Device for positioning a rope access technician in relation to a blade of a wind turbine

a technology for accessing technicians and wind turbine blades, which is applied in the direction of scaffolds, machine/engines, building scaffolds, etc., can solve the problems of blade and technician moving independently of each other, blades typically cannot be locked out or fixed exactly vertically, and the most difficult part of the blade to perform maintenance and repair upon is the tip

Inactive Publication Date: 2011-11-24
ROPE PARTNER
View PDF14 Cites 5 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]The present invention concerns a device for positioning a rope access technician at tip of a blade of a wind turbine. This device, although not the primary support for the rope access technician, who depends on an independent rope access system anchored to the top of the wind turbine to prevent h

Problems solved by technology

After initial installation, wind turbine blades are inspected, maintained and repaired from time-to-time as they can be damaged during transportation to the installation site, during installation or, for example, due to lightning, hail, dust storms, normal wear and tear, poor initial structural design and birds.
It is generally understood that the most difficult part of the blade to perform maintenance and repair upon is the tip, as it moves the most in the wind.
One challenge commonly encountered by a rope access technician, or also referred to herein as simply technician, is that the blade and the technician move independently of each other due to wind and weather.
Another challenge faced by a technician is that there is nothing below the tip as a leverage point to stabilize himself/herself with while working.
Another challenge for the technician is that the blade typically cannot be locked out, or fixed, exactly vertically and, thus, the technician has to work a

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Device for positioning a rope access technician in relation to a blade of a wind turbine
  • Device for positioning a rope access technician in relation to a blade of a wind turbine
  • Device for positioning a rope access technician in relation to a blade of a wind turbine

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

Embodiment Construction

[0026]The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments by which the invention may be practiced. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Among other things, the invention may be embodied as devices, methods, processes, and systems. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

[0027]The present invention concerns a positioning device that affixes to a wind turbine blade enabling a technician to work effectively on the tip of the blade. The positioning device is typically suspended by a rope to the top, or hub, of the wind turbine.

[0028]...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to view more

PUM

No PUM Login to view more

Abstract

A device for positioning a rope access technician next to a blade of a wind turbine, including a rigid spine, one or more clamp assemblies with each clamp assembly connected to the rigid spine and each clamp assembly capable of clamping to a blade of a wind turbine, and a lower platform connected to a lower portion of the rigid spine with a substantially flat top surface on which a technician may sit, stand or place items.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 346,885, entitled DEVICE FOR POSITIONING A ROPE ACCESS TECHNICIAN NEXT TO A BLADE OF A WIND TURBINE, filed on May 20, 2010 by inventors Josh Crayton et al.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to wind turbine maintenance. More specifically, it concerns a device that positions and stabilizes a rope access technician, while suspended on his / her own independent rope access system, in relation to a blade of a wind turbine while working on the tip of the blade.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]After initial installation, wind turbine blades are inspected, maintained and repaired from time-to-time as they can be damaged during transportation to the installation site, during installation or, for example, due to lightning, hail, dust storms, normal wear and tear, poor initial structural design and birds.[0004]It is generally understood that the most difficult part...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to view more

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to view more
IPC IPC(8): E04G3/24
CPCF03D1/003E04G3/24F03D80/50Y02E10/72
Inventor CRAYTON, JOSHUADEWIT, JOHNCANE, JEAN-PAULDEPUTY, RANDYGRANGER, DAVID M.STANFIELD, ERIC
Owner ROPE PARTNER
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Try Eureka
PatSnap group products

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic.

© 2024 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap