专利汇可以提供POLE-MOUNTABLE WIND TURBINE SUPPORT SYSTEM专利检索,专利查询,专利分析的服务。并且A support for supporting a plurality of wind turbine generators on a pole may be raised or lowered. The support accommodates a solar voltaic array attached to the pole and allows the wind turbines to be raised and lowered past the attached solar voltaic array. Waste heat from the solar voltaic array is ducted to assist in driving the wind turbines. A cogeneration unit, including an engine-generator set, may be attached to the pole at the base and engine exhaust, heat exchanged to the air from the engine coolant, and convection-heated air from the engine-generator set may also be ducted to assist in driving the wind turbines. A reverse feed switch may be used to transfer excess electrical power to the commercial grid when the primary load does not require it. Loads may include a solar parking lot at night, a commercial building, or hospital.,下面是POLE-MOUNTABLE WIND TURBINE SUPPORT SYSTEM专利的具体信息内容。
What is claimed is:
The present application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/038,776, filed by the present inventor on Mar. 23, 2008 for a POLE-MOUNTABLE WIND TURBINE SUPPORT SYSTEM. The present application is a continuation in part of co-pending Utility patent application Ser. No. 12/124,883 to the same inventor for RENEWABLE ENERGY POWER SYSTEMS, which is a continuation-in-part of Utility patent application Ser. No. 11/361,490, filed Feb. 25, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,411,308.
The present invention relates to support systems for mounting vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) on poles or other vertical structures. It more particularly relates to mounting two vertical axis wind turbines symmetrically on a structure astride a vertical pole, wherein the structure has a rotational degree of freedom about the pole to provide equal wind velocities for each wind turbine and a translational degree of freedom to move up and down the pole. The present invention also relates to applications for such a device.
Many commercial power consumers, such as hospitals and computer facilities need sources of electrical power that are independent from the commercial electrical grid, either for producing a higher quality (less ripple and noise) electrical power or as a backup. Cogeneration units are often used for this purpose. Cogeneration units include engine-generator sets to provide electricity and hot water or steam, as known in the art. The hot water or steam may be used to heat buildings, as the electricity supplies power to those same buildings.
With the world at the beginning of the end of the carbon-fuel age, innovative approaches are needed to combine various renewable, or “green” energy sources to replace carbon-based fuels and their pollutant oxides of carbon. Non-polluting energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal energy sources must fully exploited to maintain a breathable atmosphere. In the field of wind turbines, vertical axis wind turbines have evolved from the Savonius rotor configuration through the Darrieus design and to the Gorlov helical turbine and the giromill designs. As a result, VAWTs have become commercially feasible. Methods of exploiting these devices are needed.
An exemplary opportunity for fuel conservation is in thermal control of parking for motor vehicles. A car parked in broad summer daylight in Phoenix, Ariz. may reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. To enable humans to occupy the vehicle, the temperature must be significantly reduced by the automobile's air conditioning unit, which consumes fuel. Not only the air inside the vehicle must be cooled, but the material of which the vehicle interior is made must be cooled down. A vehicle under shaded parking on the same Arizona summer day will reach the ambient temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, requiring significantly less fuel to cool down the vehicle to an inhabitable temperature. In Northern tier states, winter weather can cool down an exposed vehicle to an uninhabitable temperature, and fuel must be consumed to heat it back up. In covered parking, the temperature is moderated, and less fuel is consumed.
Traditional engine-generator sets (“gensets”) produce extensive amounts of waste heat that is conventionally rejected through an air-cooled heat exchanger, or radiator. Larger commercial gensets have fans to drive the cooling air at high flow rates. The waste heat and the kinetic energy of the flowing air are normally wasted, as conventional heat exchangers needed to recapture the waste heat are generally considered commercially unfeasible. Solar voltaic arrays also generate substantial amounts of waste heat, with approximately 60% of the waste heat lost off the front surface of the array and 40% of the waste heat lost off the back plane of the array.
The present inventor has recognized a need for cogeneration systems that economically convert waste heat into electrical power.
To meet the above-mentioned needs, to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to improve upon the above-mentioned systems, applicant presents what follows.
A pole-mountable wind turbine support system including: a plurality of wind turbines; a support, able to support the plurality of wind turbines on a vertical pole, where at least a portion of the support is further able to raise and lower the plurality of wind turbines on the vertical pole. The pole-mountable wind turbine support system further includes a plurality of electrical generators, corresponding to the plurality of wind turbines, coupled to the plurality of wind turbines and able to produce electricity responsive to rotation of wind turbine of the plurality of wind turbines. The pole-mountable wind turbine support system where the support includes a support ring, where the support ring includes first and second half-rings able to be releasably fastened to form the support ring. The pole-mountable wind turbine support system where the first half-ring has a fixed vertical position on the pole and has rotational freedom of motion about a vertical axis of the pole. The second half-ring is able to move vertically on the pole and move the plurality of pole-mountable wind turbines rotationally about the pole, responsive to changes in wind direction.
The pole-mountable wind turbine support system further includes a solar voltaic array fixed to a first side of the pole; ductwork for directing air bearing waste heat from the solar voltaic array, where the air bearing the waste heat is ducted to assist in driving the plurality of wind turbines; where the second half-ring is able to move the plurality of wind turbines above or below the solar voltaic array on a second side of the pole. The pole-mountable wind turbine support system further includes vertical actuators able to move at least a portion of the support vertically on the pole. The pole-mountable wind turbine support system further includes an engine-generator set for producing electricity and heat, where the heat includes heat from an engine cooling system, heat from engine exhaust gases, and heat from convection cooling of the engine generator set; a heat exchanger for transferring at least a portion of the heat to an air stream; and ductwork for directing the heated airstream to drive the plurality of wind turbines. The pole-mountable wind turbine support system further includes a solar voltaic array fixed to a first side of the pole; ductwork for directing air bearing waste heat from the solar voltaic array, where the air bearing the waste heat is ducted to assist in driving the plurality of wind turbines; where the second half-ring is able to move the plurality of wind turbines above or below the voltaic array on a second side of the pole.
The pole-mountable wind turbine support system where electric power from the engine-generator set, electric power from the solar voltaic array, and electric power from the plurality of wind turbines is combined on a common DC bus in a UPS, where the DC bus has a DC output coupling. The pole-mountable wind turbine support system where the combined electrical power is provided to a reverse feed switch and to a primary load, where the reverse feed switch is able to transfer at least a portion of the combined electrical power to a commercial electrical power grid when the primary load does not consume all of the combined electrical power. The pole-mountable wind turbine support system where the reverse feed switch includes a portion of parking lot solar power system, the parking lot solar power system further including: a parking lot; a roof for providing shaded parking for vehicle, the roof supported above at least a portion of the parking lot; solar voltaic array mounted on the roof, a housing able to support and assist in protecting: a UPS core having an AC input, an AC-DC converter, a multi-port DC bus, and a DC-AC inverter; the reverse feed switch electrically coupled to the DC-AC inverter and to the commercial electrical power grid; a backup AC generator electrically coupled to the primary load and to the reverse feed switch; and rapidly responsive energy storage device coupled to the multi-port DC bus; a power conduit from the solar voltaic array to an external DC input coupling on the multi-port DC bus; and a power conduit from an external DC output coupling on the multi-port DC bus, able to assist in coupling the multi-port DC bus to the automotive charging station.
A pole-mountable wind turbine support system including: a plurality of wind turbines mechanically coupled to a corresponding plurality of electrical power generators; a support, able to support the plurality of wind turbines on a vertical pole, the support including a ring surrounding the pole, the ring further including first and second half-rings that are releasably connectable together; and where the first half-ring maintains a fixed vertical position on the pole and is rotatable about a vertical axis of the vertical pole; and second half-ring is able to raise and lower the plurality of wind turbines on the vertical pole and, when connected to the first ring, is rotatable about the vertical axis of the vertical pole. The pole-mountable wind turbine support system further includes a plurality of additional electrical energy producers coupled to the pole; a heat exchanger for exchanging waste heat from the additional electrical energy producers to an air stream; and ductwork, able to conduct the heated air stream to assist in driving the plurality of wind turbines. The pole-mountable wind turbine support system further includes a UPS having a multi-port DC bus able to combine electrical power from the plurality of electrical energy producers and to provide a DC output coupling; a plurality of electrical loads coupled to the combined electrical power; a reverse feed switch able to provide combined electrical power to a commercial electrical power grid when other electrical loads do not require it. The pole-mountable wind turbine support system where an electrical load of the plurality of electrical loads includes a parking lot solar power system acting as an electrical load when solar power is not available. The pole-mountable wind turbine support system where the plurality of electrical energy producers includes a solar voltaic array and an engine-generator set. The pole-mountable wind turbine support system further includes an aerodynamic structure to assist in maintaining the plurality of wind turbines in air flows of approximately equal velocity. The pole-mountable wind turbine support system where the plurality of wind turbines includes first and second vertical-axis wind turbines having opposite rotational directions.
A pole-mountable wind turbine support system including: first and second vertical-axis wind turbines mechanically coupled to corresponding first and second electrical power generators; a support, able to support the first and second wind turbines astride a vertical pole, the support including a ring surrounding the pole, the ring further including first and second half-rings that are releasably connectable together, where: the first half-ring maintains a fixed vertical position on the pole and is rotatable about a vertical axis of the vertical pole; and second half-ring is able to raise and lower the plurality of wind turbines on the vertical pole and, when connected to the first ring, is rotatable about the vertical axis of the vertical pole; ductwork able to conduct a stream of heated air to assist in driving the first and second wind turbines; a heat exchanger able to heat the stream of heated air from waste heat generated by electrical power source; and a UPS having a multiport bus able to combine electrical power from the electrical power source with electrical power generated by the electrical power generators mechanically coupled to the first and second wind turbines.
The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the following drawing in which:
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description.
Support ring 102 supports VAWTs 104 symmetrically about the pole 101. Upper support ring 108 supports the upper ends of the VAWTs 104. Preferably, upper support ring 108 and support ring 102 are rigidly coupled together. VAWTs 104 provide rotational mechanical energy to generators 105, which in turn produce electricity.
Vertical actuators 106 are operable to raise and lower the pole-mountable wind turbine support system 100 and the VAWTs 104 on the pole 101. While existing poles 101 are preferred, custom poles 101 for use with pole-mountable wind turbine support system 100 are within the scope of the present invention, as are modifications to existing poles 101. The advantage of the ability to raise and lower the pole-mountable wind turbine support system 100 is not only for maintenance, which is extremely difficult on many wind turbine installations. When the pole-mountable wind turbine support system 100 is used on a dual-use pole 101, it may be advantageous to lower the pole-mountable wind turbine support system 100 during the alternative use for the pole 101. For example, cargo cranes at major seaports are built with significant structural margins to deal with the variations in loads arising from various cargo weights and winds. When the crane is not operating, the structural margin of the crane support structure may be exploited by raising the pole-mountable wind turbine support system 100 and generating electricity. When the crane is in operation, the pole-mountable wind turbine support system 100 may be lowered to minimize the loading on the crane structure.
Vertical actuators 106 are preferably of the right-angle drive type, to avoid back-forces into the vertical actuator 106 and to ensure security of the system if the vertical actuators 106 fail. Other types of mechanical drives, known in the art to not transmit back-forces to the vertical actuators 106, may also be used.
Pole 101 may be, for example and without limitation, a crane, a bridge support, a building, or a pole 101 on which horizontal-axis propeller-type wind turbines are no longer being used. The pole 101 may be of any cross sectional shape, as adaptations to various cross-sectional shapes are within the scope of the present invention.
The exemplary example pole-mountable wind turbine support system 100 show two VAWTS 104. In some alternate embodiments, more than two VAWTs 104 may be used.
Section A-A′ defines a cross section for
A control system may be used to keep the VAWTs 104 facing winds of equal velocity. Such a control system may be as simple as a vane or other aerodynamic structure, such as a vane on a traditional farm water-pump windmill, or as complex as having upstream air speed sensors coupled to a modern electronic controller that signals a rotational actuator to position the support ring 102 in the correct rotational state.
Complete 360-degree rotation for the pole-mountable wind turbine support system 100 is not required. For example, implementations on bridge supports in which the pole-mountable wind turbine support system 100 has less than 180 degrees of rotational freedom are within the scope of the invention.
One automotive charging station 212 is preferably attached to every support 210. Each automotive charging station 212 preferably includes a plurality of DC outlets, each at a unique commercially useful voltage and each representing one external DC load to UPS core 214. While most electric and hybrid electric vehicles in service today are designed to be charged with AC power, that AC is run through a rectifier in the car to change it to DC for charging the batteries in the car. By providing regulated DC power directly, and at the voltages in commercial use, the conversion step inside the car, and associated waste, may be avoided. Each automotive charging station 212 preferably also includes an AC outlet for plugging in cars that can only be charged on AC. Each DC outlet and the AC outlet is uniquely configured so that the wrong plug cannot be accidentally inserted. The AC supplying the outlet is preferably the output AC power from the UPS core 214. The generator (not shown) is preferably configured to supply power to the input of the UPS core 214, in order to support external DC loads when utility power 112 fails. Electrical power conduits from DC output couplings of the multi-port bus of the UPS core 214 supply the DC outlets in the charging stations 212.
Primary load 118 is supplied from the output of the UPS core 214 inside housing 208 via line 117. Responsive energy storage means, such as a bank of ultra-capacitors in housing 208, maintains a constant output power level during intermittent solar energy supply and DC and AC demand.
The genset (engine-generator set) housing 220 contains and supports an engine-generator set for generating AC power. The engine of the genset preferably runs on hydrogen gas. The waste heat from the engine is transferred to air that is driven up through a ductwork inside the tower and directed onto two vertical wind turbines. The driving force behind the waste-heated air is a cooling fan blowing over a heat exchanger. The AC output of the genset may be routed directly to the primary load 118 via power conduit 119 or may be directed to the reverse feed switch 114 via power conduit 176. In this configuration, the genset is operating as a generator.
In a preferred embodiment, the genset housing 220 also contains a UPS core and a responsive energy storage device, forming a UPS 199 (see
Support beam 302 supports VAWTs 304 symmetrically about the pole 301. Upper support ring 308 supports the upper ends of the VAWTs 304. Preferably, upper support ring 308 is also a split ring made of two half-rings. The first half of upper support ring 308 is preferably rigidly coupled to first half-ring 312 and the second half of upper support ring 308 (not visible in this view) is preferably rigidly coupled to second half-ring 313. VAWTs 304 provide rotational mechanical energy to generators 305, which in turn produce DC power.
Vertical actuators 306 are operable to raise or lower the pole-mountable wind turbine support system 300 on the pole 301. While existing poles 301 are preferred, custom poles 301 for use with pole-mountable wind turbine support system 300 are within the scope of the present invention, as are modifications to existing poles 301. The advantage of the ability to raise and lower the pole-mountable wind turbine support system 300 is not only for maintenance, which is extremely difficult on many wind turbine installations. When the pole-mountable wind turbine support system 300 is used on a dual-use pole 301, it may be advantageous to lower the pole-mountable wind turbine support system 300 during the alternative use for the pole 301. For example, cargo cranes at major seaports are built with significant structural margins to deal with the variations in loads arising from various cargo weights and winds. When the crane is not operating, the structural margin of the crane support structure may be exploited by raising the pole-mountable wind turbine support system 300 and generating electricity. When the crane is in operation, the pole-mountable wind turbine support system 300 may be lowered to minimize the loading on the crane structure.
Vertical actuators 306 are preferably of the right-angle drive type, to avoid back-forces into the vertical actuator 306 and to ensure security of the system if the vertical actuators 306 fail. Other types of mechanical drives, known in the art to not transmit back-forces to the vertical actuators 306, may also be used.
Pole 301 may be, for example and without limitation, a crane, a bridge support, a building, or a pole 301 on which horizontal-axis propeller-type wind turbines are no longer being used. The pole 301 may be of any cross sectional shape, as adaptations to various cross-sectional shapes are within the scope of the present invention. The exemplary example pole-mountable wind turbine support system 300 shows two VAWTS 304. In some alternate embodiments, more than two VAWTs 304 may be used.
Solar voltaic array 122 is also mounted on pole 301 using supports 315 that link to a half-ring which permits the solar array 180 degrees of rotational motion about the pole 301. The motion is preferably controlled by a motor controlled with a timer (not shown).
Genset housing 220 produces, among other things, a waste-heat air stream that is driven up ductwork 404 and diverted by vents 402 to drive VAWTs 304. The waste heat may include engine exhaust, heat rejected by the engine coolant system, and heat transferred by convection off the engine-generator set within genset housing 220.
UPS 199 is housed in the upper housing 1420, and receives DC power from the solar voltaic array 122 through power conduit 131 and from wind turbine generators 305 along power conduit 133. UPS 199 receives AC power through reverse feed switch 114 along power conduit 115. Reverse feed switch 114 receives utility grid power 112 along power lines 111. The remaining connections to reverse feed switch 114 are omitted in this drawing, for simplicity. The UPS 199 preferably has a UPS core having an AC input, an AC-DC converter, a multi-port DC bus, a DC-AC inverter, and at least one rapidly responsive energy storage device coupled to the multi-port DC bus, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,411,308 to the present inventor, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The DC output of UPS 199 may be used for supplying lamp 1428 (preferably a LED lamp) or other DC-powered device, along DC power conduit 1429. Other external DC loads may be supplied from UPS 199, as previously discussed. The AC output of UPS 199 is supplied to cogeneration controller 1424. Cogeneration controller 1424 is used to determine how much power is used from the generator 1404 and how much is used from UPS 199. The controller may be preset or may be made adaptive to system variables.
Those of skill in the art, informed by this disclosure, will appreciate the variations of this embodiment that may be made. For example, in an embodiment in which the amount of land is critical, the housings 220 and 1420 may be redesigned to be mounted vertically. Likewise, those wishing to power generator 1402 with hydrogen (or just produce hydrogen) may add an additional housing for the hydrogen generating and handling features described in co-pending Utility patent application Ser. No. 12/124,883 to the same inventor for RENEWABLE ENERGY POWER SYSTEMS. In a particular embodiment, the DC loads supplied from UPS 199 may be independent of facility needs.
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalents thereof.
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