US20100065039A1 - Sun tracing device - Google Patents

Abstract

A sun tracing device includes a power unit having an elevating element, a supporting plate carrying a photoelectric transformation unit, and an adjusting unit coupled to the power unit and the supporting plate. The power unit is used to lift/lower the adjusting unit, so that the adjusting unit can rotate and/or lift/lower the supporting plate.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
• This Non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 097135137 filed in Taiwan, Republic of China on Sep. 12, 2008, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• 1. Field of Invention
• The present invention relates to a sun tracing device that can automatically return a risen solar panel back by a weight instead of extra forces.
• 2. Related Art
• As the global warming is getting serious, an industry, especially the solar energy industry, based on environment protection and energy saving has become popular. Since the solar energy industry shares similar materials and manufacturing properties with the matured semiconductor and panel industries, it has become the first choice for the high-tech companies that are interested in environment protection and energy saving, and have sufficient technology and human resources.
• Other than the limitation of the materials used by the solar system, the solar energy can be easily restricted for its own properties. For example, by the different climate changes, different locations of the solar energy system, or different times, the conversion efficiency of the solar energy is greatly affected. Therefore, in the current technology, the sun tracing device may be built in the solar energy system for reducing the effects caused by these environmental factors, so that the solar panels in the solar energy system are able to trace the changing position of the sun, so as to help the solar panels absorb more of the lights.
• However, the extra electricity or power must be inputted as the power source to the sun tracing device for driving the whole device so as to make the solar cell aim at the sun. In general, the solar energy system carrying the sun tracing device must consume about 5 to 15% of the generated power for driving the connected sun tracing device. Therefore, the number of the solar panels in the sun tracing device must be increased for compensating the power consumed by the sun tracing device.
• Hence, it is a very important subject in the solar energy technology to provide an energy saving sun tracing device for enhancing the power efficiency of the entire solar energy system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• In view of the foregoing, the present invention is to provide a sun tracing device, on which a solar panel can more accurately aim at the sun by an adjusting movement such as a rough adjustment (lifting/lowering) and a fine adjustment (rotating and/or slightly lifting/lowering).
• The present invention is also to provide a sun tracing device including a photoelectric transformation unit. The sun tracing device of the present invention can be returned to an initial state from a rising state so as to effectively reduce the energy consumed by the sun tracing device, hence increase the overall electro-optic conversion efficiency of the photoelectric transformation unit.
• The present invention is further to provide a sun tracing device utilizing the photoelectric sensing for omni-directionally driving a rough adjustment and a fine adjustment thereof, such that the sun tracing device can automatically trace the sun.
• To achieve the above, the present invention is to provide a sun tracing device including a power unit having at least one elevating element, a supporting plate carrying a photoelectric transformation unit, and an adjusting unit coupled to the elevating element and the supporting plate. The power unit is used to lift/lower the adjusting unit that is used to change the tilt angle of the supporting plate.
• The power unit is further connected to a containing unit substantially, and the power unit and the containing unit contain a fluid flowing between the power unit and the containing unit. Moreover, the power unit and/or the containing unit are further connected to an external power unit, so as to provide the power for driving the fluid from the containing unit to the power unit. Therefore, after the external power unit drives the fluid from the containing unit to the power unit, the fluid would have a higher energy. At this time, the weight of the sun tracing device may be transferred to a fluid with a higher energy by the elevating element of the power unit (e.g. led by the weight of the supporting plate, the solar panel, or other structures), so that the fluid can automatically flow back to the containing unit under the weight effect of the sun tracing device.
• As described above, a sun tracing device of the present invention is used to lift or lower the height of the adjusting unit by the power unit, and is used to finely adjust the tilt angle of the supporting plate by the adjusting unit. For the energy conversion is performed by the flowing of the fluid, the sun tracing device can be returned to the initial state automatically by its own weight; thus, no extra force for the sun tracing device is needed in the sun tracing process. In addition, the sun tracing device of the present invention can be directionally adjusted according to the moving speed and the angle variation of the sun. Compared to the prior art, the sun tracing device of the present invention can gradually return the lifted power unit back to the initial position by its own weight effect (e.g. the weight of the supporting plate, solar panel, or other structures for pressing the power unit), such that no extra force have to be applied, hence the energy can be saved and the solar cell can accurately aim at the sun.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• The invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and accompanying drawings, which are given for illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
• FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic views of an initial structure of a sun tracing device in different view angles;
• FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic views of a using structure of a sun tracing device in different view angles; and
• FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic views of a final structure of a sun tracing device in different view angles.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
• The present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same references relate to the same elements.
• FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic views of an initial structure of asun tracing device2 in the different view angles.FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic views of a using structure of asun tracing device2 in the different view angles.FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic views of a final structure of asun tracing device2 in the different view angles. With reference toFIGS. 1A,1B,2A,2B,3A, and3B, these figures respectively disclose the structural schematic views of an initial state (e.g. at sunrise), a using state (e.g. in the noon), and a final state (e.g. in the evening) of a sun tracing device (carrying a photoelectric transformation unit1) in the different view angles. Thesun tracing device2 that includes apower unit22, a supportingplate26, and an adjustingunit24 further has asensing unit28. Thepower unit22 has at least oneelevating element22a, the supportingplate26 carrying a photoelectric transformation unit11 (e.g. a solar panel), and the adjustingunit24 coupled to theelevating element22aand the supportingplate26. Thepower unit22 may be used to lift or lower the adjustingunit24 and thesensing unit28 controls the adjustingunit24 to rotate the supportingplate26, so that the photoelectric transformation unit11 on the supportingplate26 may keep the optimal contact angle (e.g. perpendicular) with the sunray (shown as the arrow with dotted line).
• More specifically, thepower unit22 is further connected to a containingunit30 substantially, and thepower unit22 and the containingunit30 have a fluid F flowing between thepower unit22 and the containingunit30. In other words, thepower unit22 has afluid vat22bthat is connected to the containingunit30, such that the fluid F flows between thefluid vat22band the containingunit30.
• Moreover, the fluid F may be delivered from the containingunit30 to thefluid vat22bby an external force (e.g. a pump). However, if the fluid F is in thefluid vat22, the fluid F can be pressed by the weight of the supportingplate26 and the adjustingunit24, or of other structures (i.e. weight effect) so that the fluid F automatically flows (e.g. leaking) from thefluid vat22bto the containingunit30.
• As a matter of course, the above-mentioned fluid F may be liquid, gas, or the combination of both. To effectively control the flowing state (e.g. the speed and the flow rate) of the fluid F flowing from thefluid vat22bto the containingunit30, the flowing speed and the flow rate of the fluid F may further be controlled by avalve22c(e.g. the throttle valve, three-way valve, ball valve, and control valve, etc) while leaking.
• Additionally, the adjustingunit24 further includes a connectingelement24cand at least threeshaft arms24aand24b. Theconnecting element24cis connected to theelevating element22aof thepower unit22. Theshaft arms24aand24bare coupled to the connectingelement24cand supportingplate26. Each of theshaft arms24aand24bhas at least one end located on the same plane and connected to a surface of the supportingplate26. In other words, these ends of theshaft arms24aand24b, which are connected to the supportingplate26, construct a co-planar structure. It is noted that a part of theshaft arms24ais extensible and/or compressible and a part of theshaft arm24bis fixedly held against the supportingplate26. Therefore, when the position of the sun subtly varies with the seasons, theshaft arms24aand24bmay adjust the lengths for finely adjusting the tilt angle of the supportingplate26, such that thephotoelectric transformation unit1 on the supportingplate26 can aim at the sun more accurately.
• In addition, only threeshaft arms24aand24bare illustrated as the examples in the embodiment. Twoshaft arms24aare extensible and/or compressible and anothershaft arm24bthat is fixedly held against the supportingplate26 has a rotatable shaft for flexibly rotating the supportingplate26 after adjustment. In the embodiment, the adjustment and the rotation of theshaft arms24aand theshaft arm24bare used as the examples but not limited to these movements. Furthermore, thesun tracing device2 of the present invention is not limited to the aspect of three shaft arms.
• The above-mentionedsensing unit28 is used to control the adjustingunit24 for rotating the angle of the supportingplate26. For example, the angle and the position of the sun vary with the changing of the seasons. In order to achieve the optimal electro-optic conversion efficiency of thephotoelectric transformation unit1, the optimal rotating angle of the supportingplate26 at every time unit can be detected by thesensing unit28, and the adjusting length of theshaft arm24aand the tilt angle of theshaft arm24bof the adjustingunit24 are independently driven, such that the supportingplate26 can aim at the angle of the sun more accurately.
• Moreover, other than the above-mentionedpower unit22, thephotoelectric transformation unit1 can aim at the sunray by thesensing unit28 controlling the adjustment and rotation of the threeshaft arms24aand24b, so as to fine adjust the tilt angle of the supportingplate26. To be specific, thesensing unit28 may be disposed on the periphery and/or the back surface of the supportingplate26 and/or thephotoelectric transformation unit1. In other words, thesensing unit28 must be disposed on at least one periphery (e.g. the upward, downward, left, and right directions) and/or the back surface (e.g. the back surface of thephotoelectric transformation unit1 faces east) of the supportingplate26 and/orphotoelectric transformation unit1, so as to omni-directionally sense the angle variation of the sunray. For instance, when thesensing unit28 that has a plurality of sensors (not shown) is disposed on at least one periphery and back surface of the supportingplate26 and the sunray emits to thephotoelectric transformation unit1, the sensor on the left side of thesensing unit28 may sense the sunray; on the contrary, the sensor on the right side of thesensing unit28 cannot sense the sunray. At this time the sensors on both the right and left sides drive the supportingplate26 to tilt a specific angle, so as to keep the angle between thephotoelectric transformation unit1 and the sunray as optimal as possible. In addition, thesensing unit28 disposed on the back surface of the supportingplate26 and/or thephotoelectric transformation unit1 can sense the first sunray at sunrise, and thus enables the operation of the entiresun tracing device2.
• Additionally, although the above-mentionedsensing unit28 with the plurality of sensors is used as the example, each sensingunit28 may have a single sensor in practice; meanwhile, the above-mentionedsensing unit28 may further be disposed on the plurality of peripheries of the supportingplate26 and/or thephotoelectric transformation unit1.
• The using states of thesun tracing device2 of the present invention in different times are illustrated as follows. The structural aspects shown inFIGS. 1A,1B,2A,2B,3A, and3B are used for illustration, but not to limit the scope of the present invention.
• Firstly,FIGS. 1A and 1B are the structural views of thesun tracing device2 in the initial state (at sunrise). In other words, since the sun rises from east at the start of the day, the supportingplate26 on thesun tracing device2 also faces east (i.e. the emitting direction of the sunray, shown as the arrow with the dotted line). At this time thesun tracing device2 has not started working yet, so the fluid F of thesun tracing device2 is in the containingunit30, which means, the elevatingelement22aof thepower unit22 is in the lowest position. As a matter of course, since thepower unit22 has not started working yet, the connected adjustingunit24 does not work correspondingly.
• However, after the sunrise, because thesensing unit28 disposed on the back surface of the supporting plate26 (or of the photoelectric transformation unit1) will drive thesun tracing device2 to start working after sensing the first sunray, the fluid F is delivered from the containingunit30 to thefluid vat22bof thepower unit22 by the external force. As more amount of the fluid F is delivered to thefluid vat22b, the elevatingelement22ais brought to a higher position until all fluid F is delivered to thefluid vat22b. After that (at this time, stop providing the external force), the elevatingelement22ais lifted to the highest position. Meanwhile, the connectingelement24cconnected to the elevatingelement22ais also lifted, and the threeshaft arms24aand24bare lifted naturally with the supportingplate26 connected to them.
• As the fluid F in thefluid vat22bis affected by the weight and flows to the containingunit30 gradually, the elevatingelement22ais lowered slowly and that will make the connectingelement24 and the threeshaft arms24aand24bstart working. Hence, as the sun is right above thesun tracing device2, the structural views of thesun tracing device2 in the using state (in the noon) are shown inFIGS. 2A and 2B. In order to aim thephotoelectric transformation unit1 on the supportingplate26 at the sun, the part of the fluid F in thefluid vat22bflows to the containingunit30 at a proper speed under the control of thevalve22c. The supportingplate26 is at a horizontal state for the elevatingelement22ais lowered. To make the sunray has a preferable emitting angle as it emits to thephotoelectric transformation unit1 on the supportingplate26, thesensing unit28 disposed on the periphery of the supportingplate26 may be used to activate the threeshaft arms24aand24b, so as to fine adjust the tilt angle of the supportingplate26.
• Subsequently,FIGS. 3A and 3B are the structural views of thesun tracing device2 in the final state (in the evening). Since the sun is in west at this time, thephotoelectric transformation unit1 on the supportingplate26 faces west. However, because the fluid F in thefluid vat22balmost flows to the containingunit30 completely, the elevatingelement22aof thepower unit22 has been returned to the lowest position gradually.
• At last, after the fluid F in thefluid vat22bhas flowed to the containingunit30 completely, the elevatingelement22aof thepower unit22 is returned to the lowest position. At this time the sun has gone down, thesensing unit28 is not able to sense the sunray hence the threeshaft arms24aand24bin the adjustingunit24 stop at the last position (i.e. the state that thephotoelectric transformation unit1 faces west as shown inFIGS. 3A and 3B). Until the sun rises again, thesensing unit28 disposed on the back surface of the supportingplate26 will receive the sunray, and the movements of thesun tracing device2 will be activated (e.g. activating the external forces such as a pump for delivering the fluid F from the containingunit30 to thefluid vat22b).
• In addition, the sun tracing device disclosed in the present invention further includes a wind power protection unit connected to the power unit and the adjusting unit, so that after the wind speed reaches a predetermined value, the sun tracing device can forcibly return the power unit and the adjusting unit back to the initial state. In other words, when the wind speed is so high that might damage the sun tracing device, the wind power protection unit will immediately leak out all of the fluid stored in the fluid vat to the containing unit, such that the elevating element is swiftly lowered down and forcibly return the adjusting unit and the supporting plate back to the initial state.
• As the above-described photoelectric transformation unit is a solar panel, it may be a concentration solar panel or a flat solar panel. Because of specific design of the concentration solar panel, the angle between the sun and the concentration solar panel is quite important. However, the sun tracing device of the present invention can also satisfy the strict requirement of an angle error smaller than 0.5 degrees. Compared to the prior art, which can merely achieve an angle error of 1 degree, the sun tracing device of the present invention indeed has a relatively advantageous aiming effect, as well as a relatively apparent enhancement in electro-optic conversion efficiency.
• As described above, a sun tracing device of the present invention lifts and lowers the adjusting unit through the weight unit, and fine adjusts the tilt angle of the supporting plate by the adjusting unit. In the weight unit, the fluid is gradually leaked to a lower position from a higher position by its own weight; hence in the whole sun tracing process, no extra force is needed. Meanwhile the flowing state (e.g. the speed and flow rate) of the fluid can be controlled by the valve, such that the sun tracing device can be directionally adjusted with the moving speed and angle variation of the sun.
• Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover all modifications that fall within the true scope of the invention.

Claims (13)

1. A sun tracing device, comprising:

a power unit having at least one elevating element;

a supporting plate carrying a photoelectric transformation unit; and

an adjusting unit connected to the elevating element and the supporting plate, wherein the power unit is used to lift/lower the adjusting unit, and the adjusting unit changes a tilt angle of the supporting plate.

2. The sun tracing device according toclaim 1, wherein the power unit is further connected to a containing unit substantially, and the power unit and the containing unit contain a fluid flowing between the power unit and the containing unit.

3. The sun tracing device according toclaim 2, wherein the power unit and/or the containing unit are further connected to an external power unit, and the external power unit provides a power for driving the fluid flowing from the containing unit to the power unit.

4. The sun tracing device according toclaim 2, wherein the fluid is selected from liquid, gas, and their combination.

5. The sun tracing device according toclaim 2, wherein a valve is disposed between the power unit and the containing unit, and the valve controls a flowing state of the fluid flowing from the power unit to the containing unit.

6. The sun tracing device according toclaim 1, wherein the adjusting unit further comprises:

a connecting element connected to the elevating element; and

at least three shaft arms coupled to the connecting element and the supporting plate, wherein each of the shaft arms has at least one end located on the same plane and connected to a surface of the supporting plate.

7. The sun tracing device according toclaim 6, wherein the shaft arms are extensible and/or compressible.

8. The sun tracing device according toclaim 6, wherein the movement of the shaft arms includes a linear movement or a rotation.

9. The sun tracing device according toclaim 1, further comprising:

a wind protection unit connected to the power unit and the adjusting unit for forcibly enabling the power unit and the adjusting unit if a wind speed reaches a preset value.

10. The sun tracing device according toclaim 1, further comprising:

a sensing unit disposed on at least a periphery and/or a back surface of the supporting plate and/or the photoelectric transformation unit for controlling the adjusting unit so as to activate the adjusting unit.

11. The sun tracing device according toclaim 10, wherein the sensing unit is a photoelectric sensing unit.

12. The sun tracing device according toclaim 1, wherein the photoelectric transformation unit is a solar panel.

13. The sun tracing device according toclaim 12, wherein the solar panel is a concentrating solar panel or a flat solar panel.

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