Wind electric plant

Claim 1

A wind power plant of the type including a support tower and a multiblade, variable pitch propeller supported thereon, the improvement comprising: gear means supported on top of the tower; a propeller shaft connected to the gear means and extending forwardly therefrom at an upwardly inclined angle and parallel to wind direction; multiblade, variable pitch propeller means carried on the propeller shaft and rotatable in a plane perpendicular to wind direction; drive shaft means connected with the gear means and extending downwardly in the tower for connection to suitable means to be driven by the drive shaft means; said gear means including a substantially rounded gear case having a curved top section removably secured thereto, and supported on top of the tower, said propeller shaft supported in bearing means at the front and back of the gear case, a ring gear carried by the propeller shaft inside the gear case between the front and back thereof, and a hypoid bevel gear connected with the drive shaft means and meshed with the ring gear near the top of the ring gear, said drive shaft means disposed with its axis offset to one side of the axis of the propeller shaft so that wind forces on the propeller means tending to push the propeller means around the axis of the tower are balanced by torque forces between the ring gear and hypoid bevel gear; said drive shaft means including a pinion shaft extending downwardly through the bottom of the gear case and supported in bearing means at the top and bottom of the gear case; and a sleeve sealed at its lower end to the gear case and extending upwardly around the pinion shaft in coaxial relation therewith, thus preventing gear lubricant in the gear case from contacting the pinion shaft, and accordingly reducing the friction drag theron and also eliminating the need for an oil seal between the pinion shaft and gear case.