Wind turbine with data receiver

• US 7,551,130 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2007
• Issued: 06/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Altenschulte, Markus
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza; Thomas H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mull; Fred H
• Application Number:
  US11/943,815
• Publication Number:
  US 20090128402A1
• Time in Patent Office: 580 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.09, 342/357.06, 342/357.1, 340/507, 340511-512
• US Class Current: 342/357.4
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 7/047 characterised by the controller architecture, e.g. multiple processors or data communications
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2240/96 as part of a wind turbine farm
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2260/80 Diagnostics
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/72 Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction

Abstract

A wind turbine is provided, the wind turbine including a receiver adapted to receive a signal from a satellite-based navigation system and to determine at least one of a position information, a time information and a date information from said signal, and a communication device adapted to transmit the information determined by the receiver to a recipient located remotely from said wind turbine.

Claims

1. A wind turbine comprising:

a receiver adapted to receive a signal from a satellite-based navigation system and to determine time information from the signal;

a communication device operatively connected to the receiver and adapted to transmit the time information to a recipient located remotely from said wind turbine; and

a controller comprising a first internal clock, the controller being operatively connected to the receiver and adapted to adjust the first internal clock with the time information.

2. The wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the receiver is a GPS receiver adapted to receive a GPS signal.

3. The wind turbine of claim 1, wherein the receiver is integrated into the controller.

4. The wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the controller further comprises a memory, the receiver being further adapted to determine at least one of position information and date information from the signal, the controller being adapted to adjust the memory with the at least one of position information and date information.

5. The wind turbine of claim 1, further comprising a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system.

6. The wind turbine according to claim 5, wherein the SCADA system comprises a second internal clock, and wherein the SCADA system is operatively connected to the receiver and adapted to adjust the second internal clock with the time information.

7. The wind turbine according to claim 5, further comprising a second receiver adapted to receive the signal from the satellite-based navigation system and to determine at least one of position information, time information and date information from the signal, the SCADA system being operatively connected to the second receiver.

8. The wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the receiver is installed at a nacelle of the wind turbine.

9. The wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the recipient is a remote control center.

10. The wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the recipient is a service or maintenance center.

11. The wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the recipient is a mobile receiver for service or maintenance personnel.

12. The wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the receiver is adapted to determine information regarding the time information and one of position information and date information from the signal, and the wind turbine is adapted to include in the information an alarm message.

13. The wind turbine according to claim 12, further comprising an emergency button, wherein when pressed, said emergency button is adapted to cause the alarm message to be sent to the recipient.

14. The wind turbine according to claim 1, further comprising a second controller, a second receiver adapted to receive the signal from the satellite-based navigation system and to determine at least one of position information, time information and date information from the signal, the second controller being operatively connected to the second receiver, and a second communication device operatively connected to the second receiver and adapted to transmit the at least one of position information, time information and date information to the recipient.

15. A wind farm comprising

at least two wind turbines of claim 1.

16. The wind farm according to claim 15, further comprising a centralized wind farm controller, wherein the receiver of each of the at least two wind turbines is adapted to determine information regarding the time information and one of position information and date information from the signal, the communication device of each of the at least two wind turbines is adapted to transmit the information determined by its respective receiver to the centralized wind farm controller.

17. The wind farm according to claim 16, further comprising at least one further wind turbine adapted to receive the information from at least one of the at least two wind turbines.