METHOD OF PROVIDING AN ELECTRONIC KEY FOR ACCESS TO A WIND TURBINE AND ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEM FOR CARRYING OUT THE METHOD

Abstract

A method of providing an electronic key for an access, in particular a control access, to at least one wind turbine or at least one wind farm controller with an access control system, which includes receiving a request for an access to one or more wind turbines selected with the request and/or one or more wind farm controllers selected with the request from an input means or a data interface of the access control system, retrieving data of the one or each of the selected wind turbines and/or the one or each of the selected wind farm controllers by the access control system, and creating and issuing at least one electronic key for the one or each of the selected wind turbines and/or the one or each of the selected wind farm controllers when a criterion is met, wherein a decision as to whether the criterion is met is made depending on the retrieved data by the access control system. An access control system is also provided.

Claims

1. A method of providing an electronic key for an access a wind turbine or a wind farm controller with an access control system, the method comprising: receiving a request for an access to the wind turbine or the wind farm controller of an access control system; retrieving data of the wind turbine or the wind farm controller, by the access control system; and creating and issuing at least one electronic key for the wind turbine or the wind farm controller when a criterion is met, wherein a decision as to whether the criterion is met is made depending on the retrieved data by the access control system.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein prior to or with the receiving of the request, receiving login data for a user by an input means or a data interface of the access control system, wherein the login data are checked with the access control system, and wherein depending on a result of the check, the user identified by the login data is authorized for the retrieving the data and the creating and issuing the at least one electronic key.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein when the criterion is met, the retrieved data are stored in the access control system in relation to or with reference to the user identified by the login data.

4. The method according to claim 2 wherein the decision as to whether the criterion is met is taken in dependence on data stored previously in relation to or with reference to the user identified by the login data.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising issuing a refusal of the request, when the criterion is not met, wherein the criterion is not met when the issuing the refusal of the request is based on one or more data chose from the retrieved data and the stored data, and wherein the refusal indicates a reason for the refusal.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein the at least one electronic key is produced in such a way to permit a control access and allow a change in electric power generated by the wind turbine or of wind turbines of the wind farm controller.

7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the retrieved data includes a power value of the wind turbine or power values of the wind turbines connected to the wind farm controller.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein a power value of a wind turbine or of wind turbines of the wind farm controller includes at least one value chose from: a current value of a currently generated electric power of the wind turbine or the wind turbines connected to the wind farm controller; a statistical value of an electrical power generated in a predetermined period of time with respect to the wind turbine or the wind turbines connected to the wind farm controller; and a predicted value of an electrical power of the wind turbine or the wind turbines connected to the wind farm controller, wherein the predicted value is a maximum value of an electrical power which is expected within a predefined period of time, wherein the predefined period of time is a validity period of an electronic key to be produced for the access to the wind turbine or the wind farm controller.

9. The method according to claim 1 wherein the access control system sends a power limitation command to the wind turbine or the wind farm controller to limit the power thereof for a validity period of the corresponding electronic key.

10. The method according to claim 9 wherein for the validity period of the electronic key for the access to the wind turbine or the wind farm controller, an electric power generated is limited to a value which is less than or equal to the requested current value.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the access control system stores for each identifiable user a threshold value or a respective threshold value, and wherein for the decision as to whether the criterion is met, the data of the wind turbine or the wind farm controller and the stored data are compared to the threshold value.

12. The method according to claim 11 wherein power values, current values, statistical values, or predicted values of the received data for the wind turbine or the wind farm controller and the stored data are added together, and wherein the access control system makes the decision that the criterion is met if the sum of the addition is at or below the threshold value.

13. The method according to claim 11 wherein the threshold value of an already authorized user is increased by another authorized user in such a way that login data are received from the another authorized user by the access control system, the login data are checked by the access control system and, if the check is successful, the another authorized user is authorized to increase the threshold value of the already authorized user thereupon.

14. The method according to claim 13 wherein the threshold value of the already authorized user is increased maximally by an amount which is assigned to the another authorized user depending on the threshold value of the another authorized user, and wherein the threshold value of the another authorized user is reduced by the amount by which the threshold value of the user is increased.

15. The method according to claim 1 wherein stored in the access control system is a table with specific data for the wind turbine and the wind farm controller, wherein in the case where the retrieval of data of the wind turbine or the wind farm controller fails, the specific data from the table for the respective wind turbine or the respective wind farm controller are retrieved and used as retrieved data.

16. The method according to claim 15 wherein the specific data of a wind turbine includes a nominal power of the wind turbine and the specific data of a wind farm controller includes a sum of the nominal power of all wind turbines connected to the wind farm controller.

17. The method according to claim 1 wherein the wind turbine is a plurality of wind turbines, or wherein the wind farm controller is a plurality of wind farm controllers.

18. An access control system configured to carrying out the method according to claim 1.

19. The access control system according to claim 18 wherein the access control system has an interface for connection to a computer of a user.

20. The access control system according to claim 19 wherein the access control system is connected to the wind turbine or the wind farm controller by a data connection in order to retrieve the data from the wind turbine or the wind farm controller within a predefined retrieval interval which is less than five minutes.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] Further configurations will be apparent from the embodiments by way of example which are described in greater detail with reference to the Figures in which:

[0041] FIG. 1 shows a wind turbine,

[0042] FIG. 2 shows an access control system connected to a plurality of wind turbines by way of a data connection, and

[0043] FIG. 3 shows the steps in the method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic view of a wind turbine according to the invention. The wind turbine 100 has a tower 102 and a nacelle 104 on the tower 102. Provided on the nacelle 104 is an aerodynamic rotor 106 having three rotor blades 108 and a spinner 110. The aerodynamic rotor 106 is caused to rotate by the wind in operation of the wind turbine 100 and thus also rotates an electrodynamic rotor or rotor member of a wind turbine generator directly or indirectly coupled to the aerodynamic rotor 106. The electrical wind turbine generator is arranged in the nacelle 104 and generates electrical energy. The pitch angles of the rotor blades 108 can be altered by pitch motors at the rotor blade roots of the respective rotor blades.

[0045] FIG. 2 shows a plurality of wind turbines 100 which are organized either as a wind farm 10 or as individual turbines 14. The wind turbines 100 each have a respective control 12 with which operation of the respective wind turbine 100 is controlled. If the wind turbines 100 are organized as a wind farm 10, the controls 12 are connected to a wind farm controller 16 of the respective wind farm 10 by way of internal data connections 17 in order preferably to coordinate operation of the wind turbines 100 of the respective wind farm 10.

[0046] The wind farm controllers 16 are respectively connected to an access control system 20 by way of a data connection 18. The wind turbines 100 organized as individual turbines 14 are also connected to the access control system 20 by way of a data connection 18.

[0047] Accordingly instead of a data connection 18 between the wind farm controller 16 and the access control system 20, the data connection 18 in the case of wind turbines 100 organized as individual turbines 14 is connected directly to a control 12 of the respective wind turbine 100.

[0048] Even if the data connection 18 in the case of wind turbines 100 organized in the wind farm 10 is connected directly to the wind farm controller 16 there is nonetheless also a connection for direct data exchange by way of the data connection 18 and the respective internal data connection 17 between the individual wind turbines 100 of the wind farm 10 and the access control system 20. Therefore preferably the access control system 20 can also exchange data with the wind turbines 100 of a wind farm 10 by way of the wind farm controller 16 associated with the wind farm 10. Accordingly the access control system 20, by way of the data connections 18, can retrieve data 32 from each illustrated wind turbine 100, therefore in particular from each control 12 of each wind turbine 100 and each wind farm controller 16.

[0049] In addition the access control system 20 includes an interface 22 to which a computer 24, which is in particular a remote computer 24, can be connected. The computer 24 is, for example, a mobile device like a portable computer, a tablet PC or a mobile telephone. The computer 24 is connected to the access control system by way of the interface 22 by way of a further data connection 26 in order thus, for example, to send requests 28 to the access control system 20 and receive electronic keys from the access control system 20.

[0050] After the computer 24 has received an electronic key 30 from the access control system 20 then, for example, the computer 24 can be connected directly to interfaces 34 which are arranged at the wind farm controllers 16 and also the controls 12 of the wind turbines 100. The electronic key 30 is then used to acquire control access to the connected wind turbine 100 or the connected wind farm controller 16.

[0051] FIG. 3 shows the steps in a method of providing an electronic key 30 to provide access to a wind turbine 100 or a wind farm controller 16 of a wind farm 10. In a step 40 login data 42 are received by the access control system 20 by way of the interface 22. In step 44 the login data 42 are checked and, if those login data 42 identify a user who is stored in the access control system 20 for access to the access control system 20 that user is authorized in a step 43 for the further steps.

[0052] In the step 44, after a user has been authorized for the further steps in step 43, a request 48 for access to one or more selected wind turbines 100 and/or one or more selected wind farm controllers 16 is received by way of the interface 22 from the computer 24 of the user. In the subsequent step 46 data are then retrieved from the selected wind turbines 100 and/or wind farm controllers 16, in which case in step 50 the retrieved data 32 are received by the access control system. If a wind turbine 100 and/or wind farm controller 16 does not respond then specific data 49 is requested from a table of the access control system 20 for that non-responding wind turbine 100 and/or the non-responding wind farm controller 16.

[0053] In the subsequent step 52 on the basis of the retrieve data 32 and in addition in dependence of data 54 possibly stored for the user identified by the login data 42 a decision is taken as to whether a criterion 56 which is also provided is met. If that criterion 56 is met then in the step 58 at least one electronic key 30 is produced for the selected wind turbines 100 and/or wind farm controllers 16 and issued in the step 60 by way of the interface.

[0054] After the step 60 in a step 62 data are stored in relation to or with reference to the user identified by the login data 42, which data correspond either to the received data 32 or data derived therefrom. The stored data 54 are then stored in a memory of the access control system 20.

[0055] If the criterion 56 is not met in the step 52 then in a step 66 information 68 as to why the criterion 56 is not met is issued. That information 68 is derived in particular from the retrieved data 32 or the stored data 54. Optionally at the same time as the issue of the electronic key 30 in step 68 a power limitation command 72 is sent in a step 70 to the selected wind turbine and/or the selected wind farm controller 16.

[0056] The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.