US 12,276,265 B2
Windmill and wind power generation apparatus
Takeru Ito, Kuwana (JP)
Assigned to NTN Corporation, Osaka (JP)
Appl. No. 18/283,154
Filed by NTN Corporation, Osaka (JP)
PCT Filed Mar. 10, 2022, PCT No. PCT/JP2022/010579
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 20, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/202358, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 29, 2022.
Claims priority of application No. 2021-047221 (JP), filed on Mar. 22, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0167455 A1, May 23, 2024
Int. Cl. F03D 9/25 (2016.01); F03D 3/06 (2006.01)
CPC F03D 9/25 (2016.05) [F03D 3/06 (2013.01); F05B 2220/706 (2013.01)] 5 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A windmill comprising a shaft, a blade, and a supporting member, wherein
the windmill is rotatable about a center axis of the shaft,
the blade has a blade main body portion extending along an axial direction of the center axis,
in a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the axial direction, the blade main body portion includes a front edge and a rear edge, the front edge being disposed at a leading end of the blade main body portion in a rotation direction of the windmill, the rear edge being disposed at a trailing end of the blade main body portion in the rotation direction,
the supporting member extends along a radial direction orthogonal to the axial direction and passing through the center axis, so as to connect the shaft and the blade main body portion to each other,
the supporting member has a front end and a rear end, the front end being disposed at a leading end of the supporting member in the rotation direction, the rear end being disposed at a trailing end of the supporting member in the rotation direction,
a straight line passes through an intermediate position between the front end and the rear end of the supporting member and is parallel to the radial direction,
a blade chord line connects the front edge and the rear edge of the blade main body portion, with a midpoint being located equidistant from the front edge and the rear edge of the blade main body portion,
the straight line intersects the blade chord line at a position closer to the rear edge of the blade main body portion than the midpoint of the blade chord line, and
the rear end of the supporting member meets the blade main body portion at a position on the blade main body portion that is offset from the rear edge of the blade main body portion in a direction along the blade chord line.