Wind turbine rotor assembly

Claim 1

A rotor assembly for a vertical axis wind turbine having a motor powering initial rotor assembly movement, said rotor assembly comprising, a horizontal beam member adapted to be rotatably supported by the turbine, a blade assembly disposed adjacent one end of said beam member and having an upright blade, a bearing structure coupling a mid-portion of said blade assembly to the horizontal beam member and permitting blade movement about multiple axes including feathering movement about the blade major axis, a blade latching mechanism on said beam member including a latch member actuated by centrifugal force and normally maintaining the blade and said beam member in a fixed relationship during rotor assembly travel whereby differential air pressures acting on the blade surfaces will impart lift and hence rotation to the rotor assembly, said latch member inoperable when the rotor assembly is static to permit feathering of the blade into the wind, said latch member responsive to centrifugal force to engage the blade assembly during initial motor driven movement of the rotor assembly during turbine starting, a latch actuating mechanism biasing said latch member out of engagement with said blade when the rotor assembly is static, said latch actuating mechanism also adapted to disengage the latch member from the blade during operation of the rotor assembly to prevent a rotor assembly over speed condition, centrifugally actuated lever means carried by said horizontal beam member and momentarily responsive to centrifugal forces of the magnitude generated at the upper limits of acceptable rotor assembly speed, and means coupling said centrifugally actuated lever means and said latch actuating mechanism to said latch member to actuate the latter to permit the blade to rotate about its major axis within said bearing means to assume a feathered position in the presence of excessive wind speeds to stop rotor assembly movement.