GPS AUTOMATED TRACKING OF MOBILE MONITORING UNITS

• US 20120219418A1
• Filed: 11/11/2010
• Published: 08/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co.KG (INA-Holding Schaeffler GmbH & Co. KG)
• Original Assignee: Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co.KG (INA-Holding Schaeffler GmbH & Co. KG)
• Inventors: Ingerslew, James, Schubert, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US13/505,579
• Publication Number:
  US 20120219418A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 416/1
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 17/00 Monitoring or testing of wind motors, e.g. diagnostics testing during commissioning of wind motors F03D13/30
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 7/047 characterised by the controller architecture, e.g. multiple processors or data communications
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/72 Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction

Abstract

A method of monitoring a wind turbine, including the steps of: attaching a condition monitoring (CM) module to a wind turbine; determining the location of the CM module based on information received at the wind turbine by the CM module; monitoring operational parameters of the wind turbine using the CM module; and transmitting the operational parameters to the central facility.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring a wind turbine, comprising the steps of:

attaching a condition monitoring (CM) equipment to a wind turbine;

determining the location of the CM equipment based on information received at the wind turbine by the CM equipment;

monitoring operational parameters of the wind turbine using the CM equipment; and

transmitting the operational parameters to a central facility.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the CM equipment includes a GPS receiver and wherein the determining step further comprises determining the location using the GPS receiver.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of transmitting location information received from the GPS receiver to the central facility.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the wind turbine includes a transponder uniquely identifying the wind turbine and wherein the CM equipment includes an interrogator, and wherein the determining step further comprises obtaining data from the transponder using the interrogator.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the transponder comprises an RFID tag.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step is carried out at the CM equipment and the location is then transmitted to the central facility.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step is carried out at the central facility.