Jeff Phipps’ Patent No.9013055
A kite based electricity generation system uses a kite that is tethered to a permanent magnet. The permanent magnet is slidably disposed within a housing with an electric coil disposed therein, such that sliding of the magnet within the housing slides the magnet within the coil and generates electricity.
As the kite is subject to a wind load, the kite pulls the magnet through the coil toward a top of the housing. When the wind load decreases, a spring biases the magnet in a reverse direction, each time the magnet sliding within the coil and generating electricity. The housing pivots with respect to a base to which the housing is attached and may also rotate with respect to the base, such pivoting and rotation may generate additional electricity.
Potential Markets
Wind power generation has been utilized for many centuries and is still a large growing industry. Ground based wind turbines are limited to only gathering lower velocity wind relatively close to earth's surface and are permanent, they cannot be moved easily. They are also very costly to install and maintain. There is an offshoot of wind power generation using kites.
With kite power generation, much higher altitudes are possible to achieve resulting in more consistent wind and higher wind velocities. Due to the portability aspect of the kite generator system, many potential markets exist.
A few potential markets include: disaster relief, remote military areas, commercial/residential use, and recreational use for campers and boaters. By scaling this system for a desired power output, multiple intended applications exist.
Makani
Makani is a Google owned company aiming to generate clean, renewable wind energy on a commercial scale. Their prototype is rated for 600kW of power, with the energy being produced by a kite flying in a loop. There are eight turbines on the kite which spin and drive onboard generators to generate electricity. This electricity is then transported through a tether down to a battery storage on the base.
This design has been proven to work, but there is a significant loss of efficiency transporting the energy down from the kite. To avoid the energy lost along the tether, our design produces energy on the ground from the mechanical work created by the kite.
For more information on Makani’s current design, visit https://x.company/makani/
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