Patent ID: 8791587

Claim:
A method of converting an air flow into a source of electricity, the method comprising: receiving the air flow generated by a machine with an airflow generator comprising an airflow inlet port and a ventilator cowl disposed in an air flow path of the machine; disposing a plurality of permanent magnets on a rotatable portion of the airflow generator, the ventilator cowl configured to facilitate rotating the rotatable portion in response to the received air flow; continuously venting the air flow, via a venting port that is generally perpendicular to the air flow path and arranged between the ventilator cowl and the inlet port to both mitigate the airflow generator induced backpressure and augment air flow toward a rotatable portion of the airflow generator; and converting the air flow to electricity by the rotatable portion moving the plurality of permanent magnets in close proximity to a plurality of stator coils that are disposed on a stationary portion of the airflow generator.