EP3877311A1

EP3877311A1 - Lifting device fastening and lifting device for wind turbines

Info

Publication number: EP3877311A1
Application number: EP19802119.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Pravin Kumar MATHIALGAN; Prashant AHIRRAO
Original assignee: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Service GmbH
Current assignee: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Service GmbH
Priority date: 2018-11-06
Filing date: 2019-11-06
Publication date: 2021-09-15
Also published as: WO2020094735A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a lifting device fastening (30) and a lifting device (1) for wind turbines with a climbing aid (41) arranged on the inner wall of the tower (40) of the wind turbine. The lifting device fastening (30) comprises at least two mountings (31), which are individually secured to the climbing aid (41) at at least two different heights at climbing aid anchoring points (42), and a vertical lifting device support brace (32), which can be attached to the mountings (31) in a parallel orientation to the climbing aid (41). The lifting device (1) comprises a fastening element (2) and an attachment element (20) for attaching a lifting tool, wherein the fastening element (2) and the attachment element (20, 20') are connected by a row (10) of vertically extending segments (11), and segments (11) lying adjacently to one another are pivotally connected together on a horizontal plane. The attachment element (20, 20') can be moved and oriented freely on a horizontal plane relative to the fastening element (2), and the fastening element (2) is attached to a lifting device fastening (30) according to the invention.

Description

Hoist attachment and hoist for wind turbines

The invention relates to a hoist attachment and a hoist for wind turbines.

Modern wind turbines generally have a gondola which is pivotally mounted on a tower and which carries the rotor axis of a rotor with usually three rotor blades which drive a generator. While some components that are required to operate the wind turbine are positioned in the nacelle, other components that are not necessarily in the nacelle are positioned on the bottom of the tower. Typical components positioned on the bottom of the tower are converters and transformers.

The components at the bottom of the tower are usually installed after the tower has been at least partially completed, which leads to limited space in which various components with generally large dimensions and high weight have to be arranged. Likewise, when replacing one of the components on the bottom of the tower of a wind turbine, there is very little space to work.

There are known flexible articulated cantilever arms to facilitate the installation and replacement of large and heavy components on the bottom of a wind turbine tower. For example, the document WO 2011/150930 Al describes such a boom arm that can be used to move heavy equipment around a horizontal plane. The cantilever arm comprises a series of vertically extending segments, with adjacent segments in a horizontal plane

are pivotally connected to one another, the attachment element being freely movable and orientable in a horizontal plane with respect to a fastening element. In order to prevent the cantilever arm from starting to swing unintentionally and independently, the vertically extending end segments must be aligned parallel to gravity. Special mounting points in the structure of the tower are required for the cantilever arms of the prior art. Providing these attachment points in the structure of the tower, which is usually made of reinforced concrete, and with the necessary accuracy requires a lot of care and effort. Furthermore, there are no cantilever arm attachment points in existing wind power turbines, which either prevents the use of a cantilever arm or a lot of effort is required to retrofit suitable attachment points.

Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hoist mount and hoist for wind turbines that do not require any particular configuration at the bottom of the tower.

This problem is solved by a hoist attachment according to the main claim and a hoist according to claim 4. A preferred method for fastening the hoist is the subject of claim 14. Further preferred embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims.

The invention thus relates to a hoist attachment for wind power turbines with a climbing aid arranged on the inner wall of the tower of the wind turbine, the at least two brackets, which are individually attached to the climbing aid at climbing anchoring points at at least two different heights, and a vertical lifting support strut which can be attached to the brackets in an alignment parallel to the climbing aid.

The invention further relates to a hoist for use in wind turbines, which comprises a fastening element and an attachment element for attaching a lifting tool, wherein the fastening element and the attachment element are connected by a series of vertically extending segments, adjacent segments in a horizontal plane are pivotally connected to one another, the attachment element being freely movable and orientable in a horizontal plane with respect to the fastening element, the fastening element being attached to an inventive hoist attachment is attached.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for fastening the inventive hoist, which comprises the following steps: a) successively fastening at least some of the brackets to the climbing aid anchoring points with the climbing aid; b) attaching the vertical hoist support strut to the attached brackets; c) successively attaching any remaining brackets to the access aid anchoring points with the exit aid and connecting these brackets with the vertical hoist support strut; and d) attaching the hoist to the vertical hoist support

strive.

As a prerequisite for operation, each wind turbine tower is equipped with a climbing aid for personnel access to the gondola. In the context of the present invention, the term "ascent aid" is to be interpreted broadly and cover at least ladders, stairs and guide rails for elevators. Often times, the ascent aid is a combination of a ladder and guide rails for an elevator, the elevator being the main ascent aid and the ladder is intended for elevator failures or other emergencies.

In the present invention, it is thus detected that instead of providing expensive attachment points at the base of the tower of a wind power turbine specifically for a hoist, the anchoring points for the climbing aid, which are present anyway, are sufficiently strong for a hoist in general and are thus generally suitable for attachment of the hoist can be used on it.

In the present invention, it is further detected that since the climbing aid must not or at least not be able to be removed temporarily, it is preferred to attach the hoist attachment to the anchoring points, ie in addition to the climbing aid.

The inventive hoist attachment achieves this by providing at least two brackets that are individually attached to individual access aid anchoring points of the access aid. Although the climbing aid is attached to the same anchor point, e.g. B. by loosening and re-tightening a retaining screw, temporarily from one of several anchoring points, the climbing aid remains completely attached. As soon as a sufficient number of brackets have been attached, a vertical hoist support strut is attached to it in an alignment parallel to the climbing aid. The vertical extent of the vertical hoist is testimony to most known He, especially boom arms, required. In order to guarantee the vertical alignment of the strut, the brackets are fastened to at least two different heights, which means that the vertical strut is supported at at least two points that are distant from one another, thereby absorbing moments that occur when actually using a hoist connected to the hoist attachment is supported.

In a preferred embodiment, the hoist attachment comprises four brackets. These brackets can preferably be L-shaped and / or be fastened to two different heights. It has been found that such a configuration of the hoist fastening is of great advantage with regard to the usability and strength. Due to the four L-shaped brackets, the vertical hoist support strut can have a fairly simple construction, which leads to a portable weight of the individual components, and at the same time the brackets can be installed individually before the vertical strut is attached to them, which allows easy fastening becomes. The vertical hoist support strut is preferably attachable to the holding stanchions by perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the strut. The fact that the connecting bolts run perpendicular to the longitudinal axis - ie vertical axis - of the strut ensures the best use of the load capacity of the bolts.

The inventive hoist to facilitate handling of a component in a confined and closed space comprises an inventive hoist attachment to which it is attached by its fastener.

Starting with the fastener, there are a number of segments, which in turn are pivotally connected to each other, similar to a link chain that leads to an add-on element. Due to the link chain configuration, the degree of freedom between adjacent segments and thus for the entire connection between the fastening element and the add-on element is limited to the horizontal plane. In order to withstand the weight of the component attached to the attachment element either directly or via a lifting tool, the segments extend vertically, so that the row of segments provides sufficient rigidity in a vertical direction.

Due to the series of pivotally connected segments, the attachment element can generally be freely moved and aligned in a horizontal plane with respect to the fastening element, as long as the distance between the two elements is less than the length of the series of segments.

Preferably, the segments are generally tubular with connec tion elements on opposite sides of the outer circumference for pivotally connected adjacent Seg elements. This allows the segments to have a suitable horizontal extent with the required rigidity, while at the same time being light.

For the swivel connection between two segments, the segments preferably each comprise at least one, preferably at least two coaxial pivots, which point in the same direction, and a corresponding number of bushings with an open end for receiving the pivots of an adjacent segment as connecting elements. The pivots of a segment can be used to Bil dung a pivot connection usammenwirken _Z with the implementation of the adjacent segment. Due to the con struction of the swivel connection, the row of segments can be easily disassembled by lifting a segment or a group of segments to pull the pivot pin of a swivel connection out of the corresponding bushings. This allows easy assembly, easy dismantling and easy transport of the hoist. In this case, assembly and disassembly can even be carried out without tools.

It is preferred that the first segment of the series of segments is pivotally connected to the fastening element and / or the last segment of the series of segments is pivotally connected to the attachment element. If this is the case, the one or two connections also contribute to the mobility of the entire hoist. It is preferred that the one or two connections be arranged similarly to the pivot connections between two adjacent segments of the series of segments, i. H. the fastening element and / or the attachment element can be configured to cooperate with the connecting elements of the first and / or the last segment in such a way as to provide the pivot connection. For example, the fastening element can comprise bushings for the pivots of the first segment to be inserted, while the attachment element can include pivots to be inserted into the bushing of the last segment.

With an alternative connection of the add-on element comparable to the intermediate connections between two adjacent segments, the add-on element can encompass a cylindrical region which is to be introduced into a tubular part of the last segment. In this embodiment, the cylindrical region of the add-on element is inserted into the tubular part of the last segment, which is provided anyway in the case of a generally tubular shape of the segments. Due to the generally circular interaction surface, the attachment element can be rotated even in the last segment.

It is preferred that the add-on element is adjustable in height. This can be achieved, for example, by a swivel mechanism for a cantilever arm with a horizontal swivel axis or a vertical linear guide. If the add-on element has a cylindrical region that is to be inserted into a tubular part of the last segment, the height adjustment can be made by restricting the insertion depth, i. H. by means of blocking elements.

Although the ability of the segments to pivot with respect to one another is required for the free movement and alignability of the attachment element with respect to the fastening element, fixing the attachment element in its current state may be desirable in certain situations. It is therefore preferred that the relative position of two adjacent segments can be determined selectively. By determining the relative position of all adjacent segments and between the first and / or last segment and the fastening and / or attachment element, the relative position between the attachment element and the attachment element can be temporarily determined. Different options for e.g. B. intermittent prevention of a pivoting movement of a pivot in a bushing are known and can be easily applied to the inventive hoist.

The lifting device can comprise a hand lifting device, in particular a pulley, which can be provided on the attachment element. As already mentioned above in connection with a preferred embodiment, but also independently of this, it is preferred that adjacent segments can be detached from one another without tools. As a result, the inventive hoist can be easily dismantled into smaller assemblies, which makes it easier to handle and transport the hoist when it is not in use. There are generally two methods of attaching the inventive hoist. First, all brackets can be attached with the climbing aid before the vertical strut is fastened, ie step (c) of the claimed method is skipped. Second, a sufficient number of brackets for securely connecting the vertical strut can be attached to it while the remaining brackets are installed once the vertical strut is attached to the already attached brackets.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying figures:

Figure la, b: an exemplary embodiment of a hoist attachment according to the invention;

Figure 2: an exemplary representation of a lifting device to be attached to the lifting device of Figure 1; and

Figure 3a, b: the hoist attachment of Figure 1 with a hoist according to Figure 2 in use.

Figure la, b show an exemplary embodiment of a Hezeugzeugbefestigung 30 according to the present invention. Figure la shows the hoist attachment 30 in a fully assembled state, while Figure lb shows an exploded view.

The hoist attachment 30 comprises four L-shaped brackets 31, which can be releasably attached to a vertical hoist support strut 32 by bolts 33 which run perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the hoist support strut 32. At their respective other ends, the L-shaped brackets 31 include through holes 34, which allow individual fastening with a climbing aid on climbing aid anchoring points on the inner wall of the tower of the wind turbine, as will be explained later with reference to FIGS. 3a, b. As can be seen in Figure la, b, the L-shaped brackets 31, if they are fixed, the hoist support strut 32 being vertical, positioned at two different heights.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a hoist 1 which, after attachment, can be connected to the hoist attachment 30 of FIG. 1.

The hoist 1 comprises a fastening element 2 which can be detachably fixed to the vertical hoist support strut 32 of the hoist fastening 30 from FIG. 1. There are two projections 5 on the fastening element 2, each of which has a vertically protruding pivot 6 on a common, vertically oriented axis.

A first segment 11 'of a row 10 of almost identical segments 11 is pivotably attached to this pivot 6. The segments 11 of the row 10 extend vertically and are generally tubular. On one side of the outer circumference, the segments 11 each comprise two projections, which form passages 12 for receiving pivots 6, 13, while on the opposite side 2 there are axially oriented pivots 13 pointing upwards.

By inserting the pivot pin 6 of the fastening element 2 into the bushings 12 of the first segment 11 ', the first segment 11' can pivot with respect to the fastening element 2 about a vertical axis. The same applies to each subsequent segment 11, 11 "with respect to their respective previous segments 11, 11 ', since the connection between two adjacent segments 11, 11' is equally pivotable about a vertical axis.

The lifting device 1 further comprises an attachment element 20 which is provided with two passages 21 for pivoting connection to the last segment 11 ″ of the row 10 of segments 11 analogous to the connection between two adjacent segments. The attachment element 20 comprises a horizontally extending cantilever arm 22. At its outer end, for example, lifting ropes can be attached to it. An alternative or additional (and thus only shown in broken line) attachment element 20 'can have a cylindrical region 24' for insertion into the tubular part of the last segment 11 "of the row of segments 10. The attachment element 20 is at its upper end 'provided with a horizontally extending cantilever arm 22'.

The cylindrical region 24 'comprises various vertically arranged through bores 25' for receiving a cylindrical pin 26 ', which can then slide on the upper surface of the last segment 11', so that the add-on element 20 'can still be rotated with respect to the last segment 11' . By using different through bores 25 ', the actual height of the component 20' and its cantilever arm 22 'can be set.

A block and tackle (not shown) can be attached to the outer end of one of the cantilever arms 22, 22 '.

In FIG. 3a, b the actual use of the hoist attachment 30 from FIG. La, b with a hoist 1 according to FIG. 2 is shown. FIG. 3a is a perspective view in which the tower 40 of the wind turbine is shown transparently to allow the visibility of the hoist 1, while FIG. 3b is a plan view of the area of the tower 40 in which the hoist 1 is installed.

The hoist attachment 30 is attached to the anchoring points 42 of a climbing aid 41 - in this case a ladder - in the tower 40 of a wind power turbine. By using their anchoring points 42, the hoist fastening 30 is also fastened to the climbing aid 41, which means that the hoisting fastening 30 is fixed to the anchoring points 42 at the same time as the climbing aid 41. This can be achieved by loosening a single retaining screw of the climbing aid 41 and guiding it through a bore 34 in an L-shaped holding device 31 before the climbing aid 41 is connected to the

Screw is reattached. When the retaining screws on the climbing aid 41 are loosened one after the other and tightened again the structural integrity of the climbing aid 41 and its attachment is practically not weakened.

In the construction shown in FIG. 3, it is preferred that the lower two L-shaped brackets 31 first on the respective

Anchor points 42 are attached. Then the verti cal hoist support strut 32 with the already attached holding stanchions 31 connected before the upper two brackets 31 are installed in.

Once the hoist mount 30 is in position, the hoist 1 can be installed on the vertical hoist support strut 32 by attaching its fastener 2. The hoist 1 can then be used according to the prior art.

Claims

Expectations

1. Lifting device attachment (30) for wind power turbines with a climbing aid (41) arranged on the inner wall of the tower (40) of the wind power turbine, the at least two brackets (31), individually with the climbing aid (41) on climbing aid anchoring points (42) at least two different heights are also fastened, and a vertical hoist support strut (32) which can be attached to the brackets (31) in an orientation parallel to the ascent aid (41).

2. Hoist attachment according to claim 1, wherein

the hoist attachment (30) comprises four brackets (31), the brackets (31) preferably being L-shaped and / or to be attached at two different heights.

3. hoist attachment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

the vertical hoist support strut (32) can be attached to the brackets (31) by means of bolts (33) which run perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the strut (32).

4. hoist for use in wind turbines, which comprises a fastening element (2) and an attachment element (20) for attaching a lifting tool, the attachment element (2) and the attachment element (20, 20 ') by a row (10) of themselves vertically extending segments (11) are connected, adjacent segments (11) being pivotally connected to one another in a horizontal plane, the add-on element (20, 20 ') being freely movable and orientable in a horizontal plane with respect to the fastening element (2), wherein the fastening element (2) is attached to a hoist fastening (30) according to one of the preceding claims.

5. Hoist according to claim 4, characterized in that

the fastening element (2) is integrally formed with the vertical support strut (32).

6. Hoist according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that

the segments (11) are generally tubular with connecting elements (12, 13) on opposite sides of the outer circumference for the swivel connection of adjacent segments (11).

7. hoist according to one of claims 4-6,

characterized in that

the segments (11) each have at least one, preferably at least two coaxial pivots (13) pointing in the same direction, and a corresponding number of passages (12) with an open end for receiving the pivots (13) of an adjacent segment ( 11) include as connecting elements.

8. hoist according to one of claims 4-7,

characterized in that

the first segment (11 ') is pivotally connected to the fastening element (2) and / or the last segment (11 ") is pivotally connected to the attachment element (20, 20'), the attachment element (2) and / or the attachment element (20 ) are preferably configured to interact with the connecting elements (12, 13) of the first and / or the last segment (11 ', 11 ") to provide the swivel connection.

9. hoist according to one of claims 4-8,

characterized in that

the attachment element (20 ') comprises a cylindrical region (24) for insertion into a tubular part of the last segment (11 "), the attachment element (20') preferably being rotatably fastened in the last segment (11").

10. hoist according to one of claims 4-9,

characterized in that

the add-on element (20 ') is adjustable in height.

11. Hoist according to one of claims 4-10, characterized in that

the relative position of two adjacent segments (11) can be determined selectively.

12. Hoist according to one of claims 4-11,

characterized in that

a hand lifting device, preferably a block and tackle, is provided on the attachment element (20, 20 ').

13. hoist according to one of claims 4-12,

characterized in that

adjacent segments (11) can be detached from one another without tools.

14. A method for attaching the hoist (1) according to any one of claims 4-13, comprising the following steps: a) successive co-attachment of at least some of the brackets (31) of the hoist attachment (30) to climbing aid anchoring points (42) with the climbing aid ( 41); b) attaching the vertical hoist support strut (32) to the attached brackets (31); c) successive co-attachment of any possible remaining brackets (31) at climbing anchoring points (42) with the exit aid (31) and connecting these brackets (31) with the vertical hoist support strut (32); and d) attaching the hoist (1) to the vertical hoist

support strut (32).