Micro hydroelectric generator

Abstract

The present invention relates to a micro hydroelectric generator, comprising a turbine wheel chamber arranged within a pipeline, and a generator set arranged on one side of the turbine wheel chamber. The generator set comprises a housing, and a stator and a rotor that are arranged inside the housing. The rotor comprises a turbine wheel and a rotating shaft arranged at the center of the turbine wheel. One end of the turbine wheel is provided with a permanent magnet, and the other end is provided with blades. The end provided with the permanent magnet corresponds to the stator, and the end provided with the blades is arranged within the turbine wheel chamber. The blades rotate within the turbine wheel chamber to drive the rotor to rotate. The turbine wheel chamber is connected to a water inlet and a water outlet of the pipeline. The inner wall of the turbine wheel chamber comprises two concentric circular arcs having different radii, and a connecting arc that connects the two concentric circular arcs. A cavity for accommodating water flow is formed between the inner wall of the large-radius circular arc of the turbine wheel chamber and the blades. The present micro hydroelectric generator can fully utilize kinetic energy of water and thus has high power generation efficiency.

Description

A miniature hydroelectric generator Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of power generation technology, and more specifically, to a miniature hydroelectric generator. Background Technology

[0002] Pipeline power generation technology is widely used in the water supply network industry. It utilizes the kinetic energy of water to drive an impeller, which in turn rotates a generator rotor, cutting magnetic lines of force to generate electricity. The conventional structure of a pipeline generator in the industry involves a rotor installed inside the pipeline. The rotor consists of an annular impeller and blades mounted on the inner wall of the impeller. Water flow impacts the blades, causing the rotor to rotate relative to the pipeline. The stator is fixedly connected to the pipeline, and power generation occurs as the rotor rotates. However, because the rotor is positioned perpendicular to the water flow direction, the water flow only impacts the blades once, resulting in inefficient use of the water's kinetic energy and low power generation efficiency.

[0003] Existing technology CN202010861381.8 discloses a pipeline-driven power generation device, including a generator casing for connecting to the pipeline, a stator coil winding arranged around the periphery of the generator casing, a rotor assembly driven by airflow or liquid flow through the pipeline, the rotor assembly being rotatably engaged with the inner surface of the generator casing by a limiting component, and magnets located around the periphery of the rotor assembly that move in conjunction with the stator coil winding to cut magnetic field lines. The technical solution disclosed in this prior art also involves directly placing the rotor inside the pipeline, which still fails to fully utilize the kinetic energy of the water flow to achieve efficient power generation. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention provides a miniature hydroelectric generator that fully utilizes the kinetic energy of water flow to increase power generation.

[0005] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0006] A miniature hydroelectric generator includes an impeller chamber housed within a pipe and a generator set disposed on one side of the impeller chamber. The generator set includes a housing, a stator and a rotor housed within the housing. The rotor includes an impeller and a shaft located at the center of the impeller. A permanent magnet is provided at one end of the impeller, and blades are provided at the other end. One end of the permanent magnet is correspondingly positioned to the stator. The blades are located within the impeller chamber, and their rotation within the chamber drives the rotor to rotate. The impeller chamber connects to the inlet and outlet of the pipe. The inner wall of the impeller chamber includes two concentric arcs with different radii and a connecting arc connecting the two concentric arcs. The inner wall of the larger radius arc of the impeller chamber and the blades form a cavity for accommodating water flow. In this invention, the larger and smaller radii refer to the relative sizes of the radii of the two arcs; the arc with the larger radius is the larger radius arc, and the arc with the smaller radius is the smaller radius arc.

[0007] Preferably, the inlet and outlet are arranged in parallel.

[0008] Preferably, the impeller is a hollow impeller, and the hollow impeller is provided with an impeller base and an impeller cover at both ends; the blades are evenly arranged on the circumference of the hollow impeller along its axial direction, and the blades are located between the impeller base and the hollow impeller.

[0009] Preferably, the water inlet is located below the water outlet.

[0010] Preferably, the blade is a baffle with a curved arc.

[0011] Preferably, the blades are arranged in a circular pattern along the axial circumferential direction of the hollow impeller, and the center of the circle formed by the blades constitutes a circular cavity.

[0012] Preferably, a waterproof sealing ring is also provided between the cover and the housing.

[0013] Preferably, the inlet channel gradually narrows from a circular shape to a narrow slit nozzle; the outlet channel gradually changes from a flat rectangular outlet to a circular outlet.

[0014] Preferably, the water inlet is located on the small radius arc, and the water outlet is located between the small radius arc and the large radius arc; the rotor is concentrically arranged with the two arcs.

[0015] Preferably, the housing is provided with a housing cover, and the housing cover is provided with a lead wire hole.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0017] 1. The impeller chamber has an irregular shape and its inner wall is curved. When external water flows into the impeller chamber from the inlet, multiple blades form a blade assembly. After impacting the rotation of the blade assembly, part of the water flows out from the outlet. Due to the presence of the chamber, the space is large and the water pressure is low, so another part of the water flows along the inner wall of the impeller chamber in a rotating manner and enters the chamber. As the external water continues to flow in, it pushes the original water flow in the chamber to continue rotating, forming a vortex flow. The vortex flow transfers energy to the blade assembly, reduces its velocity, enters the middle of the blade assembly, and then flows out from the blade assembly near the outlet. This process increases the rotational force transferred to the blade assembly, thereby greatly improving the utilization efficiency of the water kinetic energy, increasing the rotor's rotational speed, and ultimately increasing the power generation capacity.

[0018] 2. The rotor is an integrated structure. One end of the rotor is connected to the power generation component, and the other end is equipped with blades and located in the impeller chamber, forming a horizontal structure. The blades form a circular structure with a hollow center. Under the action of the irregularly shaped impeller chamber composed of arcs of varying radii, water can flow through the gaps between the blades and impact the blades multiple times, which can make full use of kinetic energy. For small pipeline water transmission network systems and small power generation systems, it can effectively improve power generation efficiency.

[0019] 3. The blades are designed as curved baffles, with the circumferentially distributed blades designed as baffles with a certain curvature. The curvature is calculated based on fluid simulation. The height of the narrow-slit nozzle is equal to the blade height. The circular center formed by multiple blades constitutes a hollow circular cavity, thereby effectively converting the energy of the water flow into the mechanical energy of the impeller rotation, improving the efficiency of water energy to electrical energy conversion. In existing technologies, the efficiency of impellers converting water energy is below 5%, while the conversion efficiency of the rotor in this invention can reach 10-15%. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 is a structural diagram of a miniature hydroelectric generator according to the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of a miniature hydroelectric generator according to the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the impeller chamber of a micro hydroelectric generator according to the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the rotor of a micro hydroelectric generator according to the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the rotor structure of a micro hydroelectric generator according to the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention

[0025] To clearly illustrate the technical features of this solution, the invention will be described in detail below through specific implementation methods and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0026] Many specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a full understanding of this application. However, this application may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0027] Furthermore, it should be understood in the description of this application that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "axial," "radial," and "circumferential," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation on this application. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0028] In this application, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a communication connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application according to the specific circumstances.

[0029] In this application, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the "above" or "below" of the second feature can mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "an embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0030] Example 1

[0031] As shown in Figures 1-5, a micro hydroelectric generator is disclosed. The hydroelectric generator includes an impeller chamber 2 located inside a pipe 1 and a generator set located on one side of the impeller chamber 2. The generator set includes a housing 4, a stator and a rotor 5 located inside the housing 4. The rotor 5 includes an impeller 6 and a rotating shaft 7 located at the center of the impeller 6. One end of the impeller 6 is provided with a permanent magnet 8, and the other end is provided with a blade 9. One end of the permanent magnet 8 is correspondingly arranged with the stator, and the blade end is located inside the impeller chamber 2. The blade 9 rotates inside the impeller chamber 2, driving the rotor 5 to rotate. The impeller chamber 2 connects the inlet 10 and the outlet 11 of the pipe 1. The inner wall of the impeller chamber 2 includes two concentric arcs with different radii and a connecting arc 14 connecting the two concentric arcs. The inner wall of the large radius arc 12 of the impeller chamber 2 and the blade 9 form a cavity 15 for accommodating water flow.

[0032] In this embodiment, an impeller chamber 2 is provided inside the pipe 1, and the impeller chamber 2 is connected to the inlet 10 and outlet 11 of the pipe 1. The inner wall of the impeller chamber 2 is composed of two concentric circular arcs with different radii and a connecting arc 14 connecting the two concentric circular arcs. The two concentric circular arcs are a large radius arc 12 and a small radius arc 13, respectively.

[0033] To achieve self-generation, water is sprayed into the impeller chamber 2 from the inlet 10 and impacts the blades 9. The blades 9 rotate under the action of the water flow and drive the rotor 5 to rotate. After impacting the blades 9, part of the water flows out from the outlet 10, while the other part enters the impeller chamber 2 due to the presence of the cavity 15 and automatically forms a vortex flow.

[0034] Because the impeller chamber 2 is irregularly shaped and its inner wall is curved, when external water flows into the impeller chamber 2 from the inlet 10, multiple blades 9 form a blade assembly. A portion of the water flowing after impacting the rotating blade assembly will be discharged from the outlet 11. Due to the presence of the cavity 15, which has a large space and low water pressure, another portion of the water will flow along the inner wall of the impeller chamber 2 in a rotating manner, entering the cavity. As external water continues to flow in, it pushes the original water flow within the cavity 15 to continue rotating, forming a vortex flow. The vortex flow transfers energy to the blade assembly, reduces its velocity, enters the middle of the blade assembly, and then flows out from between the blades near the outlet 11. This process increases the rotational force transferred to the blade assembly, thereby greatly improving the utilization efficiency of the water kinetic energy, increasing the rotational speed of the rotor 5, and ultimately increasing the power generation capacity. This is particularly suitable for applications involving small-scale water flow in small pipes for self-generation.

[0035] One end of the permanent magnet 8 is positioned corresponding to the stator, so that when the permanent magnet 8 rotates, the movement cutting magnetic field lines is stronger.

[0036] By designing the impeller chamber 2, which serves as the generating chamber for water flow to impact and rotate the blades 9, the water flow within the impeller chamber 2 only impacts the blades 9 located within it, thus reducing the kinetic energy loss caused by water flow impacting other parts of the rotor 5. Simultaneously, the impeller chamber 2 is designed with an irregular shape, creating a vortex flow within it. The water flow injected into the impeller chamber 2 from the inlet 10 performs work on the blades 9, the water flow discharged from the outlet 11 also performs work on the blades 9, and the water flow exiting from the cavity 15 also performs work on the blades 9. By incorporating the impeller chamber 2, the number of times the water flow impacts the blades 9 during its flow is increased, thereby fully utilizing the kinetic energy of the water and converting it into electrical energy, thus improving power generation efficiency.

[0037] Specifically, the water outlet 11 is arranged parallel to the water inlet 10, which facilitates the formation and flow of vortex water flow. When the water in the impeller chamber 2 flows out of the water outlet 11, it can increase the driving force transmitted by the water flow at the water outlet 11 to the blades 9, and further increase the rotational speed of the rotor 5.

[0038] Example 2

[0039] A micro hydroelectric generator is disclosed. The hydroelectric generator includes an impeller chamber 2 disposed in a pipe 1 and a generator set disposed on one side of the impeller chamber 2. The generator set includes a housing 4, a stator and a rotor 5 disposed in the housing 4. The rotor 5 includes an impeller 6 and a rotating shaft 7 disposed at the center of the impeller 6. One end of the impeller 6 is provided with a permanent magnet 8 and the other end is provided with a blade 9. One end of the permanent magnet 8 is correspondingly disposed with the stator. The blade end is disposed in the impeller chamber 2. The blade 9 rotates in the impeller chamber 2 and drives the rotor 5 to rotate. The impeller chamber 2 is connected to the inlet 10 and the outlet 11 of the pipe 1. The inner wall of the impeller chamber 2 includes two concentric arcs with different radii and a connecting arc 14 connecting the two concentric arcs. The inner wall of the large radius arc 12 of the impeller chamber 2 and the blade 9 form a cavity 15 for accommodating water flow.

[0040] The difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is that the impeller 6 can be designed as a hollow impeller, with an impeller base 16 and an impeller cover 17 respectively provided at both ends. Blades 9 are disposed between the hollow impeller and the impeller base 16. Specifically, the blades 9 are evenly distributed around the circumference of the hollow impeller along its axial direction. The blades 9 are spaced apart along the circumferential direction of the hollow impeller to form a circle, and the center of the circle formed by the blades constitutes a circular cavity.

[0041] The impeller cover 17 is used to fix the permanent magnet 8 connected to the hollow impeller, ensuring the stability of the connection between the permanent magnet 8 and the hollow impeller.

[0042] To facilitate the rotation of the hollow impeller, bearings 18 adapted to the rotating shaft 7 can be provided on the impeller base 16 and the impeller cover 17.

[0043] Example 3

[0044] A micro hydroelectric generator is disclosed. The hydroelectric generator includes an impeller chamber 2 disposed in a pipe 1 and a generator set disposed on one side of the impeller chamber 2. The generator set includes a housing 4, a stator and a rotor 5 disposed in the housing 4. The rotor 5 includes an impeller 6 and a rotating shaft 7 disposed at the center of the impeller 6. One end of the impeller 6 is provided with a permanent magnet 8 and the other end is provided with a blade 9. One end of the permanent magnet 8 is correspondingly disposed with the stator. The blade end is disposed in the impeller chamber 2. The blade 9 rotates in the impeller chamber 2 and drives the rotor 5 to rotate. The impeller chamber 2 is connected to the inlet 10 and the outlet 11 of the pipe 1. The inner wall of the impeller chamber 2 includes two concentric arcs with different radii and a connecting arc 14 connecting the two concentric arcs. The inner wall of the large radius arc 12 of the impeller chamber 2 and the blade 9 form a cavity 15 for accommodating water flow.

[0045] The difference between this embodiment and the previous embodiment is that, in order to further improve the force exerted by the water flow on the blades 9, the blades 9 are baffles with a curved arc. The circumferentially distributed blades 9 are designed as baffles with a certain curved arc, the curvature of which is calculated through fluid simulation. The height of the narrow slit nozzle is equal to the height of the blades. The circular center formed by multiple blades 9 constitutes a circular cavity, which is hollow, thereby effectively converting the energy of the water flow into the mechanical energy of the impeller 6 rotation, improving the efficiency of water energy to electrical energy conversion. In the prior art, the efficiency of impeller conversion of water energy is below 5%, while the conversion efficiency of the rotor in this invention can reach 10-15%.

[0046] To increase the flow velocity of the water entering the impeller chamber 2, the flow channel of the inlet 10 gradually narrows from a circular shape to a narrow slit nozzle. Specifically, the height of the narrow slit nozzle is the same as that of the blade 9, and the flow channel of the outlet 11 gradually changes from a flat rectangular outlet to a circular outlet.

[0047] When water flows into the impeller chamber 2 from the inlet 10, it passes through a narrow slit nozzle that gradually narrows. The water is accelerated by the slit and then sprayed onto the blades 9, driving the rotor 5 to rotate. The water jet from the narrow slit nozzle is shaped to be the same height as the blades 9, so that it can be evenly sprayed onto the entire water-facing surface of the blades 9, maximizing the force-bearing area of ​​the water-facing surface of the blades 9, while avoiding localized stress on the blades 9 and reducing their lifespan. The water jet automatically forms a vortex flow in the impeller chamber 2. The vortex flow acts on the blades 9 to further accelerate the rotation of the rotor 5. After the vortex flow transfers some water energy, the vortex radius decreases and enters the circular cavity in the middle of the blade assembly. It is then pushed by the subsequent water flow to impact the blades 9 again, causing them to rotate and do work before flowing out from the outlet 11. Therefore, the shaped jet of water impacts the blade 9, doing work for the first time. Then, the vortex flow forms and does work on the blade 9 again. Finally, the outflow does work on the blade 9 a third time. In one flow process, the water flow does work on the blade 9 three times, fully transferring the kinetic energy of the water flow to the hollow impeller, driving the rotor to rotate at high speed, and greatly improving the efficiency of water energy utilization. By increasing the rotor speed, the power generation capacity is ultimately increased.

[0048] In this embodiment, the inlet 10 is located on the small radius arc 13, and the outlet 11 is located between the small radius arc 13 and the large radius arc 12; the rotor 5 is concentrically arranged with the two arcs.

[0049] Meanwhile, to facilitate the installation of the rotor 5, a cover can be provided on the housing 4 to seal the housing 4. The stator can be installed on the cover 4. The cover and the housing 4 can be fixedly connected by threads or bolts. After the rotor is installed, the threads or bolts are tightened to fix the cover to the housing 4, thereby achieving a seal on the housing.

[0050] To prevent water leakage from housing 4, a waterproof sealing ring can be installed between the housing cover and housing 4. The housing cover has lead holes through which the stator leads pass to connect to external power-consuming devices or batteries. Specifically, the stator lead connectors are equipped with waterproof lead connectors.

[0051] Obviously, the embodiments described above are merely examples for clearly illustrating the present invention, and are not intended to limit the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other variations or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is neither necessary nor possible to exhaustively describe all possible implementations. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A micro hydroelectric generator characterized by, The hydroelectric generator includes an impeller chamber located inside a pipeline and a generator set located on one side of the impeller chamber. The generator set includes a housing, a stator and a rotor located inside the housing. The rotor includes an impeller and a rotating shaft located at the center of the impeller. One end of the impeller is provided with a permanent magnet, and the other end is provided with blades. One end of the permanent magnet is correspondingly arranged with the stator. The blade ends are located inside the impeller chamber. The blades rotate in the impeller chamber, driving the rotor to rotate. The impeller chamber connects the inlet and outlet of the pipeline. The inner wall of the impeller chamber includes two concentric arcs with different radii and a connecting arc connecting the two concentric arcs. The inner wall of the large-radius arc of the impeller chamber and the blades form a cavity for accommodating water flow.

2. A micro hydroelectric generator according to claim 1, characterised in that, The inlet and outlet are arranged in parallel.

3. A micro hydroelectric generator according to claim 1, wherein, The impeller is a hollow impeller, and an impeller base and an impeller cover are respectively provided at both ends of the hollow impeller; the blades are evenly arranged on the circumference of the hollow impeller along its axial direction, and the blades are located between the impeller base and the hollow impeller.

4. A micro hydroelectric generator according to claim 2, wherein, The inlet is located below the outlet.

5. A micro hydroelectric generator according to claim 3, wherein, The blade is a baffle with a curved arc.

6. A micro hydroelectric generator according to claim 3, wherein, The blades are arranged in a circular pattern along the axial circumferential direction of the hollow impeller, and the center of the circle formed by the blades constitutes a circular cavity.

7. A micro hydroelectric generator according to claim 1, wherein, A waterproof sealing ring is also provided between the cover and the shell.

8. A micro hydroelectric generator according to claim 1, wherein, The inlet channel gradually narrows from a circular shape to a narrow slit nozzle; the outlet channel gradually changes from a flat rectangular outlet to a circular outlet.

9. A micro hydroelectric generator according to claim 1, wherein, The water inlet is located on the small radius arc, and the water outlet is located between the small radius arc and the large radius arc; the rotor is concentrically arranged with the two arcs.

10. A micro hydroelectric generator according to claim 9, characterised in that, The housing is provided with a cover, and the cover is provided with a lead hole.

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