Patents by Inventor Rens Christiaan Verhoef

Rens Christiaan Verhoef 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).

  • Patent number: 11746744
    Abstract: A wind turbine rotor blade having a blade shell with a generally chordwise layup of fibre plies and a generally spanwise spar cap. A lightning conductor extends over the spar cap, and the spar cap includes conductive material. An equipotential bonding element electrically bonds the lightning conductor to the spar cap. The equipotential bonding element extends between an outboard edge of one stack of the fibre plies and an inboard edge of an adjacent stack of the fibre plies, which overlap to define an overlapping edge region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
    Inventors: Lasse Lykkegaard, Rens Christiaan Verhoef, Gurmukh Singh, Nathan A. Brilliant, Toby Collard
  • Publication number: 20230003186
    Abstract: A wind turbine rotor blade having a blade shell with a generally chordwise layup of fibre plies and a generally spanwise spar cap. A lightning conductor extends over the spar cap, and the spar cap includes conductive material. An equipotential bonding element electrically bonds the lightning conductor to the spar cap. The equipotential bonding element extends between an outboard edge of one stack of the fibre plies and an inboard edge of an adjacent stack of the fibre plies, which overlap to define an overlapping edge region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 2, 2020
    Publication date: January 5, 2023
    Inventors: Lasse Lykkegaard, Rens Christiaan Verhoef, Gurmukh Singh, Nathan A. Brilliant, Toby Collard
  • Patent number: 9068559
    Abstract: The invention relates to a rotor blade for a wind turbine. The rotor blade comprises a shell and a spar forming a longitudinally extending hollow structure within the shell and comprising: a leading web, a trailing web, and one or more additional webs. Each additional web defines an intermediate portion between a hub end and a tip end. The intermediate portion of each additional web is spaced apart from the leading and trailing webs and at least one of the tip and the hub ends is connected to or integral with the leading or the trailing web. The invention further relates to a wind turbine comprising the rotor blade, and a method for manufacturing the rotor blade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2015
    Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
    Inventors: Mark Hancock, Andrew Hedges, Rens Christiaan Verhoef, Anton Bech, Tomas Vronsky
  • Patent number: 9032622
    Abstract: An elongate web is attached to the root end of a spar of a wind turbine rotor blade to provide additional support along the width of the blade. The root end is formed by a winding operation, and a recess is then cut into the surface of the spar. The recess is defined by a relatively large first, cylindrical surface, which is coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the root end, and a relatively small second, conical surface. A tapered end of the elongate web is attached within the recess of the root end using a layer of suitable adhesive and an array of pins. Resilient spacer elements are arranged within the recess so as to surround the pins. The large area of the cylindrical surface causes the tensile and compressive stresses which arise along the elongate web in use to be transmitted to the spar as shear stresses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2015
    Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
    Inventors: Mark Hancock, Anton Bech, Rens Christiaan Verhoef, Adrian Gill, Karl Gregory
  • Publication number: 20120246931
    Abstract: An elongate web is attached to the root end of a spar of a wind turbine rotor blade to provide additional support along the width of the blade. The root end is formed by a winding operation, and a recess is then cut into the surface of the spar. The recess is defined by a relatively large first, cylindrical surface, which is coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the root end, and a relatively small second, conical surface. A tapered end of the elongate web is attached within the recess of the root end using a layer of suitable adhesive and an array of pins. Resilient spacer elements are arranged within the recess so as to surround the pins. The large area of the cylindrical surface causes the tensile and compressive stresses which arise along the elongate web in use to be transmitted to the spar as shear stresses.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2011
    Publication date: October 4, 2012
    Applicant: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S
    Inventors: Mark Hancock, Anton Bech, Rens Christiaan Verhoef, Adrian Gill, Karl Gregory
  • Publication number: 20120045343
    Abstract: The invention relates to a rotor blade for a wind turbine. The rotor blade comprises a shell and a spar forming a longitudinally extending hollow structure within the shell and comprising: a leading web, a trailing web, and one or more additional webs. Each additional web defines an intermediate portion between a hub end and a tip end. The intermediate portion of each additional web is spaced apart from the leading and trailing webs and at least one of the tip and the hub ends is connected to or integral with the leading or the trailing web. The invention further relates to a wind turbine comprising the rotor blade, and a method for manufacturing the rotor blade.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2010
    Publication date: February 23, 2012
    Applicant: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S
    Inventors: Mark Hancock, Andrew Hedges, Rens Christiaan Verhoef, Anton Bech, Tomas Vronsky