초록 ▼

A device and method for producing rotational mechanical power is disclosed which has a plurality of hinged blades attached to a central circular hub. The device may be used to convert the kinetic energy from the movement of the wind, ocean or river currents, or tidal flows into useful rotational mec

A device and method for producing rotational mechanical power is disclosed which has a plurality of hinged blades attached to a central circular hub. The device may be used to convert the kinetic energy from the movement of the wind, ocean or river currents, or tidal flows into useful rotational mechanical power. The rotational mechanical power may be converted into electrical energy. Each of the plurality of blades are attached to the central circular hub via a hinge. Each blade is also fitted with a blade limiter to restrict its motion to no more than 90° relative range from the tangent line to the central hub at the point where the blade attaches to the hub. The hinges and blade limiters allow the blades to both present a surface automatically to the motive natural fluid and to generate the maximum torque in one side and minimum resistance torque positions in the opposite side relative to the motion of the motive stream. The resultant blades relative position creates a torque differential from one side of the central hub to the other causing the hub to rotate. The central hub will rotate in the same direction regardless of the direction of flow of the natural motive stream.

대표청구항 ▼

I claim: 1. A device for converting the natural flow of a motive fluid, such as air or ocean or river current or the movement of ocean waves, to rotational mechanical motion useful for power generation, comprising; (A) a motive fluid capturing means; (B) a plurality of said motive fluid capturing m

I claim: 1. A device for converting the natural flow of a motive fluid, such as air or ocean or river current or the movement of ocean waves, to rotational mechanical motion useful for power generation, comprising; (A) a motive fluid capturing means; (B) a plurality of said motive fluid capturing means attached to the periphery of a circular hub by an equal plurality of cooperating hinged connection means and motion limiting means; wherein the motion limiting means comprises; (i) a structural component having a cross section in the form of an “L” fabricated of metal, plastic, composite material or other material suitable to withstand the corrosive effects of the motive fluid and structural strength to resist the stresses imposed upon it by the motive fluid; (ii) said structural component having lengths of arms of the “L” much greater than the thickness of said cross section; (iii) the structural component being sandwiched between the other hinge leaf and the circular hub and is attached to the circular hub by a plurality of fasteners through said other hinge leaf and one arm of the structural component; (iii) thereby restricting the motion of the blade to within the 90 degree arc formed by said arms of the structural component; (C) said circular hub being constructed of a material with sufficient strength, diameter and length to support the weight and torque of the motive fluid capturing means, said hinged connection means and said motion limiting means when it is rotating under the influence of said motive fluid; (D) the motion of each of the motive fluid capturing means being restricted by the motion limiting means to within the 90 degree angle formed by the tangent and perpendicular lines drawn at the points where each of the motive fluid capturing means are attached to the circular hub; (E) the circular hub having a shaft passing through the center of it from one end to the other end, said shaft with a diameter and length sufficient to support the weight and torque of the circular hub when it is rotating under the influence of the motive fluid; (F) the shaft supported by a plurality of bearings to permit the shaft and circular hub to rotate with minimal frictional resistance; (G) a power transmission means connected to the shaft to transfer the rotational movement of the shaft to a power generation means; (H) the hinged connection means, fluid capturing means and motion limiting means cooperating so that the rotational direction of the circular hub is always the same regardless of the direction of approach of the motive fluid; and (I) a support means upon which the circular hub, the shaft, the plurality of bearings, said power transmission means, and said power generation means are mounted, whereby said support means has the strength to support the weight of the circular hub, the shaft, the plurality of bearings, the power transmission means, and the power generation means, and to resist the torque produced when the circular hub is rotating under the influence of the motive fluid. 2. The device in claim 1, wherein: (A) the motive fluid capturing means comprises: (i) a blade fabricated of metal, plastic, composite material or other material suitable to withstand the corrosive effects of the motive fluid and structural strength to resist the stresses imposed upon it by the motive fluid and which has a width and height much greater than its thickness; (ii) said width and said height being determined by the amount of torque desired to be produced when impinged by the motive fluid; (iii) said thickness is such dimension sufficient to support the weight of said blade, to resist the bending forces imposed upon the blade by the influence of the motive fluid, and the forces acting upon the blade when it is rotating at the rotational speed of the circular hub; (B) the hinged connection means comprises; (i) a hinge having two hinge leafs fabricated of metal, plastic, composite material or other material suitable to withstand the corrosive effects of the motive fluid; (ii) whereby one of the said hinge leafs is connected to the blade by a plurality of fasteners; and (iii) the number of hinges connected to each blade is determined by the length of each hinge, the stresses expected to be imposed upon it or them, and the width and height of the blade to which the hinge or hinges are attached; (C) the power transmission means comprising a system of gears to transmit the torque of the shaft to the power generation means; (D) the power generation means comprising an electrical generator which converts the torque of the shaft to useful electrical energy; (E) the support means comprises a structure fabricated of metal, plastic, composite material or other material suitable to withstand the corrosive effects of the motive fluid and structural strength to resist the stresses imposed upon it by the weight of the communicating devices mounted on it; and (F) the motive fluid is the natural flow of air or ocean or river current or the movement of ocean waves. 3. A device for converting the natural flow of stream or river current to rotational mechanical motion useful for power generation, comprising; (A) a support constructed of a material such as carbon steel which is resistant to corrosion while immersed in water or which may be coated with a corrosion resistant coating, which further comprises a plurality of vertical legs with foot pads to permit said support to be located on the bottom of a flowing stream or river, the support being of sufficient size to permit the mounting of a circular hub, a plurality of hinged blades attached to said circular hub through an equal plurality of blade limiters, a shaft, a plurality of bearings to support said shaft, a system of gears for power transmission, and a device for power generation, whereby the support has the strength to support the weight of the circular hub, the plurality of said hinged blades, the plurality of said blade limiters, the shaft, the plurality of said bearings, said system of gears for power transmission, and said device for power generation, and to resist the torque produced when the circular hub is rotating under the influence of said natural flow of stream or river current; (B) the circular hub having two flat surfaces and a outer radial surface which are fixed to each other to form a hollow cylinder; (C) the circular hub having the shaft passing through the center of it from one flat surface to the other flat surface, the shaft with a diameter and length sufficient to support the weight and torque of the circular hub when it is rotating under the influence of the natural flow of stream or river current; (D) the shaft supported in the vertical position by a plurality of bearings to permit the shaft and circular hub to rotate with minimal frictional resistance; (E) the hinged blades each comprising; (i) a rectangular surface which has a width and height much greater than its thickness; (ii) said width is proximately equal to the distance between the flat surfaces forming the circular hub; (iii) said height is proximately equal to the width; (iv) said thickness is such dimension sufficient to support the weight of said rectangular surface and to resist the bending forces imposed upon the rectangular surface by the natural flow of stream or river current; (v) the rectangular surface connected at the end to be located closest to the circular hub to the leaf or leafs of one or a plurality of hinges by a plurality of fasteners; (F) the blade limiters each comprising; (i) a piece of angle iron having a length proximately equal to the distance between the flat surfaces forming the circular hub and fastened by a plurality of fasteners to the circular hub so that the length of said angle iron is parallel to the shaft by sandwiching one arm of the angle iron between the circular hub and the hinge leaf or hinge leafs not connected to the rectangular surface; (ii) the piece of angle iron having the purpose to restrict the motion of the rectangular surface to within the limits of the tangent line of the circular hub and the perpendicular line to the circular hub where said tangent line and said perpendicular line are measured at the point where the piece of angle iron is connected to the circular hub; and (iii) mounted on the circular hub so that the circular hub rotates in the same direction regardless of the direction of the approach of the natural flow of stream or river current; and (G) said vertical legs are of sufficient length such that when the device is placed in a stream or a river, the gears for power transmission and the device for power generation are above the surface of said stream or said river. 4. A device for converting the natural movement of air to rotational mechanical motion useful for power generation, comprising; (A) a support constructed of a material such as carbon steel which is resistant to corrosion when exposed to ambient air or which may be coated with a corrosion resistant coating, which further comprises a plurality of vertical legs with foot pads to permit said support to be located on the ground at sufficient elevation to capture the natural movement of air, the support being of sufficient size to permit the mounting of a circular hub, a plurality of hinged blades attached to said circular hub through an equal plurality of blade limiters, a shaft, a plurality of bearings to support said shaft, a system of gears for power transmission, and a device for power generation, whereby the support has the strength to support the weight of the circular hub, the plurality of said hinged blades, the plurality of said blade limiters, the shaft, the plurality of said bearings, said system of gears for power transmission, and said device for power generation, and to resist the torque produced when the circular hub is rotating under the influence of said natural movement of air; (B) the circular hub having two flat surfaces and a outer radial surface which are fixed to each other to form a hollow cylinder; (C) the circular hub having the shaft passing through the center of it from one flat surface to the other flat surface, the shaft with a diameter and length sufficient to support the weight and torque of the circular hub when it is rotating under the influence of the natural movement of air; (D) the shaft supported in the vertical position by a plurality of bearings to permit the shaft and circular hub to rotate with minimal frictional resistance; (E) the hinged blades each comprising; (i) a rectangular surface which has a width and height much greater than its thickness; (ii) said width is proximately equal to the distance between the flat surfaces forming the circular hub; (iii) said height is proximately equal to the width; (iv) said thickness is such dimension sufficient to support the weight of said rectangular surface and to resist the bending forces imposed upon the rectangular surface by the natural movement of air; and (v) the rectangular surface connected at the end to be located closest to circular hub to the leaf or leafs of one or a plurality of hinges by a plurality of fasteners; (F) the blade limiters each comprising; (i) a piece of angle iron having a length proximately equal to the distance between the flat surfaces forming the circular hub and fastened by a plurality of fasteners to the circular hub so that the length of said angle iron is parallel to the shaft by sandwiching one arm of the angle iron between the circular hub and the hinge leaf or hinge leafs not connected to the rectangular surface; (ii) the piece of angle iron having the purpose to restrict the motion of the rectangular surface to within the limits of the tangent line of the circular hub and the perpendicular line to the circular hub where said tangent line and said perpendicular line are measured at the point where the piece of angle iron is connected to the circular hub; and (iii) mounted on the circular hub so that the circular hub rotates in the same direction regardless of the direction of the approach of the natural movement of air; and (G) said vertical legs are of sufficient length such that the device can capture the natural movement of air without significant interference by other natural or man-made objects. 5. A device for converting the natural flow of stream or river current to rotational mechanical motion useful for power generation, comprising; (A) a support constructed of a material such as carbon steel which is resistant to corrosion while immersed in water or which may be coated with a corrosion resistant coating, which further comprises a plurality of vertical legs with foot pads to permit said support to be located on the bottom of a flowing stream or river, the support being of sufficient size to permit the mounting of a plurality of arms, a plurality of hinged blades attached to said plurality of arms through an equal plurality of blade limiters, a shaft, a plurality of bearings to support said shaft, a system of gears for power transmission, and a device for power generation, whereby the support has the strength to support the weight of the plurality of arms, the plurality of said hinged blades, the plurality of said blade limiters, the shaft, the plurality of said bearings, said system of gears for power transmission, and said device for power generation, and to resist the torque produced when the plurality of arms are rotating under the influence of said natural flow of stream or river current; (B) the plurality of arms are connected to the shaft such that they uniformly extend outward from the shaft; (C) the shaft having a diameter and length sufficient to support the weight and torque of the plurality of arms when it is rotating under the influence of the natural flow of stream or river current; (D) the shaft supported in the horizontal position by a plurality of bearings to permit the shaft and the plurality of connected arms and to rotate with minimal frictional resistance; (E) the hinged blades each comprising; (i) a rectangular surface which has a width and length much greater than its thickness; (ii) said width and said length are determined by the amount of torque desired to be produced by the natural flow of stream or river current; (iii) said thickness is such dimension sufficient to support the weight of said rectangular surface and to resist the bending forces imposed upon the rectangular surface by the natural flow of stream or river current; and (iv) the rectangular surface connected at the end to be located closest to the arm to the leaf or leafs of one or a plurality of hinges by a plurality of fasteners; (F) the blade limiters each comprising; (i) a piece of angle iron having a length proximately equal to the length of the hinged blade and fastened by a plurality of fasteners to the arm so that the length of said angle iron is parallel to the shaft by sandwiching one side of the angle iron between the arm and the hinge leaf or hinge leafs not connected to the rectangular surface; (ii) the piece of angle iron having the purpose to restrict the motion of the rectangular surface to within the 90 degree arc formed by the facing sides of the angle iron; and (iii) mounted on the arm so that the shaft rotates in the same direction regardless of the direction of the approach of the natural flow of stream or river current; and (G) said vertical legs are of sufficient length such that when the device is placed in a stream or a river, the gears for power transmission and the device for power generation are above the surface of said stream or said river. 6. A device for converting the natural up and down motion of an ocean wave to rotational mechanical motion useful for power generation, comprising; (A) a support constructed of a material such as carbon steel which is resistant to corrosion when exposed to salt air or immersed in salt water or which may be coated with a corrosion resistant coating, which further comprises a plurality of structural members connected to a buoy to permit said support to be located below said buoy and extending below the surface of an ocean wave, the support being of sufficient size to permit the mounting of a circular hub, a plurality of hinged blades attached to said circular hub through an equal plurality of blade limiters, a shaft, a plurality of bearings to support said shaft, a system of gears for power transmission, and a device for power generation, whereby the support has the strength to support the weight of the circular hub, the plurality of said hinged blades, the plurality of said blade limiters, the shaft, the plurality of said bearings, said system of gears for power transmission, and said device for power generation, and to resist the torque produced when the circular hub is rotating under the influence of the up and down movement of the buoy on the surface of the ocean wave; (B) the circular hub having two flat surfaces and a outer radial surface which are fixed to each other to form a hollow cylinder; (C) the circular hub having the shaft passing through the center of it from one flat surface to the other flat surface, the shaft with a diameter and length sufficient to support the weight and torque of the circular hub when it is rotating under the influence of the up and down movement of the buoy on the surface of the ocean wave; (D) the shaft supported in the horizontal position by a plurality of bearings to permit the shaft and circular hub to rotate with minimal frictional resistance; (E) the hinged blades each comprising; (i) a rectangular surface which has a length and width much greater than its thickness; (ii) said length is proximately equal to the distance between the flat surfaces forming the circular hub; (iii) said width is determined by the amount of torque desired to be produced by the up and down motion of the buoy on the surface of the ocean wave; (iv) said thickness is such dimension sufficient to support the weight of said rectangular surface and to resist the bending forces imposed upon the rectangular surface by the influence of the up and down movement of the buoy on the surface of the ocean wave; and (v) the rectangular surface connected at the end to be located closest to circular hub to the leaf or leafs of one or a plurality of hinges by a plurality of fasteners; (F) the blade limiters each comprising; (i) a piece of angle iron having a length proximately equal to the distance between the flat surfaces forming the circular hub and fastened by a plurality of fasteners to the circular hub so that the length of said angle iron is parallel to the shaft by sandwiching one arm of the angle iron between the circular hub and the hinge leaf or hinge leafs not connected to the rectangular surface; (ii) the piece of angle iron having the purpose to restrict the motion of the rectangular surface to within the limits of the tangent line of the circular hub and the perpendicular line to the circular hub where said tangent line and said perpendicular line are measured at the point where the piece of angle iron is connected to the circular hub; and (iii) mounted on the circular hub so that the circular hub rotates in the same direction regardless of the direction of the up and down movement of buoy on the surface of the ocean wave; and (G) the support is of sufficient dimension such that when the device is placed in the ocean, the gears for power transmission and the device for power generation are above the surface of the ocean. 7. A method for converting the natural flow of stream or river current to rotational mechanical motion useful for power generation, comprising; (A) placing in a stream or river current a support constructed of a material such as carbon steel which is resistant to corrosion while immersed in water or which may be coated with a corrosion resistant coating, which further comprises a plurality of vertical legs with foot pads to permit said support to be located on the bottom of a flowing stream or river, the support being of sufficient size to permit the mounting of a circular hub, a plurality of hinged blades attached to said circular hub through an equal plurality of blade limiters, a shaft, a plurality of bearings to support said shaft, a system of gears for power transmission, and a device for power generation, whereby the support has the strength to support the weight of the circular hub, the plurality of said hinged blades, the plurality of said blade limiters, the shaft, the plurality of said bearings, said system of gears for power transmission, and said device for power generation, and to resist the torque produced when the circular hub is rotating under the influence of said natural flow of stream or river current; (i) the circular hub having two flat surfaces and a outer radial surface which are fixed to each other to form a hollow cylinder; (ii) the circular hub having the shaft passing through the center of it from one flat surface to the other flat surface, the shaft with a diameter and length sufficient to support the weight and torque of the circular hub when it is rotating under the influence of the natural flow of stream or river current; (iii) the shaft supported in the vertical position by a plurality of bearings to permit the shaft and circular hub to rotate with minimal frictional resistance; (iv) the hinged blades each comprising; (1) a rectangular surface which has a width and height much greater than its thickness; (2) said width is proximately equal to the distance between the flat surfaces forming the circular hub; (3) said height is proximately equal to the width; (4) said thickness is such dimension sufficient to support the weight of said rectangular surface and to resist the bending forces imposed upon the rectangular surface by the natural flow of stream or river current; (5) the rectangular surface connected at the end to be located closest to circular hub to the leaf or leafs of one or a plurality of hinges by a plurality of fasteners; (v) the blade limiters each comprising; (1) a piece of angle iron having a length proximately equal to the distance between the flat surfaces forming the circular hub and fastened by a plurality of fasteners to the circular hub so that the length of said angle iron is parallel to the shaft by sandwiching one arm of the angle iron between the circular hub and the hinge leaf or hinge leafs not connected to the rectangular surface; (2) the piece of angle iron having the purpose to restrict the motion of the rectangular surface to within the limits of the tangent line of the circular hub and the perpendicular line to the circular hub where said tangent line and said perpendicular line are measured at the point where the piece of angle iron is connected to the circular hub; and (3) mounted on the circular hub so that the circular hub rotates in the same direction regardless of the direction of the approach of the natural flow of stream or river current; (vi) whereby said vertical legs are of sufficient length such that when the device is placed in a stream or a river, the gears for power transmission and the device for power generation are above the surface of said stream or said river.