Patents by Inventor Tomohiro Numajiri

Tomohiro Numajiri 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: 8568098
    Abstract: The present invention provides a pitch drive apparatus of a wind generator and the wind generator constituted not to affect a main shaft or a gear box, and capable of preventing reliability from being deteriorated. The pitch drive apparatus includes a wind turbine blade (6) having a base portion (21) mounted so as to be turnable around an axis center L with respect to a rotor head (4), an electric drive member having an output shaft (19) mounted on the rotor head (4) so as to extend in a direction along the axis center (L), a lever (15) having one end fixed to the output shaft (19) and extending in a direction intersecting with the output shaft (19), and a connecting link (17) disposed so as to extend in a direction intersecting with the output shaft (19). One end of the connecting link (17) is rotatably mounted on a free end of the lever (15) and the other end of the connecting link (17) is rotatably mounted on a drive position P of the wind turbine blade (6).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomohiro Numajiri
  • Publication number: 20130259677
    Abstract: A structure for a nacelle cover connection portion of a wind turbine generator includes a lengthy first angled member fixed to an inside surface of a nacelle cover and forming an upper end portion of a side wall panel; and a lengthy second angled member fixed to the inside surface and forming a lower end portion of a roof panel. An upper surface of the first angled member and a lower surface of the second angled member are aligned with and fixed to each other. A covering portion covering the upper end portion from the outside of a nacelle is provided at a predetermined interval from the same and integral with the lower end portion so as to protrude to the outside of the nacelle cover farther than the lower end portion. A packing is interposed between the upper and lower surfaces.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2011
    Publication date: October 3, 2013
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD
    Inventors: Masakazu Kamibayashi, Haruhiko Hirano, Tomohiro Numajiri, Kenji Ito, Ikuo Honda, Yoshihiro Fujioka
  • Patent number: 8529206
    Abstract: There is provided a yaw rotation control method for a wind turbine generator that does not require a yaw motor and is advantageous for a reduction in cost and a reduction in size and weight of a nacelle. A control unit performs, according to a deviation between wind direction information (?w) obtained from a wind direction detecting unit and a present state yaw angle (?z) obtained from a yaw rotating position detecting unit, yaw rotation control for outputting pitch angle command values (?1, ?2, and ?3) of yaw rotation to a pitch driving unit and directing front surfaces of rotation surfaces of wind turbine blades at the time of start. This yaw rotation control includes a step of controlling pitch angels of the wind turbine blades at a predetermined azimuth angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomohiro Numajiri
  • Publication number: 20130202234
    Abstract: There is provided a slewing bearing structure capable of maintaining favorable bearing performance by adjusting and changing rigidity thereof while minimizing the increase in the weight thereof for preventing distortion of a pressure pattern caused by structural deformation from unfavorably affecting the bearing performance. A slewing bearing of a rolling bearing, in which a rolling element is put between bearing rings and formed on an inner ring and an outer ring, has a slewing bearing structure in which a rigidity strengthening portion, at which rigidity of the inner ring and/or the outer ring is increased more than that at peripheral portions, is formed at a circumferential area where a bearing contact pressure is high.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2012
    Publication date: August 8, 2013
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshitomo NODA, Kensuke NISHIURA, Tomohiro NUMAJIRI
  • Patent number: 8491256
    Abstract: A pitch drive device of a wind turbine generator and a wind turbine generator that have simple and inexpensive structures and that are capable of preventing a decrease in the reliability of the pitch drive device are provided. There is provided a cylinder (12) configured to change a pitch angle by driving a wind-turbine rotary blade (6) to turn around an axis with respect to a rotor head (4); and a cylinder bearing (14) configured to support, in a turnable manner, a trunnion (16) extending from the cylinder (12) substantially parallel the axis of the wind-turbine rotary blade (6), wherein anti-vibration rubber (21) configured to elastically support the trunnion (16) is provided on a support section configured to support the trunnion (16) of the cylinder bearing (14).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomohiro Numajiri
  • Patent number: 8480369
    Abstract: A pitch drive device of a wind power generator capable of preventing the loss of reliability of the pitch drive device with a simple structure and a wind power generator are provided. A rotor head of a wind power generator in which a plurality of wind turbine blades are radially attached around a rotation axis is formed by joining a plurality of separately formed front rotor head and rear rotor head, and joint portions of the front rotor head and the rear rotor head are formed in a plane intersecting the rotation axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomohiro Numajiri
  • Patent number: 8461707
    Abstract: A wind turbine generator is provided with: a nacelle mounting a wind turbine rotor; a yaw drive device generating drive force for causing yaw turning of the nacelle; a brake mechanism generating braking force for braking the turning of the nacelle; a control system controlling the yaw drive device and the brake mechanism; and a wind speed measurement device measuring wind speed. When detecting occurrence of a high wind speed state based on the wind speed while the nacelle is turned by the yaw drive device, the control device provides braking force for the nacelle by using the brake mechanism in response to the detection of the occurrence of the high wind speed state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuto Fujino, Seita Seki, Yoshiyuki Hayashi, Tomohiro Numajiri
  • Patent number: 8439638
    Abstract: A hydraulic cylinder is coupled to blades of a wind turbine generator and actuated to change a pitch angle of the blade. A variable displacement hydraulic pump supplies hydraulic oil to the hydraulic cylinder, and a discharge pressure of the pump does not follow a load pressure. When the discharge pressure of the hydraulic pump becomes a set pressure, a pressure control valve is opened to change a discharge amount of the hydraulic pump, and to make the discharge pressure of the hydraulic pump to be a pressure smaller than a cut off pressure. Further, a setting control unit sets the set pressure based on the hydraulic pressure that the hydraulic cylinder requires such that the set pressure becomes a minimum pressure required to change the pitch angle to a predetermined angle by the hydraulic cylinder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Seita Seki, Tomohiro Numajiri
  • Patent number: 8436484
    Abstract: A direct-drive wind turbine generator is provided with: a main shaft having one end connected to a rotor head of a wind turbine rotor; a generator having a stator, a stator casing for supporting the stator, and the rotor connected to the other end of the main shaft; first and second bearings positioned between the rotor head and the generator to rotatably support the main shaft; and a torque support for supporting the stator casing. The second bearing is positioned closer to the generator than the first bearing. The first bearing is a bearing with an aligning capability, and the second bearing is a bearing with no aligning capability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomohiro Numajiri
  • 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: 20130099494
    Abstract: A wind turbine generator, which is a wind turbine generator that turns a nacelle in the yaw direction by using the force that acts on turbine blades, includes a yaw brake device that stops the turning of the nacelle in the yaw direction and a control device that controls the yaw brake device so that the turning speed of the nacelle falls within a predetermined range. Therefore, the wind turbine generator can make the turning speed of the nacelle constant.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 30, 2012
    Publication date: April 25, 2013
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Tomohiro NUMAJIRI, Yoshiyuki HAYASHI
  • Patent number: 8398373
    Abstract: A pitch-control system according to the present invention includes a cylinder support portion provided on a rotor hub, a support point thereof being located away from a front end face (unsupported end) of the rotor hub on the opposite side of the rotor hub; a decentered coupling point provided at a decentered location on a root-side end face of the wind turbine blade; and a cylinder that is installed so as to pass through the unsupported end of the rotor hub, a coupling portion that is provided on a portion that protrudes to the outer side from the unsupported end being coupled in a freely rotatable manner to the support point via a spherical joint, and a coupling portion that is on the inner side of the unsupported end being coupled in a freely rotatable manner to the decentered coupling point via a spherical joint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Mioko Matsuda, Tomohiro Numajiri
  • Patent number: 8334613
    Abstract: A wind turbine generator includes: a main shaft for supporting a wind turbine rotor; a main bearing for rotatably supporting the main shaft; a generator having a generator rotor and a stator; a sleeve connected to the generator rotor and inserted onto the main shaft; and a hydraulic shrink fit provided outside the sleeve and tightening the sleeve to connect to the main shaft. The hydraulic shrink fit is constructed to reduce the inner diameter through a supply of hydraulic fluid to secure the sleeve to the main shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomohiro Numajiri
  • Patent number: 8313266
    Abstract: Provided is a construction apparatus for safe and smooth construction of a floating offshore wind turbine generator in deep sea. The construction apparatus for constructing the offshore wind turbine generator with a crane ship includes a guide member attached to the crane ship in a work position perpendicular thereto such that a bottom end of the guide member is disposed under the sea and at least one pair of arm units that include grippers capable of holding and releasing a tower member divided into a plurality of segments in an axial direction and that slide along the guide member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomohiro Numajiri
  • Patent number: 8308434
    Abstract: A wind turbine generator according to the present invention includes: a rotor head equipped with wind turbine blades to constitute a wind turbine rotor blade; a nacelle that bears a rotation shaft of the rotor head and houses a generator that generates electricity by a rotation of the rotor head; a tower that supports the nacelle; a rotor head cover that covers the rotor head; an outside-air intake that is provided on a distal end part of the rotor head cover and takes in the outside wind; an outside-air delivery communicating parts that delivers the outside air, which has been taken into the rotor head cover from the outside-air intake, to an inside of the nacelle; and cooling air outlets that are provided in a region of the outer surface of the nacelle that experiences a negative pressure due to the outside wind.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomohiro Numajiri
  • Patent number: 8264097
    Abstract: A wind turbine generator includes: a main shaft; a generator having a rotor and a stator; and a sleeve coupled to the rotor and inserted onto the main shaft. The stator includes: stator magnetic poles arrayed circumferentially of the main shaft; and first and second stator plates rotatably coupled to the main shaft to support the stator magnetic poles. The rotor includes: rotor magnetic poles and at least one magnetic pole supporting structure coupled to the main shaft to support the rotor magnetic poles and provided between the first and second stator plates such that the rotor and stator magnetic poles are detachable from the sleeve. Positions at which the rotor and stator magnetic poles are detachable from the sleeve are closer to the main shaft from a closer end of the main shaft to the generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomohiro Numajiri
  • Publication number: 20120211982
    Abstract: If blades have been struck by wind that has reached a power reduction start wind speed that is lower than a conventional cut-out wind speed at which torque acting on a main shaft reaches the torque limit, a wind turbine generator performs torque reduction control for causing the change in the torque when wind speed is higher than the power reduction start wind speed to be different from change in the torque when wind speed is lower than the power reduction start wind speed so as to prevent the torque from exceeding the torque limit at the conventional cut-out wind speed. For example, if the wind striking the blades reaches the power reduction start wind speed, the wind turbine generator sets the slope of change in torque lower than that before the power reduction start wind speed is reached. Accordingly, the wind turbine generator can reduce the load acting on a device and suppress a reduction in power even if the blades are struck by strong wind.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2011
    Publication date: August 23, 2012
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshihiro TANABE, Tomohiro NUMAJIRI
  • Patent number: 8247916
    Abstract: A wind turbine generator is provided with a generator which is provided with a stator and a stator casing accommodating a generator rotor and the stator; a main shaft having one end coupled to a wind turbine rotor and the other end coupled to the generator rotor; a first bearing which rotatably supports the main shaft; a second bearing which is provided on the main shaft to support the stator casing such that the main shaft and the stator casing are rotatable relative to each other; a base to which the first bearing is attached; and a torque support including a coupling member which couples the base portion and a front plate of the stator casing. The load center of force acting between the coupling member and the front plate in a case that torque acts on the stator casing in the circumferential direction of the main shaft is positioned in a range between the front and back surfaces of the front plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomohiro Numajiri
  • Patent number: 8246308
    Abstract: A turning device includes a brake disc, functioning as a driven-side friction pulley, which is disposed on an output shaft of a gearbox and rotates together with the output shaft; a motor-side friction pulley, which can move between an engagement position, where the motor-side friction pulley frictionally engages with an outer circumferential surface of the brake disc, and a free position, where the motor-side friction pulley is a certain distance away from the outer circumferential surface of the brake disc; a pulley pressing mechanism, which moves the motor-side friction pulley from the free position to the engagement position by manual power of an operator to frictionally engage the motor-side friction pulley with the outer circumferential surface of the brake disc; and pulley driving means (electric motor, etc.) for rotationally driving the motor-side friction pulley.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomohiro Numajiri
  • Patent number: 8240226
    Abstract: A speed-varying device (10A) that can give a high gear ration with a small number of stages and that can be reduced in weight is provided. The speed-varying device (10A) is configured by combining parallel gears, and an input gear (11) provided on an input shaft (Si) and an output gears (12A, 12B) provided on an output shaft (So) are coupled to each other via a plurality of pinion shafts (Sv) that are arranged in the circumferential direction. The pinion shafts (Sv) are each provided with gears (13, 14A to 14D) having teeth different in number at both ends thereof. The gears (14A to 14D) disposed on the output shaft (So) side of the plurality of pinion shafts (Sv) are engaged with the plurality of output gears (12A, 12B) alternately in the circumferential direction. The output gears being arranged so as to be shifted from one another in the axial direction of the output shaft (So).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomohiro Numajiri