Other

Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Daniel N Boone

Kevin Timothy Shields

Scott Randall Shell

Yung-Ho Shih

Guy Barker

Stephen D Boone

Anthony Kitowicz

Adam N Boone

A first weight system for storing energy comprises a support platform with a lifting station having a plurality of vertically extending shafts, a cable and a motor located at ground level. This weight system hoists a heavily weighted device upwardly along the vertically extending shafts; holds it in a raised position and then lowers it along these same shafts to turn the motors and generate energy. The weighted device can include one or more flat rectangular containers or a weighted box. A second system employs a pair of containers connected to one another on an inclined track by a cable that can be moved about a guide wheel at a top of the track. The track further includes a media collection area, container filling area and means for conveying media from the bottom to the top of the inclined track. A third system pulls a plurality of large heavy wheels up an inclined track with wind power for subsequent lowering to turn a motor and generate energy.

Energy weight storage

An improved wind turbine device with energy storage comprises a turbine rotor with rotatable vertical shaft, at least one bearing for said vertical shaft, and multiple rotor vanes disposed symmetrically for rotation about the vertical shaft. Each of said multiple rotor vanes is substantially box-shaped with four solid sides and a front and rear side disposed in a radial vertical plane. The front side to each vane is substantially open faced and the rear side has an opening covered by a plurality of flaps. Each of said flaps is capable of moving with the directional passage of wind through the vane.

Vertical axis wind turbine with multiple flap vanes

Vertical axis wind turbine for energy storage

An improved wind turbine comprises: (i) a turbine rotor with a support platform; (ii) a rotatable vertical shaft extending from or through that platform; (iii) at least one bearing for the shaft; (iv) a plurality of horizontally disposed, box-shaped wind catchment vanes connected about the shaft; and (v) a plurality of angled braces affixed to the platform for reducing wind force leverage effects and bearing wear.

Vertical axis wind turbine with angled braces

An energy storage system, and related method, comprises a plurality of wind turbines, each with a vertical shaft that passes through a support platform. One or more braces may be affixed to each vertical shaft at one end of this platform, at an angle of less than 60 degrees, preferably about 45 degrees. At least one heavily weighted device is configured and disposed to be raised with rotation of the wind turbine about its vertical shaft. The subsequent lowering of that weighted device generates electrical energies for immediate use. Alternatively, the weighted device may be suspended for storage of energy and subsequent use. Preferred embodiments include at least one energy storage system for holding excess unused energy. Representative devices include a weighted cylinder on a shaft or cable, and one or more railcars on a series of inclined tracks.

Wind turbine based energy storage system and method using heavy weighted devices

A wind turbine devices comprises a vertically rotating shaft; and a plurality of horizontally disposed, box-shaped wind catchment vanes connected about the shaft, each vane having an open front face to catch wind flow and a lightweight flap on their rear face that closes when acted upon by wind force to rotate the vane about the shaft. When the latter flap opens, wind spills through the vane thus increasing efficiency.

Gravity-flap, savonius-type wind turbine device

A system and method for sorting accented character strings involves creating an expanded character string containing the characters in their base form (without accents) and corresponding ordinal values indicating whether the base characters are accented or unaccented. The ordinal values are assigned in a manner that differentiates accented from unaccented characters as well as one type of accented character from another. The expanded character strings are then sorted, first according to their base characters and then according to their ordinal values.

System and method for sorting character strings containing accented and unaccented characters

A portable computing device has a processor and a touch-sensitive display. The display includes a touch-sensitive area superimposed on a viewing area, whereby the touch-sensitive area extends beyond the viewing area to form a border outside of the viewing area but within the touch-sensitive area. The handheld computing device has an operating system which executes on the processor to provide a graphical user interface environment capable of presenting a graphical window and a program taskbar within the viewing area. The program taskbar presents a program icon representing a program that is active within the graphical window. The operating system is configured to minimize the graphical window to remove the graphical window from the viewing area or to enlarge the graphical window to restore the graphical window in the viewing area in response to contacting the program icon.

Growing community of inventors

Indiana, PA, United States of America

Daniel N Boone