Description:FIELD OF INVENTION:

The present invention relates to an equipment for the manufacturing of the blades for wind turbines. The present invention specifically relates to an apparatus for the rotation and clamping of moulds for the bonding procedure.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION:

Commonly, most blades are made with fibreglass-reinforced polyester or epoxy. Carbon fibre or aramid (Kevlar) is also used as reinforcement material. Nowadays, the possible use of wood compounds, such as wood-epoxy or wood-fibre-epoxy, is being studied. Turbine blades vary in size, but a typical modern land-based wind turbine has blades of over 170 feet (52 meters). The largest turbine is GE's Haliade-X offshore wind turbine, with blades 351 feet long (107 meters) – about the same length as a football field. When wind flows across the blade, the air pressure on one side of the blade decreases. The difference in air pressure across the two sides of the blade creates both lift and drag. The force of the lift is stronger than the drag and this causes the rotor to spin.

Wind turbine rotor blades are the most highly stressed and vital component of any wind turbine. They are designed to absorb the kinetic power of the wind and convert the said energy into a rotary motion around a central hub. While the central hub of the blades may be rotating at a gently speed relative to the wind, the tips of the blades are rotating at a much higher velocity and the longer the blade is, the faster the tip rotates especially for propeller type blade designs.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for the manufacturing of wind turbine blades by assembling the two moulded halves of a wind turbine blade. A wind turbine blade is first made in two halves wherein each of the said half is first made individually by the process of moulding. The said moulded halves of the wind turbine blade are moved towards each other in a joining direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the mouldings and thereby finally brought into a joining position and in the joining position be joined together.

Moulding is the process of manufacturing by shaping liquid or pliable raw material using a rigid frame called a mould or matrix. The said mould itself may have been made using a pattern or model of the final object. A mould is a hollowed-out block that is filled with a liquid or pliable material such as plastic, glass, metal, or ceramic raw material. The liquid hardens or sets inside the mould, adopting its shape. A mould is a counterpart to a cast. The very common bi-valve moulding process uses two moulds, one for each half of the object.

Typically, in the industry, wind turbine blades are manufactured by the bi-valve moulding process. In the said process, the wind turbine blade is manufactured two parts, i.e., the two halves, and then the said halves of the wind turbine blade mould are joined at their complementary edges to form the entire wind turbine blade mould.

Each of the two halves of the wind turbine blade are formed using a mould or matrix having the shape and structure of one half of the wind turbine blade. The mould or matrix for manufacturing one half of the root mould primarily comprises of a positive mould and a negative mould. The curvature of the outer or convex surface of the positive mould is such that it is congruent to the curvature of the inner concave surface of one half of the wind turbine blade. Similarly, the negative mould is also a curved concave surface wherein the inner or the concave surface of the negative mould is congruent to the outer convex surface of the said half of the wind turbine blade.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the wind turbine blade is made of glass fibres. To form one half the wind turbine blade, a plurality of sheets of glass fibre are placed on top of the convex surface of the positive mould. And then the said plurality of sheets of glass fibre are compressed over the positive mould by placing and pressing the negative mould over the sheets of glass fibre placed over the positive mould. The compressive force produced between the convex surface of the positive mould and the concave surface of the negative mould press the various layers of the glass fibre together and due to the malleable structure of the glass fibre, the said sheets of glass fibre get bonded to each other.

Typically, at one instance a specific number of fibre glass sheets are compressed between the positive mould and the negative mould. Once the said numbers of the glass fibre sheets are compressed between the positive mould and the negative mould, the negative mould is lifted and another set of the specific number of glass fibre sheets is placed on top of the previously compressed glass fibre sheets and the compressing process is repeated. The said process is repeated until the desired number of glass fibre sheets is reached.

After the said process, the two halves of the wind turbine blade are formed. The said two halves of the wind turbine blade are assembled and attached at their edges to form a whole wind turbine blade.

The present invention relates to a turning apparatus for the assembly of the two halves of the wind turbine blade in order to perform the bonding procedure of the said halves of the wind turbine blade.

For the assembly of the two halves of a wind turbine blade, a plurality of the turning apparatus for the rotation of wind turbine blade halves are positioned along the entire length of the wind turbine blade to be able to hold both the halves of the wind turbine blade while maintaining a uniform weight distribution amongst the said plurality of apparatus for the rotation of the moulds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a hinge assembly for the turning of mould for wind turbine blade bonding. The central aspect of the present invention is to provide a hinge mechanism formed by two rigid members coupled at a pivot point in a rotatable manner. One of the said rigid members is a stationary arm attached rigidly to a wind turbine blade mould half which is to remain stationary during the bonding operation and the other rigid member is attached to the other blade half mould which is to rotate to meet the stationary mould for the bonding procedure.

Another central objective of the present invention to provided mechanism for actuation by two actuating cylinders for the rotation of the mould of a wind turbine blade by 180° with respect to another mould for the said wind turbine blade.

One of the central aspects of the present invention is the manner of connection of the first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder with the stationary arm 1 and the movable arm 2. The said first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder 6 are connected to the stationary arm 1 at a common rotational axis, base actuator axis 10. When the hinge assembly 100 is considered at a 0° position, the second end of the first actuating cylinder 4 is connected to movable arm 2 at a first distance L1 and the second actuating cylinder 6 is connected to movable arm 2 at a second distance L2 wherein the said distances L1 and L2 are not equal. When the relationship between the pivot point 3, the first actuator axis 5 and the second actuator axis 7 is considered, as illustrated in the figure 5, the distance between the pivot point 3 and the first actuator axis is R1, the distance between the pivot point 3 and the second actuator axis 7 is R2 and the distance between the first actuator axis 5 and the second actuator 7 is R3. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, R1 is not equal to 0, R2 is not equal to 0 and R 3 is not equal to 0.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS:

The drawings constitute a part of this invention and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention illustrating various objects and features thereof.

Figure 1: Schematic illustration of the hinge assembly 100 with the wind turbine blade moulds.

Figure 2: 3D Illustration of the hinge assembly 100 where the said hinge assembly 100 is in the starting position 0°.

Figure 3: 3D Illustration of the hinge assembly 100 where the said hinge assembly is in the ending position 180°.

Figure 4: Illustration of the hinge assembly 100 with the distances B, D and the CG.

Figure 5: Illustration of the hinge assembly 100 with distances L1, L2, R1, R2 and R3.

Figure 6: Illustration of the hinge assembly 100 at 0° position.

Figure 7: Illustration of the hinge assembly 100 at 20° position.

Figure 8: Illustration of the hinge assembly 100 at 40° position.

Figure 9: Illustration of the hinge assembly 100 at 60° position.

Figure 10: Illustration of the hinge assembly 100 at 80° position.

Figure 11: Illustration of the hinge assembly 100 at 100° position.

Figure 12: Illustration of the hinge assembly 100 at 120° position.

Figure 13: Illustration of the hinge assembly 100 at 140° position.

Figure 14: Illustration of the hinge assembly 100 at 160° position.

Figure 15: Illustration of the hinge assembly 100 at 180° position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:

For the purpose of promoting, an understanding of the principles of the invention, references will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Reference herein to “one embodiment” or “another embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in a specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Further, the diagrams representing one or more embodiments of the invention do not inherently indicate any particular order nor imply any limitations in the invention.

The apparatus for the rotation of the wind turbine blade mould comprises of two arms wherein the first arm is the stationary arm and the second arm is a movable arm. The said first stationary arm is configured to bear partial weight of one half of a wind turbine blade wherein the said half of the wind turbine blade remains stationary. The second movable arm is configured to hold and rotate the second moulded half of the said blade turbine blade.

The said first stationary arm and the second movable arm are attached to each other at their respective proximal edges so as to allow radial motion with respect to each other. A hinge mechanism is formed at the said proximal points of the stationary arm and the movable arm which allows the rotational motion of the movable arm with respect to the stationary arm while preventing any translational or linear motion between the said arms.

The said hinge mechanism thus formed by the stationary arm and the movable arm is provided with an actuating cylinder on either side of the pivot point. The said two actuating cylinders provided the actuating force required for the rotation of the movable arm with respect to the stationary arm about the pivot point.

The said actuating cylinder, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention are hydraulic cylinders. Another embodiment of the present invention may employ pneumatic cylinders for actuating cylinders.

The first actuating cylinder is fastened to the stationary arm at a point closer to the base of the said stationary arm in a manner that rotational motion is allowed between the stationary arm and the end of the first actuating cylinder fastened to the stationary thus allowing the rotation of the actuating cylinder while the piston of the said actuating cylinder is extending out of the actuating cylinder. The second end of the said first actuating cylinder is fastened to the movable arm at a first distance from the pivot point.

The second actuating cylinder is provided on the other side of the pivot point in a plane parallel to the plane of the first actuating cylinder. The lower end of the second actuating cylinder is fastened to the stationary arm at a point exactly opposite to the bottom fastening point of the first actuating cylinder. The second end of the second actuating cylinder is fastened to the movable arm at a second distance from the pivot point.

A shaft structure passes through the body of the stationary arm to extend outwards on the either side of the said stationary arm thus allowing the connection of the first actuating cylinder and the second actuating cylinder on the either sides of the stationary arm onto the said extended ends of the said shaft. The said shaft forms a base actuator axis about which the first actuating cylinder and the second actuating cylinder are allowed to rotate while extending or contracting during the rotation of movable arm.

Since the movable arm is required to be moved by 180° with respect to the stationary arm, therefore two linear actuators, i.e., the first actuating cylinder and the second actuating cylinder are implanted to enable the movable arm to complete the whole 180° of rotational motion. The said two actuating cylinders extend and contract in conjunction for the complete rotation of the movable mould connected to the movable arm over the stationary mould connected to the stationary arm about the pivot point. The said implementation of two actuating cylinders and their specific sequence of actuation converts their linear actuation into the rotational motion of the movable arm. To allow rotational motion of the first actuating cylinder and the second actuating cylinder at their point of coupling with the stationary arm, they are connected to the said shaft by bearings.

The two points on the movable arm on which the said two actuating cylinders are fastened to the movable arm selected not to be coincidental so that the linear extensions of the first actuating cylinder and the second actuating cylinder are converted into rotational motion of the movable arm along the said first arc and the second arc. The said connections of the first actuating cylinder and the second actuating cylinder with the movable arm are also done through bearings to allow for the rotation motion during the extension and the contraction of the first actuating cylinder and the second actuating cylinder.

The coupling of the first actuating cylinder and the second actuating cylinder with the movable arm 2 is provided at two non-collinear points thus the movable arm 2 is provided with rotational actuation about two different axes. The first actuator axis 5 is created at the point on the movable arm 2 where the first actuating cylinder 4 is coupled with the said movable arm 2. Similarly, the second actuator axis 7 is created at the point where the second actuating cylinder 6 is coupled with the movable arm 2. The said connections at the first actuator axis 13 of the first actuating cylinder 4 and at the second actuator axis 7 of the second actuating cylinder 4 is provided with bearings over a shaft passing through the body of the movable arm 2 which allows the relative rotational motion between the first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder 6 with respect to the movable arm 6.

The stationary arm 1 is configured to attach to one mould part 101 having one half of a wind turbine and similarly the movable arm 2 is configured to attach to the second mould part 102 having the other half of the said wind turbine blade. When the movable arm 2 rigidly connected to a mould 102 is rotated completely, i.e., by 180° to the end position, i.e., a position where the movable arm 2 is located above the stationary mould 101 with the respective mating edges of the wind turbine moulds parallel to each other.

The stationary arm 1 is provided with a first mould attachment member 8 which provides the rigid connection means between the stationary arm 1 and the mould part 101. Similarly, a second mould attachment member 9 is provided for enabling a rigid connection between the movable arm 2 and the second mould part 102.

The actuating cylinders are connected externally on either side of hinge assembly made of the stationary arm 1 and the movable arm. The location of actuating cylinders is selected such that, it generates sufficient torque for turning the movable arm attached to a mould at any given angle during rotation.

Further, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, two numbers of jacking cylinders are provided on either side of the first mould part attached to the stationary arm by the first mould attachment member. After completion of 180° movement of the second mould part attached to the movable arm of the hinge, the said mould part is supported on the said jacking cylinders. These jacking cylinders retract simultaneously to achieve vertical movement. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, another actuating mechanism with a hydraulic or a pneumatic cylinder is provided inside the hinge assembly to lock the position of mould vertically during rotation. The said locking mechanism provided by a locking cylinder is provided specifically inside the body of the movable arm to lock the position of the first mould attachment member and the second mould part with respect to the movable arm to ensure the mould part’s stability during the turning operation.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, five numbers of the present hinge assemblies are used for the bonding procedure of a single wind turbine blade. The said five hinge assemblies are positioned in a linear manner and the distance between the said hinge assemblies is chosen to distribute the weight of the wind turbine blade in a uniform manner.

In the preferred mode of operation of the present invention, the operation sequence comprises the following steps:

a) The movable arm of all 5 hinge assemblies is connected to the respective mould structure.

b) HOME position of both the moulds of the wind turbine blade is confirmed.

c) Actuating Cylinders, Jacking Cylinders and other connections are confirmed.

d) Turning operation starts only after receipt of START signal simultaneously from 3 control pendants located at Root side, Tip side and at the Centre of the movable mould.

e) Extend Stroke of Actuating Cylinder is initiated after receipt of START signal.

f) Extend stroke of actuating cylinders is controlled by using Flow Control Valves (Pilot operated FCVs) ensuring smooth/ jerk free rotation of the movable mould from 0 ° to 90° (MID position).

g) Once MID position is achieved, further rotation of the movable mould from MID position (90°) to END position (180°) is controlled by regulating return flow of Actuating Cylinders (Meter OUT circuit).

h) Encoders or angle sensors are attached to all hinge assemblies for tracking rotation of the movable mould from HOME position (0°) to END position (180°). This signal is used to change Hydraulic circuit from Meter IN to Meter Out circuit.

i) The motion of the actuating Hydraulic cylinder is stopped once 180° rotation of the movable mould is completed.

j) Locking cylinders located inside the hinge provides a mechanical stop to ensure the movable mould is stable during the rotation from 0° to 180°.

k) When rotation of mould B from 0° to 180° is complete i.e., when the Hinges are in the Closed Position, the Jacking Cylinders raises and lowers the Rotating Mould vertically (Upward and downward motion).

l) Clamping cylinders (located on either side of stationary mould & movable mould) clamps movable mould with stationary mould.

m) After bonding operation is completed, the clamping cylinders are unclamped, jacking cylinders raise the movable mould by approximately 150mm for rotation from END position (180°) to HOME position (0°).

The HOME position of the hinge assembly is defined as the position where the angle of the movable mould 102 is 0°, i.e., the assembly is in a completely open position. The END position refers to the position of assembly when the movable mould 102 is over the stationary mould 101 with the respective edges aligned and facing each other for the bonding operation of wind turbine blade halves. The MID position refers to the exact middle position of the movable arm with respect to its rotation motion about the pivot point, i.e., when the movable arm is at an angle of 90° with respect to the stationary arm.

Some of the key characteristics of the hydraulic system and the electrical system are as follows:-

a) Each of the five hinge assemblies is provided with a separate power pack. All the five power packs will be controlled by a common electrical control panel.
b) The Hydraulic power pack of each Hinge is mounted on the ground beside the Hinge assembly. This hydraulic power pack controls 2 nos. of cylinders for rotation and 2 cylinders for jacking arrangement.
c) The hydraulic power pack for the Hinge-1 (The hinge situated nearer to the root of the blade) will control all the clamping cylinders.
d) Each Hinge location have Local control panels consisting VFDs, IOs which are controlled by common electrical control panel located at root location of blade.
e) Three nos. of remote pendant are provided for the operation of the hinge assembly 100. These remote pendants will be located near the root, Centre and tip of the Wind turbine blade mould. Emergency stops also are also provided at these locations.

A variable frequency drive (VFD) is a type of motor controller that drives an electric motor by varying the frequency and voltage of its power supply.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the instrumentation and control requirements for the apparatus are as follows:

The Control Philosophy of the turning mechanism is described by the operation sequence as follows:-

a) Hinge assembly 100 is prepared for Mould closing operation using Main control panel by setting the Switch position as per following: SWITCH STATUS Hinge system ON Error Override OFF Service mode OFF Remote ON Clamp OFF
b) To start closing sequence push button on the remote pendent located at centre of the mould is pushed and released.
c) three Push buttons located on remote pendent located at centre of the mould, at root end and at tip end of the mould are pushed and hold at once by three different operators, this will initiate a Zero run. Hinges will turn to exactly 0° to complete the zero run, this angle is monitored using encoders or angle sensors mounted on each Hinge.
d) Jack up and unclamping of the clamp operation is done from the central remote pendent.
e) After completing Zero run, above mentioned three push buttons are pushed and held to start the turning operation from 0° to 180°.
f) Once the, 180° position is reached, the 3 push buttons are released.
g) Jacks up operation is done using central remote pendent, jacks are moved up until they reach Mould B section, position of the Jacks is monitored using Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) sensor mounted on the Jack cylinders.
h) Hooking/Lifting cylinder are retracted (Unhooking) using the central remote pendent. The position of the hooking cylinder is monitored using LVDT sensor mounted on it.
i) Jacking down operation is performed using push button on central remote pendent. Push button is pushed and hold until the Jacks are down completely, and the movable mould is rested on the stationary mould.
j) Clamping operation is initiated form central remote pendent to clamp the clamping cylinders mounted along the length of the mould on either side of the mould. Position of the clamping cylinder is monitored using proximity sensors mounted on the clamping devices
k) This completes the closing operation.
l) The turning of five hinges is monitored for synchronous operation using encoders or angle sensors.
m) During turning operation, pressure supplied to each Hinge assembly is also monitored to detect overloading of the hinge.

A Linear Variable Differential Transformer or an LVDT is an electromechanical device used to convert mechanical motion or vibrations, specifically rectilinear motion, into a variable electrical current, voltage or electric signals, and the reverse. Actuating mechanisms used primarily for automatic control systems or as mechanical motion sensors in measurement technologies. The classification of electromechanical transducers includes conversion principles or types of output signals.

The figure 1 illustrates the hinge assembly 100 for the turning of mould for wind turbine blade bonding. The said apparatus relates to a hinge mechanism having two rigid members coupled at a point in a rotatable manner thus forming a pivoted mechanism at the pivot point 3. One of the said two rigid members, the stationary arm 1 is attached to a first mould part 101 which is to remain stationary during the turning operation. The stationary arm 1 is rigidly connected to the stationary mould part 101 via a first attachment member 8 which creates a rigid connection between the stationary arm 1 of hinge mechanism and the stationary mould part 101 while creating an offset distance from the said stationary arm 1.

Similarly, the movable arm 2 of the hinge assembly is rigidly connected to the movable mould part 102, which is the mould part which is to be rotated to be placed over the stationary mould part 101 for bonding, by a rigid second attachment member 9.

For the turning mechanism, an actuating cylinder provided on each side of the pivot point. The said two actuating cylinders the first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder 6 are parallel to the plane of rotation of the movable arm with respect to the stationary arm.

Both the actuating cylinders, including the first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder 6, are fastened at the first end to the stationary arm and at the second ends to the movable arm in a rotatable manner. The said first end of the stationary arm is the base or the lower end of the said stationary arm, i.e. located closer to the ground upon installation of the present hinge assembly at the intended site.

The connection of the first actuating member 4 and the second actuating member 6 with the stationary arm 1 is at a single, common base actuator axis 10. The second end of the first actuating cylinder is connected to the movable arm 2 in a rotatable manner. The said connecting point of the second end of the first actuating cylinder 4 with the movable arm 2 is at a point proximal on the movable arm forming a first actuator axis 5.

The second end of the second actuating cylinder 6 is connected to the movable arm 2 at a point distal on the body of the said movable arm 2, with respect to the point of connection of the first actuating cylinder 4, forming a second actuator axis 7. The first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder 6 rotate the movable arm along the axes 5 and 7 to move the movable arm 2 from start position (0°) to end position (180°).

Further, jacking cylinders 11 are provided on the two sides of the stationary mould 101 for the vertical movement of the movable mould 102 with respect to the said stationary mould 101 when the movable mould is placed over the stationary mould 101. The movable mould 102 is provided with receiving surfaces 12 for the jacking cylinders 11.

The figure 2 illustrates a CAD 3D model of the hinge assembly 100 for the turning of mould for wind turbine blade bonding wherein the hinge assembly 100 is in the starting position, i.e., 0° between the stationary arm 1 and the movable arm 2. The figure 3 illustrates the said hinge assembly in the end position where the angle between the stationary arm 1 and the movable arm 2 is 180°.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, for the turning and bonding process of one wind turbine blade, five numbers of hinge assemblies of the present invention are placed in a linear manner to hold the entire length of the blade wherein the length of the blade mould is 75m. Each of the said five hinges is provided with their own separate power pack. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder 6 are hydraulic actuators. Other embodiments of the present invention may be provided with pneumatic actuators.

One of the central aspects of the present invention is the manner of connection of the first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder with the stationary arm 1 and the movable arm 2. The said first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder 6 are connected to the stationary arm 1 at a common rotational axis, base actuator axis 10. When the hinge assembly 100 is considered at a 0° position, the second end of the first actuating cylinder 4 is connected to movable arm 2 at a first distance L1 and the second actuating cylinder 6 is connected to movable arm 2 at a second distance L2 wherein the said distances L1 and L2 are not equal. When the relationship between the pivot point 3, the first actuator axis 5 and the second actuator axis 7 is considered, as illustrated in the figure 5, the distance between the pivot point 3 and the first actuator axis is R1, the distance between the pivot point 3 and the second actuator axis 7 is R2 and the distance between the first actuator axis 5 and the second actuator 7 is R3. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, R1 is not equal to 0, R2 is not equal to 0 and R 3 is not equal to 0. The said configuration enables the usage of only two actuating cylinders to impart the sufficient turning force for the turning operation of the movable mould 102 over the stationary mould 101.

The Figure 4 illustrates the hinge assembly for the turning of the mould with the distance B being the moment arm about the pivot point 3 of the movable mould 102 at its centre of gravity (CG). The length D is the distance between the pivot point 3 and the CG of the movable mould 102. The angle A is the angle the length D makes with respect to the horizontal.

In one embodiment of the present invention, five numbers of the linearly located hinge assemblies of the present invention are used for the bonding operation of one wind turbine blade. As per the actual bonding operations conducted, it is observed that the third hinge bears the maximum portion of the mass of the blade as it is located in the proximal region of the length of the wind turbine blade. Hence calculations are done for the third hinge.

The torque required for the rotation of the movable mould 102 is provided by the first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder 6.

The table 1 presents the maximum torque generated at every 5° angle interval during the rotation of the movable mould 102 over the stationary mould 101. It is observed that the maximum torque by the hinge assembly is generated at the 0°-5° positions as the weight of the movable mould 102 is to be lifted perpendicularly against gravity. The lowest torque is generated at the 105°-115° position as the movable mould 102 is past the 90° and is moving under its own weight due to gravity. In these positions, the actuating cylinders are required to cause the downward motion of the movable mould to be in a controller manner.

Table 1: The percentage of torque generated at various angles during the rotation of the movable mould 102 over the stationary mould 101.
Sr.
No. Angle (Degrees °) Maximum Generated
Torque (KNm)
(%)
1 0 100
2 5 98
3 10 95
4 15 91
5 20 87
6 25 82
7 30 78
8 35 72
9 40 67
10 45 61
11 50 55
12 55 48
13 60 42
14 65 35
15 70 31
16 75 30
17 80 29
18 85 28
19 90 26
20 95 25
21 100 23
22 105 21
23 110 20
24 115 21
25 120 25
26 125 28
27 130 32
28 135 36
29 140 39
30 145 43
31 150 46
32 155 49
33 160 51
34 165 54
35 170 56
36 175 58
37 180 59

The table below lists the respective extensions of the first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder 6 at each 10° interval starting from 0° i.e. completely open position to 180°, i.e. a completely closed position.

Table 2: Extension in terms of percentage of the first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder 6 during the rotation of the movable arm with respect to the stationary arm.
Angle of rotation % of extension of the first actuating cylinder 4 % of extension of the second actuating cylinder 6
0° 62% 84%
10° 67% 87%
20° 72% 90%
30° 76% 93%
40° 80% 95%
50° 85% 97%
60° 88% 99%
70° 92% 100%
80° 94% 100%
90° 97% 100%
100° 98% 99%
110° 99% 98%
120° 100% 96%
130° 100% 94%
140° 99% 91%
150° 98% 88%
160° 96% 84%
170° 94% 81%
180° 91% 77%

From the table 2 it can be seen that at start position, the second actuating cylinder 6 is at a higher extension than the first actuating cylinder 4 which is due to the second actuator axis 7 being at a longer distance from the base actuator axis as compared to the distance of the first actuator axis 5 with respect to the said base actuator axis 10. The same has been illustrated in the figure 2. Similarly, at the end position, the first actuating cylinder 4 has a greater extension compared to the second actuating cylinder 6 as the distance of the first actuator axis 5 from the base actuator axis 10 is lower than the distance of the second actuator axis 7 from the base actuator axis 10, which can be seen in the figure 3.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention is provided with an angle sensor which continuously tracks the angular position of the movable arm 2, thus the position of the second mould part 102 with respect to the first mould part attached to the stationary arm 1.

Due to the positioning of the first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder 6, with the said two actuating cylinders providing linear actuation along two different distances with respect to the base actuator axis 10 to which the base or lower ends of the first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder are connected to the stationary arm 1, the present hinge mechanism is capable of producing torque higher than the required torque throughout the entire range of the turning motion.

The mechanism is also designed such that at throughout the entire range of the motion of turning of the movable arm over the stationary arm, there is no instance where first actuating cylinder 4 and the second actuating cylinder 6 are completely extended simultaneously. This ensures there is no loss of torque at any point during the turning motion and a better torque control is availed.

The figures 6 to figure 15 illustrate the hinge assembly of the present invention performing the turning operation of the movable mould part 102 being turning over the stationary mould part 101 by the hinge assembly 100. The said figures illustrate the position of the mould parts and the hinge assembly 100 at 20° intervals starting from the initial position of 0° to the final position of 180°.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the movable arm 2 is provided with a locking mechanism to ensure the stability of the second mould part 102 attached with the said movable arm 2 by the second mould attachment member 9. The said locking mechanism is actuated by a locking cylinder which prevents any relative movement between the movable arm 2 and the second mould attachment member 9.
, Claims:Claims
I/We Claim:
1. A hinge assembly for the turning of a mould half over another mould half comprising:
a first stationary arm 1 capable of attaching to a first half of a wind turbine blade mould via a rigid connection first mould attachment member 8;

a second movable arm 2 capable of attaching to a second half of the wind turbine blade mould via a second rigid connection second mould attachment member 9;

the said stationary arm 1 and the said movable arm 2 are connected at a pivot point 3 allowing the rotational motion of the movable arm 2 with respect to the stationary arm 1 about the axis formed by the said pivot point 3;

a first actuating cylinder 4 provided on one side of the pivot point 3, the said first actuating cylinder 4 having its first end connected to the base of the stationary arm 1 at a base actuator axis 10 and its second end connected to the movable arm 2 at a first distance L1 from the said base actuator axis 10 at a first actuator axis 5;

a second actuating cylinder 6 provided on the side of the pivot point 3 opposite to the first actuating cylinder 4, the said second actuating cylinder 6 having its first end connected to the base of the stationary arm 1 at the base actuator axis 10 and its second end connected to the movable arm 2 at a second distance L2 from the said axis 10 at a second actuator axis 7.

2. The hinge assembly for the turning of a mould half over another mould half, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the movable arm 2 is provided with a locking cylinder for locking the second mould attachment member 9 with respect to the said movable arm 2 to prevent relative motion during the turning operation.

3. The hinge assembly for the turning of a mould half over another mould half, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hinge assembly is provided with an angle sensor to measure and record the angular position of the movable arm 2 with respect to the stationary arm 1.

4. The hinge assembly for the turning of a mould half over another mould half, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance L1 between the base actuator axis 10 and the first actuator axis 5 and the distance L2 between the base actuator axis 10 and the second actuator axis 7 are dissimilar.

5. The hinge assembly for the turning of a mould half over another mould half, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance R1 between the pivot point 3 and the first actuator axis 5 is not equal to 0.

6. The hinge assembly for the turning of a mould half over another mould half, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance R2 between the pivot point 3 and the second actuator axis 7 is not equal to 0.

7. The hinge assembly for the turning of a mould half over another mould half, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance R3 between the first actuator axis 5 and the second actuator axis 7 is not equal to 0.

Dated this 12th Day of May 2023
Signature:
Name: Bhavik Patel
Applicant’s Agent: IN/PA-1379
INFINVENT IP