KR102185236B1 - Wireless sensor device having solar cell - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a spherical housing having an internal accommodation space, a solar panel disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the housing, a sensor circuit unit for operating at least one sensor for sensing the surrounding environment, and a value detected by the sensor. A circuit unit including a communication circuit unit for transmission to an external device, a patch antenna coupled to the solar panel and electrically connected to the communication circuit unit, and located between the patch antenna and the circuit unit, and any one of the patch antenna and the circuit unit It provides a sensor device capable of wireless communication having a solar cell including an optical communication unit that converts the signal received from the signal into an optical signal and transmits it to another one.

Description

Sensor device capable of wireless communication with solar cell {WIRELESS SENSOR DEVICE HAVING SOLAR CELL}

The present invention relates to a sensor device capable of wireless communication with a solar cell, and more particularly, a solar cell capable of wirelessly transmitting data measured by the sensor to an external device using power produced by stably receiving sunlight. It relates to a sensor device capable of wireless communication including.

The sensor device is a device for sensing the surrounding environment, and transmits the environment information detected by the recent development of communication technology to an external device so that the user can check the environment information around the sensor device through an external server or terminal. .

In this case, the sensor device may include a battery for driving, but a photovoltaic power generation system with no pollution, no limitation on power production, and no production cost may be used when generating power.

Since the solar panel provided in the conventional sensor device is installed in only one direction, the amount of solar power generation cannot be generated consistently with time as the sun moves, and it is difficult for the sensor device to operate stably.

In addition, even when an antenna for transmitting environmental information to an external device is directional, there is a problem in that the sensor device must maintain a specific posture state for wireless communication.

After all, in order to directly receive sunlight irrespective of the location of the sun, continuously sense the surrounding environment, and stably transmit wireless signals to external devices, it is necessary to present a technology for this.

KR 10-1913505 B1 KR 10-2018-0032708 B1

The present invention is provided with a solar panel on the outer peripheral surface of the spherical housing, so that sunlight can be stably received directly regardless of the position of the sun, and high-temperature solar heat is transmitted to the sensor circuit through a patch antenna coupled with the solar panel. It is intended to provide a sensor device capable of wireless communication with a solar cell that can improve the durability of the circuit part by separating and isolating the patch antenna and the circuit part so that it is not.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a spherical housing having an internal accommodation space, a solar panel disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the housing, a sensor circuit unit for operating at least one sensor for sensing the surrounding environment, and the sensor A circuit unit including a communication circuit unit for transmitting a value sensed by the external device to an external device, a patch antenna coupled to the solar panel, and electrically connected to the communication circuit unit, and positioned between the patch antenna and the circuit unit, the patch antenna And an optical communication unit converting a signal received from one of the circuit units into an optical signal and transmitting the converted signal to the other.

According to an embodiment, the patch antenna is laminated and coupled to the front surface of the solar panel, and the patch antenna is overlapped with at least one surface formed by repeating a square unit mesh structure woven with metal yarn to increase light transmittance. It can be in the form of having.

According to an embodiment, the sensor device may further include at least one hanger on the top so as to be hung in the greenhouse.

According to an embodiment, the solar panel may be installed in all directions along an upper outer peripheral surface of the housing.

According to an embodiment, the optical communication unit converts a signal received from the patch antenna into an optical signal and transmits it to the circuit unit, wherein the sensor device includes the optical communication unit to block high-temperature solar heat flowing from the patch antenna. A glass fiber for transmitting the optical signal may be further included between the and the circuit part.

According to an embodiment, at least one surface of the optical communication unit may be exposed to the outside of the housing, and the exposed surface of the optical communication unit may further include a heat sink for radiating the high-temperature solar heat.

According to an embodiment, the sensor device is disposed in the accommodation space, stores power generated by the solar panel, and is disposed in the solar cell unit and the accommodation space to drive the circuit unit, When the amount of power remaining in the battery unit is insufficient, an auxiliary battery unit for driving the circuit unit by supplying power to the circuit unit may be further included.

According to an embodiment, the housing may be formed of a combination of an upper housing and a lower housing so as to be detachable in a transverse direction.

According to an embodiment, a bottom surface of the upper housing includes an annular first auxiliary battery terminal corresponding to each of a positive electrode and a negative electrode, and the upper surface of the lower housing corresponds to each of the positive and negative electrodes of the auxiliary battery. A second auxiliary battery terminal-the second auxiliary battery terminal is formed to protrude elastically, and when the upper housing and the lower housing are rotated to engage with each other, the first auxiliary battery terminal regardless of the coupling direction And the second auxiliary battery terminal may be in contact.

According to an embodiment, the housing is made of a combination of an upper housing and a lower housing so as to be detachable in a transverse direction, and the solar cell unit is accommodated in the upper housing, and the auxiliary battery unit is accommodated in the lower housing. When the upper housing and the lower housing are combined, the auxiliary battery unit may contact a terminal to supply power to the circuit unit.

According to an embodiment, the sensor device may further include a switch for switching the solar cell unit and the auxiliary battery unit as a power supply source to the circuit unit.

According to an embodiment, a control signal for switching the switch so that the auxiliary battery unit and the circuit unit are electrically connected is generated when detecting the amount of remaining power of the solar cell unit and when the amount of remaining power is less than a preset value. It may further include a control unit to generate.

According to the present invention, the solar panel is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the spherical housing, so that sunlight can be stably received directly regardless of the position of the sun.

At this time, by separating and isolating the patch antenna and the circuit portion so that high-temperature solar heat is not transmitted to the sensor circuit portion through the patch antenna coupled with the solar panel, durability of the circuit portion may be improved.

Preferably, when the signal received through the antenna is switched, heat that may be transmitted along with the signal reception can be effectively radiated through the heat sink.

In addition, it is possible to lower the manufacturing cost by implementing the patch antenna having light transmittance with a metal mesh.

In addition, the solar cell unit and the auxiliary battery unit are accommodated in each of the detachable housings, so that the auxiliary battery unit accommodated in the separated lower housing can be easily replaced.

1 is a view showing the overall appearance of a sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a configuration diagram of a sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view showing an antenna and a solar panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view showing each of the coupling surfaces between the upper housing and the lower housing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related known technology may obscure the subject matter of the present invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. In the drawings, parts not related to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention, and similar reference numerals are assigned to similar parts throughout the specification. In addition, throughout the specification, when a part "includes" a certain component, it means that other components may be further included rather than excluding other components unless otherwise stated.

1 is a view showing the overall appearance of a sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a configuration diagram of the sensor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A sensor device capable of wireless communication with a solar cell according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, abbreviated as "sensor device") is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a spherical housing 110 having an internal accommodation space. , 120), the antenna-solar panels 111a to 111c disposed on the outer circumferential surfaces of the housings 110 and 120, and a sensor circuit for operating at least one sensor for sensing the surrounding environment and communicating with an external device It may include a circuit unit 112 including a communication circuit unit for, and an optical communication unit 113 positioned between the circuit unit 112 and the antenna to transmit a signal.

The application destination of the sensor device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is not particularly limited, but is preferably installed in a smart farm greenhouse to detect information required by the smart farm greenhouse using a sensor, Sensing information can be transmitted to an external control server.

However, since the components shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are not essential, a sensor device having more components or fewer components may be implemented.

Hereinafter, each component will be described.

The housings 110 and 120 may be formed in a spherical shape having an accommodation space therein, and preferably the housings 110 and 120 are upper housing 110 and lower housing 120 along the cut line 130 in the transverse direction. Can be divided into

A solar panel may be disposed on the outer circumferential surfaces of the housings 110 and 120, and the solar panel may include a plurality of solar modules to generate power by condensing sunlight. Accordingly, the circuit unit 112 may receive power generated by the solar panel and be driven by the power.

It is preferable that a plurality of solar panels are arranged in all directions along the upper outer peripheral surfaces of the spherical housings 110 and 120 so that sunlight can be directly received. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, each of the four solar panels is arranged in four directions along the upper outer circumferential surface of the spherical housing, so that even if the sun moves, the sun can receive sunlight from any direction, It can receive sunlight at all times during the floating daytime.

Reference numerals 111a to 111c denote a solar panel, but as will be described later, since the patch antenna 1111 may be coupled to the front surface of the solar panel, the term of the solar panel is an antenna-solar panel. Can be used interchangeably with

In the solar panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, a patch antenna may be combined.

3 is a view showing an antenna and a solar panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3, the solar panel according to an embodiment of the present invention may be coupled to an antenna. A patch antenna 1111 capable of transmitting light may be stacked on the front surface of the solar panel 1112 made of a plurality of solar modules.

Likewise, since the patch antenna 1111 can be installed in all directions along the outer circumferential surface of the upper housing 110, wireless communication is possible in omnidirectional manner by a plurality of patch antennas.

At this time, the patch antenna 1111 may be a transparent patch antenna using a transparent electrode, but the patch antenna 1111 according to an embodiment of the present invention is woven with metal threads as shown in FIG. 3(b). A unit mesh structure of a square shape may be repeated and connected in a number of vertically, left, and right side plain weaves (see FIG. 3(a)). Here, the metal thread may preferably be a copper wire.

In this case, the characteristics of the antenna may be determined and designed according to the width, length, and thickness of the metal thread and the entire patch antenna, and this is not particularly limited.

In the patch antenna 1111 having a mesh structure, since metal yarns are uniformly intersected and thus have a certain degree of transparency, sunlight may be incident on the solar panel 1112.

In this case, the patch antenna 1111 may have one surface formed of a mesh structure, but may be two disposed with a transparent acrylic substrate therebetween. In the case where the two mesh structures are disposed so as to overlap with the acrylic substrate between them, it is preferable that the positions of the metal yarns on the two sides are aligned so that the light transmittance is maintained.

The patch antenna 1111 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be electrically connected to a communication circuit part included in the circuit part 112, and various signals through the communication circuit part are transmitted or received to an external device through the patch antenna 1111 Can be.

As a specific example, the communication circuit unit may transmit an environmental signal (or detection signal) sensed through at least one sensor to an external control center or receive various control signals from an external control center.

To this end, the sensor device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include at least one sensor (not shown) for sensing the surrounding environment. The sensor detects ambient temperature, humidity, and illuminance, and the sensor device 100 may transmit to an external device, for example, a control server collecting sensor information using a communication circuit.

In addition, the communication circuit unit may receive a control signal from an external control server, operate at least one sensor using the sensor circuit unit according to the received control signal to sense a surrounding environment and transmit the detected signal to the control server.

Meanwhile, as described above, the circuit unit 112 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include the above-described communication circuit unit and a sensor circuit unit for operating at least one sensor.

At this time, the circuit unit 112 may introduce high-temperature heat through the patch antenna 1111 electrically connected to the communication circuit unit.

Since the patch antenna 1111 according to an embodiment of the present invention is coupled to the front surface of the solar panel 1112, it can be directly or indirectly heated by solar heat, and high temperature heat affects the operation of the circuit unit 112. There is a problem to give.

In order to solve this problem, the sensor device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is positioned between the patch antenna 1111 and the circuit unit 112, and the patch antenna 1111 and the circuit unit 112 It may further include an optical communication unit 113 that converts the signal received from one of the signals into an optical signal and transmits it to the other.

The optical communication unit 113 converts the signal received from the patch antenna 1111 into an optical signal and transmits it to the circuit unit 112 so that the high temperature heat is not transferred to the circuit unit 112. In order to block the solar heat of, a glass fiber 1131 for transmitting an optical signal may be interposed between the optical communication unit 113 and the circuit unit 112.

Since the glass fiber 1131, that is, the optical fiber, has a low thermal conductivity, the high-temperature solar heat flowing into the patch antenna 1111 is not transferred to the circuit part 112, and the circuit part 112 can be protected from the high-temperature solar heat. Therefore, the durability of the circuit unit 112 can be improved.

However, since the optical communication unit 113 is still exposed to the high-temperature solar heat flowing into the patch antenna 1111, a portion of the optical communication unit 113 that is affected by the high-temperature solar heat to solve this problem, for example, the optical communication unit 113 ), the portion connected to the patch antenna 1111 is preferably exposed to the outside of the housings 110 and 120, and a heat sink 117 for radiating high-temperature solar heat to the outside is provided on the exposed surface of the optical communication unit 113 It is more preferable to be attached.

On the other hand, the sensor device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is disposed in the accommodation space in the housings 110 and 120 to store the power generated by the solar panel 1112 solar cell unit 114 It may include.

Power stored in the solar cell unit 114 may be supplied to components in the sensor device 100. According to an exemplary embodiment, the power stored in the solar cell unit 114 may be supplied to the circuit unit 112 and/or a sensor (not shown) to detect the surrounding environment or transmit a detection signal to an external device.

According to an embodiment, an isolate 116 is disposed at a front end of the solar cell unit 114 as shown in FIG. 2, so that the power generated by the solar panel 1112 is transmitted to the solar cell unit 114 You can only have a flow towards ).

Eventually, the power stored in the solar cell unit 114 can only be supplied to the circuit unit 112 through the switch 115 by the isolator 116, and as another path, the solar panel 112 or the optical communication unit 113 ), the power supply circuit can be stabilized.

Since the power stored in the solar cell unit 114 is less or less power stored on a cloudy day without the sun, it is preferable to further include an auxiliary cell unit 121.

It is preferable that the auxiliary battery unit 121 is connected in parallel with the solar cell unit 114 so that power can be supplied to the components in the sensor device 100 when the amount of remaining power of the solar cell unit 114 is insufficient.

To this end, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the sensor device 100 may include a switch 115 capable of selecting any one of the solar cell unit 114 and the auxiliary cell unit 121 as a power supply source.

According to an embodiment, one node of the switch 115 may be connected to the circuit unit 112, and the other two nodes are connected to the solar cell unit 114 and the auxiliary battery unit 121, so that the switch 115 is switched. Optionally, the solar cell unit 114 or the auxiliary cell unit 121 may be electrically connected to the circuit unit 112 by operation.

The switching operation of the switch 115 can be operated by a control signal from a control unit (not shown), and by setting a high priority to the solar cell unit 114 as a power supply source, the control unit has a high priority according to the priority. When the amount of remaining power of the solar cell unit 114 is sensed and the detected amount of remaining power is less than a preset value, a control signal for a switching operation may be transmitted to the switch 115. Accordingly, the switch 115 may convert the solar cell unit 114 into the auxiliary battery unit 121 as a power supply source for the circuit unit 112 by a switching operation.

Meanwhile, as described above, the housings 110 and 120 of the present invention may be formed by combining the upper housing 110 and the lower housing 120.

At this time, the solar cell unit 114 is accommodated in the upper housing 110 and the auxiliary battery unit 121 is accommodated in the lower housing 120, and when the upper housing 110 and the lower housing 120 are combined, the auxiliary battery unit 121 is in a state in which power can be supplied to the circuit unit 112, and when the upper housing 110 and the lower housing 120 are combined, the auxiliary battery unit 121 may be electrically connected to one node of the switch 115 .

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4(b), second auxiliary battery terminals 122a and 122b corresponding to each of the positive and negative electrodes of the auxiliary battery unit 121 are provided on the upper surface of the lower housing 120, Correspondingly, as shown in FIG. 4A, first auxiliary battery terminals 118a and 118b may be provided on the bottom of the upper housing 110.

The first auxiliary battery terminals 118a and 118b are formed with two annular electrodes having a predetermined thickness corresponding to each of the positive and negative electrodes, so that the upper housing 110 and the lower housing 120 engage with each other and rotate when they are combined. Regardless of the direction, it is preferable that the second auxiliary battery terminals 122a and 122b elastically protruding from the upper surface of the lower housing 120 can be in contact with the first auxiliary battery terminals 122a and 122b.

As a result, the first auxiliary battery terminals 118a and 118b electrically connected to the switch 115 and the second auxiliary battery terminals 122a and 122b electrically connected to the auxiliary battery unit 121 are in contact with each other, so that the switch 115 ) By the switching operation of the auxiliary battery unit 121 is able to supply power to the circuit unit 112.

On the other hand, the sensor device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, as described above, can be installed in the smart farm greenhouse, for ease of installation, so that it can be installed hanging on the upper portion of the housing (110, 120). At least one hook (101a, 101b) may be formed.

As an example, by hanging the sensor device 100 in the air by putting a string on the hangers 101a and 101b and hanging it on a greenhouse gutter, there is an effect of reducing interference during communication and sunlight reception.

In the above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. The description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes only, and a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will be able to understand that it can be easily modified into other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention.

Therefore, the scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims to be described later rather than the detailed description, and all changes or modified forms derived from the meaning, scope, and equivalent concepts of the claims are included in the scope of the present invention. It must be interpreted.

1: greenhouse gutter 100: sensor device
101a, 101b: hook 110: upper housing
111a~111c: antenna-solar panel 1111: patch antenna
1112: solar panel 112: circuit
113: optical communication department 1131: glass fiber
114: solar cell unit 115: switch
116: isolated 117: heat sink
118a, 118b: first auxiliary battery terminal 120: housing
121: auxiliary battery part 122a, 122b: second auxiliary battery terminal
130: incision line

Claims (12)

A spherical housing having an inner receiving space;
A solar panel disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the housing;
A circuit unit including a sensor circuit unit for operating at least one sensor for sensing a surrounding environment, and a communication circuit unit for transmitting a value sensed by the sensor to an external device;
A patch antenna coupled to the solar panel and electrically connected to the communication circuit unit; And
An optical communication unit positioned between the patch antenna and the circuit unit to convert a signal received from one of the patch antenna and the circuit unit into an optical signal and transmit the converted signal to the other;
Including,
The optical communication unit is characterized in that a glass fiber for transmitting the converted optical signal to the circuit unit is interposed between the optical communication unit and the circuit unit so that high-temperature solar heat flowing from the patch antenna is not transmitted to the circuit unit, and ,
A portion of the optical communication unit connected to the patch antenna is exposed to the outside of the housing, and a heat sink for radiating high-temperature solar heat is attached to the exposed surface. The method of claim 1,
The patch antenna is laminated and coupled to the front surface of the solar panel,
The patch antenna is a sensor device capable of wireless communication with a solar cell, characterized in that at least one surface formed by repeating a square unit mesh structure woven with metal yarns is overlapped to have light transmittance. The method of claim 1,
The sensor device may include at least one hanger on an upper portion so as to be hung in the greenhouse;
Sensor device capable of wireless communication with a solar cell, characterized in that it further comprises. The method of claim 3,
The solar panel is a sensor device capable of wireless communication with a solar cell, characterized in that installed in the entire direction along the upper outer peripheral surface of the housing. delete delete The method of claim 1,
The sensor device,
A solar cell unit disposed in the accommodation space to store power generated by the solar panel and drive the circuit unit; And
An auxiliary battery unit disposed in the accommodation space to supply power to the circuit unit to drive the circuit unit when the amount of remaining power of the solar cell unit is insufficient;
Sensor device capable of wireless communication with a solar cell, characterized in that it further comprises. The method of claim 1,
The housing,
A sensor device capable of wireless communication with a solar cell, characterized in that the upper housing and the lower housing are combined so as to be separated in the transverse direction. The method of claim 7,
The housing is made of a combination of an upper housing and a lower housing so as to be separable in the transverse direction,
The solar cell unit is accommodated in the upper housing, and the auxiliary battery unit is accommodated in the lower housing, and when the upper housing and the lower housing are combined, the auxiliary battery unit contacts a terminal to supply power to the circuit unit. Sensor device capable of wireless communication with solar cells. The method of claim 9,
The bottom surface of the upper housing includes an annular first auxiliary battery terminal corresponding to each of the positive electrode and the negative electrode,
The upper surface of the lower housing includes a second auxiliary battery terminal corresponding to each of the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the auxiliary battery part-the second auxiliary battery terminal is formed to protrude elastically,
A sensor capable of wireless communication with a solar cell, characterized in that when the upper housing and the lower housing are engaged and rotated and coupled, the first auxiliary battery terminal and the second auxiliary battery terminal are in contact regardless of the coupling direction. Device. The method of claim 7,
The sensor device,
A switch for switching the solar cell unit and the auxiliary cell unit as a power supply source to the circuit unit;
Sensor device capable of wireless communication with a solar cell, characterized in that it further comprises. The method of claim 11,
A controller configured to detect an amount of remaining power of the solar cell unit and, when the amount of remaining power does not reach a preset value, generate a control signal for switching the switch so that the auxiliary battery unit and the circuit unit are electrically connected;
Sensor device capable of wireless communication with a solar cell, characterized in that it further comprises.

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