DK201470277A1 - A smart device with a screen for visualizing a wind turbine component - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a smart device with a screen for visualizing a wind turbine component, the device comprises a camera for obtaining an image of the wind turbine component, a sensor for obtaining a sensor input relating to the wind turbine component, a database or access to a database of wind turbine components and data associated to the wind turbine components, and a processing unit for identifying the wind turbine component on the image, and based on the first sensor input obtaining data associated to the identified wind turbine component, and providing a visual overlay representing the data onto the screen of the smart device.

Description

A smart device with a screen for visualizing a wind turbine component

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a smart device with a screen for visualizing a wind turbine component.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

During service and maintenance of a wind turbine, it is desirable to be able to identify wind turbine components, including major components, in order to perform correct action. Current methods of identifying the components include going through a bill of materials as well as verifying part serial numbers. This is very time consuming and may result in incorrect information due to errors in the bill of materials and operator error. Consequently, there is a need in the art to reliably associate pertinent information, such as commissioning date, service life, and maintenance instructions with a specific component. US 2010/0097220 discloses a wireless information system for wind turbine components. The wireless information system includes radio frequency identification (RFID) tags that are attached to wind turbine components. The RFID tags contain component information such as identification, commissioning date, and maintenance information. The system allows the components to be identified and / or verified by a technician. The technician may use a handheld device, which permits the RFID tag to be read at various locations. However, this solution requires a handling step of physically attaching RFID tags to all components, and information related to a given component is static in the sense that it is limited to what is coded into the RFID tag originally.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It would be advantageous to achieve a way of correctly obtaining additional information about a given wind turbine component in a manner which is dynamic and does not require dedicated marks or tags on a given component.

Accordingly, in a first aspect, a smart device with a screen for visualizing a wind turbine component is provided, the device comprising: - a camera for obtaining an image of the wind turbine component; - at least a first sensor for obtaining a first sensor input relating to the wind turbine component; - a database or communicative access to a database of wind turbine components and data associated with the wind turbine components; - a processing unit for identifying the wind turbine component on the image, and based on the first sensor input obtaining data associated with the identified wind turbine component, and for providing a visual overlay representing the data onto the screen of the smart device.

The smart device may be any type of smart device, such as a smart phone, a phablet, a tablet computer, a portable computer or any other type of device normally referred to as a smart device, such devices are normally handheld. Moreover, the smart device may be wearable or body-borne, or incorporated into a wearable or body-borne device. Examples of this include smart glasses or smart contact lenses or other body-supported screen devices. When moving around in a wind turbine it may be important to have the hands free. Moreover, during inspection or other work, there may be a need for reporting. This may thereby be done simultaneously on a separate handheld device. Further, during repair (or other situations) there may be a need for moving parts or separating parts using tools.

The smart device comprises a camera for taking an image, either a still image or a motion image, by holding the device in front of the component and instructing the device to capture what is registered on the image sensor. The term camera is to be interpreted broadly to include any image recognizing devices.

The processing unit is properly programmed to execute an image processing algorithm to identify one or components on the image. This may be based on any type of image recognition algorithms, e.g. for extracting characteristics on the image and correlating the extracted characteristics to a repository of characteristics of known elements. Such characteristics may be the known shapes of the various components. A wind turbine comprises a limited number of elements which are all known, the identity or type of the components of the image can thereby be extracted with high certainty.

Sensor input is received to identify the given turbine. This sensor input may be a dedicated sensor, such as a GPS sensor for determining the specific turbine based on geographical location, or it may be a shared sensor, such as the camera operated as a scanner to scan a given identification tag of the wind turbine to determine the identity of the specific wind turbine.

The device may include additional sensors, such as device orientation sensors, e.g. a compass, a gravity direction sensor, etc. In this way, not only the specific position can be determined, but also in which direction the device is pointing, thereby helping determine the component that is in front of the device.

Having identified the type of component, and one further input such as the location of the turbine, the identification number of the turbine, or other inputs, a unique determination of the given component can be made by a look-up in a database, either stored on the device or accessed from the device, eg via a 3G network connection or other appropriate data connection (4G, WIFI, etc.).

Based on the first sensor input and the obtained data associated with the identified wind turbine component, a visual overlay representing the data is provided onto the screen of the smart device.

The visual overlay may comprise a graphical component representing the identified wind turbine component and a textual layer for textual data representation of the data associated with the wind turbine component. The graphical component may assist in defining the outline and sub-elements of the given components, whereas the textual layer may provide data such as specific name, type number, date of installation, expected life time, time to next service, or other relevant information. or documentation about the specific component being viewed. Such other information may include service instructions, or other instructions that are needed in connection with a given task in the turbine.

An augmented reality image is thereby provided to the user of the smart device. The user is provided with a quick and reliable overview of the specific components of the wind turbine and / or instructions in relation to the specific components. The identification of a given component does not require any physical marks or tags attached to the various components, and likewise, the associated data is not hard programmed into the components, but can be updated, corrected or otherwise changed if there is a need for that .

The calculation task of identifying the given component may be shared between the smart device and a remote computer with more computing power. It may be faster, energy saving, and / or more reliable to perform some of the calculations on a remote computer.

The components of the wind turbine may be any components making up the turbine itself, inside or outside, but also components of associated systems, such as substation components, components of a SCADA system, components of a metrological stations, etc.

In a further aspect, a method of visualizing a wind turbine component is provided, the method comprising: - obtaining an image of the wind turbine component; - obtain a first input related to the wind turbine component; - access a database of wind turbine components and data associated with the wind turbine components; - identify the wind turbine component on the image, and based on the first input obtain data associated with the identified wind turbine component, and provide a visual overlay representing the data onto the screen of the smart device.

In general, the various aspects of the invention may be combined and coupled in any way possible within the scope of the invention. These and other aspects, features and / or advantages of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

LETTER DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings, in which

FIG. 1 illustrates a wind turbine with a cut-through to show components inside the nacelle and

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a smart device.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a wind turbine 10 which includes a tower 12, a nacelle 14 and a rotor 16 operatively coupled to a generator 18 housed inside the nacelle 14. The rotor further includes a central hub 20 and blades 22 that project outwardly from the central hub 20 In addition to generator 18, the nacelle 14 houses miscellaneous components required for converting wind energy into electrical energy and various components needed to operate, control, and optimize the performance of the wind turbine 10. These internal components are illustrated by cutting away part of the nacelle cover.

The rotor 16 is mounted on an end of a main drive shaft 26 which extends into the nacelle 14 and is rotatably supported therein by a main bearing assembly 28 coupled to the frame of the nacelle 14. The main drive shaft 26 is operatively coupled to a gear box 30.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a smart device 2. The device comprises a camera (not shown) on a backside of the device as is custom for smart phones. The smart device further comprises a screen 5 for visualizing a wind turbine component in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention.

The camera is used to obtain an image of the wind turbine component of interest. Here the main bearing assembly 28 is placed within the capture area 4.

The device 2 further comprises a first sensor (not shown) in the form of a GPS to obtain sensor input in the form of the geographical position of the turbine to thereby identify the turbine based on the location.

The device further comprises a database loaded into the memory of the device, or has access to such database via a network connection. A service technician, or other relevant person, may obtain an image 4 of a given component of the wind turbine. The processing unit of the device is instructed to run an image analysis algorithm to identify structures on the image, and based on the identified structures to determine the nature of the components on the image. Having identified the component (here the main bearing assembly 28) a visual overlay 1.3 is added to the image shown on the screen of the smart device.

The visual overlay may be done in a number of ways. In the illustrated example, the outline 1 of the main bearing assembly is shown together with a textual layer 3 showing data related to the component, such as the identity number ID, expected lifetime ELT and the time to service TTS. However, any suitable information may be shown, in any suitable manner. For example, service instructions, details about which grease to use, etc.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the specified embodiments, it should not be construed as being in any way limited to the examples presented. The invention can be implemented by any suitable means; and the scope of the present invention is to be interpreted in the light of the accompanying claim set. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.

Claims (7)

1. A smart device with a screen for visualizing a wind turbine component, the device comprises: - a camera for obtaining an image of the wind turbine component; - at least a first sensor for obtaining a first sensor input relating to the wind turbine component; - a database or communicative access to a database of wind turbine components and data associated to the wind turbine components; - a processing unit for identifying the wind turbine component on the image, and based on the first sensor input obtaining data associated to the identified wind turbine component, and for providing a visual overlay representing the data onto the screen of the smart device.

2. The smart device according to claim 1, wherein the visual overlay comprises a graphical component representing the identified wind turbine component and/or a textual layer for textual data representation of the data associated to the wind turbine component.

3. The smart device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first sensor is a GPS sensor.

4. The smart device according to any of the preceding claims further comprises a device orientation sensor.

5. The smart device according to any of the preceding claims wherein the processing unit is adapted for forwarding data to a remote computing unit and receiving processed data or partly processed data back from the remote computing unit for identifying the wind turbine component on the image.

6. The smart device according to any of the preceding claims wherein at least the screen of the smart device is wearable.

7. A method of visualizing a wind turbine component, the method comprises: - obtain an image of the wind turbine component; - obtain a first input relating to the wind turbine component; - access a database of wind turbine components and data associated to the wind turbine components; - identify the wind turbine component on the image, and based on the first input obtain data associated to the identified wind turbine component, and provide a visual overlay representing the data onto the screen of the smart device.