Thermo-photovoltaic (TPV) cells generate electricity from low temperature heat radiation.  Generally these thermo-voltaic cells have been limited in efficiency, as they are only capable of converting heat radiation within a narrow frequency range, which doesn’t include a significant portion of the spectrum of available heat radiation.

Developed primarily for use with high-altitude airships (HAA), Lockheed Martin has patented a TPV cell which utilizes a larger portion of the available spectrum.  In particular, the improved TPV cell was devised to use the large surface area of the airship to harness heat radiation emanating from the earth below (so-called “earthshine”).  By applying an electric field to the TPV material, sensitivity is shifted to include lower frequency heat radiation.

Download United States Patent No. 7,446,451

Nearly every power generating system produces heat as a by-product. This is true for gas powered generators, coal fired generators, fuel cells, and yes - even wind power systems. Excess heat build-up can damage any power generation system.

This week, patents issued to two companies - General Electric, and Siemens - describe systems for reducing heat buildup in wind components. In United States Patent No. 7,443,273, Siemens has devised a system that uses the wind itself to cool the transformer and other components of the wind power generating system. In United States Patent No. 7,443,066, General Electric proposes attaching heat pipes to the stator and/or rotor to dissipate heat from the generator itself.

The significant volume of patents that General Electric Company receives related to wind energy bears noting.  It seems to demonstrate a commitment by GE to be a player in this emerging field.

Within the past two weeks alone, among the 40+ overall patents issued by the USPTO to GE, at least 3 are directly related to GE windmill systems. The fact that many of these patents go directly to the “details” of wind energy systems that are efficient and durable, is indicative of their commitment to be a significant source of windmill systems as this field continues to grow.  In particular:

United States Patent No. 7,438,533 demonstrates a system for creating wind turbine rotor blades that have more structural integrity, due to a specific arrangement of glass and carbon fibers.  And in United States Patent No. 7,437,264, they describe how to properly balance the blades of the rotor.  

 
United States Patent No. 7,437,216 describes another approach of dealing with the problem of having non-performing windmills connected to the power grid.  This problem appears to be a popular problem to tackle - at least in the multiple patents issuing that deal with it. (See previous post)

Within only the last few years, wireless network access has gone from virtually unheard of to being almost everywhere.  In order to provide wireless access for computers in homes and businesses, literally hundreds of millions of wireless access points (WAPs) have been created.  In some cities, WiFi access is even available on public streets.  One could only imagine the power consumption of all of these networks!

It is a basic principle that in order for these networks to be ready to provide wireless access to all of the connected computers, they must remain on at all times.  Especially in home settings, then, these wireless access points are not actually being used much of the time.

Research In Motion, a Canadian Corporation, has patented a system which seeks to reduce power consumption during dormant periods, while seeking maintain network performance.  The system is also adjustable to find the desired balance between network performance and power saving.

Download U.S. Patent No. 7,436,790

As the discussion goes on about how to deal with the inconsistent nature of wind-generated electricity, one independent inventor has another solution.  He uses the windmill to pump hydraulic fluid and pressurize a storage tank.  The pressurized fluid is then used to drive a generator.  In this way, consistent power levels can be derived from the storage tank - whereas consistent power can hardly be expected when the wind directly turns a generator.

This concept seems similar to the age-old idea of using solar panels or a windmill to pump water to an elevated water tank, and then slowly utilizing the potential energy of the elevated water to generate power. Surprisingly, then, this inventor received a pretty broad patent.  If you look at the very brief first claim, this patent really seems to cover the concept itself.  In a developed field, such as this one, patents usually result from nuances.  Having a patent issue that actually covers significant ground is a rarity.

Apparently, the windmill driven, hydraulic pressurizing concept was first patented by this inventor in February 2007 in U.S. Patent No. 7,183,664.

The Patent that issued today modifies his existing patent by using sails (as in a sailboat) to drive the hydraulic pump.

Download U.S. Patent No. 7,436,086

The effectiveness of any solar powered device is greatly increased when the angle is regularly adjusted to meet the angle of the sun.  A standard way to do this is with photosensors which ‘hunt’ for the sun until a maximal light level is achieved.

Energy Innovations, Inc., has improved their solar concentrator, by providing a tracking system that initially follows the sun using light sensors.  When light levels fall below a threshold level, however, a database is accessed to find the most appropriate angle for the solar concentrator.  This system helps avoid the tracking system from aimlessly searching for the sun, when it momentarily goes behind a cloud!

Download U.S. Patent No. 7,432,488

While we know that windmill generated electric power offers huge promise for supplying our electric needs, currently only a small percentage of power is generated in this way.

Power systems engineers, recognize, however that once a larger percentage of electricity is generated by windmill generators, there will be significant challenges presented to our power distribution systems.  In particular as the wind changes, so does the power generated by the windmill.  What results, might best be understood as similar to power surges that we sometimes experience even with fossil-fuel based power systems, which can wreak havoc to our electronic equipment, and other power equipment.  Accordingly, voltage drops and other system “faults” from decreasing wind can potentially cause major problems.  These problems will greatly increase as we generate more electricity from the wind.

Apparently the major solutions for this are in temporarily disconnecting the windmill when a power fault is detected, and “riding through” the fault condition.

Patents tackling this problem were issued today to two different U.S. companies:

United States Patent No. 7,432,686 was issued to Clipper Windpower of California. Download U.S. Patent No. 7,432,686

United States Patent No. 7,432,611 was issued to Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. Download U.S. Patent No. 7,432,611

United States Patent No. 7,429,156, issued last Tuesday.

Windmill wings (as this patent refers to them) or vanes keep getting longer and longer.  As greater efficiencies are being discovered in long windmill vanes, vanes of 200-300 feet or more in length are no longer uncommon.

The transportation of any manufactured item of that size, in one piece, can be challenging.

In this newly issued patent, Jorge Jensen of Denmark has proposed a solution for transporting these vanes from the point of manufacture to the point of installation.

Download U.S. Patent No. 7,429,156

United States Patent No. 7,430,459, issued last Tuesday.

This patent brings energy control systems and commodities market monitoring systems together.  The system contemplates installing fuel cells (or other alternative technology power generating systems) at the customer’s location.  The fuel cell remains dormant until the market price of electricity makes operation of the fuel cell system economically feasible.

By way of the example given, the cost of generating electricity by means of a coal-fired plant is compared to the price of operating a hydrocarbon employing fuel cell.  When the market price of generating electricity by the more traditional means makes it worthwhile to operate the hydrocarbon based fuel cell, a signal is sent from a central location to switch on the alternative technology power generator.

A side benefit it that with the fuel cell serving as a back-up generator of sorts, the customer becomes essentially “blackout”-proof.

Interesting Note - Originally filed back in July 2000, this patent was pending at the USPTO for more than 8 years!

Download U.S. Patent No. 7,430,459