Wind turbine having airfoils for blocking and directing wind and rotors with or without a central gap
First Claim
1. A crossflow wind turbine that generates mechanical energy from wind comprising:
- a rotor having a plurality of rotor blades that are symmetrically disposed around an axis, said rotor blades disposed in said rotor so that a gap is formed between leading edges of said rotor blades;
a rotor space formed in a volume that is swept out by said rotor blades, said rotor space having a drive portion in which said rotors are driven by said wind and a return portion in which said rotors return to said drive portion;
a plurality of airfoils that direct wind into said drive portion and direct wind away from said return portion to cause said rotor to turn and generate said mechanical energy.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A wind turbine device of increased efficiency is comprised of a set of fixed airfoils that direct wind into a rotor having a plurality of blades. The fixed airfoils may extend to the ground to increase the amount of wind directed into the rotor and may be manufactured from concrete. The rotor blades have a vented portion near the axis of rotation that has been found to increase efficiency for certain blade geometries. For other blade geometries, increased efficiency is observed with no gap at the axis of rotation. The rotor may also be manufactured from composite materials to increase strength while decreasing the moment of inertia for the rotor.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A crossflow wind turbine that generates mechanical energy from wind comprising:
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a rotor having a plurality of rotor blades that are symmetrically disposed around an axis, said rotor blades disposed in said rotor so that a gap is formed between leading edges of said rotor blades;
a rotor space formed in a volume that is swept out by said rotor blades, said rotor space having a drive portion in which said rotors are driven by said wind and a return portion in which said rotors return to said drive portion;
a plurality of airfoils that direct wind into said drive portion and direct wind away from said return portion to cause said rotor to turn and generate said mechanical energy. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of generating mechanical energy from wind comprising:
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providing a crossflow wind turbine having airfoils and a rotor that sweeps out a rotor space, said rotor space having a drive portion and a return portion;
symmetrically placing a plurality of rotor blades in said rotor that form a gap between leading edges of said rotor blades;
placing said airfoils around said rotor to substantially direct said wind into said drive portion of said rotor space so that said wind drives said rotor blades in said drive portion, and to substantially block said wind from entering said return portion of said rotor space so that said rotor blades return to said drive portion to generate said mechanical energy. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A crossflow wind turbine that generates mechanical energy from wind comprising:
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a rotor having a plurality of rotor blades that are symmetrically disposed around an axis, said rotor blades disposed in said rotor so that a gap is not formed between leading edges of said rotor blades;
a rotor space formed in a volume that is swept out by said rotor blades, said rotor space having a drive portion in which said rotors are driven by said wind and a return portion in which said rotors return to said drive portion;
a plurality of airfoils that direct wind into said drive portion and direct wind away from said return portion to cause said rotor to turn and generate said mechanical energy. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of generating mechanical energy from wind comprising:
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providing a crossflow wind turbine having airfoils and a rotor that sweeps out a rotor space, said rotor space having a drive portion and a return portion;
symmetrically placing a plurality of rotor blades in said rotor that do not form a gap between leading edges of said rotor blades;
placing said airfoils around said rotor to substantially direct said wind into said drive portion of said rotor space so that said wind drives said rotor blades in said drive portion, and to substantially block said wind from entering said return portion of said rotor space so that said rotor blades return to said drive portion to generate said mechanical energy. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification