Patent ID: 8446028

Claim:
An apparatus for generating electric power from wind energy, comprising: a base; a blade device including an upright rod extending vertically along a pivot axis and having a lower end disposed pivotally in said base, and an upper end, and at least one blade unit having a plurality of upright blades connected directly and fixedly to the upright rod such that said blade device is rotatable relative to said base about the pivot axis so as to convert wind energy into a mechanical rotary power output, each of said blades of said blade unit having opposite first and second side surfaces, and a plurality of first wind-collecting ribs extending vertically from said first side surface, spaced apart from each other such that a wind-collecting space is defined between any two adjacent ones of said first wind-collecting ribs, and having a thickness that increases gradually toward said first side surface, said first side surface of each of said blades of said blade unit facing said second side surface of an adjacent one of said blades; a generator disposed in said base and coupled to said lower end of said upright rod of said blade device to convert the mechanical rotary power output into electric power; and a wind-collecting unit mounted on said base, and including a plurality of upright plates angularly equidistant and disposed around said blade device, any two adjacent ones of said upright plates defining an inwardly converging wind-guiding channel therebetween; wherein said upright plates of said wind-collecting unit are non-flat so that wind is guided by said upright plates of said wind-collecting unit to blow onto said first side surfaces of said blades of said blade unit of said blade device via said wind-guiding channels in said wind-collecting unit; wherein said wind-collecting unit further includes a plurality of auxiliary upright plates disposed movably and respectively in said upright plates, each of said auxiliary upright plates being movable relative to a corresponding one of said upright plates between a retracted position and an extended position.