Title of Invention

"MICRO-WIND GENERATOR FOR RURAL LIGHTING"

Abstract

The invention relates to a micro - wind generator for rural lighting comprising a rotor (1) made of bicycle wheel with tyre (3) hub with spoke (4) axle with ball. bearing and mounted on wooden beam (18) , a to bicycle dynamo (2) is operatively connected/the wheel and rim with tyre (3) and a plurality of sticks (6) radially mounted onto the said bicycle wheel and rim with tyre (3) and radially outwardly mounted on the said sticks (6) are blades (5) made of half plastic bucket and triangular sails (7) made of polythene cloth and the entire assembly is mounted onto a |§ole through a bicycle fork (9).

Full Text

The invention relates to a micro—wind generator for rural lighting, particularly to a low cost generator. In India, the use of wind energy for power- generation, is in developing stage. The main factor for lack of wider use of wind generators is the relatively high cost. Unlike the solar-panels for lighting application, which are available? in ml'cro sizes, the wind generators are still at the micro level, for use by a whole village/community. These macro level wind generators;- oeed a lot of capital and thus havenot become popular. Distinguishing features of said invention as compared to the prior art are ss follows a) It uses bicycle parts which can be easily m a i nt ai ne d b y e v e n p eop 1e o f re mo t e village s heving very little technical background. b) Since this design ingeniously uses bicycle parts it is cheap to be within the affordable range of rurs1 peop1e, c) It does not require a tail for changing d i re c t i on. d) This design has a feature to adjust the angle of blades to cater for seasonal variations in wind speed . Thus, the object of the present invention is to propose a micro-wind generator which is simple and less skill required to operate and will be available at low cost and easy availability of parts even in villages. Another object of the present invention is to propose s micro-wind generator which can be produced in knock-down kit and psort able and can be quickly erected by fixing it on a pole held by ropes, Yet another object rf the present invention is to propose a micro-wind generator to be used both in houses as well as for street lighting. A furthe" object of the present invention is to propose a micro-wind generator for charging batteries specially in coastal. 1 areas for night fishing in boats. Yet a further object of the present invention is to propose a micro-wind generator which is easy to maintain even in rural environment. According to the present invention there is provided a micro-wind generator for rural lighting comprising a rotor made of bicycle wheel with tyre, hub with spoke, axle with ball bearing and mounted on wooden beam, a bicycle dynamo to is operatively connected/the wheel and rim with tyre and a plurality of sticks radially mounted on to the said bicycle wheel and rim with tyre and radially outwardly mounted on the said sticks are blades made of half plastic bucket and triangular sails made of polythene cloth and the entire assembly is mounted on to a pole through a bicycle fork. The nature of the invention, its objective and further advantages residing in the same will be apparent from the following description made with reference to non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the invention represented in the accompanying drawings. Fig.1 - shows the assembly of the wind generator with rotor blades and the dynamo. Fig.2 - shows the assembly of the wind generator mounted on bicycle fork. In accordance with the present invention the micro-wind generator comprises of the following main components: i) Rotor ii) System for direction Orientation iii) The support structure iv) The electrical system ROTOR The supporting frame for the rotor blades (5) is provided by a bicycle wheel (3) viz. the rim and hub with spokes (4) and the axle with balls for the bearing. For the blades (5) either of the alternatives listed below can be used. a) Blades (5) can be made from old plastic buckets. The bottom of the bucket are removed and the bucket cut lengthwise into pieces. Small round sticks (4) or PVC conduit pipes are to be tied by G.I. Wire to the hub and rim (4) of the bicycle wheel (3); and the plastic bucket pieces are in turn to be tied to these sticks (6). Plastic bucket pieces form excellent blades as they are not only light, but they also have a very good and smooth profile. For a commercial model moulded plastic blades can be used. b) Woven polythene cloth of the fertilizer bags are used in the form of triangular or trapezoidal sails (7). They are very light and easily available in the villages at a very low cost. DRIVE FOR THE DYNAMO The rotor (1) drives an ordinary 12V or 16V bicycle dynamo (2) which is easily available at a very low cost. The rotor (1) drives the dynamo (2) through the rubber tyre of a bicycle mounted on the rim (4). It is not only difficult but also unnecessary to keep the tyre inflated by filling air inside the tube. Hence, an ingenious method was used to fill the space inside the tyre. Another old bicycle tyre was fitted inside the outside tyre and the space within the inside tyre filled by 2 rows garden hose pipe. The outer tyre can also be an old tyre unfit for bicycle use. At locations where the wind velocities are high the dynamo can be driven directly by the rotor tyre, in which case the dynamo (2) would rotate at 36 times the speed of rotor (1 ). For locations where the wind velocities are low but fairly prevalent for a number of hours during the day, a step-up unit (10) is used. It is made up of a bicycle hub and axle (4), with a small rubber wheel mounted on one end and a children's perambulator wheel on the other end. The smaller rubber wheel is the one used for children's bicycle trainer (support) wheel. The dynamo is then driven by the bigger perambulator wheel. With the introduction of the step-up unit the dynamo rotates at approximately 80 times the rotor speed. For increasing the generating capacity, a car dynamo with belt drive from the bicycle wheel rim can be used. SYSTEM FOR DIRECTION ORIENTATION The rotor axle is fixed to a wooden beam (8) which in turn is fixed to a bicycle fork (9). The bicycle fork (9) assembly as available in the market has ball bearings for smooth rotation about its vertical axis. Unlike a conventional windmill this design does not make use of a tail for orientation, and also the wind flows from back to front of the rotor. The plane of the rotor is away from the vertical axis; so, with a change in the wind direction, the forward thrust component of wind force on the rotor, produces a couple tending to align the rotor in the direction of wind. Further advantage is taken of the design feature of a bicycle fork viz. that the fork is cranked, the plane of the axle is away from the vertical axis. By making use of a slot in the fixing beam, this offset can be so adjusted, that in very high winds, the turning couple due to this offset turns the rotor at an angle to wind direction thus preventing it from overspeeding. This safety feature in a conventional windmill is achieved by the folding tail design. If the feature of direction orientation is to be made more sensitive then a small board/sheet of sheet metal can be attached in the front of rotor to the threaded axle of rotor, by a pipe with a nut welded at its end. SUPPORT STRUCTURE The vertical pipe portion of the fork supporting the rotor can be inserted into a G.I. pipe, which in turn can be fixed on to the outside wall of a house. Alternative arrangements of the support structure can be a) Clamping the fork on to a pole, which in turn can be held firmly by ropes. b) The fork can be clamped on to the pole of the street lamp for which it is providing energy. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM The current/power produced by a dynamo is of alternating nature. Also it is of varying frequency on account of variation in the wind velocities. Such intermittent power inputs of varying nature are not of any direct practical use; hence it is to be stored and used when required. For storage this alternating current is to be converted into d.c. using diodes and then stored in a battery. To increase the amount of charge stored, it is desirable to have a bigger differential voltage between the dynamo and the battery. Therefore, a 6V battery is more suitable. Alternatively, a 12V car battery can be used after getting a terminal moulded on the 3rd cell. Thus, 2 dynamos can be used to charge a 12V battery or each bunch of 3 cells of the battery can be charged on alternate days by a single dynamo using a selector switch. To increase the generation voltage arrangement can be made to connect 2 dnamos in series after full wave rectification of current produced by each of 2 dynamos. A 12V, used car battery, is sufficient for the lighting application. For the lights the user can use the bicycle headlamps. For better illumination of 6W fluorescent lamps can be used which would consume the same amount of power as the bicycle head lamps. Subject matter of the claim constitutes an invention in view of the fo1lowings a) This design ingeniously utilizes parts of bicycle, whereas prior designs have specially designed and m a n u f a c t u r e d (c u s t o m b u i1t) p arts. Th i s design thus makes it cheap to be within the affordable r- a n g e o f rural people. b) This design is novel in the respect that it does not require a tail for changing direction. The distance between the plane of rotor and the vertical axis of orientation clubbed with the force acting on rotor provides the necessary couple for orientation. c) This design is also novel as it does not need a a costly folding tail feature to protect it against overspeeding in case of strong winds. On the other hand it utilises the offset of the bicycle fork to turn it away from the direction of w i n d in case of h ig h w i n d v e 1 oc i t i e s. d) This design is novel in yet another aspect that small micro-wind generators of the prior arts have only fixed blades, whereas this design has a feature to adjust the angle of blades to ester for seasonal variations in wind speeds. The invention described ahereinabove is in relation to is non- limiting embodiment and as defined by the accompanying c1aims. We claim: 1. A micro-wind generator for rural lighting characterised in that a rotor (1) made of bicycle wheel with tyre (3), a hub with spoke (4) , an axle with ball bearing and mounted on wooden beam (8) , a bicycle dynamo (2) is operatively connected to said wheel and rim with said tyre (3) having a plurality of sticks (6) radially mounted onto said bicycle wheel and rim with tyre (3) and radially outwardly mounted on said sticks (6) are blades (5) made of half plastic bucket and triangular sails (7) made of polythene cloth snd the entire assembly is mounted onto a pole through a bicycle fork (9) . 2. A micro-wind generator as claimed in claim 1 wherein said blades (5) are made of half section lengthwise of old plastic buckets with the bottoms removed. 3. A micro-wind generator as claimed in claim 1 whertin said woven polythene cloth of fertilizer bags are used in the form of triangular or trapezoidal sails (7). 4. A micro-wind generator as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bicycle dynamo (2) of 12 V or 16V is drivingly connected to the said rotor (1) to rotate at 36 times the speed of the rotor 5. A micro-wind generator as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bicycle dynamo (2) is connected to the rotor (1) through a step-up unit (10) comprising a small wheel and a larger wheel for a speed of 80 times the rotor speed. 6. A micro-wind generator as claimed in claims 1 and 5 wherein said step-up unit (10) small wheel is a children's* bicycle support wheel and the larger wheel is a perambulator wheel. 7. A micro-wind genrator as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rotor (1) axle is fixed to a wooden frame (8) which in turn is fixed to a bicycle fork (9). 8. A micro-wind generator as claimed in claim 1 wherein said vertical pipe portion of the fork 9. A micro-wind generator for rural lighting substantially as herein described and as illustrated in the drawings.

Documents:

3367-del-1997-abstract.pdf

3367-del-1997-claims.pdf

3367-DEL-1997-Correspondence-Others-(08-10-2010).pdf

3367-del-1997-correspondence-others.pdf

3367-del-1997-correspondence-po.pdf

3367-del-1997-description (complete).pdf

3367-del-1997-drawings.pdf

3367-del-1997-form-1.pdf

3367-DEL-1997-Form-15-(08-10-2010).pdf

3367-del-1997-form-19.pdf

3367-del-1997-form-2.pdf

3367-del-1997-form-3.pdf

3367-del-1997-form-5.pdf

3367-del-1997-gpa.pdf