Patent ID: 7726935

Claim:
A fluid turbine, comprising: a rotor and blade assembly, including: a rotor, the rotor being rotatable about an axis, the rotor having an outer surface, and a plurality of blades extending from the outer surface of the rotor, each of the blades having a tip and a main driven surface with an addressable frontal exposure, the blades being shaped and positioned such that there is no effective open area between the addressable frontal exposure of adjacent blades, the addressable frontal exposure of each of the blades being situated solely within at most an outer thirty percent of a radius defined between the axis and the tips of the blades, and a stationary front portion forward of the rotor for displacing and increasing a speed of oncoming fluid, the stationary front portion being shaped and arranged with respect to the blades so as to direct the displaced fluid to the addressable frontal exposure area of the blades, the stationary front portion being at least partly spherical, the stationary front portion blocking off at least seventy percent of the radius defined between the axis and the tips of the blades.