Compact Wind Generator Gear Train for Small Device Power
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wind-powered generators are often large and inconvenient for powering small electronic devices, particularly in off-grid areas or during power outages, as they lack a portable and efficient solution for generating electricity for small devices like flashlights, mobile phones, and fans.
Innovation Solution
A compact wind-powered generator assembly featuring an aerodynamic housing, a gear train with a spring pawl mechanism, and a rotor with blades that converts wind kinetic energy into electricity, suitable for powering small devices such as light sources, fans, and mobile phones, with an integrated rechargeable battery for energy storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a wind-powered generator is designed to be compact and portable, then it becomes suitable for powering small electronic devices in off-grid areas, but the power generation capacity may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The wind-powered generator is divided into separate functional modules: a wind turbine assembly with blades, a gear train system with multiple gears, an electrical generator, and a housing. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining overall compactness, enabling the device to be portable yet sufficiently powerful for small electronic devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested structure where the gear train is housed within the electrical generator housing, and the entire assembly is contained within an outer housing. The rotor is nested within the stator, and the shaft passes through multiple components. This nesting maximizes space utilization, allowing adequate power generation capacity within a compact portable form factor.
2Power
If the gear train includes multiple transfer gears to increase mechanical advantage, then the power transmission efficiency is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple gear functions into a single integrated gear train assembly. The first gear is directly coupled to the rotor shaft, the second gear meshes with the first gear, and the third gear meshes with the second gear, creating a compact multi-stage transmission system. This merging of functions into a unified structure achieves high power transmission efficiency while minimizing the number of separate components and assembly steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The gear train is arranged in a three-dimensional configuration rather than a linear sequence. Gears are positioned at different radial and axial locations, with the first gear near the rotor, the second gear at an intermediate position, and the third gear closer to the generator output. This spatial arrangement reduces the overall length of the gear train while maintaining multiple stages of mechanical advantage.
3Productivity
If the housing is designed to be aerodynamic to minimize wind interference, then the wind flow efficiency is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is designed with a streamlined, curved aerodynamic shape that reduces wind resistance and directs airflow efficiently toward the turbine blades. The curved surfaces are formed using standard molding techniques, avoiding complex multi-piece assemblies. This curvature optimization improves wind energy capture efficiency while remaining compatible with conventional manufacturing processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing serves multiple functions: it provides aerodynamic streamlining for efficient wind capture, houses and protects the gear train and generator components, and acts as a mounting structure for the turbine blades. By integrating these multiple functions into a single component, the design achieves high wind energy efficiency without proportionally increasing manufacturing complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a portable, efficient, and reliable means to generate electricity for small electronic devices using wind energy, minimizing interference with the wind flow and allowing for the simultaneous powering of multiple devices, such as lights and fans, in off-grid situations.
Implementation Method 1
Wind-powered generators convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical energy
Implementation Method 2
mechanical energy, which is then converted into electricity
Data Source
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Figure 3
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AI summary
The invention provides a wind-powered generator assembly for powering relatively small electronic devices. The wind-powered electrical assembly comprises an electrical device and electrical generator. The electrical generator can be electrically connected to the electrical device. The electrical generator is operable to provide an electric current to the electrical device to operate the electrical device. The electrical generator has a rotor. The electrical assembly further comprises a wind-powered actuator assembly configured to rotate when subject to an operating wind and a gear train arranged with the electrical generator for operating the electrical generator. The gear train can include a plurality of gears wherein a first gear can be operably arranged with a spring assembly. A second gear of the gear train can be operably arranged with the wind-powered actuator assembly and a third gear can be mounted to the rotor of the electrical generator.