Wind Turbine Lubricant Dispenser for Fast Pump-Free Refilling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The refilling of lubricant reservoirs in wind turbines is time- and cost-intensive due to the limited capacity of conventional pumps, requiring multiple lubricant containers and manual handling, which is inefficient and complex.
Innovation Solution
A lubricant dispenser with a squeeze mechanism that mechanically actsuates to discharge lubricant from a container into a reservoir, allowing for fast and efficient transfer without the need for external power sources, capable of discharging at least 50% of the container's volume with a single actuation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If an external pump is used to transfer lubricant from containers to the reservoir, then the lubricant can be transferred, but the transfer process is time-consuming and requires multiple containers due to limited pump capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the external pump system with a mechanical squeeze mechanism that directly compresses the lubricant container to discharge its contents. This substitution eliminates the limitations of pump capacity and significantly reduces refilling time by enabling rapid discharge of the entire container volume through mechanical compression rather than gradual pumping.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the lubricant discharge function from the container itself by equipping it with an integrated squeeze mechanism. This allows the container to actively discharge its own contents under mechanical compression, eliminating the need for external pumping equipment and enabling faster refilling operations.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple lubricant containers are used to refill the reservoir, then the reservoir capacity can be met, but the equipment complexity and manual handling requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple lubricant containers into a single integrated container system with sufficient capacity to fill the entire reservoir. By combining the storage function and discharge mechanism into one unit, the system eliminates the need for multiple containers and reduces equipment complexity while maintaining the required lubricant volume.
3Ease of operation
If conventional refilling methods are used, then the lubricant reservoir can be refilled, but the process is complex and requires significant manual handling
Solution Approach 1:
The lubricant container is designed with an integrated squeeze mechanism that enables it to discharge its own contents automatically when activated. This self-service capability eliminates the need for complex external pumping equipment and manual handling procedures, significantly simplifying the refilling operation to a single activation step.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Significantly reduces the time required for refilling lubricant reservoirs, simplifies the refilling process, and minimizes equipment complexity, enabling faster and cleaner lubrication of wind turbine components while preventing contamination by dirt particles.
Implementation Method 1
a squeeze mechanism that is mechanically coupled to the second support and that is actuatable to move the second support towards the first support. The squeeze mechanism is configured such that if a lubricant container is disposed between the first and second supports, movement of the second support leads to the squeezing of the lubricant container so that the content of the lubricant container is discharged through the flow connection
Data Source
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AI summary
A lubricant dispenser for filling a lubricant reservoir (110) of a wind turbine (200) is provided. The lubricant dispenser (10) includes a carrier (20) configured to receive a lubricant container (40), wherein the carrier (20) comprises at least a first support (21) for supporting one end of the lubricant container and a second support (22) for supporting a second end of the lubricant container. The lubricant dispenser further includes a flow connection (15) having a first end configured to be coupled to the lubricant container (40) and a second end configured to be coupled to the lubricant reservoir (110), and a squeeze mechanism (30) that is mechanically coupled to the second support (22) and that is actuatable to move the second support (22) towards the first support (21) such that a lubricant container (40) disposed between the first and second supports (21, 22) is squeezed, whereby the content of the lubricant container (40) is discharged through the flow connection (15). A wind turbine lubrication system and a method of refilling a wind turbine lubricant reservoir are furthermore provided.