JP2014195035A - Providing tracking device for moving energy emission source such as the sun, panel type energy collection device, and energy utilization device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tracking device for a moving energy emission source such as the sun, a panel type energy collection device, and an energy utilization device.SOLUTION: A tracking device comprises a moving energy emission source position sensing and power source part 1 and a connection part 2. The position sensing and power source part 1 includes an energy collection device 3 and a moving energy emission source position sensing and energy absorbing device core 4. Incident energy leaves a trail on the surface of the core 4 after passing through the collection device 3 and applies energy to the core 4. The core 4 makes full use of the connection part 2 by the trail information and the driving force obtained from the incident energy to control its own direction. The energy collection device includes: a collection part 5 having an energy collection element group with a short focal distance on the same plane in a panel; a transmission part 6 made of an optical fiber bundle or the like; and the tracking device. The tracking device controls the direction of each collection element so as to be always orthogonal to the angle of the incident energy.

Description

The present invention relates to a tracking device for a mobile energy emission source such as the sun, an energy collection device, and an energy utilization device.

The use of solar energy is known in various fields such as power generation, lighting, heating, plant cultivation and space flight. In the future, it may be possible to use energy sources other than the sun in space flight beyond the solar system.
Of the energy emitted from moving objects such as the sun, electromagnetic waves are well known. Electromagnetic waves include visible light and non-visible light.
In order to simplify and understand the description herein, it will be described using the most typical visible light of sunlight. Application to electromagnetic waves other than the visible light of the sun can be easily inferred, and the description thereof is omitted here.
Further, the shape of the position sensing means core 4 of the mobile energy emitting source such as the sun will be described using the most typical quadrant hollow hemisphere structure. Since the use of a three-dimensional structure such as a cone or a pyramid can be easily analogized, a description thereof is omitted here.

In order to efficiently collect sunlight in the use of solar energy, for example, a method of concentrating sunlight at one point using a condensing device such as a lens or a curved mirror (hereinafter referred to as a curved mirror type condensing device). There is. One of the problems of this method is that the light collecting effect is reduced unless the diurnal and annual movements of the sun are followed and the light collecting device is not always directed to the incident light direction of the sun. In order to overcome this problem, various solar tracking devices have been developed.
A panel-type solar condensing device using a light diffusing plate or a prismatic light guide plate has also been proposed.

The solar tracking device disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 is a method of rotating the light collecting unit to a predetermined angle based on the sun's diurnal / annual motion trajectory calculated in advance at the place where the solar light collecting device is installed. is there.
The solar tracking device disclosed in Patent Documents 3 to 5 is a method of detecting a solar position by detecting a difference in received light amount between sensors using a plurality of sensors.
The solar tracking device disclosed in Patent Document 6 uses a shape memory alloy for sensing the solar elevation angle and controlling the attitude of the solar cell panel.
The solar tracking device disclosed in Patent Document 7 discloses a method using a thermal expansion body and a motion conversion device for making the expansion / contraction motion of the thermal expansion body correspond to the diurnal / annual motion of the sun.
The solar light collecting devices disclosed in Patent Documents 8 to 11 utilize refraction and total reflection properties that occur when sunlight travels into the prism-shaped medium. Furthermore, it has been devised to use a light diffusion plate or film as a pretreatment.
The panel-type solar light collecting device disclosed in Patent Document 12 discloses a method of directing the entire panel in the solar direction.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-127575 Patent Publication 2011-151335 Patent Publication 2011-99629 Patent Publication 2007-180464 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2013-4684 Patent Publication 2009-54976 Patent Publication 2008-243374 Patent Publication 2012-225611 Patent Publication 2008-47575 Patent Publication 2007-218540 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-252584 Patent Publication 2012-104526

There are various problems in the prior art of solar tracking devices.
The method (Patent Documents 1 and 2) for calculating the solar operation trajectory in advance is complicated because the solar motion trajectory must be calculated individually for each installation location.
Methods of detecting the incident light angle of the sun with a plurality of sensors (Patent Documents 3 to 5) require an electric circuit for analyzing the sensor and the amount of light detected by the sensor, and consume external energy such as electricity. Moreover, the solar tracking device of patent document 5 cannot respond to discontinuous solar radiation such as sunrise, cloudy, and rainy season.
As a solar tracking device that does not require a complicated electric circuit, computer control, motor or the like, a method using shape memory alloy or thermal expansion (Patent Documents 6 and 7) has also been proposed, but the tracking accuracy is not yet high.
There are various problems in the prior art of solar concentrators.
The curved mirror-type solar concentrator has a high condensing effect, but has a large space for rotating the concentrator itself and the concentrator in addition to the problem of solar tracking, and is difficult to downsize. Furthermore, as countermeasures against strong winds and heavy rains, it must be supported by a motor that is supported by a solid base and has a large torque, and the initial investment, operation, and maintenance costs are high.
The panel-type condensing system devised to solve the curved mirror type problem (Patent Documents 8 to 11) can be reduced in size, but uses a light diffusing plate or a prismatic light guide plate, so that sunlight diffuses, The loss of light amount generated in the process of refraction and total reflection is large, and the light condensing effect is lower than that of a curved mirror type condensing device.
Furthermore, there is a wall-mounted solar concentrator (Patent Document 12), but it does not save space because it takes a method of moving the entire panel left and right and up and down.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems.
The tracking device for an energy emission source such as the sun disclosed in this specification does not require any complicated electric circuit, computer control, external energy, or electric motor, and is stable and accurate by itself in almost 360 degrees in all directions. It is characterized by being able to track moving objects such as the sun, with low manufacturing costs and semi-permanently maintenance-free even after installation.
In addition, the energy collecting device such as sunlight concentrating disclosed in this specification incorporates the advantages of both a high condensing effect of a curved mirror type and a space saving effect of a panel type, and is downsized, inexpensive and easy to use. Features.
In addition, in order to make the description of this specification simple and easy to understand, the tracking of the sun and the collection of solar energy are used in the description as typical examples, but the claims of the present invention are not limited. The tracking of the mobile energy emission source other than the sun and the collection of the energy can be easily inferred from the solar tracking device and the solar light collecting device described in the present specification, and thus description thereof is omitted here.

The tracking device disclosed in the present specification includes a position sensing and power source unit 1 of a mobile energy emission source such as the sun, and a passive coupling unit 2.

The position sensing and power source unit 1 includes a hollow hemispherical structure core 4 divided into four equal parts and a mobile energy collection device 3 such as the sun.
Each of the four divided plates of the core 4 is attached to a gimbal structure-like device that can freely rotate left and right and up and down at the bottom of the hollow hemispherical structure.

Each plate of the core 4 is arranged one by one in the four directions of east, west, south, and north so that the azimuth angle and elevation angle of the sun and the like can be accurately detected, and incident energy collected at or near the focal point of the collecting device 3. Has a structure capable of efficiently absorbing water.
Here, the direction in which the entire tracking device is tilted by the action of expansion or the like of each plate is defined as the “direction that the plate has”. For example, when the west plate is irradiated with solar incident light and expands, the core 4 tilts east, and the “direction” of the west plate is east.
When the incident energy is collected at the center of the bottom of the core 4, that is, when the opening surface of the core 4 is orthogonal to the incident angle of the incident energy, the center of the core 4 does not hit any of the plates of the core 4. You may make a hole.

As a modification of the core 4, a hollow hemispherical structure divided into a set of two halves can be used for controlling the azimuth angle and elevation angle of the sun or the like.
Further, as a simplified form of deformation of the core 4 and the core 4, a three-dimensional structure such as a cone or a pyramid can be used instead of the hollow hemispherical structure.
Furthermore, the core 4, the deformation of the core 4, and any combination of these simple forms can be used.
The core 4, the deformation of the core 4, and any combination of these simple forms, and the collection device 3 can also be used as a means for simply detecting the position of a moving body such as the sun.

The core 4, the deformation of the core 4, and each of these simple plates utilize changes in expansion, magnetism, potential, etc. due to absorption of incident energy such as the sun, and the tracking device is always orthogonal to the incident angle of incident energy. The orientation can be adjusted to For example, when utilizing the thermal expansion characteristic of a gaseous medium, the medium in the plate irradiated with sunlight is expanded by using a container filled with the gaseous medium for each plate of the core 4, and the direction of the plate The sun tracking device can be driven. In addition to a gaseous medium, a liquid such as oil or water having a large thermal expansion, or a combination thereof can be used.

For each plate of the core 4, there is a method such as an insulator, a jack, or a magnet in order to enlarge or reduce the amount of change such as expansion of the internal medium due to absorption of incident energy such as the sun.

Since the above tracking device always tries to return to the “equilibrium state” by itself, it is not necessary to calculate the diurnal / annual movement information such as the sun in advance, and there is no need for an external energy source such as a battery or a drive motor. Become.
“Equilibrium” refers to a situation in which incident energy is collected at the center of the bottom of the core 4 after passing through the collector 3 and does not strike any plate of the core 4 or is evenly incident. At this time, the opening surface of the core 4 is orthogonal to the incident angle of the incident energy.
In addition, the tracking device does not depend on the absolute value of the amount of change such as expansion of the plate due to environmental changes, and continues to adjust its own direction by itself until it reaches an equilibrium state, so it has high accuracy.
Furthermore, even in intermittent incident weather, tracking can be automatically resumed when incident energy such as sunlight is recovered without falling into an infinite tracking loop or abandoning tracking as in the prior art.

The connecting portion 2 can adjust the orientation of the core 4 and the collection device 3 with the driving force from the core 4.

The tracking device can track a mobile energy emission source such as the sun in almost all 360 ° directions.

The tracking device can also control the direction of a control target such as an external solar light collecting device through the connecting portion 2.

An energy collecting device such as a panel-type solar concentrator disclosed in the present specification includes an energy collecting unit 5 in which a plurality of energy collecting elements having a short focal length are fitted in the panel, a transmission unit 6 using an optical fiber, and the tracking device. Is provided.

The solar condensing device is integrated with a funnel-shaped housing so that the incident end of any optical fiber of the transmission unit 6 is at the focal position of the lens of the single light receiving unit 5. Is a control target of the solar tracking device. Furthermore, any control object is evenly arranged and attached to a grid-like fixed frame using a ball joint structure device so that it can be rotated left and right and up and down at the position of the incident end of the optical fiber.

A connection frame is provided behind the lattice-shaped fixed frame (as viewed from the direction of the moving body such as the sun) in a direction parallel to the fixed frame. The connecting frame preferably has the same shape as the fixed frame, but is not limited thereto. Further, any of the above control targets are evenly arranged and attached so as to be able to rotate left and right and up and down on the connecting frame at the bottom of the funnel-shaped housing.

The connection frame is controlled to move left and right and up and down by the connection part 2 of the tracking device, and the control target attached to the connection frame is always orthogonal to the incident angle of incident energy by the connection frame. It will be.

The solar energy utilization device disclosed in this specification includes a solar lighting device.
The solar lighting device includes the tracking device, the solar light collecting device, and the lighting device attached to the optical fiber exit end of the transmission unit 6 of the solar light collecting device.
This solar lighting device is used for lighting at home and for business use such as plant cultivation.

An attitude control device of a flying object (such as communication or photographing) such as an artificial satellite disclosed in the present specification includes the tracking device and an attitude adjustment device. In the time zone in which the sun is visible, the orientation of communication devices, photographing devices, etc. can always be controlled based on the position of the sun without consuming electrical energy.

The solar energy utilization device disclosed in this specification includes a solar power generation device.
A solar power generation device includes the tracking device, a solar power generation panel, and a drive device.
The orientation of the photovoltaic power generation panel is adjusted so as to be always orthogonal to the incident angle of sunlight by a combination of the control of the tracking device and a driving device such as a motor.

The tracking device for a mobile energy emission source such as the sun disclosed in the present specification does not require any complicated electric circuit, computer control, external energy, and electric motor, and is stable by itself in almost 360 degrees in all directions. It can accurately track mobile energy emission sources such as the sun, is inexpensive to manufacture, and is semi-permanently maintenance-free after installation.
In addition, the energy collecting device disclosed in this specification, such as a panel-type solar concentrator, incorporates the advantages of both a high-condensing effect of a curved mirror type and a space-saving effect of a panel type, and is downsized, inexpensive, and easy to use. There are advantages such as.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the tracking apparatus of mobile body energy emission sources, such as the sun. It is a figure which shows the structure and tracking process of the core 4 of the position sensing and power source part 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the Example of the connection part 2 of a tracking apparatus. It is a figure which shows the whole image of energy collection apparatuses, such as panel type sunlight condensing.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the core 4 that is the core of the solar position sensing and power source unit 1 of the solar tracking device.
The solar position sensing and power source unit 1 has a hollow hemispherical structure core 4 divided into four equal parts and a collecting device 3. In the present embodiment, the core 4 and the collecting device 3 are integrated, and this integrated structure is attached to the gimbal structure 4 a at the center of the bottom of the core 4.

Referring to the example of FIG. 2, FIG. 2 (a) shows that the core 4 moves from the “night tracking off state”, that is, the “origin” state in the early morning hours when the incident angle of the sunlight a is low. The state in which the sun tracking is started by detecting the irradiation of is shown. The incident light a at this time passes through the collecting device 3 and is then inserted into the surface of the right plate of the core 4 to heat the medium in the right plate. As a result, the medium in the right plate thermally expands, and a force (driving force) that pushes the connecting plate 2 (not shown) in the direction of the right plate (in the east in the case of FIG. 2A). give. And the connection part 2 adjusts the direction of the core 4 and the collection apparatus 3 to the direction of the incident light a by the drive from the right side plate.
Moreover, the connection part 2 can also control direction of control objects, such as the light-receiving part 5 of an external sunlight condensing device. (Hereinafter, for simplification of description, objects whose orientations are controlled by the connecting portion 2 such as the core 4, the collecting device 3, and the light receiving portion 5 of the solar light collecting device are collectively referred to as "control target".) The right plate continues to irradiate the sun until the direction completely coincides with the direction of the incident light a, so that the medium in the plate is heated and continues to expand. When the object to be controlled becomes completely coincident with the direction of the incident light a, the incident light a is inserted into the hole at the bottom of the core 4 and neither of the four plates on the left, right, top and bottom is heated. Reach the temporary stop state. FIG. 2B shows a situation in which the tracking device once reaches an equilibrium state at a certain point in the early morning.
Once the equilibrium is reached, the sun continues to move daily and annually, so when the concentrated sunlight deviates from the center of the bottom of the core 4, the automatic tracking device performs tracking again. Start. A mechanism for resuming automatic tracking will be described with reference to FIG.

The chain line from 1 to 2 in FIG. 1A is left on the surface of each plate of the core 4 after the incident light a passes through the collector 3 between sunrise and noon due to the diurnal motion of the sun. The movement trajectory is shown. 2 is the noon position. In addition, chain lines 2 to 3 in FIG. 1B indicate a movement locus of incident light a from noon to sunset.
Note: The shape of the trajectory changes little by little due to the annual movement of the sun.
FIG. 1 (a) shows that the core 4 once reaches an equilibrium state at a certain observation point in the morning (solid solid circle in the middle), and then the incident light a is a solid line along the chain line direction from 1 to 2 It shows that the robot has moved to the position indicated by the chain line circle next to the circle (lower left direction in the drawing). In the illustrated example, the incident light a irradiates the plate 4a and the plate 4b of the core 4, so that these two plates expand by being directly proportional to the amount of solar heat given to the self from the incident light a. Then, the driving force in the direction of the connection unit 2 is given to the connection unit 2, and the connection unit 2 controls the directions of the objects to be controlled all at once.
The incident light a again irradiates the center of the bottom of the core 4 (it completely overlaps with the one-dot chain line circle and the solid line circle), that is, this adjustment continues until the core 4 returns to the equilibrium state again. Further, the time taken for the chain line circle indicating the trajectory of the incident light a to return to the position of the solid line circle is affected by the environmental temperature, and there is a possibility that it will be slightly longer. Note that the chain line circle may go slightly beyond the position of the solid circle to the opposite side, but in that case, the opposite plate is heated and expanded, pushing the chain line circle back to the position of the solid line circle again. It doesn't matter.
FIG. 1B shows a state in which the core 4 tracks the movement of the incident light a again from the equilibrium state at a certain observation time in the afternoon. Since it is the same principle as the above description, the description here is omitted.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the passive coupling part 2 of the solar tracking device.
3 illustrates that the plate 4-a and the plate 4-b of the core 4 are connected to the cylinder structures 4-a ′ and 4-b ′ of the connecting portion 2 by thin pipes, respectively.
Note: The front and back plates of the core 4 have the same structure, but the description is omitted for simplification of the drawing.
More specifically, the core 4 is supported by a gimbal structure at the bottom and four cylinder structures of the connecting portion 2 respectively installed in four directions. Each cylinder of the connecting portion 2 is connected to the core 4 plate and pipe in a one-to-one relationship to form a cylinder plate pair. In the initial state, the four cylinder plate pairs have the same internal pressure P and volume V.
In the illustration of FIG. 3, at a certain observation time in the early morning, the plate 4-a of the core 4 is irradiated with the incident light “a”, the internal medium thermally expands, and the pressure inside the 4-a and 4-a ′ pair It shows that the volume has increased by Δp and Δv, respectively. Assuming that the frame of the plate 4-a and the cylinder 4-a ′ is made of a material that can ignore expansion, the volume increment Δv indicates that the slider part inside the cylinder 4-a ′ is located on the right side (in the drawing). This is realized by pressing in the direction (and the core 4 tilts to the left). At this time, the internal volume of the cylinder 4-b ′ decreased by Δv and the internal pressure increased by Δp. This process continues until the opening surface of the core 4 is orthogonal to the incident light a, and the incident light a does not hit any plate.
More specifically, the direction control rod 4-c extending from the bottom of the core 4 to the opposite side of the opening surface moves to the left and right and back and forth with the movement of the cylinder. It is possible to control the direction of the light receiving unit. The direction control rod 4-c may change the direction of an external control object directly by a pressing force from a cylinder, or may transmit the direction and amount of driving to another driving device.

FIG. 4 shows an example of mounting a panel-type solar light collecting device.
This will be described with reference to FIG.
The panel-type solar light collecting device includes a light receiving unit 5 having a plurality of lenses with short focal lengths arranged on a plane having a panel internal space, a transmission unit 6 using an optical fiber, and the solar tracking device 1. The illustration of FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the panel type solar concentrator is attached to the wall of a building.

The sunlight condensing device is integrated with a funnel-shaped housing so that the incident end of any optical fiber of the transmission unit 6 is at the focal point of the lens of the single light receiving unit 5 and is a control target. (Refer to 5b in FIG. 4) Further, all the controlled objects are evenly arranged on the grid-like fixed frame by using a ball joint structure device so that the object can be rotated left and right and up and down at the position of the incident end of the optical fiber. Mounted. (See 5c in FIG. 4)

A connecting frame is installed behind the lattice-shaped fixed frame (as viewed from the sun) in a direction parallel to the fixed frame. The connecting frame preferably has the same shape as the fixed frame, but is not limited thereto. Any of the above control targets are equally arranged and attached to the connecting frame at the bottom of the funnel-shaped housing so that the control frame can rotate left and right. (See 5d in Figure 4)

The connection frame is directly or indirectly connected to 4-c of the connection part 2 of the solar tracking device and is controlled. (See 5d and 2 in Figure 4)

Each optical fiber of the transmission unit 6 is bundled and transported into a room through a building vent (see 6 in FIG. 4) and reaches a solar energy utilization device such as solar lighting (not shown).

The energy collector such as the panel type solar light collector disclosed in the present specification does not require a large rotating space and does not require construction such as drilling a hole in the building, so the user can easily install it, Furthermore, since there are no power supply devices and motors, it is possible to remove the barrier to the popularization of solar energy because it is semi-permanently free after installation.

Each example of the present invention is illustrated for the purpose of illustration, but is not intended to limit the scope of the claims. Each technique described in the claims encompasses various modifications and changes of the embodiments described above, and combinations thereof. The technical elements described in this specification or the drawings exhibit technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technology exemplified in this specification or the drawings achieves a plurality of objects at the same time, and has technical utility by achieving one of the objects.

The technical elements described in this specification or the drawings are independent or in various combinations, such as a self-tracking device for a mobile energy emission source such as the sun, a panel-type solar concentrating device used in homes, solar lighting, solar Various industrial uses are possible, such as solar energy utilization devices such as photovoltaic power generation and plant cultivation, and attitude control of flying objects such as satellites (communication and photography).

1: Tracking device for mobile energy sources such as the sun (or its position sensing and power source)
2: Passive drive unit of position sensing / power source unit 3: Energy collecting device such as condensing lens of tracking device 4: Core part of position sensing / power source unit 5: Energy of light receiving unit of solar condensing device Collection device 6: Transfer unit of energy collection device such as sunlight condensing

Claims (6)

A position sensing device core 4 having a three-dimensional structure such as a hemisphere, a cone, or a pyramid that is divided into a plurality of plates in the axial direction, and an energy collecting device 3 having means such as optics and electromagnetics. A device for detecting the position of a moving energy source such as the sun.
The position sensing device core 4 and the collecting device 3 may or may not be integrated.
Further, when the incident energy is collected at the center of the bottom of the position sensing device core 4 after passing through the collecting device 3, that is, when the opening surface of the position sensing device core 4 is orthogonal to the direction of the energy emitting source, the position sensing is performed. A hole may be made in the center of the bottom of the position sensing device core 4 so as not to hit any plate of the device core 4. The position sensing device core 4 converts the energy obtained from the collecting device 3 into a driving force, drives the passive coupling unit 2, and is orthogonal to the direction of the energy emitting source that always senses the direction of its own opening surface. A tracking device for a mobile energy emission source, characterized by adjusting as follows.
In order to change the energy obtained from the collection device 3 into a driving force, the position sensing device core 4 may use, for example, the expansion of the plate of the position sensing device core 4, changes in magnetism, electric potential, and the like. The position sensing device core 4 controls the direction of the energy collecting element of the external energy collecting device 5 through the passive coupling unit 2 so as to always be orthogonal to the direction of the energy emitting source. Tracking device for mobile energy emission sources.
The position sensing device core 4 may use energy obtained from the collecting device 3 or may use external force in order to control the direction of the collecting element of the collecting device 5 to be controlled. The panel-type energy collecting device 5 includes a plurality of energy collecting elements arranged on a certain plane inside the panel, and an energy transmission unit 6, and in order to maximize the energy collecting effect, An energy collecting apparatus characterized by adjusting the direction of each collecting element in a panel without aligning the direction with the direction of a mobile energy emission source. The utilization apparatus of energy, such as the sun, provided with the apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-4. An attitude control apparatus for an aircraft apparatus comprising the apparatus according to claim 1.

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