First aspect

According to a first aspect of the present invention the invention relates to improvements for a so-called Darius wind turbine, a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT)

This inventions makes a Darius wind turbine more efficient and less vulnerable.

In a prior art turbine of this kind you find that in hard winds the wings will bend and thus altering the aerodynamic shape of the wing making it less efficient.

This new type of turbine has improved features that lead to a stronger and more reliable turbine that do not suffer from the fact that the turbine blades are crumbled in hard winds.

Figs. 1 a - f schematically shows one embodiment of a turbine arrangement according to the present invention, wherein Fig. 1 a-c shows a top view of a turbine, a side view of the turbine mounted on a mast and a top view of a bottom plate, respectively;

Fig. 1 d schematically shows a section of the mounting, showing bearings for the turbine and rotor on the tower;

Fig. 1 e shows details 1 and 2 of fig.1 d on a magnified scale, showing bearings, tower and turbine; and Fig. 1 f schematically shows one embodiment of a wing in cross-section.

The attached drawings show a turbine 100, the improved turbine comprising two extra rings 111 ,112, one 111 in the top and one 112 in the bottom, the number of turbine blades115 being irrelevant and also the orientation of the blades. However the effi- ciency becomes higher if the turbine blades are angled at 15 degrees. Each blade is then connected to the ring up on top and on the bottom. The blades can be both straight and leaning about 10 - 23°preferablt about 15 - 18° Said rings are mounted to a tower or mast 150 with preferably three straight axel holders 151 each regardless of the amount of blades in the turbine, each blade being connected to the upper or lower rings, each ring has three straight axis A holders that then are connected in two points 160,170 on the tower. The positive in this is that we have no axis holders disrupting the airflow within the turbine and that each blade has a drive around almost the complete circle.

The rings are like aircraft wings in cut, cross-section, fig. 1a, and the drag from the wings is directed upwards on the top ring and downwards on the bottom ring. The stronger the wind the stronger the powers that work in the pulling of the rings holding them apart and thus straighten the turbine blades, thus maintaining their aerodynamic efficiency. This allows the wind turbine to work in stronger winds than previously.

The rings also have the same effect as wing lets on a modern aircraft whereas the ring contains the air over the turbine blades thus making better use of the air that flows around the turbine blades.

According to preferred embodiments the rings will be fairly thick in order to be able to also house small constructions in which the wings are fastened and also leave the turbine blades to have a more optimal attack angle during at least ³ A of the circle. The turbine blades are fitted with a tap in each end that is then connected to the ring allowing it move freely to a certain extent. However there are restraints on both sides in order to contain an optimal movement. The wind itself will guide the turbine blades to the optimal attack angle. This also frees the wing enough not to affect the turbine blades unfavorable while in the far most position from the wind.

This invention will increase the efficiency of the wind turbine significantly.

Second aspect

According to a second aspect of the present invention the present invention provides an improvement for power transmission for a wind turbine or similar installations. In, for example, a wind turbine, the power from the turbine is transmitted to a generator, situated in the same casing as the turbine itself, by using a gear box to a generator where the actual production of electricity is taking place. It can also be done by using a long axle rod from the top to the bottom, ground, where the generator in that case would be situated. In any case it is a lot of mass to be moved.

This invention gives another alternative for transmitting the power to the generator from the wind turbine in order to make it more efficient especially in places where a large number of smaller wind turbines are to work together.

One embodiment according to the present invention is schematically shown in fig. 2 a and b, wherein

Fig. 2a shows a wind turbine arrangement in a side view; and Fig. 2b shows the arrangement of fig. 2a seen from above in fig. 2a.

In the top of a tower 220, supporting the turbine 200, a hydraulic pump 221 and a holding tank 222 for hydraulic fluid are mounted. A power hose 225 is drawn inside the tower of the wind turbine. The pump is driven directly or via a coupling device e.g. a centrifugal coupling. The pump has one low pressure area, from the holding tank and one high pressure area connected to the hose.

Now it is possible to mount a generator 230 in the bottom of the tower which has many advantages. The generator is driven of another pump working in reverse, it has one high pressure area connected from the tower and one low pressure area connected to the holding tank.

The hydraulic power can also be moved to another location with the help of another pump instead of a generator and another closed circuit of hydraulic power. Now this power can be used at a central location in order to drive a generator.

The optimal placement of a generator or whatever the device is going to power, is at the bottom of the tower and connected to the first power device. This invention will make it possible to obtain a more optimal placement of the wind turbines and to make the distribution of power more efficient.

The invention can also be used in hydroelectric power plants and other similar installations.

Third aspect

According to a third aspect of the present invention the invention relates to a mast or tower mounting device.

To mount a mast like for example a tower for a wind turbine this is today achieved by providing a concrete base and bolts connected directly in the concrete.

One embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown in fig. 3 a and b, wherein

Fig. 3a schematically shows a mast mounting arrangement in cross-section; and Fig. 3b shows a cross-section A- A according to fig. 3a.

The new way of mounting a mast or tower 300 comprises to provide a concrete base 310 on which you put the device according to the present invention this having anchored grids 311 from a steel-plate 312, which are buried in the concrete leaving the steel plate and the built in bolts visible .

The mast or tower is fitted with the special stocking 313, conical if necessary, having a bottom steel plate 314 , and the mast stocking is fitted to the steel plate 312 with a rubber damper 315 between the two plates of steel.

The special stocking will make the tower or mast more durable and able to withstand higher forces as well as distributing less of the vibrations that are caused by the movements in for example a wind turbine, thus making the wind turbine itself more durable due to less vibrate stress.

The device according to the present invention comprises the two steel plates, prefer- ably of pressed high grade steel, with the anchor points 311 , grids, also high grade steel securely welded into the bottom steel plate with its round (adapted size to the stocking) high part of the steel plate that will fit into the stocking. Bolts 320 are adapted directly to the number of holes and size of what is found on the original tower or mast.

The arrangement according to the invention will provide the following achievements:

1. The mast or tower will not be directly connected to the base, which maybe on a building or other structure. 2. Vibrations cause by a flag of a wind turbine will dissipate in the rubber between the steel plates.

3. The construction will make the mast or tower more durable and much stronger especially in the vulnerable base.

4. You can spread affecting power in a better way to a bigger surface thus making the product less vulnerable.

These advantages will make the product very usable for e.g. wind turbines, making them less vulnerable for weather forces and also achieving less vibrations to its surroundings, thus making the life span of any mast or tower considerably longer. It can be used for all types of masts and towers where vibrations can be a problem but also in general use in order to get a better life span.

Fourth aspect

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention the present invention relates to new type of generator in electric power production, thus making e.g. wind and hydroelectric power plants more efficient. Today the over all most popular use of generator type is the permanently magnetized synchronous generator. Especially the wind power business has exclusively been using this kind of generator. But it has several negative features that make it very limited.

If you instead would be able to use a separately magnetized generator with variable field frequency and magnetizing you would gain several advantages. If you also use a way to control that and the field itself you can easily increase the production on any generator.

The advantages are that in for example a wind turbine, electricity can be produced at a considerably lower wind speed, i.e. lower RPM, but it is also possible to produce electricity in a considerably higher wind speed as well, provided the rest of the material is up for that kind of strain. This means that it would be possible to get around 40 % more energy out of any electricity producing plant.

Today there are some uses of separately magnetized motors and by reversing them they could just as well be used as generators. What has to be added, though, is a better and computerized control of the generator to be able to more efficiently control the magnetic field in order to be able to get the most out of the generator. If you for example use thyristors for the actual control and control them through a computerized central you can adapt both the magnetizing and the field to an optimum both for highest available production of electricity and for the control of the RPM in hard and slow winds to optimize the production for any given moment.

Originally this was an idea for making wind turbines more efficient but it is also possible to use in hydro electric plants to make old plants more efficient and to make new as efficient as technically possible today.

The negative part is that it requires a start up current from a battery, but when production is running the produced current, actually a very small part of it, is used for the control functions. Fifth aspect

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention a plant is provided for producing electrical power in densely used and slow flowing rivers and small streams.

This invention makes it possible to produce electricity in both rivers used for dense traffic and slow moving rivers and small streams.

A problem for many countries where they have a heavy river traffic and only slow moving rivers is that it is difficult to produce hydro electric power there, because building a power plant will disrupt the traffic and that means building o ^' locks and that will all be very costly.

One embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown in fig.4 a - c, wherein

Fig. 4a schematically shows a hydro electric power production arrangement to be immersed in streaming water seen in a side view across the direction of the stream; Fig. 4b shows a principle configuration of an electrical power generation unit of the arrangement according to fig. 4a; and

Fig. 4c schematically shows the unit according to fig. 4a arranged in a stream of water and seen in the direction of the stream.

The arrangement 400 comprises a casing 410 having a round cross-section. Within the casing a propeller 415 or turbine 415 is provided in an upstream portion 416 of the casing, The propeller/turbine is protected by e.g. a flow through net like cone 417 fitted in the casing up-stream of the propeller/turbine. The turbine can also be mul- tiple turbine rings drives. The propeller/turbine is part of and supported by an electrical power generation unit 420 having a water tight housing 421 , which is preferably very streamlined and houses a permanently magnetized asynchronous generator 422. The electricity produced by said unit is lead out of the casing through a water tight opening 423 and then lead to a rectifier that makes the current into DC and then lead through an inverter that adjusts the outgoing current in to the correct frequency and voltage. The electrical processing of the produced electrical power is designated by a box 425.

The casing is streamlined made and the shape of the inside 424 will increase the speed of the water and the pressure difference, with a lower pressure in the downstream end, will force the water through the turbine. It will not use all water and the main principle is the pressure difference by the both ends. It will not disrupt the water flow and it is possible to install several both beside each other and after each other only by thinking of one meter between them when mounted in line.

In a river for example a possible size would be a diameter of about 1 ,5 m and, depending on the width of the river, x number of turbines side by side all mounted on a concrete foundation with a deflection device for bigger objects in the water that will protect the turbine. All of these turbines are then lead into one single point of control on the river bank.

The turbine is completely sinkable but can also be used in tubes and closed con- finements such as streams through a water mill.

In the event that there is a small stream with fairly steady flow of water it is easy to put several smaller turbines there in order to produce electricity without disturbing the nature too much.

The effect in a river for example where you can make in series several generators and be able to produce large amounts of electricity. As for smaller projects it is a way to combine wind and stream power in order to be self sufficient in energy.

The power is concentrated by one current carrying cable and one common ground. The combined power is diverted to a central on the side of the river where the currents and frequencies are controlled and adapted to whatever current or frequency is asked for in the grid it is connected to. In this unit there is a web interface to control the computerized inverter and smart grid that will control all units in the chain and also have alternatives if there are failures.

Sixth aspect

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the present invention relates to a grid, a network, which makes it possible for, e.g., a wind turbine to produce local electricity to a private owner while the grid is down or for rerouting purposes on main line grids.

In order to explain this invention it is necessary to use an example where the technique is somewhat less complicated than in big main line grid rerouting issues. Therefore it has been chosen to describe the invention with the help of a small industry running one wind turbine that is connected to the grid and then taking power from the grid the regular way, he pay for current he uses and get paid for the current he deliveries. It can just as easily but with more powerful equipment be used for the same purpose in main line rerouting issues.

Sometimes the grid goes down and that can be very many reasons for that, the grid can be down because of some accident such as a torn or broken wire or the grid can be down for manual service reasons. No matter the cause of the down time it is important that the local windmill do not continue to produce electricity to the grid, nor- mally this will cause the wind turbine to stop completely and thus not giving any power to anybody. As for main line grid this would be a case for rerouting.

One embodiment of a grid arrangement according to the present invention is schematically shown in fig. 5a - d, wherein

Fig. 5a schematically shows one configuration of a grid arrangement according to the present invention; Fig. 5b schematically shows another configuration of a grid arrangement according to the present invention; and

Fig. 5c schematically shows yet another configuration of a grid arrangement according to the present invention, and Fig. 5d schematically shows a SMART grid network providing several levels from local levels to regional levels.

This invention gives a local wind turbine the possibility to continue to produce for the local user without compromising the grid and the grid operator. This has not been possible before.

Outgoing wire 510 feeding the grid 520, is connected into a central box 500 where also incoming wire 511 from hot wire from the wind turbine 515 is connected as well as the local network 516 for the local user, normally receiving electricity from the grid.

In this box 500 there are a number of contactors each one dependent on the other both mechanically and electrically.

Normally, fig 5a, the wind turbine will feed the grid directly after having normalized the current and the frequency and the grip operator is feeding the local customer. The customer/owner of the wind turbine pays for electricity he receives and then get paid from the grid operator for the current produced of the wind turbine.

When the feed from the grid suddenly disappears, fig. 5b, this can have many differ- ent explanations, the grid operator could execute service on the grid or the feed can have been disrupted for some reason such as torn down and grounded wire, the effect is in both cases that the feeding drops to a near zero factor, this causes contactor 1 , feeding the grid, to fall and electrically and mechanically cut the connection between the wind turbine and the grid. At the same moment contactor 2, feeding the local user/customer, will fall making the network there without power.

The wind turbine is now producing electricity to the ground. When the SMART grid box senses that there is no feed from the grid during a longer time than e.g. 3 minutes the box will sense that contactor 1 and 2 is in the OFF position, then the system will change outlets of the transformer from the 420V (or whatever feeding current is used) to the 3 phase of 380V on the transformer. This outlet is directed to contactor 3 and the local wind turbine can now feed the local owner/customer net. , this achieved through contactor 4. Contactor 3 and 4 can ONLY be in ON position if contactor 1 and to is in OFF position.

If the feed would return for a longer period and/or the grid operator so orders the sys- tern can run in reverse with the same rules that apply but in reverse order, Contactor 1 and 2 can ONLY be in ON position if contactor 3 and 4 is in OFF position.

Feeding is now back to normal.

Due to local security rules for reapplying feed from the local wind turbine the delay in any direction is whatever the rules decide.

This SMART grid solution can also be used for Mainline trunk lines for rerouting or diverting purposes, the big difference in that case is that all contactors are bigger and the use of it is different and usually not involving a transformer for other purposes than to adapt the voltage to what it is being used for. Should this involve diverting power to for example a local city grid the voltage would be adapted to whatever voltage is used there. It can also be used for rerouting main line trunk to other lines or to reroute power to other parts of the line should one line fail.

When using the Smart grid in bigger systems the system is much more controllable in terms of more parameters so control via the web interface. The heart in that system are the measuring of falling, steady or rising currents in the grids that are controlled. When for example the current is falling in one grid the system will look for possible causes in the grid and also for possible alternatives to reroute, divert or cut off feeding to a certain grid. The computer controlled contactors are the fingers in this system and the size of each is depending on the grid it being used on. When handling high currents the system will divide the grid into smaller parts that are more controllable by the passing through a transformer. This in order to have more options to apply appropriate action for the grids it controls.

The grid will advice nearest SMART grid on the regular grid about what it is doing, whether this means that it will disconnect itself from the grid or it will add its power to the grid and at the same time advice how much it is sending to the grid.

The SMART grid in the main line grid is more complicated but it has the same working principles but there are more contactors and there is a lot more traffic between the different SMART grids when they report to each other. Each SMART grid will supervise one grid point each, this can be a big mainline relay station or it can be a small and local relay or distribution point.

Each SMART grid will constantly, in real time, control the total load and the specific point and report this to the next SMART grid on line and each SMART grid will confer with each other in order to make the correct decision at a specific time.

For example, a factory that is a big user of electricity is in urgent need of more power, with the SMART grid the factory will just increase its power out take. The closest SMART grid will immediately feel this increase in need of power to a specific point and will divert power to this pint and at the same time ask the next SMART grid in line for more power. If it is impossible to get more power at a specific time that factory will not get extra power until it is possible.

The SMART grid have a computer brain to calculate the decisions, the computer size is dependent on the size of the SMART grid. Further more it controls a number of contactors also these of different sizes dependent on the size of the relay point.

The SMART grid will report all actions to a database that can me monitored, or controlled, from a remote location.