Mechanical emergency brake for wind turbines and method for operating same
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsPeter Rogall, Patrick Achenbach
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mechanical emergency brake for a wind turbine is provided, said mechanical emergency brake comprising a spiral spring with a loop at its outer end, a cassette for accommodating said spring and a casing for receiving said cassette and said spring, wherein said casing comprises a retention pin to which the loop of the spring can be fixed.
Claims23
A cassette for receiving a spiral spring for a wind turbine, the spiral spring comprising a first connector configured to connect an outer end of the spiral spring to a retention pin, the first connector being rotatable about the retention pin when being coupled to the retention pin, the spiral spring further comprising a second connector configured to connect an inner end of the spiral spring to a drive shaft of the wind turbine, said cassette comprising:
- an upper part,
- a lower part, and
- separators disposed between said upper and lower parts, wherein each of said upper and lower parts has a central bore for receiving the drive shaft of the wind turbine, and wherein each of said upper and lower parts further has a hole at a periphery thereof and configured to receive the retention pin.
A spring unit for a mechanical emergency brake of a wind turbine, comprising a spiral spring comprising a first connector connecting an outer end of the spiral spring to a retention pin, the first connector being rotatable about the retention pin when being coupled to the retention pin, the spiral spring further comprising a second connector connecting an inner end of the spiral spring to a drive shaft of the wind turbine, and
- a cassette for accommodating the spiral spring, the cassette comprising an upper part, a lower part, and separators disposed between said upper and lower parts, wherein said upper and lower parts have a central bore for receiving the drive shaft, and wherein said upper and lower parts further comprise a locking means configured to receive the retention pin.
A casing for a spring energy storage used in a mechanical emergency brake for a wind turbine, comprising:
- a lower wall;
- a side wall;
- a drive shaft to which an inner fixing means of a spiral spring can be fixed;
- a retention means to which an outer fixing means of the spiral spring can be fixed;
- and
- a top cover;
- wherein said casing is configured to receive a spring unit comprising a cassette and the spiral spring which is accommodated in the cassette, the cassette comprising:
- an upper part having a first central bore for receiving the drive shaft;
- a lower part having a second central bore for receiving the drive shaft separators disposed between the upper part and the lower part;
- and
- a locking means configured to receive the retention means,
- the outer fixing means of the spiral spring being configured to be rotatable about the retention means when being affixed thereto.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.