Wind turbine assemblies and slip ring assemblies for wind blade pitch control motors
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsRonald Ralph Cairo, Sujith Sathian
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Slip ring assemblies for controlling pitch of a wind driven blade such as those utilized in wind turbines can include a series of grooves disposed about an outer perimeter of a rotating portion, each one of the grooves comprising a first planar surface intersecting with a second planar surface at an angle of 75 to 105 degrees, and a concavely rounded bottom portion at the intersection of the first and planar surfaces. The rotating portion of the slip ring can be formed of a bronze material and may include a graphite coating. Also disclosed herein are wind turbine assemblies employing the slip ring assemblies.
Claims17
A slip ring assembly, comprising:
- a rotating portion comprising a series of grooves disposed about an outer perimeter of a ring, each one of the grooves comprising a first planar surface intersecting with a second planar surface at an angle of 75 to 105 degrees relative to one another, and a concavely rounded bottom portion at the intersection of the first and second planar surfaces;
- and
- a stationary portion in operative communication with the rotating portion.
A wind turbine assembly, comprising:
- a nacelle housing a wind driven generator or alternator mounted onto a tower;
- at least one wind driven blade operatively coupled to the wind driven generator or alternator;
- and
- a slip ring assembly disposed within the nacelle for controlling pitch of the at least one wind driven blade, the slip ring assembly comprising a rotating portion and a stationary portion, wherein the rotating portion comprises a series of grooves for receiving a spring loaded electrical contact disposed about an outer perimeter of the slip ring rotating portion, each one of the grooves comprising a first planar surface intersecting with a second planar surface, and a concavely rounded bottom portion at the intersection of the first and second planar surfaces, wherein the first planar surface is disposed at an angle of 75 to 105 degrees relative to the second planar surface.
A wind turbine assembly, comprising:
- a nacelle housing a wind driven generator or alternator mounted onto a tower;
- at least one wind driven blade operatively coupled to the wind driven generator or alternator;
- and
- a slip ring assembly disposed within the nacelle and configured for controlling the pitch of the at least one wind driven blade, the slip ring assembly comprising a rotating portion and a stationary portion, wherein the rotating portion comprises a series of grooves for receiving a spring loaded electrical contact disposed about an outer perimeter of the slip ring rotating portion, each one of the series of grooves comprises a first planar surface intersecting with a second planar surface at an angle of 75 to 105 degrees relative to one another, and a concavely rounded bottom portion at the intersection of the first and second planar surfaces, and wherein the rotating portion is formed of bronze and further comprises a graphite coating thereon.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.