Patents by Inventor Takatoshi Matsushita

Takatoshi Matsushita 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: 8796872
    Abstract: An object is to provide a wind turbine generator that is capable of continuously operating an auxiliary unit even when a grid fault occurs. Provided is a wind turbine generator including an auxiliary-unit breaker provided in a power line that connects an auxiliary unit to a power grid, wherein the auxiliary-unit breaker has a current-resisting capacity within a range that tolerates a current that flows in a low-voltage event and does not exceed a tolerable current of a motor provided in the auxiliary unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinji Arinaga, Tsuyoshi Wakasa, Takatoshi Matsushita, Masaaki Shibata
  • Publication number: 20140175795
    Abstract: The control system of this floating wind turbine generator is a control system of a floating wind turbine generator in which the control system controls a pitch angle control section by a pitch angle instruction value calculated on the basis of signals detected by a second sensor detecting a relative angle between a nacelle and a tower and a third sensor detecting a yaw angle from a reference position of the tower so that a signal detected by a first sensor detecting wind direction deviation relative to a vertical direction of a rotation plane of wind turbine blades indicates an angle within a predetermined range from the vertical direction of the rotation plane of the wind turbine blades, and controls a yaw driving device by a yaw driving instruction value calculated on the basis of the signals detected by the second sensor and the third sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2013
    Publication date: June 26, 2014
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Kazunari IDE, Takatoshi MATSUSHITA
  • Patent number: 8749089
    Abstract: A wind power generation system is disclosed for suppressing an increase of torque when a voltage in a utility grid is restored, and to reduce a load to devices due to the torque. The wind power generation system includes a blade control unit for controlling the pitch angle of the wind turbine blades such that the pitch angle matches a target pitch angle determined on the basis of at least one of a wind speed, a rotation speed of the power generator, and a requested output power when the power control unit re-actuates the operations of the converter and the inverter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinji Arinaga, Tsuyoshi Wakasa, Takatoshi Matsushita, Akira Yasugi, Masaaki Shibata
  • Publication number: 20140119919
    Abstract: In lightning protection equipment of a wind turbine, it is required to ease the maintenance with maintaining high safety. The lightning current received by a receptor of a blade is conducted to an earth line in the blade. The earth line is conducted to the internal space of the rotor head via the internal side space of the bearing for changing the pitch angle of the blade. It is possible to conduct the lightning current to the rotor head side without using the bearing as the current route and without using a sliding or wearing member such as a brash or the like.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 8, 2012
    Publication date: May 1, 2014
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, LTD.
    Inventors: Takehiro Naka, Yoichiro Tsumura, Takatoshi Matsushita
  • Patent number: 8676392
    Abstract: An object is to improve the accuracy of power factor adjustment. Power-factor command values corresponding to individual wind turbines are determined by correcting a predetermined power-factor command value for an interconnection node using power factor correction levels set for the individual wind turbines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinji Arinaga, Takatoshi Matsushita, Tsuyoshi Wakasa, Akira Yasugi, Masaaki Shibata
  • Patent number: 8536722
    Abstract: In a wind turbine generator, the rotation of the rotor is speeded up by a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor and is transferred to a synchronous generator. In a state in which the wind turbine generator is interconnected to a utility grid, and the synchronous generator reaches a synchronous speed, if no mechanical power is transferred to the synchronous generator, a wind-turbine control system operates the synchronous generator as a synchronous condenser, thus controlling the magnitude of the field current of the synchronous generator. Thus, the wind turbine generator can supply reactive power to the utility grid without adding new equipment, such as a reactive power compensator using a semiconductor switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Wakasa, Hisanobu Shinoda, Hidekazu Ichinose, Yukio Yamashita, Takatoshi Matsushita
  • Patent number: 8527104
    Abstract: An object is to improve the accuracy of reactive power adjustment. Reactive-power command values corresponding to individual wind turbines are determined by correcting a predetermined reactive-power command value for an interconnection node A using reactive power correction levels set for the individual wind turbines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinji Arinaga, Takatoshi Matsushita, Tsuyoshi Wakasa, Masaaki Shibata, Akira Yasugi
  • Publication number: 20130221934
    Abstract: In a wind turbine generator, the rotation of the rotor is speeded up by a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor and is transferred to a synchronous generator. In a state in which the wind turbine generator is interconnected to a utility grid, and the synchronous generator reaches a synchronous speed, if no mechanical power is transferred to the synchronous generator, a wind-turbine control system operates the synchronous generator as a synchronous condenser, thus controlling the magnitude of the field current of the synchronous generator. Thus, the wind turbine generator can supply reactive power to the utility grid without adding new equipment, such as a reactive power compensator using a semiconductor switch.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2013
    Publication date: August 29, 2013
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi WAKASA, Hisanobu SHINODA, Hidekazu ICHINOSE, Yukio YAMASHITA, Takatoshi MATSUSHITA
  • Patent number: 8517681
    Abstract: A wind turbine blade has a blade body 11, a plurality of receptors 12, 13 embedded in and exposed to the surface of the blade body 11, a conductor layer 14 provided on the surface of the blade body 11 and connecting the receptors 12, 13 with one another and a downconductor 21 connected to the receptors 12, 13 and provided in the blade body 11. The downconductor 21 may be embedded in an insulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takehiro Naka, Takatoshi Matsushita, Nobuyasu Nakamura, Yoshihiko Hayashi, Shinji Arinaga
  • Patent number: 8511989
    Abstract: A wind turbine generator is provided in which the efficiency of heating the interior of a nacelle can be improved at a low outside air temperature in a cold region. The wind turbine generator includes a nacelle that accommodates a driving and generating mechanism connected to a rotor head fitted with turbine blades, wherein the nacelle is equipped with a lubricant-oil cooling fan and a generator cooling fan that ventilate the interior of the nacelle to prevent an increase in the temperature of the interior and a heating device that raises the temperature of the interior of the nacelle at a low outside air temperature, wherein the cooling fans can be operated with the rotating directions and the rotational speeds thereof being controlled, and during the operation of the heating device, the rotating directions and the rotational speeds of the cooling fans are controlled so as to make the wind velocity at the ventilation ports thereof about zero.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Takatoshi Matsushita
  • Patent number: 8502406
    Abstract: A variable-speed power generator includes a prime mover that generates motive power by using natural energy; a wound-rotor induction generator that includes a stator having a primary winding and a rotor having a secondary winding, which are connected to a power grid, the generator generating electric power based on the motive power generated by the prime mover; a power converter connected to the stator and the rotor; and a controller controlling wound-rotor induction generator. The controller responds to instructions, sent by the power grid, for supplying reactive power to the power grid. The response of the controller to an instruction for supplying reactive power to the power grid may include imposing limitations on the reactive power supplied by the power converter to the power grid and causing the wound-rotor induction generator to operate at a rotation speed set higher than or equal to a synchronous speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Wakasa, Akira Yasugi, Takatoshi Matsushita, Takehiro Naka, Takumi Nakashima
  • Publication number: 20130193934
    Abstract: It is an object to stabilize a utility grid even when an unexpected fluctuation in the frequency of the utility grid occurs. A wind turbine generator includes a rotor that rotates by wind power, a generator that is driven by rotation of the rotor, and a control device that controls a power output of the generator to increase while a rotational speed of the generator decreases when a frequency of a utility grid becomes smaller than or equal to a predetermined rated frequency and when the rotational speed of the generator is greater than or equal to a first predetermined value. In this way, even when the frequency of the utility grid fluctuates, the frequency fluctuation can be suppressed, and the utility grid can be stabilized.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2013
    Publication date: August 1, 2013
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Shinji ARINAGA, Tsuyoshi WAKASA, Takatoshi MATSUSHITA
  • Patent number: 8476780
    Abstract: Yaw control is performed such that a nacelle faces into an actual main wind direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masayuki Hashimoto, Tsuyoshi Wakasa, Takatoshi Matsushita
  • Patent number: 8430639
    Abstract: A pitch drive apparatus of a wind generator is made with a simple structure, and the wind generator is capable of preventing reliability of the pitch drive apparatus from being deteriorated. The wind generator includes a wind turbine rotor blade having a blade root mounted so as to be turnable around an axis center O with respect to a rotor head, and a pitch drive apparatus for turning and driving the wind turbine rotor blade around the axis center O to change a pitch angle thereof. The pitch drive apparatus has an electric cylinder functioning as a linear actuator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomohiro Numajiri, Takatoshi Matsushita
  • Publication number: 20130093186
    Abstract: An object is to improve the accuracy of power factor adjustment. Power-factor command values corresponding to individual wind turbines are determined by correcting a predetermined power-factor command value for an interconnection node using power factor correction levels set for the individual wind turbines.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2012
    Publication date: April 18, 2013
    Inventors: Shinji ARINAGA, Takatoshi MATSUSHITA, Tsuyoshi WAKASA, Masaaki SHIBATA, Akira YASUGI
  • Patent number: 8405239
    Abstract: It is an object to enable stable operation of a wind turbine and to change a control parameter of the wind turbine at an appropriate timing. A dynamic-characteristics model of a wind turbine is identified for each of a plurality of ranges that are determined in accordance with wind speed, and the identified dynamic-characteristics model is monitored for each of the ranges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masayuki Hashimoto, Tsuyoshi Wakasa, Takatoshi Matsushita, Shinji Arinaga
  • Patent number: 8378643
    Abstract: It is an object to stabilize a utility grid even when an unexpected fluctuation in the frequency of the utility grid occurs. A wind turbine generator includes a rotor that rotates by wind power, a generator that is driven by rotation of the rotor, and a control device that controls a power output of the generator to increase while a rotational speed of the generator decreases when a frequency of a utility grid becomes smaller than or equal to a predetermined rated frequency and when the rotational speed of the generator is greater than or equal to a first predetermined value. In this way, even when the frequency of the utility grid fluctuates, the frequency fluctuation can be suppressed, and the utility grid can be stabilized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinji Arinaga, Tsuyoshi Wakasa, Takatoshi Matsushita
  • Patent number: 8368238
    Abstract: It is an object to provide a wind turbine generator system that can promptly restore the system voltage in the event of, for example, a low voltage phenomenon. A controller 21 detects the power factor state of a generator when a normal operation mode is switched to a low-voltage control mode and sets a condition for switching from the low-voltage control mode to the normal operation mode depending on the detected power factor state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Yasugi, Takatoshi Matsushita
  • Patent number: 8364323
    Abstract: A method of controlling an operation of a wind power generation system provided with a plurality of wind turbines, in which output power of each wind turbine is supplied to an electric power system through a common interconnection node where output data of each wind turbine is obtained, where a periodic correlation between output fluctuations of adjacent wind turbines is determined by using the output data, the correlation is determined as a strong correlation when the correlation is more than two times greater than an average level of the correlation, and a phase of the output of either one of the adjacent wind turbines is shifted by a period of the strong correlation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinji Arinaga, Takatoshi Matsushita, Tsuyoshi Wakasa, Masaaki Shibata, Akira Yasugi
  • Patent number: 8360715
    Abstract: A wind turbine generator capable of enhancing starting performance of the wind turbine generator when the outside air temperature is low and capable of securing temperature adjusting ability of a generator set in a wide outside air temperature range is provided. A wind turbine generator includes a nacelle (3) for accommodating a generator set (11, 12, 14) that generates electricity by rotation of a rotor having a plurality of blades, a ventilation opening (51) provided in a wall surface on a wind upstream side when the nacelle is normally operated, and a heat exchanging unit (13) disposed in the ventilation opening (51) to exchange heat between an outside air and a lubricant of the generator set (11, 12) such as an lubricant oil or cooling water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Matsuo, Shinji Arinaga, Shinsuke Sato, Takatoshi Matsushita, Masaaki Shibata