JP5557937B2 - Horizontal axis windmill - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a horizontal axis wind turbine, a technique of yaw drive control especially.

  As is well known, so-called horizontal axis wind turbines are widely used for commercial purposes such as wind power generation. A horizontal axis wind turbine has a rotor in which one or more blades are radially attached from a hub, and a nacelle that supports the rotor via a main shaft that is connected to the hub and extends in a substantially horizontal direction. And a tower that is installed in a substantially vertical direction and supports the nacelle in a yaw-rotatable manner.

Conventionally, a variable-pitch horizontal axis wind turbine that drives and controls the pitch angle of the blade is also used.
As a variable-pitch horizontal axis wind turbine, in addition to an interlocking system in which the pitch angles of all blades are mechanically connected to each other by a link mechanism and operated at the same time, in recent years there is a pitch drive control system for each blade. In addition, an independent pitch variable horizontal axis wind turbine capable of controlling the pitch angle independently for each blade is also used.
In the case of an independent pitch variable horizontal axis wind turbine, even if the pitch drive device of one of the blades breaks down during a storm, preventing overrotation of the rotor by making one or all of the other blades feather Safety can be ensured.

  On the other hand, with respect to yaw control, a horizontal axis wind turbine is conventionally provided with a yaw drive control device that can freely drive and control the nacelle, and thus the yaw rotation of the rotor, and a yaw brake that brakes the yaw rotation.

  In patent document 1, when a main motor or its control means breaks down by installing a sub motor in addition to a main motor, a strong wind blows after a failure by operating a sub motor and rotating a windmill blade to a feather. Thus, a wind turbine blade pitch angle control device is described which is capable of making the wind turbine safe even if it becomes.

JP 2005-30263 A

However, the above-described conventional technology has the following problems.
In the pitch angle control device of Patent Document 1, the main motor and the sub motor share a part of the transmission mechanism of the driving force to the blade. That is, the “reduction gear (17)” described in FIG. 1 and the like, the “output shaft (29)”, the “external gear (45)” connected to the “output shaft (29)”, and the blade are provided. The "internal gear (12)" meshing with the "external gear (45)" is a transmission mechanism common to the main motor and the sub motor.
Therefore, when the common transmission mechanism becomes inoperable due to foreign matter caught in the meshing portion of the gear, the pitch control becomes impossible, and neither the main motor nor the sub motor is useful.
Even assuming that the sub-motor system as in Patent Document 1 is applied to nacelle yaw drive, the same problem occurs as long as there is a common transmission mechanism.
Further, in the sub motor system as in Patent Document 1, the sub motor is only used to make the blades feather when the main motor is out of order and the wind is strong, and the availability of the two motors is lacking.
Yet another problem is that a ring gear fixed to a driving object such as a blade or a nacelle or a base portion such as a hub or a tower has a limited angular range without all teeth being used evenly. There is a problem that the teeth are often worn and the service life is shortened.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems in the prior art . Among these problems, in the present invention, a horizontal axis wind turbine including two yaw driving devices that are independent to the transmission mechanism for one wind turbine nacelle is configured, and new usability is added to the two driving devices. The challenge is to have it.

Invention, hub and one or the rotor and rotatably shaft said rotor via a connected spindle to said hub having a two or more blades according to claim 1 for solving the above problems In a horizontal axis wind turbine comprising a supporting nacelle, a tower that supports the nacelle in a yaw-rotating manner, and a yaw control means that can drive and control the yaw angle of the nacelle,
The tower and the nacelle are connected to both the tower and the nacelle via an interposition part rotatable around the yaw axis of the nacelle,
It is a horizontal axis windmill provided with the tower pair interposition part drive device which rotates the said intervention part relatively with respect to the said tower, and the nacelle pair intervention part drive device which rotates the said nacelle relatively with respect to the said intervention part.

The invention according to claim 2 is that the yaw control means controls both of the tower pair interposition unit driving device and the nacelle pair interposition unit driving device or controls either one of the nacelle with respect to the tower. The horizontal axis wind turbine according to claim 1 , wherein an angle around the yaw axis is controllable.

The invention according to claim 3 is a tower pair interposition part angle sensor for detecting an angle of the interposition part around the yaw axis with respect to the tower, and a nacelle pair for detecting an angle of the nacelle around the yaw axis with respect to the interposition part. With an interposition angle sensor,
The yaw control means is configured to control both the tower pair interposed unit driving device and the nacelle pair interposed unit driving device based on the detection value of the tower pair interposed unit angle sensor and the detection value of the nacelle pair interposed unit angle sensor. 2. The horizontal axis wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the angle of the nacelle around the yaw axis with respect to the tower can be controlled regardless of whether one of them is controlled.

The invention according to claim 4 includes a tower-to-nacelle angle sensor that directly detects an angle of the nacelle around the yaw axis with respect to the tower,
The yaw control unit may control both the tower pair interposition unit driving device and the nacelle pair interposition unit driving device based on the detection value of the tower to nacelle angle sensor. wherein a horizontal axis wind turbine of claim 1 or claim 3 wherein the angle of the yaw axis is capable of controlling the nacelle relative to the tower.

The invention according to claim 5 is arranged with the yaw axis as a central axis as a transmission mechanism part of the tower pair interposition part driving device or the nacelle pair interposition part driving device and fixed to the tower, the interposition part or the nacelle. It has a ring gear and a gear meshing with this,
Furthermore, both the tower pair interposition part drive device and the nacelle pair interposition part drive device are arranged so that the relative rotation direction of the interposition part with respect to the tower and the relative rotation direction of the nacelle with respect to the interposition part are opposite to each other. The horizontal axis wind turbine according to claim 1 , further comprising a meshing position control unit that controls the meshing position between the ring gear and the gear according to the offset amount.

According to the invention of the present claims 1-5, and said tower and said nacelle through intervening portion can freely rotate around the yaw axis of the nacelle is connected to both the tower and the nacelle, to the tower 2 to make the transmission mechanism independent of one windmill nacelle since the tower-to-intervening part driving device for relatively rotating the intervening part and the nacelle-to-intervening part driving device for rotating the nacelle relative to the interposing part are provided. A system yaw drive is configured.
Therefore, not only when an abnormality occurs in one of the two yaw drive devices or its control system, but also when the drive force transmission mechanism becomes abnormal and becomes inoperable, There is an effect that the driving angle of the nacelle can be controlled by the driving device. Therefore, even if one of the yaw drive devices becomes inoperable, even if it is in an operation operation that causes the rotor to perform work such as power generation, or even when it is stopped and waiting in a storm, It can be controlled in a desired direction (mainly the direction facing the wind).
Moreover, when both the tower pair interposition part drive device and the nacelle pair interposition part drive device are healthy, the yaw angle of the nacelle can be controlled by controlling both.
Also, if the meshing position control means is provided, the meshing position between the ring gear and the gear meshing with it can be changed without affecting the control of the yaw angle of the nacelle, and uneven wear of the gear is suppressed. The service life can be extended.
As an applied angle sensor, it is preferable to employ a tower pair interposition part angle sensor and a nacelle pair interposition part angle sensor, or a tower versus nacelle angle sensor. When the tower-to-nacelle angle sensor is employed, the nacelle yaw angle can be detected more accurately. All these three angle sensors may be adopted. In this case, when one system fails, the yaw angle control of the nacelle can be performed with the other system.

It is a front schematic diagram of the horizontal axis windmill which concerns on the reference example of this invention. It is the elements on larger scale which show the connection part of the hub and braid | blade of the horizontal axis windmill which concerns on the reference example of this invention. A pitch driving device is shown in a partial cross-sectional view showing a connecting portion of a hub and a blade of a horizontal axis wind turbine according to a reference example of the present invention in a cross section passing through a pitch axis. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a connecting portion of a hub and a blade of a horizontal axis wind turbine according to a reference example of the present invention in a cross section passing through a pitch axis, and shows an arrangement form of a pitch driving device and the like different from FIG. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a connecting portion between a hub and a blade of a horizontal axis wind turbine according to a reference example of the present invention in a cross section passing through a pitch axis, and shows a hub pair interposition part angle sensor and a blade pair interposition part angle sensor. It is the cross-sectional schematic diagram which showed the connection part of the hub and braid | blade of the horizontal axis windmill which concerns on the reference example of this invention in the cross section perpendicular | vertical to a pitch axis. The hub-to-blade angle sensor is shown in a partial cross-sectional view showing a connecting portion between a hub and a blade of a horizontal axis wind turbine according to a reference example of the present invention in a cross section passing through a pitch axis. It is the front schematic diagram which showed the storm standby state at the time of the partial failure of the horizontal axis windmill which concerns on the reference example of this invention. It is the front schematic diagram which showed the storm standby state at the time of a partial failure of the conventional horizontal axis windmill. It is a side surface schematic diagram of the horizontal axis windmill which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The yaw drive device is shown by the fragmentary sectional view which showed the connection part of the tower and nacelle of the horizontal axis windmill which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention with the cross section which passes along a yaw axis. It is the cross-sectional schematic diagram which showed the connection part of the tower and nacelle of the horizontal axis windmill which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention with the cross section perpendicular | vertical to a yaw axis.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following is one embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the present invention.

The technical idea described in the specification and drawings of the present application is that two systems of pitch driving devices independent of the transmission mechanism for one blade, or two systems of yaw systems independent of the transmission mechanism for one windmill nacelle. A horizontal axis wind turbine provided with a drive device is configured to provide new usability to the two systems of drive devices. Among these, in the present application, a horizontal axis wind turbine provided with two yaw driving devices that are independent of the transmission mechanism with respect to one windmill nacelle is targeted. A horizontal axis wind turbine provided with two independent pitch drive devices will be described as a reference example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the horizontal axis wind turbine of this reference example includes a rotor having a hub 1 and blades 2. The rotor in this reference example is a rotor having three blades 2. The number of blades of the rotor to which this reference example can be applied may be one or two or more.

Further, the horizontal axis wind turbine of this reference example supports a nacelle 3 (see FIG. 10) that rotatably supports a rotor via a main shaft (not shown) connected to the hub 1, and a nacelle 3 that supports the nacelle 3 in a yaw-rotating manner. And a tower 4 that is configured.

The pitch drive control of this reference example will be described below.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an internal tooth ring gear 8 is attached to the hub 1 via a bearing device 5, and an internal tooth ring gear 9 is attached to the blade 2 via a bearing device 6. The bearing devices 5 and 6 and the ring gears 8 and 9 are arranged coaxially about the pitch axis PA of the blade 2.
The outer ring portion 5a of the bearing device 5 is fixed to the hub 1, the outer ring portion 6a of the bearing device 6 is fixed to the blade 2, and the inner ring portion 5b of the bearing device 5 and the inner ring portion 6b of the bearing device 6 are connected via the shank 7. Fixed. The shank 7 is a ring-shaped connecting part and is applied as necessary. As is well known, the outer ring portion 5a (6a) and the inner ring portion 5b (6b) of the bearing device 5 (6) rotate relative to each other while holding the bearing therebetween.

  As can be seen from the above description, the integral part constituted by the inner ring part 5b, the inner ring part 6b, and the shank 7 has an interposed part that is rotatable about the pitch axis PA of the blade 2 with respect to both the hub 1 and the blade 2. It is composed. The hub 1 and the blade 2 are connected via the interposition parts 5b, 6b, and 7.

  A hub-to-intervening portion drive device that rotates the interposition portions 5b, 6b, and 7 relative to the hub 1 includes a ring gear 8, a motor 10, and the like. The ring gear 8 is a ring-shaped gear with internal teeth fixed inside the inner ring portion 5b. The main body of the motor 10 is fixed to the hub 1, and a pinion gear 10 b attached to the output shaft 10 a of the motor 10 meshes with the ring gear 8.

  The blade pair interposition unit driving device that rotates the blade 2 relative to the interposition portions 5b, 6b, and 7 includes a ring gear 9, a motor 11, and the like. The ring gear 9 is a ring-shaped gear with internal teeth fixed inside the inner ring portion 6b. The main body of the motor 11 is fixed to the blade 2, and a pinion gear 11 b attached to the output shaft 11 a of the motor 11 meshes with the ring gear 9.

In this reference example , the hub pair interposition drive device and the blade pair interposition drive device are arranged inside the hub 1, blade 2, and bearing devices 5, 6 as shown in FIG. 3, but either one or both Various other arrangements may be applied, such as placing them outside. FIG. 4 shows an example in which the hub pair interposition unit driving device is disposed outside. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the outer ring portion 5a of the bearing device 5, the inner ring portion 6b of the bearing device 6 and the shank 7 are integrated to form an interposition portion, and an outer ring gear 12 is fixed to the outside of the outer ring portion 5a. Then, the ring gear 12 and the pinion gear 10b of the motor 10 mesh with each other.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the horizontal axis wind turbine of the present reference example includes a hub-to-intermediate portion angle sensor 13 that detects an angle around the pitch axis PA of the interposition portions 5b, 6b, and 7 with respect to the hub 1, an interposition portion 5b, A blade pair interposition angle sensor 14 that detects an angle of the blade 2 around the pitch axis PA with respect to 6b and 7;
Each of the angle sensors 13 and 14 is a rotary encoder. The main body of the angle sensor 13 is fixed to the hub 1. A pinion gear 13 b mounted on the input shaft 13 a of the angle sensor 13 meshes with the ring gear 8. The main body of the angle sensor 14 is fixed to the blade 2. A pinion gear 14 b mounted on the input shaft 14 a of the angle sensor 14 meshes with the ring gear 9. The input shafts 13a and 14b rotate following the ring gears 8 and 9, and the angle sensors 13 and 14 output signals corresponding to the rotation amounts.
The motor 10 and the angle sensor 13 and the motor 11 and the angle sensor 14 are arranged at different angular positions, for example, as shown in FIG. 6 so as not to interfere with each other.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, the horizontal axis wind turbine of the present reference example includes a hub-to-blade angle sensor 15 that directly detects an angle around the pitch axis PA of the blade 2 with respect to the hub 1.
The angle sensor 15 is a rotary encoder. The main body of the angle sensor 15 is fixed to the hub 1. A pinion gear 15 b mounted on the input shaft 15 a of the angle sensor 15 meshes with the ring gear 9. The input shaft 15a rotates following the ring gears 8 and 9, and the angle sensor 15 outputs a signal corresponding to the amount of rotation.
The angle sensor 15 is arranged at different angular positions so as not to interfere with the motors 10 and 11 and the angle sensors 13 and 14.
The hub-to-blade angle sensor 15 may be employed in place of the hub-to-intermediate portion angle sensor 13 and the blade-to-intermediate portion angle sensor 14 or may be employed with them.

Furthermore, a control device (not shown) is mounted on the horizontal axis wind turbine of this reference example . The control device constitutes pitch control means, meshing position control means, and the like, and executes the following control operations.

The control device functions as pitch control means.
The control device adds the detection values based on the detection value of the hub pair interposition part angle sensor 13 and the detection value of the blade pair interposition part angle sensor 14 to thereby obtain an angle around the pitch axis PA of the blade 2 with respect to the hub 1. That is, the pitch angle of the blade 2 is calculated.
Further, the control device calculates the pitch angle of the blade 2 based on the detection value of the hub-to-blade angle sensor 15.
When the control device performs variable angle control of the blade 2 to the target pitch angle, the hub-to-intermediate part drive device (motor 10) is set so that the pitch angle of the blade 2 calculated as described above becomes the target pitch angle. The blade pair interposition drive unit (motor 11) is controlled, or either one is controlled. In the case of controlling both, the control device distributes and controls the amount of angle change with a sharing ratio of 1: 1. When controlling either one, the control device alternates driving at predetermined time intervals or every predetermined cumulative drive amount, and alternately uses one by one. With these controls, the hub pair interposition drive unit (motor 10) and the blade pair interposition unit drive unit (motor 11) can be used equally.
In this reference example , since the three angle sensors 13, 14, 15 are employed, even when the angle sensors 13, 14 fail or do not indicate an accurate value, the control device uses the angle sensor 15 to provide the blade 2. The pitch angle of the blade 2 can be known by the angle sensors 13 and 14 even when the angle sensor 15 fails or does not indicate an accurate value.

  When the control device is in a control mode for controlling both the hub pair interposition drive device (motor 10) and the blade pair interposition drive device (motor 11), the hub pair interposition drive device (motor 10) and blade pair are controlled. When one of the intervening section drive devices (motor 11) becomes inoperable, only the other operable one is controlled to switch to a control mode in which the pitch angle of the blade 2 is controlled.

  Further, when the control device is in a control mode in which only the hub-to-interposition drive device (motor 10) is controlled to control the pitch angle of the blade 2, the hub-to-interposition drive device (motor 10) becomes inoperable. In this case, the control mode is switched to the control mode for controlling the pitch angle of the blade 2 by controlling only the operable blade pair interposition drive device (motor 11).

  Further, when the control device is in a control mode in which only the blade pair interposition drive device (motor 11) is controlled to control the pitch angle of the blade 2, the blade pair interposition drive device (motor 11) becomes inoperable. In this case, only the operable hub-to-interposition drive device (motor 10) is controlled to switch to a control mode in which the pitch angle of the blade 2 is controlled.

As one control mode, when the inoperability of one of the hub pair interposition drive device (motor 10) and the blade pair interposition drive device (motor 11) occurs, the control device As shown in FIG. 8, the blades 2a, 2b, and 2c are used as feathers as shown in FIG. 8 as a storm standby operation when a windstorm that requires standby is maintained.

As another control mode, when the inoperability of one of the hub pair interposition drive device (motor 10) and the blade pair interposition drive device (motor 11) occurs, the control device may As shown in FIG. 8, the blades 2a, 2b and 2c are feathered as shown in FIG. 8 and wait until the inoperability is eliminated by maintenance personnel.

In the conventional pitch drive control system, if the inoperability occurs when the wind turbine is operating, it is difficult to continue the operation operation of the wind turbine as usual in terms of efficiency reduction and load increase, as shown in FIG. The blade 2c in which the operation of the pitch drive control system is disabled cannot be made into a feather, and even if the other blades 2a and 2b are made into a feather and stand by, the load applied to the windmill remains relatively large.
On the other hand, in the case of this reference example, if either one of the hub pair interposition drive device (motor 10) and the blade pair interposition drive device (motor 11) is operable, the wind turbine operation operation is continued as usual. The blades 2a, 2b, and 2c can be used as feathers, and the operating rate and maintainability of the windmill can be improved.

The control device functions as a meshing position control means.
Controller, as interposed section 5b relative to the hub 1, and the direction of relative rotation 6b, 7, interposed section 5b, and the relative rotational direction of the blade 2 with respect 6b, 7 are opposite to, the hub-side interposed section drive unit ( By controlling both the motor 10) and the blade pair interposition drive device (motor 11), the meshing position of the ring gear 8 and the pinion gear 10b and the meshing position of the ring gear 9 and the pinion gear 11b are changed by the offset amount. Control.
By rotating the intervening portions 5b, 6b, 7 relative to the hub 1 and simultaneously rotating the blade 2 relative to the intervening portions 5b, 6b, 7 in the opposite direction with the same amount of rotation, the blade 2 relative to the hub 1 is obtained. Without changing the relative angle, that is, the pitch angle of the blade 2, only the interposition portions 5b, 6b, and 7 can be rotated.
With this principle, the meshing positions of the ring gears 8 and 9 and the gears 10b and 11b meshing with the ring gears 8 and 9 can be changed without affecting the control of the pitch angle of the blade, and uneven wear of the gears is suppressed. The service life can be extended.

Next, the yaw drive control of this embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, an internal tooth ring gear 28 is attached to the upper end of the tower 4 via a bearing device 25, and an internal tooth ring gear 29 is attached to the nacelle 3 via a bearing device 26. The bearing devices 25 and 26 and the ring gears 28 and 29 are arranged coaxially around the yaw axis YA of the nacelle 3.
The outer ring portion 25a of the bearing device 25 is fixed to the tower 4, the outer ring portion 26a of the bearing device 26 is fixed to the nacelle 3, and the inner ring portion 25b of the bearing device 25 and the inner ring portion 26b of the bearing device 26 are connected via the shank 27. Fixed. The shank 27 is a ring-shaped connecting part and is applied as necessary. As is well known, the outer ring portion 25a (26a) and the inner ring portion 25b (26b) of the bearing device 25 (26) rotate relative to each other while holding the bearing therebetween.

  As can be seen from the above description, the integral part constituted by the inner ring portion 25b, the inner ring portion 26b and the shank 27 is interposed between the tower 4 and the nacelle 3 so as to be rotatable around the yaw axis YA of the nacelle 3. Part. The tower 4 and the nacelle 3 are connected via the interposition parts 25b, 26b, and 27.

  The tower pair interposition part drive device that rotates the interposition parts 25b, 26b, and 27 relative to the tower 4 includes a ring gear 28, a motor 30, and the like. The ring gear 28 is an internal gear ring-shaped gear fixed to the inner side of the inner ring portion 25b. The main body of the motor 30 is fixed to the tower 4, and a pinion gear 30 b attached to the output shaft 30 a of the motor 30 meshes with the ring gear 28.

  The nacelle pair interposition drive device that rotates the nacelle 3 relative to the interposition portions 25b, 26b, and 27 includes a ring gear 29, a motor 31, and the like. The ring gear 29 is a ring-shaped gear with internal teeth fixed inside the inner ring portion 26b. The main body of the motor 31 is fixed to the nacelle 3, and a pinion gear 31 b attached to the output shaft 31 a of the motor 31 meshes with the ring gear 29.

  In this embodiment, the tower pair interposition part driving device and the nacelle pair interposition part driving device are arranged inside the tower 4, the nacelle 3, and the bearing devices 5 and 6 as shown in FIG. Various other arrangements may be applied, such as placing them outside. In FIG. 4, the hub 1 may be replaced with the tower 4 and the blade 2 may be replaced with the nacelle 3, and the tower-to-interposition drive unit may be disposed outside according to the example of FIG. 4.

Further, the horizontal axis wind turbine of the present embodiment is similar to the structure shown in FIG. 5 (with the hub 1 replaced with the tower 4 and the blade 2 replaced with the nacelle 3), and the interposition portions 25b, 26b, A tower pair interposition angle sensor 33 that detects an angle of 27 around the yaw axis YA, and a nacelle interposition angle sensor 34 that detects an angle of the nacelle 3 around the yaw axis YA relative to the interposition portions 25b, 26b, and 27. .
For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the motor 30 and the angle sensor 33 and the motor 31 and the angle sensor 34 are arranged at different angular positions so as not to interfere with each other.

Further, the horizontal axis wind turbine of the present embodiment is similar to the structure shown in FIG. 7 (the hub 1 is replaced with the tower 4 and the blade 2 is replaced with the nacelle 3), and the yaw axis YA of the nacelle 3 with respect to the tower 4 is applied. A tower-to-nacelle angle sensor (not shown) that directly detects the turning angle is provided.
The tower-to-nacelle angle sensors are arranged at different angular positions so as not to interfere with the motors 30 and 31 and the angle sensors 33 and 34.
The tower-to-nacelle angle sensor may be used in place of the tower-to-intermediate part angle sensor 33 and the nacelle-to-intermediate part angle sensor 34, or may be employed together with these.

The control device functions as a yaw control means.
The control device adds the detection values based on the detection value of the tower pair interposition part angle sensor 33 and the detection value of the nacelle pair interposition part angle sensor 34, whereby the angle of the nacelle 3 around the yaw axis YA relative to the tower 4 That is, the yaw angle of the nacelle 3 is calculated.
Further, the control device calculates the yaw angle of the nacelle 3 based on the detection value of the tower-to-nacelle angle sensor.
When the control device performs the variable angle control of the nacelle 3 to the target yaw angle, the tower pair interposition drive unit (motor 30) is set so that the yaw angle of the nacelle 3 calculated as described above becomes the target yaw angle. And either the nacelle pair interposition unit drive device (motor 31) is controlled, or one of them is controlled. In the case of controlling both, the control device distributes and controls the amount of angle change with a sharing ratio of 1: 1. When controlling either one, the control device alternates driving at predetermined time intervals or every predetermined cumulative drive amount, and alternately uses one by one. By these controls, the tower pair interposition drive unit (motor 30) and the nacelle pair interposition drive unit (motor 31) can be used equally.
In the present embodiment, since three angle sensors are adopted, the control device can be used even when the tower pair interposition part angle sensor 33 or the nacelle interposition part angle sensor 34 fails or does not indicate an accurate value. Even if the yaw angle of the nacelle 3 can be known by the angle sensor with respect to the nacelle, and the tower-to-nacelle angle sensor fails or does not indicate an accurate value, the control device does not prevent the tower-to-interlace angle sensor 33 and the nacelle-to-intermediate part from The yaw angle of the nacelle 3 can be known by the angle sensor 34.

  When the control device is in a control mode for controlling both the tower pair interposition drive unit (motor 30) and the nacelle pair interposition drive unit (motor 31), the tower pair interposition drive unit (motor 30) and nacelle pair are controlled. When one of the intervening part drive devices (motor 31) becomes inoperable, only the other operable part is controlled to switch to a control mode in which the yaw angle of the nacelle 3 is controlled.

  Further, when the control device is in a control mode in which only the tower-to-interposition drive device (motor 30) is controlled to control the yaw angle of the nacelle 3, the tower-to-interposition drive device (motor 30) becomes inoperable. In this case, only the operable nacelle pair interposition drive device (motor 31) is controlled to switch to a control mode in which the yaw angle of the nacelle 3 is controlled.

  In addition, when the control device is in a control mode in which only the nacelle-to-interposition drive device (motor 31) is controlled to control the yaw angle of the nacelle 3, the nacelle-to-interposition drive device (motor 31) becomes inoperable. In this case, only the operable tower-to-interposition drive unit (motor 30) is controlled to switch to the control mode for controlling the yaw angle of the nacelle 3.

When one of the tower pair interposition drive unit (motor 30) and the nacelle pair interposition drive unit (motor 31) becomes inoperable, the control unit switches the control mode as described above as necessary. It is possible to continue the operation operation of the windmill as usual, or to take a standby operation during a storm when standby is required.
Therefore, the operating rate and maintainability of the windmill are improved.

The control device functions as a meshing position control means.
Controller interposed section 25b against the tower 4, 26b, 27 and the direction of relative rotation, as interposed section 25b, and the relative rotational direction of the nacelle 3 with respect 26b, 27 in the opposite direction, the tower-side interposed section drive unit ( By controlling both the motor 30) and the nacelle interposition drive device (motor 31), the meshing position of the ring gear 28 and the pinion gear 30b and the meshing position of the ring gear 29 and the pinion gear 31b are changed by the offset amount. Control.
By rotating the interposition parts 25b, 26b, 27 relative to the tower 4 and simultaneously rotating the nacelle 3 relative to the interposition parts 25b, 26b, 27 in the opposite direction with the same rotation amount, the nacelle 3 relative to the tower 4 is obtained. Without changing the relative angle, that is, the yaw angle of the nacelle 3, only the interposition portions 25b, 26b, and 27 can be rotated.
With this principle, the meshing position between the ring gears 28 and 29 and the gears 30b and 31b meshing with the ring gears 28 and 29 can be changed without affecting the control of the yaw angle of the nacelle, and uneven wear of the gears can be suppressed. The service life can be extended.

The technical idea described as a reference example (horizontal axis wind turbine provided with two systems of pitch drive devices independent of the transmission mechanism for one blade) is summarized as follows.
(1) In a horizontal axis wind turbine comprising a rotor having a hub and one or more blades, and pitch control means capable of independently driving and controlling the pitch angles of the blades,
The hub and the blade are connected to both the hub and the blade via an interposition part rotatable around the pitch axis of the blade,
It is a horizontal axis wind turbine provided with a hub pair interposition part drive device that rotates the interposition part relative to the hub, and a blade pair interposition part drive device that rotates the blade relative to the interposition part.
(2) Even if the pitch control means controls both the hub pair interposition drive device and the blade pair interposition drive device related to one blade, or controls either one of the blade pair interposition drive device, the blade relative to the hub This is a horizontal axis wind turbine of (1) configured to be able to control the angle around the pitch axis.
(3) A hub-to-interposition part angle sensor that detects an angle of the interposition part around the pitch axis with respect to the hub, and a blade-to-interposition part angle sensor that detects an angle of the blade around the pitch axis relative to the interposition part. With
The pitch control means is configured to control both the hub pair interposed unit driving device and the blade pair interposed unit driving device based on the detected value of the hub pair interposed unit angle sensor and the detected value of the blade pair interposed unit angle sensor. The horizontal axis wind turbine according to (1) configured to be able to control an angle of the blade around the pitch axis with respect to the hub regardless of whether one of them is controlled.
(4) a hub-to-blade angle sensor that directly detects an angle of the blade around the pitch axis with respect to the hub;
The pitch control means may control both the hub pair interposition unit driving device and the blade pair interposition unit driving device based on the detection value of the hub to blade angle sensor. The horizontal axis wind turbine according to (1) or (3) configured to be able to control an angle of the blade around the pitch axis with respect to the hub.
(5) As a transmission mechanism part of the hub pair interposition part driving device or the blade pair interposition part driving device, a ring gear arranged around the pitch axis and fixed to the hub, the interposition part or the blade, and this And a gear meshing with
Furthermore, both the hub pair interposition part driving device and the blade pair interposition part driving device are arranged so that the relative rotation direction of the interposition part with respect to the hub and the relative rotation direction of the blade with respect to the interposition part are opposite to each other. (1) is a horizontal axis wind turbine provided with meshing position control means for controlling the meshing position of the ring gear and the gear according to the offset.
According to the reference examples (1) to (5), the hub and the blade are connected to both the hub and the blade via the interposed portion that is rotatable around the pitch axis of the blade. The intervening portion driving device for rotating the intervening portion relative to the intervening portion and the blade pair interposing portion driving device for rotating the blade relative to the interposing portion are provided so that the transmission mechanism is made independent for one blade. Two pitch drive devices are configured.
Accordingly, not only when an abnormality occurs in one of the two systems of the pitch drive device or its control system, but also when the drive force transmission mechanism becomes abnormal and becomes inoperable, the other pitch There is an effect that the drive can control the pitch angle of the blade. Therefore, even if one of the pitch driving devices becomes inoperable, it is possible to continue the operation operation that causes the rotor to perform work such as power generation, and to perform a storm standby operation that makes the blade a feather during a storm. .
In addition, when both the hub pair interposition drive device and the blade pair interposition drive device are in good health, the pitch angle of the blade can be controlled by controlling both.
In addition, if a meshing position control means is provided, the meshing position between the ring gear and the gear meshing with it can be changed without affecting the control of the pitch angle of the blade, and uneven wear of the gear is suppressed. The service life can be extended.
As the applied angle sensor, it is preferable to employ a hub pair interposition part angle sensor and a blade pair interposition part angle sensor, or a hub pair blade angle sensor. When the hub-to-blade angle sensor is employed, the blade pitch angle can be detected more accurately. All these three angle sensors may be adopted. In this case, when one system fails, the other system can compensate for the pitch angle of the blade.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hub 2 Blade 3 Nacelle 4 Tower 5 Bearing device 6 Bearing device 7 Shank 8 Ring gear 9 Ring gear 10 Motor 11 Motor 12 Ring gear 13 Hub pair interposition angle sensor 14 Blade pair interposition angle sensor 15 Hub versus blade angle sensor 25 Bearing device 26 Bearing device 27 Shank 28 Ring gear 29 Ring gear 30 Motor 31 Motor 33 Tower pair interposition portion angle sensor 34 Nacelle pair interposition portion angle sensor PA Pitch axis YA Yaw axis

Claims (5)

A rotor having a hub and one or more blades; a nacelle that rotatably supports the rotor via a main shaft connected to the hub; and a tower that rotatably supports the nacelle; In a horizontal axis wind turbine having a yaw control means capable of driving and controlling the yaw angle of the nacelle,
The tower and the nacelle are connected to both the tower and the nacelle via an interposition part rotatable around the yaw axis of the nacelle,
A horizontal axis wind turbine comprising: a tower pair interposition part driving device that rotates the interposition part relative to the tower; and a nacelle pair interposition part driving device that rotates the nacelle relative to the interposition part. The yaw control means can control the angle of the nacelle around the yaw axis with respect to the tower even if either the tower pair interposition drive device or the nacelle interposition drive device is controlled. the horizontal axis wind turbine of claim 1 configured to. A tower pair interposition part angle sensor that detects an angle of the interposition part around the yaw axis with respect to the tower, and a nacelle interposition part angle sensor that detects an angle of the nacelle around the yaw axis relative to the interposition part,
The yaw control means is configured to control both the tower pair interposed unit driving device and the nacelle pair interposed unit driving device based on the detection value of the tower pair interposed unit angle sensor and the detection value of the nacelle pair interposed unit angle sensor. The horizontal axis wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the angle about the yaw axis of the nacelle with respect to the tower can be controlled regardless of whether one of them is controlled. A tower-to-nacelle angle sensor that directly detects an angle of the nacelle about the yaw axis relative to the tower;
The yaw control unit may control both the tower pair interposition unit driving device and the nacelle pair interposition unit driving device based on the detection value of the tower to nacelle angle sensor. The horizontal axis windmill according to claim 1 or 3 , wherein an angle of the nacelle around the yaw axis with respect to the tower is controllable. As a transmission mechanism part of the tower pair interposition part drive device or the nacelle pair intervention part drive device, a ring gear arranged around the yaw axis as a central axis and fixed to the tower, the interposition part or the nacelle meshes with the ring gear. With gear,
Furthermore, both the tower pair interposition part drive device and the nacelle pair interposition part drive device are arranged so that the relative rotation direction of the interposition part with respect to the tower and the relative rotation direction of the nacelle with respect to the interposition part are opposite to each other. The horizontal axis wind turbine according to claim 1 , further comprising a meshing position control unit that controls the meshing position of the ring gear and the gear according to the offset amount.

Images