US 12,467,435 B2
Spring-mounted gear mechanism housing
Warren Smook, Huldenberg (BE)
Assigned to ZF FRIEDRICHSHAFEN AG, Friedrichshafen (DE); and ZF WIND POWER ANTWERPEN N.V., Lommel (BE)
Appl. No. 18/549,933
Filed by ZF FRIEDRICHSHAFEN AG, Friedrichshafen (DE); and ZF WIND POWER ANTWERPEN N.V., Lommel (BE)
PCT Filed Aug. 9, 2022, PCT No. PCT/EP2022/072310
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 11, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2023/036536, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 16, 2023.
Claims priority of application No. 10 2021 210 007.4 (DE), filed on Sep. 10, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0167459 A1, May 23, 2024
Int. Cl. F03D 80/70 (2016.01); F03D 15/10 (2016.01); F03D 80/80 (2016.01)
CPC F03D 80/703 (2023.08) [F03D 15/101 (2023.08); F03D 80/80 (2016.05); F05B 2240/14 (2013.01); F05B 2260/301 (2013.01); F05B 2260/964 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A drive arrangement for a wind turbine, comprising:
a main shaft;
a housing;
a nacelle-mounted support structure; and
a first elastomer and a second elastomer of different hardness,
wherein the main shaft is fully supported in the housing,
wherein the housing is fully resiliently mounted in the support structure,
wherein the first elastomer is disposed in a radial intermediate space between the housing and the support structure, and
wherein the second elastomer is disposed in an axial intermediate space between the housing and the support structure.
 
6. A drive arrangement, comprising:
a main shaft;
a housing structure with housing structure eye openings,
wherein the housing structure surrounds the main shaft, and
wherein the main shaft is supported in bearings arranged within the housing structure;
a nacelle-mounted support structure with support structure eye openings;
one or more bolts configured to extend through one or more of the housing structure eye openings, respectively, and one or more pairs of the support structure eye openings, respectively, such that the housing structure is mounted to the support structure via the one or more bolts; and
at least two spring elements arranged such that:
the at least two spring elements are in at least two of the housing structure eye openings, respectively, such that each spring element is between a corresponding bolt of the one or more bolts and the housing structure, or
the at least two spring elements are in at least two of the support structure eye openings, respectively, such that each spring element is between a corresponding bolt of the one or more bolts and the nacelle-mounted support structure,
wherein the at least two spring elements have at least two different hardnesses.