitudinally spaced apart points on said rotor shaft, the improvement comprising:
- an anchored support column interiorally nested within the said rotor shaft;
- first and second bearing means interconnecting the said column and the shaft and adapted to accomodate relative rotation therebetween and including:
- first and second torque transmitting drive flanges, the first of said flanges attached to the said rotor shaft and the second of said flanges attached to said second bearing means;
- a plurality of flange pins interconnecting the flanges, and
- cushioning means disposed between the flanges.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.