IP Library › Granted Patent US 9,822,768
Granted Patent B2
US 9,822,768 · App. 14/371,966 · Granted Nov 21, 2017

Wind turbine having a remote wind gauge

Inventor: Norbert Kötting (Neuenkirchen, DE)
Assignee: SSB Wind Systems GmbH & Co. KG
F03D17/00F05B2230/80F05B2270/32F05B2270/8042Y02P70/523
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,822,768
App. No.
14/371,966
Granted
Nov 21, 2017
Kind
B2
Abstract

The invention relates to a wind turbine comprising a rotor hub ( 7 ) rotating about a rotor axis ( 8 ), rotor blades ( 9, 10, 11 ) extending radially with respect to the rotor axis ( 8 ) at the same angular spacing relative to one another, and a remote wind gauge ( 19 ) that is fastened externally on the surface of the hub ( 7 ) in a mounting ( 20 ) and oriented such that wind characteristics at a distance in front of the hub ( 7 ) can be ascertained or measured, wherein the remote wind gauge ( 19 ) is arranged between two neighbouring rotor blades ( 9, 10 ) and in the radial direction of the rotor axis ( 8 ) and the mounting ( 20 ) is fastened to a respective blade bearing flange ( 21, 22 ) in the region of the connection of the rotor hub ( 7 ) to the rotor blades ( 9, 10 ), such that the remote wind gauge ( 19 ) can be retrofitted to the wind turbine ( 1 ).

Claims (22)

1. A wind turbine comprising:

a rotor hub rotating about a rotor axis with rotor blades arranged at the same angular distance to each other extending radially to the rotor axis; a remote wind gauge attached externally on a surface of the hub in a mount that is oriented in such a manner that wind characteristics can be ascertained, or measured, at a distance in front of the hub;

the remote wind gauge being located between two neighboring rotor blades and in a radial direction to the rotor axis, and;

the mount being detachably fastened to a respective blade bearing flange in an area where the rotor hub is joined to the rotor blades, thus enabling the wind turbine to be retrofitted with the remote wind gauge.

2. The wind turbine of claim 1 , wherein each one of said rotor blades is assigned to a different, respective, one of said blade bearing flanges.

3. The wind turbine of claim 1 , wherein the blade bearing flange includes at least one of a threaded or push-fit connection to the hub.

4. The wind turbine of claim 1 , wherein the blade bearing flanges to which the remote wind gauge is attached each have an additional, respective, holding device for the mount.

5. The wind turbine of claim 4 , further comprising a separate lifting eye for use with each said blade bearing flange associated with the rotor hub, each said lifting eve being used as the holding device, where the lifting eyes are provided for the assembly/disassembly of the hub, and the lifting eyes remain on their respective said blade bearing flanges during operation of the wind turbine.

6. The wind turbine of claim 1 , wherein the mount has an additional bearing array provided in the direction of an axis of rotation of the rotor hub in the attachment area to the rotor hub.

7. The wind turbine of claim 6 , wherein the additional bearing array includes a variable adjusting device for adjusting an angle of inclination of the remote wind gauge with respect to the rotor axis.

8. The wind turbine of claim 1 , wherein the remote wind gauge comprises a box-shaped protective case that is connected to the mount and has a window enclosed with a protective cladding permeable to beams facing in a direction where a wind measurement is taken.

9. The wind turbine of claim 8 , further comprising optical and electronic devices of the remote wind gauge, which are located inside the box-shaped protective case.

10. The wind turbine of claim 1 , wherein the remote wind gauge includes a LIDAR or SODAR system.

11. The wind turbine of claim 1 , wherein the remote wind gauge includes at least one electrical and/or mechanical safety mechanism to prevent collision damage to the remote wind gauge from rotating rotor blades or to the wind turbine.

12. The wind turbine of claim 11 , wherein the safety mechanism includes an electric series circuit comprising several safety devices including a safety chain, where the safety chain can be connected to the safety mechanism for the wind turbine.

13. The wind turbine of claim 1 , wherein the remote wind gauge is an integral part of a turbine control system.

14. The wind turbine of claim 1 , wherein the remote wind gauge operates independently of a turbine control system, and comparative measurements are carried out with other measuring instruments located on the wind turbine.

15. The wind turbine of claim 1 , wherein the mount has attaching devices for a detachable connection of the mount with the rotor hub between two neighboring rotor blades at the respective blade bearing flanges of both rotor blades.

16. The wind turbine of claim 15 , wherein the mount includes a supporting frame with an attaching plate that is connected to one part of a protective case of the remote wind gauge, and longitudinal ends of the plate include fastening devices for the respective blade bearing flange.

17. The wind turbine of claim 16 , wherein the mount has a carrier oriented perpendicular to the attaching plate and in the direction of the rotor axis.

18. The wind turbine of claim 17 , wherein the carrier has an adjusting device oriented towards the rotor axis.

19. The wind turbine of claim 15 , wherein the mount comprises a lightning protection device connected to a lightning protection system for the wind turbine.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 13, 2020
From: SSB WIND SYSTEMS GMBH & CO. KG
To: NIDEC SSB WIND SYSTEMS GMBH
Reel/Frame 051925/0449 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 12, 2015
From: KÖTTING, NORBERT
To: SSB WIND SYSTEMS GMBH & CO. KG
Reel/Frame 034681/0111 →
Priority Claims (1)
DE 10 2012 000 716 · Jan 14, 2012 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20140348653A1 · Nov 27, 2014