Claims
- 1. For use with an electric power-generating device that converts fluid flow of wind or water to electricity including a rotor having blades that rotate in response to fluid flow; a main power input shaft coupled to said rotor; a single-stage torque-dividing gearbox coupled to said main power input shaft; said torque-dividing gearbox having a plurality of output shafts located around a perimeter of said main power input shaft; and, a plurality of sub-powertrains, each one of said sub-powertrains including a generator coupled to a respective one of said output shafts, a controller method comprising:
Regulating torque experienced by each said generator to assure that torques are balanced between generators at any given system load.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said regulating step includes controlling local voltage at each said generator by a transformer configured as a reactor, in which coils of said transformers are wired in parallel and are actively modulated with an SCR, solid-state, switching device.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein each generator is connected to a respective primary coil of a transformer and a respective secondary coil is connected to an SCR
- 4. The method of claim 1 said regulating step includes modifying a slip characteristic of each generator to match the generator with the greatest slip.
- 5. The method of claim 4 modifying step includes increasing the rotor resistance to have the effect of increasing the slip characteristic of each generator.
- 6. In a system of mechanically coupled multiple induction generators driven by a single rotor, a method of regulating torque experienced by each induction generator to assure that torques are balanced between generators at any system load comprising steps of:
A. Monitoring torque on each individual generator; B. Determining relative torque balance between said multiple generators; and, C. Modifying torque characteristics of said individual generators to bring said generators into balance to provide uniform torque load distribution between said multiple generators.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to application Ser. No. 09/552,577 of Dehisen, et al. filed Apr. 19, 2000 entitled “Distributed Powertrain For High Torque, Low Rpm, Electric Power Generator”, and provisional application Ser. No. 60/222,149 of Stricker, et al. filed Aug. 1, 2000, entitled “Distributed Generation Drivetrain (DGD) Controller For Application To Wind Turbine And Ocean Current Turbine Generators” both assigned to the assignee of this invention, and incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60222149 |
Aug 2000 |
US |