Patents Assigned to Nordex Energy GmbH
  • Patent number: 8308436
    Abstract: An apparatus for positioning a gearbox in a wind energy plant, which gearbox is supported on a bearing structure of the wind energy plant by way of a torque support, wherein the torque support is mounted via at least one uncoupling element, which is arranged between torque support and bearing structure, wherein the torque support features at least one support body and an hydraulic apparatus with at least one hydraulic cylinder, by way of which the position of the support body is adjustable with respect to the bearing structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2012
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventor: Joachim Nitzpon
  • Patent number: 8287240
    Abstract: A wind energy plant and method for installing a rotor hub on a rotor shaft. At the end of the rotor shaft facing the rotor hub, a locking disk is attached on the rotor shaft, which has a multiplicity of bores for the preliminary attachment of the rotor hub, for installing it, the rotor hub is made to sit close to the locking disk, if required, the bores in the locking disk are made to overlap with corresponding bores in the rotor hub by rotating the rotor shaft and/or the rotor hub, starting from the rotor shaft side, the rotor hub is preliminarily screwed together with the locking disk through the bores of the locking disk and of the rotor hub, and starting from the interior space of the rotor hub, the rotor hub is definitely screwed together with the locking disk and the rotor shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventor: Joachim Nitzpon
  • Patent number: 8272173
    Abstract: An anchoring assembly part for a wind turbine tower, which part is in a ring- or ring segment shape and prefabricated from a concrete material, and which has at least one projecting reinforcement element for the connection with a lower tower portion made of a concrete material, and at least one bore for receiving an anchor bolt for the detachable connection with an upper tower portion made of steel, an anchor sleeve with an internal thread for screwing in the anchor bolt being arranged in said bore.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventor: Alexander Jakubowski
  • Patent number: 8186948
    Abstract: A wind energy plant with a nacelle, a rotor, which features at least one rotor blade adjustable in its blade pitch angle, a central control device for controlling the wind energy plant and a control unit disposed in the rotor for controlling the blade pitch angle of the at least one rotor blade, wherein the central control device and the control unit in the rotor can exchange data with each other via a data link, which comprises at least one first sending and receiving device at the nacelle side and at least one second sending and receiving device at the rotor side, wherein a wireless network connection with a safety-oriented communication protocol is provided between the at least one first sending and receiving device and the at least one second sending and receiving device, and that one monitoring- and communication device at a time is associated to the first and/or the second sending and receiving device, which can monitor the function of the sending and receiving device and initiate a predetermined action
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventors: Wolfgang Kabatzke, Gerd Hose
  • Patent number: 8190300
    Abstract: A method for the operation of a wind farm having two or more wind energy plants, which has a farm control which presets a desired value for an electric variable of the wind farm which has to be generated, wherein the farm control calculates an average increase of the real values of the electric variable for at least one time interval continuously, and compares it with a maximum value for the increase of the electric variable in the respective time interval, the farm control determines a proposal of a desired value for each predetermined time interval, based on a real value of the electric variable which was averaged continuously over the time interval, and in the case that the average increase in the at least one time interval is smaller than the maximum value in the corresponding time interval, the farm control determines a new desired value of the electric variable of the wind farm, with a selection of the desired value as the smallest of several proposals for a desired value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventor: Mark Jurkat
  • Patent number: 8172535
    Abstract: A wind energy plant with a rotor, which is coupled to a gear via a rotor shaft, the rotor shaft being double bearing mounted via one rotor side bearing and one gear side bearing, wherein a connection between the rotor shaft and gear is provided at the gear side of the gear side bearing, and the gear side bearing props up on a machine carrier via at least one supporting equipment and the gear is detachably connected with the supporting equipment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventor: Joachim Nitzpon
  • Patent number: 8169095
    Abstract: A wind energy plant with a rotor, which is connected to a gearbox and/or a generator via a rotor shaft, wherein the rotor shaft is bearing mounted on a carrier unit via two taper roller bearings in an O arrangement, characterized in that each taper roller bearing has an inner and an outer race, wherein the inner races and the outer races are secured in their distance to each other in the axial direction with respect to the rotational axis of the rotor shaft via an adjustment device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventors: Joachim Nitzpon, Matthias Zähr, Viktor Nickel
  • Patent number: 8148835
    Abstract: The present invention is related to a method for controlling a wind energy plant with plural control units, which perform control tasks in the wind energy plant, comprising the following steps: a) one priority at a time is assigned to the control units, depending on the control tasks they must perform, b) during the operation of the wind energy plant, the control units communicate continuously with each other and/or with a central communication unit, c) in case that there is a failure of a first control unit of the wind energy plant, a second control unit of the wind energy plant takes over the control tasks of the defective control unit, wherein the second control unit is selected depending on the priority assigned thereto and has the same as or a lower priority than the defective control unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventor: Mark Jurkat
  • Patent number: 8128368
    Abstract: Apparatus for the ventilation of a rotor hub of a wind energy plant, with a cup-shaped ventilation cap, which has a circumferential side wall and a base portion, wherein the side wall has at least one bore for draining water and the base portion has at least one bore for ventilation, a pipe-shaped connection piece, which has an air entrance opening which runs out into an interior space of the rotor hub, wherein the ventilation cap is arranged before the air entrance opening and the at least one bore for ventilation is arranged in the ventilation cap outside of the air entrance opening of the pipe-shaped connection piece such that the air entrance opening is covered up by the ventilation cap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2012
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventor: Lars Christian Bielefedt
  • Patent number: 8102067
    Abstract: A method for the operation of a wind energy plant, which features a wind velocity measurement device and a device for the detection of a mechanical load, with the following steps: measuring a wind velocity with the wind velocity measurement device, detecting a mechanical load with the device for the detection of a mechanical load, determining an estimated value for the wind velocity, based on the determined mechanical load, comparing the wind velocity measured by means of the wind velocity measurement device with the estimated value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventors: Sören Bilges, Holger Schwarze
  • Patent number: 8100628
    Abstract: The present invention is related to a method for controlling a wind energy plant, with a nacelle disposed on a tower and with a rotor with at least one rotor blade, the blade adjustment angle of which can be adjusted by means of a blade adjustment equipment. The objective to provide a reduction of the loads acting on the plant when there is a malfunction of the blade adjustment equipment is resolved according to the present invention in that the function of the blade adjustment equipment is monitored, and when an error of the blade adjustment equipment occurs, the nacelle is rotated from an operating position into a rest position, in which there is a flow of the wind against the surface extended by the at least one rotor blade (4) in a rotation of the rotor which is reduced with respect to the operating position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Frese, Gerd Hose, Lars-Ulrich Wiese-Muller
  • Publication number: 20110315670
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for heating weather masts on wind turbines. The object of the invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art and to keep the weather masts of a wind turbine free of ice. The device according to the invention for heating a weather mast on a wind turbine is that the weather mast comprises interconnected pipings. In the pipings, there is arranged a heating system which is formed by one or a plurality of electric heating wires.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2011
    Publication date: December 29, 2011
    Applicant: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventor: Sebastian KATHOEFER
  • Patent number: 8080890
    Abstract: A method for the operation of a wind turbine comprising a rotor with at least one rotor blade, a generator and a speed regulator for regulating the rotational speed of a drive train element by adjusting a generator torque and/or a blade pitch angle, comprising the steps of: determining the angular speed of the drive train element through the time derivative of an angular position signal, determining the angular acceleration of the drive train element, presetting desired values for the generator torque and/or the blade pitch angle taking into account the angular speed of the drive train element and the angular acceleration of the drive train element, wherein the angular acceleration of the drive train element is determined from the angular position signal, wherein a filtering with an upper cut off frequency is performed after the first time derivative of the angular position signal and before a second time derivative of the angular position signal, said upper cut off frequency being tuned to a maximum adjustme
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventors: Ulrich Harms, Wolfgang Kabatzke
  • Patent number: 8075266
    Abstract: The invention is related to a method for rotating a component of a wind energy plant by traversing an adjustment device, wherein the adjustment device comprises at least two adjustment drives, each one thereof having at least one electric motor, for traversing the adjustment device, and wherein during the traversing of the adjustment device, the electric motor of at least one of the at least two adjustment drives is operated at another rotational speed than the electric motor of at least one other of the at least two adjustment drives. Furthermore, the invention is related to a corresponding device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventors: Harald Keller, Lars-Ulrich Wiese-Müller, Eberhard Voβ
  • Patent number: 8068939
    Abstract: A method for the operation of a wind energy plant, with an operation management, which can preset a desired value for an electric variable of the wind energy plant to be generated; a wind measurement device, which can capture the wind direction and the wind velocity, and a control unit, on which the measured values for the wind velocity and the wind direction are present, and in which a maximum value for the turbulence intensity is filed, the following procedural steps proceed in the method: from a turbulence intensity depending on the wind direction, the control unit determines one or more sectors of critical wind directions, in which the turbulence intensity exceeds the maximum value for the turbulence intensity, the control unit generates a control signal for the operation management, in order to reduce the desired value of the electric variable to be generated when the measured wind direction is in a sector of the critical wind directions, and a determined characteristic value exceeds a predetermined maxi
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2011
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventor: Gunnar Schmidt
  • Patent number: 8067845
    Abstract: A method for the operation of a wind energy plant with a rotor, which transfers a driving moment to a generator via a drive train, wherein the generator provides a pre-settable generator moment acting opposite to the driving moment and is connectable to a grid, characterised in that after a sudden voltage change in the grid, the generator moment is controlled depending from the phase position of a torsional vibration of the drive train.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2011
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventors: Matthias Thulke, Gunnar Schmidt, Thomas Frese, Eberhard Voss
  • Patent number: 8055390
    Abstract: Controller for a blade adjustment angle for at least one rotor blade of a wind power plant, in which a first controller branch is switched for the determination of the blade adjustment angle depending on the operating states of the wind power plant, wherein at least one differentiating member is provided in the switched first controller branch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2011
    Assignee: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventor: Wolfgang Kabatzke
  • Publication number: 20110248686
    Abstract: A method for the operation of a wind energy plant with a rotor, which transfers a driving moment to a generator via a drive train, wherein the generator provides a pre-settable generator moment acting opposite to the driving moment and is connectable to a grid, characterised in that after a sudden voltage change in the grid, the generator moment is controlled depending from the phase position of a torsional vibration of the drive train.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2007
    Publication date: October 13, 2011
    Applicant: Nordex Energy GmbH
    Inventors: Matthias Thulke, Gunnar Schmidt, Thomas Frese, Eberhard Voss
  • Publication number: 20110229332
    Abstract: Wind turbine rotor blade with a blade tip, a blade root, a leading edge, a trailing edge, a pressure side, a suction side and a cross-section, which changes from the blade tip to the blade root, the longitudinal portion being arranged between the blade root and the middle of the rotor blade, has the following: a convex pressure side portion, which extends from the leading edge up to a pressure-side inflection point, a concave pressure side addition portion, which connects with the pressure-side inflection point with a continuous curvature and extends up to the trailing edge, a convex suction side portion, which extends from the leading edge up to a suction-side kink or inflection point, and a suction side addition portion, which extends from the suction side kink or inflection point up to the trailing edge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2010
    Publication date: September 22, 2011
    Applicant: NORDEX ENERGY GMBH
    Inventors: Gunter FISCHER, Hermann ROCHHOLZ
  • Publication number: 20110229331
    Abstract: Wind turbine rotor blade with a longitudinal axis, a blade tip, a blade root, a leading edge, a trailing edge and a cross-section arranged orthogonally to the longitudinal axis and changing from the blade root to the blade tip, is the cross-section being formed at the blade root and in the middle of the rotor blade by an aerodynamic profile, and an imaginary reference plane arranged with respect to the rotor blade which includes the longitudinal axis of the rotor blade, wherein, in a cross-section, an angle ?3 is defined between the reference plane and a straight line, which connects the longitudinal axis with the trailing edge, and describes the position of the trailing edge, wherein the angle ?3 increases with decreasing distance from the blade root in a first longitudinal portion of the rotor blade and decreases with decreasing distance from the blade root in a second longitudinal portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2010
    Publication date: September 22, 2011
    Applicant: NORDEX ENERGY GMBH
    Inventor: Gunter Fischer