Revolving overhead windmill

摘要

The invention provides a revolving overhead windmill which includes airfoil means for interfacing with a fluid current comprising an air current or wind, and which includes energy harvesting means utilizing fluid current driven periodic motion of the fluid-foil means for capturing fluid-dynamic renewable energy and converting it into usable energy in a desired form such as electricity. The invention provides devices, methods and systems for harvesting renewable energy for medium-scale, large-scale and ultra-large-scale applications, to provide real and substantial benefits towards efficiently fulfilling energy needs while also more broadly serving humanity and our global environment. The various embodiments of the invention provide energy with zero consumption of fossil fuels and zero emissions of greenhouse gases.

主权项

1. A revolving overhead windmill, comprising:
plural airfoil means for contacting proximate flow fields of a wind current when said wind current exists and carries wind current energy in the form of fluid-dynamic kinetic energy; an effective axis of rotation around which each of said airfoil means can effectively rotate in orientation to some extent, said axis of rotation being disposed within 60 degrees of vertical during normal operation of said revolving overhead windmill; control system means including actuator means, for controlling time-variable orientations of said airfoil means relative to said proximate flow fields of said wind current when said wind current exists and carries wind current energy in the form of fluid-dynamic kinetic energy; buoyant support means for utilizing a buoyancy force from fluid displacement to at least partially contribute to supporting said airfoil means above a ground surface; connecting means for connecting said plural airfoil means in sequence in an annular volume, said connecting means including connecting members that connect adjacently-located airfoil means in said sequence; vertical load reacting means for reacting vertical loads, said vertical loads comprising at least one of airfoil means weight loads and buoyant support means buoyancy loads, said vertical load reacting means comprising plural vertical-load-carrying structural members arranged in sequence in a second annular volume that is topologically coaxial with said annular volume; and energy harvesting means including said control system means, for converting a portion of said fluid-dynamic kinetic energy into net work on said airfoil means over the course of a cycle of substantially periodic motion of said airfoil means revolving in said annular volume, by utilizing time-variable fluid-dynamic pressure distributions and resulting forces acting on said airfoil means at said time-variable orientations to contribute to driving said substantially periodic motion when said wind current exists and carries wind current energy in the form of fluid-dynamic kinetic energy; said energy harvesting means further including energy conversion means for converting at least some of said net work into energy in a desired form for at least one of transmission, storage, processing and use.