West Virginia University

Windpax LLC

Justin R Chambers

James Earl Smith

Andrew D Lowery

Chad C Panther

A wind turbine is disclosed. The wind turbine includes a shaft rotatable about an axis, a plurality of hubs fixedly attached to the shaft, and a plurality of vanes. The vanes are releasably engaged with each of the plurality of hubs. The vanes disengage from the hubs once the shaft rotates about the axis at a cut-out speed of the wind turbine. In another embodiment, the vanes are releasably engaged with the shaft.

Wind turbine having releasable vanes

A wind turbine shaft includes tubes that are centered on a longitudinal axis, coupled to rotate together about the axis, and movable telescopically along the axis between a retracted condition and an extended condition. A mounting structure is configured to mount wind turbine vanes on the tubular structure when the tubes are in the extended condition. A generator has a pair of parts including a rotor and a stator, and is configured for coupling with the tubular structure for one of the parts to rotate about the axis with the tubular structure while the other part is stationary.

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Glen Dale, WV, United States of America

Justin R Chambers