Solar servo control tracking device

• US 8,042,534 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2008
• Issued: 10/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SDN Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: SDN Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Lim, In Cheol, Choi, Kee Hyok, Shin, Kyoo Jae, Woo, Hyeok Jae, Kim, Hyun Woo
• Primary Examiner(s): McAllister; Steven B
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAVANI, AVINASH A
• Application Number:
  US12/222,759
• Publication Number:
  US 20090229597A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,166 Days
• Field of Search: 126/578, 126/621, 126/628, 126/600, 126/573, 136/245, 136/248, 136/259, 250/216, 250/203.1, 250/203.4
• US Class Current: 126/578
• CPC Class Codes: F24S 2030/135 in the form of threaded elements
• CPC Class Codes: F24S 30/425 Horizontal axis
• CPC Class Codes: F24S 50/20 for tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/7861 Solar tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: H02S 20/10 Supporting structures directly fixed to the ground H02S20/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02S 20/32 specially adapted for solar tracking
• CPC Class Codes: H02S 40/32 comprising DC/AC inverter means associated with the PV module itself, e.g. AC modules
• CPC Class Codes: H02S 40/42 Cooling means cooling means directly associated or integrated with the PV cell H01L31/052
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/47 Mountings or tracking
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/50 Photovoltaic [PV] energy

Abstract

A solar servo control tracking device is disclosed. The device includes: an integrated control device having a solar cell sensor unit detecting luminance at a solar azimuth, and an integrated control panel transmitting a control signal at a maximal solar azimuth, calculated by comparing a solar azimuth from the luminance at a solar azimuth; and solar tracking devices, respectively having a tracking device controller receiving the control signal via a wireless link, a high torque driving unit with an AC single phase inductor to generate driving torque by the control signal from the tracking device controller, solar module assemblies driven by the high torque driving unit to track the solar azimuth in accordance with the control signal, and an operating angle sensor unit installed to the high torque driving unit to detect operating angles of the solar module assemblies that track the sun by the control signal.

Claims

1. An apparatus for solar servo control tracking having an integrated control device, comprising:

a single solar cell sensor unit (300) for detecting luminance of sunrays with respect to a solar azimuth consisting;

a stepping motor (320) for providing rotation power to measure an incident angle of sun rays entering at a maximal luminance, so that a solar cell scans luminance of 30 to 150°

;

a solar cell rotation shaft (360) for transmitting the rotation power of the stepping motor;

a rotation angle sensor (330) for measuring an azimuth with respect to the luminance of the sunrays;

a solar cell (310) installed to the solar cell rotation shaft (360) for measuring the luminance of the sunrays;

a base plate (400) for mounting a pair of supports (380, 390), stepping motor, solar cell rotation shaft, and rotation angle sensor;

a case (340) installed on the base plate (400) for enveloping to protect the stepping motor, the solar cell, the solar cell rotation shaft, and the rotation angle sensor;

a lucid semi-spherical cover (410) installed on the top of the case (340) for protecting the components in the case (340) against moisture; and

a waterproof connector (420) installed to lateral side of the case (340) for connecting an electric power and providing input signal from the integrated control panel to the stepping motor and output signal from the rotation angle sensor,

an integrated control panel (500) for remotely transmitting a control signal based on a maximal solar azimuth calculated by comparing a solar azimuth based on the luminance of sun'"'"'s ray detected by the solar cell sensor unit (300) with a solar azimuth measured in real time;

a plurality of solar tracking devices (1 to N) having a solar tracking device controller (70) for remotely receiving the control signal via a wireless communication;

wherein the integrated control panel (500) and individual tracking device controller (70) have a wireless communication module, which is either one of a TCP/IP communication module, a RF communication module or a Bluetooth communication module for remotely operating the solar module assemblies (10) and the solar cell sensor unit (300) with respect to the solar azimuth, even if it is cloudy or bad weather;

a high torque driving unit (20) having an AC single phase inductor (21) to generate a driving torque by servo-control of the tracking device controller (70) in accordance with the control signal;

a plurality of solar module assemblies (10) driven by the high torque driving unit (20) to track the solar azimuth in accordance with the control signal; and

an operating angle sensor unit (50) installed to the high torque driving unit (20) to detect various operating angles of the solar module assemblies (10) that track the sun in accordance with the control signal.

2. The apparatus for solar servo control tracking as claimed in claim 1, wherein the integrated control panel (500) further comprising:

a manual/automatic mode switch (SWI) for selecting an operation mode by an operator;

a real time counter (U5) for periodically measuring the solar azimuth in real time;

a first buffer circuit (U2) for inputting a rotation angle of the solar cell sensor unit (300);

a second buffer circuit (U3) for measuring and inputting the luminance of sunrays at the rotation angle of the solar cell sensor unit (300);

a microcomputer (U1) for receiving the rotation angles of the first and second buffer circuits and the luminance of sunrays to output a rotation angle control signal through Darlington transistors (U7, U8) to the solar cell sensor unit (300), and outputting an operating angle control signal with respect to a maximal solar azimuth calculated by comparing the solar azimuth with respect to the luminance of sunrays with a solar azimuth measured in real time by the real time counter (US);

a wireless communication module (U9) for transmitting the operating angle control signal to the tracking device controller (70);

a memory (U6) for storing a phase current data of AC single phase and operating angles of the solar module assembly (10) received from the tracking device controller (70) via the wireless communication module;

a TCP/IP communication module (U11) for transmitting the phase current and operating angle data, which is read and outputted from the memory (U6) by the microcomputer (U1);

a horizontal position angle correction mode switch (SW2) initially sets horizontal angles of the solar module assembly (10); and

a time setting mode switch (SW3) sets an initial time of the integrated control panel (500) in real time.

3. The apparatus for solar servo control tracking as claimed in claim 1, wherein said high torque driving unit (20) having the AC single phase inductor (21) is installed on the middle of the solar module assembly (10), further comprising:

a cooling fan (23) attached to the AC single phase inductor (21) for cooling the AC single phase inductor (21);

a primary reducer (22), a secondary reducer (35), and a third worm reducer (25, 30), connected sequentially to the AC single phase inductor (21) to generate a high torque, and an adjusting shaft (7) of the solar module assembly (10) is installed to a worm wheel (30) of the third worm reducer (25, 30).

4. The apparatus for solar servo control tracking as claimed in claim 1, wherein the integrated control panel (500) measures the luminance of sunrays in a range of 30°

to 150°

via the solar cell sensor unit (300), analyses the measured luminance of sunrays with respect to the operating angle detected by the operating angle sensor unit (50) to set an operation angle range of the maximal luminance, and compares the solar azimuth measured in real time with the operating angle range at the maximal luminance to calculate an operating angle control signal of the solar module assembly (10) to transmit the operating angle control signal to the tracking device controller (70) via a wireless link;

individual tracking device controller (70) receiving the operating angle control signal from the integrated control panel (500) to calculate an error of the operating angle measured by the operating angle sensor unit (50), performing the compensation by the proportional-integral- derivative (PID) servo-control using the calculation to drive the AC single phase inductor (21) so as to drive the solar module assembly (10), and transmitting the operating angle of the solar module assembly (10) and the phase current signal of the AC single phase inductor (21) to the integrated control panel (500) via a wireless link when the solar module assembly (10) occurs malfunctions so, it is unable to track according to the operating angle control signal.

5. The apparatus for solar servo control tracking as claimed in claim 1, wherein the integrated control panel (500) receives the operating angles of the solar module assembly (10) and the measured phase currents of the AC single phase inductors (21) from the tracking device controller (70) via a wireless link to transmit the operating angle control signals to the tracking device controller (70) to be operated by the operating angle control signals, or to transmit control signals to the tracking device controller (70) to stop the solar module assembly when the AC single phase inductors (21) are in an over-current state.

6. The apparatus for solar servo control tracking as claimed in claim 1, wherein individual the tracking device controller (70) comprising;

a manual/automatic mode switch (S1) selected by an operator;

a buffer circuit (J2) for detecting and inputting the operating angle of the solar module assembly (10);

wireless communication modules (J5, J6) for receiving an operating angle control signal remotely transmitted by the integrated control panel;

a microcomputer (J1) having a memory for storing the operating angle and the phase current of the AC single phase inductor (21) and outputting a servo-control signal for a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) servo-control of the solar module assembly (10) to the AC single phase inductor (21) of the high torque driving unit (20) through a forward relay (K1) and a reverse relay (K2) in accordance with a value calculated from the operating angle inputted through the buffer circuit (J2) and the operating angle control signal inputted through the wireless communication modules (J5, J6) to control the operating angle of the solar module assembly (10); and

either one of a RF communication module or a Bluetooth communication module (J7) is for remotely transmitting data of the operating angle and the phase current of the AC single phase inductor (21) for storing in the memory;

a horizontal position angle correction mode switch (S2) initially sets horizontal angles of the solar module assembly (10); and

a time setting mode switch (S3) sets an initial time of the integrated control panel (500) in real time.

7. The apparatus for solar servo control tracking as claimed in claim 1, wherein the microcomputer (U1) of the integrated control panel (500) further outputs a maximal solar azimuth;

the wireless communication module (U9) of the integrated control panel (500) remotely transmitting the outputted maximal solar azimuth to the tracking device controller (70);

individual tracking device controller (70) consisted of a-real time counter (J3) for setting and measuring the solar azimuth periodically in real time;

wireless communication modules (J5, J6) of the tracking device controller (70) remotely receive the maximal solar azimuth;

individual microcomputer (JI) of the tracking device controller (70) comparing the maximal solar azimuth remotely received through the wireless communication modules (J5, J6) with the solar azimuth calculated by a real time azimuth equation using the real time counter (J3), and outputs only the verified operating angle control signal to the AC single phase inductor (21) of the high torque driving unit (20).