US 9,315,200 B1Granted

Wind turbine blade railroad transportation with two axis translation

AssigneeTransportation Technology Services, Inc.

InventorsScott C. Landrum, T. Christopher King

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Abstract

Airfoil transportation using two railcars. A radius arm connects a deck pivot and a bolster pivot, where the deck pivot is coupled to the first railcar to enable arcuate transverse movement of the bolster pivot. A pair of deck stops on either side of the radius arm limit lateral movement of the first bolster pivot. A bolster supports the airfoil and is coupled to the radius arm by the bolster pivot. A wheel assembly under the radius arm carries the weight of the airfoil as it moves laterally. A bolster lock, lock release, and latch operate to hold the bolster in a fixed angular relationship with the radius until the lock release enables rotation at the deck stops positions. The latch holds the radius arm against the deck stop until the bolster returns to the fixed angular position, where the latch releases the radius arm to further translate laterally.

Claims25

Dependent claims

A system for transporting an airfoil, having a first and second end, utilizing a first railcar coupled to a second railcar, the system comprising:

a radius arm that extends between a first deck pivot and a first bolster pivot;
said first deck pivot rotatably coupled to the first railcar about a first vertical axis, to enable transverse movement of said first bolster pivot along an arcuate path in either of a first or second transverse direction;
a first deck stop and a second deck stop, both fixed to the first railcar, and positioned on either side of said radius arm to limit lateral movement of said first bolster pivot;
a first bolster, configured to support the airfoil adjacent to the first end, rotatably coupled to said radius arm about a second vertical axis by said first bolster pivot;
a wheel assembly disposed between said radius arm and the first rail car to support weight of said first bolster and the airfoil as they laterally translate between said first and second transverse directions;
a bolster lock disposed between said radius arm and said first bolster to maintain a fixed angular relationship therebetween;
a lock release coupled to disengage said bolster lock, thereby enabling rotation of said first bolster with respect to said radius arm, and wherein
said first and second deck stops are positioned to actuate said lock release at said limits of movement in said first and second transverse directions;
a latch cooperatively coupled with said lock release to maintainably retain said radius arm with either of said first deck and second deck stops while said bolster lock is disengaged, and
a second bolster disposed adjacent to the second end of the airfoil to support the airfoil above the second railcar.

7 more elements

A method for transporting an airfoil, having a first and second end, utilizing a first railcar coupled to a second railcar, comprising the step of:

connecting a first deck pivot to the first railcar;
connecting the deck pivot to a radius arm about a first vertical axis, wherein the radius arm extends from the first deck pivot to a first bolster pivot, thereby enabling transverse movement of the first bolster pivot along an arcuate path in either of a first or second transverse direction;
attaching a first deck stop and a second deck stop to the first railcar on either side of the radius arm, thereby limiting lateral movement of the first bolster pivot;
attaching a first bolster to the first bolster pivot about a second vertical axis, and supporting the airfoil with the first bolster adjacent to the first end;
positioning a wheel assembly between the radius arm and the first rail car, thereby supporting weight of the first bolster and the airfoil as they are laterally translating between the first and second transverse directions;
disposing a bolster lock between the radius arm and the first bolster, thereby maintaining a fixed angular relationship therebetween;
positioning a lock release such that the first and second deck stops actuate the lock release when the radius arm reaches the limits of movement in the first and second transverse directions, and wherein the lock release actuation disengages the bolster lock, thereby enabling rotation of the first bolster with respect to the radius arm;
cooperatively coupling a latch with the lock release for maintainably retaining the radius arm with either of the first deck or second deck stops while the bolster lock is disengaged, and
supporting the second end of the airfoil above the second railcar by attaching a second bolster to the second railcar adjacent to the second end of the airfoil.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.