Patent Application
20180320666
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for mounting wind power turbines.
A number of different mounting systems for windmills and wind powered turbines for electrical generation have been tried over the years. However, most of these have either been a single tower or pole with a single windmill head for residential or agricultural use, or are part of large commercial installations, used for generating power on a large scale.
A platform tower that allowed for the mounting of multiple wind powered turbine heads at a single installation would be an improvement in the art. Such an installation that was able to utilize multiple turbine heads for optimal output over different wind conditions at a single location would be a further improvement in the art.
The present disclosure includes a platform tower assembly for mounting wind turbine assemblies, as well as methods, systems and components related thereto. A central shaft may support a series of planar platforms along its length, each platform constructed to support a plurality of wind turbine assemblies. The wind turbine assemblies may be positioned to optimize production based on prevailing wind directions, and may include turbine assemblies optimized for different wind conditions. The platform tower may include a housing around a lower portion for storage of batteries and control circuitry. The uppermost platform may include one or more solar panels for additional power generation capability.
It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the various drawings are for illustrative purposes only. The nature of the present disclosure, as well as other embodiments of the present invention, may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, to the appended claims, and to the several drawings.
The present disclosure relates to apparatus, systems and methods for supporting and positioning wind turbines. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the embodiments herein described, while illustrating certain embodiments, are not intended to so limit the disclosure or the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will also understand that various combinations or modifications of the embodiments presented herein can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. All such alternate embodiments are within the scope of the present invention.
Referring to
Along an upper portion of the assembly 10, a series of planar platforms 1004A, et seq. are disposed along the vertical length of the central shaft 1002. In the depicted embodiment, there are six platforms from lower platform 1004A to top platform 1004F. Each platform must be vertically disposed from the other platforms at a sufficient distance to allow wind turbines disposed thereon to operate safely. It will be appreciated that the number of platforms may vary for a particular installation. For example, some installations may have only two platforms, where it will support a sufficient number of turbines for the location and its wind conditions.
It will be appreciated that for large installations, the bore of the central support shaft 1002 may contain a ladder and openings at each platform 1004 to allow a worker to climb therein and access the platforms therefrom.
Each platform 1004 has a central hole 1102 through which the central shaft 1002 passes, upon installation. It will be appreciated that the platforms 1004 may be attached to the central shaft 1002 in any suitable fashion to provide proper securing. For example, the frame 1200 (
Each platform 1004 is constructed to support a plurality of wind turbine assemblies 2000. The number of turbine assemblies 2000 may vary based on the particular platform. For example, a smaller platform, such as platform 1004E may be sized and adapted for up to four turbines and a larger one, such as that depicted at 1004A may be constructed for the installation of up to eight turbines. It will be appreciated that not all turbines 2000 that a platform may support will need to be installed, allowing users to add additional capacity later or more flexibility in design.
The wind turbine assemblies 2000 may be positioned to optimize production based on prevailing wind directions, and may include turbine assemblies optimized for different wind conditions.
Such turbines may use automotive alternators that are turned by the windmill rotors to generate electricity suitable for charging 12 volt batteries, or similar electrical generating devices. The average winds in most portions of the country are less than 20 mph. By using a mixture of low and high wind speed turbines, placed to capture the prevailing winds in a location, assemblies in accordance with the present invention allows for the generation of electricity for residential or small scale use by wind power at locations, where this was not previously feasible. In one illustrative embodiment, a set of “low speed” turbines that generating power in a range peaking at wind speeds of about 5 to 10 mph or less and a set of “high speed” turbines that generate power in a range peaking at wind speeds in excess of about 15 mph or more may be used.
For example, the placement of each turbine on a particular platform for elevation, and the particular location on each platform allows for the turbines to be placed to capture wind from prevailing or common direction, or from any direction, and, to most efficiently use a combination of high and low windspeed turbines to obtain consistent generation.
It will be appreciated that other suitable turbines 2000 may be used, including vertically arrayed turbines that rotate around a central vertical axis. One example of a vertically axis wind turbine is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 9,803,622 to Vert Nova, LLC which issued Oct. 31, 2017, and is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety. The topmost platform may further include one or more solar panels SP that are installed at a suitable angle for photovoltaic power generation, allowing the assembly 10 to support multiple types of generation.
The platform tower assembly 10 may include a housing 100 around a lower portion thereof. In the depicted embodiment, this may be formed as a small building or shed, allowing for storage of batteries and control circuitry.
While this disclosure has been described using certain embodiments, the present disclosure can be further modified while keeping within its spirit and scope. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practices in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/500,797, filed May 3, 2017, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62500797 | May 2017 | US |
