WIND POWER ENGINE

Abstract: In a wind power engine (1) in which the rotor (2) runs on bearings at a stationary hollow shaft (3) and in which the output shaft (5) driven by the rotor (2) via a gear transmission extends through the stationary hollow shaft (3) which serves as bearing housing for the output shaft (5) is obtained a sturdy, comparatively noiseless wind power engine which is easily adjustable into uniform engaged gears and which has a high load capacity, short length of construction and a high gear transmission ratio and which power engine possibly partly may be build up by reusable parts when in the wind power engine of the invention the gear transmission comprises a gear rim (6) of a crown wheel which is secured to the rotor (2) or to the hollow stationary shaft (3), which gear rim (6) is mounted to transmit the drive power of the rotor (2) to a bevel pinion (34) at the output shaft (5) via at least one with crown wheel (2) and a bevel pinion (10) provided intermediate shaft (9) which runs on bearings at the hollow stationary shaft (3) and when the rotor (2) itself is also running on bearings at the hollow stationary shaft (3).

Description: Wind Power Engine. The present invention concerns a wind power engine in which the rotor runs on bearings at a stationary hollow shaft, and in which the output shaft driven by the rotor via a gear transmission extends through a stationary hollow shaft which serves as bearing housing for the output shaft. Wind power engines nowadays are all provided with a speed increasing wheel gearing in the transmission between the rotor and a generator or similar energy con¬ verter for the utilization of the wind energy. In some wind power engines the transmission is built up over used parts from lorries so that the hub of the engine wings is bolted to the brake drum of the rear axle-assembly in such a way that a first stage in the transmission will be the crown wheel and the bevel pinion in the locked differential gear of- * the rear axle-assembly. The second stage in the transmission normally consists of v-belts or roller chains to the generator. Wind power engines built up from new parts only have most often industrial gears in different types as speed increasing member. Wind power engines, the transmission system of which is built up by automobile parts, normally are charac¬ terized by a comparatively more noiseless operation than is the case of wind power engines where common industrial gears are used. This is caused by the curved tooth gearing of the crown wheel and the bevel pinion. However, the use of automobile parts loaded completely, different from their original purpose is not satisfactory, and V-belts or rol¬ ler chains are rather unsuitable for use in wind power engines which must be able to run without service for long periods and often exposed to shock exitating loads. It is a purpose of the invention to provide a sturdy comparatively noiseless wind power engine which is easily adjustable into uniformly engaged gears and which has a high load capacity, short length of construction and a high gear transmission ratio which wind power engine pos¬ sibly partly may be built up by reusable parts. This purpose is obtained by a wind power engine according to the invention and which is characterized in that the gear transmission comprises a gear rim of a crown wheel which is secured to the rotor and which is mounted to transmit the drive power of the rotor to a be¬ vel pinion at the output shaft via at least one with crown heel and a bevel pinion provided intermediate shaft which runs on bearings at the hollow stationary shaft and where¬ in the rotor itself is also running on bearings at the hollow stationary shaft. The purpose of the invention is obtained because of the intermediate shaft which extends in a direction crosswise to the rotor axis, and because of the conical gears. E.g. the short length of construction is obtained because the free space in the center of the gear rim of the crown wheel is utilized for a part of the crown wheel at the intermediate shaft and the engagement of this with the bevel pinion of the output shaft. The length of construction may be further mini¬ mized and the stiffness of the construction further in¬ creased when the stationary hollow shaft is secured to a radially outwardly extending supporting flange and the ro¬ tor is running on bearings on this supporting flange con- centrical with the gear rim of the crown wheel secured to the rotor. This is in consequence of the fact that the supporting flange itself may be used as mounting flange for the wind power engine. Preferably, conical gears at the intermediate shaft have their tooth planes turned to each other. There¬ by an embodiment is obtained in which a single intermedi¬ ate shaft is used and where the bearing load of the inter- mediate shaft in axial direction of the intermediate shaft becomes low because the axial forces from the two gear en¬ gagements are oppositely directed. Preferably when the rotor is mounted rόtatably upon the supporting flange via a single momentum transmitting bearing having horizontal axis, such as a cross roller bea¬ ring is defined a hitherto unknown mounting of a rotor for a wind power engine and whereby is obtained an increase of structural stiffness and strength besides a further de¬ crease of structural length or building-in length of the wind power engine. Preferably the axis of the intermediate shaft intersect the plane of the crown wheel gear rim of the rotor in a point positioned within the circumference of said gear rim. Thereby it will be possible to obtain a still shorter length of construction since the crown wheel of the intermediate shaft may be placed still further with- in the gear rim of the rotor crown wheel. Preferably the wing bracket or wing flange of the wind power engine is mounted concentrically to the crown wheel rim of the rotor at an arbitrary position from the front side of the rotatable housing of the rotor to the rear flange of the rotor or possibly to the tubular hub of the rotor. Thereby is obtained considerable independence for the position of the wing flange and thereby a similar . independence at the design of the mounting means for the mentioned wind power engine. Preferably the axis of the rotor and the axis of the output shaft extends in a mutual distance. Thereby is obtained accomodation for a central mounting to the rotor of a push-pull bar for regulation of wing pitch and becau¬ se of the short length of construction of the wind power engine this push-pull bar will be short and thereby either more rigid or of less diameter than the known push-pull bars for wing pitch regulation in wind power engines. Preferably at least one of the gears of the transmission is a crown wheel or a bevel pinion for an automobile, preferably the crown wheel gear rim of the rotor. Thereby is obtained a saving of the costs for the applied parts and thereby the application field of the wind power engine will be expanded. Preferably at least the crown wheel gear rim of the rotor and the gear engaged with this gear rim have hypoid tooth gearing. Thereby is obtained still more acco- modation centrally in the rotor for the above mentioned regulation bar which furthermore does not need to be doub¬ le or fork-formed for transmissing its force round the intermediate shaft but this bar can be a complete regular rectilinear regulation bar. Preferably there are two intermediate shafts in the rotor casing each having a bevel pinion in engagement with the crown wheel gear rim of the rotor and each having a crown wheel in engagement with the bevel gear of the output shaft. Thereby is obtained a balanced construction which is not exposed to bending forces from the gear trans¬ mission between the output shaft and the rotor. The invention will be further explained below in connection with some embodiments and with reference to the drawing in which Fig. 1 shows a wind power engine according to the invention fig. 2 the wind power engine of fig. 1 in axial cross section, fig. 3 an axial section through a wind power en- gine according to the invention and which engine is provided with a cross roller bearing, fig. 4 and 5 schematically the position of crown wheel gear rim and a concentrical position- ed output shaft, fig. 6 and 7 schematically the position of the • crown wheel gear rim and the output shaft mounted excentrically, fig. 8 and 9 schematically the gear rim of the crown wheel and the output shaft excen¬ trically mounted and in which the gear rim of the crown wheel and the bevel nion engaged therewith have hypoid tooth gearing, fig. 10 a wind power engine having two intermediate shafts, fig. 11 a wind power engine having an inclined intermedi- ate shaft, and fig. 12 a wind power engine having rotatably mounted bearings for the intermediate shaft. Fig. 1 shows a wind power engine 1 according to the invention and comprising a rotatable engine housing which is also the rotor 2 possibly performed as a hub triangle or triangular boss, a hollow stationary shaft 3 of the rotor, a tubular hub 4 and an output shaft 5. In fig. 2 is shown in section a gear rim 6 of a crown wheel which is secured to the wind rotor 2 via a support 7 of the gear rim 6 at a radial supporting flange 8 which forms a part of the wind rotor 2. At the inner end of the stationary shaft 3 is mounted an intermediate shaft 3 running on bearings and having a slow-running bevel pinion 10 which is in tooth engagement with the gear rim 6 and a fast-running crown wheel 12 which is in tooth engage¬ ment with a fast-running bevel pinion 34 of the output shaft 5. The intermediate shaft 9 is rotatably mounted in a bearing housing 14 via roller bearings 16 and the bearing housing 14 is secured to the stationary shaft 3 via a supporting flange 18. The tubular hub 4 which is rigidly connected to the radially extending supporting flange 8 for the gear rim 6 of the wind rotor 2 is rotat¬ ably mounted on the stationary shaft 3 via two roller bea¬ rings 20. The wind rotor 2 besides the tubular hub 4 and the supporting flange 8 also comprises an annular side plate 22 and a rotor front plate 24 and a staying member 26 which connects the tubular hub 4 to the supporting flange 8. In the stationary shaft 3 is secured a stationary bearing housing 28 for the output shaft 5 which is running on two roller bearings 30 in the bearing housing 28. Consequently, the rotor i.e. the wind rotor hou¬ sing 2 with the parts 6, 7 secured thereto and a not shown wing provided bracket which is secured to the rotor housing 2 on its front plate 24, on its side plate 22 or on its supporting flange 8, is mounted on the hollow shaft 3 which is stationary and through which the output shaft 5 which is driven by the rotor via a gear transmission, is extending, which hollow stationary shaft 3 serves as a bearing housing for the output shaft 5. The shown gear transmission comprises a to the rotor 2 secured gear rim 6 of a crown wheel which transmits the driving power of the rotor to a bevel pinion 34 at the output shaft 5 via a crown wheel 12 and a bevel pinion 10 provided at the intermediate shaft 9, which is rotatably mounted at the stationary shaft 3 which also carries the rotor running on bearings. The wing bracket which is not shown may e.g. be modified for a three-bladed 5 meter wing from økaer Vindenergi, a 6 meter or 7,5 meter from Coronet or a 5,5 m wing from K.J. Fiber. This will also be the case for the other shown wind power engines according to the invention where it also applies that the wind power engine is dimen¬ sioned for a working speed of rotation at 0-50 r.p.m. and an idle running of 80 r.p.m. The wind power engines may be dimensioned up to 30 KW or more. To the output shaft 15 may via a gear transmission, a cardan shaft or a flex- ible coupling be connected a generator such as an asyn¬ chronous or synchronous generator, a water brake, a hydrau¬ lic pump, a heat pump or a similar energy converting de¬ vice but obviously also every other mechanism may be dri¬ ven thereby. The gear rim 6 may instead of being placed at the supporting flange 8 be placed at the inner side of the front plate 24 of the rotor. Since the output shaft 5 is not mounted centrally in the stationary shaft 3 it is possible to insert a push- pull bar through the hollow shaft 3 and further past the intermediate shaft 9 and through the front plate 24 into engagement with a regulating mechanism for regulating the inclination or pitch of the wings. With the shown con¬ struction it is possible to obtain gear transmission rations far beyond 10:1 while it by the known wind power engine gear transmissions of the planet wheel type only has been possible to obtain a gear transmission ration at 6:1. Instead of push-pull bars to the wing pitch regula¬ tion may in the rotor be inserted hydraulic, electrical or pneumatic lines for the activation of a wing pitch regulating mechanism. Thereby the wind power engine of the 'stated performance obtains a relatively short axial extension so that the mechanical connections for the wing pitch adjustment may be shorter or more rigid. The applied crown wheels and bevel pinions may e.g. be a matching set of crown wheel and bevel pinion from a lorry and a matching set of crown wheel and bevel pinion from a passenger car. A typipal lorry motor produces approximately 200 KW and its maximum torque is of the magnitude 100 daNm. With a gear transmission ratio in the low gear the torque at the bevel pinion shaft exceeds 500 daNm. Shock loads and the degree of irregularity must be estimated to be of the same magnitude for a wind power engine as for a lorry. Similarly, a large passenger car motor at approximately 3 3000 cm produces approximately 100 KW and its maximal torque will be at about 25 daNm.. Fig. 3 shows another construction for a wind po¬ wer engine 1A according to the invention. Here the rotor comprises the wind rotor housing 2A which is made up of its annular side plate 22A, the supporting flange 8A for the slow running crown wheel gear rim 6A, the front plate 24A, and the inner part of a cross roller bearing 20A pro¬ vided with cross rollers 36. The cross roller bearing 20A replaces the two in Fig. 2 shown roller bearings 20. The stationary part of the wind power engine comprises the outer part of the cross roller bearing 20A, a supporting flange 38 -for the cross roller bearing 20A, a bearing housing 3A having an axially inserted tubular sert 28A for the roller bearings 30A of the output shaft 5A, a supporting flange 18A, and its thereto secured bearing housing 14A in which the intermediate shaft 9A via roller bearings 16A is rotatably mounted. Also in this case the slow running bevel pinion 10A is in tooth engagement with the gear rim 6A and the fast running crown wheel 12A is in engagement with the fast running bevel pinion 34A, but at the opposite side of this whereby the load at the bearings 16A will be re- duced. The crown wheel 12A and the bevel pinion 10A are attached to the intermediate shaft 14A via key'and slot con¬ nections and clamped to the intermediate shaft by means of nuts and locking nuts with intermediate washer plates. Between the bevel pinion 10A and the roller bearing 16A is placed a spacer ring 40 and to the crown wheel 12A is secured a mounting ring 42 which is also attached to the intermediate shaft 9A via a key and slot connection. In this construction the conical gears 12A and 10A have their tooth planes facing each other, and the rotor is rotatably mounted at the supporting flange 38 via a single momentum transmitting bearing 20A which in this case is a cross roller bearing. The hollow stationary shaft which in this case is performed by the bearing housing 3A, is secured to the radially outwardly extending supporting flange 38, and the rotor is rotatably mounted on this to the bearing housing 3A secured supporting flange 38 concentrically with the to the rotor secured gear rim 6A. Fig. 4 and 5 show schematically in a side view and front view,respectively,the gear wheel mounting of the gear transmission in the wind power engine of fig. 3. In this case a pull-push bar 44 may be inserted through a central bore of the output shaft 5A and provided with a fork- formed part passing around the intermediate shaft in the space between the crown wheel 12A and the bearing housing 14A of the intermediate shaft. R \"P - * In Fig. 6 and 7 are schematically shown an excentric mounting of the output shaft relative to the axis of the gear rim 6 whereby there will be more space for the fork-formed pull-push bar 45 of larger dimensions for central mounting relatively to the gear rim 6 of e.g. the embodiment of the wind power engine shown in fig. 2. Fig.8 and 9 show in a similar way the .position of the gear wheels where at least the gear rim 6B and the slow running bevel pinion 10B have hypoid tooth gearing. Thereby a pull-push bar 46 may be rectilinear, i.e. without a fork-form. In fig. 6-9 the rotor axis i.e. the axis of the gear rim 6 or 6B and of the output shaft 5 extends in a mutual distance. In fig. 10 is shown an embodiment having two intermediate shafts in a rotor housing, each shaft having a bevel pinion in engagement with the gear rim of the rotor and each a crown wheel in engagement with the bevel pinion of the output shaft. ■ In fig. 11 is shown an embodiment in which the axis of the intermediate shaft intersects the plane of the gear rim 6 of the rotor in a point positioned inside the circumference of the gear rim. Thereby the constructional length is minimized further. The intermediate shaft may also be mounted at the shaft 3 or the flange 18A via a not shown supporting member which is mounted rotatably about the axis of the gear rim and locked in a working position against the said rotation of not shown spring members, breakable means, such as burst pins,or friction means, such as friction discs. In an overload situation the intermediate shaft thereby is able to rotate around the rotational axis of the gear rim but in normal load situations it will be maintained in its functional position by the mentioned spring members, friction discs or breakable means, where¬ by is obtained that the intermediate shaft when exposed to shock effects is able to yield or to rotate around the-*;.■■; axis of the gear rim whereby the transmission will be exempted fromoverload. An overload of this type may occur by short circuiting the generator or in situations of uncommon rapid increasing squalls. The wind power engine of the invention may consequently also be performed with a socalled "flexible shaft". This rotatable mounting of the intermediate shaft may e.g. be obtained by use of a cross roller swiwelling rim which in excess of the two rings that are secured to the supporting flange 8A and the supporting flange 38 respectively is provided with a further ring to which the bearing housing 14A of the in¬ termediate shaft 9A is secured. If this third ring is anchored to the support flange 38 via burst pins or springs or a frictional coupling is obtained a "flexible shaft" without substantial increase of costs. The wind power engine shown in fig. 3 may be provided with a cross roller swiwelling rim of the SKF- rim type RKS 12104-5151 x/x. The roller bearings 16A may be type SKF 31314 and the roller bearings 30A type SKF 31313. The gear wheels may be helical with Klingelnberg or hypoid tooth gearing. The slow running gear wheel set 6A, 10A may have normal modulus 6 and number of teeth 17 and 61, respectively,corresponding to pitch diameters 129,52 mm and 480,00 mm, respectively. The spiral angle or pitch may be 26 18'. The fast running gear wheel set 12A, 34A may have normal modulus 4 and 5 with number of teeth 8 and.43^respectively corresponding to the pitch diame¬ ters 55,81 mm and 300,00 mm, respectively. The spiral ang¬ le or pitch may here be 38°20'. The total gear transmission ratio may be 1:19,92 calculated for 51 r.p.m. of the wings and 1015 r.p.m. of the generator at oversynchronous running for a asyn¬ chronous generator. In fig. 12 is shown a wind power engine according to the invention whereby the gear rim 6 is mounted sta- tionarily at the hollow stationary shaft 3 via the outer -gUΪ-ftΛi ring of the cross roller bearing 20A. The bearings 16 of the intermediate shaft 9 are secured to the inner ring of the cross roller bearing 20A in such a way that the intermediate shaft besides being rotatable around its longitudinal axis also is rotatable • around the axis of the cross roller bearing 20A and the output shaft 5. The rotatable housing or the wind rotor 2 is also secured to the inner ring of the cross roller bearing 20A whereby a not shown wing carrying bracket fastened to the rotor 2 drives the intermediate shaft 9 in a rotating movement. Thereby the bevel pinion 10 is rotated in engagement with the gear rim 6 and the crown wheel 12 in engagement with the bevel pinion 34. At the same number of teeth as in the embodiment of fig. 2, 3, 10, or 11 is obtained a still higher gear transmission ratio between the rotor 2 and the output shaft 5 caused by the rotation of the intermediate shaft around the axis of the cross roller bearing. In the lower part of the wind power engine may be placed an oil bath in an oil vessel 50 which is mounted to the support flange 38 of the cross roller bearing 20A and sealed by means of a dynamic seal ring 52. In each of the rotations of the intermediate shaft the bevel pinion 10 and so the bearings 16 of the intermediate shaft 9 will be lubricated from the oil bath. - U i \ '

Claims: C l a i s : 1. Wind power engine in which the rotor runs on bearings at a stationary hollow shaft and in which the output shaft driven by the rotor via a gear transmission extends through the stationary hollow shaft which serves as bearing housing for the output shaft, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that the gear transmission comprises a gear rim of a crown wheel which is secured to the rotor andwhich is mounted to transmit the drive power of the rotor to a bevel pinion at the output shaft via at least one with crown wheel and a bevel pinion provided inter¬ mediate shaft which runs on bearings at the hollow stationary shaft and wherein the rotor itself is also running on bearings at the hollow stationary shaft. 2. Wind power engine according to claim 1 , c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the stationary hollow shaft is secured to a radially outwardly extending sup¬ porting flange and that the rotor is running on bearings mounted on this supporting flange concentrical with the gear rim of the crown wheel which is secured to the rotor. 3. Wind power engine according to claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the conical gears at the intermediate shaft have their tooth planes or surfaces facing each other. 4. Wind power engine according to claim 2 or 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the rotor is mounted rotatably upon the supporting flange via a single momentum transmitting bearing having horizontal axis, such as a cross roller bearing. 5. Wind power engine according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the inter¬ mediate shaft intersects the plane of the crown wheel gear rim of the rotor in a point positioned within the circum¬ ference of said gear rim. 6. Wind power engine according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the interme- diate shaft is rotatably mounted at the hollow stationary shaft or the support flange thereof via a supporting flange which is rotatably mounted around the axis of the gear rim of the rotor and locked in a functional position against said rotational movement by means of spring members, burst- able means such as burst pins, or by means of frictional members, such as ' fruction discs. 7. Wind power engine according to claim 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the wing bracket or wing flange of the wind power engine is mounted concentrically to the crown wheel rim of the rotor at an arbitrary position from the fron t side of the rotatable housing of the rotor to the rear flange of the rotor or possibly to the tubular hub of the rotor. 8. Wind power engine according to one or more of the claims 1-7, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the axis of the rotor and the axis of the output shaft extends in a mutual distance. 9. Wind power engine according to one or more of the claims 1-8, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that at least the crown wheel gear rim of the rotor and the gear engaged with this gear rim have hypoid tooth gearing. 10. Wind power engine according to one or more of claims 1-9, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that at least one of the gears of the transmission is a crown wheel or a bevel pinion for an•automobile, preferably the crown wheel gear rim of the rotor. 11. Wind power engine according to one or more of claims 1-10, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that there are two intermediate shafts in the rotor casing each having a bevel pinion in engagement with the crown wheel gear rim of the rotor and each having a crown wheel in engagement with the bevel gear of the output shaft.

Inventors: JOERGENSEN KARL ERIK, STIESDAL HENRIK, JOERGENSEN, KARL, ERIK, STIESDAL, HENRIK
Applicants: JOERGENSEN KARL ERIK, STIESDAL HENRIK, JOERGENSEN, KARL, ERIK, STIESDAL, HENRIK
Application year: 1982
Main classification: F03D1
IPC codes: F03D11, F16H1