A horizontal windmill includes a vertical tubular internal baffle member, a plurality of vanes responsive to the wind, mounted and positioned so that they revolve horizontally when the wind blows, partially rotating to resist the force of the wind in some positions during such revolution and being feathered with respect to it in other positions, and a vertical baffle located outside the path of rotation of the vanes, for increasing the wind speed as the wind is directed against the wind-resisting vanes. To secure the benefits of low cost of the structure for supporting such a windmill it is mounted on a building, with the vertical tubular member surrounding the building and being transparent to allow entry of light. In preferred embodiments of the invention various portions of the windmill are of light weight plastic material, such as the vanes and external baffles, and thin light weight tension members are employed to strengthen compression members and hold them in position. Also, to obtain most efficient wind trapping and spilling effects the vanes may be at least partially in the forms of horizontal channels or V's with the open side thereof facing the wind when the wind is in the direction the vane is moving and being of a coarser or rougher surface than the opposite side. A boat powered by such a windmill is also described.
A rigid or semirigid sailing rig having an airfoil shaped mainsail, hinged at its luff to an airfoil shaped jib pivotable at the hinge axis 25.degree. to either side of the mainsail's centerline to form a continuous airfoil which is smoothly curved on the lee side and relatively flat on the windward side. The airfoil is mounted between two end plates and the entire assembly is rotatable 360.degree. relative to the ship and on an axis of rotation slightly jibward of the center of wind pressure upon the airfoil assembly.
A wind driven device for driving an electrical generator to produce electricity having a base, an anchor pole stationarily affixed to the base, and a drive assembly support rotatably mounted around the anchor pole. A plurality of gears engage the lower portion of the drive assembly support. The device also includes an upper exterior wind column support and a lower exterior wind column support. A plurality of attachment beams are connected to the drive assembly. A plurality of wind panel support columns connect to at least one of the attachment beams and to the upper and lower exterior support. A plurality of wind panels pivotally engage the wind panel support columns and is responsive to the wind such that the force of the wind against the wind panel causes the drive assembly support and the attached gears to revolve to provide for a power take off from the revolving gears to drive the electrical generator. A mobile wind panel angle selection guide is positioned around the drive assembly support to permit operation of the wind driven device when the direction of the wind changes. A method of recovering wind energy to drive an electrical generator to produce electricity having the steps of positioning the mobile wind panel angle selection guide around the drive assembly. A plurality of wind panels is mounted to the drive assembly to be guided by the mobile wind panel angle selection guide such that the force of the wind against the guided wind panels rotates the drive assembly which in turn causes the connected gears to operate the electrical generator. The position of the mobile wind panel guide is subsequently adjusted such that the force of the wind against any particular wind panel is a maximum when the particular wind panel is in a predetermined position with respect to the mobile wind panel angle selection guide.
A wind turbine for mounting on an existing industrial chimney (1), tower or the like, includes two vertically aligned blades (3) mounted on rotor arms (2) for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the chimney, tower or the like. The rotor arms are supported from an annular structure (8) secured to the outer circumference of the chimney, tower or the like and include at their radially innermost ends a rotor arm ring (11) which cooperates with the annular support structure to enable the rotor arms and blades to rotate about the chimney, tower or the like under the influence of wind pressure. Drive ring (16) carried by one or each rotor arm (2) are connectable to gearing of one or more power generators (9) positioned within or extended to the chimney, tower or the like.
The vertical axis wind turbine has two counter-rotating rotors mounted on first and second spaced apart vertical axes. Each rotor has a plurality of rotor blades extending generally inwardly from an outer circumference, the vertical axes being mounted on a support structure which is in turn rotatable on a third vertical axis on a platform. The third axis is spaced from a point midway between the first and second axes in a direction at 90 degrees to and forward from a line between the first and second axes. The vertical axis wind turbine further has a guide vane mounted on the support structure, having a vertex forward of the third vertical axis in the direction at 90 degrees from a line between the first and second axes. The guide vane has left and right symmetrical vane portions extending towards the rotors so as to direct airflow from wind primarily towards portions of the rotors outboard of the first and second axes. The guide vane also tends to keep the vertical axis wind turbine oriented with the guide vane's axis of symmetry pointing forwardly into the wind. Movable deflector flaps pivotally mounted adjacent opposite ends of the vane portions can deflect air at least partially away from the rotors. The structure of the wind turbine can support an unrelated structure such as a restaurant.
A wind energy collecting device comprise a vertical rotor and blade of which the face exposed to the wind includes cells for engulfing air currents. The blades drive a uses device through unique shock absorber means.
