Patent Publication Number: US-2023160857-A1

Title: Assisting Device for Blade Detection

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to blade detection; more particularly, to a tool assisting the blade inspection, where a detector is in contact with the blade surface to move precisely and regularly thereon without missing or repeating detection areas while the detection areas are detected completely with operating time saved and detection accuracy improved. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ARTS 
     Nowadays, the operation and maintenance of wind farm mainly use visual and manual percussions for detecting wind turbine blades. But it can only distinguish the damage on blade surface. In this regard, the market has now successively developed non-destructive technologies for blade detection, such as ultrasonic detection, infrared imaging detection and thermal imaging detection. These types of detection are mostly operated through using detecting tools held by people. For a large blade, how to move accurately and regularly on the surface of a large area is an important problem to be solved. 
     After constructing a great number of wind farms, blade detection needs to be introduced into the operation and maintenance project for maintaining the operation and maintenance of the wind farms. As a result, although the non-destructive detection of ultrasonic wave is generally used on the market for blade detection, technical shortcomings of the availability, stability and operational efficiency of wind turbines need to be improved. 
     Hence, the prior art does not fulfill all users&#39; requests on actual use. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main purpose of the present invention is to help maintaining a detector on a blade surface for straight-line detection (in longitudinal and lateral directions) without deviating from straight-moving on track, where the detector is in contact with the blade surface to move precisely and regularly thereon without missing or repeating detection areas for detecting the detection areas completely with operating time saved and detection accuracy improved. 
     Another purpose of the present invention is to, after constructing a great number of wind farms, assist a wind farm operator on blade detection and maintenance for providing the judgment on continuously using or just replacing the blade, where criteria of blade detection cycle and detection procedure are set step by step to be preliminarily applied to land-based wind farms and gradually applied to offshore wind farms for establishing independent technologies and improving the availability of wind turbines and the stability and operating efficiency of wind farms. 
     To achieve the above purposes, the present invention is a device for assist in blade detection, comprising a supporting frame, a linear track, and a fixture, where the supporting frame is placed on a surface of a blade; the supporting frame comprises a plurality of aluminum (AI) extruded frames and a plurality of adjustment rotating pads; an Al extruded connector is used to connect each adjacent two of the Al extruded frames; each of the adjustment rotating pads is set on one of the Al extruded frames through a pad fixing plate; each of the adjustment rotating pads has a thread and a bottom for a plurality of adjustment operations; each of the adjustment rotating pads is adjusted based on a curvature of a surface of the blade to have the bottom of each of the adjustment rotating pads be in close contact with the surface of the blade and accordingly adjust a height of the one of the Al extruded frames above the supporting frame; the linear track comprises a plurality of sub-tracks and a plurality of sliders; a track connector is used to connect each adjacent two of the sub-tracks; each of the sub-tracks is in being disposed in a fixed position, moving longitudinally, or moving laterally; each of the sliders moves linearly on one of the sub-tracks to assist maintaining a detector on the surface of the blade to operate a longitudinal linear detection or a lateral linear detection without deviating from straight-moving on track; the fixture is fixed to one of the sliders with a bolt to freely move the fixture to a position for operating detection of the blade; the fixture comprises a bearing seat, a bearing connector, a sliding rod, a joint bearing, a chuck, and the detector; and the fixture has three freedoms, comprising swivel-pair freedom, sliding-pair freedom, and ball-facing freedom, to have the detector be in contact with the surface of the blade for operating the detection of the blade. Accordingly, a novel device for assist in blade detection is obtained.1 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment according to the present invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which 
         FIG.  1    is the view showing the preferred embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG.  2    is the view showing the supporting frame and the linear tracks; 
         FIG.  3    is the view showing the fixture; 
         FIG.  4    is the view showing the freedoms of the aluminum (Al) extruded frame, the sub-track, and the fixture; 
         FIG.  5    is the view showing the detection paths; 
         FIG.  6    is the view showing the freedoms of the fixture; and 
         FIG.  7    is the view showing the adjustability of the components. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The following description of the preferred embodiment is provided to understand the features and the structures of the present invention. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  1    to  FIG.  7   , which are a view showing a preferred embodiment according to the present invention; a view showing a supporting frame and linear tracks; a view showing a fixture; a view showing the freedoms of Al extruded frames, sub-tracks, and fixtures; a view showing detection paths; a view showing the freedoms of a fixture; and a view showing the adjustability of components. As shown in the figures, the present invention is a device for assist in blade detection, comprising a supporting frame  1 , a linear track  2 , and a fixture  3 . 
     The supporting frame  1  is placed on a surface of a blade (not shown in the figure). As shown in  FIG.  2   , the supporting frame  1  comprises a plurality of Al extruded frame  11  and a plurality of adjustment rotating pad  12 . An Al extruded connector (not shown in the figure) is used to connect each adjacent two of the Al extruded frames  11 . The supporting frame  1  comprises a number of the Al extruded frames  11  based on requests with each adjacent two thereof connected via the Al extruded connector to adjust a size of the supporting frame  1  based on required composition. Besides, a distance between two of the Al extruded frame  11  at any different positions in the support frame  1  is adjustable. Each of the adjustment rotating pads  12  is set on one of the Al extruded frames  11  through a pad fixing plate  121 , where the positions and number of the adjustment rotating pads  12  are adjusted based on actual needs. Each of the adjustment rotating pads  12  has a thread  122  and a bottom  123 , where a distance between the bottom  123  of each of the adjustment rotating pads  12  and each of the Al extruded frame  1  is self-adjusted; and an angle between the bottom  123  and the thread  122  of each of the adjustment rotating pads  12  is adjusted (ball-facing freedom). Through the above three operations, each of the adjustment rotating pads  12  is adjusted based on a curvature of the surface of the blade to have the bottom  123  of each of the adjustment rotating pads  12  be in close contact with the surface of the blade and accordingly adjust a height of the one of the Al extruded frames  11  above the supporting frame  1 . 
     The linear track  2  comprises a plurality of sub-tracks  21  and a plurality of sliders  22 , where a track connector  211  is used to connect each adjacent two of the sub-tracks  21 ; the linear track  2  comprises a number of the sub-tracks  21  bases on requests with each adjacent two thereof connected via at least one of the track connector  211  to adjust a length of the linear track  2  based on required composition; and each of the sub-tracks  21  has a plurality of holes  212  evenly disposed and equally spaced that, with one of the holes  212  being used to connect to the supporting frame  1 , a connecting position of the linear track  3  is adjusted based on requests. As shown in  FIG.  4   , each of the sub-tracks  21  is a longitudinal sub-track or a lateral sub-track, being disposed in a fixed position, moving longitudinally, or moving laterally; and each of the sliders  22  moves linearly on one of the sub-tracks  21 . The fixture  3  is fixed to one of the sliders  22  to freely move the fixture  3  to a position for operating detection of the blade. As shown in  FIG.  5   , the present invention assists in maintaining a detector on the surface of the blade to operate a longitudinal or lateral linear detection without deviating from straight-moving on track, where the fixture  3  is fixed to one of the sliders  22  with a bolt. As shown in  FIG.  3   , the fixture  3  comprises a bearing seat  31 , a bearing connector  32 , a sliding rod  33 , a joint bearer  34  with a connector (not shown in the figure) thereof, a chuck  35 , and the detector  36 . The bearing seat  31  is fixed on the one of the sliders  22  with the bolt; the bearing connector  32  is connected to the bearing seat  31  with swivel-pair freedom formed; the sliding rod  33  passes through the bearing connector  32  with sliding-pair freedom formed; an end of the joint bearing  34  is fixed to a bottom end of the sliding rod  33  with a nut; and the chuck  35  is fixed to another end of the joint bearing  34  with a bolt with the detector  36  fixed to the chuck  35  to have the detector  36  and the chuck  35  form ball-facing freedom with the sliding rod  33 . Thus, as is described above, the fixture  3  has three freedoms, comprising the swivel-pair freedom, the sliding-pair freedom, and the ball-facing freedom, as shown in  FIG.  6   , to have the detector  36  in contact with the blade surface for detection. 
     Thus, a novel device for assist in blade detection is obtained. 
     As shown in  FIG.  7   , the lengths of the supporting frame  1  and the linear track  2  are adjustable; and connected to a new Al extruded frame  11  or a sub-track  21  to extend the initial positioning for avoiding positioning errors owing to moving the detector  36 . Thus, the data obtained during the detection have relative positions as being correct and continuous to aid in following data analysis and correctness. At the same time, for the height of the adjustment rotating pad is adjustable, the height of the sliding rod  33  is also changeable, where the fixture  3  has three freedoms, comprising swivel-pair freedom, sliding-pair freedom, and ball-facing freedom, so that the blade may have a size adjustable with its blade surface having curvature also adjustable. 
     On detecting the blade as shown in  FIG.  4   - FIG.  6   , the present invention is used to help the detector to be maintained on the blade surface for straight line detection (in longitudinal and lateral directions) without deviating from straight-moving on track, where the detector is in contact with the blade surface to move precisely and regularly thereon without missing or repeating detection areas for detecting the detection areas completely while operating time is saved and detection accuracy is improved. 
     As being implemented practically, after constructing a great number of wind farms, the present invention assists a wind farm operator in blade detection and maintenance for providing the judgment on continuously using or just replacing the blade. Criteria of blade detection cycle and detection procedure are set step by step to be preliminarily applied to land-based wind farms and gradually applied to offshore wind farms. Independent technologies are thus established with the availability of wind turbines and the stability and operating efficiency of wind farms both improved. 
     To sum up, the present invention is a device for assist in blade detection, where the present invention mainly assists a rolling ultrasonic detector in accurately moving on a prescribed route for detection with precise positioning; the detector moves vertically and horizontally without missing or repeating detection areas; and the detection areas are detected completely with operating time saved and detection accuracy improved. 
     The preferred embodiment herein disclosed is not intended to unnecessarily limit the scope of the invention. Therefore, simple modifications or variations belonging to the equivalent of the scope of the claims and the instructions disclosed herein for a patent are all within the scope of the present invention.