Patent Document

This application claims benefit of Provisional appl. 60/138,011, filed Jun. 08, 1999. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The world is dependent on natural resources for the production of energy. This dependence is resulting in a depletion of the natural resources available in the world. Also, the pollution produced as a result of using natural resources has become a problem that will last for generations to come. 
     Industry is concerned with the increase in prices for natural resources since these costs directly impact the competitive pricing of their products. Consumers are concerned with the price they must pay for electricity. Analysts are concerned with the diminishing supply of natural resources. Environmentalists are concerned with the pollution caused by using natural resources in the production of energy and the consequences of an accident at a nuclear power plant. 
     Wind is a renewable energy source that can be used to produce energy rather than non-renewable sources such as coal or oil. Wind energy can replace nuclear power plants if the technology and cost savings were found. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Traditionally, windmills have required extensive cutting and shaping of the blades, resulting in high engineering and manufacturing costs. Also, traditional windmills rely on either/or high wind speeds or high altitude posts. 
     The polygonal windmill relies on its much larger wind surface area rather than high speeds for energy production. But the faster the wind, the greater the amount energy produced by the polygonal windmill. A high altitude post would enhance the performance of the polygonal windmill but is not needed for its operation. 
     The polygonal windmill is physically and structurally stronger than traditional windmills. It can withstand wind speeds that would normally destroy traditional windmills. 
     The polygonal windmill is essentially a windmill with the blade components contained within a rigid polygonal frame, preferably cubic in shape. The simple design of the frame and the blades allow the windmill to be constructed with off-the-shelf components and materials, i.e. minimal engineering and manufacturing costs, and minimal labor to construct the windmill. No special cutting or shaping of the blades is needed in the production of the polygonal windmill. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows the first embodiment of the invention 
     FIG. 2 shows the second embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Traditionally, windmills have required extensive cutting and shaping of the blades, resulting in high engineering and manufacturing costs. The semi-cube windmill is essentially a windmill with the blade components contained within a rigid polygonal frame, preferably cubic in shape. The simple design of the frame and the blades allow the windmill to be constructed with off-the-shelf components and materials, i.e. minimal engineering and manufacturing costs. 
     With reference to FIG. 1, the first embodiment of the polygonal windmill  10  includes a rigid, cubic shaped frame  12 . The frame  12  comprises a front rectangular shaped section made of horizontal members  14 ,  16  and vertical members  18 ,  20 . Vertical axis member  22  and a horizontal axis member  24  are on the front section of windmill  10 . The frame  12  comprises a rear rectangular shaped section made of horizontal members  26 ,  28  and vertical members  30 ,  32 . Vertical axis member  60  and a horizontal axis member  58  are on the rear section of windmill  10 . The front and rear rectangular shaped sections of frame  12  are connected together at the corners by connecting members  34 ,  36 ,  38 ,  40 . Connecting member  34  connects the corner where horizontal member  14  and vertical member  18  are joined to the corner where horizontal member  26  and vertical member  30  are joined. Connecting member  36  connects the corner where horizontal member  14  and vertical member  20  are joined to the corner where horizontal member  26  and vertical member  32  are joined. Connecting member  38  connects the corner where horizontal member  16  and vertical member  18  are joined to the corner where horizontal member  28  and vertical member  30  are joined. Connecting member  40  connects the corner where horizontal member  16  and vertical member  20  are joined to the corner where horizontal member  28  and vertical member  32  are joined. Ideally, frame  12  is made of galvanized steel, but other rigid building materials such as wood, pressure treated wood or plastic may be used to construct frame  12 . 
     Blades  42 ,  44  are within frame  12  and are rectangular in shape. Blade  42  is connected from the front rectangular section from horizontal member  16  to the rear rectangular section to horizontal member  26 . Blade  44  is connected from the front rectangular section from horizontal member  14  to the rear rectangular section to horizontal member  28 . Preferably, the blades are made of sheet metal, but other sheet materials, such as cloth, i.e., canvas sails or plastic sheet material may be used for making the blades  42 ,  44 . 
     Electric generators  46 , 48  are connected to windmill  10  to convert wind energy to electrical energy. Electrical generator  46  is connected in a conventional manner at the intersection of vertical axis  22  and horizontal axis  24 . Electrical generator  48  is connected in a conventional manner at the intersection of vertical axis  60  and horizontal axis  58 . 
     With reference to FIG. 2, the second embodiment of the semi-cube windmill  10  includes a rigid, cubic shaped frame  12 . The frame  12  comprises a front rectangular shaped section made of horizontal members  14 ,  16  and vertical members  18 ,  20 . Vertical axis member  22  and a horizontal axis member  24  are on the front section of windmill  10 . The frame  12  comprises a rear rectangular shaped section made of horizontal members  26 ,  28  and vertical members  30 ,  32 . Vertical axis member  60  and a horizontal axis member  58  are on the rear section of windmill  10 . The front and rear rectangular shaped sections of frame  12  are connected together at the corners by connecting members  34 ,  36 ,  38 ,  40 . Connecting member  34  connects the corner where horizontal member  14  and vertical member  18  are joined to the corner where horizontal member  26  and vertical member  30  are joined. Connecting member  36  connects the corner where horizontal member  14  and vertical member  20  are joined to the corner where horizontal member  26  and vertical member  32  are joined. Connecting member  38  connects the corner where horizontal member  16  and vertical member  18  are joined to the corner where horizontal member  28  and vertical member  30  are joined. Connecting member  40  connects the corner where horizontal member  16  and vertical member  20  are joined to the corner where horizontal member  28  and vertical member  32  are joined. Ideally, frame  12  is made of galvanized steel, but other rigid building materials such as wood, pressure treated wood or plastic may be used to construct frame  12 . 
     Blades  50 ,  52 ,  54 ,  56  are within frame  12  and are rectangular in shape. Blade  50  is connected from the left part of horizontal axis member  24  of the front rectangular section to the left part of horizontal member  28  of the rear rectangular section of the frame  12 . Blade  52  is connected from the bottom part of vertical axis member  22  of the front rectangular section to the bottom part of vertical member  32  of the rear rectangular section of frame  12 . Blade  54  is connected from the right part of horizontal axis member  24  of the front rectangular section to the right part of horizontal member  26  of the rear rectangular section of the frame  12 . Blade  56  is connected from the top part of vertical axis member  22  of the front rectangular section to the top part of vertical member  30  of the rear rectangular section of frame  12 . Preferably, the blades are made of sheet metal, but other sheet materials, such as cloth, i.e., canvas sails or plastic sheet material may be used for making the blades  42 ,  44 . 
     Electric generators  46 , 48  are connected to windmill  10  to convert wind energy to electrical energy. Electrical generator  46  is connected in a conventional manner at the intersection of vertical axis  22  and horizontal axis  24 . Electrical generator  48  is connected in a conventional manner at the intersection of vertical axis  60  and horizontal axis  58 . 
     Though the polygonal windmill has been described in terms of rectangular shapes for the frame and blades in the first and second embodiments. The scope of this invention encompasses polygonal frames shaped as pentagons, hexagons and even octagons.

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