1. Technical Field
The present invention concerns a wind power installation working gallery comprising a working platform and a railing arranged on the working platform, wherein the railing can be closed off by a closure element and the closure element is arranged in a transfer region to a lift.
The invention further concerns a wind power installation comprising at least one aforementioned wind power installation working gallery, a lift and a locking device for a wind power installation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Working galleries or scaffoldings of the above-indicated kind are used during the erection of wind power installations or for service operations during the working life of wind power installations. Certain types of wind power installations utilize the temporary provision of working galleries on or in a wind power installation, in particular during installation or dismantling, while in other types of installations, in particular large wind power installations, one or more working galleries are frequently fixedly installed. Working galleries of the above-indicated type can also be arranged in the nacelle of a wind power installation. The working galleries of certain wind power installations are accessed by a lift. Access from the lift to the working gallery of the installation occurs in a transfer region on the working gallery. If operations have to be carried out in parallel on a plurality of galleries or if the lift is needed for going to the nacelle or for returning to the ground, it happens in operation that working personnel remain on the working galleries when the lift car is not waiting at the platform. For safety reasons it is beneficial for the transfer region from the working galleries to be closed off by a closure element so that the risk of accidents involving people falling off the gallery can be reduced as much as possible.
For that purpose known arrangements provide locking devices on the railings of working platforms, by which the closure elements can be locked to the railing. It will be noted however that, with the known arrangements, it is possible for the closure element to be left unlocked due to negligence or even deliberately when the lift leaves the working gallery. That is considered as a disadvantage in the state of the art and at the same time is perceived as a serious safety loophole.