WO2007061150A1

WO2007061150A1 - Variable apparatus for generating power in wind turbine

Info

Publication number: WO2007061150A1
Application number: PCT/KR2005/004137
Authority: WO
Inventors: Byung-Sue Ryu; Dong-Ryel Yu
Original assignee: Byung-Sue Ryu; Dong-Ryel Yu
Priority date: 2005-11-25
Filing date: 2005-12-06
Publication date: 2007-05-31
Also published as: KR100743475B1; KR20070055058A

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a variable apparatus for generating power in a wind turbine. The apparatus includes a magnetic group provided on the lower end of the rotary cylinder and comprising a plurality of magnets which rotate along with the rotary cylinder and have a circular arrangement. A plurality of coil units is provided under the magnets to be concentric with the magnets and installed on a support shaft, which supports rotation of the rotary cylinder, via a locking unit. A wind velocity sensor functions to detect magnitude of wind velocity. A storage battery part stores power generated by the coil units. A terminal part selects coil units to be connected to the storage battery part according to wind velocity detected by the wind velocity sensor.

Description

VARIABLE APPARATUS FOR GENERATING POWER IN

WIND TURBINE

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates, in general, to a power generating apparatus which converts mechanical energy produced by wind force into electrical energy, thus generating power and, more particularly, to a variable apparatus for generating power in a wind turbine, which varies a power generating structure according to the magnitude of wind velocity, such as a gentle wind or a strong wind, thus achieving high power generation efficiency.

[2]

Background Art

[3] Generally, as the world's industries have developed and the population has swelled, resources, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas, have been drained. Thus, much research on wind turbines, which generate power using wind force, have been conducted as an alternative energy source.

[4] Meanwhile, a horizontal-type wind turbine, which has been widely used, is constructed so that a rotor having a plurality of vanes is provided on the upper end of a structure which is vertically erected on the ground. Such a horizontal-type wind turbine is operated as follows. That is, the rotor is rotated by wind force, and mechanical energy generated by the rotation of the rotor is transmitted to a power generator and converted into electrical energy, thus generating power.

[5] However, in order to maintain stable power generating conditions, the rotor of the horizontal-type wind turbine must be positioned at a high level where a steady airflow exists. This causes the rotor support structure to become excessively high, thus incurring high installation costs, in addition to raising a risk of collapse. The height also causes many difficulties in maintaining and repairing the rotor, the power generator, and other components. Further, the horizontal-type wind turbine is constructed so that the rotor, the power generator, and other components are installed on the upper end of a structure. Thus, the wind turbine may be operated within a wind velocity range of 4~25m/sec. That is, when a wind having wind velocity of 25m/sec or more acts on the rotor and the rotor is rotated at a relatively fast speed, a load may be applied to several components supporting the rotor which is a large structure and components of a power generating system, so that the wind turbine is undesirably broken or damaged. Therefore, the horizontal-type wind turbine used currently is constructed so that all operations are substantially stopped in wind with a velocity of 25m/sec or more. In order to overcome this drawback, the components for supporting the rotor and the components of the power generating system must have a large size so as to sufficiently bear a high load. However, since the components are installed on the upper end of the structure, their size is limited, and thereby the enlargement of the components is limited.

[6] As such, the conventional horizontal-type wind turbine is problematic in that it cannot sufficiently use the full force of wind, and the wind turbine stops operating in the event of a typhoon or gusting winds, so that power generation efficiency is low.

[7] In order to solve these problems, a wind turbine using a rotary cylinder is disclosed in Korean Patent Appln. No. 2005-0005062, which was filed by the applicant of the present invention. The wind turbine includes a rotary cylinder, and a plurality of wind vanes, which are provided on the outer circumferential surface of the rotary cylinder at regular intervals and are hinged to the rotary cylinder. The rotary cylinder is rotated by wind force acting on the wind vanes, and mechanical energy, generated by the rotation of the rotary cylinder, is transmitted through a rotating shaft and a increasing gear to the power generator. Thereby, the mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy. Such a wind turbine is advantageous in that it is not affected by the direction of wind and may continue generating power, so that the wind turbine is seldom affected by wind velocity. However, the wind turbine is problematic in that the rotary cylinder is rotated at an excessively fast speed in the event of a typhoon or gusting winds, so that components of a power transmission system or a power generating system may be broken or damaged, and thereby the wind turbine stops operating.

[8] Further, the power generating quantity of the wind turbine corresponds to C x 1/2 x p x A xV . In this case, C is an output factor, p is an air density, A is a sectional area, and V is wind velocity. Actually, the wind turbine does not sensitively cope with mechanical energy loss or various changes in wind velocity. Further, the wind turbine does not generate power in proportion to V .

[9]

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[10] Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a variable apparatus for generating power in a wind turbine which responds to the velocity and direction of a changeable wind, thus achieving high power generation efficiency.

[11] Another object of the present invention is to provide a variable apparatus for generating power in a wind turbine which varies a power generating structure according to wind velocity, thus varying the power generating quantity.

[12] A further object of the present invention is to provide a variable apparatus for generating power in a wind turbine which controls the rotating speed of a rotary cylinder according to wind velocity without an additional transmission, thus allowing a power generating operation to be smoothly carried out in the event of a typhoon or gusting winds.

[13]

Technical Solution

[14] In order to accomplish the objects, the present invention provides a variable apparatus for generating power in a wind turbine, generating power by converting mechanical energy produced from a rotary cylinder, which has on an outer circumferential surface thereof a plurality of vanes and is rotated by wind force, into electrical energy, the variable apparatus including a magnetic group provided on a lower end of the rotary cylinder, and including a plurality of magnets which rotate along with the rotary cylinder and have a circular arrangement, the circularly arranged magnets being positioned to have the same rotation center as the rotary cylinder, neighboring magnets being arranged so that opposite polarities face an interior of the rotary cylinder; a plurality of coil units provided under the magnets to be concentric with the magnets, and installed via a locking unit on a support shaft, which supports rotation of the rotary cylinder, in such a way as to be adjacent to the magnets, the coil units comprising coils having gradually increasing diameters and lengths to produce different energies; a wind velocity sensor to detect magnitude of wind velocity; a storage battery part to store power generated by the coil units; and a terminal part electrically connecting each of the coil units to the storage battery part, and selecting coil units to be connected to the storage battery part according to wind velocity detected by the wind velocity sensor.

[15]

[16] Hereinafter, the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. For clarity of description of the present invention, the detailed description of known functions and constructions will be omitted.

[17] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a wind turbine equipped with a power generating apparatus, according to the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the wind turbine includes a rotary cylinder 110 and a support unit 120. The rotary cylinder 110 has a shape similar to that of a drum. A plurality of vanes 111 is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the rotary cylinder 110, so that the vanes 111 are subject to wind force to be rotated. In this case, each vane 111 is constructed so that it protrudes outwards relative to the rotary cylinder 110 to be subject to wind force, or comes into close contact with the outer circumferential surface of the rotary cylinder 110 to reduce rotational resistance. Each vane 111 may be manufactured by installing cloth in a frame having a predetermined shape. In this case, when a concave surface 11 Ia of each vane 111 is positioned in a direction facing the wind, the vane 111 is opened by the wind. Conversely, when a convex surface 11 Ib of each vane 111 is positioned in a direction facing the wind, the vane 111 is closed by the wind. Thus, vanes 111 located at one side relative to a wind direction are opened to be subject to wind force, whereas vanes 111 located at an opposite side are closed so as to reduce the rotational resistance of the rotary cylinder 110. The support unit 120 functions to support the rotation of the rotary cylinder 110, and includes a support block 121 and a support shaft 122. In this case, the support block 121 is secured to the ground. The support shaft 122 extends upwards from the upper surface of the support block 121, and is coupled to the rotary cylinder 110 via a bearing 123, thus supporting the rotation of the rotary cylinder 110.

[18] FIGS. 3 to 5 show the state where the power generating apparatus, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, is mounted to the wind turbine. Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, the power generating apparatus, according to the preferred embodiment of this invention, includes a magnetic group 130, a plurality of coil units 140, a wind velocity sensor 160, a storage battery part 170, and a terminal part 180. Such a power generating apparatus converts mechanical energy produced by the rotation of the rotary cylinder 110 into electrical energy, thus generating power. Further, the power generating apparatus varies a power generating structure according to wind velocity, thus permitting power generation using a strong wind, such as a typhoon or gusting winds, therefore achieving high power generation efficiency.

[19] The magnetic group 130 comprises a plurality of magnets 131 which are installed on the lower end of the rotary cylinder 110 in a circular arrangement. In this case, the magnets 131 arranged in a circular shape have the same rotational center as the rotary cylinder 110, that is, are arranged around the support shaft 122 in a circular shape. Meanwhile, the magnets are inserted into the lower end of the rotary cylinder 110 such that they are exposed without protruding from the lower surface of the rotary cylinder 110. Thus, even when the rotary cylinder 110 rotates, the magnets 131 are stably supported without being affected by centrifugal force. Further, the magnets 131 are installed such that neighboring magnets 131 have opposite polarities. For example, assuming that one magnet is arranged such that its N-pole faces the interior of the rotary cylinder 110, the surrounding magnets are arranged to opposite sides of the magnet, such that their S-poles face the interior of the rotary cylinder 110. Such a magnetic group 130 is secured to the lower end of the rotary cylinder 110 in such a way as to be rotated along with the rotary cylinder 110.

[20] The coil units 140 interact with the magnetic group 130 to generate power, and are provided under the magnets 131 constituting the magnetic group 130 in such a way as to be adjacent to the magnets 131. The coil units 140 are installed to the support shaft 122 via a locking unit 150 in such a way as to be concentric with the magnets. Further, each coil unit 140 is provided with a plurality of coils. That is, based on one coil unit, other coil units provided adjacent to the coil unit have coils with gradually increased or reduced length. According to the wind velocity detected by the wind velocity sensor 160, a predetermined number of coil units 140 are controlled by the terminal part 180 so as to form one group and generate power, thus generating power according to the wind velocity. In other words, in a low wind velocity, the coil units comprising coils each having a small diameter and a long length participate in generating power. Conversely, in a high wind velocity, the coil units comprising coils each having a large diameter and a short length participate in generating power.

[21] The locking unit 150 includes a disc-shaped bracket 151, a locking bracket 152, and a plurality of bolts 153, and secures the coil units 140 to portions just under the magnets 131. The disc-shaped bracket 151 is constructed so that the support shaft 122 passes through the center of the bracket 151. The bracket 151 is movably installed on the support shaft 122, with a protruding part 151a provided on the circumference of the bracket 151 in such a way as to extend upwards. A plurality of balls 151b is provided on the upper end of the protruding part 151a, and contacts the lower surface of the rotary cylinder 110 while performing rolling movement. The coil units 140 are installed on the upper surface of the disc-shaped bracket 151 to be arranged in a circular shape. The locking bracket 152 is installed on the support shaft 122 in such a way as to be positioned under the disc-shaped bracket 151, and is provided with a plurality of fastening holes 152a which pass through the upper and lower surfaces of the locking bracket 152 to couple the upper and lower surfaces to each other. The bolts 153 are fitted into the lower surface of the locking bracket 152 to be fastened to the corresponding fastening holes. An end of each bolt 153 protrudes upwards from the locking bracket 152. As such, the end of each bolt 153, protruding upwards from the locking bracket 152, contacts the lower surface of the disc-shaped bracket 151, thus pushing up the disc-shaped bracket 151, therefore keeping the magnetic group 130 and the coil units 140 near each other.

[22] The wind velocity sensor 160 detects the wind velocity of a region where the wind turbine is installed. Since a wind velocity sensor which is widely available on the market may be used as the wind velocity sensor 160 of this invention, it will not be described in detail herein.

[23] The storage battery part 170 is electrically connected to the coil units 140 so as to store power generated from the coil units 140.

[24] The terminal part 180 is electrically connected to each of the coil units 140, and in addition is electrically connected to the storage battery part 170, thus transmitting power generated by the coil units 140 to the storage battery part 170. Further, the terminal part 180 determines coil units 140 to be electrically connected to the storage battery part 170, according to the detected wind velocity. That is, when the wind velocity sensor 160 determines that wind is weak, the terminal part 180 directs the coil units 140 comprising coils each having a small diameter and a long length to connect to the storage battery part 170. Conversely, when the wind velocity sensor 160 determines that wind is strong, the terminal part 180 directs the coil units 140 comprising coils each having a large diameter and a short length to connect to the storage battery part 170.

[25] The operation of the power generating apparatus constructed as described above will be described below.

[26] Since the vanes 111 are evenly provided throughout the outer circumferential surface of the rotary cylinder 110, the rotary cylinder 110 may rotate regardless of wind direction. That is, when the vanes 111, whose concave surfaces 11 Ia are positioned in a direction facing the wind, are opened outwards relative to the rotary cylinder 110 and are subject to wind force, the rotary cylinder 110 rotates about the support shaft 122, thus producing mechanical energy. The produced mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy by the magnetic group 130 and the coil units 140, prior to being stored in the storage battery part 170.

[27] The terminal part 180 selects coil units 140 to be connected to the storage battery part 170, according to the wind velocity detected by the wind velocity sensor 160. Thus, a power generating structure varies according to the detected wind velocity, thus changing the power generating quantity and the rotating speed of the rotary cylinder 110. In a detailed description, assuming that a coil unit comprising coils each having the smallest diameter and the longest length is S i , a coil unit comprising coils each having the largest diameter and the shortest length is S , and n coil units S , S , S , ..., S n 1 2 3 are installed on the support shaft 12, the terminal part 180 connects the selected coil n unit S to the storage battery part 170 so that only one coil unit S interacts with the magnetic group 130, thus generating power, when low wind velocity is detected by the wind velocity sensor 160. Meanwhile, when the wind velocity is increased, the terminal part 180 directs the two coil units S and S to participate in generating power. When wind velocity is further increased, the terminal part 180 directs the three coil units S , S , and S to participate in generating power. As such, as the wind velocity detected by the wind velocity sensor 160 increases, the terminal part 180 connects the selected coil units 140 to the storage battery part 170 so that more coil units 140 participate in generating power. When coil units S ~S are connected to the storage

1 8 battery part 170 to participate in generating power under the control of the terminal part 180, and wind velocity exceeding a predetermined value is detected, the terminal part 180 directs the coil unit S comprising coils having the smallest diameter to disconnect from the storage battery part 170 so that it no longer participates in generating power. Simultaneously, a coil unit S , comprising coils having a larger diameter, participates in generating power. As such, as the detected wind velocity increases, the terminal part 180 directs a coil unit comprising coils having a larger diameter to participate in generating power, and an unnecessary coil unit no longer participates in generating power.

[28] Consequently, each coil unit is connected to the storage battery part 170 to participate in generating power within a range corresponding to the voltage and current that correspond to the diameter of coils constituting the coil unit. Thus, it is possible to generate power even when the wind velocity is 50m/sec. Further, the resistance generated by the coil units that are participating in generating power controls the rotating speed of the rotary cylinder, which rotates according to wind velocity. Thus, the terminal part 180 directs the selected coil units 140 to connect to the storage battery part 170 and participate in generating power, so that the rotating speed of the vanes, that is, the rotary cylinder, maintains 1/3 of the wind velocity that is required to optimally maintain power generation efficiency in a drag force-type wind power theory.

[29] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Advantageous Effects

[30] As described above, the present invention selects coil units, which interact with magnets to generate power, according to the changeable wind velocity, and connects the coil units to the magnets, thus achieving high power generation efficiency.

[31]

Brief Description of the Drawings

[32] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a wind turbine equipped with a power generating apparatus, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[33] FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1 ;

[34] FIG. 3 is a front sectional view showing the construction of the power generating apparatus installed in the wind turbine of FIG. 1 ;

[35] FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view showing the construction of the power generating apparatus of FIG. 1 ; and

[36] FIG. 5 is a detailed view of portion 'A' of FIG. 4. [37]

[38] <Description of reference characters of important parts>

[39] 110: rotary cylinder 111: vanes

[40] 120: support unit 121: support block

[41] 122: support shaft 123: bearing

[42] 130: magnetic group 131: magnets

[43] 140: coil units 150: locking unit

[44] 151: disc-shaped bracket 151a: protruding part

[45] 15 Ib: balls 152: locking bracket

[46] 153: bolts 160: wind velocity sensor

[47] 170: storage battery part 180: terminal part

Claims

[1] A variable apparatus for generating power in a wind turbine, generating power by converting mechanical energy produced from a rotary cylinder, which has on an outer circumferential surface thereof a plurality of vanes and is rotated by wind force, into electrical energy, the variable apparatus comprising: a magnetic group provided on a lower end of the rotary cylinder, and comprising a plurality of magnets which rotate along with the rotary cylinder and have a circular arrangement, the circularly arranged magnets being positioned to have the same rotation center as the rotary cylinder, neighboring magnets being arranged so that opposite polarities face an interior of the rotary cylinder; a plurality of coil units provided under the magnets to be concentric with the magnets, and installed via a locking unit on a support shaft, which supports rotation of the rotary cylinder, in such a way as to be adjacent to the magnets, the coil units comprising coils having gradually increasing diameters and lengths to produce different energies; a wind velocity sensor to detect magnitude of wind velocity; a storage battery part to store power generated by the coil units; and a terminal part electrically connecting each of the coil units to the storage battery part, and selecting coil units to be connected to the storage battery part according to wind velocity detected by the wind velocity sensor.

[2] The variable apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the magnets constituting the magnetic group are inserted into the lower end of the rotary cylinder such that the magnets are exposed without protruding from a lower surface of the rotary cylinder.