Governor for fluid current motor
OwnerForest B. Whiteinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fluid current motor having at least one vane mounted on a support for being moved by a fluid current. Flappers are pivotally mounted on the vane for orbital movement and are stopped from movement when moving with the fluid current and swing parallel to the direction of flow of the fluid current when moving against the fluid current. A governor system is further provided to regulate the speed of operation of the vane assembly, and to essentially shut off the motor in excessively strong fluid currents, thereby preventing damage to the fluid current motor. Electricity can be generated directly by the movement of the vane through use of a linear induction system.
Claims13
A fluid current motor, comprising, in combination;
- vane means supported for rotation about a central axis, support means mounting the vane means for said rotation in the fluid current in order to translate the fluid current into useful mechanical or electrical energy, said vane means comprising at least one pair of parallel spaced frame members and at least one flapper pivotally mounted between the frame members, said vane means further including stop means provided between said frame members for limiting pivotal movement of said flapper when the flapper is moving with the fluid current, while permitting the flapper to swing parallel to a direction of flow of the fluid current when the flapper is moing against the direction of flow of the fluid current, a governor system to limit the rotation of said vane means in the fluid current, said governor system including a control stop pivotally mounted on control support means extending between said frame members and being capable of pivotal movement on said control support by direct contact with said fluid current so as to respond to the speed of said fluid current, said control stop being engageable with said flapper whenever the fluid current speed is below a predetermined limit and disengageable from said flapper when the speed of said fluid current exceeds the predetermined limit whereby the rotational movement of said vane is severely limited, said governor system further including an adjustable tension means for maintaining said control stop engageable with said flapper whenever the current speed is below a predetermined limit, said adjustable tension means being secured to said control stop and extending to one of said frame members, said tension means being mounted for movement along said one frame member to adjust the response of said control stop to said fluid current speed, said tension means being a spring tension means in which the response of said control stop can be controlled by the tension of said spring, the tension of said spring being responsive to the distance between said control support means and the point wherein said spring is mounted to said one frame member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.