Prime-mover dynamo plants – Miscellaneous – Drive gearing
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-29
2004-02-24
Ponomarenko, Nicholas (Department: 2834)
Prime-mover dynamo plants
Miscellaneous
Drive gearing
C290S054000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06696766
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Energy provides the fuel for modem industry and commerce and hence is critically important for its continued viability and growth. Combustibles such as wood, coal and oil are not only nonrenewable, difficult and expensive to recover and the cause of serious international problems, but they increase pollution, global warming and have other well known problems. Accordingly great study, effort and expense has been given to finding alternatives. Solar is expensive, inefficient and does not lend itself to producing megawatts of power at an economically attractive cost.
Waterpower is limited by the supply of water at higher elevations and for the most part has been exploited in most parts of the world where energy is needed. Hence it is of limited value to meet increased energy needs.
Windmills have been used throughout the ages and more recently have been the subject of renewed interest using modern technology. Nevertheless, large modern windmills have shortcomings including the facts that they:
(a) are highly subject to lightning strikes,
(b) have high mechanical fatigue failure,
(c) are limited in size by hub stress,
(d) must be pivotally mounted,
(e) must be feathered in winds over 28 mph to prevent destruction,
(f) do not produce energy in winds below 8 MPH,
(g) require a 30 to 1 ratio transmission,
(h) require variable pitch blades,
(i) do not function well, if at all, under conditions of heavy rain, icing conditions or very cold climates, and
(j) are noisy and cannot be insulated for sound reduction due to their size and subsequent loss of wind velocity and power.
In view of the above and published average power output, it appears that the best windmill farms would be very hard pressed to deliver the equivalent power output of a 14 MPH average wind velocity, per resident windmill, per year. By contrast, the ACM pipe is not limited by problems (a) through (j).
Another recent form of energy production involves nuclear fission. However although this form was thought to be the answer to supplying power, it also has produced many problems. Thus, for example, nuclear power plants have produced billions of tons of deadly waste products, some having a 27,000 year half life. Although the energy chamber of nuclear plants is made of the finest quality double x-rayed 6-inch thick stainless steel, the pressure, temperature and corrosive environment causes the 6-inch thick walls to often require replacement or repair every 4 to 6 years. The nuclear plants must be located near a large body of water and far from residential areas. The nuclear plants are only {fraction (1/10)} of 1% efficient and the plants must be shut down every 30 to 50 days for replacement of the spent uranium, which replacement takes days to weeks. Also, many millions of dollars of taxpayers money is spent per year to bury the deadly waste products of atomic energy, in places such as the manmade tunnels in mountains such as Yucca Flats, Nev.
In addition, it is estimated that atomic power plants increase global warming by 2.58×10
15
BTUs per year, while simultaneously increasing pollution by a number in the order of 452,000,000,000 lbs. per year based on utility company published numbers of 671 pounds per 1000 kw hours per year. Putting this number in perspective, it should be noted that 2.58×10
15
BTUs could heat and cool about 63,000,000 homes each with 1000 kWh/month for an entire year. Also of great concern is the inescapable fact that nuclear plants are always a potential source of accidental or terrorist activated mechanisms of catastrophic mass annihilation. The ACM pipe eliminates all of these problems and concerns.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A system for the generation of energy based upon-the difference in the barometric pressure at geographically spaced sites, referred to herein as the “Atmospheric Cold Megawatt” energy producing system of the invention (hereinafter “ACM”), comprises at least one long conduit, in the order of many miles, preferably of at least two sections of different internal areas capable of conducting significant amounts of air therein and having a power converter therein. While it would be possible to use a conduit of only a single cross sectional internal area, the cost would be 130 times greater and the air acceleration rate would be 99.99% less.
The term “cold megawatts” is used to distinguish the inventions in ACM from all fuel and heat dependent energy generating means. In the preferred embodiment each conduit has at least one funnel shaped portion and at least two sections of differing internal areas. The conduit ends are located at geographically spaced sites designed on the basis of historical information to be far enough apart to encounter a historically useful difference in barometric pressure. Useful is considered to be any pressure that produces the required or desired power since even minute pressure differences can generate substantial amounts of power.
The ACM conduit configuration of the invention can transform even barometric pressure differences in the order of one tenth pound per square inch into wind velocities in the sonic range. This high wind velocity serves to drive an internal power converter means, such as a wind turbine for example, which will convert the energy into any desired type of power output, such as electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, etc.
In operation, energy per se is generated without consumption of materials and without mechanical moving parts. Air will flow into the conduit at a first site of high barometric pressure and travel through the conduit pipe and out the end located at a second site of the low barometric pressure. As the conduit decreases in cross sectional area in accordance with the invention, the air accelerates through the conduit and takes the form of a high velocity wind that provides an energy source from which power may be extracted by at least one energy converting means. It will be understood of course, that the energy converting means have moving parts.
At least one flow control means such as a gate or variable orifice may be strategically located in the conduit or conduits to regulate the wind conduit path and velocity to provide the most efficient and maximum power output. The energy converting means are strategically located in the pipe or pipes to extract power from the wind energy as the wind moves past the energy converting means at high speed.
Additional ACM conduits extending from and having ends in other spaced geographic locations or sites may be interconnected and air flow controlled to maximize the flow for greatest barometric pressure differences between the conduit ends for even greater output power than could be achieved by fewer conduits.
The cold energy ACM pipe has all the advantages of windmills, and none of the several disadvantages outlined herein. Thus, for example, the heights of the windmills (many in the order of 250-328 feet), their required high geographical location necessary to capture maximum wind force and their electrically conductive construction make them very vulnerable to destructive lightning strikes.
Mechanical fatigue failure results from the high length to width ratios, the blade weight and the double stress reversal in each blade per each revolution.
With regard to noise, the ACM pipe has acceptable sound levels over 99% of its length and in those places where noise does occur, it may be easily overcome by insulation or other sound deadening means . While the ACM conduit's power converter is basically just as noisy as the windmill, that noise is entirely inside the ACM conduit and may be easily reduced as required. The sound controlling insulation may be internal and/or external and does not reduce power output as it does in windmills. By contrast to the average wind speed of 14 mph for the best windmill farms, the ACM conduit pipe can, for example, provide 550 mph wind velocities in 2.97 seconds with as little as one tenth (0.1) psi pressure difference; an acceleration of 271.8 feet per second per second results.
Because of unknown variables an
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