초록 ▼

A wind turbine is disclosed which uses energy in air moving relatively toward the turbine to focus and increase the velocity of air entering a turbine inlet air flow passage. The inlet flow passage discharges focused and accelerated air to blades of a rotor where the blades interact with that air to

A wind turbine is disclosed which uses energy in air moving relatively toward the turbine to focus and increase the velocity of air entering a turbine inlet air flow passage. The inlet flow passage discharges focused and accelerated air to blades of a rotor where the blades interact with that air to turn the rotor. Rotor motion can be used to operate an electrical generator. The plane of rotation of the rotor can be at substantially right angles to the plane of the passage inlet opening. Baffles in the flow passage and stator vanes adjacent the rotor blades cause the mass flow of the accelerated air to be substantially uniform, and desirably directed, throughout the rotor's blade area. The turbine is compact and operates quietly.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A wind turbine, comprising: an airflow passage extending between an inlet end defining an inlet opening having a first area and an outlet end defining an outlet opening having a second area smaller than the first area, wherein the inlet end defines an angle relative to the outlet end;a rotor prox

1. A wind turbine, comprising: an airflow passage extending between an inlet end defining an inlet opening having a first area and an outlet end defining an outlet opening having a second area smaller than the first area, wherein the inlet end defines an angle relative to the outlet end;a rotor proximate to the outlet opening, the rotor comprising a plurality of blades defining an annular area, wherein the blades are configured to rotate about a rotor axis substantially parallel to an axis of the outlet end of the airflow passage when subject to airflow moving through the airflow passage;an output shaft coupled to the rotor to transmit mechanical energy from the rotor to a generator; anda primary partition extending between the inlet opening and the outlet opening, the primary partition dividing the annular area of the blades into a forward half and a rearward half and dividing the airflow passage into an upper passage configured to direct airflow to the forward half of the annular area of the blades and a lower passage configured to direct airflow to the rearward half of the annular area of the blades such that the distribution of airflow across the blades is substantially uniform, wherein a portion of the primary partition proximate to the plurality of blades extends in a lengthwise direction substantially perpendicular to a plane of rotation of the blades. 2. The wind turbine of claim 1, wherein the angle is substantially 90 degrees. 3. The wind turbine of claim 1, wherein the inlet end of the airflow passage is substantially horizontal and the outlet end of the airflow passage is substantially vertical. 4. The wind turbine of claim 3, wherein a portion of the primary partition proximate to the inlet opening is substantially horizontal and a portion of the primary partition proximate to the outlet opening is substantially vertical. 5. The wind turbine of claim 1, wherein the primary partition comprises: a horizontal wall;a vertical semi-cylindrical wall coupled to the horizontal wall; andfirst and second vertical wall segments extending radially outward from respective opposite ends of the vertical semi-cylindrical wall. 6. The wind turbine of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of fixed stator vanes disposed in the airflow passage upstream of the plurality of blades, wherein the plurality of stator vanes are configured to direct the airflow in a desired direction relative to the plurality of blades. 7. The wind turbine of claim 6, wherein the plurality of stator vanes defines an annular area substantially equal to the annular area of the plurality of blades. 8. The wind turbine of claim 1, wherein the airflow passage uniformly tapers between the inlet end and the outlet end. 9. The wind turbine of claim 1, wherein the airflow passage further comprises: a plurality of upper secondary partitions extending between the inlet opening and the outlet opening, the upper secondary partitions dividing the upper passage into a plurality of substantially equal upper airflow subdivisions; anda plurality of lower secondary partitions extending between the inlet opening and the outlet opening, the lower secondary partitions dividing the lower passage into a plurality of substantially equal lower airflow subdivisions. 10. The wind turbine of claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of upper secondary partitions is substantially vertical and each of the plurality of lower secondary partitions is substantially vertical. 11. The wind turbine of claim 1, wherein the each of the plurality of blades extends radially outward relative to the rotor axis and wherein the plurality of blades extends around a perimeter of the rotor. 12. The wind turbine of claim 1, further comprising: a rotatable base supporting the airflow passage; anda drive motor operatively coupled to the base, wherein actuation of the drive motor rotates the base to reorient the airflow passage. 13. The wind turbine of claim 12, further comprising a wind direction sensor coupled to the drive motor, wherein the drive motor is configured to rotate the base based on input signals received from the wind direction sensor. 14. A wind turbine according to claim 1, further comprising at least one door hingedly coupled to the inlet end of the airflow passage, wherein the at least one door is configured to move between a closed position covering at least a portion of the inlet opening and an open position in which the door defines an effective inlet area larger than the first area of the inlet opening. 15. The wind turbine of claim 1, further comprising: a base supporting the airflow passage; anda plurality of rollers coupled to the base, wherein the rollers are configured to facilitate reorienting the airflow passage. 16. A wind turbine, comprising: a rotor comprising a plurality of blades arranged in an annular array and configured to rotate about a vertical rotor axis, the plurality of blades defining an annular area;an output shaft coupled to the rotor;an upper airflow passage defining a horizontal inlet and a substantially vertical outlet, wherein the upper airflow passage is configured to direct an upper airstream to a forward half of the annular area;a lower airflow passage defining a horizontal inlet and a substantially vertical outlet, wherein the lower airflow passage is configured to direct a lower airstream to a rearward half of the annular area, anda primary partition dividing the annular area of the blades into the forward half and the rearward half and separating the upper airflow passage from the lower airflow passage, wherein a portion of the primary partition proximate to the plurality of blades extends in a lengthwise direction substantially perpendicular to a plane of rotation of the blades. 17. The wind turbine of claim 16, wherein a portion of the primary partition proximate to the horizontal inlets is substantially horizontal and a portion of the primary partition proximate to the vertical outlets is substantially vertical. 18. The wind turbine of claim 16, wherein the primary partition comprises: a horizontal wall;a vertical semi-cylindrical wall coupled to the horizontal wall; andfirst and second vertical wall segments extending radially outward from respective opposite ends of the vertical semi-cylindrical wall. 19. The wind turbine of claim 16, further comprising: a plurality of upper secondary partitions dividing the upper airflow passage into a plurality of upper airflow subdivisions; anda plurality of lower secondary partitions dividing the lower airflow passage into a plurality of lower airflow subdivisions. 20. The wind turbine of claim 16, wherein each of the plurality of blades extends radially outward relative to the vertical rotor axis.