Rotary Device, for Instance an Air Mover Such as a Fan, a Propeller or a Lifting Rotor, a Water Turbine or a Wind Turbine

Abstract

A rotary device comprises a frame with a guide for flowing medium, a rotor with a number of blades, whereby a relation is obtained between the flowing medium and the rotation of the rotor, and energy converting means, the one part of which is connected to the frame and the other part to the rotor. The device has the feature that the end zones of the blades are connected to a ring, the ring has a radial section with the shape of an isosceles triangle or trapezium, the medium guide has an encircling recess, the form of which corresponds to the form of the ring and the ring fits with clearance into the recess, permanent magnets are added to the truncated conical surfaces, electromagnets debouch on both the corresponding surfaces of the recess, this such that the ring and the frame together form an annular induction motor or an electric generator.

1 . A rotary device for converting one form of energy to another form of energy, which forms of energy are electrical energy and the energy of a flowing medium, the device comprising:
 a frame with an inlet and an outlet and a rotation-symmetrical guide for the flowing medium extending between the inlet and the outlet;   a rotor supported rotatably at least during operation by said frame and having a central hub and a number of blades which are connected to said hub in angularly equidistant arrangement and which extend at least more or less in radial direction, which blades all have a form such that a relation between the flowing medium and the rotation of the rotor is obtained;   energy converting means, one part of which is connected fixedly to the frame and another part is connected fixedly to the rotor;   the rotor comprising a concentric ring to which end zones of the blades are connected;   the ring has at least one outer surface;   the medium guide has an encircling recess, the form of which corresponds to that of the ring such that the ring fits with clearance into the recess;   magnets on the at least one outer surface, which magnets are placed angularly equidistant and the poles of which debouch on the at least one outer surface;   electromagnets having poles, the poles of the electromagnets being placed equidistantly on a surface of the recess facing the ring; and   wherein:   the ring with the magnets and the frame with the electromagnets together form an annular induction motor or an electric generator; and   the frame is provided with a collar of openings at a first side of a clearance between the ring and the walls of the recess, the openings being connected to the recess at the first side of the recess via a collar of channels.   
     
     
         2 . The device as claimed in  claim 1 ,
 wherein   the rotor ring is assembled from:   two identical part-rings which each comprise a strip of material with the shape of a part of a circular arc, the free ends of which are connected to each other such that each strip has the form of the outer surface of a truncated cone, which thus modelled strips are connected with their outer circular peripheral zone to each other; and   a third part-ring, the third part-ring comprising a strip of material which is curved to a round form and mutually connects the respective free circular inner edges and outer edges of the first two part-rings; and   the end zones of the blades are connected to the third part-ring.   
     
     
         3 - 4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . The device as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein each electromagnet comprises a coil comprising:
 a stack of electrically insulating carriers disposed in register, each with at least one electrically conductive track present thereon which forms at least one winding of the coil, which tracks debouch on the outer side of the respective carriers and are connected to each other electrically such that the windings formed by the tracks together form the coil, which carriers have registered through-holes through which a ferromagnetic core extends.   
     
     
         6 - 8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . The device as claimed in  claim 1 ,
 further comprising an inflow grill which is placed upstream of the inlet and which comprises a pattern of baffles placed and formed such that the channels bounded by these baffles have directions corresponding to the directions of the relevant local part-flows of the medium.   
     
     
         10 . The device as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the blades are connected under bias to the hub and to the ring. 
     
     
         11 - 13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . The device as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein an upstream part of an active surface of the guide has a radial sectional form largely corresponding to a quarter of an ellipse, a longitudinal axis of which extends parallel to a central axis of the rotor. 
     
     
         15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . The device as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising a stationary, substantially rotation-symmetrical nose element which is disposed fixedly relative to the frame or forms part of the rotor and which is disposed upstream relative to the hub and has an outer surface which widens from its front side to its rear side and which connects at its rear side to the hub in rheologically smooth manner. 
     
     
         17 . The device as claimed in  claim 16 , wherein a longitudinal section of the outer surface has more or less the form of a parabola, an extreme of which is situated at an upstream end of the nose element. 
     
     
         18 . The device as claimed in  claim 16 , wherein the nose element is disposed fixedly relative to the frame and is supported by the frame via spokes. 
     
     
         19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . The device as claimed in  claim 1 , the channels guide medium part-flows from an area of a downstream medium flow at increased pressure into the clearance such that these part-flows flow along the poles of the electromagnets and the magnets and thus cool these electromagnets and the magnets and leave the clearance at reduced pressure in the area of the upstream medium flow. 
     
     
         21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . The device as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the rotor is supported by the frame via auxiliary bearing means. 
     
     
         23 . The device as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein each peripheral zone has on an outflow side a convergent annular protrusion which is formed by two mutually connecting concave surfaces which on their sides remote from the protrusion transpose smoothly into a largely toroidal, convex other surface of the peripheral zone. 
     
     
         24 . (canceled) 
     
     
         25 . The device as claimed in  claim 23 , wherein the downstream part of the hub has a gently tapering rotation-symmetrical form, the end surface of which has an encircling concave form such that the peripheral zone is sharp and in the centre is situated a tip, an apex of which lies at least roughly in the plane of the peripheral zone. 
     
     
         26 - 36 . (canceled) 
     
     
         37 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the ring has two equal truncated conical surfaces with mutually opposite orientations, having a radial section with at least partially the general shape of an isosceles triangle or trapezium, the base of which extends parallel to central axis, also the rotation axis, of the rotor and the sides of which converge outward;   the magnets are added to each of the truncated conical surfaces corresponding to said sides; and   the poles of the electromagnets are equally placed equidistantly on the magnets debouch on both the corresponding surface or surfaces of the recess.   
     
     
         38 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein the frame further comprises an outflow zone at a second side of the recess, opposite to the first side of the recess and connected to the recess at the second side of the recess. 
     
     
         39 . Device as claimed in  claim 38 , wherein the outflow zone has a deflection zone by which the part-flows are deflected such that they acquire a radial directional component and a longitudinal directional component in the direction of the medium flow through the device. 
     
     
         40 . A system for operating a device according to  claim 1 , comprising an electronic unit which is configured to:
 supply the electromagnets with alternating currents such that through the electromagnetic interaction between the electromagnets and the magnets the rotor is driven rotatingly; or   convert the currents induced in the electromagnets by throughflowing medium during rotating drive of the rotor to a form of electric current suitable for a user;   wherein the electronic unit is further configured to supply the electromagnets with alternating currents such that the rotor is suspended magnetically during operation.