Three-vaned drag-type wind turbine
AssigneeCircle Wind Corp.
InventorsArt Whitworth, Larry B. Claflin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A novel three-vaned, drag-type wind turbine, wherein air, when it exits a first vane, is split into two flow paths. A first path is directed to a second vane, while a second path is directed to a third vane. The air, then, impinges on a plurality of vanes wherein the momentum of the air is altered, thus providing the force needed to drive the wind turbine. In a first embodiment, a wind shield is used to deflect a portion of the wind from entering the wind turbine, this portion being in a region where the vanes are rotating into the wind. In second embodiment, the wind shield is not used.
Claims18
An apparatus for converting kinetic energy from wind to shaft power, the apparatus comprising:
- (a) a first drag-type wind turbine vane disposed for rotation about a rotational axis;
- (b) a second drag-type wind turbine vane disposed for rotation about the rotational axis;
- (c) a third drag-type wind turbine vane disposed for rotation about the rotational axis;
- (d) an exhaust channel associated with the first drag-type wind turbine vane to divert a portion of the wind from the first drag-type wind turbine vane to the second drag-type wind turbine vane;
- and
- (e) a curved portion of the first drag-type wind turbine vane to divert a portion of the wind from the first drag-type wind turbine vane to the third drag-type wind turbine vane.
A method of configuring a drag-type wind turbine for converting kinetic energy from wind to shaft power, the wind turbine comprising a first drag-type vane, a second drag-type vane, and a third drag-type vane, the method comprising:
- (a) arranging the first, second, and third drag-type vanes at 120° intervals symmetrically about an axis of rotation;
- (b) forming a concave side of the first drag-type vane;
- (c) forming a convex side of the first drag-type vane;
- (d) forming an exhaust channel in the first drag-type vane to direct air from the concave side of the first drag-type vane to the second drag-type vane;
- and
- (e) forming a curved surface on the concave side of the first drag-type vane to direct air from the concave side of the first drag-type vane to the third drag-type vane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.