U.S. patent application number 13/312183 was filed with the patent office on 2012-06-21 for heli-hoist platform.
Invention is credited to Jens Bomholt Jensen, Aage Kristensen, Rune Nielsen, Kenneth Svendsen.
Application Number | 20120152651 13/312183 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45318977 |
Filed Date | 2012-06-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120152651 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Jensen; Jens Bomholt ; et
al. |
June 21, 2012 |
HELI-HOIST PLATFORM
Abstract
A heli-hoist platform that is an integral part of the nacelle is
disclosed. A floor of the heli-hoist platform is formed by a roof
of the nacelle. The floor of the heli-hoist platform may include a
nonslip surface. The floor of the heli-hoist platform may include
an entrance to the nacelle.
Inventors: |
Jensen; Jens Bomholt;
(Horsens, DK) ; Kristensen; Aage; (Give, DK)
; Nielsen; Rune; (Vejle, DK) ; Svendsen;
Kenneth; (Silkeborg, DK) |
Family ID: |
45318977 |
Appl. No.: |
13/312183 |
Filed: |
December 6, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
182/113 ;
182/129 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F05B 2240/14 20130101;
Y02B 10/30 20130101; Y02P 70/50 20151101; Y02P 70/523 20151101;
Y02E 10/72 20130101; F03D 13/40 20160501; F03D 80/00 20160501; Y02E
10/726 20130101; Y02E 10/722 20130101; F03D 80/50 20160501 |
Class at
Publication: |
182/113 ;
182/129 |
International
Class: |
E04G 3/22 20060101
E04G003/22; E04G 5/14 20060101 E04G005/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 15, 2010 |
CN |
201020660928.X |
Aug 3, 2011 |
CN |
201120279199.8 |
Claims
1. A heli-hoist platform for a nacelle of a wind turbine,
comprising: a floor of the heli-hoist platform, wherein the floor
of the platform is formed by a roof of the nacelle.
2. The heli-hoist platform according to claim 1, further
comprising: railings attached to the floor of the heli-hoist
platform, wherein the railings is define the borders of the
heli-hoist platform, and are provided to avoid parts sliding off
the heli-hoist platform or missing the heli-hoist platform while
being lowered to the heli-hoist platform.
3. The heli-hoist platform according to claim 1, wherein the floor
of the heli-hoist platform is covered with a non-slip surface to
prevent accidents.
4. The heli-hoist platform according to claim 1, wherein the
heli-hoist platform includes an entrance through the floor of the
heli-hoist platform to allow the service crew to enter the wind
turbine from the heli-hoist platform.
5. The heli-hoist platform according to claim 1, wherein the floor
of the heli-hoist platform is equipped with an additional weight
bearing support inside the nacelle.
6. The heli-hoist platform according to claim 2, wherein the floor
of the heli-hoist platform includes a plurality of integrated
fastening points to attach the railings to the floor of the
heli-hoist platform.
7. The heli-hoist platform according to claim 6, wherein the
several integrated fastening points are attached to the floor of
the heli-hoist platform by bolts or screws.
8. The heli-hoist platform according to claim 6, wherein the
plurality of integrated fastening points are configured to attach
feet of the railings to the floor of the heli-hoist platform.
9. The heli-hoist platform according to claim 1, wherein the
nacelle includes a stronger integral support with more support bars
in the area of the heli-hoist platform.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority of Chinese Patent Office
application No. 201020660928.X filed Dec. 15, 2010 and to the
Chinese Patent Office application No. 201120279199.8 filed Aug. 3,
2011. All of the applications are incorporated by reference herein
in their entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a heli-hoist platform for a
wind turbines.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] A wind turbine contains one or more Rotor blades mounted to
a hub. The hub is connected to a nacelle and the nacelle is mounted
on a tower. The wind turbine converts the energy of moving air to a
different form of energy, mainly electric power. For this the rotor
blades are formed in a way that they can transform the energy of
the moving air into a rotation of the hub. The rotation of the hub
is then transferred via a shaft through a gear to a generator. It
is also possible, that the wind turbine is gearless and the
rotation of the rotor blades and hub is directly transferred to the
generator via a shaft. The generator then generates electrical
energy.
[0004] Wind turbines are erected onshore and offshore. Offshore
wind turbines combine certain advantages, usually there is a higher
wind speed in hub height, and also the turbines do not annoy people
in a so high degree as onshore.
[0005] Wind turbines erected offshore have a high utilization and
contain a lot of moving parts that are under high load. So there is
a high need for a regular maintenance for offshore wind turbines.
For service a service crew has to visit the wind turbine, usually
the crew brings tools and spare parts.
[0006] An offshore wind turbine can be reached by ship, but the
wave conditions might make it difficult, dangerous or impossible to
approach the wind turbine and allow the service crew to enter the
wind turbine. If the weather conditions do not allow entering the
wind turbine for service or repair, this leads to a loss of
production of electrical energy. A bad weather situation can occur
often and last for a long time, so this might lead to situations
where the wind turbine is out of order for a long time. A
heli-hoist platform allows service crew, that are air lifted,
access to the wind turbine.
[0007] In the prior art a heli-hoist platform is attached on top of
the nacelle of a wind turbine. This conventional heli-hoist
platform contains a floor and a railing and is build as a structure
that is attached to the nacelle. This leads to a lot of additional
parts that are used for building the structure, additional weight,
installation time to attach the structure to the nacelle, and this
leads to high costs for the heli-hoist platform.
[0008] It is an aim of the invention to provide an improved
heli-hoist platform.
[0009] This aim is reached by the features of the independent
claim. Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the
dependent claims.
[0010] This invention provides a heli-hoist platform that is an
integral part of the nacelle. Therefore fewer parts are needed,
which saves not only installation time and weight but is also
easier to install and saves costs for the manufacturing of the
heli-hoist platform.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention enclosed an integrated heli-hoist
platform for a nacelle of a wind turbine. The heli-hoist platform
does not need an additional platform that is attached to/mounted on
top of the nacelle.
[0012] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there
is provided an heli-hoist platform for a nacelle of a wind turbine,
charactered in that: platform floor, which is also the roof of the
nacelle and is an integral part of the nacelle; railings, which are
attached to the platform floor, in order to define the borders of
the heli-hoist platform and to avoid that parts slide off the
heli-hoist platform or miss the heli-hoist platform while being
lowered to the heli-hoist platform.
[0013] The platform floor is covered with a non-slip surface to
prevent accidents.
[0014] The heli-hoist platform includes an entrance through the
platform floor to allow service crew to enter the wind turbine from
the heli-hoist platform.
[0015] The platform floor is equipped with an additional support
inside the nacelle to be capable of bearing more weight.
[0016] The platform floor includes several integrated fastening
points, for attaching the railings to the platform floor.
[0017] The several integrated fastening points are attached to the
platform floor by bolts or screws.
[0018] The several integrated fastening points are integrated in
the platform floor, fitting to attach the feet of the railings to
the platform floor.
[0019] The nacelle includes a stronger integral support with more
support bars in the area of the heli-hoist platform.
[0020] By the present invention, it becomes easier to install, less
material needed, less parts needed, less weight of the nacelle.
[0021] In addition, as the upper cover of the nacelle is big
enough, only a rail or wall is needed to define the borders of the
heli-hoist platform and to avoid that parts slide of the platform
or miss the platform while being lowered to the platform. In
addition, as the roof 1 of the nacelle is covered with a non-slip
surface all over the heli-hoist area, accidents can be
prevented.
[0022] Further scope of applicability of the present invention will
become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter.
However, it should be understood that the detailed description and
specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the
invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various
changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the
invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the
following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] The present invention will become more fully understood from
the detailed description given hereinafter and the accompanying
drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are
not limitative of the present invention and wherein:
[0024] FIG. 1 is a schematically top-view diagram illustrating an
embodiment of the invention.
[0025] FIG. 2 is a schematically side view diagram illustrating the
embodiment in FIG. 1.
[0026] FIG. 3 is a schematically exploded diagram illustrating the
attachment of the elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0027] The present invention relates in general to an integrated
heli-hoist platform for a wind turbines.
[0028] One embodiment of the invention is schematically illustrated
in FIG. 1.
[0029] As shown in FIG. 1, the inventive heli-hoist platform is not
an additional platform that is attached to/mounted on top of the
nacelle. The inventive platform is an integral part of the nacelle,
and the roof 1 of the nacelle is at the same time the floor of the
heli-hoist platform. In order to define the borders of the
heli-hoist platform and to avoid that parts slide off the platform
or miss the platform while being lowered to the platform, a railing
2 is attached to the roof 1. In addition, the roof 1 of the nacelle
is covered with a non-slip surface all over the heli-hoist area to
prevent accidents.
[0030] There is an entrance 5 through the roof 1 to allow the
service crew to enter the turbine from the platform.
[0031] For building the platform, the roof 1 of the nacelle is
equipped with an additional support 3 inside the nacelle to be
capable of bearing more weight.
[0032] In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, there are several
integrated fastening points 6 on the roof 1, for attaching the
railing 2 to the roof 1 of the nacelle. The several integrated
fastening points 6 are attached to the roof 1 by bolts or screws or
are integrated in the roof 1, fitting to attach the "feet" of the
railing 2 to the roof 1 of the nacelle, fixed or detachable. The
nacelle has a stronger integral support with more support bars in
the area of the heli-hoist platform.
[0033] An integrated heli-hoist platform having above construction,
is easier to install, less material needed, less parts needed, less
weight of the nacelle.
[0034] As the upper cover of the nacelle is big enough, only a rail
or wall is needed to define the borders of the heli-hoist platform
and to avoid that parts slide of the platform or miss the platform
while being lowered to the platform. In addition, as the roof 1 of
the nacelle is covered with a non-slip surface all over the
heli-hoist area, accidents can be prevented.
[0035] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that
the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be
regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention,
and all such modifications as would be obvious to those skilled in
the art are intended to be included within the scope of the
following claims.
* * * * *