JP2016089736A - Support mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a support mechanism for a speed-up gear that is relatively light-weight but can reduce mechanical load to components of a speed-up gear due to torque variation generated when a windmill blade receives a wind.SOLUTION: A wind power generation device uses the speed-up gear 10 to accelerate torque generated when the windmill blade receives a wind and converts the accelerated torque into electric power by a power generator. The support mechanism 100 of the speed-up gear 10 includes: a bracket 102 for supporting a casing of the speed-up gear 10 via a bearing 104; and a rotation prevention mechanism 106 for preventing rotation of the casing of the speed-up gear 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a support mechanism for a gearbox in a wind turbine generator.

  With the recent increase in environmental awareness, demand for environmentally friendly clean energy is increasing. One of the representatives of such clean energy is wind power generation. In wind power generation, wind power is converted into torque, and power is generated using the torque, so there is little load on the environment.

Since the wind power generator is generally installed in a natural environment and basically operates using irregular wind energy as power, relatively large fluctuation torque is applied to the components of the wind power generator. Such torque fluctuations can shorten the service life of the components of the step-up gear of the wind turbine generator.
Therefore, conventionally, the torque fluctuation is reduced by supporting the speed increaser with an actively controlled actuator or a bush as an elastic body (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2013-144970 A

  However, in the conventional support mechanism, since the speed increaser is supported by the actuator or the bush, high strength is required for the actuator or the bush. For this reason, there is a problem that the size of the actuator and bush increases and the weight of the support mechanism increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and its purpose is to reduce the mechanical load on the components of the gearbox due to the torque fluctuation caused by the wind turbine blade receiving wind even though it is relatively lightweight. It is in the provision of a support mechanism for the gearbox.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a support mechanism according to an aspect of the present invention is a support mechanism for a speed increaser of a wind power generator, and includes a support member that supports a casing of the speed increaser via a bearing, and a speed increase A rotation prevention mechanism for preventing rotation of the casing of the machine.

  According to this aspect, the support member that supports the casing of the speed increaser and the rotation prevention mechanism that prevents the rotation of the casing of the speed increaser can be separated.

  Note that any combination of the above elements, or elements and expressions of the present invention that are mutually replaced between apparatuses, methods, systems, and the like are also effective as embodiments of the present invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the support mechanism of the gearbox which can reduce the mechanical load to the component of the gearbox by the torque fluctuation which arises when a windmill blade receives a wind although being comparatively lightweight can be provided.

It is a side view of the wind power generator concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the inside of the nacelle shown by FIG. 3A and 3B are views showing the support mechanism of FIG. FIGS. 4A and 4B are views showing a support mechanism for the gearbox of the wind turbine generator according to the second embodiment. FIGS. 5A and 5B are views showing a support mechanism for the gearbox of the wind turbine generator according to the third embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the inside of the nacelle of the wind power generator which concerns on 4th Embodiment. 7A and 7B are views showing the support mechanism of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the function and structure of a control part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the control flow by the control part of FIG.

  Hereinafter, the same or equivalent components and members shown in the respective drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions thereof are omitted as appropriate. In addition, the dimensions of the members in each drawing are appropriately enlarged or reduced for easy understanding. Also, in the drawings, some of the members that are not important for describing the embodiment are omitted.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a side view of a wind turbine generator 1 according to the first embodiment. The wind power generator 1 includes a column 2 that is erected on a foundation 6, a nacelle 3 that is installed at the upper end of the column 2, and a rotor head 4 that is rotatably assembled to the nacelle 3. A plurality of (for example, three) wind turbine blades (also referred to as wind turbine blades) 5 are attached to the rotor head 4. Inside the nacelle 3, a speed increaser and a generator (both not shown in FIG. 1) are provided. The wind power generator 1 increases the torque generated by the wind turbine blades 5 receiving wind (hereinafter referred to as wind torque) using a speed increaser, and converts the increased torque into electric power using the power generator.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the inside of the nacelle 3. The step-up gear 10 is provided on a torque transmission path from the windmill blade 5 to the generator 20. The rotor head 4 and the speed increaser 10 are mechanically connected by an input shaft 12, and input torque Qin (= wind torque) is input to the speed increaser 10 in the form of rotation of the input shaft 12.

The speed increaser 10 and the generator 20 are mechanically connected by an output shaft 14. The speed increaser 10 rotates the output shaft 14 at an output torque Qout lower than the input torque Qin input via the input shaft 12 and at a higher rotational speed than the rotational speed of the input shaft 12.
The generator 20 generates electricity using the rotation of the output shaft 14.

  The difference (Qin−Qout) between the input torque Qin and the output torque Qout generates a main body torque that attempts to rotate the main body of the gear box 10 around the input shaft 12. Therefore, the wind power generator 1 has a support mechanism 100 that mechanically supports the speed increaser 10 with respect to the nacelle 3. The support mechanism 100 can withstand the body torque, that is, increase the reaction force from the nacelle 3. To the machine 10.

  3A and 3B show the support mechanism 100. FIG. FIG. 3A is a front view of the support mechanism 100, and FIG. 3B is a side view of the support mechanism 100. The support mechanism 100 includes a bracket 102, a bearing 104, a rotation prevention mechanism 106, a damping mechanism 108, and a speed increasing mechanism 110. The bracket 102 is a block-shaped member and is fixed to the nacelle 3. A through hole 102 a is provided in the bracket 102 along the rotation axis R of the input shaft 12.

  The bearing 104 is an annular roller bearing, and is fixed to the through hole 102a so as to surround the rotating shaft R. In particular, the outer ring member 104a of the bearing 104 is fixed to the through hole 102a by bonding or press-fitting or by using both bonding and press-fitting. The bearing 104 rotatably supports the casing of the speed increaser 10 with respect to the bracket 102. Specifically, the casing of the gearbox 10 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the inner ring member 104b by bonding or press-fitting or by using both bonding and press-fitting. Thereby, the gearbox 10 and the inner ring member 104b move integrally. In particular, the speed increaser 10 and the inner ring member 104b rotate with respect to the outer ring member 104a and thus with respect to the bracket 102. The bearing 104 may be a ball bearing, a sliding bearing, or other bearings. As described above, the bearing 104 is disposed between the bracket 102 fixed to the nacelle 3 and the casing of the gearbox 10.

  The rotation blocking mechanism 106 blocks the rotation of the casing of the speed increaser 10 around the rotation axis R. In the present embodiment, the rotation prevention mechanism 106 is provided on the right side of the input shaft 12 when the support mechanism 100 is viewed from the input shaft 12 side. The rotation prevention mechanism 106 includes a first arm 112 and a spring 114 as an elastic member. The first arm 112 is attached to the casing of the gearbox 10. One end of the spring 114 is fixed to the first arm 112, and the other end is fixed to a frame 116 fixed to the nacelle 3. That is, the spring 114 is connected to a member supported by the bearing 104 and a member not supported by the bearing 104. When the casing of the gearbox 10 tilts clockwise (counterclockwise), the spring 114 contracts (extends) via the first arm 112, and the casing of the gearbox 10 applies a force from the spring 114 to return to the equilibrium position. receive. The stiffness of the spring 114 is determined such that the natural frequency of the system including the casing of the gearbox 10 deviates from the peak corresponding to the rotational speed of the wind turbine blade 5 in the frequency spectrum of the wind torque.

  The speed increasing mechanism 110 increases the rotation of the casing of the speed increasing device 10. In the present embodiment, the speed increasing mechanism 110 is constituted by a cam mechanism and is provided on the left side of the input shaft 12. Specifically, the speed increasing mechanism 110 includes a connection member 120 attached to the casing of the speed increasing device 10, a V-shaped arm 122, and a support base 124 fixed to the nacelle 3. The bent portion side of the V-shaped arm 122 is rotatably supported by the support base 124 on the shaft 122a. One end side of the V-shaped arm 122 is rotatably fixed to the connection member 120 on the shaft 122b. The other end of the V-shaped arm 122 is rotatably fixed to one end of the connecting arm 126 at the connecting portion 122c. The other end of the connecting arm 126 is connected to the damping mechanism 108. In the speed increasing mechanism 110, the motion of the shaft 122b having the rotation axis R as the rotation (swing) center is converted into the motion of the connecting portion 122c having the shaft 122a as the rotation (swing) center. If the distance between the rotating shaft R and the shaft 122b is r11 and the distance between the shaft 122a and the connecting portion 122c is r12, the speed increasing ratio of the speed increasing mechanism 110 is r11 / r12. The rotation increased by the speed increasing mechanism 110 is input to the damping mechanism 108 via the connecting arm 126.

  The damping mechanism 108 reduces fluctuations in torque applied to the speed increaser 10. The damping mechanism 108 includes a damper 118. The damper 118 is a direct acting damper and is fixed to the nacelle 3. The damper 118 is configured by, for example, a hydraulic cylinder, an air cylinder, or a spring. The damper 118 attenuates the torque fluctuation increased by the speed increasing mechanism 110.

Operation | movement of the support mechanism 100 of the wind power generator 1 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated.
A bracket 102 of the support mechanism 100 rotatably supports the speed increaser 10 via a bearing 104. When the gearbox 10 is tilted clockwise (counterclockwise) in response to the body torque, the spring 114 contracts (extends) via the first arm 112. The speed-up gear 10 receives a force in the counterclockwise (clockwise) direction from the contracted (extended) spring 114 via the first arm 112 and attempts to return to the equilibrium position. Further, when the main body torque fluctuates due to a sudden torque fluctuation caused by a gust or the like, the damping mechanism 108 attenuates the torque fluctuation increased by the speed increasing mechanism 110.

  According to the support mechanism 100 according to the present embodiment, the casing of the speed increaser 10 is supported by the bracket 102 supported by the nacelle 3. Therefore, the rotation prevention mechanism 106 only needs to receive the torque applied to the gearbox 10 and does not need to support the weight of the gearbox 10. Similarly, the damping mechanism 108 only needs to receive torque fluctuations related to the gearbox 10 without receiving the weight of the gearbox 10. That is, according to the support mechanism 100, the part that receives the weight of the speed increaser 10 and the part that receives the torque applied to the speed increaser 10 and the torque fluctuation can be separated. As a result, the strength required for the rotation prevention mechanism 106 and the attenuation mechanism 108 is reduced, and the rotation prevention mechanism 106 and the attenuation mechanism 108 can be reduced in weight. That is, the lifetime of the gearbox 10 can be extended while achieving weight reduction.

  In general, when the speed increaser 10 is supported by the rotation prevention mechanism 106 and the damping mechanism 108, the rotation prevention mechanism 106 (particularly, the spring 114) and the damping mechanism 108 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis of the speed increaser 10. Otherwise, the rotating shaft of the gearbox 10 may be shifted. On the other hand, in the wind turbine generator 1 according to the present embodiment, the speed increaser 10 is supported by the bracket 102. Therefore, even if the rotation prevention mechanism 106 is arranged on the right side of the input shaft 12 and the damping mechanism 108 is arranged on the left side of the input shaft 12, that is, the rotation prevention mechanism 106 and the damping mechanism 108 with respect to the rotation axis of the speed increaser 10. Even if they are not symmetrically arranged, the rotation axis of the speed increaser 10 does not deviate. Thereby, the freedom degree of design regarding arrangement | positioning of the rotation prevention mechanism 106 and the damping mechanism 108 improves.

  In the support mechanism 100 according to the present embodiment, the rotation increased by the speed increasing mechanism 110 is input to the damping mechanism 108. Therefore, the rotational torque input to the damping mechanism 108 is reduced by the speed increase ratio. Thereby, the damping mechanism 108 can be made relatively compact.

  Further, in the support mechanism 100 according to the present embodiment, the stiffness of the spring 114 is such that the natural frequency of the system including the speed increaser 10 from the peak corresponding to the rotation speed of the windmill blade 5 in the frequency spectrum of wind torque. It is decided so that it may come off. Therefore, the rotation of the windmill blade 5 and the resonance with the system can be suppressed. As a result, the mechanical load on the system can be reduced and the life of the system can be extended.

  In the wind turbine generator 1 according to the present embodiment, the speed increaser 10 attempts to return to the original equilibrium position by the rotation prevention mechanism 106. Therefore, sudden fluctuations in torque can be suppressed more efficiently in a situation where there is a limit to the movable range (expansion / contraction amount) of the damper 118 of the damping mechanism 108.

(Second Embodiment)
FIGS. 4A and 4B show a support mechanism 200 for the gearbox 10 of the wind turbine generator according to the second embodiment. FIG. 4A is a front view of the support mechanism 200, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the support mechanism 200. The support mechanism 200 includes a bracket 102, a bearing 104, a rotation prevention mechanism 206, a damping mechanism 208, and a speed increasing mechanism 210.

  The speed increasing mechanism 210 includes an external gear 220. In the second embodiment, a gear 10a having a pitch circle radius of r21 is formed on the outer periphery of the casing of the speed increaser 10, and the external gear 220 meshes with the gear 10a. The external gear 220 has a smaller pitch circle radius r22 than the gear 10a. Therefore, the speed increasing ratio of the speed increasing mechanism 210 is r21 / r22. One end of the second arm 222 is attached to the rotation shaft of the external gear 220. One end of a spring 214 as the rotation prevention mechanism 206 and one end of a damper 218 as the damping mechanism 108 are fixed to the other end of the second arm 222. The other end of the spring 214 and the other end of the damper 218 are fixed to the nacelle 3.

The spring 214 receives the torque applied to the speed increaser 10 via the speed increasing mechanism 210. Specifically, when the gearbox 10 is tilted clockwise (counterclockwise) in response to the body torque, the external gear 220 is tilted counterclockwise (clockwise). Then, the spring 214 extends (shrinks) through the second arm 222 attached to the external gear 220. The speed increaser 10 receives a counterclockwise (clockwise) direction force from the extended (contracted) spring 214 via the second arm 222 and the external gear 220 and tries to return to the equilibrium position.
The damping mechanism 208 attenuates the torque fluctuation increased by the speed increasing mechanism 210.

  According to the support mechanism 200 according to the present embodiment, the same operational effects as the operational effects exhibited by the support mechanism 100 according to the first embodiment are exhibited. In addition, according to the support mechanism 200 according to the present embodiment, the torque increased by the speed increasing mechanism 210 is input to the spring 214. Therefore, the torque input to the spring 214 is reduced by the speed increase ratio. Thereby, the rigidity required for the spring 214 is lowered, and an inexpensive spring can be used for the spring 214. As a result, the manufacturing cost of the support mechanism 200 can be reduced.

(Third embodiment)
FIGS. 5A and 5B show a support mechanism 300 for the step-up gear 10 of the wind turbine generator according to the third embodiment. FIG. 5A is a front view of the support mechanism 300, and FIG. 5B is a side view of the support mechanism 300. The support mechanism 300 includes a bracket 102, a bearing 104, and a rotation prevention mechanism 306.

  The rotation prevention mechanism 306 includes a torsion spring 314. One end of the torsion spring 314 is fixed to the bracket 102, and the other end is fixed to the casing of the speed increaser 10. When the gearbox 10 tilts clockwise (counterclockwise) in response to the body torque, the gearbox 10 receives a counterclockwise (clockwise) direction force from the torsion spring 314 and attempts to return to the equilibrium position. .

  According to the support mechanism 300 according to the present embodiment, the same effects as the effects exhibited by the support mechanism 100 according to the first embodiment are exhibited. In addition, according to the support mechanism 300 according to the present embodiment, an arm for connecting the speed increaser 10 and the torsion spring 314 is not required, so that the configuration of the rotation prevention mechanism 306 is relatively simple. Thereby, the manufacturing cost of the support mechanism 300 can be reduced.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the inside of the nacelle 3 of the wind turbine generator according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 6 corresponds to FIG. Control unit 430 is connected to wind turbine blade 5 and support mechanism 400.

  7A and 7B show the support mechanism 400. FIG. FIG. 7A is a front view of the support mechanism 400, and FIG. 7B is a side view of the support mechanism 400. The support mechanism 400 includes a bracket 102, a bearing 104, a rotation prevention mechanism 106, a damping mechanism 408, and a speed increasing mechanism 410.

  The damping mechanism 408 includes a servo motor 418. An external gear 420 as a speed increasing mechanism 410 is attached to the rotation shaft of the servo motor 418. In the fourth embodiment, a gear 10a is formed on the outer periphery of the casing of the speed increaser 10, and the external gear 420 meshes with the gear 10a. The external gear 420 has a smaller pitch circle diameter than the gear 10a. Servo motor 418 receives an instruction from control unit 430 and rotates external gear 420.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the function and configuration of the control unit 430. Each of these blocks can be realized in terms of hardware by an element and a machine device including a CPU and a memory of a computer, and in terms of software, it can be realized by a computer program or the like. Draw functional blocks. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by a combination of hardware and software.

Control unit 430 includes a wind speed acquisition unit 432, an average wind speed calculation unit 434, a rotation speed acquisition unit 438, a servo motor control unit 440, and an end determination unit 442.
The wind speed acquisition part 432 acquires the wind speed measured by the anemometer arrange | positioned around the wind power generator. The average wind speed calculation unit 434 calculates an average wind speed (for example, an average wind speed for 10 seconds) from the wind speed acquired by the wind speed acquisition unit 432. The rotation speed acquisition unit 438 acquires the rotation angular speed of the rotation shaft of the servo motor 418 from the servo motor 418. The servo motor control unit 440 controls the servo motor 418. The end determination unit 442 determines whether or not there is an end instruction.

FIG. 9 shows a control flow by the control unit 430. It is assumed that the wind speed acquisition unit 432 acquires the wind speed at a predetermined interval.
The average wind speed calculation unit 434 calculates the average wind speed (here, the average wind speed for 10 seconds) from the wind speed acquired by the wind speed acquisition unit 432 (S10). When the average wind speed calculated by the average wind speed calculation unit 434 is equal to or higher than the first wind speed (for example, 7 m / s) (Y in S12), the rotation speed acquisition unit 438 rotates the rotation angular speed of the rotation shaft of the servo motor at time t ( θ ′ (t)) is acquired (S14). The servo motor control unit 440 instructs the servo motor 418 to generate the servo motor torque of the following equation (1) after (t + Δt) seconds (S16). Note that Δt is set to 0.01 seconds or less, for example.
(Formula 1) Q (t + Δt) = − cθ ′ (t)
Here, c is an arbitrary constant.
That is, the servo motor control unit 440 instructs the servo motor 418 to generate a rotation in the direction opposite to the rotation axis of the servo motor 418 that rotates by the torque applied to the speed increaser 10.

  When the average wind speed calculated by the average wind speed calculation unit 434 is less than the first wind speed (for example, 7 m / s) (N in S12), since the wind torque is small, the main body torque and its torque fluctuation are also relatively small. In this case, since it is not necessary to operate the servo motor 418, S14 and S16 are skipped, and the process is passed to S18 described later. The end determination unit 442 determines whether or not there is a predetermined end instruction (S18). If there is no end instruction (N in S18), the process returns to step S10. If there is an end instruction (Y in S18), the process ends.

  According to the support mechanism 400 according to the present embodiment, the same effects as the effects exhibited by the support mechanism 100 according to the first embodiment are exhibited. In addition, according to the support mechanism 400 according to the present embodiment, the servo motor 418 is actively controlled according to the torque, so that the torque fluctuation can be reduced more effectively.

  Heretofore, the configuration and operation of the wind turbine generator according to the embodiment have been described. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it is understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective constituent elements, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

(Modification 1)
In the first, second, and fourth embodiments, the description has been given of the case where the support mechanism includes the one-stage speed increasing mechanism between the speed increasing device 10 and the rotation prevention mechanism and the damping mechanism. However, the present invention is not limited to this. . The support mechanism may include two or more speed increasing mechanisms between the speed increasing device 10 and the rotation blocking mechanism and the damping mechanism.

(Modification 2)
In the third embodiment, the case where the support mechanism 300 does not have a damping mechanism has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The support mechanism 300 may be provided with, for example, a rotary damper or a direct acting damper.

(Modification 3)
In the first to fourth embodiments, the support mechanism includes a speed increasing mechanism at least one of between the speed increasing device 10 and the rotation prevention mechanism and between the speed increasing device 10 and the damping mechanism. Although explained, it is not limited to this. The support mechanism may not include the speed increasing mechanism between the speed increasing device 10 and the rotation prevention mechanism and between the speed increasing device 10 and the damping mechanism.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wind power generator, 2 support | pillars, 3 nacelle, 4 rotor head, 5 windmill blade, 6 foundation, 10 speed increaser, 12 input shaft, 20 generator, 100 support mechanism, 102 bracket, 104 bearing, 106 rotation prevention mechanism, 108 Damping mechanism, 110 Speed increasing mechanism.

Claims (10)

A support mechanism for a gearbox of a wind turbine generator,
A support member for supporting the casing of the speed increaser via a bearing;
And a rotation prevention mechanism for preventing rotation of the casing of the speed increaser.   The support mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the rotation prevention mechanism includes an elastic member.   The support mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a damping mechanism that attenuates torque fluctuations acting on a casing of the speed increaser. A speed increasing mechanism for speeding up rotation of the casing of the speed increaser;
The support mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the damping mechanism receives rotation increased by the speed increasing mechanism.   The support mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the rotation prevention mechanism prevents rotation of the casing of the speed increaser that has not been increased or decreased. A speed increasing mechanism for speeding up rotation of the casing of the speed increaser;
The support mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the rotation prevention mechanism prevents the rotation increased by the speed increasing mechanism.   5. The speed increasing mechanism includes a large gear provided on a casing outer periphery of the speed increasing device, and a small gear meshing with the large gear and having a smaller number of teeth than the large gear. The support mechanism according to any one of 6.   The support mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the speed increasing mechanism is configured by a cam mechanism.   The support mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the damping mechanism is configured by a servo motor.   The support mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the rotation prevention mechanism is not disposed symmetrically with respect to an axis of an input shaft of the speed increaser.

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