The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 18, 2003
Filed:
Jul. 03, 2002
Jeffrey O. Willis, Blair, NE (US);
Anthony J. Hansen, Elkhorn, NE (US);
Mark J. Perina, Omaha, NE (US);
Valmont Industries, Inc., Valley, NE (US);
Abstract
The apparatus of this invention is utilized for mounting a wind turbine on the upper end of a wind turbine tower. The invention also relates to the method of erecting the same. The tower is provided with a pair of guide rails positioned on opposite sides thereof which extend from the lower end to the upper end of the tower. A sled is movably mounted on the guide rails and has a platform mounted thereon which is adapted to support the wind turbine thereon. In one form of the invention, the sled is self-contained in that it has an engine and a winch mounted thereon. In another form of the invention, the winch and engine are mounted on a self-propelled vehicle which is designed to transport the sled from one tower location to another. In another form of the invention, the winch is detachable from the self-propelled vehicle so that the winch may be anchored to the ground. When the wind turbine has been positioned at the upper end of the tower, a horizontally slidable platform moves the wind turbine from the sled to the upper end of the tower so that the wind turbine may be secured to the upper end of the tower.