Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090159018 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING LIQUID LEVEL IN A VESSEL - A system includes sensors configured to measure parameters related to a vessel including liquid level, gas flow rate, pressure in the vessel, temperature of the vessel, and feed-liquid flow rate. A signal processing unit receives sensor output signals and generates a first filtered output signal representative of liquid level, a second filtered output signal representative of gas flow rate, a third filtered output signal representative of feed-liquid flow rate, a fourth filtered output signal representative of vessel pressure, and a fifth filtered output signal representative of vessel temperature. A flow demand control unit receives the first filtered output signal and generates an output signal representative of feed-liquid flow demand. A shaping unit receives the second, fourth, and fifth filtered output signal and generates an output signal representative of shaped gas flow rate as a function of pressure, temperature, or combination thereof in the vessel. A liquid level control unit controls the liquid level within predetermined limits by controlling one or more components based on the output signals from the flow demand control unit, the shaping unit, and the third filtered output signal. | 06-25-2009 |
20090263245 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS INVOLVING WIND TURBINE TOWERS FOR POWER APPLICATIONS - A system for determining wind turbine tower base torque loads including a controller configured to determine a torque load of a base of a tower of a wind turbine according to a computation of an effective height of the wind turbine multiplied by a wind force upon a rotor of the wind turbine, and generate a control signal representing the torque load. A method for determining wind turbine tower base torque loads including determining a torque load of a base of a tower of a wind turbine according to the foregoing computation, and generating a control signal representing the torque load. | 10-22-2009 |
20100078939 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A WIND TURBINE DURING LOSS OF GRID POWER AND CHANGING WIND CONDITIONS - An apparatus and method for controlling a wind turbine having a plurality of blades such that the blade angle of each blade is continuously adjusted during loss of grid power relative to a wind direction relative to an orientation of the nacelle (i.e., yaw offset) and a rotor azimuth while keeping the orientation of the nacelle of the wind turbine substantially constant. The wind turbine is capable of pitching the blades a full 360 degrees and generating power from the rotation of the rotor shaft during loss of grid power. | 04-01-2010 |
20100139392 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING LIQUID LEVEL IN A VESSEL - A level control system for controlling a liquid level in a vessel containing a two-phase fluid includes a plurality of sensors configured to measure parameters related to the vessel. The parameters include liquid level in the vessel, vapor flow rate leaving the vessel, pressure in the vessel, temperature of the vessel, and feed-liquid flow rate entering the vessel indicative of a state of the vessel. A predictive controller is configured to receive output signals from the plurality of sensors and predict a volume of liquid over a predetermined time period in the vessel based on output signals from the plurality of sensors and a variation in pressure, thermal load, or combinations thereof in the vessel. The controller is configured to generate a liquid level set point of the vessel based on the predicted volume of liquid in the vessel; and further control a liquid level in the vessel based on the generated liquid level set point by manipulating one or more control elements coupled to the vessel. | 06-10-2010 |
20100251699 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OBTAINING AN OPTIMAL ESTIMATE OF NOx EMISSIONS - A control system for providing an optimal estimate of NOx emission in an exhaust during a selective catalytic reduction process is provided. The control system includes a continuous emission monitoring sensor configured to generate a responsive signal representing a first estimate of NOx emission; wherein the responsive signal has a first time lag between a time of measurement of NOx emission and the time when the corresponding responsive signal is made available by the continuous emission monitoring sensor, and the continuous emission monitoring sensor has a first time constant. The control system also includes a virtual sensor configured to generate a relatively faster responsive signal representing a second estimate of NOx emission. The control system further includes a processor that includes a time delay compensation circuit configured to introduce a second time lag in the relatively faster responsive signal, wherein the second time lag matches the first time lag. The processor also includes a low pass filter circuit coupled to the time delay compensating circuit, wherein the low pass filter circuit has a second time constant matching the first time constant to generate a time delayed signal representing a third estimate of NOx emission. The processor is further configured to subtract the time delayed signal from the summation of the responsive signal and the relatively faster responsive signal to generate the optimal estimate of the NOx emission, wherein the optimal estimate is fed as a feedforward signal into an injection system in the selective catalytic reduction process. | 10-07-2010 |
20130302161 | CONTROLLER OF WIND TURBINE AND WIND TURBINE - Techniques for operating a wind turbine are described herein. In an example, a wind turbine includes a tower, a nacelle coupled to the tower, a rotor rotatably coupled to the nacelle, at least one blade coupled to the rotor and configured to rotate about a pitch axis, and a controller to operate the wind turbine based on predicted wind speed values. The controller includes a twist determination module to determine a blade-twist value, wherein the blade-twist value is indicative of an actual blade-twist of a rotor blade during operation of the wind turbine. The controller may further include a wind speed determination module to determine at least one wind speed value indicative of a wind speed using the blade-twist value. | 11-14-2013 |
20140003936 | Systems and Methods to Reduce Tower Oscillations in a Wind Turbine | 01-02-2014 |
20140169964 | CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MITIGATING LOADS DURING YAW ERROR ON A WIND TURBINE - A control system for mitigating loads on a wind turbine comprising a plurality of blades in yaw error events includes a yaw error calculation unit for calculating a yaw error of the wind turbine, a pitch angle reference command calculation unit for calculating a plurality of pitch angle reference commands respectively corresponding to the plurality of blades at least based on the calculated yaw error, and a controller for producing a plurality of pitch commands at least based on the plurality of pitch angle reference commands, to respectively regulate the pitch angles of the plurality of blades. | 06-19-2014 |
20140301842 | METHODS FOR CONTROLLING WIND TURBINE LOADING - Methods are provided for controlling wind turbine loading. In one embodiment, a method includes the steps of determining a current thrust value for the wind turbine, calculating a thrust differential based on the current thrust value and a predetermined maximum thrust value, calculating a desired pitch offset value based on the thrust differential and a thrust sensitivity value, and adjusting a pitch of the wind turbine utilizing the pitch offset value. | 10-09-2014 |
20150069762 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING WIND TURBINE LOADING - Systems and methods for monitoring wind turbine loading are provided. In one embodiment, a system includes a main shaft, a bedplate, and a gearbox coupled to the main shaft and mounted to the bedplate. The gearbox includes an outer casing and a torque arm extending from the outer casing. The system further includes an isolation mount coupled to the torque arm, and a sensor configured to measure displacement of the torque arm. In another embodiment, a method includes operating the wind turbine, and detecting displacement of a torque arm of a gearbox of the wind turbine. The method further includes calculating a moment for a main shaft of the wind turbine based on the displacement of the torque arm. | 03-12-2015 |
20150377215 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING LOADS ON A WIND TURBINE - A method and a system for managing loads on a wind turbine are provided. The method includes receiving a signal relative to a yaw misalignment of the wind turbine, generating a yaw error signal based on the yaw misalignment, and comparing the yaw error signal to a first predetermined yaw error threshold value. The method also includes regulating a speed of the rotor to a value determined by a predetermined tip speed ratio, reducing the yaw misalignment using a yaw control system, and restarting the wind turbine if the yaw error signal is reduced to less than a second predetermined yaw error threshold value within a predetermined period of time. The method further includes shutting down the wind turbine if the yaw error signal remains greater than the second predetermined yaw error threshold value beyond the predetermined period of time. | 12-31-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100185064 | SKIN ANALYSIS METHODS - The present invention generally relates to a skin care device comprising an electromagnetic radiation source capable of directing incident electromagnetic radiation to a location on the skin of a user, a radiation detector for measuring various parameters of radiation re-emitted from the location and a skin condition analysis module coupled to the detector, the analysis module capable of generating a skin condition assessment in real-time, based partly on at least one of RGB analysis and diffused reflectance analysis of the radiation parameters. In accordance with the described embodiments of the present technique, the device provides a mirror or a reflecting surface for capturing an image of desired body part and gets product recommendations. The recommended products are brought up on to the screen of the mirror to facilitate the consumer to choose there from. The device may be further connected to a computer and a database to get desired results for the consumer. | 07-22-2010 |
20110301441 | ANALYTIC METHODS OF TISSUE EVALUATION - The present invention generally relates to methods and systems for (i) skin assessment based on the utilization of bioimpedance and fractional calculus and implementation of methods for skin hydration assessment based on the utilization of bioimpedance and fractional calculus and systems thereof, (ii) an Opto-Magnetic method based on RGB and gray images data as “cone-rods” principles with enhanced qualitative and quantitative parameters for analyzing water based on Opto-Magnetic properties of light-matter interaction and systems thereof, and (iii) imaging and analyzing skin based on the interaction between matter and electromagnetic radiation and implementation of an Opto-Magnetic method with enhanced qualitative and quantitative parameters for imaging and analyzing skin based on Opto-Magnetic properties of light-matter interaction and systems thereof. | 12-08-2011 |
20120321759 | CHARACTERIZATION OF FOOD MATERIALS BY OPTOMAGNETIC FINGERPRINTING - The present invention generally relates to methods and systems to determine the properties of light-matter interaction in the characterization of food materials using an incident light source and a sensor to measure the opto-magnetic properties of light reflected from the food material. The opto-magnetic properties can be used to generate an opto-magnetic footprint. Comparison of the opto-magnetic footprint with opto-magnetic footprints of known materials enables characterization of the food materials. This enables detection of pesticide residues, confirmation of “organic” labeling, and determination of freshness of the food materials. | 12-20-2012 |
20150313532 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING AND QUANTIFYING SUN EXPOSURE - Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method and system for managing pre- and in-sun exposure of skin. The method comprises during pre-sun exposure phase, inputting a location information of a user, and other contextual ambient information therefor, thereby facilitating determination of the UV level thereof, determining a baseline information in connection with the skin in a part of the day from at least one of midnight and dawn to noon, scanning at least one most predictably susceptible zone of one or more zones of the skin predictably susceptible to sun exposure, determining the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) level for a sunscreen for use by the user based on one or more quantifiable qualitative and quantitative parameters therefor, recommending the determined SPF level for the sunscreen for use by the user thereby facilitating search, identification and selection of one or more sunscreen products, solutions and regimens by the user, during in-sun exposure phase, at least one of determining whether or not the UV index of the location is confined in at least one of one or more predetermined ranges and reminding the user to scan the skin at one or more predetermined intervals depending upon the confinement of the determined UV index or level in at least one of the one or more predetermined ranges. | 11-05-2015 |