Wind turbine rotor blade pitch bearing
AssigneeSiemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S
InventorSoeren Forbech Elmose
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Provided is a wind turbine rotor blade pitch bearing for mounting a rotor blade to a hub, including a carrier with an annular arrangement of bearing pad seats; a plurality of bearing pads, wherein a bearing pad is arranged in each bearing pad seat of the carrier; and a gripping assembly for gripping the carrier, which gripping assembly including a sliding part arranged to lie against an annular arrangement of bearing pads and further includes an access window dimensioned to expose a bearing pad when opened. A wind turbine with a number of such pitch bearings; and a method of performing a service routine on a wind turbine rotor blade pitch bearing is further provided.
Claims13
A pitch bearing for mounting a rotor blade to the hub of a wind turbine and for allowing the rotor blade to be turned about a longitudinal axis, comprising
- a carrier with an annular arrangement of bearing pad seats positioned on an axial carrier face of the carrier;
- a plurality of bearing pads, wherein a bearing pad is arranged in each bearing pad seat of the carrier such that the plurality of bearing pads are configured in an annular arrangement on the axial carrier face of the carrier;
- and
- a sliding part arranged to lie against the annular arrangement of bearing pads on the axial carrier face of the carrier, wherein the sliding part is configured to move relative to the carrier and/or is configured such that the carrier moves relative to the sliding part, wherein the sliding part includes an access window positioned in the sliding part, and wherein the access window is dimensioned to expose a respective bearing pad when opened.
A method of performing a service routine on a wind turbine rotor blade pitch bearing having a carrier with an annular arrangement of bearing pad seats positioned on an axial carrier face of the carrier;
- a plurality of bearing pads, wherein a bearing pad is arranged in each bearing pad seat of the carrier such that the plurality of bearing pads are configured in an annular arrangement on the axial carrier face of the carrier;
- and a sliding part arranged to lie against the annular arrangement of bearing pads on the axial carrier face of the carrier, wherein the sliding part is configured to move relative to the carrier and/or is configured such that the carrier moves relative to the sliding part, wherein the sliding part includes an access window in the sliding part, and wherein the access window is dimensioned to expose a bearing pad when opened, the method comprising:
- opening the access window in the sliding part;
- actuating a pitch system to turn the sliding part relative to the carrier until a respective bearing pad of the plurality of bearing pads appears in the opened access window;
- at least one of inspecting and replacing the respective bearing pad;
- and
- closing the access window.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.