WO2003104647A1

WO2003104647A1 - Wind powered prime mover

Info

Publication number: WO2003104647A1
Application number: PCT/AU2003/000693
Authority: WO
Inventors: James Thomas Bendon
Original assignee: James Thomas Bendon
Priority date: 2002-06-05
Filing date: 2003-06-05
Publication date: 2003-12-18
Also published as: AUPS276002A0

Abstract

A wind powered prime mover (10) comprises a plurality of modules (12). Each module is arranged to rotate about a central axis (18). The modules are arranged so as to selectively engage with each other via a clutch (32).

Description

WIND POWERED PRIME MOVER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a wind powered prime mover.

It is known to obtain power for electricity generation and mechanical devices by harnessing wind power. This is typically achieved by having a blade or blades arranged to catch wind and revolve about an axis.

One problem with such wind harnessing devices is that they are often efficient only within certain wind speeds. Devices efficient during low wind speeds are often susceptible to damage during high wind speeds. Devices efficient at these times are frequently ineffective when the wind speed drops. The present invention seeks to overcome, at least in part, the above disadvantage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a wind powered prime mover comprising a plurality of modules, each module comprising an axle and at least one blade arranged to revolve about the axle, the modules being arranged such that the axles lie along a common axis of rotation, each module being arranged to selectively engage with an adjacent module.

Advantageously, this permits the coupling of modules to increase power output during low wind speeds and the de-coupling of modules to prevent damage during high wind speeds. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic end view of a module of a wind powered prime mover in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic side view of the module of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a schematic side view of a module of a wind powered prime mover is accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a schematic end view of a blade support of a wind powered prime mover in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a schematic plan view of a portion of a wind powered prime mover showing three modules as shown in Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a schematic side view of a portion of a wind powered prime mover showing five modules as shown in Figure 1, the wind powered prime mover having a drive system;

Figure 7 is a schematic end view of a wind powered prime mover incorporating a plurality of modules as shown in Figure 1, the wind powered prime mover having a wind shield; and

Figure 8 is a schematic plan view of a wind powered prime mover incorporating a plurality of modules as shown in Figure 1, the wind powered prime mover arranged to pivot about one end. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the Figures, there is shown in Figures 1 and 2 a module 12 of a wind powered prime mover 10. The module 12 comprises two supporting frames 14 which are substantially triangular in shape and are arranged to rest on the ground. The supporting frames 14 are substantially parallel to each other. The respective apexes of the supporting frames 14 are joined by an axle 16. The axle 16 is supported by bearings within the supporting frames 14 and is arranged to rotate relative to the supporting frames 14 about a central axis 18. At least one set of blade supports 19 are affixed to the axle 16. Each set of blade supports 19 comprises two supporting bars 20 which affixed to the axle 16, one adjacent each supporting frame 14. In the embodiment of the drawings the supporting bars 20 are perpendicular to the axle 16, and parallel to each other. The supporting bars 20 are arranged to revolve about the central axis 18 as the axle rotates. A blade arrangement 22 is affixed between the two supporting bars 20. The blade arrangement 22 may take any one of several forms. The primary requirement of the blade arrangement 22 is that a front side 24 of each blade arrangement 22 is arranged to offer more resistance to wind than a rear side 26 of each blade arrangement 22. The blade arrangement 22 is shown in a simple form in Figures 1 and 2. In this embodiment, each blade arrangement 22 consists of two substantially planar blades which are joined at an angle so as to form a V-shaped blade arrangement 22. Figure 3 shows a variation of this embodiment. In the embodiment of Figure 3 the blades of the blade arrangement 22 include a plurality of air holes 28. The blades further include a plurality of flexible strips 30. The flexible strips 30 are arranged to move between a first position whereby the strips 30 substantially cover the air holes 28 as shown in the upper portion of Figure 3 and a second position whereby the strips 30 are substantially perpendicular to the blades as shown in the lower portion of Figure 3. The strips 30 are arranged to move between the first and second positions by the action of the wind, such that when the front side 24 is facing the wind the strips 30 are urged into the first position and when the rear side 26 is facing the wind the strips 30 are urged into the second position.

A further variation is shown in Figure 4 In the embodiment of Figure 4 the supporting bars 20 each contain a kink 31 of 30° - 45° approximately two thirds of the way along the length of each supporting bar 20.

The blade arrangement of the embodiment of Figure 4 comprises a plurality of fixed rods parallel to the axle 1 which extend between the two supporting bars 20. Each rod has a plurality of flexible strips 30 connected thereto, the arrangement being such that the strips 30 can move from a first position stretching between adjacent rods as shown in the upper portion of Figure 4, and a second position whereby the strips 30 extend away from the plane of the rods as shown in the lower portion of Figure 4.

The blade supports 19 are evenly spaced about the central axis 18. In the embodiments shown in the drawing there are two blade supports 19 on the axle 16, disposed oppositely each other. It will be appreciated that three blade supports 19 could be employed spaced at 120° intervals about the axle 16, or a greater number of blade supports 19 which were evenly distributed about the axle 16. The wind powered prime mover 10 comprises a plurality of modules 12. Each of the modules 12 is aligned such that its axle 16 sits along a common central axis 18. Each of the axles 16 of neighbouring modules 12 are joined at a clutch 32 located between the neighbouring modules 12. The clutch 32 is selectively operable to engage adjacent modules 12 such that their axles 16 form a single shaft, or to allow each axle 16 of adjacent modules 12 to rotate independently. This arrangement is shown in Figure 5. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the clutch 32 is a dog clutch. This assists in locating the blade supports 19 of adjacent modules 12 at a fixed angular displacement from each other.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the clutch 32 is incorporated as part of a remotely operated coupling mechanism. The coupling mechanism incorporates a brake such as a disc brake in order to substantially equalise the rotation speeds of two adjacent modules prior to coupling. Coupling and de-coupling is preferably controlled by the use of Programmable Logic Controllers arranged to monitor wind speed, rotation speed, power output and the like. The wind powered prime mover 10 is preferentially arranged such that angular position of the blade supports 19 about an axle 16 is offset relative to the angular position of the blade supports 19 about an adjacent axle 16. In the simplest form of the invention, this offset is preferably equal to 50% of the angular spacing between blade supports 19 on a single axle. In the embodiment shown in Figure 5, this requires the blade supports 19 of each module 12 to be offset 90° compared to the blade supports of a neighbouring module 12. Figure 5 shows three modules 12 of a wind powered prime mover 10, each module 12 having two blade supports 19 disposed at 180°. The outermost modules 12 are shown with the blade supports 19 extending substantially horizontally. The blade supports 19 of the inner module 12 are offset by 90°, and thus extend substantially vertically. Where several modules 12 are to be coupled, it is considered preferably to slightly alter the 50% offset so as to create a slow spiral when viewed from an end. This acts to ensure an even production of power.

The axle 16 of an innermost module 12 is coupled to a drive system 50. An example of such a drive system 50 is shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6 shows a central five modules 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d and 12e of a prime mover 10, arranged along a central axis 18. Adjacent modules are interconnected by clutches 32. The drive system 50 is connected to a clutch 32a adjacent the central module 12c. The drive system 50 comprises a drive shaft 52, connected by a gearing mechanism to the axle 16 of the central module 12c. In the embodiment of the drawings the drive shaft 52 is oriented perpendicular to the axle 16. The drive shaft 52 supplies mechanical energy to be used for any desired purpose such as to a generator 54 for producing electricity. It will be appreciated that other drive systems 50 such as pulley and belt systems may be used.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a plurality of drive systems 50 are spaced along the axis 18. In this way, each module 12 can be coupled to a nearest drive system 50. In the event of the generator 54 of the drive system 50 failing, the module 12 could be decoupled from that drive system 50 and coupled instead to an alternative drive system 50' located on the other side of the module 12.

Figure 7 shows two alternative wind shields which may be used with the invention. A first wind shield 36 is located adjacent the wind powered prime mover 10, and has a portion which is arranged to be raised so as to direct incoming wind to one side of the axle 16, thus allowing the return side of the blade revolution to take place in a wind shadow. A second wind shield 38 is mounted on the axle 16, and is arranged to be rotated into a position whereby it deflects wind away from returning blades. The alternative wind shields 36, 38 may also be used to completely shield the wind powered prime mover 10 in order to stop rotation of the blades.

It will be appreciated that other wind shields may be used, such as earth embankments and the like. It will also be appreciated that wind deflecting devices may be employed on the leeward side of the prime mover 10. Figure 8 shows a wind powered prime mover 10 comprising seven modules 12, the wind powered prime mover 10 having a first end 40 and a second end 42. The wind powered prime mover 10 is arranged to pivot about the first end 40, with the second end 42 being arranged to move along a part circular track 44. In this way the wind powered prime mover 10 may be oriented such that the central axis 18 is perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction. This orientating may be activated by electronic detection of wind direction.

An alternative arrangement to that shown in Figure 8 would be to use two wind powered prime movers 10 disposed at right angles. With this arrangement at least one of the wind powered prime movers would be powered by wind in any direction. ' In use, wind striking the front side of the blade arrangements 22 will cause the axle 16 to rotate. In general operation each of the modules 12 will be coupled at the clutches 32 such that the total torque acting on the axle 16 will be the sum of the torques generated by each module 12. This torque is used to power the drive system 50. In the event that wind speeds become excessively high, one or more of the modules 12 may be decoupled from the other modules 12. This will reduce the torque being transferred to the drive system.

Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMSThe claims defining the invention are as follows;

1. A wind powered prime mover comprising a plurality of modules, each module comprising an axle and at least one blade arranged to revolve about the axle, the modules being arranged such that the axles lie along a common axis of rotation, each module being arranged to selectively engage with an adjacent module.

2. A wind powered prime mover as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that adjacent modules are joined at a clutch.

3. A wind powered prime mover as claimed in Claim 2, characterised in that the clutch is a dog clutch.

4. A wind powered prime mover as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims further comprising a drive system mechanically connected to at least one module.

5. A wind powered prime mover as claimed in Claim 4, characterised in that the drive system is connected to a central module.

6. A wind powered prime mover as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, characterised in that a plurality of drive systems are each mechanically connected to a different module.

7. A wind powered prime mover as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims characterised in that the blade arrangement comprises two substantially planar blades joined to form a 'V shape.

8. A wind powered prime mover as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims characterised in that the blade arrangement includes blades having a plurality of air holes, the blades also having a plurality of flexible strips arranged to cover the air holes when the strips are on the windward side of the blades, and to open the air holes when the strips are on the leeward side of the blades.

9. A wind powered prime mover as claimed in Claim 8 characterised in that the blades are comprised of a series of parallel rods, the air holes being defined between adjacent rods.

10. A wind powered prime mover as claimed in any one of the .above Claims characterised in that each module has two blade arrangements spaced at 180°

11. A wind powered prime mover as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 9 characterised in that each module has three or more blade arrangements equally spaced about the axle.

12. A wind powered prime mover as claimed in any one of the above Claims characterised in that the blades of adjacent modules, when engaged, are offset by a predetermined angle.

13. A wind powered prime mover as claimed in Claim 12 characterised in that the angle is halfway between the blade arrangements of each module.

14. A wind powered prime mover as claimed in any one of the above claims characterised in that the wind powered prime mover is arranged to revolve about a base position so as to be oriented perpendicularly to the wind.

15. A power generating device comprising two wind powered prime movers as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 13, the wind powered prime movers being disposed at 90° to each other.