Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the rotating cart type module which allows the wind turbine blades to be positioned in different angular positions and to operate on them in order to carry out surface treatment, modification and inspection processes during the production stages of wind turbine blades.

In particular, the present invention relates to the rotating cart type module, which does not block the inspection line with the fragmented structure of the structures that support the wind turbine, and prevents the blade from twisting by being moved by the chain-gear mechanism thereon.

State of the Art

Wind is an economic, alternative and renewable energy source. However, wind turbines need to work with high performance and feasibility so as to be efficient and therefore economic. Wind turbines have 3 blades on them so as to convert wind energy into electrical energy. These blades, each approximately 40-80 meters long, weighing 10-30 tons, having 7 meters long special production are transported by trucks to the place where the turbine will be assembled. The large structure of these blades not only makes transportation difficult, but also causes difficulties during maintenance and repair operations.

Industrial rotating carts have been developed so as to manually rotate and position parts, minimize the amount of required labor when reaching and lifting large or small workpieces. The rotating cart is a specific industrial cart base with a rotating top. The top of said carts rotate 360 degrees to various operator workstations. Blade rotation process with a typical rotating cart type module used today is performed by placing the curvilinear body of the turbine blade into a bearing prepared in the same form and sitting on wheels. It is not possible to examine the part of the blade inside the bearings due to this closed structure. In such a case, the apparatus is disassembled and shifted forward to reach the area that cannot be examined. The inspection process is completed. This method is not efficient due to loss of time.

One of the studies on improved rotating carts for the purpose of turning the blades of wind turbines in maintenance, repair, transportation and similar operations is the invention that is the subject of the utility model application numbered CN201921351788U. The utility model describes a wind turbine blade transfer device. Said transfer cart includes a blade transfer cart support, a transfer cart base, a groove containing plate, a rubber pillow block, a link rotating shaft and a bearing seat. A trough locating plate is arranged at the top of said transfer cart bracket. A connecting rotating shaft is arranged under said transfer cart bracket; bearing supports are arranged at both ends of the connecting rotary shaft, mounting steel plates are welded to the undersides of the bearing supports, cart supports are assembled and attached to the bottoms of the bearing supports, placed at the outer ends of the bearings. Bearing supports, spring washers are arranged at the outer ends of the bearings, and flat washers with pin shaft are arranged at the inner side ends of the bearing supports.

As a result, the requirement for a rotating cart type module which eliminates the abovementioned problems and the insufficiency of the current solutions makes it necessary to make a development in the relevant technical field.

Brief Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to the rotating cart type module which meets the above-mentioned requirements, eliminates all the disadvantages and brings some additional advantages, allows the wind turbine blades to be positioned in different angular positions and to operate on them in order to carry out surface treatment, modification and inspection processes during the production stages of wind turbine blades.

The aim of the invention based on the state of the art is to eliminate the problem of blocking the inspection line, which exists in current applications, with the help of the fragmented design of the blade-bearing structures of the rotating cart type module.

The aim of the invention is to prevent the blade from twisting during transportation by moving the rotating cart type module by means of a chain-gear mechanism.

Another aim of the invention is to control the angular, inclined and horizontal movement of the blade by means of 3 different hydraulic cylinders used in the rotating cart type module.

Another aim of the invention is to prevent the blade loaded on the rotating cart type module from being subjected to stress, with the help of the angle control cylinder contained in the rotating cart type module. The structural and characteristic features of the present invention will be understood clearly by the following drawings and the detailed description made with reference to these drawings and therefore the evaluation shall be made by taking these figures and the detailed description into consideration.

Brief Description of Drawings

In order to understand the advantages of the present invention with its structure and additional elements, it shall be evaluated with the following defined figures.

Figure 1 ; is the schematic general view of the rotating cart type module,

Figure-2; is the schematic general view of the disassembled rotating cart type module,

Figure-3; is the schematic general view of the blade loaded on the rotating cart type module.

Reference Numbers

100. Rotating cart type module

101 . First drive ring

102. First major clamp

103. First small clamp

104. Second small clamp

105. Second drive ring

106. Second major clamp

107. Third small clamp

108. Fourth small clamp

109. Drive ring bearing

110. Angular motion control roller

111. Slope control roller

112. Slope control chassis

113. Florizontal motion module

114. Florizontal motion control roller

115. Hydraulic unit

116. Lower chassis

117. Chain

118. Gear 200. Blade Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, the rotating cart type module (100) which allows the wind turbine blades (200) to be positioned in different angular positions and to operate on them in order to carry out surface treatment, modification and inspection processes during the production stages of wind turbine blades (200) is explained only as an example for a better understanding of the subject and in a way that does not create any limiting effect.

The inventive rotating cart type module (100), shown in Figure-1 is designed in a segmented structure so as not to prevent the inspection line. In addition, twisting of the blade (200) is prevented by means of the mechanism consisting of chain (117) and gear (118) contained in said rotating cart type module (100) by moving the first drive ring (101) and the second drive ring (105). In the rotating cart type module (100) shown in Figure-2, the blade (200) is placed on the first drive ring (101) positioned on the inside and the second drive ring (105) located on the outside. Said rotating cart type module (100) comprises of the following; first major clamp (102) positioned in the first drive ring (101) and supporting the blade (200) from below; second major clamp (106) positioned in the second drive ring (105) and supporting the blade (200) from below; first small clamp (103) positioned in the first drive ring (101) and supporting the blade (200) from its corner; second small clamp (104) positioned at an angle with the first small clamp (103) on the first drive ring (101) and supporting the blade (200) from its corner; third small clamp (107) positioned in the second drive ring (105) and supporting the blade (200) at its corner; and a fourth small clamp (108) positioned at an angle with the third small clamp (107) on the second drive ring (105) and supporting the blade (200) at its corner. Said first drive ring (101) and second drive ring (105) are supported by the drive ring bearing (109). The angular control of the blade (200) is carried out by the angular motion control roller (110), the slope control is carried out by the slope control roller (111) and the horizontal movement control is carried out by the horizontal motion control roller (114) in the rotating cart type module (100). The slope control of the blade (200) is provided by the slope control chassis (112), the horizontal motion of the same is provided by the horizontal motion module (113). Said angular motion control cylinder (110), slope control cylinder (111) and horizontal motion control roller (114) movements are provided by the hydraulic unit (115). There is a lower chassis (116) for balancing and fixing said rotating cart type module (100).

In the rotating cart type module (100) shown in Figure-3, the slope control cylinder (111) is brought to the middle position, which is the loading position, before starting the rotation process. The angular motion control cylinders (110) are brought to the open position in order to prevent the rotating cart type module (100) from turning left and right during loading. The first drive ring (101) is brought to the 0° position, which is the loading position, and the second drive ring (105) is brought to the 90° position. First major clamp (102) and first small clamp (103) are brought to the open position, second small clamp (104), second major clamp (106), third small clamp (107) and fourth small clamp (108) are brought to the closed position. The blade (200), whose processes are completed in the mold, is removed from the mold with the existing pneumatic lifting apparatus. After the tip of the blade (200) is placed on the first major clamp (102), the second small clamp (104) is brought to the open position and the blade (200) is fixed. Exposure of the blade (200) to possible stresses is prevented by bringing the angular motion control rollers (110) to the closed position. The first drive ring (101) is rotated automatically from the 0° position to the 90° position by means of the reducer. The slope control roller (111) is brought to the closed position, the first major clamp (102) is brought to the closed position, and the third small clamp (107) and the fourth small clamp (108) are brought to the open position for transferring the blade (200) from the first drive ring (101) to the second drive ring (105). Then the slope control roller (111) is brought to the open position, the first small clamp (103) and the second small clamp (104) are brought to the closed position. Thus, the blade (200) is transferred to the second drive ring (105) on the outside. The first drive ring (101 ) is rotated automatically from the 90° position to the 180° position by means of the reducer. Thus, the rotation process is completed.