US 12,264,049 B2
Apparatus for and method of installing a wind turbine
Yngvar Borø, Søgne (NO); Ricardo Nuno Correia, Flekkerøy (NO); Adrian Mihai Orasanu, Flekkerøy (NO); and Arild Andersen, Kristiansand (NO)
Assigned to Nekkar ASA, Kristiansand S (NO)
Appl. No. 18/265,951
Filed by Nekkar ASA, Kristiansand S (NO)
PCT Filed Dec. 9, 2021, PCT No. PCT/NO2021/050254
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 7, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/124907, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 16, 2022.
Claims priority of application No. 20201368 (NO), filed on Dec. 11, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2024/0043258 A1, Feb. 8, 2024
Int. Cl. B66F 19/00 (2006.01); B66C 1/10 (2006.01); E04H 12/34 (2006.01); F03D 13/10 (2016.01)
CPC B66F 19/00 (2013.01) [B66C 1/108 (2013.01); E04H 12/342 (2013.01); F03D 13/112 (2023.08); F03D 13/139 (2023.08); F05B 2230/61 (2013.01)] 23 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for installing a wind turbine having a tower that includes multiple vertical sections including a base section and a plurality of upper sections, the apparatus comprising:
a traveling car comprising:
a deck comprising:
a moveable portion on a first side of the deck, the movable portion comprising a frame forming a hole,
wherein the frame is configured to securely support the upper sections of the tower; and
a drive system configured to move the movable portion along a first axis with respect to the deck from a carrying position to an installation position to which the movable portion is moved to facilitate installation of an upper section supported by the frame to an already-installed portion of the tower,
wherein a width of the hole is larger than a diameter of each of the plurality of upper sections to facilitate movement along the height of the tower with the movable portion in the installation position;
a plurality of winches, each of the plurality of winches coupled to the traveling car at a level that is below a level of the moveable portion during installation of a vertical section of the tower,
wherein each of the plurality of winches is configured to be coupled to an upper portion of the already-installed portion of the tower using a load-bearing rope coupled to a respective position of a plurality of positions along a circumference of the upper portion of the already-installed portion of the tower, and
wherein the plurality of winches are configured to selectively raise or lower the traveling car along the tower;
a weight movably coupled to the travelling car and configured to move along a second axis that is parallel to the first axis; and
a device for moving the weight, the device configured to move the weight in an opposite direction along the second axis to a direction of movement of the movable portion along the first axis to offset changes in the center of gravity of the travelling car as the moving portion moves the upper section supported by the frame and to keep the traveling car balanced during said movement of the movable portion.