Dean Kamen who invented the Segway has a patent for an Inflatable Wind Turbine

Tweet An inflatable wind turbine is disclosed in a patent by Dean Kamen. The wind turbine includes comprising an inflatable portion comprising one or more blades and a device for rotatably driving the inflatable portion at a predetermined rate for a predetermined time. The inflatable wind turbine structure is made out of plastic fabric. They will be very light and easy to move around, meaning that they can be put on roofs that would otherwise be unable to support the weight of a wind turbine, or easily carried on trucks to wherever the next hurricane or tornado is supposed to occur. Currently wind turbines need ten times as much steel and concrete as a nuclear reactor to generate the same amount of power.

* Various embodiments include a wind turbine system including an inflatable portion which may include an inflatable rotor portion. An inflatable rotor, also referred to as an inflatable sail, imparts many advantages onto the system, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following. The inflatable sail may be inflated and/or deflated using a control system. This makes installation of the system easier than conventional wind turbines, as well, the system may be easily transported and/or relocated. In some embodiments, the inflatable sail may be connected to a platen which may be attached to a motor vehicle and/or movable trailer and/or a moveable vehicle. In some embodiments, the system may be attached to a flat bed portion of a truck which may increase the ease of transport.

* Transporting and/or moving a wind turbine may be advantageous for many reasons, including, but not limited to, the ability to move the wind turbine based on weather patterns and/or predictions. Thus, where a conventional wind turbine is installed in a particular location and relocation is a highly involved process, where the particular location of install experiences low wind and/or inadequate wind for energy generation and/or preferring amount of energy generation, and/or experiences weather that may be harmful to the wind turbine, that wind turbine may fail to meet a predetermined need and/or be harmed by the weather. However, in various embodiments of an inflatable sail wind turbine, the inflatable sail wind turbine, experiencing non-optimal weather conditions, may be moved/relocated to an area with more beneficial weather conditions and/or safer weather conditions.

* Various embodiments of the inflatable sail wind turbine may additionally present advantages in that the sail is tight weight. Thus, the sail may be turned more easily by the wind. As well, the inflatable sail wind turbine may be installed in various locations that a heavier and/or larger conventional wind turbine may not, for example, hut not limited to, on the roof of buildings

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