Guidance system for rescue forces for locating a wind turbine

Abstract

The invention relates to a guidance system for rescue forces for locating a wind turbine, which is part of a group of two or more wind turbines. The spatial scope of the group is defined by the shortest convex peripheral line in top view that comprises all the wind turbines of the group. Each wind turbine of the group has one or more optical emergency signal transmitters. In a normal state of the respective wind turbine, none of the emergency signal transmitters outputs an emergency signal, and, in a signal state, at least one of the emergency signal transmitters outputs an emergency signal. In the case of clear visibility and direct solar irradiation, the emergency signal has a visibility range which is at least the distance of the furthest away point of the peripheral line in top view from the respective wind turbine plus 50 m.

Description

00311840-0010 12 / 08 / 2025 PCT / DE0S£ / |ößffi117 Guidance system for rescue workers to locate a wind energy plant

[0001] Wind turbines, abbreviated WTGs, are often erected as so-called wind farms, also known as wind farms, for economic reasons or those related to landscape protection. While the precise allocation of individual wind turbines to such a grouping may be difficult under permitting law in some cases, this discussion focuses solely on the grouping of at least two WTGs by emergency services. It cannot be ruled out that maintenance technicians, in particular, who work on wind turbines, sometimes at great heights, may suffer accidents and require external assistance. It is not always possible for the injured person to make an emergency call by mobile phone, possibly even specifying their location coordinates or a location-specific identifier, usually the wind turbine at or in which the accident occurred.Furthermore, it is possible for an emergency call system to automatically inform a control center responsible for the group about the exact location of the wind turbine within a group, so that the wind turbine can first be identified on a map.

[0002] However, a problem for rescue workers is that, despite the information provided, they cannot reach the wind turbine in or on which the injured person is located quickly enough if crucial time is lost on-site locating the correct turbine within the group. Furthermore, an emergency call via the injured person's mobile phone is only possible with reliable reception and sufficient battery power. Additionally, an emergency call made to a control center via a standalone system, for example, using appropriate cabling, can only contain the location coordinates of the relevant wind turbine. These coordinates then allow for on-site location on a map or via acoustic direction finding using technical aids such as GPS receivers. This is particularly time-consuming for larger groups and therefore impractical on-site.The same applies to numbering or similar marking of the wind turbines within a group, as the system is not immediately apparent to the observer of numerous turbines in larger groups, depending on the direction from which they approach the group. The precise location of wind turbines at sea in so-called offshore wind farms proves problematic, as these often contain a very large number of turbines, resulting in reduced clarity and more difficult access compared to smaller groups.

[0003] The task therefore arises to provide a guidance system for rescue services to locate a wind turbine that is part of a group of two or more. 1 CONFIRMATION COPY 00311840-0011 12 / 8 / 2025 PCT / DE0S^|ößffi1 17 Wind turbines are designed to allow rescue services to locate them easily and quickly.

[0004] This problem is solved by means of a guidance system according to claim 1, wherein advantageous embodiments of the guidance system are defined in the dependent claims. A guidance system for rescue services to locate a wind turbine that is part of a group of two or more wind turbines is proposed, wherein the spatial extent of the group is defined by the shortest convex perimeter line in plan view that encompasses all wind turbines of the group. The guidance system is based on the fact that each wind turbine of the group has one or more optical emergency signaling devices. In a normal state of the respective wind turbine, none of the respective emergency signaling devices emit an emergency signal, while in a signal state, at least one of the respective emergency signaling devices emits an emergency signal.The emergency signal must be selected by a qualified professional so that, under clear visibility and direct sunlight, it has a visibility range that is at least the distance from the point furthest from the respective wind turbine when viewed from above, plus 50 meters. For example, if the group consists of three wind turbines marking the vertices of an equilateral triangle with sides of 1000 m, the furthest point on the perimeter for each of the three turbines is 1000 m away. To this distance, 50 m must be added to achieve a minimum visibility range of 1050 m for the optical emergency signal under the aforementioned conditions. For four wind turbines marking the vertices of a square with sides of 1000 m, the minimum range would be the diagonal of the square plus 50 m, i.e., 1464 m.In practice, the light intensity of the emergency signal will often result in a greater visibility range of the emergency signal than the minimum range that should be estimated.

[0005] In practice, emergency signals typically have a luminous intensity of at least 10 candelas or more, sometimes reaching the three-digit kilocandela range. Since maintenance and repair work may be required on the electrical system of a wind turbine, or the turbine may need to be temporarily shut down, it is advantageous for each emergency signaling device, or at least all of them, to be connected to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to ensure their continuous emergency readiness. LEDs are preferred for emergency signaling devices, as they have proven to be particularly durable compared to other light sources and thus contribute to the reliability of the control system.

[0006] It is preferable that the emergency signal be clearly distinguishable from all other lights within the group to avoid confusion. 00311840-0012 08.12.2025 PCT / DE0S£^|ößffi117 to exclude. To ensure this, the emergency signaling device should preferably be configured to emit the emergency signal intermittently, advantageously with a flashing frequency of 2 seconds or less. The color in which the emergency signal is perceived can also serve to distinguish it from the other lighting of the wind turbine. A wavelength for the emergency signal in the range of 566 nm to 780 nm is advantageous, which roughly corresponds to the color range from yellow to red, including orange, and is a good option.

[0007] The emergency signal can be triggered automatically, for example, after a time previously defined by maintenance personnel, within which the maintenance work is expected to be completed and, for example, in the case of a turnstile with entry and exit control via transponder scan, logged out of the system. It is advantageous if immediate triggering of the emergency signal is also possible, preferably by equipping each wind turbine in the group with one or more trigger devices for the emergency signal. The trigger device should be designed to allow for simple manual activation, for example, by using a buzzer or panic button. To make accidental activation more difficult, such a trigger button can be located behind a thin glass pane, as is common with fire alarms.Additionally, it may be possible to link the emergency signaling device to an existing smoke detector system, thus enabling its activation even in the event of heavy smoke, such as that occurring in fires. It is advantageous if the emergency signaling device of a wind turbine is functionally connected to several triggering devices located at various positions on and within the turbine.

[0008] Wind turbines typically have certain design features, which are listed below, but not all of them are necessarily present in every wind turbine: An entrance door, an interior entrance area, a control cabinet in the entrance area, a tower, a ladder in or on the tower, a maintenance platform, a ladder access to the maintenance platform, an elevator in or on the tower, a machine house (also called a nacelle), another control cabinet in the machine house, a hub, an access point to the hub, and a pitch box in the hub. Triggering devices for the emergency signal transmitter are advantageously arranged on or in the listed design features, where present.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the control system, the emergency signal transmitter of each wind turbine in the group is connected wirelessly, or via cable, to a remote monitoring unit, through which the emergency signal transmitter of a specific wind turbine in the group is monitored. 00311840-0013 08.12.2025 PCT / DE0S^|ößffi1 17 can be initialized. This can be helpful if the injured person was able to make an emergency call but is no longer able to activate one of the trigger devices for the respective emergency signal. This can then be done by the control center via a remote monitoring unit, so that the emergency signal is triggered at the correct wind turbine and the rescue services can quickly locate the turbine on site. It is also possible to connect the emergency signal transmitter via radio to a remote monitoring unit, which allows the emergency signal to be triggered and can be carried as a mobile emergency button by the person responsible for the maintenance of the respective wind turbine.

[0010] It is advantageous to install several emergency signaling devices on a wind turbine, in particular four emergency signaling devices on the upper third of the tower and / or two emergency signaling devices on opposite outer sides of the nacelle. The four emergency signaling devices on the upper third of the tower should each be positioned at the same height and at an angle of 90° to the nearest, i.e., adjacent, emergency signaling device. This ensures that rescue services, regardless of the direction from which they approach the wind turbine group, will always see at least one emergency signaling device. Furthermore, it is possible to position an optical emergency signaling device 3 to 5 meters above the entrance door to the wind turbine in question, preferably oriented towards the access route to the wind turbine.

[0011] Furthermore, it is advantageous if the emergency signaling device can emit an audible alarm signal in addition to the visual emergency signal, or if the visual emergency signal is coupled with the alarm signal of an audible alarm signaling device located on or in the respective wind turbine. The alarm signal should preferably have the same minimum range as the emergency signal. The additional alarm signal indicates, in particular to the injured person, that the release mechanism has been successfully activated and also contributes to better orientation for the rescue services.

[0012] To simplify the retrofitting of the control system to existing wind turbines, existing wind turbine lighting systems, such as on-demand night-time marking (BNK), can be used for control and as an emergency signal and equipped with appropriate triggering devices. The emergency signal generator must then be configured or programmed to be clearly distinguishable from the original lighting, for example, by an increased flashing frequency, and to take precedence over the normal lighting function.

Claims

00311840-0015 12 / 8 / 2025 PCT / DE0Ö2^|ößffi1 17 REQUIREMENTS 1. Guidance system for rescue services to locate a wind turbine that is part of a group of two or more wind turbines, wherein the spatial extent of the group is defined by the shortest convex perimeter line in plan view, which includes all wind turbines of the group, characterized in that each wind turbine of the group has one or more optical emergency signaling devices and in a normal state of the respective wind turbine none and in a signal state at least one of the respective emergency signaling devices emits an emergency signal which, in clear visibility and direct sunlight, has a visibility range that is at least the distance of the point on the perimeter line furthest from the respective wind turbine in plan view plus 50 m.

2. Guidance system according to claim 1, characterized in that the emergency signal has a luminous intensity of 10 candela or more.

3. Guidance system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the emergency signal transmitter is connected to an uninterruptible power supply.

4. Guidance system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the emergency signal transmitter has LEDs.

5. Guidance system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the emergency signal is clearly distinguishable from all other lighting of the wind turbines of the group.

6. Guidance system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the signal state the emergency signal transmitter emits the emergency signal intermittently. 00311840-0016 12 / 08 / 2025 PCT / DE0Ö2^|ößffi1 17 7. Guidance system according to claim 6, characterized in that, in the case of intermittent transmission of the emergency signal, an emergency signal is emitted at least every two seconds in the signal state.

8. Guidance system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the emergency signal has a wavelength in the range of 566 nm to 780 nm.

9. Guidance system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each wind turbine of the group is equipped with one or more triggering devices for the emergency signal transmitter.

10. Guidance system according to claim 9, characterized in that the triggering device can be triggered manually or by smoke detector activation.

11. Guidance system according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the wind turbines of the grouping each have as an embodiment feature at least one entrance door, an entrance area inside, a control cabinet in the entrance area, a tower, an access ladder in or on the tower, a maintenance platform, a ladder access to the maintenance platform, an elevator in or on the tower, a nacelle, a control cabinet in the nacelle, a hub, an access to the hub, a pitch box in the hub or all of these embodiment features, and that at least one release device of the respective wind turbine is arranged on or in at least one of these embodiment features of the respective wind turbine.

12. Guidance system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the emergency signal transmitter is connected wirelessly or via cable to a remote monitoring unit and can be initialized via the remote monitoring unit. 00311840-0017 PCT / DE0Ö2^|ößffi1 17 13. Guidance system according to one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that four emergency signal transmitters are arranged on the upper third of the tower of the respective wind turbine and / or two emergency signal transmitters are arranged on opposite outer sides of the respective nacelle of the wind turbine.

14. Guidance system according to claim 13, characterized in that the emergency signal transmitters are arranged at the same height on the upper third of the tower at an angular distance of 90° to the nearest emergency signal transmitter.

15. Guidance system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the emergency signal transmitter can output an acoustic alarm signal in addition to the optical emergency signal, or that the optical emergency signal is coupled with the alarm signal of an acoustic alarm signal transmitter arranged on or in the respective wind turbine.

16. Guidance system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the emergency signal generator has light sources which are configured to emit a signal other than the emergency signal in the normal state.

17. Control system according to one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that an optical emergency signal transmitter is arranged three to five meters above the entrance door.

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