Microcontroller based control system for use in a wind turbine
AssigneeZond Systems, Inc.
InventorKevin L. Cousineau
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A distributed module control system for controlling a wind turbine using multiple controls and monitors comprising multiple modules that include microcontrollers, and having data input terminals and data output terminals; high level logic circuitry interconnecting the modules via selected data input and data output terminals; and certain modules also connected with the turbine monitors and controls to control operation of the wind turbines in response to monitoring of turbine operation.
Claims17
A distributed control system for controlling a wind turbine system, said wind turbine system including a propeller which drives a rotatable shaft of an electric generator that produces electrical power along power cables, a rotatable platform driven by a yaw motor, a brake for controlling rotation of said rotatable shaft, an anemometer for generating repetitive wind speed data signals, a vane sensor for generating repetitive vane direction data signals indicating propeller direction relative to wind direction and a cable twist sensor for generating repetitive cable twist data signals, said distributed control system comprising:
- a wind trigger module, which inputs said repetitive wind speed data signals, that generates, using a first microcontroller, a high wind fault signal when some of said wind speed data signals indicate a high wind fault condition;
- and
- a yaw module, which inputs said repetitive vane direction data signals, that generates, using a second microcontroller, directional control signals that control said yaw motor and cause adjustment of said rotatable platform so that said propeller maintains a desired direction relative to the wind direction.
A fault detection system for use in a distributed control system that controls a brake associated with a wind turbine system, comprising:
- a plurality of fault detection modules, each module including a separate asynchronously operating microcontroller, each said module sensing a different fault condition and generating a distinct fault condition signal;
- and
- a fault module for generating a brake control signal if one of said different fault conditions exist, said fault module including a plurality of inputs for inputting each of said distinct fault condition signals and an asynchronously operating fault module microcontroller for scanning said plurality of inputs for said distinct fault condition signals to determine whether a fault condition exists and generating said brake control signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.