Equinor has been granted a patent for a blade pitch controller for wind turbines. The controller includes a nominal control system and a tower feedback loop with a filtering system. The filtering system controls the blade pitch to provide additional stiffness to the turbine when it experiences motion above a certain frequency. This innovation aims to optimize power production. GlobalData’s report on Equinor gives a 360-degree view of the company including its patenting strategy. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s company profile on Equinor, Oil well fracking was a key innovation area identified from patents. Equinor's grant share as of September 2023 was 53%. Grant share is based on the ratio of number of grants to total number of patents.
Blade pitch controller for wind turbine with additional stiffness
A recently granted patent (Publication Number: US11754045B2) describes a blade pitch controller for wind turbines that aims to optimize power production. The controller includes a nominal control system and a tower feedback loop. The tower feedback loop consists of a filtering system and a feedback controller. The filtering system receives position and velocity measurements or estimates of the wind turbine as input and outputs filtered position and velocity measurements or estimates. The feedback controller then uses these filtered measurements to determine a blade pitch reference signal, which is sent to the nominal control system. This feedback loop helps provide additional effective stiffness to the wind turbine in response to the turbine's motion above a certain filter frequency.
The filtering system in the blade pitch controller can include various types of filters such as high-pass, low-pass, and notch filters. The filter frequency of the system is determined by the high-pass filter. The tower feedback loop is designed to provide additional effective stiffness to the wind turbine in response to both wave- and wind-induced motion, as well as motion within the bandwidth of a blade pitch actuator.
The position and velocity measurements or estimates of the wind turbine can be obtained from sensors located on the tower or foundation of the turbine. These sensors can be positioned at or near the water line of the turbine. The filtering system can filter these measurements differently and can also filter out static and quasi-static motion, as well as motion at the blade passing frequency.
The patent also describes a method of controlling blade pitch using the blade pitch controller. The method involves using the filtering system to determine a blade pitch reference signal based on filtered position and velocity measurements or estimates of the wind turbine. The blade pitch is then adjusted based on this reference signal to provide additional effective stiffness to the turbine in response to motion above the filter frequency.
Overall, this patent presents a blade pitch controller and method that utilize a tower feedback loop with a filtering system to optimize power production and provide additional effective stiffness to wind turbines in response to their motion. The inclusion of various filters and the ability to filter measurements differently allows for precise control and response to different types of motion.
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GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
