Scissor lift system and plug-in mobility mechanism for wind turbine blade rotating device
AssigneeTPI Composites, Inc.
InventorsMehmet Üyünük, Furkan Ünal
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wind turbine blade handling apparatus for rotating and lifting a blade. The apparatus includes a root device having a root support member with a concave upper surface and rollers having a longitudinal axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blade and configured to rotate the blade; a base, and a scissor-lift mechanism with intersecting struts which converts from a lowered position wherein the struts are disposed in a generally coplanar configuration, to an elevated position wherein the struts are disposed in an angled configuration.
Claims19
A wind turbine blade apparatus comprising:
- a root device, the root device including:
- a root support member, the root support member having an upper surface with a radius of curvature and configured to receive a portion of a wind turbine blade,
- at least one roller, the roller having a longitudinal axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blade and configured to rotate the blade, the at least one roller displaced from a first position extending outwardly from the root support member when no blade is present, to a second depressed position when a blade is positioned on the root device;
- a base,
- a lift mechanism disposed below the root support member, the lift mechanism at least partially disposed within the base and configured to adjust the height of the root support member;
- and
- a tip device, the tip device configured to receive a portion of the blade tip, the tip device rotating at the same speed as at least one roller of the root device;
- wherein a position indicating mechanism conveys the relative position of the root device and tip device to detect if the root device or tip device are aligned with respect to a longitudinal axis of the blade.
A wind turbine blade apparatus comprising:
- a root device, the root device including:
- a root support member, the root support member having an upper surface with a radius of curvature and configured to receive a portion of a wind turbine blade,
- at least one roller, the roller having a longitudinal axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blade and configured to rotate the blade;
- a base,
- a lift mechanism having at least one pair of intersecting struts, the lift mechanism having a first position wherein the struts are disposed in a generally coplanar configuration, and a second position wherein the struts are disposed in an angled configuration;
- and
- wherein the lift mechanism is programmed to prevent the lift mechanism from operating when the root support member engages a blade.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.