WIND FARM AIRCRAFT BEACON SYSTEM AND WIND FARM HAVING SAID SYSTEM AS WELL AS METHOD FOR PROVIDING A WIND FARM WITH A BEACON

Abstract

A wind farm aircraft beacon system and also to a wind farm with such a wind farm aircraft beacon system and to a method for beaconing a wind farm. A plurality of aircraft beacon devices and also at least one camera for receiving images and an evaluation device for detecting flying object positions. The evaluation device detects flying object positions by evaluating the camera data, in particular images recorded. Furthermore, the wind farm aircraft beacon system comprises a switching device for switching on or off at least one of the aircraft beacon devices in dependence on the flying object positions detected by the evaluation device.

Claims

1. A wind farm aircraft beacon system, comprising: at least one aircraft beacon device; at least one camera configured to record images; a controller configured to receive camera data indicative of the recorded images from the at least one camera, the controller configured to evaluate the received camera data and determine one or more flying object positions; and at least one switching device for switching on or off the at least one of the aircraft beacon device in dependence on the flying object positions determined by the controller.

2. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the camera includes a lens, wherein the lens of the camera and the controller are coordinated in such a way as to sense flying objects that are positioned within a predefined distance of the camera.

3. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one camera is at least one of: an infrared camera, a photo camera, or a video camera.

4. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one camera is coupled to a wind power installation and is configured to rotate.

5. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one camera is a stereoscopic camera or a camera operating based on a stereoscopy process.

6. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the at least one camera is at least three cameras, each coupled to a respective wind power installation, wherein the at least three cameras are arranged at a same height position as each other.

7. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising at least one distance measuring device configured to determine distances of flying objects.

8. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising at least one receiver for receiving signals of a mobile transmitter.

9. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1 comprising a sector that includes a plurality of wind power installations, wherein the at least one switching device is configured to switch on, or to have switched on, the at least one aircraft beacon device when one or more flying object positions lie within the sector.

10. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the at least one switching device is configured to switch off, or to have switched off, the at least one of the aircraft beacon device when no flying object positions lie within the sector.

11. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one aircraft beacon device is a plurality of aircraft beacon devices, wherein the plurality of aircraft beacon devices are located on respective wind power installations of a wind farm.

12. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one aircraft beacon device is a plurality of aircraft beacon devices, wherein the plurality of aircraft beacon devices are on a plurality of wind power installations, respectively, wherein the at least one switching device is configured to switch on, or have switched on, a portion of the plurality of aircraft beacon devices when one or more flying object positions are determined to be located within a section the includes a group of wind power installations of the plurality of wind power installations.

13. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one aircraft beacon device is a plurality of aircraft beacon devices, wherein the plurality of aircraft beacon devices are on a plurality of wind power installations, respectively, wherein the at least one switching device is configured to switch off, or have switched off, a portion of the plurality of aircraft beacon devices when one or more flying object positions are determined to not be located within a section that includes a group of wind power installations of the plurality of wind power installations.

14. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a topology of objects and geodata, are configured to be stored in the switching device, and wherein the controller is configured to detect object positions and geodata by evaluating the camera data and configured to transfer the detected object positions and geodata to the switching device, and wherein the switching device is configured to generate a topology of objects and geodata by observing or tagging time-invariant object positions and geodata of the data transferred.

15. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1, wherein, switching off the at least one aircraft beacon device comprises transmitting a data signal cyclically to the aircraft beacon device.

16. A wind farm with a wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1.

17. A method comprising: recording images with at least one camera, wherein the at least on camera is located on a wind power installation; determining flying object positions by evaluating camera data indicative of the recorded images; and switching on or off at least one aircraft beacon device in dependence on the positions of the flying object positions.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17 wherein the at least one aircraft beacon device is located on the wind power installation.

19. The method as claimed in claim 17 wherein the at least one camera is a plurality of cameras, each of the cameras being located on a respective wind power installation, wherein recording images comprises recording images from the plurality of cameras, the method further comprising receiving camera data indicative of the recorded images at a controller, wherein determining flying object positions comprises using the controller to determine flying object positions by using the controller to evaluate camera data.

20. The wind farm aircraft beacon system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the at least one camera is a plurality of cameras.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0054] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are explained in more detail below by way of example with reference to the appended figures, in which

[0055] FIG. 1 shows a wind power installation,

[0056] FIG. 2 shows a wind farm with an exemplary embodiment of a wind farm aircraft beacon system, and

[0057] FIG. 3 shows a nacelle of a wind power installation with a camera.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0058] FIG. 1 shows a wind power installation 100 with a tower 102 and a nacelle 104. A rotor 106 with three rotor blades 108 and a spinner 110 is arranged on the nacelle 104. During operation, the rotor 106 is set in a rotational movement by the wind and thereby drives a generator in the nacelle 104.

[0059] The wind power installation 100 from FIG. 1 may also be operated in conjunction with a plurality of other wind power installations 100 in a wind farm, as described below with reference to FIG. 2.

[0060] In FIG. 2, a wind farm 112, with by way of example four wind power installations 100a to 100c, is represented. The four wind power installations 100a to 100d may be the same or different. The wind power installations 100a to 100d are therefore representative of, in principle, an arbitrary number of wind power installations 100 of a wind farm 112. The wind power installations 100 provide their power, i.e., in particular the electricity generated, via an electrical farm grid 114. In this case, the respectively generated electricity or power of the individual wind power installations 100 is added together, and there is usually a transformer 116, which steps up the voltage in the farm in order to feed it into the supply grid 120 at the feed point 118, which is also generally referred to as the PCC.

[0061] FIG. 2 is only a simplified representation of a wind farm 112, which for example does not show any power control, even though power control is of course present. It is also possible for example for the farm grid 114 to be designed differently, for example by there also being a transformer at the output of each wind power installation 100, to mention just one other exemplary embodiment.

[0062] An exemplary embodiment of the wind farm aircraft beacon system is also represented. Specifically, the wind power installations 100a to 100d each have a camera 20.

[0063] With the cameras 20, which here are infrared cameras, images are recorded, that is to say thermal images, and the images recorded are fed in the form of data, that is to say camera data, to an evaluation device 24 that is a component of a controller 26.

[0064] In the evaluation device 24, flying object positions, i.e., the positions of flying objects, are determined by evaluating the camera data. For this purpose, moving objects are automatically detected in the images recorded by the cameras for example with image processing software and the distances from the detected objects are determined. A distance determination may be performed for example with a laser range measuring device, which performs a range measurement on the basis of the transit-time principle.

[0065] Also provided is a switching device 28, which here is by way of example likewise a component of the controller 26. With the switching device 28, aircraft beacon devices 30 that are arranged on the nacelle 104 of each wind power installation 100a to 100d can be switched on and off. The aircraft beacon devices 30 are accordingly switched on or off in dependence on the flying object positions that have been determined by the evaluation device 24.

[0066] For switching off the flight beacon device, for this purpose a data signal is transmitted from the switching device 28 cyclically to the aircraft beacon device 30. This data signal corresponds for example to a broadcasting signal to all of the wind power installations. Accordingly, no switching-on/off signal is sent to the aircraft beaconing devices 30, but instead a cyclical suppress beaconing signal. Cyclical means that the signal is sent repeatedly, at a fixed or variable interval.

[0067] This signal may be sent in the form of a flag, preferably as a broadcast, to all of the installations to be beaconed, the flag suppressing normal operation of the beaconing (beaconing off). The flag can consequently also be used for switching the beaconing on as and when required. In the case where the signal is absent, the aircraft beacon devices 30 are automatically switched on.

[0068] Whether an aircraft beacon device 30 is switched on or off depends on the precise position of the flying object. For this purpose, a sector 32 is defined in the switching device 28. This sector 32 is represented two-dimensionally in FIG. 2 by way of example, although it usually has three-dimensional extents, i.e., for example a width, a height and a depth, the wind power installations 100a to 100d being located essentially at the center of the sector 32.

[0069] The sector 32 is also represented in FIG. 2 very close to the wind power installations 100a to 100d, although the outer boundary of the sector 32 may usually be at a distance of several kilometers from the wind power installations, at least in the horizontal direction.

[0070] If a position of a flying object, i.e., a flying object position, is detected within this sector 32 by the evaluation device 24, then according to this exemplary embodiment the aircraft beacon devices 30 are switched on, or stay switched on, if another flying object has already been detected beforehand in the sector 32.

[0071] In the case in which there is no flying object (any longer) in the sector 32, i.e., no flying object position is detected within the sector 32, the aircraft beacon devices 30 are switched off, or stay switched off.

[0072] Here, a sector 32 which frames the entire wind farm 112 is represented. According to another exemplary embodiment (not represented here), it is however also possible that, for each wind power installation 100a to 100d, an own subsector is defined and is then separately monitored by the evaluation device 24.

[0073] Accordingly, the aircraft beacon 30 of a wind power installation 100a to 100d is switched on in the case in which a flying object enters the respective subsector of a wind power installation 100a to 100d, or is detected in this subsector of the wind power installation 100a to 100d. Selective switching on of individual aircraft beacon devices 30 in dependence on flying object positions is therefore possible. In particular in the case of large wind farms that extend over an area of several kilometers, it is therefore possible for aircraft beacon devices 30 to be activated only in the part of the wind farm 112 that could actually represent a hazard for a flying object.

[0074] FIG. 3 shows the front view of a nacelle 104 of a wind power installation 100 in an enlarged representation. An antenna carrier 34 is arranged on the nacelle 104 and is firmly connected to the nacelle 104. The antenna carrier 34 has a camera 20. The camera 20 comprises a lens 36 and also a distance measuring device 37, that is to say a laser range measuring device. The camera 20 is horizontally and vertically pivotable.

[0075] According to a further embodiment (not represented here), the camera 20 is provided with an optical unit, which allows a 360-degree all-round view. Consequently, in this case no pivoting of the camera 20 is necessary.

[0076] Also provided are two lights 38, which together form an aircraft beacon device 30 of the wind power installation 100. The arrangement of the lights 38 at a distance from one another means that the systems are duplicated, so that, despite the partial shadowing by the rotor blades 108, fault-free functioning of the wind farm aircraft beacon system is nevertheless ensured.