Drive assembly for a wind turbine

Abstract

The invention relates to a drive assembly (101, 201) for a wind turbine, having a transmission (103), a lubricant pump (107) and a lubricant line (113) which connects an outlet of the lubricant pump (107) to at least one lubrication point of the transmission (103) in a lubricant-conducting manner. The lubricant pump (107) has at least one seal which seals a housing of the lubricant pump (107) with respect to an input shaft (115) of the lubricant pump (107).

Description

[0001] Drive arrangement for a wind turbine

[0002] The invention relates to a drive arrangement according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0003] EP 3 835 573 B1, CN 205937751 U, and CN 201714590 U disclose a wind turbine gearbox with a planetary stage and a downstream spur gear stage. A sun shaft of the planetary stage is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to a hollow shaft of the spur gear stage via a spline. The hollow shaft of the spur gear stage drives a lubricant pump. Its housing and a gearbox housing together form a cavity. In particular, the two housings are connected to each other in a lubricant-conducting manner.

[0004] The invention is based on the object of providing a drive arrangement that is improved over the prior art. This object is achieved by a drive arrangement according to claim 1. Preferred developments are contained in the subclaims and will become apparent from the following description.

[0005] The drive assembly according to the invention is designed for use in a wind turbine. It comprises a gearbox, a lubricant pump, and a lubricant line.

[0006] The lubricant line connects an outlet of the lubricant pump to a lubrication point in the gearbox. The outlet of the lubricant pump is a line connection through which lubricant delivered by the lubricant pump is introduced into the lubricant line. The lubricant line then directs this lubricant to an outlet point. At the outlet point, the lubricant exits the lubricant line and enters the lubrication point.

[0007] A lubrication point is a part of the transmission that must be supplied with lubricant to protect it from wear and premature damage. This lubrication point can be, for example, the teeth of a gear or a bearing. The lubricant pump has a housing, an input shaft, and at least one seal. The input shaft is a shaft through which the lubricant pump is driven, so that it delivers the lubricant as described above.

[0008] According to the invention, the seal seals the housing from the input shaft. Specifically, the seal forms a lubricant-tight barrier that prevents lubricant contained in the housing of the lubricant pump from escaping through a gap between the housing and the input shaft. The seal thus seals the gap between the housing and the input shaft in a lubricant-tight manner. In particular, the seal can be a shaft seal, for example, a shaft seal ring and / or a labyrinth seal.

[0009] The inventive sealing of the lubricant pump makes it possible to operate the lubricant pump with its own lubricant supply, separate from the lubricant supply of the transmission. This makes it possible to use a lubricant specifically adapted for the lubrication of the lubricant pump, which is different from the lubricant used for the lubrication of the transmission. Installation and possible replacement of the lubricant pump are also simplified, as the lubricant pump can be filled with lubricant prior to installation or replacement. If the lubricant pump is disassembled, there is no risk of the lubricant contained within it leaking out.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, in addition to the lubricant pump, the gearbox also has at least one seal. This seal seals a gearbox housing from a gearbox shaft. The seal thus forms a lubricant-tight barrier in a gap between the gearbox housing and the gearbox shaft. The gearbox seal can also be designed as a shaft seal and / or labyrinth seal.

[0011] The further development provides that the input shaft of the lubricant pump is drivingly connected to the shaft of the gearbox. A driving connection between two shafts and / or hubs, between two shafts, between two hubs and / or between a shaft and a hub, refers to a connection via which drive power can be transmitted between the shafts and / or hubs. The driving connection can be realized via a rotationally fixed connection of the two shafts and / or hubs. In a rotationally fixed connection, the shafts and / or hubs are aligned coaxially to one another and connected to one another in such a way that they cannot be rotated relative to one another. In particular, the shafts and / or hubs can be directly connected to one another via a joining connection, for example a screw connection.

[0012] The shaft can be an output shaft of the gearbox. It is also possible to design the shaft as an auxiliary shaft intended exclusively for driving the lubricant pump.

[0013] Thanks to this refinement, not only the lubricant pump housing but also the gearbox housing encloses a lubricant-tight cavity. This also makes it possible to prefill the gearbox with lubricant before installing or replacing the lubricant pump. The enhanced shaft seal prevents lubricant from escaping from the shaft. The interface between the gearbox and the lubricant pump is thus designed to be lubricant-tight on both sides.

[0014] Preferably, the drive arrangement is further developed with a generator. This has a hub that is drivingly connected to the above-described transmission shaft. In particular, the hub can be screwed to the transmission shaft.

[0015] According to a further development, the input shaft of the lubricant pump is drivingly connected to the generator hub. This allows the lubricant pump to be positioned in a way that ensures good accessibility for technicians. In a preferred development, the gearbox housing and the lubricant pump housing are designed as separate pieces. This means that there is no piece or housing section that is part of both the gearbox housing and the lubricant pump housing. In particular, the gearbox housing and the lubricant pump housing are not integrally connected. This development enables the lubricant pump to be installed and replaced separately.

[0016] The generator housing and the lubricant pump housing are also preferably designed as separate pieces. This means that there is no housing part that is part of both the generator housing and the lubricant pump housing. In particular, this means that the generator housing and the lubricant pump housing are not integrally connected to each other.

[0017] Preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the figures. Corresponding reference numerals indicate identical or functionally equivalent features. In detail:

[0018] Fig. 1 shows a drive arrangement with orthogonal alignment of a lubricant pump; and

[0019] Fig. 2 a drive arrangement with parallel alignment of a lubricant pump.

[0020] The drive assembly 101 shown in Fig. 1 comprises a gearbox 103 with two planetary stages, a generator 105, and a lubricant pump 107. The generator 105 is flanged with its housing to a housing of the gearbox 103. It is aligned coaxially with the gearbox 103. A center axis of the gearbox 103 and a center axis of the generator 105 thus coincide.

[0021] An inlet of the lubricant pump 107 is connected to a lubricant reservoir 111, also called the oil sump, via a suction line 109. An outlet of the lubricant pump 107 is connected to the gearbox 103 or to lubrication points of the gearbox 103 via a pressure line 113. When the lubricant pump 107 is driven, it pumps lubricant from the lubricant reservoir 111 to the lubrication points via the suction line 109 and the pressure line 113.

[0022] The lubricant pump 107 is driven via a hub 114 of the generator 105. For this purpose, a drive shaft 115 of the lubricant pump 107 is connected to the hub 114 in a driving manner.

[0023] A rotational and central axis of the hub 114 is identical to the central axes of the gearbox 103 and the generator 105. A rotational and central axis of the drive shaft 115 of the lubricant pump 107, in turn, runs orthogonally to the rotational and central axis of the hub 114 in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1.

[0024] In this respect, the drive assembly 201 shown in Fig. 2 differs. The rotational and central axis of the drive shaft 115 is aligned parallel to the rotational and central axis of the hub 114.

[0025] Reference symbol Drive arrangement Gearbox Generator Lubricant pump Suction line Lubricant reservoir Pressure line Hub Drive shaft Drive arrangement

Claims

Patent claims 1. A drive arrangement (101, 201) for a wind turbine, comprising a gearbox (103), a lubricant pump (107), and a lubricant line (113) that connects an output of the lubricant pump (107) to at least one lubrication point of the gearbox (103) in a lubricant-conducting manner; characterized in that the lubricant pump (107) has at least one seal that seals a housing of the lubricant pump (107) from an input shaft (115) of the lubricant pump (107).

2. Drive arrangement (101, 201) according to claim 1; characterized in that the transmission (103) has at least one seal that seals a housing of the transmission (103) from a shaft of the transmission (103); wherein the input shaft (115) of the lubricant pump is drivingly connected to the shaft of the transmission (103).

3. Drive arrangement (101, 201) according to the preceding claim; characterized by a generator (105) with a hub (114) which is drivingly connected to the shaft of the transmission (103); wherein the input shaft (115) of the lubricant pump (107) is drivingly connected to the hub (114) of the generator (105).

4. Drive arrangement (101, 201) according to one of the preceding claims; characterized in that the housing of the gear (103) and the housing of the lubricant pump (107) are designed as separate pieces.

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