Tether winch device for mooring a kite

Abstract

This configuration provides a way to detect the position of the tether 2 that anchors the kite 3 as it is raised into the air, even at night. [Solution] In a winch device 1 for a tether that is connected to and moored to a kite being raised into the air, a luminescent coating is applied to the tether being extended from the winch device. The winch device may include a luminescent coating application means 10 that applies the luminescent coating to the surface of the tether as it is extended from the winch device toward the kite.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a winch device that pays out and winds up a tether for mooring a kite lifted into the air, such as a kite for airborne wind power generation.

Background Art

[0002] As one method of obtaining renewable energy, a method of lifting a kite into the air and generating electricity by the wind force received by the kite has been proposed and is being put into practical use. For example, in Patent Document 1, as a configuration for improving the controllability of a kite in order to improve power generation using a kite, a wing, a tether directly or indirectly connected to the wing, a rigid wing spar structure, and a tension coupler from the wing spar structure to a number of positions on the wing, and an actuator link device having a length dimension that can be controllably adjusted. In the kite, the wing spar structure has first and second attachment portions to the tether. In the first attachment portion, the wing spar structure is fixed to the tether at a position above the roll neutral point or zone of the wing, and in the second attachment portion, the wing spar structure is attached to the tether at a position below the roll neutral point or zone of the wing by the actuator link device. A configuration has been proposed. In this configuration, the wing spar structure can accommodate lighting useful for assisting in positioning the kite. In Patent Document 2, in a configuration in which the rotation axis of a generator is rotated by the vertical movement of each of a plurality of kites to generate electricity, in order to suppress the entanglement of the tethers for mooring each kite during the flight of the plurality of kites, the first tether for mooring the first kite is wound around a rotating shaft body connected to the rotation axis of the generator in one direction, and the second tether for mooring the second kite is wound around the rotating shaft body in a direction opposite to the one direction. A configuration has been proposed in which the characteristics of the first kite and the characteristics of the second kite are made different so that the elevation angles are different from each other.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

[0004] While the kite is being hoisted into the air, it is preferable that not only the position of the kite but also the position of the tether can be confirmed for tether operation and navigation planning. In this regard, kites such as those used for aerial wind power generation are expected to be hoisted into the air day and night. During the day, the positions of the kite and tether can be confirmed visually or optically by the reflection or refraction of sunlight on the kite and tether, but this is not possible at night or when sunlight is weak. Therefore, while it is conceivable to detect the position of a kite by shining illumination light on it or detecting light from a light-emitting device mounted on the kite, the tether does not extend in a straight line from the winch device from which it is deployed to the kite. Instead, it sags due to gravity and curves due to wind, making it difficult to continuously illuminate the tether in a way that follows its movement. Furthermore, tethers are typically millimeter-thick, extend over long distances, and require to be as lightweight as possible, so mounting light-emitting devices along their entire length is not practical. Thus, to detect the tether's position at night or when sunlight is weak, it would be advantageous to have a method that allows the tether to emit light without using methods other than illumination light or mounting light-emitting devices.

[0005] In light of the above circumstances, the main objective of the present invention is to provide a configuration that allows the position of the tether used to moor a kite being raised into the air to be detected even at night. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the present invention, the above problem is solved by a winch device for a tether that is connected to and moored to a kite that is raised into the air, wherein the tether extended from the winch device is coated with a light-emitting coating.

[0007] In the above configuration, the “kite” may be any kite that is hoisted into the air by being connected to a tether deployed from the ground or water, for example, an aerial wind power generation kite, but is not limited thereto. The “tether” may be any tether commonly used in this field, for example, a tether made of ultra-high-strength polyethylene fibers on the order of millimeters. The “winch device” may be any type of device typically comprising a rotary reel for winding the tether and a rotation control mechanism that appropriately controls the rotation of the rotary reel, for example, based on the tension acting on the tether, and configured to adjust the length of the tether delivered from the rotary reel to the kite. The “luminescent coating” may be any type of luminescent paint coating that can be applied to the tether as described above and emits light without illumination. Typical luminescent paints for the luminescent coating may be any phosphorescent or luminescent paint.

[0008] Furthermore, in the winch device of the present invention described above, since the tether is coated with a luminescent coating, the position of the tether can be visually or optically detected by the light from the luminescent coating of the tether, even in situations where there is no sunlight or sunlight is weak, such as at night. With this configuration, there is no need for illumination lights or light emitters to illuminate the tether, and it is expected that the increase in the weight of the tether will be minimal, thus making it possible to detect the position of the tether that moores the kite being hoisted into the air, even at night.

[0009] In the configuration of the above device, a means for applying a luminescent coating to the surface of the tether when the tether is fed out from the winch device toward the kite may be provided. That is, the tether may be coated with a luminescent coating only when it is fed out from the winch device, and may be held without a luminescent coating while inside the winch device. The reason for this is that, as described above, the tether is stored wound around a rotary reel, and if a coating such as a luminescent coating is present on the surface of the tether when winding it onto the rotary reel and when unwinding it from the rotary reel, the friction state of the tether surface becomes unstable, which can lead to unstable tension control of the tether, and may result in poor winding and unwinding of the tether on the rotary reel. Therefore, in order to stabilize the friction state of the tether surface until the tether leaves the winch device, it is desirable to keep the tether surface without a coating.

[0010] In an embodiment, the above-described device includes a tether storage means for storing a tether which may be in the form of a rotary reel, a tether guide means for guiding the tether which is connected between the tether storage means and the kite, and a light-emitting coating application means provided on the outside of the tether guide means for applying a light-emitting coating to the surface of the tether, wherein the light-emitting coating application means may be configured to apply a light-emitting coating to the surface of the tether when the tether is fed out from the tether guide means toward the kite. As a result, the light-emitting coating is applied to the tether when it leaves the winch device, and the unwinding of the tether within the winch device is achieved smoothly.

[0011] Incidentally, in the above configuration, the luminescent coating on the tether surface may be applied continuously or intermittently. In the latter case, the amount of paint used in the luminescent coating is reduced, which is advantageous in terms of saving paint and reducing the weight of the tether. Even when the luminescent coating is applied by the above-mentioned luminescent coating application means, the luminescent coating on the tether surface may be applied intermittently. In the embodiment, if the sections to which the luminescent coating is applied and the sections to which it is not applied are each of a predetermined width, it is convenient that the length of the tether can be estimated by counting the number of sections on the tether to which the luminescent coating is applied while the tether is extending upwards. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] Thus, according to the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to visually or optically detect the extended position of the tether even at night or when sunlight is weak, or when the kite is raised into the air while moored by the tether. As a result, it is expected that tether operations and navigation plans can be carried out smoothly even at night or when sunlight is weak.

[0013] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the present invention. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a winch device used to tether a kite that has been raised into the air to which this embodiment is applied. [Figure 2] Figures 2(A) and 2(B) are schematic diagrams of the tether being fed out from the winch device to which this embodiment is applied. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the application process of the luminescent coating to the tether in the winch device to which this embodiment is applied. [Explanation of symbols]

[0015] 1...Winch device, 2...Tether, 3...Kite, 4...Rotating reel (tether storage means), 5...Rotation device, 6...Operation control device, 7...Auxiliary roller, 8...Guide roller (tether guidance means), 10...Coating application section, 11...Paint container section, 12...Luminous paint, 13...Application roller [Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]

[0016] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached figures, with reference to several preferred embodiments. In the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same parts.

[0017] Winch device configuration Referring to FIG. 1, the winch device 1 to which the present embodiment is applied is a device that executes the feeding and winding of the tether 2 connected to the kite 3 lifted into the sky therefrom, whereby the altitude of the kite 3 will be changed. As shown in the figure, in the device 1, the tether 2 is wound around the rotary reel 4 at the end opposite to the end connected to the kite 3, and by the rotation of the rotary reel 4 by a rotating device 5 which may be of any type, the feeding of the tether 2 in the extending direction and the winding in the shortening direction are achieved. The tether 2 may be any tether commonly used in this field as already mentioned, for example, a tether composed of ultra-high-strength polyethylene fibers on the order of millimeters. The kite may be of any form with longitudinal and lateral dimensions on the order of several meters. The operation of the rotating device 5 may be appropriately controlled in various manners by an operation control device 6 which may be a computer device. The tether 2 fed out from the rotary reel 4 passes through a path formed by an auxiliary roller 7 etc., and the extending direction is guided by a guide roller 8 attached to the outside of the winch device 1 and extends to be connected to the kite 3. In operation, for example, the length of the tether fed out from the rotary reel is controlled while adjusting the torque acting on the rotary reel by the operation control device 6. In addition, when the kite is a kite for airborne wind power generation, although not shown, a generator is connected to the rotating shaft of the rotary reel, and when the tether extends due to the upward movement of the kite by wind power, the rotating shaft of the generator is rotated to generate electricity by the rotation of the rotary reel.

[0018] In the above winch device 1, in the case of the present embodiment, a coating application part 10 is provided as a mechanism for applying a light-emitting coating to the surface of the tether 2 so that the extending position of the tether 2 up to the kite 3 in the sky can be detected visually or optically even at night or when sunlight is weak.

[0019] In the coating application section 10, a paint container section 11 for storing the luminescent paint 12 and an application roller 13 for applying the luminescent paint 12 from the paint container section 11 to the tether 2 are provided. The application roller 13 may usually be installed on the kite 3 side rather than the guide roller 8 as shown in the figure. As the luminescent paint 12, typically, any phosphorescent paint or luminous paint that emits light of any wavelength without illumination light may be used. Also, the application of the luminescent paint 12 is carried out when the tether 2 is sent out to the kite 3 side and is not carried out when the tether 2 is wound up. In operation, when the rotating reel rotates in the direction of paying out the tether 2 by the operation control device 6, in conjunction with this, the luminescent paint 12 is supplied from the paint container section 11 to the application roller 13, and the application roller 13 rotates and contacts the tether 2 fed out from the guide roller 8, and the luminescent paint 12 may be applied to the surface of the tether 2. In addition, together with the luminescent paint, a paint having functions of freeze resistance, abrasion resistance, and discharge (including lightning protection) may be applied according to the staying altitude of the tether.

[0020] Appearance of luminescent coating The luminescent coating applied to the above-mentioned tether 2 may be applied over the entire length of the area fed out from the guide roller 8 of the tether 2 as schematically depicted in Fig. 2(A), or may be applied intermittently along the length direction of the tether 2 as indicated by reference numeral 2a in Fig. 2(B). In that case, the length and interval of the area 2a where the luminescent coating is applied may be predetermined values set as appropriate. Then, by counting the number of areas 2a where the luminescent coating is applied, it becomes possible to estimate the length of the tether being fed out or the length to the kite.

[0021] In the coating application section 10, the process of intermittently applying the luminescent coating to the tether 2 as described above may be performed according to the procedure shown in the flowchart of Figure 3. Referring to the same figure, first, the tether's extension length is detected (S1), and if it is not within the coating application range (N in S2), the application roller 13 passes the tether without applying the coating (S3). On the other hand, when the tether is within the coating application range (Y in S2), and the applied length is less than the set application length (Y in S4), the application roller 13 passes the tether while applying the coating (S5). Then, when the applied length reaches the set application length (N in S4), the application roller 13 passes the tether with the coating application stopped (S3).

[0022] Thus, with the above configuration, even when sunlight is weak, such as at night, on cloudy days, or in rainy days, and it is difficult to visually or optically confirm the position of the tether due to reflection or refraction of sunlight, the tether emits light, making it possible to visually or optically detect its extended position. The configuration of this embodiment may be applied to tethers of various kites, in addition to kites for aerial wind power generation.

[0023] While the above description is made in relation to embodiments of the present invention, many modifications and changes are readily possible for those skilled in the art, and it will be clear that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated above, but can be applied to various devices without departing from the concept of the present invention.

Claims

1. A winch device for a tether that is connected to and moored to a kite being raised into the air, wherein the tether extended from the winch device is coated with a luminescent coating.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a means for applying the light-emitting coating to the surface of the tether when the tether is fed out from the winch device toward the kite.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, A tether storage means in which the aforementioned tether is stored A tether guide means connected between the tether storage means and the kite, which guides the tether, The tether guide means includes an luminescent coating application means provided on the outside of the tether for applying the luminescent coating to the surface of the tether, The apparatus is configured such that the light-emitting coating means applies the light-emitting coating to the surface of the tether when the tether is sent from the tether guide means toward the kite.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting coating is intermittently applied to the tether.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the light-emitting coating means is configured to intermittently apply the light-emitting coating on the tether.

Images