Abstract: Disclosed is a wind turbine with a nacelle and a rotor, the rotor including a number of blades and a hub, the nacelle and the hub being connected with each other in an interface region, the wind turbine further including a transport system for transporting hydraulic and/or pneumatic fluid from the nacelle into the hub. The transport system includes a rotary unit as a connection through which the fluid passes and a part of which rotates in operation together with the hub which rotary unit is positioned in the hub at a position distanced from the interface region facing away from the nacelle, the transport system further including a pipe system leading from the interface region into the hub to the rotary unit and being fixed in its position. The disclosure also concerns a method of construction of such wind turbine.

Abstract: A dual wavelength pumping system and method have been developed to improve the efficiency of laser systems operating in the raid infrared region has been developed, in a conventional system the ions are excited from a ground state to an upper lasing state using a light pump. They then undergo a laser transition to leave the ion in a long lived post lasing excited state from which it eventually decays back to the ground state. In contrast they present system uses a first light pump to pump ions from the ground state to the post lasing state, and a second light pump to pump ions from the post lasing state to the upper lasing state. This system thus exploits the long lifetime of the post lasing state to enable it to become a virtual ground state for the second laser allowing continued cycling of ions between the upper lasing state and the post lasing state. A system using an Erbium, doped fiber generated a 3.5 ?m laser output with an average power of over 250 mW and an initial slope, efficiency of 25.

Abstract: A dual wavelength pumping system and method have been developed to improve the efficiency of laser systems operating in the raid infrared region has been developed, in a conventional system the ions are excited from a ground state to an upper lasing state using a light pump. They then undergo a laser transition to leave the ion in a long lived post lasing excited state from which it eventually decays back to the ground state. In contrast they present system uses a first light pump to pump ions from the ground state to the post lasing state, and a second light pump to pump ions from the post lasing state to the upper lasing state. This system thus exploits the long lifetime of the post lasing state to enable it to become a virtual ground state for the second laser allowing continued cycling of ions between the upper lasing state and the post lasing state. A system using an Erbium, doped fibre generated a 3.5 ?m laser output with an average power of over 250 mW and an initial slope, efficiency of 25.

Abstract: A direct drive wind turbine with a nacelle and a rotor including a hub, the nacelle and the hub connected in an interface region. The wind turbine includes a transport system for transporting hydraulic and/or pneumatic fluid from the nacelle into the hub. The transport system includes a rotary unit through which the fluid passes. A part of the rotary unit rotates in operation together with the hub. The rotary unit is positioned in the hub at a position distanced from the interface region facing away from the nacelle. Further disclosed are a transport system and a method of construction of such a direct drive wind turbine.

Abstract: In one aspect, a hydraulic system including a reservoir, a hydraulic device, a first sensor, a second sensor and a controller is described. The reservoir is connected to the hydraulic device for supplying hydraulic fluid to and from the hydraulic device. The first sensor is adapted for measuring a first volume of the hydraulic fluid in the reservoir. The second sensor is connected to the hydraulic device such that at least one parameter being indicative for a second volume of the hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic device is measurable. The controller is adapted for calculating the second volume of the hydraulic fluid based on the at least one parameter. The controller is adapted for determining a leakage of hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic system based on the first volume and the second volume.

Abstract: A direct drive wind turbine with a nacelle and a rotor including a hub, the nacelle and the hub connected in an interface region. The wind turbine includes a transport system for transporting hydraulic and/or pneumatic fluid from the nacelle into the hub. The transport system includes a rotary unit through which the fluid passes. A part of the rotary unit rotates in operation together with the hub. The rotary unit is positioned in the hub at a position distanced from the interface region facing away from the nacelle. Further disclosed are a transport system and a method of construction of such a direct drive wind turbine.

Abstract: Disclosed is a wind turbine with a nacelle and a rotor, the rotor including a number of blades and a hub, the nacelle and the hub being connected with each other in an interface region, the wind turbine further including a transport system for transporting hydraulic and/or pneumatic fluid from the nacelle into the hub. The transport system includes a rotary unit as a connection through which the fluid passes and a part of which rotates in operation together with the hub which rotary unit is positioned in the hub at a position distanced from the interface region facing away from the nacelle, the transport system further including a pipe system leading from the interface region into the hub to the rotary unit and being fixed in its position. The disclosure also concerns a method of construction of such wind turbine.

Abstract: A device is provided for the adjustment of the pitch of a rotor blade of a wind turbine. The device includes a pitch actuator and a fixing device. The pitch actuator includes a tube. The fixing device includes a first and a second ring-like element, each of which is arranged at the tube and each of which is supported towards a respective stopper assigned to the tube, and a clamping means which press the first and the second ring-like element in such a way towards the respective stopper that the fixing device and the tube are substantially non-relocatable relatively to each other.

Abstract: A device is provided for the adjustment of the pitch of a rotor blade of a wind turbine comprising a pitch actuator acting on an adjusting plane for the adjustment of the pitch and a fixing device to which the pitch actuator is attached, the fixing device comprises a first and a second bearing shaft allowing a pendulum motion of the pitch actuator wherein both the first and the second bearing shaft are arranged respectively under a certain tilt angle relatively to the adjusting plane which tilt angle is respectively substantially different from 0° or 90°.

Abstract: In one aspect, a hydraulic system including a reservoir, a hydraulic device, a first sensor, a second sensor and a controller is described. The reservoir is connected to the hydraulic device for supplying hydraulic fluid to and from the hydraulic device. The first sensor is adapted for measuring a first volume of the hydraulic fluid in the reservoir. The second sensor is connected to the hydraulic device such that at least one parameter being indicative for a second volume of the hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic device is measurable. The controller is adapted for calculating the second volume of the hydraulic fluid based on the at least one parameter. The controller is adapted for determining a leakage of hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic system based on the first volume and the second volume.

Abstract: A device is provided for the adjustment of the pitch of a rotor blade of a wind turbine comprising a pitch actuator acting on an adjusting plane for the adjustment of the pitch and a fixing device to which the pitch actuator is attached, the fixing device comprises a first and a second bearing shaft allowing a pendulum motion of the pitch actuator wherein both the first and the second bearing shaft are arranged respectively under a certain tilt angle relatively to the adjusting plane which tilt angle is respectively substantially different from 0° or 90°.

Abstract: A device is provided for the adjustment of the pitch of a rotor blade of a wind turbine. The device includes a pitch actuator and a fixing device. The pitch actuator includes a tube. The fixing device includes a first and a second ring-like element, each of which is arranged at the tube and each of which is supported towards a respective stopper assigned to the tube, and a clamping means which press the first and the second ring-like element in such a way towards the respective stopper that the fixing device and the tube are substantially non-relocatable relatively to each other.

Abstract: A laundry article is drawn by a tensioning conveyor with a tensioning gripper which has gripped said laundry article at a corner in a tensioning direction over a narrowing channel, the base of which is convex in the tensioning direction. Optical sensors arranged on the channel detect the rear end of the laundry article, which is then gripped by a clamping unit at the end thereof. A detectable edge which slides along a guide plate is aligned so that it is detected by a sensor on a first edge gripper which is then moved downwards along an approximately perpendicularly aligned pivot arm until the sensor detects the corner at the lower end of the edge. Subsequently, the pivot arm is swiveled to a horizontal transfer position, and the laundry article with the detected edge is placed on a removal conveyor, an impact edge being advanced.

Abstract: A laundry article is drawn over a support surface by a positioning gripper and is set down there so that the rearmost tip comes to rest on an edge plate and the remainder on a transverse conveyor which moves the laundry article to a corner gripping apparatus. The latter is then moved to the edge plate, optical sensors located above said edge plate registering edge points of the laundry article. The position of the corner is determined whereupon the corner gripping apparatus approaches the tip determined and a corner gripper is advanced from the gripping edge so that a lower jaw thereof grips under the edge plate. An upper jaw is then lowered onto the corner of the laundry article. The corner gripper is then withdrawn so that the corner is clamped between the upper jaw and the lower jaw of the corner gripper.

Abstract: For aligning and gripping an edge (72) of a laundry article (70), the latter is drawn by a tensioning conveyor (34) with a tensioning gripper (35) which has gripped said laundry article at a corner (71) in a tensioning direction over a narrowing channel (43), the base (44) of which is convex in the tensioning direction. Optical sensors arranged on the channel (43) detect the rear end of the laundry article (70), which is then gripped by a clamping unit at the end thereof. By lowering the channel (43), a detectable edge (72) which slides along a guide plate (55) is aligned so that it is detected by a sensor (58) on a first edge gripper (56) which is then moved downwards along an approximately perpendicularly aligned pivot arm (53) until the sensor (58) detects the corner (73) at the lower end of the edge (72).

Abstract: A technique for correcting wavefront aberrations introduced by large primary optical elements in portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The aberrations of the primary element are first transferred to a beacon beam and this aberrated beam is interfered with a reference beam in a holographic medium. These beams are then turned off and a beam from a distant object, containing the same aberrations, is allowed to diffract from the hologram. The diffracted beam from the hologram contains the image of the distant object with aberrations removed. Use of this technique permits the construction of large optical elements inexpensively, since surface tolerances of the elements can be substantially relaxed.

Abstract: A device and corresponding method for optical phase conjugation using a stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) medium and resulting in a reduction in the (SBS) threshold level. An incident light beam is brought to a first focus in the SBS medium, and light transmitted through the first focus is brought to a second focus in the SBS medium. Light transmitted through the second focus is brought to a third focus, and so forth through N foci in the medium. The effective SBS threshold level is inversely proportional to the number of foci N, which may be located in separate SBS cells, or may be in a single cell through which multiple passes are made by means of appropriate reflective optics. Laser sources operating in multiple longitudinal modes are handled by spacing the foci at an intergral multiple of the laser resonant cavity length.

Abstract: Apparatus, and a corresponding method for its use, for producing a phased array of high-energy laser beams from multiple laser amplifiers. A reference beam produced by a master oscillator senses phase and piston errors in a primary mirror array, and is divided into multiple probe beams, each of which makes multiple passes of its own laser amplifier. The multiple probe beams are together focused into a single phase conjugation cell, which not only produces phase-conjugated reflected beams, to effect compensation for various phase aberrations, but also locks all of the reflected beams together in phase. An arrangement of a birefringent wedge and a quaterwave plate for each of the beams prevents the reflected beams from returning to the master oscillator and facilitates combining of the reflected beams for output as a cophasal array.