Pitch motor drive circuit which can operate in emergency mode

• US 9,024,563 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2011
• Issued: 05/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KEBA Industrial Automation Germany GmbH
• Original Assignee: LTi REEnergy GmbH (Moog Incorporated)
• Inventors: Wertz, Harald, Kleinen, Christian, Gill, Harry, Bnte, Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): Luo, David S
• Application Number:
  US13/882,637
• Publication Number:
  US 20130271056A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,288 Days
• Field of Search: 318/503, 318/494, 318/801, 318/800, 318/799, 318/798
• US Class Current: 318/503
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 7/0224 Adjusting blade pitch
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2260/76 the adjusting mechanism using auxiliary power sources
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2260/79 Bearing, support or actuation arrangements therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2260/845 Redundancy
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2270/107 to cope with emergencies
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2270/1074 by using back-up controls
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2270/602 electrical actuators
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/04 in which the distribution system is disconnected from the normal source and connected to a standby source
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/325 with means for allowing continuous operation despite a fault, i.e. fault tolerant converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 25/18 with arrangements for switching the windings, e.g. with mechanical switches or relays
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 25/184 wherein the motor speed is changed by switching from a delta to a star, e.g. wye, connection of its windings, or vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 27/06 using dc to ac converters or inverters H02P27/05 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 29/02 Providing protection against overload without automatic interruption of supply protection against faults of stepper motors H02P8/36
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 10/70 Hybrid systems, e.g. uninterruptible or back-up power supplies integrating renewable energies
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/72 Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/76 Power conversion electric or electronic aspects

Abstract

A pitch drive circuit that operates in an emergency mode, for a wind or water power plant. The circuit has at least one rectifier unit, at least one DC intermediate circuit, two inverter units and a pitch rotary current motor with motor trains that can be contacted on both sides. A first contact side of the motor trains is connected to a first inverter unit and a second contact side of the motor trains is connected to a second inverter unit. At least one switching element is connected to at least one contact side of the motor trains. In a normal operating mode of a first switching state of the switching element the motor trains can be energized via both inverter units, and in an emergency operating mode of a second switching state of the switching element, the motor trains can be energized via a single inverter unit.

Claims

1. Pitch drive circuit which can operate in emergency mode for a wind or water turbine system, comprising:

at least one rectifier unit,

at least one DC intermediate circuit,

a first inverter unit and a pitch three-phase motor with motor trains that can be contacted on both sides, where a first contact side of the motor trains is connected to the first inverter unit, a second contact side of the motor trains is connected to a second inverter unit and at least one switching element is connected to at least one contact side of the motor trains, so that during normal operation of a first switching state of the switching element the motor trains can be supplied with current by both inverter units, and in an emergency operation of a second switching state of the switching element the motor trains can be supplied with current by a single inverter unit,

wherein each converter unit is switchably connected via one decoupling switching element to the supply network, and each inverter unit is switchably connected via at least one decoupling switching element to the motor trains of a contact side, and both inverter units are connected to a braking chopper unit.

2. Circuit according to claim 1,

wherein

in the second switching state of the switching element the contact side of the motor trains can be short-circuited to form a Y-circuit, where each contact side is connected to one switching element.

3. Circuit according to claim 2,

wherein

at least one Y-switching elements on opposite contact sides are connected to form a Y-circuit, and a further Δ

-switching element in the second switching position is connected to the motor trains to form a Δ

-circuit.

4. Circuit according to claim 1,

wherein

in the second switching state of the switching element the two contact sides of the motor trains can be connected to one another to form a Δ

-circuit.

5. Circuit according to claim 4,

wherein

at least one Y-switching elements on opposite contact sides are connected to form a Y-circuit, and a further Δ

-switching element in the second switching position is connected to the motor trains to form a Δ

-circuit.

6. Circuit according to claim 1,

wherein

at least one switching element is a semi-conductor switching element.

7. Circuit according to claim 1,

wherein

each inverter unit is connected to one rectifier unit with DC intermediate circuit to form an independent converter device, where the two DC intermediate circuits of the two converter units are connected to one another.

8. Circuit according to claim 7,

wherein

the two converter units are connected to a supply network via an isolating transformer present twice on the secondary side, wherein the two intermediate circuits are electrically connected to one another at least switchably.

9. Circuit according to claim 1,

wherein

a zero current control unit is connected to both inverter units to minimize a zero current through the motor trains in normal operation.

10. Circuit according to claim 1

wherein

a DC emergency energy storage device is connected at least switchably to at least one DC intermediate circuit for voltage supply to the intermediate circuit in the event of failure of the grid-based DC voltage supply.

11. Wind or water turbine system with a pitch drive device for adjustment of the pitch angle of at least one rotor blade,

wherein

the pitch drive device comprises a pitch three-phase motor which is supplied with current by a motor drive circuit according to claim 1.

12. Method for the operation of a pitch drive circuit according to claim 1

wherein

three-phase in normal operation of a first switching position of the switching element the motor trains of the three-phase motor are supplied with current by means of both inverter units;

and in an emergency operating mode, in particular in the event of failure of an inverter unit or a converter device, the switching element switches to the second switching position, where the three-phase motor can be operated by means of the remaining inverter unit.

13. Method according to claim 12,

wherein

switching between normal operation and emergency operation is carried out as a function of a drive loss of the three-phase motor, a failure of or reduction in the DC intermediate circuit voltage, or a non-synchronized inverter output voltage.

14. Method according to claim 12,

wherein

in the case of intact inverter units or converter devices, an alternating emergency operation proceeds over a longer period in alternating usage of both inverter units/converter devices, in particular within time intervals that can be predetermined or during drive phases that can be predetermined, and in that switching to normal operation is carried out to increase the drive output as required, in particular during certain drive phases.