Patent Publication Number: US-2012038160-A1

Title: Compound power generating system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a power generating system, and more particularly to a compound power generating system. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Since the Earth has limited resources for power generation, new energy sources and the development of green energy is becoming an increasingly important goal. For example, wind energy, hydroelectric energy, solar energy, thermal energy or any type from recycled energy, etc, may be lower in cost, avoid environmental pollution and are renewable. 
     Currently, solar power and wind power are more mature and popular technologies. However, both solar power and wind power are restricted by environmental factors, such as, day length and seasonal wind speeds. Therefore, a compound power generating system was developed, as shown in  FIG. 1 . This prior art compound power generating system comprises a water pump  11 , a wind power source unit  12 , a compressor unit  13 , a transforming unit  14 , and a cycling unit  15 . 
     The transforming unit  14  transforms the hydro-power and wind power into mechanical kinetic energy that drives a generator  16 . However, the greater the horsepower of the water pump  17  and a blower  18  the greater the equipment costs are. Moreover, these pumps and blowers require frequent repairs. Therefore the efficiency of the power generation system may be limited. 
     Therefore, it is desirable to provide a compound power generating system to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An objective of the present invention is to provide a compound power generating system. 
     In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives a compound power generating system comprises a housing unit, a power unit, a rotation unit, at least one oxyhydrogen generating unit and a combustion unit. The housing unit has a hollow housing defining an airflow space, a vent connected to the airflow space at a top end of the housing and used for releasing air from the airflow space, and at least one intake connected to the airflow space and used for introducing external air. 
     The power unit comprises a plurality of solar power generators disposed on the housing and capable of transforming solar energy into electrical energy, and a kinetic generator disposed in the housing and capable of transforming kinetic energy into electrical energy. 
     The rotation unit comprises a shaft connected to the kinetic generator and capable of driving the kinetic generator, and a plurality of fans separately disposed on the shaft. 
     The oxyhydrogen generating unit comprises an electrolytic bath filled with an electrolyte and a plurality of electrodes disposed in the electrolytic bath and electrically connected to the solar power generator, each electrode utilizing the electrical energy output by the solar power generator to electrolyze the electrolyte to generate an oxyhydrogen mixture. 
     The combustion unit is disposed in the housing and comprises at least one blower capable of utilizing the oxyhydrogen mixture as fuel to generate heat, the blower capable of heating air in the airflow space to generate an airflow to drive the fans to rotate. In the present invention, the collected solar energy is transformed into electric energy to drive the oxyhydrogen generating unit to generate fuel gas, and then the combustion unit burns the fuel gas to generate the updraft air to cause the fans to drive the kinetic generator to generate electrical energy. Therefore, the solar energy is indirectly transformed into the mechanical kinetic energy to drive the kinetic generator. 
     Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a function block diagram of a prior art compound power generating system. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing of a first embodiment of a compound power generating system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing of connections among a solar power generator, an oxyhydrogen generating unit and a combustion unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of the first embodiment according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing of a second embodiment of a compound power generating system according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , in a first embodiment, a compound power generating system comprises a housing unit  2 , a power unit  3 , a rotation unit  4 , two oxyhydrogen generating units  5  and a combustion unit  6 . 
     The housing unit  2  has a hollow housing  21  defining an airflow space  22 , a vent  23  connected to the airflow space  22  at a top end of the housing  21  and used for releasing air from the airflow space  22 , and four intakes  24  connected to the airflow space  22  and used for introducing external air. 
     In this embodiment, the housing  21  has a pyramidal shape with four inclined faces  211  and the four intakes  24  respectively disposed on each inclined face  211 . The housing  21  might have a cone shape or a polyhedron pyramidal shape, which enhances a the air flow in the airflow space  22  towards the vent  23 , which is shown as arrow  202 . 
     The power unit  3  comprises a plurality of solar power generators  31  respectively disposed on each inclined face  211  of the housing  21  and that are capable of transforming solar energy into electrical energy; a kinetic generator  32  disposed in the housing  21  and capable of transforming kinetic energy into electrical energy, and a rechargeable battery  33  electrically connected to the kinetic generator  32  and used for storing the electrical energy generated by the kinetic generator  32 . 
     The rotation unit  4  comprises a shaft  41  connected to the kinetic generator  32  and capable of driving the kinetic generator  32 , and a plurality of fans  42  separately disposed on the shaft  41 . Rotations of the shaft  41  cause coils (not shown) in the kinetic generator  32  to generate an electromotive force that creates a current. Since the structure and technology of the kinetic generator  32  is well known, it requires no further description. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4  (for purposes of explanation, only four solar power generators  31 , and an oxyhydrogen generating unit  5  are shown), each solar power generator  31  comprises a solar panel  311  for collecting and transforming solar energy into electrical energy, an energy storage device  312  electrically connected to the solar panel  311  and capable of storing the electrical energy, and a controller  313  electrically connected to the energy storage device  312 . 
     The solar panel  311  of each solar power generator  31  is made from a semiconductor material, which is capable of utilizing solar energy to raise the to generate free electrons and holes that generates a voltage potential to create an electric current. 
     Each oxyhydrogen generating unit  5  comprises an electrolytic bath  51  filled with an electrolyte  54 , a plurality of electrodes  52  disposed in the electrolytic bath  51  and electrically connected to the solar power generator  31 , and a gas storage tank  53  connected to the electrolytic bath  51  and used for storing the oxyhydrogen mixture. Each electrode  52  utilizes the electrical energy output by the solar power generator  31  to electrolyze the electrolyte  54  to generate an oxyhydrogen mixture. The controller  313  of the solar power generator  31  controls the electrical energy output to each electrode  52  of the oxyhydrogen generating unit  5 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the combustion unit  6  is disposed in the housing  21  and comprises two blowers  61  which are capable of utilizing the oxyhydrogen mixture stored in the gas storage tank  53  as fuel to generate heat for heating air in the airflow space  22  to generate an airflow indicated by arrow  202 , to drive the fans  42  to rotate. 
     In addition, a user can utilize one or multiple oxyhydrogen generating units  5  based on the actual amount of the oxyhydrogen mixture, and the number of blowers  61  can also be varied based on the size of the airflow space  22 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , in the compound power generating system, the solar power generator  31  collects solar energy to generate electrical energy so that the oxyhydrogen generating unit  5  can generate the oxyhydrogen mixture, and the blower  61  of the combustion unit  6  burns the oxyhydrogen mixture to heat the air in the airflow space  22 . The heated air then moves towards the vent  23  to generate an updraft indicated by arrow  202 . External air also generates thermal convection, shown by arrow  201 , that enters into the airflow space  22  via the intake  24 , such that the fans  42  are driven by the updraft to rotate the shaft  41 , and the kinetic generator  32  is driven by the shaft  41  to generate electric energy. 
     With the above-mentioned design, the compound power generating system of the present invention has following benefits: 
     1. Higher power generating efficiencies: compared to the limitations imposed by pumps for moving fluid in the prior art, the compound power generating system of the present invention can utilize different numbers or sizes of fans  42 , or increase the number of intakes  24 , to increase the flux of the updraft in the airflow space  22 , to maximum the power generated by the kinetic generator  32 . 
     2. Simple structural design: since the prior art must compress the fluid using a compressing unit to drive the transforming unit to generate power and also requires a recycling unit to recycle the fluid flow and air flow, it has a more complicated structure. However, the compound power generating system of the present invention generates updraft air by burning the oxyhydrogen mixture, which employs a simple structure. 
     3. Environment friendly: the compound power generating system of the present invention utilizes the solar power generator  31 , the oxyhydrogen generating unit  5  and the combustion unit  6  to generate the updraft air to drive the kinetic generator  32 , which needs no water for power generation. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , in a second embodiment of the compound power generating system, a difference from the first embodiment is that the housing unit  2  further comprises a cover  23  disposed on an upper edge of the housing  21  and that is used for covering the vent  23 , such that external debris and rain can be blocked to protect the parts in the housing  21 . 
     Moreover, the compound power generating system further comprises a draw unit  7  for bringing external air into the airflow space  22 . The draw unit  4  has four bases  71  correspondingly connected to the four intakes  24  and respectively disposed on each inclined face  211 , and four draw fans  72  respectively disposed on each base  71  and capable of bringing external air into the airflow space  22 . Since the draw fans  72  increase the amount of introduced external air, the increased flux of the updraft air increases the rotational speeds of the fans  42 , which boosts the amount of generated power. 
     Accordingly, the collected solar energy is transformed into electric energy to drive the oxyhydrogen generating unit  5  to generate fuel gas, and then the combustion unit  6  burns the fuel gas to generate the updraft air to cause the fans  42  to drive the kinetic generator  32  to generate electrical energy. Therefore, the solar energy is indirectly transformed into the mechanical kinetic energy to drive the kinetic generator  32 . 
     Although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.