Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to an energy generator system, more particularly to a wind and/or water turbine-like device. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Wind and water have long been as a source of energy that has been used to generate power. The present invention features a novel directed force (wind and water) turbine device. The present invention may be utilized for the production of energy by one of two methods. When constructed for above ground use the turbine utilizes wind as its power source. When constructed as a submersible device, the turbine harnesses the energy imparted by the flow of water to produce power. 
     The present invention features a directed force turbine device for wind or water. The turbine device comprises a wheel-style rotor having a first circular side panel and a second circular side panel connected via multiple curved vanes. The rotor rotates on bearings about a fixed axle shaft, wherein a plurality of curved vanes span from the first circular side panel to the second circular side panel, the vanes being curved to harness the incoming wind or water currents which drives the rotation of the rotor. The vanes surround a stator assembly, which is disposed in the inner cavity of the rotor assembly. The stator assembly does not rotate with the rotor and is solidly mounted to the fixed axle shaft segments that protrude out either side of the stator assembly. The stator assembly comprises support panels on which the axle shaft segments, jackshaft (if applicable), a teardrop-shaped inner flow director, and a curved wing-like outer flow director and additional flow director vanes are all mounted. Entering wind or water current traveling between the inner and outer flow directors will cause a reversal of the current flow direction. This reversal of the flow direction is now applied to the forward moving vanes on the lower half of the rotor assembly to drive the rotor with a positive force from inside of the rotor assembly. This current flow from the stator assembly as it leaves the rotor vanes is expelled into an exhaust port, which is ducted in such a way as to again change the direction of the wind or water current back to its original direction. A flow separator is positioned just below the forward moving vanes of the rotor assembly to prevent the exhaust flow from coming into contact with the rotor vanes. At the intake portion of the turbine device, the wind or water travels through the funnel assembly and through the external flow director to the rotor, wherein the wind or water current either (i) is harnessed by the vanes and pushes the vanes to drive the rotation of the rotor (then subsequently exits the rotor out the rear of the turbine); or (ii) is directed through the vanes onto the backside of the outer flow director portion of the stator assembly and then is harnessed by the vanes, once again, to drive rotation of the rotor then subsequently exits the rotor out the rear of the turbine. 
     In some embodiments, the external flow director is constructed so that the front (intake) end is positioned above and forward of the rotor about equal to a radial length of the rotor itself. The rear (discharge) end of the external flow director is positioned just above the rotor vanes at approximately two thirds (⅔) the distance back from the support axle to the rear edge of the rotor. In some embodiments, the external flow director comprises side panels to ensure all available current flow is applied to the rotor assembly. In some embodiments, the inner flow director has a leading tapered edge positioned at a height equal to or just below the upper edge of the deflector shield. In some embodiments the stator assembly comprises support panels on which the axle segments, jackshaft (if applicable), inner flow director, outer flow director, and director vanes are securely mounted. In some embodiments, a flow separator is positioned just below the rotor vanes. The flow separator helps direct the wind or water current flow into an exhaust port as well as preventing the exhausted flow from coming into contact with the rotor vanes as it exits the turbine. In some embodiments, the flow separator is suspended from the axle to allow it to be rotated forward to close off the turbine intake opening to permit speed regulation of the rotor. In some embodiments, the rotor is operatively connected to a generator, compressor, pump, or any other device in need of a power source. In some embodiments, drive gears, sprockets, or pulleys attached to each side of the rotor are operatively connected to a common jackshaft either within the stator assembly or external of the rotor assembly. In some embodiments, the jackshaft is operatively connected via gears, sprockets, or pulleys to an output power drive shaft. Or, if mounted external of the rotor assembly, the jackshaft itself may be used as the power drive shaft. In some embodiments, the output power drive shaft runs through the inside of the fixed support axle. In some embodiments, the rotor assembly comprises closed side panels. 
     Any feature or combination of features described herein are included within the scope of the present invention provided that the features included in any such combination are not mutually inconsistent as will be apparent from the context, this specification, and the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art. Additional advantages and aspects of the present invention are apparent in the following detailed description and claims. 
     SUMMARY 
     Briefly, the present invention features a directed force turbine device utilizing forces of wind or water current flow. In some embodiments, the directed force turbine device comprises a fixed axle shaft; a wheel-style rotor assembly having a first circular side panel and a second circular side panel connected via a plurality of curved vanes that span from the first circular side panel and the second circular side panel, the rotor assembly rotates on bearings about the fixed axle shaft, the curved vanes harness the incoming wind or water current flow, which drives rotation of the rotor assembly, the vanes surround the fixed axle shaft and form an inner cavity; a stator assembly disposed in the inner cavity of the rotor assembly and fluidly connected to the rotor assembly, the stator assembly does not rotate with the rotor assembly, the stator assembly comprises fixed shafts protruding out from and rigidly attached to the support panels; and a teardrop-shaped inner flow director, a curved outer flow director, and small flow director vanes which are also mounted to the support panels, wherein entering wind or water current flow is directed in between the inner flow director and outer flow director to reverse direction of the wind or water current flow which functions to apply a positive force against the forward moving vanes of the rotor assembly to aid in driving rotation of the rotor assembly; a funnel assembly fluidly connected to the rotor assembly, the funnel assembly funnels wind or water current flow outside of the rotor assembly intake area and forces wind or water current flow into the intake area of the rotor assembly, thereby helping to increase the speed of the wind or water current flow, wherein the funnel assembly comprises a sloped deflector shield positioned at a bottom area of the funnel assembly, the deflector shield functions to help block oncoming wind or water current flow from striking forward moving vanes of the rotor assembly and deflect said oncoming wind or water current flow up and into the intake area of the rotor assembly; an external flow director disposed above the rotor assembly and fluidly connected to both the rotor assembly and to the funnel assembly, wherein wind or water current flowing through the funnel assembly is captured by the external flow director and further forced against the rotor assembly, wherein the wind or water flow either (i) is harnessed by the vanes of the rotor assembly to drive rotation of the rotor assembly or (ii) passes through the vanes to the backside of the outer flow director portion of the stator assembly and is then harnessed by the vanes to drive rotation of the rotor assembly, wherein the external flow director holds the wind or water current flow against an upper half of the rotor assembly and the stator assembly forces said flow against a lower half of the rotor assembly; an exhaust port fluidly connected to the rotor, wherein wind or water current flow from the stator assembly or vanes exits the rotor assembly via the exhaust port, the exhaust port reverses flow direction of said wind or water current flow to its original flow direction; and a flow separator disposed optionally just beneath the rotor assembly, the flow separator is a curved panel which directs wind or water flow from the rotor assembly to an exhaust port and helps prevent the wind or water flow from coming in contact with the rotor assembly when the wind or water flow is flowing through the exhaust port. 
     In some embodiments, an intake end of the external flow director is positioned a distance above and forward of the rotor, the distance being about equal to a radial length of the rotor. In some embodiments, a discharge end of the external flow director is positioned above the vanes. In some embodiments, the inner flow director has a teardrop shaped segment that has a leading tapered edge positioned at a height about equal to or just below an upper edge of the deflector shield. In some embodiments, the stator assembly comprises support panels, the support panels provide mounting support for components of the stator assembly, wherein the support panels are an integral part of the fixed axle shaft. In some embodiments, the side panels of the rotor assembly are operatively connected to a jackshaft, the jackshaft being operatively connected to a power output shaft for driving a generator or other device requiring a power source. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a first perspective view and internal view of the directed force turbine device of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1A  is a perspective and cutaway view of the device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 1B  is a second perspective view of the device of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a first cross sectional view of the directed force turbine device of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a second cross sectional view of the directed force turbine device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a third perspective view of the directed force turbine device of the present invention. This configuration may be used in applications where flow isn&#39;t constant or flow is too fast. 
         FIG. 4A  is a third cross sectional view of the directed force turbine device of the present invention showing the flow separator rotated upwardly for speed regulation of the rotor. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view of the directed force turbine device of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a fourth perspective and cutaway view of the stator assembly. 
         FIG. 6A  is a fifth perspective view of the stator assembly of  FIG. 6  showing flow direction in and out of the stator assembly. 
         FIG. 7  is a partial view of the stator assembly showing component mounting location to support panel. 
         FIG. 8  is a top view of the inner flow director (mounted to support panels). 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1-8 , the present invention features a directed force turbine device  100 . The directed force turbine device  100  of the present invention comprises a rotor  110  that spins about an axis, a deflector shield  220 , funnel assembly  210 , and external flow director  230  that together can direct wind or water current flow into the rotor  110 . The directed force turbine device  100  further comprises a stator assembly  310 , a flow separator  360 , and an exhaust port  350 . Without wishing to limit the present invention to any theory or mechanism, it is believed that the device  100  of the present invention is advantageous because the vanes/wheel part of the device is the only part that rotates; the stator assembly  310  and fixed shaft remain stationary, for example. 
     The rotor  110  may be constructed in a variety of shapes and sizes, for example as shown in  FIG. 1  the rotor is generally cylindrical having a first side panel  111  (e.g., circular) and a second side panel  112  (e.g., circular). The side panels  111 ,  112  are connected by the vanes  120 . The rotor  110  rotates about the fixed axle shaft  118  on bearings. Spanning the first side panel  111  and the second side panel  112  is a plurality of vanes  120  (e.g., curved vanes), for example the first ends of the vanes  120  are attached to the first side panel  111  and the second ends of the vanes  120  are attached to the second side panel  112 . The vanes  120  are generally parallel to the fixed axle shaft  118 . The vanes  120  surround the fixed axle shaft  118  and form an inner cavity. The sides of the vanes  120  are completely enclosed; flow cannot leave from sides of the vanes  120 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , wind or water current flow can be directed to the rotor  110  via a funnel assembly  210  (e.g., which functions as a funnel). In some embodiments, a deflector shield  220  is disposed in the funnel assembly  210 , which can function to help direct wind or water current flow through the funnel assembly  210 . For example, the deflector shield  220  may function to shape a portion of the funnel assembly  210  in a desired manner for optimal intake of the wind or water current flow. In some embodiments, the deflector shield  220  is a tapered (e.g., inversely) sloping surface. In some embodiments, the deflector shield  220  may redirect the wind or water current flow that is below the horizontal centerline of the rotor to a point above this line (e.g., see  FIG. 2 , wherein wind or water current flow at the lower half of the rotor  110  is deflected upwardly into the funnel assembly  210  via the deflector shield  220 ). In some embodiments, the deflector shield  220  blocks the oncoming flow of wind or water from striking the forward moving vanes  120  on the bottom half of the rotor  110 . In some embodiments, the deflector shield  220  helps to force the flow of wind or water current in an upward and inward direction. In some embodiments, the funneling function of the funnel assembly  210  harnesses the flow that would be outside of the rotor assembly intake area and directs it into the rotor assembly  110 . This may help increase the speed of the flow, which improves efficiency. 
     From the funnel assembly  210  and deflector shield  220 , wind or water current flow travels to the rotor  110 , in some embodiments through an external flow director  230 . The external flow director  230 , with its side panels  233 , can function as a duct so as to prevent the wind or water current flow from escaping, thus, the flow continues to the rotor  110 . In some embodiments, the external flow director  230  is the same width as the rotor  110  assembly. In some embodiments, the external flow director  230  is positioned above the rotor  110  and fluidly connects the funnel assembly  210  (and deflector shield  220 ) to the rotor  110 . In some embodiments, the external flow director  230  is positioned so that the front (intake) end is located above and forward of the rotor  110  at a distance about equal to the radial length of the rotor  110 . The external flow director  230  has a front (intake) end  231  fluidly connected to the funnel assembly  210  (and deflector shield  220 ) and a rear (discharge) end  232  that may curve downwardly to the rotor  110 . The rear (discharge) end  232  of the external flow director  230  may terminate just at a point above the rotor  110 . The side panels  233  of the external flow director  230  extend from the top surface of the external flow director  230  downwardly to but not touching the circular side panels of the rotor  110 . These side panels  233  also extend rearward from the funnel assembly  210  to the rear (discharge) end  232  of the external flow director  230 . The external flow director  230  may compress and/or direct the flow of the wind or water current that is above the rotor  110  (see  FIG. 2 ) into and in some cases past the vanes  120  to the inner cavity of the rotor  110  assembly. In this way, the external flow director  230  can help capture a portion of the deflected flow and force it back to the rotor  110  (e.g., for accelerating the speed of the flow). 
     As the wind or water flow is directed to the rotor  110 , the vanes  120  (e.g., vanes with curvatures) capture the wind or water current flow and the rotor  110  is forced to rotate about the fixed axle shaft  118 . In some embodiments, the wind or water flow can pass the vanes  120  and enter into the inner cavity of the rotor  110  assembly. 
     Disposed in the inner cavity of the rotor  110  is a stator assembly  310 . The stator assembly  310  does NOT rotate with the rotor  110 , but in actuality constitutes the entire axle itself (fixed axle shaft  118 ). Wind or water current flow that passes the vanes  120  enters into the stator assembly  310 , which directs the flow in a way that actually reverses its direction. This reversed flow can now be applied to the forward moving vanes  120  at the bottom half of the rotor  110  to produce additional rotational force. In some embodiments, the stator assembly  310  allows force to be applied to all of the vanes  120  of the rotor  110  at the same time. Without wishing to limit the present invention to any theory or mechanism, it is believed that the stator assembly  310  is advantageous because it can help increase the efficiency of the turbine device  100 . 
     In some embodiments, the stator assembly  310  (see  FIG. 6 ,  FIG. 7 , and  FIG. 8 ) is the entire axle for the rotor assembly  110 . The stator assembly  310  comprises support panels  315 , axle shaft segments  118 , a jackshaft (if applicable), an outer flow director  330 , an inner flow director  320 , and flow director vanes  340  (e.g., a first flow director vane, a second flow director vane). The inner flow director  320  is teardrop-shaped. In some embodiments, the inner flow director  320  has a leading tapered edge, which may be positioned at a height equal to or just below the upper edge of the deflector shield  220  (see  FIG. 2 ). The outer flow director  330  is generally curved with the outer curved portion being irregularly shaped. In some embodiments, the forward one third (⅓) of the outer surface of the outer flow director  330  generally follows the arc created by the inside edges of the rotor vanes  120 , but does not touch the passing vanes  120 . The remaining two thirds (⅔) of the outer surface of the outer flow director  330 , has the curvature of a much larger diameter circle and terminates at the trailing point of termination of the inside surface of the outer flow director  330 . This creates a cavity between the rotor vanes  120  and the stator assembly  310 . In some embodiments, the inside surface arc of the outer flow director  330  is of a constant radius. At the front opening of the stator assembly  310 , wind or water current that passes through the vanes  120  is funneled between the inner flow director  320  and the outer flow director  330 , which directs the wind or water flow to reverse its direction (see  FIG. 6A ). In some embodiments, the flow director vanes  340  function to help direct the now reversed wind or water current flow against the passing vanes  120 . This reversal now permits the force to be applied against the forward moving vanes  120  at the bottom half of the rotor  110  (see  FIG. 2 ). In some embodiments, the components of the stator assembly  310  mount to the support panels  315 . These support panels  315  have solidly attached fixed axle shafts  118  (see  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 7 , and  FIG. 8 ) protruding out one side of each panel that are then clamped into the main support structure  117 . These shaft segments  118  make up the axle portion that the rotor assembly  110  mounts to and rotates about (see  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 3 ) and the flow separator  360  mounts to and rotates about as well when used for rotor  110  speed control (see  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 4A , and  FIG. 5 ). 
     Wind or water flow is eventually pushed out of the vanes  120  and into an exhaust port  350 . This exhaust port  350  functions to once again reverse the direction of the wind or water flow via a curved duct which channels the wind or water flow out of the rear, the sides, or a combination of both of the directed force turbine device  100 . In some embodiments, during normal operation, a flow separator  360  is positioned below the rotor  110 , which helps to direct the wind or water flow into the exhaust port  350 . The flow separator  360  can help prevent the wind or water flow from escaping the vanes  120  prior to reaching the exhaust port  350 . The flow separator  360  also prevents the exhausted flow from coming into contact with the forward moving vanes  120  at the bottom of the rotor  110 . 
     In some embodiments, the flow separator  360  is permanently attached to the support structure  117 . In some embodiments, the flow separator  360  is not permanently attached to the support structure  117  but is instead suspended beneath the rotor  110  via counter weighted support arms  370 . These support arms  370  are connected to the fixed axle shaft segments  118  between the support structure  117  and the rotor assembly  110  (see  FIG. 5 ). The flow separator  360  and counter weighted support arms  370  are free to rotate about the fixed axle shaft segments  118  allowing the flow separator  360  to be rotated forward and up (see  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 4A ) to close off the main intake opening by blocking the wind from striking the rotor  110  assembly of the directed force turbine device  100  in the event of high wind conditions. The ability to do this with the flow separator  360  allows for speed regulation of the rotor  110  in adverse weather conditions (e.g., the flow separator  360  is an “RPM regulator”). In some embodiments, the flow separator  360  covers about ¼ of the circumference of the rotor  110 . In some embodiments, an exhaust port  350  is disposed between the flow separator  360  in its normal (down) position and the deflector shield  220 . The exhaust port  350  may connect to a duct that either passes beneath the flow separator  360  or out the sides of the directed force turbine device  100  or a combination of both. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , in some embodiments, the power produced by the rotor  110  is operatively connected to a generator, pump, or other device requiring a power source. In some embodiments, gears, sprockets, and/or pulleys are disposed on the rotor  110  (e.g., surrounding the bearings). For example, each side of the rotor  110  is operatively connected to its own drive gear  410 . In some embodiments, these drive gears  410  are operatively connected to a jackshaft  430 . In some embodiments, the jackshaft  430  is operatively connected to drive gears  410  on both sides of the rotor assembly  110  to prevent a twisting motion of the vanes  120 . In some embodiments, the jackshaft  430  is operatively connected to the power output shaft  119 . In some embodiments, the power output shaft  119  is operatively connected to a generator or other device requiring a source of power. In some embodiments, the jackshaft itself becomes the power output shaft (e.g., when mounted external of the rotor assembly  110 ). 
     The disclosures of the following U.S. Patents are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein: U.S. Pat. No. 6,740,989; U.S. Pat. Application No. 2004/0100103; U.S. Pat. No. 7,329,965; U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,172; U.S. Pat. No. 6,870,280. 
     Various modifications of the invention, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. Such modifications are also intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. Each reference cited in the present application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     Although there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made thereto which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, the scope of the invention is only to be limited by the following claims.

Technology Category: 2