Celebrity Inventors
Glam girl Heddy Lamar may have used her good looks to good effect on the silver screen, but she put her smarts to better use as an inventor. During World War II, she co-patented a frequency-switching system for torpedo guidance that was considered years ahead of its time.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8430634 | System and method for improving wind turbine efficiency by adjusting blade pitch in response to localized wind speed A wind turbine for generating electrical power, the turbine having a rotor assembly comprising a hub, a rim and a plurality of blade members extending between the hub and rim, and at least two anemometers mounted at stationary locations relative to the rotor assembl... | 04/30/2013 |
| 8360724 | Horizontal axis wind turbine To provide a horizontal axis wind turbine capable of reducing flutter, and by extension, reducing the load on the wind turbine, without controlling the yaw, regardless of the direction of the wind relative to the nacelle. When the wind speed is above a specific valu... | 01/29/2013 |
| 8317471 | Method for preventing rotor overspeed of a wind turbine A method for preventing a possible overspeed of a wind turbine rotor with at least one rotor blade is provided. The method includes detecting a yaw misalignment of the rotor, and imposing a restriction on changes of a pitch angle towards a feathered position of the ... | 11/27/2012 |
| 8113777 | Ultralight airfoils for wind energy conversion A device is described for generating energy. The device includes at least two ultralight airfoils rotating along their own axis, which functionally reproduce the characteristics of a propeller. The ultralight airfoils which characterize such aerodynamic configuratio... | 02/14/2012 |
| 8002524 | Wind turbine aerodynamic separation control The present application provides a wind turbine system. The wind turbine system may include a number of blades, a number of wind speed sensors positioned on the blades, a controller in communication with the wind speed sensors, and one or more performance adjustment... | 08/23/2011 |
| 7789624 | Methods and devices for improving efficiency of wind turbines in low speed sites The present invention is for an apparatus and method for a passive pitchable device for wind turbines comprising: a camshaft having cam grooves engraved; a cylindrical shell; an axial compression spring; said blade assembly and said cylindrical shell are fastened to... | 09/07/2010 |
| 7322794 | Method and apparatus for condition-based monitoring of wind turbine components Condition-based monitoring functionality using sensors that monitor wind turbine component movement. A main shaft flange displacement sensor system can be used to provide signals used to perform fatigue assessment of the wind turbine rotor blades as well as drive tr... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7305895 | Bernoulli mushroom inlet housing for efficient air sampling A collection apparatus is provided for receiving a portion of a medium that flows around the apparatus and directing the portion into a collector. The apparatus includes an axisymmetric streamline receiver and a support member. The streamline receiver includes a cha... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7293959 | Wind turbine blade with lift-regulating means Wind turbine blade (10) including adjustable lift-regulating means (12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21) arranged on or at the surface of the wind turbine blade (10), said lift-regulating means being provided with activating means by means of which they can ... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7281891 | Wind turbine control having a lidar wind speed measurement apparatus A wind turbine is provided having a lidar wind speed measurement apparatus for achieving wind control. The lidar apparatus is arranged to scan the area in front of the wind turbine so as to generate a measurement of the wind speed across the wind field. The lidar ap... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7258527 | Vertical axis wind engine The present invention is to provide a vertical axis wind engine comprising at least one arm each having its center rotatably coupled to a vertical axis mounted on a base on the ground, each pair of the upper and lower arms adapted to define an airfoil receiving spac... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7256512 | Variable aperture velocity augmented ducted fan wind turbine A wind powered variable area exit aperture electric generating system having configurable, adjustable duct side walls by which means the ratio between the intake cross-sectional aperture area and the exhaust cross-sectional aperture area may be varied for maximum ai... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7244100 | Horizontal axis wind turbine and method for controlling horizontal axis wind turbine A horizontal axis wind turbine of an upwind type includes: a rotor for rotating around a rotor axis extending in a horizontal direction, the rotor being turned in a horizontal plane according to a wind direction; a nacelle having a symmetrical shape with respect to ... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7241105 | Watercraft with vertically collapsible vertical axis wind turbine and propeller flexible drive shaft A vertically collapsible vertical axis wind turbine may be used on land, or on a watercraft (e.g. a multihull such as a catamaran). The turbine may include a substantially vertical shaft; at least two vane supports mounted by the shaft; and at least two vertically c... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7218013 | Wind powered generator A wind powered electrical generation assembly having a portable wind powered generator tower for supporting a wind powered generator allowing the wind powered generator to be raised, lowered, and removed from the tower. The wind powered electrical generation assembl... | 05/15/2007 |
| 7204674 | Rotor blade for a wind power installation A rotor for a wind power installation having at least one rotor blade. The smaller the surface area on which the wind acts, that is to say in particular the rotor blade area, the correspondingly lower is the load level for which installation has to be designed and t... | 04/17/2007 |
| 7204673 | Method of controlling a wind power installation A method for controlling a wind power installation at very high wind speeds, in which there is predetermined a first wind speed at which the rotor blades of the wind power installation are put into a first predetermined setting. In addition, the method includes cont... | 04/17/2007 |
| 7175389 | Methods and apparatus for reducing peak wind turbine loads A method for reducing peak loads of wind turbines in a changing wind environment includes measuring or estimating an instantaneous wind speed and direction at the wind turbine and determining a yaw error of the wind turbine relative to the measured instantaneous win... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7143983 | Passive jet spoiler for yaw control of an aircraft A wing for an aircraft has a passive jet spoiler for providing yaw control by increasing drag on the wing. The spoiler comprises an inlet located near the leading edge of a lower surface of the wing and at least one outlet formed on the lower surface or on an upper ... | 12/05/2006 |
| 7131812 | Sky turbine that is mounted on a city A sky turbine, having impeller blades with a plurality of panels that can telescope inward and outward. The pitch of the panels can be adjusted, and the pitch of each panel on a blade, passing from the innermost panel to the outermost panel, differs from the pitch o... | 11/07/2006 |
| 7121795 | Method and apparatus for reducing rotor blade deflections, loads, and/or peak rotational speed A method for reducing at least one of loads, deflections of rotor blades, or peak rotational speed of a wind turbine includes storing recent historical pitch related data, wind related data, or both. The stored recent historical data is analyzed to determine at leas... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7118338 | Methods and apparatus for twist bend coupled (TCB) wind turbine blades A method for controlling a wind turbine having twist bend coupled rotor blades on a rotor mechanically coupled to a generator includes determining a speed of a rotor blade tip of the wind turbine, measuring a current twist distribution and current blade loading, and... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7118341 | Self adjusting sail vertical shaft windmill A vertical shaft is provided and supported whereupon are mounted sails that can so self adjust as to interact with the wind in such a way as to power a windmill as well as relieve themselves from winds that are too severe while maintaining continuous operation. ... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7111521 | Sampling system for moving fluid A system for sampling a moving fluid utilizes a housing in the shape of an airfoil having a leading edge adapted to be disposed in the moving fluid such that the moving fluid will initially encounter the leading edge. A fluid flow pathway extends through the airfoil... | 09/26/2006 |
| 7100438 | Method and apparatus for determining a site for an offshore wind turbine A method for determining a site for an offshore wind turbine includes determining a plurality of possible site locations, and positioning an offshore assembly at at least one of the possible site locations, wherein the assembly includes a floating support structure,... | 09/05/2006 |
| 7086835 | Horizontal axis wind turbine and method for controlling horizontal axis wind turbine A horizontal axis wind turbine includes: a yaw sensor; a rotor rotating around a rotor axis extending in a substantially horizontal direction, the rotor axis rotating in a substantially horizontal plane depending on wind direction; a plate-like member disposed on a ... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7059833 | Method for improvement of the efficiency of a wind turbine rotor A method for the improvement of wind turbine rotor efficiency blades of a wind turbine rotor with serrated trailing edges each having a plurality of span-wise, periodic indentations, in the form of saw teeth having approximately 60 degrees included angles between ad... | 06/13/2006 |
| 7044713 | Wind power generator with multiple rotary wings A wind power generating apparatus having a plurality of rotary wings can reduce the load and resistance on the rotary wings due to wind to obtain a highly effective rotation power as well as to flexibly absorb the impact applied to the rotary wings due to varying wi... | 05/16/2006 |
| 7042110 | Variable speed distributed drive train wind turbine system A variable speed wind turbine employing a rotor connected to a multiplicity of synchronous generators with wound field or permanent magnet rotors. A passive rectifier and an inverter are used for power transfer back to the grid. A Turbine Control Unit (TCU) commands... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7025567 | Early-warning system for wind power installations The claimed and disclosed systems and methods are directed to providing measures and possible ways of protecting a wind power installation in a wind park from wind conditions that may potentially cause damage or even result in the failure of at least one of the wind... | 04/11/2006 |
| 6984110 | Windmill blade and apparatus for generating power using the blade Disclosed is a wind power generating apparatus in which windmill blades are mounted in a multi-stage fashion to a rotating shaft while being spaced apart from one another to efficiently generate wind power. Each windmill blade includes blade bodies mounted to the ro... | 01/10/2006 |
| 6962478 | Vertical axis windmill A vertical axis windmill has an immovable, hollow circumferential frame having a plurality of peripheral openings, and rotatable turbine arranged inside the frame and connectable to a generator of electric energy, the turbine having a plurality of vanes each having ... | 11/08/2005 |
| 6910873 | Self regulating rotor A machine that is a self regulating rotor with a set of cups or vanes that are pivotally attached about a central axis such that they form a closed three dimensional shape when closed, and when rotated into an open orientation form an S-shaped rotor, when viewed as ... | 06/28/2005 |
| 6890152 | Deicing device for wind turbine blades Methods and Apparatuses for deicing a wind turbine blade are described herein. In one embodiment, an exemplary process includes detecting an icy condition on a wind turbine blade and causing at least a portion of the wind turbine blade to vibrate, causing the ice bu... | 05/10/2005 |
| 6857846 | Stackable vertical axis windmill A stackable, vertical axis windmill comprised of a braced external frame that enables stacking of multiple windmill assemblies. Couplings are located on both ends of the vertical rotor shaft to enable stacking and the transmission of power, an internal wind flow cav... | 02/22/2005 |
| 6769873 | Dynamically reconfigurable wind turbine blade assembly A dynamically reconfigurable wind turbine blade assembly includes a plurality of reconfigurable blades mounted on a hub, an actuator fixed to each of the blades and adapted to effect the reconfiguration thereof, and an actuator power regulator for regulating electri... | 08/03/2004 |
| 6749399 | Vertical array wind turbine A wind turbine with an array of rotors arranged at various heights. Each rotor is optimized for the height at which it is located. Optimization of each rotor could include selection of rated power, solidity, tip speed, blade twist, blade taper, or rotor diameter. Ea... | 06/15/2004 |
| 6402472 | Sail-type windmill wheel A sail-type windmill wheel is provided in which the area of the wheel facing into the wind is adjusted by an automatic variation of the blade angle of the sails. The wind wheel comprises a hub (22) with a plurality of radially extending spars (18), substa... | 06/11/2002 |
| 5599168 | Wind turbine adaptable to wind direction and velocity A wind turbine apparatus having a frame assembly consisting of a hub and an outer rim interconnected by a series of spokes. Several wind vanes are rotatably secured within the frame assembly so as to extend from the hub radially outwardly around the frame... | 02/04/1997 |
| 5584655 | Rotor device and control for wind turbine A wine turbine with blades having a high lift-to-drag ratio is provided. A hydraulic or other control system is used to control cone angle, such as in response to flap moment. Pitch of blades is controlled, such as in relation to the blade flap angle. Tee... | 12/17/1996 |
