BG113576A - ACTIVE FOLLOWING SOLAR PANEL SYSTEM WITH GEAR DRIVE - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an active tracking system for placement of solar panels with a gear drive mechanism, which will find application in the field of electricity generation from solar radiation, for more efficient electricity generation per unit area. The created active tracking system with a reduced drive mechanism includes, including a support plate (25) on which is welded a stationary shaft (22), on which two main bearings (20) are mounted for bearing a main support tube (21). At least three supporting trusses (26) are fixed symmetrically mounted on the main supporting tube (21), on which an upper frame (29) with multiple pairs of supporting profiles (33) arranged in parallel is mounted. Solar panels (30) are placed at an angle on each pair of supporting profiles (33) by means of movable profiles (31). Under each row of solar panels (30) there are metal or PVC pipes (34), supplied with water and equipped with spray nozzles (35). The system also includes an electric motor (1) connected to a reducer (2), which in turn is connected to a three-stage reducer drive mechanism

Description

Active tracking solar panel system with gear drive

Field of technique

The present invention relates to an actively tracking system for positioning solar panels with a gear drive mechanism, which will find application in the field of electricity generation from solar radiation, and in particular for more efficient electricity generation per unit area.

Prior art

Energy from solar radiation is the largest source of energy on Earth. However, for solar radiation to be a reliable source of energy, the methods of capturing and transforming it must be improved. The intensity of solar radiation depends on the altitude, the characteristics of the region, climatic conditions and others.

Solar panel systems with a built-in sun tracking mechanism, also known as trackers or positioners, aim to maximize electricity production by rotating the solar panels into an optimal position relative to the sun. Targeting is implemented based on measured values of solar radiation or by a controller configured for the specific geographic location of each tracker. According to the system manufacturers, the use of positioning structures increases the efficiency of the panels by about 25% for single-axis tracking systems and by about 30-35% for dual-axis tracking systems. Uniaxial tracking systems provide movement of the solar modules that follows the movement of the sun during the daylight hours from east to west, with the angle between the panel and the horizon not changing. In dual-axis tracking systems, the sun is tracked from east to west and the angle of the panel relative to the horizon is changed from north to south. Thus, the solar panel is directed perpendicular to the solar radiation, which creates conditions for a more complete reception and transformation of the solar radiation. There are various modifications of the construction of the trackers, but in general they are made of a stable base, complete with movable steel and aluminum profiles, a rotating platform and the corresponding drive and control modules.

The optimal angle of placement of photovoltaic modules for the Republic of Bulgaria is between 30° and 35°, with orientation to the south. A large part of photovoltaic systems are installed on the roof or facade construction of buildings and facilities, and the orientation (azimuth) and the angle of inclination are determined by the objects themselves.

Patent application BG113152A1 is known, relating to an active tracking system for the placement of solar panels. The known system includes a supporting plate on which a stationary shaft with reinforcing plates is welded. On the stationary shaft, above the reinforcing plates and at its free end, two bearings are installed, on which a thick-walled pipe is mounted. A transmission wheel is immovably mounted on the thick-walled pipe and above it at least three bearing trusses, symmetrically located on the surface of the thick-walled pipe. An upper frame with multiple pairs of bearing profiles located parallel to it is mounted on the supporting trusses. Solar panels are placed at an angle on each pair of supporting profiles, by means of adjusting profiles, vertically bolted to one of the pair of supporting profiles and by hinges mounted at both ends of the solar panels. The system also includes a control unit connected to an electric motor, which is connected to the transmission wheel by means of a reducer and a chain.

Technical essence of the invention

The object of the invention is to create an active tracking solar panel placement system with a gear drive mechanism that provides increased electricity production per unit area by smoothly and reliably driving the tracker structure of the gear drive system for precise positioning of the solar panels in optimal position corresponding to the movement of the sun.

The task was solved by creating an active monitoring system for the placement of solar panels with a reduction drive mechanism, including a supporting plate on which a stationary shaft with reinforcing plates is welded. Two main bearings are mounted on the stationary shaft above the reinforcing plates, on which the main bearing tube is mounted. At least three support trusses symmetrically located on the surface of the main support tube are fixedly mounted on the main support tube. An upper frame is mounted on the supporting trusses with multiple pairs of supporting profiles located in parallel. Solar panels are placed at an angle on each pair of supporting profiles by means of movable profiles. The system also includes an electric motor connected to a reducer. According to the invention, the reducer is connected to a shaft bearing on two bearings fixed fixedly to a supporting plate. At the free end of the shaft a small gear meshed with a large gear is immovably fixed. The large gear is immovably attached to a second shaft bearing on second bearings immovably attached to a second support plate. Fixed to the free end of the second shaft is a second small gear meshed with a second large gear. The second large gear is immovably attached to a third shaft bearing on third bearings immovably attached to a third carrier plate. At the free end of the third shaft is fixedly fixed a third small gear meshed with a transmission large gear. The large transmission gear is fixedly attached to the main support tube. The system also includes metal or PVC pipes located under each row of solar panels, and the pipes are fed with water and equipped with spray nozzles.

In a variant embodiment of the active tracking system created, the small gears are meshed directly to the corresponding large gears.

In another variant embodiment of the created system, the small gears are engaged by means of a chain or belt to the corresponding large gears.

In a preferred embodiment of the active tracking system, the support trusses are mounted to the main support tube by a mounting plate fixedly connected to the main support tube with other plates.

An advantage of the created system is that the precise positioning of the system structure is ensured through the reduction drive mechanism, which is not affected by bad weather conditions and the force of the wind. In this way, by adjusting the position of the solar panels, an increased production of electricity per unit area is ensured. It is also an advantage that the solar panels are cooled with water mist, which leads to an additional increase in the efficiency of the entire system. In addition, the reduction drive mechanism avoids the constant operation of the electric motor, which is switched on only when the structure is needed to be driven.

Description of attached figures

The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying figures, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an active tracking system for placement of solar panels with a reduction drive mechanism, according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a partial top view of the gear drive mechanism of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a partial front view of the active tracking solar panel placement system with a gear drive mechanism in which the support trusses are mounted to the main support tube via a mounting plate;

Figure 4 is a partial top view of the gear drive mechanism of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a partial front view of the active tracking system of Figure 1, wherein the gear drive mechanism is housed in a box.

Examples of implementation of the invention

The designed active tracking solar panel placement system with gear drive mechanism shown in Figures 1 and 2 includes a support plate 25 on which is welded a stationary shaft 22 with stiffening plates 24. On the stationary shaft 22 above the stiffening plates 24 are mounted two main the bearings 20, on which the main support tube 21 is supported. On the main support tube 21, at least three support trusses 26 are fixedly mounted, symmetrically located on the surface of the support tube 21. On the support trusses 26, an upper frame 29 is mounted with a number of pairs of supporting profiles 33. Solar panels 30 are placed at an angle on each pair of supporting profiles 33 by means of movable profiles 31. The movable profiles 31 are fixed vertically with a bolt connection to one of the pair of supporting profiles 33 and by means of hinges mounted at both ends of the solar panels 30 At least three holes are made in the movable profiles 31, which allows each supporting profile 33 to be clamped at different locations and thus obtain a different angle concluded between the solar panels 30 and the upper frame 29. The hinges allow the free adjustment of the quoted angle and accordingly adjusting the position of the solar panels 30 relative to the sun, depending on the season and the latitude of the installation site. This leads to an additional increase in the efficiency of the system between 8 and 12% on an annual basis. Furthermore, the pairs of supporting profiles 33 are mounted at a certain distance 32 from each other, which prevents the solar panels 30 located on the front pair of supporting profiles 33 from the sun shading the solar panels 30 located on the rear pair of supporting profiles 33, such that way also increases the efficiency of the system.

The entire supporting structure composed of the trusses 26 and the upper frame 29 can be configured in the form of a triangle, square, rectangle, regular or irregular polygon. The most optimal option is for this supporting structure to be in a round shape, so that several active tracking systems can be installed close to each other, thus occupying the least area and, accordingly, not interfering with their rotation.

The motion of an actively tracking solar panel placement system is transmitted by an electric motor 1 connected to a reduction gear 2. The reduction gear 2 serves to reduce the rotational speed of the electric motor 1 as much as possible before the movement itself is transmitted to a three-stage drive mechanism by means of another reduction. The reducer 2 transmits the movement to the shaft 4, which rests on two bearings 3 fixed fixedly to a supporting plate 7. At the free end of the shaft 4 is fixed a fixed small gear 5 meshed with a large gear 11, fixed fixedly fixed to a second shaft 9. Thus the movement is transmitted to the second shaft 9, which rests on second bearings 10 immovably fixed to a second supporting plate 13. At the free end of the second shaft 9, a second small gear 8 is immovably fixed, meshed with a second large gear 14, immovably fixed with a third shaft 15. Thus, the movement is transmitted to the third shaft 15, which rests on third bearings 16 fixed immovably to a third supporting plate 19. At the free end of the third shaft 15, a third small gear 17 is immovably fixed, meshed with a transmitting large gear 23, which is immovably attached to the main support tube 21. In this way, the movement is transmitted to the support trusses 26 of the structure with solar panels 30.

In the particular exemplary embodiment, the reduction actuator is implemented with a three-stage reduction. The reduction in the drive can be carried out in more degrees, and with each subsequent reduction the movement of the tracker structure and the positioning of the solar panels in the optimal position will become more and more precise and the adverse impact of wind and bad weather conditions will be reduced.

In an alternative embodiment of the system shown in Figures 3 and 4, the support trusses 26 are mounted to a main support tube 21 by a mounting plate 27 with other plates 28.

Alternative embodiments of the system are possible in which the small gears 5, 8 and 17 are meshed with the corresponding large gears 11, 14 and 23, directly or by means of a chain or belt 6, 12 and 18.

The three-speed gear drive mechanism can be mounted in a box 36 shown in Figure 5. This greatly reduces the possibility of breakage or damage to the mechanism itself in high winds and bad weather conditions.

An optimal option is that the created active tracking system is located at a distance of at least 40 cm from the roof, so that the air will easily circulate under and behind the solar panels 30 and cool them. In addition, the system also provides metal or PVC pipes 34, located under each row of solar panels 30, and the pipes 34 are supplied with water and equipped with spray nozzles 35. Upon reaching a certain temperature, which is monitored by a temperature sensor sensor, through the nozzles 35 the water is sprayed into fine droplets in the form of a water mist and additionally cools each solar panel 30. In this way, the solar panels 30 will be cooled much better, which leads to an additional increase in the efficiency of both the panels 30 themselves , as well as the entire system.

For the production of electricity from solar radiation with the established active tracking system, inverters and additional components such as wiring, overcurrent and overvoltage protections, lightning protection, grounding, monitoring devices and others are attached to the solar panels 30.

Claims (4)

1. An active tracking system for solar panels with a gear drive mechanism comprising a support plate on which a stationary shaft with stiffening plates is welded, and two main bearings are mounted on the stationary shaft above the stiffening plates, on which a main support tube is mounted, on which is fixedly at least three supporting trusses are installed, symmetrically located on the surface of the main supporting tube, and on the supporting trusses an upper frame is mounted with a plurality of pairs of supporting profiles arranged in parallel therein, wherein on each pair of supporting profiles by means of movable profiles, solar panels are placed at an angle , and the system also includes an electric motor connected to a reducer, characterized by the fact that the reducer (2) is connected to a shaft (4), bearing on two bearings (3), fixed fixedly to a supporting plate (7), as in the free end of shaft (4) fixedly fixed to a small gear (5) meshed with a large gear (11) which is fixedly fixed to a second shaft (9) bearing on second bearings (10) fixedly fixed to a second supporting plate (13) ), and at the free end of the second shaft (9) a second small gear (8) is immovably fixed, meshed with a second large gear (14), which is immovably fixed to a third shaft (15), bearing on third bearings (16) ), fixedly fixed to a third carrier plate (19), and at the free end of the third shaft (15) a third small gear (17) is fixedly fixed, meshed with a transmission large gear (23), which is fixedly fixed to the main carrier pipe (21), wherein the system also includes metal or PVC pipes (34) located under each row of solar panels (30), the pipes (34) being supplied with water and equipped with spray nozzles (35). I ¹ 2. An active tracking system according to claim 1, characterized in that the small gears (5), (8) and (17) are meshed directly with the corresponding large gears (11), (14) and (23). 3. Active tracking system according to claim 1, characterized in that the small gears (5), (8) and (17) are meshed with the corresponding large gears (11), (14) and (23) by means of a chain or belt (6), (12) and (18). 4. An active tracking system according to claim 1, characterized in that the support trusses (26) are mounted to a main support tube (21) by means of a mounting plate (27) immovably connected to the main support tube (21) with other plates ( 28).