Flywheel Apparatus and Use Thereof

Abstract

There is provided a flywheel apparatus comprising a plurality of flywheels configured to be mounted on a rotating shaft having a longitudinal axis, each one of the flywheels having a mass concentration in a predefined zone within its surface such that the net torque required for maintaining the rotation of the flywheels when combined with a constant angular velocity about the longitudinal axis of the rotating shaft is null. There is also provided use of a flywheel apparatus with an electrical energy generation system.

1 . A flywheel apparatus comprising:
 a plurality of flywheels configured to be mounted on a rotating shaft having a longitudinal axis, each one of the flywheels having a mass concentration in a predefined zone within its surface such that the net torque required for maintaining the rotation of the flywheels when combined with a constant angular velocity about the longitudinal axis of the rotating shaft is null.   
     
     
         2 . The flywheel apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the mass concentrations of the flywheels are of an identical density and volume located at an equal angular distance between each other when mounted on the rotating shaft. 
     
     
         3 . The flywheel apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the flywheels have an identical weight and radius. 
     
     
         4 . The flywheel apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the flywheels are three flywheels, a first flywheel, a second flywheel and a third flywheel, and wherein the angular distance between their respective mass concentrations is 120 degrees. 
     
     
         5 . Use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 1  with an electrical energy generation system for storing kinetic energy generated by said electrical energy generation system. 
     
     
         6 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the mass concentrations of the flywheels are of an identical density and volume located at an equal angular distance between each other when mounted on the rotating shaft. 
     
     
         7 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the flywheels have an identical weight and radius. 
     
     
         8 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the flywheels are three flywheels, a first flywheel, a second flywheel and a third flywheel, and wherein the angular distance between their respective mass concentrations is 120 degrees. 
     
     
         9 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 5  wherein said electrical energy generation system is a closed-loop electrical energy regenerative system comprising a regenerative electric motor for receiving a load of electrical energy for the purpose of conversion into kinetic energy and an alternator for generating an output load of electrical energy, a first electrical output for directing a first portion of an output load of electrical energy outside the electrical energy regenerative system for consumption by an electric power system, a second electrical output for directing a second portion of the output load of electrical energy back to the regenerative electric motor for operation through subsequent cycles and a rotating shaft configured to be connected to the regenerative electric motor, to the alternator and to the plurality of flywheels for transferring a first portion of the kinetic energy from the regenerative electric motor to the alternator for the purpose of generating the output load of electrical energy and for transferring a second portion of the kinetic energy to the plurality of flywheels for storage for the purpose of assisting in rotating the rotating shaft through subsequent cycles. 
     
     
         10 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the electrical energy regenerative system further comprises:
 a third electrical output for directing a third portion of the output load of electrical energy generated by the alternator to an electrical storage device for storage, the amount of said third portion being the difference between the total amount of the output load of electrical energy generated by the alternator and the sum of the first and second portions directed to the electric power system and the regenerative electric motor respectively.   
     
     
         11 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the electrical energy regenerative system further comprises an electrical control panel comprising a microprocessor or a microcontroller, the electrical control panel being configured to be connected to the regenerative electric motor, to the alternator, to the electrical energy storage device and to the first, second and third electrical outputs. 
     
     
         12 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 11  wherein the electrical energy regenerative system further comprises a starter electric motor configured to be connected to the rotating shaft for receiving an initial load of electrical energy from a power source sufficient for the rotation of the shaft and the operation of the alternator in a startup phase. 
     
     
         13 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 12  wherein said startup electric motor is configured to be connected to the power source through the electrical control panel, the electrical control panel being configured to switch off said starter electric motor from the power source once sufficient energy is fed into the system for operation through the subsequent cycles. 
     
     
         14 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 13  wherein the electrical energy regenerative system further comprises a voltmeter configured to be connected to the electrical control panel for measuring the voltage of the output load of electrical energy generated by the alternator, wherein the ratio between the first and second portions are determined by the electrical control panel based on power measurements made by the system and power requirements criteria, the power measurements comprising the power of the generated output load of electrical energy as measured by the voltmeter, and the power requirements criteria comprising the amount of power required by the electric power system for consumption and the amount of power required by the regenerative electric motor for operation. 
     
     
         15 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 14  wherein the electrical energy regenerative system further comprises a RPM meter configured to be connected to the electrical control panel and to the rotating shaft for measuring the rotational speed of the rotating shaft, wherein the power measurements considered by the electrical control panel for determining the first and second portions of the output load of electrical energy comprise the measured rotational speed of the rotating shaft. 
     
     
         16 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 15  wherein the electrical energy regenerative system further comprises a pulley apparatus, the rotating shaft being configured to be connected to the alternator through the pulley apparatus for increasing the rotational speed of the alternator beyond the rotational speed of the rotating shaft. 
     
     
         17 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein said electrical storage device is a battery, and wherein the power source used by the starter electric motor to receive an initial load of electrical energy is the battery, said system further comprising an Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) transformer and a DC rectifier transformer for transforming the third portion of electrical energy into suitable form for storage inside the battery. 
     
     
         18 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the electrical energy regenerative system further comprises an AC transformer for transforming the second portion of electrical energy into suitable form for operating the regenerative electric motor. 
     
     
         19 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 18  wherein said AC transformer comprises a three phase step-up transformer and a three phase stabilizer transformer. 
     
     
         20 . The use of the flywheel apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the rotating shaft extends longitudinally along a longitudinal axis from a first end to a second end and is circular in cross section across the longitudinal axis, and wherein the at least one flywheel is three flywheels, a first flywheel, a second flywheel and a third flywheel, and the pulley apparatus comprises a first pulley having a first radius and a second pulley having a second radius smaller than the first radius, wherein the first flywheel is located approximate the first end of the rotating shaft followed in the direction of the second end respectively by the regenerative electric motor, the second flywheel, the starter electric motor, the third flywheel, the first pulley, the second pulley and the alternator.