ES2347395B1 - PLATFORM FOR MAINTENANCE OF AEROGENERATORS EQUIPPED WITH GUIDANCE, SUBJECT AND REGULATION SYSTEMS. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention consists of a complete equipment for the inspection and repair of wind turbine blades, consisting of a work platform to which the necessary elements are incorporated to guide it, thus following the required trajectory and also providing it with the accessories of regulation to control the positioning of the platform. # The invention consists of the following elements: conventional suspended platform including its anchoring to the wind turbine, the necessary number of suitably tensioned guides and the set of fasteners to the guides that allow to regulate the positioning of the platform. # The invention offers three configurations that adapt to different wind turbine models and assembly operations. The first configuration provides for the anchoring of all the elements to be incorporated into points inside the gondola, the second uses only external points and finally the third configuration for which both are combined.

Description

The invention offers three different configurations

Wind turbine maintenance platform equipped with guidance, support and regulation systems. Field and object of the invention

The invention falls within the field of renewable energy and more specifically refers to a platform for wind turbine maintenance equipped with guidance, support and regulation systems. State of the art

Wind energy has undergone great development in recent years, implanting a high number of wind farms. This commercial development has been parallel to great technical advances, with the appearance of new models of wind turbines of increasing power, but the same effort has not been dedicated to the area of maintenance and repair of the equipment. The component that presents greater wear of the wind turbines is the blades, the main constituent of the rotor or propeller. This is mainly due to meteorological actions.

For this reason, a series of maintenance equipment designed to access the blades for complete repair or inspection have been developed in recent years. From the analysis carried out on these designs it is observed that they have differentiated geometric characteristics, but all the equipment requires the provision in flag or stop position of the shovel totally vertical downwards. This ideal working position of the blade is not, however, the most common, since to perform maintenance tasks the safety protocols to be applied require the activation of the mechanical brakes and usually this implies a vertical deviation of approximately between 8-10 ° that does not allow the placement of conventional platforms.

For this reason it is of great interest to develop maintenance equipment equipped with anchoring and regulation systems that allow operating at the angles of the blade that actually occur. Description of the invention

The system developed in this document will allow the assembly and operation of maintenance platforms in real working conditions and will be applicable to various wind turbine models depending on the selected configurations. It is also a fast and safe system, both in its operation and in its assembly and disassembly, which does not require specialized personnel, thus being justified the interest of this anchoring, guidance and regulation system.

The invention consists of a complete equipment for the inspection and repair of wind turbine blades, consisting of a work platform to which the necessary elements are incorporated to guide it, thus following the required trajectory and also providing it with the accessories of regulation to control the positioning of the platform.

The invention consists of the following elements: A suspended platform for repair of conventional blades including its anchoring to the wind turbine, the necessary number of suitably tensioned guides and the set of fasteners to the guides themselves that allow to adjust the positioning that adapt to different wind turbine models and various assembly operations. The first configuration provides for the anchoring of all the elements to be incorporated at points inside the gondola or nacelle, the second uses only external points and finally the third configuration will be described for which exterior and interior points are used. In all of them we start from the work platform, generally configured as a metal structure with a geometry adapted to the specific shape of the wind turbine blades and equipped with a stirrup or clamping piece on which a lifting motor is incorporated.

Description of the drawings

Next, a series of drawings that help to better understand the invention and that expressly relate to embodiments of said invention that are presented as illustrative and non-limiting examples thereof are described very briefly.

Figure 1 shows a front view of a wind turbine in its usual working position, where the main components of the present invention are represented.

In Figure 2 there is a side view, including the main components of the present invention, for a first embodiment thereof.

A side view is shown in Figure 3, including the main components of the present invention for a second embodiment thereof.

A side view is shown in Figure 4, including the main components of the present invention for a third embodiment thereof. Detailed description of the invention

In Figure 1 the wind turbine is shown in its usual working position, where the main components of the equipment are represented and the resulting inclination on the blade is shown. They are designated as follows: traction elements (1), guidance elements (2), wind turbine anchor (6), work platform (4) and ground anchor.

Figure 2 shows the first configuration of the equipment assembly, where the interior anchor points (6.1) for the traction cables are indicated

(1) and (6.2) for guiding elements (2) and regulation.

The set of traction cables (1) and safety required for the lifting of the suspended platform (4) used are anchored to stable points (6.1) and fi rms inside the gondola or nacelle, such as lugs of the chassis itself or eyebolts. clamping arranged in the generation equipment, following the speci fi cations given in each particular case by the wind turbine manufacturer. This traction wiring (1) is incorporated into the lifting motor to allow the vertical ascent / descent of the platform (4). To be able to operate following the inclination with respect to the vertical of the blade, derived as already mentioned from the fixation of the mechanical brakes, one or more guide wires (2) will be anchored in the interior points (6.2) of the gondola already commented and not in use. The guide cables (2) tend towards the ground where they will be fixed to an anchor / counterweight point that can be for example the vehicle itself for transporting the equipment or any other device for fixing to the ground (anchoring blocks

3 EN 2347395A1 4

mechanic, chemist ...). The mooring will be carried out by means of a tensioning device, not shown, which will allow us to provide the guides with the appropriate working tension. The exit point of the wiring gondola, both traction (1) and guidance (2), will be the housing arranged between the gondola and the rotor's protective cone. The tensioned guides, following the path of the blade, are attached to the platform by fixing it with anchoring elements fitted with rollers or by installing pulleys. With these elements the work platform can perform the ascent / descent path following the inclination of the blade. In order to increase the versatility of the system and allow approximation and regulation actions that allow the wind actions to be specially compensated, an intermediate element is incorporated in the support of the guides; instead of running the guide wiring directly through the rollers incorporated into the platform, they will be arranged in adjustable elements such as winches or other devices that offer variable length and adjustable by the platform operator. In this way, the separation of the platform can be controlled with respect to each of the installed guides.

Figure 3 shows the configuration 2 for the assembly of the equipment, where the external anchor points (7.1) and (7.2) are indicated, as well as the placement of traction cables (1) and regulation and guidance elements (2). The different anchor points are designated as follows: (7.1) for traction cables (1) and (7.2) for guide cables (2).

The set of traction cables (1) and safety required for the lifting of the suspended platform (4) used are anchored to the root of the wind turbine blades using a set of polyester slings (or other fasteners that do not cause severe friction on the primer of the blades) of two branches that end in a central ring. This traction wiring (1) from the central ring is incorporated into the lifting motor to allow the vertical ascent / descent of the platform (4). To be able to operate following the inclination with respect to the vertical of the blade, derived as already mentioned from the fixation of the mechanical brakes, one or more guides will be anchored in the slings that are part of the anchoring system and that surround each root of shovel. The guiding cables (2) tend towards the ground where they will be fixed to an anchor / counterweight point that can be for example the vehicle itself for transporting the equipment or any other device for fixing to the ground (tacos for mechanical, chemical anchoring ...) The mooring will be carried out by means of a tensioning device, not shown, which will allow us to provide the guides with the appropriate working tension. Tension guides following the path of the blade are joined to the platform by fixing it with anchoring elements fitted with rollers or by installing pulleys. With these elements the work platform can perform the ascent / descent path following the inclination of the blade.

Figure 4 shows the configuration 3 of the equipment assembly, where the anchoring points, interior (6.1) and exterior (7.2) are indicated, as well as the placement of traction cables (1) and guide wiring (2) and regulation.

The set of traction cables (1) and safety required for the lifting of the suspended platform (4) used are anchored at interior points (6.1) of the gondola as described in the configuration 1 described in this document. This wiring laid from the inside through the available housing between the gondola and the rotor protective cone, is incorporated into the lifting motor to allow the vertical ascent / descent of the platform (4). In order to operate following the inclination with respect to the vertical of the blade, derived as already mentioned from the fixation of the mechanical brakes, one or more guides will be anchored in the slings that surround each blade root as described in the configuration. 2. The guide wires (2) tend towards the ground where they will be fixed to an anchor / counterweight point which can be, for example, the vehicle itself for transporting the equipment or any other fixing device to the ground. The mooring and tensioning of the guides is carried out according to the previous description. With these elements the work platform can perform the ascent / descent path following the inclination of the blade.

5 EN 2347395A1 6

Claims (6)

one.

Platform for maintenance of wind turbines equipped with guidance, support and regulation systems, characterized by having 3 main components: work platform, guidance system consisting of one or more guide wires and a set of regulation devices that act on the guides allowing the orientation and approach of the platform and allow working with different blade inclinations.

2.

Platform for maintenance of wind turbines equipped with guidance, clamping and regulation systems, according to claim 1, characterized against other inventions, for having a coupling system for both traction cables and guide cables that can be coupled to interior points of The gondola

3.

Wind turbine maintenance platform equipped with guidance, support and adjustment systems

according to claim 1 to 2, characterized in that it has an anchoring system whose assembly can be carried out, both for the motor traction cables and for the guide cables, by means of a system of multi-branch slings at the root of the Pallas.

Four.

Wind turbine maintenance platform equipped with guidance, clamping and regulation systems, according to claim 1 to 3, characterized by having an anchoring system that allows the wiring of the lift motors to be fixed at interior points of the gondola and the system wiring of guidance at the root of the shovel.

5.

Wind turbine maintenance platform equipped with guidance, clamping and regulation systems, according to claim 1-4, characterized by having anchor points for the guide cables in the field, these being fixed anchors or points of the transport vehicle chassis.

SPANISH OFFICE OF THE PATENTS AND BRAND SPAIN REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE @ Int. Cl .: See additional sheet @ ES 2 347 395 @ Application number: 200700869 @ Date of submission of the application: 28.03.2007 @ Priority date: RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

Category

56 @ Documents cited Claims Affected

X

WO 2004092577 A1 (VESTAS WIND SYS AS; IVERSEN PAUL) 28.10.2004, the whole document. 1-5

X

WO 2005064152 A2 (PP ENERGY APS; TEICHERT PAUL) 14.07.2005, the whole document. 1-5

X

DE 10318675 A1 (GREIFZUG HEBEZEUGBAU GMBH) 18.11.2004, the whole document. 1-5

X

DE 19726408 C1 (GERHARD REINEKE SCHLOSSEREI UN) 18.03.1999, the whole document. 1-5

TO

DE 202004011537 U1 (SHEPPARD JEREMY; KOHRS ANNA) 01.12.2005, summary; fi gures. 4

Category of the documents cited X: of particular relevance Y: of particular relevance combined with other / s of the same category A: reflects the state of the art O: refers to unwritten disclosure P: published between the priority date and the date of priority submission of the application E: previous document, but published after the date of submission of the application

This report has been produced Dg for all claims D for claims no:

Date of realization of the report 14.10.2010

Examiner O. Rucián Castellanos Page 1/4

Application number: 200700869  REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE CLASSIFICATION OF THE OBJECT OF THE APPLICATION F03D 1/00 (2006.01) B66F 11/04 (2006.01) E04G 3/24 (2006.01) E04G 3/30 (2006.01) Minimum documentation sought (classification system followed by the classification symbols) F03D, B66F, E04G Electronic databases consulted during the search (name of the database and, if possible, search terms used) INVENTIONS, EPODOC State of the Art Report (additional sheet) Page 2/4 Application number: 200700869  WRITTEN OPINION Date of Completion of Written Opinion: 14.10.2010 Statement

Novelty (Art. 6.1 LP 11/1986)

Claims 2-5 YES

Claims

one NO

Inventive activity

Claims YES

(Art. 8.1 LP 11/1986)

Claims 1-5 NO

The application is considered to comply with the industrial application requirement. This requirement was evaluated during the formal and technical examination phase of the application (Article 31.2 Law 11/1986).  Opinion Base: This opinion has been made on the basis of the patent application as published. Report on the State of the Art (Written Opinion) Page 3/4 Application number: 200700869  WRITTEN OPINION 1. Documents considered: The documents belonging to the state of the art taken into consideration for the realization of this opinion are listed below.

Document

Publication or Identification Number publication date

D01

WO 2004092577 A1 10-28-2004

2. Statement motivated according to articles 29.6 and 29.7 of the Regulations for the execution of Law 11/1986, of March 20, on patents on novelty and inventive activity; quotes and explanations in support of this statement The present invention refers to a wind turbine maintenance platform that has three main components: work platform, guidance system consisting of one or more guide wires and a set of regulation devices that allow the approach of the platform and allow work with different blade inclinations (claim 1). The cable hitching system can be carried out at interior points of the gondola (claim 2) or alternatively it can be carried out by means of a multi-branch sling system at the root of the blades (claim 3) or the motor wiring can be fixed of elevation in interior points of the gondola and the wiring of the guidance system at the root of the blade (claim 4). Finally, it can have anchor points for the guide cables in the field, being able to be fixed anchors or points of the chassis of the transport vehicle (claim 5). The problem that the present invention intends to solve can therefore be considered as obtaining a wind turbine maintenance equipment with a platform that allows operating with different blade inclinations. Document D01 is considered the closest in the state of the art to the object of claim 1, and discloses (the references in parentheses correspond to this document): a work platform (6) for the maintenance of a wind turbine, both of the blades (5), such as the tower (2) that has at least one cable (7, 7a, 7b, 7c) to connect the platform with the bottom of the gondola (3), means for winding the cables (43 , 44) and fastening means (8) for attaching the work platform (6) to the tower (2). The fastening means (8) have arms (19a, 19b, 20a, 20b) that are controlled by actuation means (22a, 22b) allowing the movement of the platform and the approach of the blade (5) with different inclinations of the same. The features of claim 1 are already known from document D01. Therefore, this claim is not new (Article 6.1 of the Patent Law), in view of the state of the known art. It is considered that the design features disclosed in the dependent claims 2 to 5 are mere particular executions obvious to a person skilled in the art, who at no time affect the technical problem to be solved from operating with different blade inclinations. Therefore, claims 2 to 5 do not imply inventive activity ((Article 8.1 of the Patent Law). Report on the State of the Art (Written Opinion) Page 4/4