Patent ID: 6948905

Claim:
A horizontal wind generator comprising: a horizontal windmill comprising: a generally vertical drive shaft mounted for rotation about a vertical axis; and at least two wind drive units mounted at predetermined angular positions around the drive shaft, each wind drive unit including one or more transverse cross members non-rotatably attached to the drive shaft and extending in opposite directions therefrom, at least one wind catcher element being mounted on the cross member on each side of the pole and spaced radially outwardly therefrom, each wind catcher element having front and rear sides, with the front side presenting greater resistance to wind flow thereover than the rear side when the sides are facing in an upwind direction, the wind catcher elements on each side of the cross member facing in opposite directions, such that a wind urges the drive unit to rotate in a direction wherein the upwind facing front side is moving in a downwind direction, the wind catcher elements being formed in the shape of generally C-shaped members having open ends, the wind catcher elements having longitudinal axes and being mounted on the cross members with their longitudinal axes being in a substantially horizontal position, the C-shaped members having substantially straight horizontal inner and outer wind engaging sidewalls that permit wind to flow smoothly along the sidewalls between the open ends of the members; and an electrical generator drivingly connected to the drive shaft so as to produce electrical energy in response to the rotation of the drive shaft.