Fluid reaction surfaces (i.e. – impellers) – Working member foldable – pivotable or collapsible to non-use...
Patent
1994-10-28
1997-05-20
Look, Edward K.
Fluid reaction surfaces (i.e., impellers)
Working member foldable, pivotable or collapsible to non-use...
416132B, 416 89, B64C 1128
Patent
active
056307055
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a device for converting wind flow energy into mechanical energy, comprising a base construction and a rotor with an essentially horizontal axis mounted on the base construction, the rotor having a number of elongated rotor blades which are connected to a rotary support and extend essentially radially therefrom, each rotor blade or a part thereof being connected to the rotor support by a hinge connection for tilting the longitudinal axis of the rotor blade or part thereof to a predetermined orientation relative to the axis of rotation of the support.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Such a device is known from German Patent No 647 287, which describes a windmill having a hinge connection between a rotor blade and the rotary support with a hinge axis extending at rights angles both to the longitudinal axis of the rotor blade and to the axis of rotation of the support. By pivoting the rotor blades or parts thereof from a position in which they are essentially at right angles to the wind direction to an orientation in which they are at a small angle or parallel to the wind direction, the wind-braking area of the rotor can be adjusted to the actual wind speed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a device in which the wind-braking area of the rotor and the effective length of the rotor blades is adjustable, and which has a simpler construction compared to prior art devices, with relatively few component parts.
To reach this aim, the device according to the invention is characterised in that a hinge axis of the hinge connection between a rotor blade and the rotary support is directed at an acute angle both to the longitudinal axis of the rotor blade and to the axis of rotation of the support.
In this way, the angular position of a rotor blade with respect to its longitudinal axis is changed simultaneously with setting a tilted orientation of the rotor blade to bring the rotor blade out of the wind. The maximum wind-braking area, to be used at relatively low wind speeds, is achieved when the rotor blades are at right angles to the wind direction, while pivoting the rotor blades away in the wind direction and pivoting the rotor blades around their longitudinal axes results in a lower wind-braking area to be used a relatively high wind speeds.
Since the part of a windmill rotor blade which is facing away from the axis of rotation of the rotor is most effective for generating power, in another preferred embodiment the support of the rotor is hingedly connected to each rotor blade through an arm assembly, the part of the rotor blade facing the support being situated at a distance from the support. In this way the comparatively little effective part of each rotor blade has been replaced by the arm assembly.
In principle one arm for each rotor blade suffices.
Preferably, the support of the rotor blades is annular, and is mounted in such a way on the base construction that it is supported to allow rotation about its own centre point. Such a support, which a properly chosen inner and outer diameter, provides enough area along its length for the hinged connections to be made. The support may e.g. be made in the form of an annular tube.
The energy conversion by the device according to the invention can be made more constant and less dependent from wind speed variations by giving the rotor the properties of a flywheel. For this purpose, the mass of the support of the rotor blades is made high relative to the mass of the rotor blades. If the support has the form of an annular tube, this tube may e.g. be filled with sand or another filler material to increase its mass.
In a preferred embodiment the annular support is mounted at its radial outer side in a number of rotatable bearing elements. The bearing elements may be small in diameter and consist of conventional roller bearings, but may also have larger diameters. When the rotor has a sufficiently large mass, it will be possible to provide the bearing elements only at the lower part of the suppo
REFERENCES:
patent: 2173291 (1939-09-01), Ash
patent: 2379857 (1945-07-01), Bakke
patent: 2717043 (1955-09-01), Isacco
patent: 4020565 (1977-05-01), Steffen
patent: 4168439 (1979-09-01), Palma
patent: 4213737 (1980-07-01), Gerhardt
patent: 4316698 (1982-02-01), Bertoia
patent: 4415311 (1983-11-01), Grana et al.
patent: 4427341 (1984-01-01), Eichler
patent: 4483657 (1984-11-01), Kaiser
patent: 4485991 (1984-12-01), Fuller
patent: 5226805 (1993-07-01), Proven
Look Edward K.
Sgantzos Mark
LandOfFree
Rotor construction for windmill does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Rotor construction for windmill, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Rotor construction for windmill will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1720091