FR2972229A1 - Wind device i.e. vertical axis savonius-type wind device, for use on roof of e.g. car, to convert wind energy into electrical energy for vehicle, has inflatable blades in form of conduits extending up to circumference of wind device - Google Patents

Abstract

The device (1) has a vertical axis savonius-type rotor and a lower reinforcement element (5) on which two blades (7) are fixed. The blades are inflatable in form of conduits extending up to the circumference of the device. The blades are inflated until the device reaches a deployed position, and deflated until the device reaches a folded position. The blades are made of plastic material that provides relatively high rigid or indeformable characteristics for the blades, when the blades are inflated, and relatively flexible or deformable characteristics, when the blades are deflated. An independent claim is also included for a method for deploying a wind device.

Description

FOLDING WINDMILL WITH INFLATABLE FLATBALLS

The invention relates to devices for transforming wind energy into mechanical or electrical energy, such as for example wind turbines. The invention is intended in particular for wind turbine devices with a vertical axis that can for example be mounted on the roof of a vehicle. More specifically, the invention is directed to aeolian devices that can be retracted or folded for storage. The invention also relates to a method of deploying or folding such a wind device.

It is known from the prior art different wind devices for converting wind energy into mechanical or electrical energy. The most common are horizontal axis wind turbines (that is, where the axis of rotation of the rotor is horizontal) including multi-blade propellers. There are also wind turbines vertical axis (that is to say where the axis of rotation of the rotor is vertical) comprising for example semicircular curved blades or panels rotating about said central axis.

The use of vertical axis wind turbines has many advantages over horizontal axis wind turbines, such as generating low noise and being set in motion with low wind speeds. Unfortunately, they also have the disadvantage of being bulky and are therefore difficult to retract for use as a backup source of energy that can be mounted for example on the roof of a vehicle. Indeed, such wind devices must be deployed when the vehicle is stationary and must be stowed when the vehicle moves or when the user does not use it. For reasons both aesthetic and aerodynamic, the storage and / or retraction of such devices implies that they have, once stored, a footprint as small as possible. Preferably, the operations of deployment or folding and / or retraction of the wind device must be remotely performed by the user without having to act on the device itself. However the congestion presented by vertical axis wind devices makes their simple retraction difficult and there is currently no way to reduce this congestion satisfactorily.

For example, document US7241105 discloses a wind turbine device whose blades of flexible material are fixed to vertically movable reinforcing elements on a central rotary shaft. The folding of the blades by translation of the reinforcing elements on the rotary axis allows to fold the device but does not reduce its size at least according to its height. Any folding of the rotary shaft must be the subject of a separate operation. In addition, the blade deployment or folding system requires human intervention on the wind turbine device and can not be controlled remotely.

The object of the invention is to overcome the drawbacks presented by the prior art by proposing to the person skilled in the art a new wind device which can be folded or retracted so as to have, when folded, a height which is lower than that which it exhibits when it is deployed. Another objective of the invention is to propose to the skilled person a new self-structuring wind turbine device that does not require a vertical armature to deploy.

For this purpose, the subject of the invention is an airfoil device with inflatable blades having a rotor with a vertical axis and a lower reinforcement element on which at least two blades are fixed forming a first row of blades that are remarkable in that the blades are inflatable and are in the form of ducts extending to the circumference of said wind device.

According to another definition, the subject of the invention is an aeolian device with inflatable blades having a rotor with a vertical axis and a lower reinforcement element on which are fixed at least two blades forming a first row of blades remarkable in that it further comprises at least one other row of at least two blades superimposed on the previous one and that the blades are inflatable.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the different rows of blades are fixed relative to each other.

Advantageously, said ducts are open at both ends.

Optionally, the assembly formed by the blades of said wind device is in the form of a honeycomb structure or has a structure in superimposed arches. Optionally, the assembly formed by the blades consists of a single inflatable envelope.

Preferably, the blades of two successive rows have an angular offset. For example, the upper part of the ducts formed by the blades of a row serves as a support for the base or bases of the blades of the row placed directly above it.

Optionally, the ducts formed by the blades have a circular or tetragonal or pentagonal or hexagonal section, preferably honeycomb.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the wind turbine device further comprises means for inflating the blades until said device is in the deployed position and / or means for deflating the blades until said device is in position folded, preferably the inflation of the blades is by compressed air. Advantageously, it further comprises at least one upper reinforcement element fixed on at least one blade of the upper row of said device. Preferably, it furthermore has cables such that the deflation of the blades is assisted by the winding of said cables around an axis carried by the lower reinforcement element preferably by means of a servo motor.

Advantageously, the blades (7) are made of a plastic material having sufficient mechanical characteristics to be relatively rigid or indeformable when they are inflated and / or relatively flexible or deformable when deflated.

Preferably, the blade support base or bases have a curved profile and / or the wind turbine device is a Savonius-type rotor.

Ideally, the rotor body does not extend beyond the lower frame member, preferably the rotor is mounted on a telescopic mast. The invention also relates to a remarkable vehicle in that it has a wind device as defined above preferably mounted on its roof.

Finally, the subject of the invention is a method of deploying a wind turbine device as defined above from a folded position to a remarkable deployed position in that it comprises a step of swelling the blades by air injection. compressed in a single envelope forming all the blades.

The use of inflatable blades in wind turbines is already known from the prior art and FR2507696 describes a wind turbine device comprising a rotor with a horizontal axis whose blades are inflatable. The blades are likely to deform under wind pressure. When the wind is weak, they form an important angle with the direction of the wind. As the wind speed increases, they tend to fade gradually to reduce the stresses to which they are subjected and in particular, in the event of strong winds, to limit the risk of damaging the device. The rotor may also comprise means for varying the overpressure of the blades as a function of its rotational speed.

It will be noted that the overpressure difference of the blades of the device of the prior art offers a greater or lesser possibility for the blades to crash on themselves as a function of the wind speed, which modifies their angular orientation with respect to the wind and therefore the speed of the rotor, this is contrary to the invention where the inflation or deflation of the blades is intended to deploy or fold the wind turbine device and where a difference in overpressure does not change the angular orientation of the blades relative to the wind. Moreover, it will be noted that the presentation in the form of duct blades that allows them to rely on each other within the same row of blades and between the different rows of blades when the wind device according to the invention presents a staged organization of the blades aims to avoid said blades to deform under the action of the wind unlike this prior art where the deformation of the blades is sought.

US2010 / 0143130 discloses a horizontal axis wind turbine with inflatable blades to lighten the weight of the device. The blades preferably include an internal frame to stiffen them. Again, we see that this teaching is contrary to the implementation of the invention where the stiffness of the blades when inflated is obtained by their structure in ducts, for example honeycomb or arcades. This structure sees its rigidity be reinforced again when several rows of blades are superimposed. It is in fact through its ability to acquire and maintain a structure by folding the blades over each other and / or their presentation in the form of ducts that the wind device according to the invention has sufficient rigidity to be able to do without internal frame. In addition, this lack of internal reinforcement allows the device according to the invention to fold easily by simply deflating the blades and to present when folded a footprint as small as possible. US2006 / 0251505 discloses a wind turbine device. horizontal having blades extending radially along the axis of rotation. The device is inflatable in order to float in the air. The blades do not have to be inflatable. The blades of the prior device are fixed on the axis of rotation and do not take an active part in the folding or deployment of the device unlike the blades according to the invention. Indeed, in the device according to the invention is the state inflated or not the blades which defines the deployed or folded state of the wind device.

It will be understood that the invention consists in proposing a self-structuring wind turbine device having inflatable flexible blades carried by a rigid reinforcing element. The structure presented by the device is determined by the architecture of the blades arranged so that the adjacent placed blades are configured to come to bear on each other so as to form conduits or be directly in the form of conduits so that to cooperate with each other in order to maintain them. Indeed, according to a first level of organization, the blades arranged on the same row are arched so as to have two support bases and / or show one or more flexible transverse elements interconnecting them so as to be in form ducts. According to a variant of the invention, the rigidity of the structure presented by the device is further improved by an architecture of the blades arranged in at least two superposed rows. This second level of organization makes it possible to reduce, by decreasing the height of the blades, the surface that each blade will expose to the wind with respect to a device of similar height comprising only one row of blades. In this way, the blades of the device according to the invention are more resistant to deformation. This architecture of the blades allows them to further improve the rigidity of the formed assembly and / or resistance to deformation under the action of the wind. It is the bladed state of the blades which gives its structure to the wind turbine device according to the invention. The invention will be well understood and other aspects and advantages will become clear from the following description given by way of example. with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device according to the invention in the deployed position. Figure 2 is a side view of a device according to the invention in the folded position. Figure 3 is a top view of a device according to the invention in the deployed position.

Reference will firstly be made to FIG. 1 showing an example of wind turbine device (1) according to the invention in deployed form. Such a device is able to transform wind power into electrical or mechanical energy by means well known to those skilled in the art and which will not be described further herein. The wind turbine device (1) according to the invention comprises a rotor with a vertical axis (not shown) carrying a set of blades (7) extending vertically from at least one lower reinforcement element (5), for example in the form of a disk. placed horizontally. The invention is remarkable on the one hand, in that the blades (7) are inflatable, and on the other hand in that the blades (7) are in the form of ducts extending in the direction of the outer circumference of the wind device (1). It will be noted that due to this orientation, the section of the ducts increases in the direction of the outer circumference of the wind turbine device (1). The ducts formed by the blades (7) are preferably open at both ends. In this way, the set of blades (7) of the wind turbine device (1) is in the form of a honeycomb structure, preferably a generally cylindrical structure, whose base is supported, or is supported, at least partly on the element lower frame (5). Said honeycomb structure extends vertically from this lower reinforcement element (5). According to the invention, and as will be seen in detail below, the wind turbine device (1) comprises one or more rows of blades (7) superposed. In order for the blades (7) to be in the form of ducts, several solutions are conceivable by those skilled in the art. For example, it is possible to associate with the blades (7) transverse elements extending in a more or less horizontal direction and for connecting a blade (7) of a given row to another blade (7) of this same row disposed adjacent to the first. These elements will form the upper part of the ducts presented by the blades (7). When the transverse elements form a vault when arched, or a ceiling when they are flat. They may also form a central ridge extending along said conduit. Thus, the blades (7) advantageously form ducts having a section of tetragonal, pentagonal, hexagonal shape for example honeycomb, or any other form that can be envisaged by those skilled in the art. As for example a honeycomb structure whose blades (7) form ducts of circular or oval section. It is also possible to fold the blades (7) on themselves so that they are in the form of arches. Here again, several shapes are possible, whether the bases of the arcaded blades (7) are arranged at the same height as shown in FIG. 1, or that one of the bases of each arcade blade bears on one of the sides of the blade. the vault of the adjacent arcade blade. According to the invention, the ducts formed by the blades (7) of two successive rows may have sections of different shape and / or size.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the blades (7) of the wind turbine device (1) are in at least two rows (9) superimposed on one another. Each row (9) of blades (7) comprises at least two blades (7) regularly distributed angularly. Preferably, but not necessarily, the different rows (9) of blades (7) have the same number of blades (7). The blades (7) of the wind turbine device (1) have at least one base which is supported at least in part on the lower reinforcement element (5) with respect to the first row (9) of blades (7) and on the previous row or on transverse elements for the following rows as we will see later. The base of the blades (7) according to the invention has a curved or even semi-cylindrical profile. The curvature of the blade profile is illustrated in FIG. 3. The last row of blades can be connected to an upper reinforcing element (not shown). Advantageously, the lower and upper reinforcement elements (5) have a diameter similar to the diameter presented by the arrangement of all the blades (7).

It is specified that the number of blades (7) carried by the rotor of the wind turbine device (1) can not be limiting of the invention and can be easily modified by those skilled in the art. When deployed, the device (1) is therefore in the form of a vertical axis wind turbine that is to say that the axis of rotation of the main rotor is arranged vertically and is parallel to the axis of the mast carrying said wind device (1). The blades (7) extend substantially in a vertical direction. This type of wind turbine device (1) offers the advantage of being able to be fully effective whatever the direction of the wind. Preferably, the device (1) according to the invention will have at least three blades per row which will facilitate the rotation of the rotor even in light wind. For example, each row (9) may have 3 or 6 or even 8 blades (7) disposed adjacent. The device (1) according to the invention is preferably a Savonius-type device.

The arrangement of the blades (7) of the device (1) in rows (9) superimposed aims to stiffen the structure formed by all the blades (7) and to avoid or at least minimize the possible deformation of said device (1) under the action of the wind. Indeed, in view of the folding of the wind device (1) according to the invention, its blades (7) are inflatable and are advantageously made of a plastic material having sufficient mechanical characteristics to be relatively rigid or indeformable when inflated and or relatively soft or deformable when deflated. Nevertheless, in order to favor their rigid and non-deformable nature when inflated, it may be advantageous to reduce the surface they present. This is achieved according to the invention by reducing their height and by superimposing several rows of blades (7) for example 3 or 5 rows. At equal height, a wind turbine device according to the invention will have a rigidity greater than a device having only one row of blades. The different rows (9) of blades (7) can for example be separated from each other by inflatable or non-inflatable transverse elements. Preferably, the different rows (9) of blades (7) will be arranged fixed relative to each other, and will therefore rotate in the same direction and at the same angular velocity.

It is possible in the context of the invention that the blades (7) of a row (9) are aligned vertically and angularly with the blades (7) of the row (9) which is placed above it. In such a configuration, the rigidity of the structure is reinforced by the fact that the blades (7) of a row (9) are physically connected to each other for example by the use of transverse elements, or by the fact that the blades (7) rely on two bases for example by the implementation of blades (7) in superimposed arches. Nevertheless, those skilled in the art will preferentially introduce an angular offset between the blades (7) of two successive rows (9). To do this, it may for example have a row (9) so that its blades (7) are supported at at least one of their bases on the upper part of the ducts formed by the blades (7). ) of the row directly below it as illustrated in Figure 1. Another example illustrating such an offset is a honeycomb arrangement where the blades form hexagonal section conduits and where said ducts of One row is offset from the rows of the row above or below it.

The blades (7) of the wind device (1) according to the invention are in the form of inflatable envelopes separated from each other. Preferably, they are in the form of a single inflatable envelope having a honeycomb structure or superimposed arches. The complex shape of the envelope makes it possible to improve its rigidity once inflated and therefore its resistance to deformation due to the pressure exerted by the wind. The thickness of the envelope (s) and the mechanical characteristics of the material used allow the blades (7) to receive air under pressure. The inflatable envelope (s) advantageously have a regular and determined thickness. For this purpose, the envelope or envelopes thus have at least one internal rib for giving and keeping a relatively flat shape to the inflatable walls of the wind turbine.

Figure 2 illustrates the device according to the invention in the folded position. As has been seen, the blades (7) are inflatable and configured so that their inflation raises them in the vertical direction from a folded position of the device to an extended position of the device (1) and vice versa, so that that the device (1) has in the folded position a lower height than it has in the folded position. In this way the storage and / or retraction of the wind device (1) according to the invention is facilitated. The device (1) according to the invention is therefore able to flatten for storage. The set of blades (7) of the wind turbine device (1) has a generally cylindrical shape. The wind turbine device (1) optionally has at least one rigid upper armature member disposed above the last row of blades (7) and connected to at least one blade of the latter row. When the wind turbine device has such an upper reinforcing element, it flattens preferably until the lower and upper reinforcement elements (5) are spaced vertically by a distance corresponding to the thickness that the blades when they are deflated and folded back on themselves.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the wind device (1) further comprises means (not shown) for inflating said blades (7) until the device is placed in the deployed position and / or means for deflating said blades (7) until the device is in the folded position. The means are advantageously arranged to act on the blades (7) at their lower end. For example, the inflation of the blades can be done by compressed air. Preferably, the different blades (7) of the same row and preferably the different rows of superimposed blades are formed of a single envelope defining a honeycomb structure open on both sides as we have seen upper. The means for inflating and / or deflating the blades (7) may comprise for example a pump and possibly means for sucking the air present in the blades (7). When only one pump is provided, the blades (7) of the device (1) then deflate only when the air pressure is released. The deflation of the blades (7) is advantageously favored by the presence of an upper reinforcement element whose weight will press on the blades (7) in the direction of the lower reinforcement element (5).

Nevertheless, it is possible in the context of the invention to provide other means to assist the deflation of the blades (7) and for example accelerate or compensate for the use of a low weight frame element or even the absence of upper armature element. For example, it is possible to place cables (not shown) joining the lower reinforcement members (5) and upper or joining the lower reinforcement member (5) and the upper portion of the inflatable envelope at the level of example of the top of the last row (9) of blades (7). When the user decides to fold up the wind turbine device (1), the inlet or / or the air inlet and / or outlet orifices of the blades (7) will be open allowing the air they contain to be released. on the one hand, and on the other hand the cables will be wound on themselves around an axis by a servo motor and pull the upper reinforcing element or the upper part of the envelope of the blades (7) in direction of the lower armature element (5). In this way, the pressure exerted by the upper reinforcement element on the blades (7) or by the forced folding of the cellular envelope (or presenting a structure in superimposed arcades) will make it possible to evacuate the air contained more quickly by the blades (7).

Moreover, once wound, the cables will keep the wind device (1) in the folded position. This allows for example to avoid inadvertent lifting of the upper armature element under the pressure of a wind at high speed between the two frame members which could damage the device (1). When the device does not include a top reinforcement, the use of cables will help the storage of the blister envelope on the lower frame member (5).

It will be understood that ideally the device (1) has no rigid element beyond the lower reinforcement element (5) or between the two lower reinforcement elements (5) and higher so that the flattening of the device (1) is not prevented or limited. This is why the device (1) will not have a central rotary shaft disposed between the blades (7). Preferably is as illustrated in Figure 3, the central zone of the structure formed by all the blades (7) is empty and thus forms an excavation. Advantageously, the diameter d of the excavation in the center of the structure of the device is at least 1/6 of the diameter D of this structure. The rotor body (3), transmitting the rotational movement to the stator, is located below the lower armature member (5) and does not extend beyond the latter.

The invention is also directed to vehicles such as motor vehicles or motor homes equipped with a wind device (1) according to the invention. Said device (1) is preferably mounted on the roof of the vehicle. It is placed in the deployed position when the vehicle is stopped to supply electricity, for example to recharge its battery. When the vehicle moves the wind device (1) according to the invention is placed in the folded position and is stored in a compartment on the roof and provided for this purpose. The person skilled in the art may find it advantageous to mount the rotor of the device (1) according to the invention on a telescopic mast and to couple the means for inflating or deflating the blades (7) with increasing or decreasing the height of said mast to facilitate its retraction and storage. The storage can be done in a compartment located on the roof of the vehicle. The opening of the storage compartment and the deployment or folding of the device are advantageously controlled from the vehicle dashboard. Finally, the invention is also directed to a method of deploying a wind turbine device having at least one row of blades in the form of ducts and preferably at least two rows of blades superimposed from a folded position to an extended position. The method according to the invention comprises a step of swelling the blades by injecting compressed air into a single envelope forming all the blades. The invention is remarkable in that the deployment of a device of one or more rows of stepped blades is in a single step that does not require direct handling of the blades by the user.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and given only by way of example but encompasses all the variants that may be envisaged by those skilled in the art within the framework of the definition that has been given.

Claims (16)

1. A wind device (1) having a rotor with a vertical axis and a lower frame member (5) on which are fixed at least two blades (7) characterized in that the blades (7) are inflatable and present themselves in the form of ducts extending to the circumference of said wind device (1) 2- A wind device according to claim 1 characterized in that it has at least two rows (9) of at least two blades (7) superimposed. 3- wind device (1) according to claim 2 characterized in that the different rows (9) of blades (7) are fixed relative to each other. 4- A wind device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3 characterized in that said ducts are open at both ends. 5- wind device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that the assembly formed by the blades (7) of said wind device (1) is in the form of a honeycomb structure or has a structure in superimposed arcades. 6. Wind device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5 characterized in that the assembly formed by the blades (7) consists of a single inflatable envelope. 7- wind device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6 characterized in that the blades (7) of two successive rows (9) have an angular offset, preferably the upper part of the ducts formed by the blades (7). ) a row (9) serves as support for the blade base (s) (7) of the row placed directly above it. 15 8- wind device (1) according to one of claims 4 to 7 characterized in that the ducts formed by the blades (7) have a circular or tetragonal or pentagonal or hexagonal, preferably honeycomb. 9- A wind device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8 characterized in that it further comprises means for inflating the blades (7) to place the device (1) in the deployed position and / or means for deflating the blades (7) until the device (1) is in the folded position, preferably the inflation of the blades (7) is by compressed air. 10-wind device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9 characterized in that it further comprises at least one upper armature element fixed on at least one blade (7) of the upper row of said device (1 ). 11-wind device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 10 characterized in that it further has cables and in that the deflation of the blades (7) is assisted by the winding of said cables around a axis preferably by means of a servo motor. 12-wind device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 11 characterized in that the blades (7) are made of a plastic material having mechanical characteristics sufficient to be relatively rigid or indeformable when inflated and / or relatively soft or deformable when deflated. 13-A wind device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 12 characterized in that the or the support bases of the blades (7) have a curved profile and / or in that the device (1) is a rotor of type Savonius. 14-A wind device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 13 characterized in that the rotor body does not extend beyond the lower reinforcement element (5), preferably the rotor is mounted on a telescopic mast. 15-vehicle characterized in that it has a wind device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 14. 16- A method of deploying a wind turbine device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 14 from a folded position to an extended position characterized in that it comprises a step of swelling the blades by air injection in a single envelope forming all the blades.