The invention relates to a device for fastening and/or guiding strand-shaped elements, in particular of cables or cable bundles in wind turbines, having at least one retaining body, which can be combined with a carrier structure to form a modular fastening system, and which has a strand-receiving space as a bearing for at least one strand element, that can be inserted in the former through an opening located on the outside thereof, wherein the opening can be closed by a covering device, which has a pressure part, which can be moved into a tensioning position by means of an energy storage means to exert a retaining force on strand elements located in the strand-receiving space within a tensioning range.
To conduct the energy generated in wind turbines as well as for other operational purposes such as control, monitoring and the like, strand elements such as power transmission cables, hoses, pipes and/or conduits for control or for communication purposes running between the nacelle and the tower, have to be reliably attached to corresponding carrier structures, especially on the tower segments. Devices of the type mentioned have been disclosed by way of example of the relevant prior art in the documents DE10 2010 032 686 A1 and DE 10 2012 017 463 A1. For doing so, the retaining bodies can be arranged adjoining one another in a straight-line sequential arrangement, as is the case with the solution known from DE 10 2010 032 686 A1, or can be arranged successively in one along a partial arc or a circular arc, wherein the openings of the retaining bodies forming the bearing of the strand elements are located radially on the outside. In the known devices, the pressure part of the closure means provided for closing the opening of the retaining bodies is loaded by means of a spring pack in order to exert a retaining force on the strand elements located in the bearing. To ensure a secure fixation of the strand elements, retaining forces of about 200 N to 400 N are required for use in wind turbines, where the heavy cable weights must be manageable. In the process of closing the openings of the retaining bodies therefore correspondingly high closing forces have to be overcome, resulting in the actuation of the known devices being relatively cumbersome and accordingly time-consuming for the operator.
Based on this prior art, the invention addresses the problem of providing a device of the type mentioned, which is particularly simple and easy to actuate.
According to the characterizing part of claim 1, this problem is solved by a device of the type mentioned at the start in that the cover device has a locking device by means of which the pressure part can optionally be secured against a motion into the tensioning position counter the action of the energy storage means or released for a tensioning motion. If the pressure part is locked and thus the energy storage means rendered ineffective, the opening of the respective bearings of the retaining bodies can be closed by the cover device without much effort, rendering the device according to the invention simple and easy to actuate with little expenditure of time.
Advantageously, the pressure part is pre-tensioned by at least one compression spring serving as energy storage means for the motion relative to the motion in the tensioning position, which compression spring is supported on a main part mountable on the retaining body of the cover device. In this case, a spring pack of a plurality of compression springs may be provided, wherein, with a rectangular main part, preferably one is supported on each of its four corner areas.
In particularly advantageous exemplary embodiments, the bearing has two bearing sidewalls spaced apart in the axial direction of the tensioning elements, which form the contact surfaces for strand elements in one trough-like recess each, extending from the opening at the outside. The design of the contact surfaces formed in the trough-like recesses may be adapted to the relevant different types, shapes and sizes of strand elements or bundles.
In particularly advantageous exemplary embodiments, the retaining body has a frame shaped like a U-section, wherein the bearing sidewalls are formed by mutually parallel section legs, which are interconnected by a an attachment surface for the connection to the web forming the carrier structure. In this case, the U-section may be a bent piece of sheet metal, wherein the section legs forming the bearing sidewalls may be extended to form a section strip, which forms a corresponding number of retaining bodies in sequential arrangement.
With particular advantage, the arrangement can be made in such a manner that the width of the recesses of the bearing sidewalls, starting from the contact surfaces at the bottom of the recesses towards the opening, is extended in stages, of which the lower stages form guiding surfaces for the tensioning motion of the pressure part and the adjacent stages in the direction of the opening form seating surfaces for the cover device mounted on the bearing. In doing so, the recesses of the bearing sidewalls form both a seat for the cover device closing the opening and the guide for the movable pressure part.
In advantageous exemplary embodiments, the main part of the covering device has a shell part open towards the pressure part, which in a position mounted at the bearing extends in the axial direction of the strand elements from bearing sidewall to bearing sidewall and forms guideways running between these sides, in which necks of the pressure part are guided for its motions relative to the main part. Advantageously, the necks can form functional elements of the locking device using an end portion projecting over the main part, i.e. the operative connection between the pressure part and locking device. The compression springs can be arranged in the interior of the shell part.
The locking device may particularly advantageously have a manually rotatable eccentric, which is supported on the top face of the main part, so that the eccentric shaft forming the eccentric axle executes a lifting motion relative to the main part during rotation, wherein the eccentric shaft engages with a slot in the necks of the pressure part in such a manner that in the locking position of the eccentric, the pressure part is pulled against the pre-tensioning spring action of the main part, and in the release position of the eccentric, [the pressure part] is released for the tensioning motion. Due to the fact that the spring pack forming the energy storage can be tensioned by means of an eccentric, the locking device can be actuated by a small force required for rotating the eccentric.
Advantageously, the arrangement can be made such that the bearing sidewalls have hook parts projecting against each other at the opening of the recesses, which adjoin depressions in the bearing sidewalls, which can be passed through in the process of attaching the cover of retaining wings, which are arranged laterally projecting on the main part and over which the hook parts engage in the attached position. The cover device can be securely fixated at the individual retaining body by the positive engagement over the hook parts.
The retaining wings may be provided at the ends of a cover plate of the main part, which supports the eccentric of the locking device. Such a cover plate may be formed, for example, as a sheet metal part, which may, for instance, be clipped to the existing shell-like main part made of plastic, and which may contribute to the structural strength of the entire main part, the metallic retaining wings ensuring a secure fastening of the cover device at the opening of bearing.
The arrangement can furthermore advantageously be made such that on both ends of the sides of the main part having the guideways allocated to sides of the bearing sidewalls yieldingly protruding locking necks are provided, which engage with the inner sides of the bearing sidewalls if the position of the cover device is oriented towards the bearing. The attachment of the cover at the opening of the individual retaining body is characterized by being particularly simple and easy, because the engagement of the locking lug signals the reaching of the alignment position of the cover device upon the lateral insertion of the retaining wings into the indentations under the hook parts of the bearing sidewalls.
The locking device may particularly advantageously have a manually rotatable eccentric, which is supported on the top face of the main part, such that an associated crank pin forming the eccentric axle executes a lifting motion relative to the main part during rotation, wherein the crank pin is coupled to the pressure part via a connecting rod in such a manner that in the locking position of the eccentric the pressure part is pulled against the pre-tensioning spring action of the main part and in the release position of the eccentric it is released for the tensioning motion.
Due to the fact that the spring pack forming the energy accumulator can be tensioned by means of an eccentric, the locking device can be actuated by a small force required for rotating the eccentric.
In particularly advantageous exemplary embodiments, the eccentric has a cylinder part, which is manually rotatable by means of a hand lever cantilevered therefrom, which is supported on the top side of the main part and whose the crank pin is located at a distance from the cylinder axis.
The arrangement can be made with particular advantage such that the cylinder part is formed by two circular disks spaced apart, between which the crank pin for the connecting rod engaging between the circular disks is arranged.
With particular advantage, in this case, a trough may be formed as a bearing of the cylinder part at the top side of the main part, with which the cylinder part engages through a recess which is recessed in a cover plate, which rests against the top side of the main part, wherein the recess is delimited by opposing opening edges, which extend along the planes of the circular discs engaging with the recess. In this way, a defined position on the top side of the main part is specified for the eccentric, wherein the cover plate and two opposing opening edges form a guide of the eccentric effective in the axial direction of the circular discs.
In particularly advantageous exemplary embodiments, the retaining body has a strand-receiving space in the form of a U- or V-shaped indentation having an insertion opening with opposing opening edges, at one of which the cover device is pivotally mounted such that it can be moved between an open position and a position closing the insertion opening, wherein a bolt arrangement is provided on the cover device, which bolt arrangement can be used to releasably lock it to the other opening edge of the insertion opening in the closing position.
In advantageous exemplary embodiments, the retaining body is formed by a bent sheet metal part having a first flat plate part, which has the indentation of the strand-receiving space, and a second plate part angled therefrom, which forms a mounting surface opposite the insertion opening for connection to a relevant carrier structure. If it is desired to arrange a plurality of retaining bodies in a straight sequential arrangement next to one another, as is the case with the device known from DE 10 2010 032 686 A1, the bent sheet metal part can be extended to form an angle section rail, wherein the indentations forming the strand-receiving spaces lying side by side are recessed in section legs forming the first plate part.
In particularly advantageous embodiments, the arrangement may be such that the main part of the cover device for the connection to every opening edge of the individual insertion opening of the first plate part has a pair of arms each, cantilevering in the opposite direction from the main part, between which arms an interstice permitting an engagement of the plate part is formed.
With particular advantage, in this case the arms of the arm pair allocated to the bolt assembly may have a slot each, in which a locking bolt can be moved between a bolt position, in which it is locked by a latch hook on the opening edge, and a retracted unlocking position, wherein an actuating spring pre-tensioning the locking bolt in the locking position is present, which spring can be manually moved into a position retracting the locking bolt to release the bolt assembly.
Below the invention is explained in detail using exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings. In the drawings:
In the device according to the invention, the respective retaining bodies 1 are formed by a frame which has a bent part made of sheet metal having the form of a U-section body. It has bearing sidewalls 19 and 21 as a bearing for strand elements, which are formed by mutually parallel, planar section legs of the U-section, which are connected by an also planar section web 23 perpendicular to the bearing sidewalls 19, 21. It serves as an attachment surface for the connection of the individual retaining body 1 to the (not shown) carrier structure, for instance by means of mounting holes 25 in the web 23. For the formation of contact surfaces for inserted strand elements 20, each bearing in the bearing sidewalls 19, 21 has a recess 27, which, starting from an opening 29 located at the free end of the bearing sidewalls 19, 21, have the shape of a trough, the width of which tapers towards the trough bottom 31 in the manner of a V-shape. In the area adjoining the trough base 31, the edge of the indentation 27 forms contact surfaces 33 and 35 for inserted strand elements, of which two cables 5 are visible in
As can be seen most clearly in
The pressure part 49 has opposing necks 59 on its long sides, which extend perpendicularly away from the bottom 53 forming the pusher surface. The necks 59 form guiding bodies for the lifting and tensioning motions of the pressure part 49 and are also part of the locking device. For the guiding function, the necks 59 are guided in guideways 61, which are formed on the long sides of the main part 47, which extends in the axial direction of the strand elements from bearing sidewall 19 to bearing sidewall 21 when mounted on the bearing of the retaining body 1. As functional parts of the locking device, the necks 59 extend beyond the top side 63 of the main part 47, on which a flat cover plate 65 made of sheet metal is located, which is clipped onto the lugs 68 located on the front sides of the main part 47 using bent tabs 67.
Main parts of the locking device are, in addition to the necks 59, an eccentric 69 having an eccentric shaft 71. The necks 59 each have a slot 73 for the eccentric shaft 71 of the eccentric 69, which is movable between the necks 59. It runs in the direction of the lifting motion of the pressure part 49 over a distance corresponding to the full lifting length or the tensioning range of the pressure part 49. While the spring pre-tension is applied, the eccentric shaft 71, the ends of which engage with the slots 73, abuts the upper end of the slots 73. If the eccentric 69, rotatable by means of a formed hand lever 75, supported on the cover plate 65, is rotated into the releasing or unlocking positions shown in
If the eccentric 69 is located in the locking position, this insertion is performed without effort with the pressure part 49 retracted into the position shown in
To disassemble the cover device 9, the procedure is performed accordingly in that the pressure part 49 is locked, such that the cover device 9 is moved downwards without any effort to align the wings 77 on the indentations 41. As a result, the axial displacement can be performed until, after passage of the wings 77 through the indentations 41, the cover device 9 can be removed.
As shown in
The locking device, by means of which the pressure part forming the second shell part 129 can be secured against the action of the spring pack in the retracted position shown, amongst others, in
As can be seen most clearly in
For the connection to the opening edges 113 and 115 at the insertion opening 111 of the retaining body 101, arms 169 are formed on two opposite sides of the first shell part 127, between which an interstice permitting the engagement of the end portion of the first plate part 103 of the retaining body 101 is located. The pair of arms 169 on the right in
A bottom plate 210 is inserted in the pressure part 206 for bracing purposes, which bottom plate has recesses for which the energy storage means 208 has positioning pins 214. Furthermore, in the interior 216 of the pressure part 206, two necks 218 arranged in parallel having slots 220 protrude in the direction of the main part 204 and pass through opening slots 222 of the main part 204.
A recess 224 is provided on the top side 226 of the main part 204 between the slots 222 of the main part 204. A strip-shaped bearing plate 228 is arranged in this recess 224. In addition, the main part 204 has a thickened center part 230 between the slots 222. A guiding part 232 for an actuating lever 234 is provided on the top side 226 of the main part 204. The guiding part 232 is attached to the central part 230 of the main part 204 by two bolts 236 arranged in parallel, which bolts 236 pass through openings 238 in the bearing plate 228. On its underside 240, there are two lateral stepped recesses 242 on the guiding part 232 for the bearing pin 244 described below. On its top side 246, the guiding part 232 is provided with an asymmetrically shaped, rounded guiding surface 248 for a latch part 250. The guiding surface 248 runs along a left side surface 252 in the image plane and merges via a curve 254 into a bent surface section 256 on the top side 246 of the guiding part 232 and subsequently, via a further curve, 258 into a right side surface 260 of the guiding part 232. The bent central surface section 256 has a maximum height H232 in the vicinity of the left side surface 252 and then extends to the right side surface 260, having a cross-sectional course 262 approximately shaped like a segment of a circle.
Furthermore, the actuating lever 234 is provided. The actuating lever 234 has two wall parts 264, which, arranged in parallel, extend laterally to the guiding part 232 and are pivotally attached there. To this end, the wall parts 264 each have a thickened end portion 266 and a drill-hole 268 provided in the longitudinal axis of the wall part 264, in which the bearing pin 244 is fixed, which is supported on the bearing plate 228 it can slide on, and which can be moved in the recess 242 of the guiding part 232. In the end part 266 another drill-hole 270 is provided eccentrically to the drill-hole 268 for the bearing pin 244 of the respective wall part 264, which drill-hole 270 is located in the axial direction of the wall part 264 between the drill-hole 268 for the bearing pin 244 and an actuating part 272. A lifting pin 274 is fixed in this further drill-hole 270, which lifting pin engages with the slot 220 of the adjacent neck 218 of the pressure part 206 to lift the pressure part 206 against the action of the energy storage means 208 and to lock it in the raised position AS.
The actuating part 272 of the actuating lever 234 has two shell parts 276, 278, which are bolted together by bolts 280. The latch part 250 is provided in the center of the actuating lever 234 between the shell parts 276, 278 and the wall parts 264. The latch part 250 is slidably disposed in the longitudinal direction LR of the actuating lever 234 and is acted upon by a further energy storage means 282, in particular a gas spring or a helical compression spring, which is arranged in the actuating part 272 in the direction of the guiding surface 248 of the guiding part 232. In addition, the latch part 252 is shaped like a piston and preferably provided with a blind hole 284 for holding and guiding the further energy storage means 282.
If the actuating lever 234 is pivoted from an unlocking position ES on the right side in the image plane, in which the pressure part 206 is displaceable relative to the main part 204, to a locking position VS on the left, in which the pressure part 206 is pulled towards the main part 204 and held in this position AS, the latch part 250 is guided along the guiding surface 248 of the guiding part 232. In doing so, it is displaced by the guiding surface 248 in the actuating part 272 against the action of the further energy storage means 282. In this case, an operator has to exert an additional force during the pivoting of the actuating lever 234 for an insertion motion. During an extension movement of the latch part 250 from the actuating part 272, the pivoting of the actuating lever 234 is supported in addition to the force applied by the operator. In doing so, frictional forces that occur due to the dragging of the latch part 250 on the guiding surface 248 are neglected.
If the actuating lever 234 is pivoted from the unlocking position ES to the locking position VS, the latch part 250 is first displaced along the right side surface 260 of the guiding part 232, the latch part 250 being displaced a short distance into the actuating part 272. In this way, a resistance has to be overcome to move the actuating lever 234 from the unlocked position ES. Once this resistance has been overcome, the latch part 250 is displaced along the arcuate guiding surface 248 of the guiding part 232. In this pivoting range, the latch part 250 is held in position relative to the actuating part 272 or is, with increasing pivoting angle, slightly displaced into the actuating part 272, such that in this pivoting range either no force or only a very slightly increasing force through the latch part counteracts the pivoting motion of the actuating lever 234. As soon as the maximum height H232 of the guiding part 232 has been exceeded, the falling course of the guiding surface 248 causes the latch part 250 to be pushed out of the actuating part 272 due to the action of the further energy store 282. This causes the actuating lever 234, after having overcome the maximum height H232 of the guiding part 232, to be pivoted solely due to the extension of the latch part 250 further into the locked position VS and to be ultimately held in the locked position VS.
To pivot the actuating lever 234 from the locking position VS to the unlocked position ES, the operator then has to exert a considerably more force to move the latch part 250 along the higher left side surface 252 of the guiding part 232 and push it into the actuating part 272. The latch part 250 is then again at the maximum height H232 of the guiding part 232 inserted to the full extent into the actuating part 272. While the latch part 250 is moved along the arcuate guiding surface 248 of the guiding part 232 in the further course of the pivoting motion of the actuating lever 234, once again the latch part 250 moves little or not at all relative to the actuating part 272, i.e. in this pivoting range, the operator has to exert less force. From the transition to the right side surface 260 of the guiding part 232, the latch part 250 is then again extended a short distance from the actuating part 272. This causes the actuating lever 234 to move the last bit into the unlocked position ES and to be securely held there.
Thus, the cover device 202 has a locking device 200 in this embodiment as well, by means of which the pressure part 206 can optionally be released against the action of an energy storage means 208, against a motion into the tensioning position (locking position VS), or be secured for a tensioning motion (in the unlocked position ES).
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2015 013 791.3 | Oct 2015 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2016/001730 | 10/19/2016 | WO | 00 |