Patent ID: 7410442
Filing Date: 2008-08-12
Classification: F03D,F05B,F16C,F16H,Y02E,Y10T

Abstract:
1. In a wind turbine having a wind-driven rotor and an electrical generator, a transmission located between the rotor and the generator for transferring power between them, said transmission comprising: a housing; a shaft in the housing; a helical gear on the shaft and meshing with another helical gear such that torque applied to the gears imparts a thrust load to the shaft, with the direction of the thrust depending on the direction of rotation, one direction of rotation normally resulting in a greater thrust than the other direction of rotation; a first bearing supporting the shaft in the housing and being capable of transferring radial loads between the shaft and the housing; a second bearing supporting the shaft in the housing and being capable of transferring both radial loads and thrust loads in both axial directions between the shaft and the housing, the second bearing including: