lubricant applicator

Abstract

Lubricant applicator with at least one area (8) which is wire-shaped and which consists of wire, characterized in that the area has at least one sub-area (16) which forms a channel for conveying a liquid.

Description

[0001] A wind turbine with multiple rotor blades is known. The rotor blades can be rotated around their longitudinal axis so that the wind turbine can be turned out of the wind. The drives for this rotation of the rotor blades are called pitch drives. During rotation, the meshing tooth flanks of gears must be continuously supplied with lubricant to prevent increased wear between the two tooth flanks over time. Currently, the lubricant is applied to the respective tooth flanks of the pitch drive using a lubricating pinion mounted laterally on the pitch drive. In order to apply the lubricant to the tooth flanks using the lubricating pinion, the pitch drive or the rotor blade must be rotated during maintenance until the meshing tooth flank comes into contact with the lubricating pinion. This maintenance procedure ensures that the gears are properly lubricated.Service intervals result in undesirable downtime, as the system has to be taken out of the wind and therefore cannot generate electricity. Direct lubrication of the gear teeth using grease pinions during operation of a wind turbine is currently not possible.

[0002] German patent application DE 16 83 497 U discloses a lubricant applicator according to the preamble of claim 1. German patent applications US 2 893 789 A and DE 10 78 823 A disclose further prior art.

[0003] The object of the invention is, in particular, to achieve high efficiency. This object is achieved according to the invention by the features of claim 1, while advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention can be found in the dependent claims.

[0004] A lubricant applicator with at least one wire-shaped section is proposed. This allows for high efficiency. In particular, it enables the lubrication of a gear during operation by having the lubricant applicator extend into the base of a gap between two teeth, allowing a tooth of another gear to engage in that gap.

[0005] Furthermore, a gear lubricant line device with the lubricant applicator is proposed, wherein the gear lubricant line device has at least one fastening unit which enables a material-bonded and / or magnetic fastening of the gear lubricant line device. A “gear lubrication line device” shall in particular be understood to be a lubrication line device which can be attached to an end face of a gear and / or an end face of an open gear ring, wherein the lubrication line device is preferably attached to the end face of the gear or the end face of the open gear ring during operating conditions.

[0006] Further advantages will become apparent from the following description of the drawings. The drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention. The drawings, the description, and the claims contain numerous features in combination. A person skilled in the art will expediently consider the features individually and combine them into meaningful further combinations. Fig. Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an arrangement with a gear and a gear lubricant line device, which includes a lubricant applicator according to the invention. Fig. 2 shows a top view of the arrangement, Fig. Figure 3 shows a section through the arrangement in the direction of a radial direction of the gear, Fig. Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the gear lubrication line device, showing one underside of the gear lubrication line device, and Fig. Figure 5 shows a bracket and lubricant applicator for the gear lubrication line device.

[0007] Fig. Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an arrangement with a gear 2 and a gear lubrication line device 22 according to the invention, which has a lubricant applicator 14 according to the invention. The lubricant applicator has a section 8 which consists of wire ( Fig. 5) Section 8 forms a spring and includes a wire-shaped subsection 16, which forms a channel for conveying a fluid. The wire in subsection 16 is wound spirally, with adjacent turns abutting each other. The lubricant applicator is inserted at one end into a holder 3 of the gear lubrication system. Section 8 has a further subsection 28, which also forms a channel. A second end of the lubricant applicator has a plug 9, which closes subsection 28 of section 8. In an alternative embodiment, the lubricant applicator does not have the plug 9, so that subsection 28, and thus the second end, is open.

[0008] Furthermore, another subsection 18 of section 8 is arranged between subsections 28 and 16, in which two turns of the wire are arranged offset from each other with respect to an axial direction of the lubricant applicator. Lubricant that is guided through the channel of subsection 16 during an operating process can escape from the channel between the turns in subsection 18, such that the lubricant does not enter the channel of subsection 28.

[0009] The gear lubrication line device has a fastening unit 20 by means of which the gear lubrication line device is materially bonded and magnetically attached to an end face of the gear 2 ( Fig. 4) The mounting unit 20 has a receiving area 11 filled with adhesive that bonds the gear lubrication line assembly to the end face. Furthermore, two additional receiving areas are arranged on the underside of the gear lubrication line assembly, also filled with adhesive that likewise bonds the gear lubrication line assembly to the end face. The receiving areas are formed on a base body 6 of the gear lubrication line assembly. The base body 6 has two through holes 12, both of which open into the receiving area 11. When the gear lubrication line assembly is mounted to the end face, it is initially secured to the end face by four permanent magnets 10.Adhesive is then poured into one of the through-holes, flowing into the receiving area 11. Air displaced from the receiving area 11 by the inflow of adhesive flows through the other through-hole 12 into a space outside the receiving area 11. A surface area 26 of the receiving area 11 is made of metal, so that the adhesive bonds, in particular, the metal of surface area 26 to a metallic surface on the end face of the gear.

[0010] When installed in a wind turbine, the gear causes a rotor blade to rotate around its longitudinal axis. These rotations typically range from 1° to 2°. Therefore, lubricating only one tooth gap is usually sufficient.

[0011] Furthermore, the gear lubrication line device has a connection 24 to which a lubricant line is connected in an operating state ( Fig. 1) The connection 24 is rotatably mounted relative to the base body and thus rotatably relative to the gear. This mounting is achieved by two ball bearings. During operation, a hose 30 conveys lubricant that has flowed in through the connection 24 to the holder 3.

[0012] The holder 3 holds the lubricant applicator 14 and is mounted to be translationally movable relative to the base body 6 ( Fig.3) For this purpose, the holder 3 has an elongated hole 32 through which two screws 34 protrude, securing the holder to the base body 6. Linear movement of the holder 3 relative to the base body is achieved by loosening the screws 34, manually performing the movement, and then tightening the screws 34 again, thus securing the holder to the base body. This allows the lubricant applicator to be positioned precisely in the base of a tooth gap of the gear. If the applicator is touched by an object, particularly during operation, this does not impair its function, as the applicator is largely made of wire and is therefore flexible. Operation of the lubricant applicator reliably supplies the tooth flanks that define the tooth gap with lubricant.

[0013] The holder 3 has a receptacle 36 into which the lubricant applicator is partially inserted. The receptacle 36 is removable from the holder and replaceable with a different receptacle suitable for attaching a different type of lubricant applicator. This allows a suitable lubricant applicator to be installed in the receptacle, and thus in the holder 3, for any geometric configuration of an inter-tooth space simply by replacing the receptacle.

[0014] The gear lubrication line system minimizes and simplifies service intervals, reducing downtime for wind turbines. It also allows for easy installation, even when retrofitting existing wind turbines. Reference symbol list 2 gear 3 brackets 6 basic shapes Area 8 9 plugs 10 permanent magnets 11 Recording area 14 Lubricant applicator 16 sub-area 18 sub-area 20 fastening unit 22 Gear lubrication line device 24 connection 26 Surface area 28 sub-area 30 hose 32 slotted holes 34 screw 36 recording

Claims

[1] Lubricant applicator with at least one region (8) which is wire-shaped and which consists of wire, characterized by , that the area has at least one sub-area (16) which forms a channel for conveying a liquid. [2] Lubricant applicator according to claim 1, wherein the area can be manufactured by form-fitting. [3] Lubricant applicator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lubricant applicator has a plug (9) which closes one end of the channel. [4] Lubricant applicator according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the area has one or more sub-areas (18) in which at least two immediately adjacent turns of the lubricant applicator are spaced apart from each other, in particular with respect to an axial direction of the lubricant applicator. [5] Gear lubricant line device with at least one lubricant applicator (14) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the gear lubricant line device (22) has at least one fastening unit (20) which enables a material-bonded and / or magnetic fastening of the gear lubricant line device. [6] Arrangement comprising a gear (2), in particular a gear for causing a rotation of a rotor blade of a wind turbine about its longitudinal direction, and a gear lubrication line device according to claim 5, wherein the gear lubrication line device is attached to an end face of the gear. [7] Wind turbine or open gear unit with an arrangement according to claim 6.

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