Moog Japan Ltd.

Mamoru Shiga

Benjamin Potter

Ryuichi Nagasaki

The present invention provides an improvement for a wind turbine () having at least one blade () mounted on a hub () for controlled rotation about a blade axis (y-y) to vary the pitch of the blade relative to an airstream. The hub is mounted on a nacelle () for rotation about a hub axis (x-x). The wind turbine includes a main pitch control system for selectively controlling the pitch of the blade, and/or a safety pitch control system for overriding the main blade pitch control system and for causing the blade to move toward a feathered position in the event of an overspeed or fault condition. The improvement includes: an energy storage device () mounted on the nacelle and associated with the blade; a pitch-axis controller () mounted on the nacelle and associated with the blade and with the energy storage device; an electro-mechanical actuator () mounted on the hub and associated with the blade; and at least one slip ring () operatively arranged to transmit power and/or data signals between the pitch-axis controller and the electro-mechanical actuator; whereby the mass on the rotating hub may be reduced.

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Chigasaki, Japan

Mamoru Shiga