Patent ID: 11866306
Assignee: LIFTWERX HOLDINGS INC.
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  F  Y | IPC B  F

Claim 16:
17. A lift system mounted in a nacelle of a wind turbine:
the nacelle comprising an enclosure surrounding a main bearing mounted in the nacelle for supporting a main drive shaft of the wind turbine, the main drive shaft having a longitudinal axis oriented at a non-zero angle away from horizontal; and,
the lift system comprising:
a cantilevered boom comprising a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of the boom mounted in the nacelle, the distal end of the boom extending over a hub of a rotor of the wind turbine;
a frame structure for mounting the proximal end of the boom in the nacelle, the frame structure comprising a mounting base rigidly mounted on pillow blocks of a gearbox of the wind turbine, and a plurality of upwardly extending support struts, at least one of the support struts supported on the mounting base and at least one of the support struts mounted on a bedplate, a generator, a main bearing or a yaw drive mount;
a winch mounted to the boom;
a fastener situated below the boom and operatively connected to the winch by at least one cable; and,
a trolley movably mounted to the boom to permit translation of the trolley longitudinally along the boom, the at least one cable reeved through at least one trolley sheave mounted on and moveable with the trolley thereby permitting longitudinal movement of the fastener with respect to the boom when the trolley translates longitudinally along the boom,

wherein the boom is rigidly secured to the frame structure and always extends longitudinally with respect to a major axis of the nacelle when the lift system is mounted in the nacelle so that the distal end of the boom always extends over the hub of the rotor of the wind turbine,
wherein the plurality of upwardly extending support struts comprises two spaced-apart support struts rigidly supporting the boom directly below the winch, each of the two spaced-apart support struts that are rigidly supporting the boom directly below the winch being rigidly supported in the nacelle on the bedplate, the main bearing or the yaw drive mounts distal from the pillow blocks of the gearbox and distal from a terminal end of the proximal end of the boom.