Blade lightning protection conductivity tester based on unmanned aerial vehicle

By designing a drone tester with clamping components, the operation difficulty and robotic arm stability problems are solved when performing blade lightning protection conductivity test in strong wind environments, and the stability of connecting wires and flash connectors is achieved. Electrical connection and efficient testing.

CN119491797AActive Publication Date: 2025-02-21HUANENG DALI WIND POWER GENERATION CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202411628849.3
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2024-11-14
Publication Date
2025-02-21
Estimated Expiration
2044-11-14

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In strong wind environments, when using drones to perform blade lightning protection conductivity testing, operation is difficult, and there are challenges in stable operation of the robotic arm in an unstable environment.

Method used

A drone-based blade lightning protection conductivity tester is designed, with clamping components including fixed brackets, rotary motors, movable brackets, telescopic rods, U-clips, connecting wires, collars, reels and cables The wiring device can achieve stable clamping of the connecting wire and the sleeve is arranged on the flash connector through the cooperation of the rotating motor and the telescopic rod.

Benefits of technology

Through the support of the triangular connecting wire and telescopic rod, the connecting wire does not deform in strong winds, and a stable electrical connection with the flasher is achieved, reducing operation difficulty and improving testing efficiency.

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Abstract

The invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle-based blade lightning protection conductivity tester, which comprises a resistance tester, an unmanned aerial vehicle and a clamping assembly arranged on the unmanned aerial vehicle, and is characterized in that the clamping assembly is connected with one wiring terminal of the resistance tester through a test wire; the other wiring terminal of the resistance tester is connected with a wind turbine generator grounding terminal through a test lead; the clamping assembly comprises a movable support. The movable support is provided with two sets of parallel telescopic rods, and the tail ends of the telescopic rods are provided with U-shaped clamps of elastic structures. A first winder is installed on the movable support, a connecting wire electrically connected with the testing wire is wound on the first winder, the tail end of the connecting wire penetrates through the two U-shaped clamps and then is provided with a lantern ring, the connecting wire is in a triangular shape through cooperation of the two U-shaped clamps and the lantern ring, and the connecting wire in the triangular shape can be connected with a lightning arrester in a sleeving mode easily; meanwhile, the telescopic rod in the stretching state provides form support for the connecting wire, and the triangular connecting wire is prevented from being scraped and deformed by strong wind.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of blade lightning protection detection technology, and in particular to a blade lightning protection continuity tester based on an unmanned aerial vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Wind turbines are becoming larger and larger. As the size of the turbine increases, the hub height and blade length also increase, making the blades more susceptible to lightning strikes. Therefore, the reliability of blade lightning protection becomes increasingly important.

[0003] The damage caused by lightning to the blades is not just a surface problem. It can cause structural damage at the least and may even cause the blades to explode, leading to structural damage and breakage of the blades. Ensuring the conductivity of the blade lightning protection system is crucial, as it directly affects the stable operation and safety of the entire wind turbine generator set.

[0004] The blades of wind turbines are usually located at high altitudes. The traditional high-altitude inspection method not only has high risks to personnel safety, but also takes a long time and is costly. Therefore, using drones for testing has become a safer and more efficient alternative. Drones can not only reduce personnel safety risks, but also significantly shorten inspection time and reduce costs, thereby improving the efficiency and economy of the entire inspection process.

[0005] For example, the "A Wind Turbine Blade Lightning Protection and Continuity Test System" disclosed in patent announcement number CN216429837U uses drones and supporting equipment to replace high-altitude workers to complete the continuity test work, eliminating the safety risks of high-altitude operations; the guide arm set on the mechanical arm enables the clamping arm to quickly clamp the lightning arrester, thereby improving test efficiency.

[0006] For example, patent publication number CN116025527A discloses a “wind turbine blade lightning protection and grounding test device based on drone”. The controller can control the drone to approach the lightning rod through a camera, control the robotic arm to make the bottom end of the robotic arm close to the lightning rod, and the adsorption device can connect the wire to the lightning rod.

[0007] However, since the blades of wind turbines are usually in strong winds, strong winds may cause the drone to shake, increasing the difficulty and risk of operation. The process of clamping the lightning arrester with a mechanical arm places high demands on the user's proficiency in drone control. It is also necessary to ensure that the mechanical arm can operate stably in an unstable environment. The control is difficult. Summary of the invention

[0008] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides a blade lightning protection continuity tester based on an unmanned aerial vehicle to solve the above problems.

[0009] The present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0010] A blade lightning protection continuity tester based on a drone, comprising a resistance tester, a drone and a clamping assembly arranged on the drone, wherein the clamping assembly is connected to one terminal of the resistance tester through a test wire, and another terminal of the resistance tester is connected to a grounding terminal of a wind turbine through a test wire;

[0011] The clamping assembly includes a fixed bracket and a movable bracket which is rotatably connected to the fixed bracket by a rotating motor;

[0012] The movable bracket is provided with two sets of telescopic rods arranged in parallel, and a U-shaped clamp with an elastic structure is provided at the end of the telescopic rod; a first reel is installed on the movable bracket, and a connecting wire electrically connected to the test wire is wound on the first reel. A ring is provided at the end of the connecting wire after passing through two U-shaped clamps, and the ring is relatively sleeved on the outer wall of the connecting wire.

[0013] Preferably, a conductive portion is provided at a position of the connecting wire close to the ring.

[0014] Preferably, a second wire reel is installed on the movable bracket, a pull rope is wound on the second wire reel, an end of the pull rope is connected to a ring, and a cable connector is installed on the connecting wire.

[0015] Preferably, the cable connector includes a first threaded portion and a second threaded portion which are threadedly electrically connected to each other, a motor is mounted on the first threaded portion, a main gear is provided at the output end of the motor, and a slave gear meshing with the main gear is coaxially provided on the outer wall of the second threaded portion.

[0016] Preferably, a unidirectional locking tooth is partially provided on the outer side wall of the connecting wire and extends along its length direction.

[0017] Preferably, the collar comprises a collar body, a clamping rod is rotatably connected to the collar body, the clamping rod is reset by a torsion spring, and the free end of the clamping rod is unidirectionally clamped with a one-way clamping tooth.

[0018] Preferably, the end of the pull rope is connected to the clamping rod.

[0019] Preferably, the telescopic rod is a rotationally flexible structure.

[0020] Preferably, the telescopic rod includes a plurality of sleeves which are sequentially socketed, a slide groove is provided in the inner cavity of the sleeve along its length direction, a rotating shaft is provided at the end of the sleeve, a notch is provided at the opening of the sleeve inclined to one side, and the rotating shaft at the end of the sleeve slides and rotates in the slide groove of another adjacent sleeve.

[0021] Preferably, a through hole is formed on the sleeve and passes through the slide groove. The rotating shaft is a press-type spring rotating shaft. When the rotating shaft moves to the through hole position, the two adjacent sleeves can rotate together with the cooperation of the notch.

[0022] The present invention has the following beneficial technical effects:

[0023] The connecting wire of the present invention forms a triangular shape through the cooperation of two U-shaped clips and a collar, and the connecting wire in the triangular shape is conducive to sleeve connection with the lightning arrester;

[0024] At the same time, the telescopic rod in the extended state provides shape support for the connecting wires to prevent the triangular connecting wires from being deformed by strong winds.

[0025] Through the one-way clamping cooperation between the one-way clamping teeth and the collar, when the connecting wire is tightened, it is ensured that the connecting wire is tightly sleeved on the lightning receptor, thereby achieving a stable electrical connection between the connecting wire and the lightning receptor;

[0026] The connecting wire can be divided into two and disconnected through the cable connector, and then the clamping rod of the ring is separated from the one-way clamping tooth through the cooperation of the second reel and the pull rope, and the part of the connecting wire remaining on the lightning arrester can be loosened and removed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the clamping assembly of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure in which the connecting wire of the present invention is sleeved on the outer wall of the lightning arrester;

[0030] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the cable connector of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the telescopic rod structure of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the first matching state of two sleeves of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the second matching state of the two sleeves of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the ring structure of the present invention.

[0035] The reference numerals in the figure are:

[0036] 1. Blade; 2. Wind turbine grounding terminal; 3. Resistance tester; 4. Lightning arrester; 5. Drone; 6. Clamping assembly;

[0037] 61. Fixed bracket; 62. Rotating motor; 63. Movable bracket; 64. Telescopic rod; 65. U-shaped clamp; 66. Connecting wire; 661. One-way clamping tooth; 662. Conductive part; 67. Ring; 68. First reel; 69. Cable connector; 610. Second reel; 611. Pull rope;

[0038] 641, sleeve; 642, slide groove; 643, rotating shaft; 644, through hole; 645, notch;

[0039] 671, collar body; 672, clamping rod;

[0040] 691, first threaded portion; 692, second threaded portion; 693, motor; 694, main gear; 695, slave gear. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0042] A blade lightning protection continuity tester based on drone, such as Figure 1-8 As shown:

[0043] The invention comprises a resistance tester 3 and a drone 5. The drone 5 can be a DJI M300. A clamping assembly 6 is mounted below the drone 5. A connecting wire 66 in the clamping assembly 6 is connected to a terminal of the resistance tester 3 through a test wire. Another terminal of the resistance tester 3 is connected to a grounding terminal 2 of the wind turbine through a test wire.

[0044] The clamping assembly 6 includes a fixed bracket 61 , a rotating motor 62 , a movable bracket 63 , a telescopic rod 64 , a U-shaped clamp 65 , a connecting wire 66 , a ring 67 , a first reel 68 , a cable connector 69 , a second reel 610 and a pull rope 611 .

[0045] The fixed bracket 61 is fixed on the drone 5, the rotating motor 62 is fixedly installed on the fixed bracket 61, the downward output end of the rotating motor 62 is installed with a movable bracket 63, and telescopic rods 64 are installed at both ends of the bottom of the movable bracket 63. The two telescopic rods 64 are vertically arranged, and U-shaped clips 65 are arranged on the same side of the downward output ends (ends) of the two telescopic rods 64. The U-shaped clips 65 are made of elastic material and are horizontally arranged.

[0046] A first self-powered cable reel 68 and a second cable reel 610 are installed at the bottom of the movable bracket 63; a connecting wire 66 is wound around the outer wall of the first cable reel 68, one end of the connecting wire 66 is connected to the test wire of the resistance tester 3 through a rotating connector, and a ring 67 is installed at the other end (free end); a pull rope 611 is wound around the outer wall of the second cable reel 610, and the free end of the pull rope 611 is connected to the ring 67.

[0047] like Figure 2 As shown, when in use, the connecting wire 66 is relatively embedded in the two U-shaped clamps 65 with elastic clamping, and the ring 67 at the free end of the connecting wire 66 is relatively sleeved on the connecting wire 66, so that the connecting wire 66 forms a triangular shape. At this time, the position of the cable connector 69 on the connecting wire 66 is as shown in FIG. Figure 2 shown.

[0048] like Figure 4 As shown, the cable connector 69 includes a first threaded portion 691, a second threaded portion 692, a motor 693, a main gear 694 and a slave gear 695. The first threaded portion 691 and the second threaded portion 692 are detachably threadedly connected, and the first threaded portion 691 is relatively located on the side close to the first reel 68, and the second threaded portion 692 is relatively located on the side close to the ring 67; the motor 693 is fixed on the first threaded portion 691, the main gear 694 is arranged at the output end of the motor 693, and the slave gear 695 is arranged on the outer wall of the coaxial second threaded portion 692, and the main gear 694 and the slave gear 695 adopt a spur gear structure; when the first threaded portion 691 and the second threaded portion 692 are threadedly connected as one, the main gear 694 and the slave gear 695 are in a meshing state.

[0049] like Figure 5-7 As shown, the telescopic rod 64 adopts a flexible structure, and the telescopic rod 64 includes multiple sleeves 641 that are sequentially sleeved. The upper end of the uppermost sleeve 641 is fixed to the bottom of the movable bracket 63, and the lower end of the lowermost sleeve 641 is installed with a U-shaped clip 65;

[0050] The inner cavity of the sleeve 641 is provided with a slide groove 642 along its length direction, and a rotating shaft 643 is provided at the upper end of the sleeve 641. Two adjacent sleeves 641 slide linearly in the slide groove 642 through the rotating shaft 643 to form a telescopic structure;

[0051] The openings of each sleeve 641 are inclined to the same side to form a notch 645. A through hole 644 is formed in the sleeve 641 corresponding to the position of the slide groove 642. The rotating shaft 643 adopts a press-type spring rotating shaft. When the rotating shaft 643 moves to the through hole 644, it can be inserted into the through hole 644 under the action of elastic force. At this time, the rotating shaft 643 rotates relatively in the through hole 644 and with the cooperation of the notch 645, a small-angle free rotation cooperation between two adjacent sleeves 641 is realized.

[0052] When on the ground, the rotating shaft 643 can be manually pressed to disengage from the through hole 644 .

[0053] The opening direction of the U-shaped clip 65 is consistent with the direction of the notch 645 .

[0054] like Figure 8 As shown, the ring 67 includes a ring body 671, and a channel is opened between the upper and lower sides of the ring body 671 for the matching connecting wire 66 to pass through. A clamping rod 672 is rotatably connected inside the ring 67. The clamping rod 672 tends to rotate and reset through a torsion spring, and the free end of the clamping rod 672 is unidirectionally clamped with the one-way clamping tooth 661 on the connecting wire 66, and the middle part of the clamping rod 672 is connected to the free end of the pull rope 611.

[0055] Working principle:

[0056] One terminal of the resistance tester 3 is connected to the grounding terminal 2 of the wind turbine generator set through a test wire, and the other terminal of the resistance tester 3 is connected to the connecting wire 66 through a test wire.

[0057] The connecting wire 66 is embedded in the two U-shaped clips 65, so that the connecting wire 66 forms a triangular structure;

[0058] The user controls the drone 5 to drive the mounted clamping assembly 6 to fly to the vicinity of the lightning receptor 4 of the blade 1 .

[0059] The rotating motor 62 drives the movable bracket 63 to rotate relative to the fixed bracket 61, so that the triangular structure connecting wire 66 is formed with the front side facing the lightning receptor 4 and the subsequent moving direction of the UAV 5.

[0060] When the drone 5 is in the process of taking off, the telescopic rod 64 tends to extend under the action of gravity. First, two adjacent sleeves 641 slide linearly together until the rotating shaft 643 moves to and fits into the through hole 644. At this time, the two adjacent sleeves 641 rotate relatively. At this time, the first reel 68 is in a relaxed state.

[0061] The bendable and deformable telescopic rod 64 prevents a rigid collision with the blade 1 due to improper operation.

[0062] The drone 5 is controlled to drive the lower edge of the connecting wire 66 in a triangular state to be lower than the lightning rod 4. During the process of the connecting wire 66 in a triangular state being driven forward by the drone 5, the lower side of the connecting wire 66 in a triangular state contacts the lightning rod 4, and the connecting wire 66 is dragged away from the two U-shaped clips 65, so that the connecting wire 66 is relatively sleeved on the outer wall of the lightning rod 4. Then, the drone 5 tightens the connecting wire 66 to reduce the space formed by the connecting wire 66 and the ring 67.

[0063] like Figure 3As shown, the one-way clamping teeth 661 on the connecting wire 66 and the clamping rod 671 of the collar 67 are unidirectionally clamped and matched, which can only reduce the space formed by the connecting wire 66 and the collar 67, so that the connecting wire 66 can be tightly sleeved on the outer wall of the lightning receptor 4. At this time, the conductive part 662 of the local position of the connecting wire 66 just contacts the outer wall of the lightning receptor 4, so that the lightning receptor 4 is electrically connected to the battery core inside the connecting wire 66. Thus, the lightning receptor 4 is electrically connected to the resistance tester 3. Then, the lightning protection conductivity test of the blade 1 is carried out.

[0064] In the above process, the second reel 610 is in a relaxed state.

[0065] After the test, the control motor 693 drives the main gear 694 to rotate, and the rotation of the main gear 694 drives the rotation of the slave gear 695, and the rotation of the slave gear 695 drives the second threaded portion 692 to rotate and disengage from the threaded connection with the first threaded portion 691 until the second threaded portion 692 and the first threaded portion 691 are separated; the outer diameter of the second threaded portion 692 and the slave gear 695 on its outside is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the connecting wire 66.

[0066] Afterwards, the second reel 610 works to wind the pull rope 611 around its outer wall. The tensioned pull rope 611 first drives the clamping rod 672 to rotate in the opposite direction, so that the free end of the clamping rod 672 disengages from the one-way clamping tooth 661 on the connecting wire 66, and then continues to drive the ring 67 away from the lightning rod 4. During this process, part of the connecting wire 66 in the disconnected state can pass through the ring 67 to form a non-closed loop structure, thereby realizing the removal of the connecting wire 66 from the lightning rod 4.

[0067] The above-mentioned embodiments only express the specific implementation of the present invention, and the description thereof is relatively specific and detailed, but it cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this field, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, which all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A blade lightning protection continuity tester based on an unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising a resistance tester (3), an unmanned aerial vehicle (5), and a clamping assembly (6) arranged on the unmanned aerial vehicle (5), wherein the clamping assembly (6) is connected to a terminal of the resistance tester (3) through a test wire, and another terminal of the resistance tester (3) is connected to a grounding terminal (2) of a wind turbine generator set through a test wire, characterized in that: The clamping assembly (6) comprises a fixed bracket (61) and a movable bracket (63) which is rotationally connected to the fixed bracket (61) and driven by a rotating motor (62); The movable bracket (63) is provided with two sets of telescopic rods (64) arranged in parallel, and the ends of the telescopic rods (64) are provided with U-shaped clamps (65) of an elastic structure; a first wire reel (68) is installed on the movable bracket (63), and a connecting wire (66) electrically connected to the test wire is wound on the first wire reel (68), and a ring (67) is provided at the end of the connecting wire (66) after passing through the two U-shaped clamps (65), and the ring (67) is relatively sleeved on the outer wall of the connecting wire (66).

2. The blade lightning protection continuity tester based on a drone according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The connecting wire (66) is provided with a conductive portion (662) at a position close to the ring (67).

3. The blade lightning protection continuity tester based on a drone according to claim 1 is characterized in that: A second wire reel (68) is installed on the movable bracket (63), a pull rope (611) is wound around the second wire reel (68), an end of the pull rope (611) is connected to a ring (67), and a cable connector (69) is installed on the connecting wire (66).

4. The blade lightning protection continuity tester based on a drone according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The cable connector (69) comprises a first threaded portion (691) and a second threaded portion (692) which are threadedly electrically connected to each other, a motor (693) is mounted on the first threaded portion (691), a main gear (694) is provided at the output end of the motor (693), and a slave gear (695) which meshes with the main gear (694) is coaxially provided on the outer wall of the second threaded portion (692).

5. The blade lightning protection continuity tester based on a drone according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The outer side wall of the connecting wire (66) is provided with a one-way latching tooth (661) extending along its length direction.

6. The blade lightning protection continuity tester based on a drone according to claim 5, characterized in that: The collar (67) comprises a collar body (671), a clamping rod (672) is rotatably connected inside the collar body (671), the clamping rod (672) is reset by a torsion spring drive, and the free end of the clamping rod (672) is unidirectionally clamped with the one-way clamping tooth (661).

7. The blade lightning protection continuity tester based on a drone according to claim 6, characterized in that: The end of the pull rope (611) is connected to the clamping rod (672).

8. The blade lightning protection continuity tester based on a drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: The telescopic rod (64) is a rotationally flexible structure.

9. The blade lightning protection continuity tester based on a drone according to claim 8, characterized in that: The telescopic rod (64) comprises a plurality of sleeves (641) which are sleeved in sequence. A slide groove (642) is provided in the inner cavity of the sleeve (641) along its length direction. A rotating shaft (643) is provided at the end of the sleeve (641). A notch (645) is provided at an opening of the sleeve (641) which is inclined to one side. The rotating shaft (643) at the end of the sleeve (641) slides and rotates in the slide groove (642) of another adjacent sleeve (641).

10. The blade lightning protection continuity tester based on a drone according to claim 9, characterized in that: The sleeve (641) is provided with a through hole (644) penetrating the slide groove (642); the rotating shaft (643) is a press-type spring rotating shaft; when the rotating shaft (643) moves to the position of the through hole (644), the notch (645) cooperates to realize the rotational cooperation of two adjacent sleeves (641).

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Wind generation set lightning stroke fault monitoring system and anti-lightning protection system

    CN107191338A

  • Wind generating set blade lightning protection grounding test device based on unmanned aerial vehicle

    CN116025527A

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    CN216429837U

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