Wind powered electric vehicle/conversion

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, TABLE OR COMPUTER PROGRAM CD

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

My husband and I were watching a show about windmill farms out west. He made the comment that he didn't know why they didn't use the spiral type of windmills they use in other countries. They don't take up as much space, they run no matter what direction the wind is blowing and they don't require as much wind to produce electricity.

His statement got me thinking—never mind the windmill farms—why don't they use the spiral wind turbines to power automobiles? As soon as a vehicle starts moving, it creates its own wind, so as long as it is moving, it would have an inexhaustible power supply. There would have to be the standard battery power to get the vehicle started and for idling at red lights, etc. I know electric motors power electric cars so it makes perfect sense to me that a wind powered generator under the hood can power an electric motor to run the car as well as keeping the batteries charged. No outside power source would be required.

I started doing research on the internet but could find nothing about wind powered vehicles anywhere in the world. Seems if it was a good idea someone would already be working on it so I let it slide for awhile; but the idea kept nagging at me so I started doing more research on the internet. I read a page on the Tilley Electric Vehicle in Tennessee (www.tilleyfoundation.com). It sounded like he had invented something way better that my idea so I gave up and let it slide for awhile longer; still the idea kept nagging at me. Some of the statements on the Tilley web page didn't make sense. If you had such a great invention to operate a vehicle indefinitely with no outside power source, why would you put the project off indefinitely because of a $25 wheel bearing. That was 2002—now it's 2005. I did find further web pages on the Tilley vehicle revealing it to be a hoax.

I started my research again and still not finding anything like my idea, I did an online patent search (www.uspto.gov). No patents were found for a wind powered electric vehicle/car. I decided it was time to put my idea on paper and file for a patent. I spent countless hours researching electric vehicles and wind generated power. www.evadc.com was a very helpful site to understand electric vehicle conversions. www.howstuffworks.com helped me to understand how electric vehicles operate. I got some wind power information from www.eere.energy.gov but spiral turbines don't seem to be used in this country so I had to use logic more than any model I could see. www.windside.com is the company in Finland that distributes spiral turbine systems, but there site wasn't as helpful as I hoped it would be because they only use their turbines to run battery chargers.

At one point I got very discouraged and thought “Who am I to be doing this? I don't like automobiles. I hate driving. Surely, someone smarter than me should be doing this.” I put my plan aside and decided my time would be better employed reading my bible. God quickly redirected me back to my design when I read First Corinthians 1:27 “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” Yep, foolish and weak—I am definitely qualified to do this.

Since this is all new territory, there was no model for me to follow. Using the information I learned and logic, I slowly created my plan.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

My invention is the use of a spiral wind turbine as part of the vehicle to power an electric generator to run an electric vehicle and recharge its batteries. No outside power source would be required.

The most important benefit of this idea will be the positive impact on the environment of this planet as vehicles convert to this much cleaner and renewable power source. The drop in demand for gasoline should make this country much less dependent on foreign oil. (Perhaps this will keep us out of a few wars.) I sincerely hope that not least of the benefits will be to ease the financial burden high oil prices place on every person in this country.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The drawing depicts the main contents under the hood of an electrical vehicle as pertains to my idea.

FIG. 1 is the spiral wind turbine placed behind the grill (could really be placed anywhere on the vehicle to catch the wind but I think out of sight behind the grill is best).

FIG. 2 is the electric generator.

FIG. 3 is the controller.

FIG. 4 is the electric motor.

FIG. 5 is the battery bank.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is to use a spiral wind turbine as part of a vehicle to power an electric generator to run the electric motor and recharge the batteries of an electric vehicle. No outside power source would be needed. My intention is not to reinvent the electric vehicle, just where its power source comes from. Batteries would start the vehicle moving. Once a vehicle starts to move, it creates its own wind. This starts the blades of the wind turbine rotating which powers the electric generator. The controller keeps track of the power supplies and switches from generator to battery bank or back as needed. The batteries would also be charged when the generator is producing power thus ensuring the vehicle has power at all times.