KR101302990B1 - Apparatus for robot management, and wind power generator having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a robot management apparatus and a wind generator having the same. An embodiment of the present invention, the robot management device provided in the wind turbine for managing the maintenance robot for maintenance of the wind turbine, comprising: a robot housing for accommodating the maintenance robot; It includes a robot transporting unit for transporting the maintenance robot stored in the robot storage unit mounted on the structure of the wind power generator or transporting the maintenance robot mounted on the structure to accommodate the robot storage unit.

Description

Robot management device and wind power generator with same {APPARATUS FOR ROBOT MANAGEMENT, AND WIND POWER GENERATOR HAVING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a robot management apparatus and a wind power generator having the same.

Wind turbines (hereinafter referred to as “wind generators”) are devices that generate electricity by converting wind energy into mechanical energy, and are being spotlighted as a clean energy source for greenhouse gas reduction. Conventional wind turbines have a tower, a nacelle mounted on top of the tower, and a rotor connected to the nacelle and having a plurality of blades.

Wind turbines require periodic maintenance after installation, such as cleaning, inspection, and deicing (to remove ice formed on blades) to prevent breakdowns and accidents and increase operational efficiency. Wind turbines, however, are difficult to maintain because they are large structures with tower heights of approximately one hundred meters and blade lengths of tens of meters or more. In particular, because the blade is located at high altitude, the work environment is poor and dangerous, for example, the operator must be suspended in the air for maintenance.

US Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0138937 proposes a method of inspecting blades by moving a robot along a tower surface by using lifting means. However, this technique requires the robot to be moved from the bottom of the tower to the blade located in the high altitude, using the lifting means each time to perform the inspection of the blade. In addition, when the maintenance of the blade is completed or the robot needs maintenance, the robot in high altitude must be transported back to the ground.

In this case, the process of transporting the robot can be difficult and time-consuming, which can reduce the efficiency in maintaining the structure of the wind turbine generator, including the blade. In addition, it is difficult to quickly maintain the robot performing the maintenance work of the blade at high altitude, and management difficulties of the robot transported to the ground may occur.

Patent Document 1: US Patent Publication No. 2011/0138937 (published: 2011.06.16.)

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a robot management apparatus for mounting a robot on the structure of the wind turbine generator or to accommodate the robot to be installed and a wind turbine having the same.

In addition, the present invention aims to provide a robot management apparatus capable of shortening the transfer time of a robot for maintenance of a wind turbine structure and performing a rapid response to a robot requiring maintenance, and a wind generator having the same.

According to an aspect of the invention, the robot management device provided in the wind turbine for managing the maintenance robot for maintenance of the wind turbine, comprising: a robot housing for accommodating the maintenance robot; The robot may include a robot transporting unit for transporting the maintenance robot housed in the robot storage unit to be mounted on the structure of the wind turbine or for transporting the maintenance robot mounted to the structure to house the robot storage unit.

It may further include a door for opening and closing the robot housing.

The structure may include a blade of the wind turbine, and the door may include a transport guide surface for guiding the maintenance robot to move to the blade.

The conveying guide surface may be formed to be inclined upward in the blade direction.

The robot housing may further include a transfer device for transferring the maintenance robot into the robot housing, or from the inside of the robot housing to the outside of the robot housing.

The robot storing unit may include a charging unit for charging the maintenance robot, the charging unit may include a power supply unit for supplying power, and a connection unit connected to the maintenance robot to provide the power to the maintenance robot. have.

The robot storage unit may include a management unit for managing the status of the maintenance robot.

The robot housing further includes a rail, and the management unit may further include a driving wheel to move forward and backward along the rail.

The transmission and reception unit for communicating with the maintenance robot and an external device for monitoring and controlling the respective facilities of the wind turbine, and the maintenance based on information received from at least one of the maintenance robot and the external device The control unit may further include a control unit configured to perform a transfer and management operation of the robot.

The robot transfer unit includes a hand part for capturing the maintenance robot, an arm part extending from the hand part, and a sensing sensor part for collecting at least one of position information, angle, speed, and distance from the structure of the arm part. can do.

It may include a control unit for controlling the hand and the arm based on the information collected by the detection sensor to position the maintenance robot to a predetermined position.

Based on at least one of the information stored by the maintenance robot in the robot storage unit and control information received from the maintenance robot or an external device, the robot transfer unit and each module included in the robot storage unit may be placed in a setting position. It may further include an initialization unit for positioning.

The robot management apparatus may be provided at least one outside of the nacelle of the wind turbine.

The robot management apparatus may be provided outside the tower facing the blade rear portion of the wind turbine.

The robot housing further includes a rail, and the robot transport unit may further include a driving wheel to enable the robot to move forward and backward along the rail.

It may further include an opening and closing unit for driving the opening and closing operation of the door.

The storage robot may further include a storage unit configured to store data information for performing at least one of the transport and management operations of the maintenance robot.

The external device may include any one or more of a local control system for monitoring and controlling the respective facilities of the wind turbine, and a control system for communicating with at least one of the maintenance robot, the local control system and the robot management device. Can be.

The maintenance robot may include a traveling device, and the traveling device may include a suction pad for supporting the maintenance robot so as not to be separated from the structure.

The transfer device may include a base plate on which the maintenance robot is mounted, and a cylinder for advancing and retracting the base plate.

According to another aspect of the invention, the robot management device provided in the wind turbine for managing the maintenance robot for the maintenance, repair of the wind turbine, the robot management device includes a robot housing for accommodating the maintenance robot; When the operation of the maintenance robot is finished, it may include a control unit for moving the maintenance robot to the robot housing.

Further comprising a door for opening and closing the robot housing, the control unit may close the door when the maintenance robot is accommodated in the robot housing.

The robot housing may further include a charging unit for charging the maintenance robot.

According to another aspect of the invention, the robot management device provided in the wind turbine for managing the maintenance robot for maintenance of the wind turbine, comprising: a robot housing for accommodating the maintenance robot; When the operation of the maintenance robot is finished, it may include a control unit for moving the maintenance robot to the robot housing.

Further comprising a door for opening and closing the robot housing, the control unit may close the door when the maintenance robot is accommodated in the robot housing.

The robot housing may further include a charging unit for charging the maintenance robot.

According to another aspect of the invention, in the wind turbine comprising a tower, a nacelle mounted on top of the tower, and a blade rotatably mounted on one side of the nacelle, maintenance for maintenance of the wind generator In order to manage the maintenance robot includes a robot management device provided in at least one of the tower and the nacelle, the robot management device may include a robot housing for forming a receiving space of the maintenance robot.

Robot management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and a wind turbine having the same can be efficiently equipped with a maintenance robot on the structure of the wind generator or to accommodate the maintenance robot mounted.

In addition, it is possible to reduce the transfer time of the maintenance robot for the maintenance of the wind turbine structure and to perform a quick response to the maintenance robot that requires maintenance.

1 is a view showing a wind turbine with a robot management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing a robot management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a control block diagram of the robot management apparatus shown in FIG.
4 is a view showing a transport process for mounting and receiving the maintenance robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view showing the operation of the maintenance robot included in an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a view showing a robot management apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a view showing a robot management apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
8 shows an example of a wind turbine with a robot management apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention.
9 shows a modification of the wind turbine with a robot management apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention.
10 shows another modified example of the wind turbine with a robot management apparatus according to the embodiments of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view showing a wind power generator having a robot management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a view showing a robot management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the wind power generator 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is rotatable to a tower 11, a nacelle 12 mounted on an upper end of the tower 11, and a nacelle 12. Hub 13 to be coupled, and a plurality of blades 14 coupled to the hub 13, the wind turbine 10, the maintenance robot 30 for performing maintenance work of the wind turbine 10 (Fig. 2) a robot management device 20 is provided.

The plurality of blades 14 are radially installed in the hub 13, and rotate by the wind to rotate the hub 13, the hub 13 is a generator (not shown) installed inside the nacelle 12. Rotate to generate electricity

The tower 11 is formed by assembling or combining several tower segments, and each tower segment may be completed by bolting and coupling with an adjacent tower segment.

Since the tower 11 is exposed to various climatic conditions affecting its appearance, there is a need for regular maintenance.

In addition, when the wind power generator 10 operates, the surface of the blade 14 may be contaminated by foreign matter such as dust or worms attached, and may freeze on the blade 14 in winter. In addition, cracks or scratches may occur on the surface of the blade 14 during use. Foreign matter or ice on the surface of the blade 14 may cause the efficiency of the wind turbine 10 to deteriorate, and defects on the surface of the blade 14 may cause damage to the blade 14 when left unattended. Therefore, the blade 14 needs to remove foreign substances on the surface or inspect defects through periodic management.

For example, the maintenance robot of the wind turbine may be provided as a structure that can be lifted on the outer wall of the tower 11, and maintains the reliability of the tower such as welding, crack inspection, painting, and cleaning for maintenance of the tower 11. You can do a variety of tasks.

In another example, the maintenance robot travels along the blade 14 while mounted on the outer surface of the blade 14 and performs maintenance such as cleaning, inspecting and deicing the outer surface of the blade 14. It may be arranged.

The maintenance robot may be a combined maintenance robot to perform both tower and blade maintenance, and each maintenance robot may be dedicated to tower maintenance or blade maintenance only.

In the present embodiment, the maintenance robot 30 is an example for maintenance of the blade 14 as shown in FIG. 2, and maintenance work is performed at predetermined intervals or maintained by a command of a control system described below. If maintenance is required, maintenance work can be performed. When the maintenance work is terminated If the maintenance robot 30 is left as it is outside the wind power generator 10 may cause problems such as deterioration of durability of the maintenance robot (30). Therefore, in order to prevent this, in one embodiment of the present invention, the maintenance robot 30 performs the maintenance work of the wind turbine 10, and then moves the maintenance robot 30 to a predetermined space partitioned from the outside to maintain the maintenance. The robot management apparatus 20 which can accommodate the robot 30 is disclosed.

Referring to FIG. 2, the robot management apparatus 20 includes a robot storage unit 110 and a robot transfer unit 120.

The robot transfer unit 120 mounts the maintenance robot 30 to the structure of the wind power generator 10 or transfers the maintenance robot 30 mounted on the structure to the robot storage unit 110, and the robot storage unit 110. ) Houses the maintenance robot 30 that maintains and manages the blades 14 of the wind turbine 10. Hereinafter, the blade 14 as an example of the structure of the wind turbine 10 will be described.

In the embodiment of the present invention will be described with an example that the robot management apparatus 20 is installed in the lower portion of the nacelle 12. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, the upper and lower parts of the nacelle 12 or the outside of the tower 11 may be installed depending on the type and shape of the wind power generator 10. An installation example of the robot management apparatus 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10.

 The robot transfer unit 120 is provided in the robot storage unit 110, and transports the maintenance robot 30 stored in the robot storage unit 110 to be mounted on the blade 14 or maintained on the blade 14. The maintenance robot 30 is transported and stored in the robot storage unit 110. The robot storage unit 110 may further include a charging unit 130 for charging the maintenance robot 30 and a management unit 140 for managing a state of the maintenance robot 30.

The robot housing 110 may be provided in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped box, one side of which is opened, for example, and one side of the robot housing 110 is formed as an entrance 111 through which the maintenance robot 30 is entered. The doorway 111 is provided with a door 112 for opening and closing the robot housing 110 and an opening and closing unit 113 for opening and closing the door.

The opening and closing unit 113 may be an expandable hydraulic link member, one end of which is rotatably fixed to the inner side of the robot housing 110, and the other end of the opening and closing unit 113 may be rotatably fixed to the rear surface of the door 112.

The opening / closing unit 113 may open the door 112 when necessary according to a signal of the controller 150 according to an external device 160, 170 (see FIG. 3) or an internally set value. 3 and 4, when the door 112 is opened, the door 112 is rotated forward to extend outward from the bottom surface of the robot housing 110 so that the maintenance robot 30 has a blade. It may be a conveying guide surface (112a) for guiding movement to the (14) side.

In addition, when the maintenance robot 30 ends the maintenance work of the blade 14, the maintenance robot 30 is returned to the robot storage unit 110 by the signal of the external device (160, 170) or the controller 150, the robot management device 20 is an opening / closing unit 113 when each module included in the robot transfer unit 120 and the robot storage unit 110 is located at a setting position or when the maintenance robot 30 is accommodated in the robot storage unit 110. By closing the door 112 to partition the robot storage unit 110 from the external environment, each module included in the robot transfer unit 120 and the robot storage unit 110 can be protected from the external environment.

The robot transfer unit 120 may be provided to be movable along the rail 114 provided in the robot storage unit 110.

The robot transfer unit 120 includes a driving wheel 121 advancing along the rail 114, an arm part 123 extending from the driving wheel 121, and a hand part 125 formed at a free end of the arm part 123. And a sensing sensor unit 127.

For example, the rail 114 may be provided in a rack form, and the driving wheel 121 may be provided in a pinion form so as to be able to move back and forth along the rail 114.

The arm part 123 includes at least one joint supporting the hand part 125. For example, the joint may include at least one of a translational joint linearly rotating and a rotational joint rotating rotationally. Arm 123 may be a linear motion or rotational motion of the joint using a variety of known methods using a belt, rack and pinion, piston crank, actuator, hydraulic cylinder, motor lift device and the like.

The hand portion 125 captures the maintenance robot 30. For example, the hand part 125 may capture the upper portion of the maintenance robot 30 to mount the maintenance robot 30 to the blade 14, or to hold the maintenance robot 30 mounted to the blade 14. The robot can be transported into the housing 110. The shape of the hand part 125 may be variously manufactured according to the shape of the maintenance robot 30, and may be provided detachably from the arm part 123.

One or more sensor 127 is installed in the joint to collect one or more of the position, angle, speed, and distance information between the robot housing 110 and the blade 14. The information collected by the sensor unit 127 is transmitted to the controller 150 to be described later, and the controller 150 controls the driving wheel 121, the arm unit 123, and the hand unit 125 based on the collected information. By controlling, the maintenance robot 30 stored in the robot storage unit 110 is transported and mounted on the blade 14 or the maintenance robot 30 mounted on the blade 14 is transported to the robot storage unit 110. ) Can be stored.

When the maintenance robot 30 is mounted on the blade 14, the robot transfer unit 120 moves along the rail 114 toward the doorway 111 of the robot storage unit 110 and the arm 123 moves to the robot. Operating in the outward direction of the receiving unit 110, when storing the maintenance robot 30 in the robot housing 110, the female portion 123 of the robot transfer unit 120 is the inside of the robot housing 110 Direction and move toward the charging unit 130 along the rail 114. In addition, the robot transfer unit 120 may be moved based on the control information received by the transceiver 154 to be described later.

The charging unit 130 is for charging the maintenance robot 30, and is connected to the charging power supply unit 131 for supplying charging power and the maintenance robot 30 to provide the charging power to the maintenance robot 30. It includes a connecting portion 133. Here, the connection part 133 is provided with a connection terminal 135 corresponding to the charging terminal 31 of the maintenance robot (30).

The management unit 140 performs a management task for the maintenance robot (30). To this end, the management unit 140 includes an inspection unit 142 and a work unit 144. The management unit 140 may move along the rail 114 provided at the upper end of the robot storage unit 110 and perform a management operation on the maintenance robot 30. At this time, the management unit 140 may include a drive wheel 141 of the pinion type to drive on the rail 114 provided in a rack form in the same manner as the robot transfer unit 120. In addition, the management unit 140 may include an arm 143 extending from the driving wheel 141.

The inspection unit 142 inspects one or more of defects and cleaning states of the maintenance robot 30 by using one or more of a laser, an ultrasonic wave, a camera, and an infrared ray inspection unit.

The work unit 144 performs one or more of the repair and cleaning operations of the maintenance robot 30 based on the inspection result by the inspection unit 142. For example, the work unit 144 may perform a management operation of the maintenance robot 30 such as a bolting device 144a for tightening the bolt of the maintenance robot 30 and a cleaning device 144b that performs the cleaning operation. It may include various units.

3 is a control block diagram of the robot management apparatus. Referring to FIG. 3, the robot management apparatus 20 may further include a controller 150, an initialization unit 152, a transceiver 154, and a storage unit 156.

The controller 150 controls the operation of each module included in the robot transfer unit 120 and the robot storage 110 to perform one or more of the transport and management operations of the maintenance robot 30. For example, the controller 150 transports the maintenance robot 30 to be mounted on the blade 14 or the maintenance robot 30 mounted on the blade 14 to be stored in the robot storage 110. The transfer unit 120 can be controlled.

In addition, the controller 150 includes a management unit 140 included in the robot storage unit 110, a charging unit 130, and the like so that management operations for the maintenance robot 30 stored in the robot storage unit 110 may be performed. You can control the operation of the module.

In addition, the controller 150 controls the operation of each module included in the robot transfer unit 120 and the robot storage unit 110 based on the control information received from the external devices 160 and 170 to perform remote control. Can be.

The external devices 160 and 170 are installed in the wind power generator 10 and installed outside the local control system 160 and the wind power generator 10 for monitoring and controlling the respective facilities of the wind power generator 10, and maintain the maintenance robot 30. ), One or more of the local control system 160 and the control system 170 for performing data communication with one or more of the robot management apparatus 20.

In addition, the controller 150 is the robot transfer unit 120 and each module included in the robot storage unit 110 is in the set position or the maintenance robot 30 is the robot storage unit 110 by the robot transfer unit 120 When it is determined that it is stored in the interior, the door 112 is closed by driving the opening and closing unit 113 to allow the doorway 111 of the robot storage unit 110 to be closed.

The initialization unit 152 positions each module included in the robot transfer unit 120 and the robot storage unit 110 at a setting position. That is, the initialization unit 152 is based on one or more of the information received by the maintenance robot 30 in the robot storage unit 110, the control information received from the maintenance robot 30 and the external device (160, 170), Place each module included in the robot transfer unit 120 and the robot storage unit 110 in the set position. In this case, the controller 150 may close the entrance and exit 111 of the robot storage unit 110 when each module included in the robot transfer unit 120 and the robot storage unit 110 is located at a set position.

The transceiver 154 communicates with one or more of the maintenance robot 30 and the external devices 160 and 170. The external devices 160 and 170 may include a local control system 160 installed in the wind turbine 10 to monitor and control the respective facilities of the wind turbine 10. In addition, the external device (160, 170) is installed on the outside of the wind turbine 10, the control system for performing data communication with at least one of the maintenance robot 30, the local control system 160 and the transceiver unit 154 ( 170).

The transceiver 154 transfers control information received from at least one of the maintenance robot 30, the local control system 160, and the control system 170 to the control unit 150 to transfer the maintenance robot 30 to the maintenance robot 30. And one or more of the management tasks. For example, the transmission / reception unit 154 receives control information transmitted from the control system 170 through the maintenance robot 30 or the local control system 160, and at least one of transport and management operations for the maintenance robot 30. Can be performed.

The storage unit 156 stores various data information for performing one or more of the transport and management operations for the maintenance robot 30. For example, the storage unit 156 may store a program, an algorithm, and the like for controlling each module included in the robot management apparatus 20. In addition, the storage unit 156 is a control information received from at least one of the maintenance robot 30 and the external device (160, 170), the location information of the maintenance robot 30, the maintenance robot 30 is a robot storage unit ( One or more of the result data for the management operation of the maintenance robot 30 and whether it is stored in the 110 may be stored. The storage unit 156 may include a nonvolatile memory device such as a cache, a read only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), and a flash memory. It may be implemented as at least one of a volatile memory device such as a random access memory (RAM) or a storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a CD-ROM, but is not limited thereto.

Each component shown in FIG. 3 may be configured as a kind of 'module'. 'Module' refers to software or a hardware component such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a module plays a role. However, a module is not limited to software or hardware. A module may be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium and may be configured to execute one or more processors. The functionality provided by the components and modules may be combined into a smaller number of components and modules or further separated into additional components and modules.

4 is a view showing a transport process for mounting and receiving a maintenance robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5 is a view showing the operation of the maintenance robot included in an embodiment of the present invention.

4 and 5, in order to mount the maintenance robot 30 on the blade 14 of the wind turbine 10, the robot management apparatus 20 controls and maintains the robot transfer unit 120. The maintenance robot 30 is captured, and the captured maintenance robot 30 is transferred from the inside of the robot storage 110 to the outside of the robot storage 110. Separately, the blade 14 of the wind turbine 10 is positioned in front of the robot management apparatus 20, and the blade 14 is prepared so that the leading edge 14a of the blade 14 faces rearward. Thereafter, the robot transfer unit 120 transfers the maintenance robot 30 to the blade 14 to be mounted on the blade leading edge 14a.

In this embodiment, the maintenance robot 30 is described as an example of being mounted to the blade leading edge 14a, but may be mounted on any surface as long as the outer surface of the blade 14, such as the side of the blade (14).

The maintenance robot 30 may include, for example, one or more of a camera, an ultrasonic inspection unit, and a cleaning system to perform any one or more operations of cleaning, inspecting, and deicing the blades 14. At this time, the maintenance robot 30 may be securely mounted to the blade 14 by having a moving means such as a magnet type, vacuum suction type.

The maintenance robot 30 cleans the main body 33 with the traveling device 200 traveling along the blade leading edge 14a and the leading edge 14a portion of the blade 14 as shown in FIG. And a first cleaning unit 210 for maintenance, one or more second cleaning units 220 for maintenance of both sides of the blades 14, and a monitoring unit 230 for monitoring defects of the blades 14. can do.

The traveling device 200 is installed below the main body 33 so that the main body 33 can travel along the blade leading edge 14a.

The traveling device 200 includes a drive wheel 201 driven by a motor (not shown) and an endless track 202 which moves in accordance with the rotation of the drive wheel 201 and sequentially contacts the outer surface of the blade 14. do.

The traveling device 200 is provided with a suction pad 203 on the crawler track 202 to prevent the maintenance robot 30 from falling off the blade 14 when traveling along the blade leading edge 14a.

The suction pad 203 is provided in a cup shape and is spaced apart along the circumference of the crawler 202, and is sequentially adsorbed by contacting the outer surface of the blade 14 in accordance with the rotation of the crawler 202. The suction pad 203 is connected to an air pressure valve (not shown) and an air pump (not shown) for adjusting the air pressure of the suction pad 203, and the contact portion of the suction pad 203 is opened and closed according to the opening and closing of the air pressure valve. Dropping to below subatmospheric pressure maintains contact, allowing the maintenance robot 30 to run on the blade. In addition, it is of course possible to configure so as not to fall off the blade when running the maintenance robot by using a variety of other known techniques such as electromagnets.

After the maintenance robot 30 performs the maintenance work of the blade 14 while driving the blade 14, the maintenance robot 30 mounted on the blade 14 is stored in the robot storage unit 110. To this end, the robot management apparatus 20 controls the robot transfer unit 120 to capture the maintenance robot 30 mounted on the blade 14 and seats the robot storage unit 30.

In addition, the maintenance robot 30 seated on the robot storage unit 110 may be connected to the connection unit 133 of the charging unit 130 to perform charging.

6 is a view showing a robot management apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

According to another embodiment, the robot management apparatus 20 includes a transfer device 180 provided in the robot housing 110. As an example of the transfer apparatus 180, a linear transfer apparatus capable of linear movement may be provided to protrude outward from the robot housing 110. The linear transfer device moves the base plate 181 to the outside of the robot housing 110 by moving the base plate 181, the fixing member 183 connected to the base plate 181, and the fixing member 183 forward or backward. And a cylinder 185 that allows the protruding or protruding base plate 181 to move into the robot housing 110.

Accordingly, the base plate 181 is advanced or retracted by the cylinder 185 so that the base plate 181 protrudes out of the robot storage unit 110 or is housed inside the robot storage unit 110. The linear transfer device may be provided as an example hydraulically.

In such a configuration, when the maintenance robot 30 is mounted on the blade 14, the door 112 is opened and the transport device 180 is driven to maintain the maintenance robot 30 in the doorway of the robot storage unit 110. After moving to the 111 side, the robot maintenance unit 30 can be mounted on the blade 14 in the same manner as in the embodiment using the robot transfer unit 120. After the maintenance robot 30 mounted on the blade 14 performs maintenance work, the robot transport unit 120 captures the maintenance robot 30 and moves it to the base plate 181 of the transport device 180. The transport device 180 is driven to move the maintenance robot 30 to the charging unit 130 provided inside the robot storage unit 110 and to position the battery to be charged.

The transfer device 180 may be in the form of a rotary transfer device in which a belt is wound around the roller, and the transfer device 180 moves the maintenance robot 30 to the robot storage unit while the maintenance robot 30 is not driven. Of course, if the configuration that can be moved to the outside of the 110 or the entrance 111 side of the robot housing 110 can be designed in a variety of structures.

7 is a view showing a robot management apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Another embodiment has no configuration of the robot transport unit compared to the embodiment and the back of the door takes the role of the robot transport unit.

That is, the size of the robot housing 110 and the door 112 and the distance between the robot housing 110 and the blade 14 are properly adjusted so that the door 112 opens in an inclined upward direction to the blade 14 side. After that, the maintenance robot 30 may move along the rear surface of the door 112 to move to the blade 14. When the door 112 is opened, the front end of the door 112 may be supported by the blade 14, and may be maintained at a predetermined distance. At this time, the front portion of the maintenance robot 30 traveling device 200 first contacting the blade 14 may be configured to support the maintenance robot 30 only by the suction force of the front portion of the traveling device 200. In addition, it is possible to adjust the pitch angle of the blade 14 so that the maintenance robot 30 can be easily moved to the blade (14). The rear surface of the door 112 becomes a conveyance guide surface 112a through which the maintenance robot 30 moves to the blade 14. At this time, the transport guide surface 112a is formed to be inclined upward in the direction of the blade 14 so that the maintenance robot 30 moves forward along the blade 14 while moving along the transport guide surface 112a to maintain the maintenance robot ( 30 is mounted to the blade leading edge 14a. That is, the front end of the door 112 is adjacent to the blade 14 in the inclined open state of the door 112 to run the maintenance robot 30 without the configuration of the robot transport unit 120 to maintain the maintenance robot 30 ) Can be mounted to the blade 14. Similarly, when the maintenance robot 30 completes the maintenance work, the maintenance robot 30 is positioned at a predetermined position of the blade 14, and the door 112 is opened to maintain the maintenance robot 30. The maintenance robot 30 may be accommodated in the robot storage unit 110 by traveling along the transport guide surface 112a of the 112.

8 shows an example of a wind power generator with a robot management apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention, Figure 9 shows a modification of the wind power generator with a robot management apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention, Figure 10 Another modification of the wind turbine with a robot management apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention is shown.

Referring to FIG. 8, the robot management apparatus 20a according to another embodiment of the present invention may be provided on the nacelle 12 of the wind power generator 10.

In addition, referring to FIG. 9, at least one robot management apparatus 20b may be provided at an upper portion and a lower portion of the nacelle 12 of the wind power generator 10. At this time, the maintenance robot accommodated in each robot management apparatus 20b may be, for example, different types of maintenance robots such as maintenance of nacelle, maintenance of blades, maintenance of towers, and the like.

In addition, referring to FIG. 10, the robot management apparatus 20c may be provided in the tower 11 of the wind power generator 10. At this time, the robot management apparatus 20 may be installed in a direction facing the rear portion of the blade 14 of the wind power generator (10). In addition, the robot management apparatus 20 outside the tower 11 may be stably fixed in a manner such as bolting. In addition, the robot management apparatus 20c may be additionally installed on the nacelle 110 of the wind power generator 10. In this case, as an example, the robot for maintaining the blade may be housed in the robot management apparatus on the nacelle, and the robot for maintaining the tower may be accommodated in the robot management device of the tower.

It is obvious that the wind power generator 10 may be provided with a robot management apparatus in various positions and numbers, in addition to the installation form illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 10.

The foregoing has shown and described specific embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and those skilled in the art may make various changes without departing from the spirit of the technical idea of the invention as set forth in the claims below. .

10: Wind Turbine 11: Tower
12: nacelle 14: blade
20: robot management device 30: maintenance robot
31: charging terminal 110: robot housing
112: door 112a: feed guide surface
113: opening and closing unit 120: robot transfer unit
123: arm portion 125: hand portion
127: detection sensor 130: charging unit
131: charging power supply 133: connection
140: management unit 142: inspection unit
144: work unit 150: control unit
152: initialization unit 154: transceiver
160: local control system 170: control system
200: traveling device

Claims (27)

In the robot management device provided in the wind turbine for managing the maintenance robot for maintenance of the wind turbine,
A robot housing for accommodating the maintenance robot; And
And a robot transporting unit for transporting the maintenance robot housed in the robot storage unit and mounting the structure to the structure of the wind turbine or transporting the maintenance robot mounted to the structure to house the robot storage unit.
The robot management apparatus is provided in at least one of the tower and nacelle of the wind turbine. The method of claim 1,
Robot management device further comprises a door for opening and closing the robot housing. The method of claim 2,
The structure comprises a blade of the wind turbine,
The door comprises a transport guide surface for guiding the maintenance robot to move to the blade. The method of claim 3,
The transport guide surface is robot management device formed to be inclined upward in the blade direction. The method of claim 1,
The robot housing further comprises a transfer device for transferring the maintenance robot to the inside of the robot housing, or the robot housing to the outside of the robot storage from the inside of the robot storage. The method of claim 1,
The robot storage unit includes a charging unit for charging the maintenance robot,
The charging unit includes a charging power supply unit for supplying power, and the robot management device connected to the maintenance robot for providing the power to the maintenance robot. The method of claim 1,
The robot storage unit includes a management unit for managing the state of the maintenance robot. The method of claim 7, wherein
The robot housing further includes a rail,
The management unit further comprises a driving wheel to enable the forward and backward movement along the rail. The method of claim 1,
A transceiver for performing communication with the maintenance robot and external devices for monitoring and controlling the respective facilities of the wind turbine,
And a control unit for controlling to carry out the transport and management of the maintenance robot based on information received from at least one of the maintenance robot and the external device. The method of claim 1,
The robot transfer unit
A hand part for capturing the maintenance robot,
An arm portion extending from the hand portion,
And a sensing sensor unit for collecting one or more of position, angle, speed, and distance information of the arm unit. The method of claim 10,
And a control unit for controlling the hand unit and the arm unit based on the information collected by the detection sensor unit to position the maintenance robot to a predetermined position. 10. The method of claim 9,
Predetermined position of each module included in the robot transfer unit and the robot storage unit based on one or more of the information stored in the robot storage unit and the control information received from the maintenance robot or the external device. Robot management device further comprising an initialization unit located in. delete delete The method of claim 1,
The robot housing further includes a rail,
The robot transporting unit further comprises a driving wheel to enable the forward and backward movement along the rail. The method of claim 2,
Robot control device further comprises an opening and closing unit for driving the opening and closing operation of the door. The method of claim 1,
And a storage unit for storing data information for performing at least one of the transport and management operations of the maintenance robot. 10. The method of claim 9,
The external device
A local control system for monitoring and controlling the respective facilities of the wind turbine,
And a control system for communicating with at least one of the maintenance robot, the local control system, and the robot management apparatus. The method of claim 1,
The maintenance robot includes a traveling device,
The traveling device includes a suction pad for supporting the maintenance robot from being separated from the structure. The method of claim 5,
The transport apparatus includes a base plate on which the maintenance robot is mounted, and a cylinder for advancing and retracting the base plate. delete delete delete With towers,
A nacelle mounted on an upper portion of the tower,
A blade rotatably mounted on one side of the nacelle,
A wind power generator comprising a robot management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12 and 15 to 20. 25. The method of claim 24,
And a control unit for moving the maintenance robot to the robot storage unit when the operation of the maintenance robot is finished. delete delete

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