Patent ID: 8410627

Claim:
A self orienting vertical axis wind turbine comprising a hub from which downwardly and outwardly depend a plurality of blades, said blades balanced about a center of rotation of the hub, said hub mounted to an upper end of a spindle with a longitudinal axis, said spindle having an axis and coupled at a lower end to a joint which is bendable back-and-forth and from side-to-side, said blades extending below the joint such that the center of gravity of the hub and the blades is below the joint in both a vertical rest position and a tipped position with respect to vertical, a rotatable shaft with a longitudinal axis and an upper end coupled to the joint such that the shaft rotates with the spindle, said longitudinal axis of the spindle and said longitudinal axis of the shaft being vertically aligned when the wind turbine is in the rest position and said longitudinal axis of the spindle making a variable angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft limited to an angle that the center of gravity of the hub and the blades is below the joint when the wind turbine is in the tipped position, said rotatable shaft coupled at a lower end to a means for utilizing the rotation of the shaft.