Patents by Inventor Karsten Warfen

Karsten Warfen has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20150260157
    Abstract: A method for operating a wind energy installation having a tower, a nacelle arranged on the tower, the azimuth of which can be adjusted, and a rotor having at least one rotor blade, the blade angle of which can be adjusted, in which tower oscillations are detected and monitored during operation using at least one measuring apparatus and power operation is switched off if a sliding average of the tower oscillations exceeds a tower oscillation limit value. The tower oscillation limit value is defined, at least during load operation of the wind energy installation, as at least one limit value function which is dependent on a sliding average of prevailing wind speed and/or a parameter associated therewith, and has different functional dependencies in a plurality of different value ranges of the prevailing wind speed or the parameter associated therewith. The invention also relates to a wind energy installation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2015
    Publication date: September 17, 2015
    Inventors: Henning Leweke, Karsten Warfen
  • Publication number: 20130177418
    Abstract: A method for operating a wind turbine (10). The wind turbine (10) is operated with variable rotational speed between predeterminable minimum and maximum rotational speeds. A characteristic variable (51) of an oscillation of the wind turbine (10) is detected. The wind turbine (10) includes a tower (14) and a rotor (13). An open-loop or closed-loop control device (36, 50) provides open-loop control or closed-loop control of the rotational speed of the rotor (13) between a minimum rotational speed and a maximum rotational speed during a power-supplying operation of the wind turbine. A sensor (40) detects a characteristic variable (51) of an oscillation of the wind turbine (10) and the minimum rotational speed is changed depending on the characteristic value (51) of the oscillation. The minimum rotational speed is altered depending on the characteristic variable (51) of the oscillation by the open-loop or closed-loop control device (36, 50).
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2011
    Publication date: July 11, 2013
    Applicant: REPOWER SYSTEMS SE
    Inventors: Marco Hansen, Karsten Warfen
  • Publication number: 20130162014
    Abstract: A hydraulic actuation device (1) for a brake device of a wind turbine including a hydraulic control line (10), which runs from a hydraulic system circuit (P) of a wind turbine to at least one brake cylinder (2) of a brake device. At least one restrictor (13) is arranged in the control line (10). At least one branch line (14) includes a pressure regulating member (15) that branches off from the control line (10) upstream of the restrictor (13) in the pressure build-up direction, bypassing the restrictor (13), and leads back into the control line (10) downstream of the restrictor (13). The pressure regulating member (15) open when the pressure present on the output side is low, but closes when the pressure at the pressure regulating member (15) on the output side of the pressure regulating member (15) exceeds a preset closing pressure (PS).
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2011
    Publication date: June 27, 2013
    Applicant: REPOWER SYSTEMS SE
    Inventor: Karsten Warfen
  • Patent number: 8405237
    Abstract: A wind energy installation includes a tower provided with rotor blades that are adjusted using a servomotor connected to a pitch circuit and an emergency circuit. During normal operation the rotor blades are actuated by the pitch circuit and during emergency operation are actuated by the emergency circuit. The emergency circuit has an electric energy store, a switching device, connection lines to the servomotor and a protection device which includes comprises a power flow detector module (60) designed for determining whether electric power flows into or from the servomotor and a discharge module designed to limit the voltage and/or current in the emergency circuit in the case of a power flow from the servomotor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: REpower Systems AG
    Inventors: Karsten Warfen, Heinz-Hermann Letas
  • Patent number: 8157523
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for the operation of a wind energy plant (10), wherein the wind energy plant (10) has a rotor (11) with a rotor axis and at least one rotor blade (15, 15?) arranged on the rotor (11), wherein the rotor blade (15, 15?) is adjustable or adjusted around a rotor blade axis with a predetermined rotor blade pitch angle. Further, at least one rotor blade (15, 15?) is rotated into an idle position, the rotation of the rotor blade (15, 15?) is braked after a first predetermined rotational position of the rotor blade (15, 15?) is reached and the stand-still position of the rotor blade (15, 15?) reached as a result of the braking procedure is captured. Furthermore, the invention relates to a wind energy plant (10) with a rotor (11) and at least one angle-adjustable rotor blade (15, 15?) arranged on the rotor (11).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2012
    Assignee: Repower Systems AG
    Inventors: Karsten Warfen, Jens Altemark
  • Publication number: 20110037263
    Abstract: A method for the operation of a wind power plant (11) with a rotor (9), which has at least one rotor blade (10), wherein at least one part of the rotor blade (10) will be or is rotated around a longitudinal axis of the rotor blade (10) by a blade angle () wherein the rotation of the at least one part of the rotor blade (10) occurs with a pre-settable blade angle adjustment rate (?), wherein the rotor (9) is operated speed variably and wherein the blade angle adjustment rate () is restricted by a pre-settable blade angle adjustment rate limit (G, G?, G1-G4). Furthermore, a wind power plant (11) with a rotor (9), which receives at least one rotor blade (10), wherein at least one part of the rotor blade (10) is rotatable around a longitudinal axis of the rotor blade (10) by a blade angle (), wherein a blade angle adjustment rate is pre-settable and the blade angle adjustment rate () is restricted by a blade angle adjustment rate limit (G, G?, G1-G4).
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 23, 2009
    Publication date: February 17, 2011
    Applicant: REPOWER SYSTEMS AG
    Inventors: Karsten Warfen, Henning Leweke
  • Publication number: 20090115191
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for the operation of a wind energy plant (10), wherein the wind energy plant (10) has a rotor (11) with a rotor axis and at least one rotor blade (15, 15?) arranged on the rotor (11), wherein the rotor blade (15, 15?) is adjustable or adjusted around a rotor blade axis with a predetermined rotor blade pitch angle. Further, at least one rotor blade (15, 15?) is rotated into an idle position, the rotation of the rotor blade (15, 15?) is braked after a first predetermined rotational position of the rotor blade (15, 15?) is reached and the stand-still position of the rotor blade (15, 15?) reached as a result of the braking procedure is captured. Furthermore, the invention relates to a wind energy plant (10) with a rotor (11) and at least one angle-adjustable rotor blade (15, 15?) arranged on the rotor (11).
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2008
    Publication date: May 7, 2009
    Applicant: REPOWER SYSTEMS AG
    Inventors: Karsten Warfen, Jens Altemark
  • Publication number: 20090001726
    Abstract: A wind energy installation includes a tower provided with rotor blades that are adjusted using a servomotor connected to a pitch circuit and an emergency circuit. During normal operation the rotor blades are actuated by the pitch circuit and during emergency operation are actuated by the emergency circuit. The emergency circuit has an electric energy store, a switching device, connection lines to the servomotor and a protection device which includes comprises a power flow detector module (60) designed for determining whether electric power flows into or from the servomotor and a discharge module designed to limit the voltage and/or current in the emergency circuit in the case of a power flow from the servomotor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 23, 2007
    Publication date: January 1, 2009
    Applicant: REpower Systems AG
    Inventors: Karsten Warfen, Heinz-Hermann Letas