| 摘要 |
A wind engine 1, comprising a housing 7, and a pair of wind catching surfaces 2, 3, which are slidably movable within the housing and each have an open configuration and a closed configuration, wherein one wind catching surface is in the open configuration whilst the other is in the closed. The engine also comprises a hydraulic system, including a first piston assembly 4 and a second piston assembly 5, where each piston assembly is attached to one of the wind catching surfaces and the pistons are hydraulically coupled to one another to form a hydraulic loop. When a wind force acts upon one of the wind catching surfaces in its closed configuration, the wind catching surface moves slidably within the housing. This drives the respective coupled piston assembly which creates a pressure differential in the hydraulic loop. The pressure differential drives the other piston assembly and the wind catching surface to which it is coupled. Preferably, the wind catching surface is a mechanical iris. Alternatively, the surface may be a panel, or fabric which may furl and unfurl. The housing may comprise a tube 8 within which wind capturing surfaces are located, or the housing may comprise two tubes, each containing a wind capturing surface. The tubes may have a circular cross section. |
