Patent Application
20100124497
The present disclosure generally relates to the construction of a wind turbine, and in particular relates to a method and a device for mounting components at wind turbine support units of a wind turbine. Methods for mounting components at a wind turbine are manifold, such as drilling holes and thread cutting. The mounting components may be used to support units of the wind turbine, e.g. cables, cable tubes, etc.
In view of the above a method for mounting components at a wind turbine support unit of a wind turbine is provided, the method including the steps of providing a captive bolt gun, providing a fastening means, inserting a captive bolt into the fastening means, and shooting the captive bolt into the wind turbine support unit by means of the captive bolt gun such that the fastening means is fixed at the wind turbine support unit.
According to another aspect a use of a captive bolt for mounting components in a wind turbine is provided.
According to yet another aspect a wind turbine including at least one wind turbine support unit is provided, wherein at least one fastening means adapted for mounting components at the wind turbine support unit of the wind turbine is fixed at the wind turbine support unit by means of at least one captive bolt.
Further exemplary embodiments are according to the dependent claims, the description and the accompanying drawings.
A full and enabling disclosure, including the best mode thereof, to one of ordinary skill in the art is set forth more particularly in the remainder of the specification including reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
Reference will now be made in detail to the various exemplary embodiments, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation and is not meant as a limitation. For example, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used on or in conjunction with other embodiments to yield yet a further embodiment. It is intended that the present disclosure includes such modifications and variations.
A number of embodiments will be explained below. In this case, identical structural features are identified by identical reference symbols in the drawings. The structures shown in the drawings are not depicted true to scale but rather serve only for the better understanding of the embodiments.
The captive bolt 101 may be driven into materials such as aluminium, concrete or steel. A washer 106 may be arranged around the axis of the captive bolt 101 in order to fix a fastening means (not shown in
It is noted here that a captive bolt gun may be provided in order to drive the captive bolt 101 into the support unit. The use of a captive bolt gun for mounting components of a wind turbine at wind turbine support units saves mounting time and thus costs during the installation of a wind turbine. Components which are mounted at support units of a wind turbine include cables, cable tubes, etc.
These components require many fastening means which have to be mounted at the support units. By just shooting the captive bolts 101 onto the support unit using a captive bolt gun, a large amount of the mounting time for mounting the fastening means at the support unit is saved.
Thus it is possible to fix a fastening means at a support unit without screwing the captive bolt 101. The captive bolt 101 is just driven into the material of the support unit by shooting it using the captive bolt gun.
When the captive bolt 101 is driven into the support unit by means of a captive bolt gun, a portion of increased diameter of the captive bolt 101 shown in
With the captive bolt 101 thus inserted into the mounting hole 104 of the fastening means 102 or directly into the fastening means 102, it is possible to shoot the captive bolt 101—fastening means 102—assembly onto the wind turbine support unit 100. The captive bolt gun is held atop the head of the captive bolt 101 and shoots the captive bolt 101 together with the fastening means 102 towards the wind turbine support unit 100.
It is noted here that the captive bolt having the threaded bolt portion 105 as shown in
The procedure starts at a step S1. At a step S2, a captive bolt gun is provided which is adapted for shooting captive bolts 101 (shown in
At a step S4, a captive bolt 101 (shown in
After having shot the captive bolt 101 into the wind turbine support unit 100 by means of the captive bolt gun, the fastening means 102 is firmly fixed at the wind turbine support unit 100. At step S6, the procedure is ended.
The invention has been described on the basis of embodiments which are shown in the appended drawings and from which further advantages and modifications emerge. However, the disclosure is not restricted to the embodiments described in concrete terms, but rather can be modified and varied in a suitable manner. It lies within the scope to combine individual features and combinations of features of one embodiment with features and combinations of features of another embodiment in a suitable manner in order to arrive at further embodiments.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art, based upon the teachings herein, that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the disclosure and its broader aspects. That is, all examples set forth herein above are intended to be exemplary and non-limiting.
