Vertical-axis wind turbine

Abstract

To provide a vertical-axis wind turbine that is easy to manufacture at low cost and has low energy loss.SOLUTION: A vertical-axis wind turbine 1 includes multiple large blade plates 3 and small blade plates 4 that are disposed radially at equal intervals around a rotation shaft 2. Each of the plates is formed from a single metal plate curved toward a one-rotation direction R of the rotation shaft 2, and includes multiple scale-like pieces 34, 44 formed respectively by a plurality of scale-like notches. The large blade plates 3 and small blade plates 4 have multiple scale-like pieces 33, 44 that are bent obliquely toward a side opposite to the one-rotation direction R of the rotation shaft 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vertical axis wind turbine that always rotates in a fixed direction regardless of wind direction. [Background technology]

[0002] So-called vertical axis wind turbines are known, which rotate in a fixed direction regardless of wind direction. Vertical axis wind turbines have blades that receive the wind around a vertical axis (rotation axis) that is erected upright, and are designed to rotate in a fixed direction regardless of wind direction. In this type of vertical wind turbine, wind hitting one blade generates rotational force, but wind hitting the other blade generates resistance, so there is a need to reduce this energy loss.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an omnidirectional wind turbine in which a hemispherical wind turbine is attached to a central axis and rotates around the central axis by receiving wind on the concave surface of the hemispherical wind turbine. The wind turbine has a through-hole formed in the wind turbine, and the through-hole is formed between a curved portion that smoothly curves from the convex side to the concave side of the wind turbine and protrudes toward the concave side. In this omnidirectional wind turbine, wind that strikes the concave side of the wind turbine swirls along the curved portion, preventing the wind from escaping through the slits, resulting in no energy loss. On the other hand, wind that strikes the convex side of the wind turbine is guided by the curved portion and can escape to the concave side. Since the wind strikes the convex side, air resistance is reduced, resulting in less energy loss.

[0004] Patent Document 2 discloses a vertical rotary wind turbine in which a plurality of pairs of wedge-shaped open / close long plate blades are arranged, and the opening angle of the wedge is maximized on one side of the wind direction to receive the wind force, and at the same time, the acute angle of the wedge is at its sharpest on the other side to cut through the wind and accelerate the wind force to pass through. Patent Document 3 discloses a wind turbine in which a hole is formed in each blade, and an elastic plate is fixed to one edge of the hole on one side of each blade, and this elastic plate elastically closes the hole except when the blade receives wind from the other side, and when the blade receives wind from the other side, the elastic plate is deformed by the force of the wind to open the hole. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-9018 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-194479 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-129734 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The omnidirectional wind turbine described in Patent Document 1 has a hemispherical shell-shaped wind receiver that is attached around a central axis, resulting in a small frontal projection area that receives wind force. Furthermore, the through-holes are formed between the curved portions that smoothly curve from the convex side of the wind receiver to the concave side and protrude toward the concave side. However, machining such through-holes in a hemispherical shell-shaped wind receiver is difficult and increases costs. Meanwhile, Patent Documents 2 and 3 use movable blades, which complicate the structure, increase costs, and increase the risk of breakdowns.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vertical axis wind turbine that is easy to process, low cost, and has little energy loss. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The vertical axis wind turbine of the present invention is equipped with a plurality of vanes arranged radially at equal intervals around a rotation axis, each made of a single metal plate curved toward one rotation direction of the rotation axis, each having a plurality of scale-like pieces formed by a plurality of scale-shaped notches, and each having a plurality of scale-like pieces bent diagonally toward the opposite side of one rotation direction of the rotation axis.

[0009] The vertical-axis wind turbine of the present invention has a simple structure in which multiple vanes arranged radially at equal intervals around a rotating shaft each comprise a single metal plate curved toward one rotational direction of the rotating shaft, with multiple scale-like notches forming multiple scales, and these scales are bent diagonally away from the one rotational direction of the rotating shaft. In this vertical wind turbine, when wind strikes the curved blades toward the one rotational direction of the rotating shaft, the wind is received by the curved blades, generating rotational force. At this time, gaps are formed in the blades by the scale-like notches, and because these scales formed by the scale-like notches are bent diagonally away from the one rotational direction of the rotating shaft, the wind is received by the scales just before the gaps, generating additional rotational force. Meanwhile, at the blades located on the opposite side of the rotating shaft, the wind is deflected by the blades curved toward the opposite side, passes through the gaps formed by the scale-like notches, and is guided and deflected by the scales, thereby reducing resistance.

[0010] The vertical wind turbine of the present invention preferably comprises a plurality of smaller blades (hereinafter referred to as "small blades") than the above-mentioned plurality of large blades (hereinafter referred to as "large blades"), which are arranged radially around the rotation shaft at equal intervals between the above-mentioned plurality of large blades, each of which is made of a single metal plate curved toward one rotation direction of the rotation shaft, and each of which has a plurality of scale-like pieces formed by a plurality of scale-shaped notches, and each of which has a plurality of scale-like pieces bent diagonally toward the opposite side to one rotation direction of the rotation shaft (small blades).

[0011] As a result, wind flowing between the multiple large blades reaches the small blades, and when these small blades encounter the wind on one side of the curved rotation axis, the wind is received by the curved small blades, generating additional rotational force. At this time, gaps are formed in the small blades by the scale-like notches, and because the scales formed by these scale-like notches are bent diagonally in the opposite direction to the rotation axis, the wind is received by the scales just before the gaps, generating additional rotational force. Meanwhile, the small blades located on the opposite side of the rotation axis are hidden by the large blades and receive less wind. Furthermore, this wind is deflected by the small blades curved on the opposite side, passes through the gaps formed by the scale-like notches, and is guided and deflected by the scales, thereby reducing resistance.

[0012] The vertical axis wind turbine of the present invention preferably has a circular plate with the rotation axis as its center, and the circular plate has slits into which a plurality of blades are inserted and which form a state in which the blades are curved in one rotation direction of the rotation axis. In this way, by simply inserting a plurality of blades (large blades and small blades) into the slits of the circular plate, the plurality of blades are curved in one rotation direction of the rotation axis.

[0013] Here, the circular plate is made of a single metal plate, and preferably has a plurality of scale-like pieces each formed by a plurality of scale-like notches, with the plurality of scale-like pieces bent downward on one rotation direction side of the rotating shaft. This allows snow to fall downward through the gaps formed by the scale-like notches during snowfall, preventing snow from accumulating on the circular plate. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] The vertical axis wind turbine of the present invention has a simple structure in which a plurality of blades arranged radially at equal intervals around the rotating shaft are each made of a single metal plate curved in one direction of rotation of the rotating shaft, with a plurality of scale-like pieces formed by a plurality of scale-shaped cutouts, and these scale-like pieces are bent diagonally in the opposite direction to one direction of rotation of the rotating shaft, making it easy to process, low cost, and with little energy loss. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic front view of a vertical axis wind turbine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vertical axis wind turbine of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of wind. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a vertical axis wind turbine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view, FIG. 3 is a front view of a large blade, FIG. 4 is a front view of a small blade, FIG. 5 is a plan view of a circular blade, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of wind.

[0017] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a vertical axis wind turbine 1 in an embodiment of the present invention comprises three large blades (hereinafter referred to as "large blades") 3 arranged radially at equal intervals around a rotation shaft 2, three blades (hereinafter referred to as "small blades") 4 which are smaller than the large blades 3 and arranged radially at equal intervals around the rotation shaft 2 between the large blades 3, and one circular plate 5 centred on the rotation shaft 2.

[0018] The rotating shaft 2 of the vertical axis wind turbine 1 always rotates in one direction R as shown in Figure 2, regardless of the wind direction. The large blades 3, small blades 4, and circular plate 5 are formed by laser processing an aluminum steel plate as a metal plate. Note that in Figure 1, the small blades 4 are omitted and an image of the large blade 3 as seen from the front is shown.

[0019] As shown in Figure 3, the large blade 3 is a scale-like plate with a smooth arc-shaped outer periphery 31 excluding fixing portions 30A and 30B that are fixed to the rotating shaft 2. Fixing portions 30A and 30B are provided with a plurality of mounting holes 30C for mounting to the rotating shaft 2. A circular arc-shaped notch 32 is formed between fixing portions 30A and 30B.

[0020] The large blade 3 also has a plurality of scale-like pieces 34 formed by a plurality of scale-like notches 33. Specifically, the scale-like notches 33 are arc-shaped, leaving the outer (left side in FIG. 3 ) portion when the fixing portions 30A, 30B of the large blade 3 are fixed to the rotating shaft 2. These scale-like notches 33 are formed over almost the entire surface of the large blade 3. The scale-like pieces 34 are bent obliquely in the opposite direction to the rotation direction R of the rotating shaft 2.

[0021] As shown in Figure 4, the small blade 4 is a scale-like plate with a smooth arc-shaped outer periphery 41, excluding fixed portions 40A and 40B that are fixed to the rotating shaft 2. The small blade 4 is slightly smaller than the large blade 3. The fixed portions 40A and 40B are provided with a plurality of mounting holes 40C for mounting to the rotating shaft 2. A circular arc-shaped notch 42 is formed between the fixed portions 40A and 40B.

[0022] The small blade 4 also has a plurality of scale-like pieces 44 formed by a plurality of scale-like notches 43. Specifically, the scale-like notches 43 are arc-shaped, leaving the outer (left side in FIG. 4 ) portion when the fixing portions 40A, 40B of the small blade 4 are fixed to the rotating shaft 2. These scale-like notches 43 are formed over almost the entire surface of the small blade 4. The scale-like pieces 44 are bent obliquely in the opposite direction to the rotation direction R of the rotating shaft 2.

[0023] As shown in Figure 5, the circular plate 5 has slits 50A into which the major blades 3 are inserted and slits 50B into which the minor blades 4 are inserted. The slits 50A are arc-shaped grooves arranged radially at equal intervals around the rotating shaft 2. The slits 50B are arc-shaped grooves arranged radially at equal intervals around the rotating shaft 2 between the slits 50A and 50B. Simply inserting the major blades 3 and the minor blades 4 into the slits 50A and 50B, respectively, causes the major blades 3 and the minor blades 4 to curve toward the rotation direction R of the rotating shaft 2. The circular plate 5 is located in the vertical center of the major blades 3 and the minor blades 4.

[0024] The circular plate 5 also has a plurality of scale-like pieces 54 formed by a plurality of scale-like notches 53. Specifically, the scale-like notches 53 are arc-shaped, leaving only the tip portion in the direction R of rotation of the circular plate 5 (rotating shaft 2). These scale-like notches 53 are formed over almost the entire surface of the circular plate 5. The scale-like pieces 54 are bent downward on the side facing the direction R of rotation of the rotating shaft 2.

[0025] In the vertical axis wind turbine 1 configured as described above, as shown in Figure 6(A), when wind W hits the curved large blades 3 and small blades 4 in the direction of rotation R, the wind W is received by the curved large blades 3 and small blades 4, generating a rotational force. At this time, gaps 35 and 45 are formed in the large blades 3 and small blades 4 by the scale-like notches 33 and 43, respectively, and the scales 34 and 44 formed by these scale-like notches 33 and 43 are bent obliquely in the opposite direction to the rotational direction R of the rotating shaft 2, so that the wind W is received by the scales 34 and 44 just before the gaps 35 and 45, generating an additional rotational force.

[0026] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 6(B), at the large blades 3 and small blades 4 located on the opposite side of the rotation axis 2, the wind W is deflected by the large blades 3 and small blades 4 curved in the opposite direction, passes through the gaps 35 and 45 formed by the scale-like notches 33 and 43, and is guided and deflected by the scale-like pieces 34 and 44. This reduces the resistance and energy loss.

[0027] In particular, in this vertical axis wind turbine 1, small blades 4 smaller than the large blades 3 are provided between the large blades 3, so that the wind that flows in between the large blades 3 reaches the small blades 4 and, when it is received on the side of the rotation direction R of the rotating shaft 2, is received by the curved small blades 4, generating additional rotational force. At this time, air gaps are formed in the small blades 4 by the scale-like notches 43, and the scales 44 formed by these scale-like notches 43 are bent obliquely in the opposite direction to the rotation direction R of the rotating shaft 2, so that the wind is received by the scales 44 just before the air gaps, generating additional rotational force.

[0028] On the other hand, the small blades 4 located on the opposite side of the rotation axis 2 are hidden behind the large blades 3 and receive less wind. This wind is deflected by the small blades 4 curved on the opposite side, passes through the gaps formed by the scale-like notches 43, and is guided and deflected by the scale-like pieces 44. This reduces resistance and energy loss.

[0029] Furthermore, in the vertical axis wind turbine 1 of this embodiment, when it snows, snow falls downward from the gaps 55 (see FIG. 2) formed by the scale-like notches 53 of the circular plate 5, thereby preventing snow from accumulating on the circular plate.

[0030] Furthermore, in such a vertical axis wind turbine 1, the plurality of large blades 3, small blades 4 and circular plate 5 are each made of a single aluminum steel plate, and a plurality of scale-like pieces 34, 44, 54 are formed in this by a plurality of scale-like cutouts 33, 43, 53, and these scale-like pieces 34, 44, 54 are bent, resulting in a simple structure that is easy to process and low cost.

[0031] Although this embodiment is configured to include both the large blades 3 and the small blades 4, it is also possible to configure the fan to include only one of the large blades 3 or the small blades 4. The number of blades is not limited to three each and can be changed appropriately depending on the installation location. The circular plate 5 can also be omitted. [Industrial Applicability]

[0032] The present invention is useful as a vertical axis wind turbine that always rotates in a fixed direction regardless of wind direction, and is particularly suitable as a wind turbine in a wind power generation system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1 Vertical axis wind turbine 2 rotation axes 3 Large wing 4 Winglet plate 5 circular plates 30A,30B,40A,40B Fixed part 30C, 40C mounting holes 31,41 Outer periphery 32,42 Notch 33, 43, 53 notch 34,44,54 Scaly 35,45,55 void

Claims

1. A vertical axis wind turbine having a plurality of blades arranged radially at equal intervals around a rotation axis, each made of a single metal plate curved toward one rotation direction of the rotation axis, each having a plurality of scale-like pieces formed by a plurality of scale-shaped notches, and each having a plurality of scale-like pieces bent diagonally toward the opposite side to one rotation direction of the rotation axis.

2. 2. The vertical axis wind turbine according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of smaller vanes than the plurality of vanes arranged radially at equal intervals around the rotation shaft between the plurality of vanes, the vanes each being made of a single metal plate curved toward one rotation direction of the rotation shaft, the vanes each having a plurality of scale-like pieces formed by a plurality of scale-shaped notches, the vanes having a plurality of scale-like pieces bent obliquely toward the opposite side to one rotation direction of the rotation shaft.

3. 3. The vertical axis wind turbine according to claim 1, further comprising a circular plate having a center on the rotation axis, the circular plate having slits into which the plurality of blades are inserted and which form a curved state on one rotation direction side of the rotation axis.

4. 4. The vertical axis wind turbine according to claim 3, wherein the circular plate is made of a single metal plate, and each of the circular plate has a plurality of scale-like pieces formed by a plurality of scale-shaped cutouts, and the plurality of scale-like pieces are bent downward on one rotation direction side of the rotating shaft.

Images