Wind turbine
AssigneesRobert E. Lundquist, Steven J. Hultquist
InventorRobert E. Lundquist
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A wind turbine assembly including a rotor body having mounted thereon a plurality of rotor blades. Each of the rotor blades may be joined at an inner extremity to a blade stem projection extending interiorly into the rotor body and secured to the rotor body by a torsional-spaced and axial-shock damping connection. The blade stem projection may also be secured within the rotor body in a manner allowing limited rotation of the blade stem projection relative to the rotor body, corresponding to a selective range of pitch of the associated rotor blade, with a system for rotating a blade stem projections of each of the rotor blades by corresponding degrees of rotation to provide a predetermined pitch of the rotor blades. Also disclosed are pitch-damping tower designs, and an integrated design wherein the tower is pitch- and yaw-damped.
Claims15
A wind turbine assembly including a rotor body having mounted thereon a plurality of rotor blades, wherein each of the rotor blades is joined at an inner extremity thereof to a blade stem projection extending interiorly into the rotor body and secured therewithin to the rotor body by torsional- and axial-shock damping connection means, wherein each blade stem projection comprises a hollow cylindrical housing defining a central longitudinal axis therein, with a support member interiorly disposed in the housing at an intermediate position along its axis and fixedly secured to the housing, a shaft fixedly secured at one end thereof to the rotor body and coupled at its other end with the support member in a manner allowing limited axial and rotational movement of the housing relative to the rotor body, and a longitudinally outwardly biasing means between the support member and the rotor body, extending along the axis of the housing and outwardly abuttingly biased against the support member, whereby the biasing means provides torsional and axial shock damping to the rotor blade.
A wind turbine assembly including a rotor body having mounted thereon a plurality of rotor blades, wherein each of the rotor blades is joined at an inner extremity thereof to a cylindrical blade stem projection extending interiorly into a cylindrical receiving cavity in the the rotor body and secured therewithin to the rotor body in a manner allowing limited rotation of the blade stem projection relative to the rotor body, said limited rotation corresponding to a selected range of pitch of the associated rotor blade, and means for selectively rotating the cylindrical blade stem projections of each of said rotor blades by corresponding degrees of rotation to provide a predetermined pitch of said rotor blades, including torsional and axial biasing and damping means mounted within the cylindrical blade stem projection and connection means interconnecting the biasing and damping means in the cylindrical blade stem projection with the rotor body, said biasing and damping means serving to maintain the cylindrical blade stem projection in a torsionally and axially biased base position, a longitudinally extending control rod mounted coaxially within the rotor body for axial movement in either of opposing axial directions, means for selectively axially translating the control rod in a desired one of said opposing axial directions, and cabling coupling the control rod and said connection means so that axial movement of the control rod to a selected extent by said translating means in a first one of said opposing axial directions causes the cabling to be tensioned to tensionally rotate the connection means and cylindrical blade stem projection connected therewith so that the rotor blade associated with said rotated cylindrical blade stem is adjusted to a selected pitch level, and axial movement of the control rod to a selected extent by said translating means in a second one of said opposing axial directions causes the cabling to be detensioned to detensionally rotate the connection means and cylindrical blade stem projection connected therewith in an opposite direction of rotation toward said base position so that the rotor blade associated with said rotated cylindrical blade stem is adjusted to other selected pitches.
A wind turbine assembly including a rotor body having mounted thereon a plurality of rotor blades, a nacelle to which the rotor body is coupled for rotation with respect to the nacelle, and a tower having an upper portion to which the nacelle is secured by coupling means, and a lower portion positionable on a support body, the tower upper portion including a cylindrical member at an upper end of the tower, wherein the coupling means comprise:
- a swivel mounting member comprising upper legs joined to the nacelle at opposite sides thereof by mechanical fastening means, and a lower stem telescopically positioned in the cylindrical member at the upper end of the tower and extending downwardly from the cylindrical member to a bottom stem portion, to permit rotation of the nacelle and rotor body relative to the tower;
- an oarlock connector joined to the bottom stem portion;
- a pitch biasing and damping member interconecting the nacelle and the oarlock connector, for pitch damping of the nacelle;
- and yaw biasing and damping means connecting the oarlock and upper portion of the tower, whereby the pitch damping/biasing member and the yaw biasing and damping means bias the rotor body and nacelle to a selected base position in relation to the tower, and dampen pitch and yaw displacements from said base position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.