Tether winch device for mooring a kite

Abstract

Configurations 10 to 14 are provided to enable smooth storage and unloading of the tether 2, which moores the kite 3 as it is lifted into the air, by the winch device 1, by performing cleaning of the tether when it is stored in the winch device. [Solution] A winch device for a tether that is connected to a kite being hoisted into the air and used to moor the kite includes a tether cleaning means 10 that cleans the tether when the tether extending outside the winch device is brought into the winch device. The tether cleaning means is provided outside a tether guide means that guides the tether, which is connected between the tether storage means and the kite, and may be configured so that when the tether is brought into storage, the tether cleaning means removes foreign matter from the surface of the tether before the tether passes through the tether guide means.

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 in 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 tension connectors from the wing spar structure to multiple positions of the wing, and in a kite provided with an actuator link device having a length dimension that can be controllably adjusted, the wing spar structure has first and second attachment portions to the tether, and at 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 at 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 Patent Document 2, in a configuration in which the rotation shaft 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 shaft of the generator in one direction, the second tether for mooring the second kite is wound around the rotating shaft body in a direction opposite to the one direction, and the characteristics of the first kite and the characteristics of the second kite are made different from each other so that the elevation angles are different from each other. A configuration has been proposed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

[0004] In a winch device used to extend and retract the tether used to moor a kite, as described above, a typical winch device includes a rotating reel for winding the tether, a guide mechanism for guiding the tether as it is sent from the rotating reel to the kite, and a rotation control mechanism for appropriately controlling the rotation of the rotating reel, for example, based on the tension acting on the tether, so that the length of the tether sent from the rotating reel to the kite can be adjusted. In such a configuration, if the frictional state of the tether's surface becomes unstable when winding the tether onto and from the rotating reel due to dirt or the presence or absence of a coating on that surface, the tension control of the tether becomes unstable, and the winding and unwinding of the tether on the rotating reel, i.e., the retraction and extension of the tether, may not be achieved properly. Therefore, it is desirable that the surface of the tether be clean when it is wound onto the rotating reel. However, since the tether is exposed to the atmosphere when the kite is raised and comes into contact with the ground when the kite lands, the part of the tether that is outside the winch device may become dirty with dust, dirt, oil, water droplets, etc. from the atmosphere and the ground. Alternatively, various coatings may be applied to the surface of the tether when it is fed out to raise the kite. For these reasons, it is preferable to clean the tether before storing it in the winch device, such as when winding it onto the rotary reel.

[0005] In light of the above circumstances, the main object of the present invention is to provide a configuration that allows for the storage and unloading of a tether used to moor a kite being hoisted into the air in a winch device, by performing cleaning of the tether when it is stored in the winch device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the present invention, the above problem is solved by a winch device for a tether connected to a kite being hoisted into the air and used to moor the kite, the device including a tether cleaning means for cleaning the tether when bringing the tether, which extends outside the winch device, into the winch device.

[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 around which the tether is wound, 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.

[0008] Furthermore, in the winch device of the present invention described above, a tether cleaning means is provided for cleaning the tether when the tether extending outside the winch device is retracted into the winch device. As a result, the surface of the tether is cleaned when it is retracted, stabilizing the frictional state of the tether surface, and enabling smooth retraction and extension of the tether.

[0009] More specifically, in the configuration of the above-described device, a tether storage means for storing a tether, which may be in the form of a rotary reel, and a tether guide means for guiding the tether, which is connected between the tether storage means and the kite, may be provided, and a tether cleaning means may be provided on the outside of the tether guide means, and configured so that when the tether guide means stores the tether, the tether cleaning means removes foreign matter from the surface of the tether before the tether passes through the tether guide means. As a result, when the tether that has been extended outside the winch device is stored inside the winch device, the surface of the tether is cleaned, and dirt from the tether is not brought inside beyond the tether guide means, thus maintaining a clean state inside the winch device.

[0010] Various methods can be employed for cleaning the tether. For example, the tether cleaning means may include means for blowing air onto the surface of the tether, and be configured to remove foreign matter from the surface of the tether by blowing air off. Alternatively, the tether cleaning means may include means for spraying cleaning solution onto the surface of the tether and means for recovering the cleaning solution from the surface of the tether, and be configured to remove foreign matter from the surface of the tether by suspending it from the surface with the cleaning solution sprayed onto the surface of the tether and recovering it together with the cleaning solution. Furthermore, if the surface of the tether is coated to provide a desired function, the tether cleaning means may include means for stripping the coating. These cleaning methods may be used in combination as appropriate. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] Thus, according to the configuration of the present invention, in a winch device for a tether used to moor a kite being hoisted into the air, cleaning of the tether is performed when the tether is stored in the winch device. As a result, the tether is stored in the winch device with a clean surface, the frictional state of the surface is stabilized, and it is expected that the storage and unloading of the tether will be achieved smoothly.

[0012] 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]

[0013] [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. [Explanation of symbols]

[0014] 1...Winch device, 2...Tether, 3...Kite, 4...Rotating reel (tether storage means), 5...Rotating device, 6...Operation control device, 7...Auxiliary roller, 8...Guide roller (tether guidance means), 10...Tether cleaning unit, 11...Cleaning liquid container unit, 12...Cleaning liquid, 13...Peeling roller, 14...Air injector, 15...Recoverer [Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]

[0015] 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.

[0016] Basic configuration of a winch device Referring to Figure 1, the winch device 1 to which this embodiment is applied is a device that performs the unwinding and winding of a tether 2 connected to a kite 3 that is lifted into the air from there, thereby changing the altitude of the kite 3. As shown in the figure, in the device 1, the tether 2 is wound onto a rotary reel 4 at the end opposite to the end connected to the kite 3, and the rotation of the rotary reel 4 by a rotary device 5 of any type achieves the unwinding and winding of the tether 2 in the direction of extension and the winding in the direction of shortening. As already mentioned, the tether 2 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 kite may be of any type with length and width dimensions on the order of several meters. The operation of the rotary device 5 may be appropriately controlled in various ways by an operation control device 6, which may be a computer device. The tether 2, unwound from the rotary reel 4, travels along a path formed by auxiliary rollers 7, etc., and is guided in the direction of extension by guide rollers 8 attached to the outside of the winch device 1, extending and connecting to the kite 3. During operation, for example, the length of the tether unwound from the rotary reel is controlled by adjusting the torque acting on the rotary reel by the operation control device 6. If the kite is an aerial wind power generation kite, although not shown in the diagram, a generator is connected to the rotation shaft of the rotary reel, and the rotation of the rotary reel when the tether extends due to the kite rising due to wind power rotates the rotation shaft of the generator, thereby generating electricity.

[0017] Tether cleaning mechanism As described in the summary of the invention, the tether is exposed to the atmosphere when the kite is raised and comes into contact with the ground when the kite lands. Therefore, the part of the tether that is outside the winch device may become dirty due to dust, dirt, oil, water droplets, etc. from the atmosphere and the ground adhering to its surface. When the tether is fed out to raise the kite, various coatings may be applied to the surface of the tether. When the tether is stored in a rotary reel, if the surface friction is unstable due to dirt or coatings on the tether, the tension control of the tether becomes unstable, and the winding and unwinding of the tether on the rotary reel may not be achieved properly. Therefore, in this embodiment, a tether cleaning section 10, which is a mechanism for cleaning the surface of the tether, is provided on the outside of the guide roller 8, and the tether is cleaned when it is stored.

[0018] Tether cleaning may be performed in any manner. Specifically, in one manner, for example, an air injector 14 may be installed in the path of the tether adjacent to the outside of the guide roller 8, and when the tether is placed in position, air may be blown from the air injector 14 onto the tether 2 to blow away any foreign matter on the surface of the tether 2, thereby cleaning the surface of the tether 2. The blown-away foreign matter may be collected in a recovery device 15 located below the tether cleaning unit 10 (see arrow a). Alternatively, in another manner, a cleaning liquid container unit 11 containing cleaning liquid 12 may be provided, and when the tether is placed in position, the cleaning liquid 12 from the cleaning liquid container unit 11 may be sprayed onto the tether to wash away any foreign matter on the surface of the tether 2, thereby cleaning the surface of the tether 2. Furthermore, the spray position of the cleaning solution may be positioned outside the air blowing position of the air injector 14, so that the air blowing blows away any floating foreign matter from the cleaning solution and it is collected in the recovery device 15.

[0019] Furthermore, when various coatings are applied to the surface of the tether, means for peeling such coatings, for example, a peeling roller 13 may be provided. In the winch device, although not shown, when the tether is fed out, a mechanism of any method for applying an arbitrary coating such as a light-emitting coating to the surface of the tether may be provided.

[0020] The above-described air blowing mechanism, cleaning mechanism using a cleaning liquid, and coating peeling mechanism may be simultaneously equipped in the winch device 1.

[0021] According to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, when lowering the altitude of the kite lifted into the air or when recovering the tether to the winch device, the tether is cleaned, and the tether is stored with a clean surface. As a result, it is expected that the storage and payout of the tether can be achieved well. The configuration of this embodiment may be applied to the tethers of various kites in addition to the kite for airborne wind power generation.

[0022] The above description has been made in relation to the embodiments of the present invention. However, many modifications and changes are easily possible for those skilled in the art, and the present invention is not limited to only the embodiments illustrated above, and it will be clear that the present invention 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, the device including a tether cleaning means for cleaning the tether when bringing the tether, which extends outside the winch device, into the winch device.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, A tether storage means in which the aforementioned tether is stored This includes a tether guiding means that guides the tether, which is connected between the tether storage means and the kite. The tether cleaning means is provided on the outside of the tether guide means, An apparatus configured such that when the tether guide means accommodates the tether, the tether cleaning means removes foreign matter from the surface of the tether before the tether passes through the tether guide means.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tether cleaning means has means for blowing air onto the surface of the tether, and is configured to remove foreign matter from the surface of the tether by blowing air off.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tether cleaning means comprises means for spraying a cleaning solution onto the surface of the tether and means for recovering the cleaning solution from the surface of the tether, and is configured to remove foreign matter from the surface of the tether by causing the foreign matter to float off the surface of the tether with the cleaning solution sprayed onto the surface of the tether and recovering the foreign matter together with the cleaning solution.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the tether is coated, and the tether cleaning means has means for removing the coating.

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