FR2762381A1 - Solar panel electrical feed method for Aircraft Landing Beacons usable especially by smaller airports - Google Patents

Abstract

The solar panel electrical feed method has a solar panel (2) which is mounted on the ground and which may be at an angle to or parallel to the ground. The solar panels feed rechargeable batteries which are mounted in a cemented section (1) in the ground. The batteries feed current to a guidance beacon light.

Description

 The subject of the present invention is a device making it possible to power, at a very reduced cost and by increasing safety, the lighting of a landing strip while avoiding long works immobilizing the installations.

 95% of the price of a lighting installation currently comes from the costs of achieving its supply of electrical energy. That is to say the passage of cables around the track of specific power systems and the power plant. Such a system in addition to a very significant cost penalizes the use of the track during its installation. In addition, being a centralized system and despite the importance of the means used, when a failure thereof occurs, a large part of the lighting is extinguished. This is very detrimental to safety during the use of the installations by an aircraft.

 The object of the present invention is to eliminate all of this centralized device by replacing it with autonomous devices supplied with solar energy which are both easy to implement, making it possible both to reduce costs and to increase safety.

 Specifically, the invention relates to a device allowing the supply of each light point (3) located on the edges of the traffic lanes or on the edges or ends of the runway by means of solar panel (2) located near said points. luminous by using to control them either a remote control device, or an autonomous and twilight device.

 This solution, however technically possible for many years, has never been envisaged by those skilled in the art for various reasons.

 There are still important prejudices about the lack of reliability and the necessary dimensions of solar panels. Some previous projects involving costly centralized solar power have only reinforced this impression.

 Finally, conventional autonomous devices are not very advantageous because they require a remote power supply located outside the prohibited area of obstacles to air navigation.

 Indeed, the panels are, for their light output to be optimized, fixed at a fairly large inclination even in regions close to the equator and are therefore considered as obstacles to air navigation. The energy storage devices also constitute obstacles since they are very important. In addition, in order to protect them from high temperatures, these are protected from the sun by the solar panels which are raised accordingly.

 Any element located in the immediate vicinity of a runway must therefore meet standards of frangibility, the accumulators necessary for the system being of too great a weight for them to meet the criteria of frangibility, these will be buried according to the invention in a housing (1) allowing the proper functioning of the system.

Cec: i will also protect them from high temperatures.

 The solar panels (2) for the same reasons will be fixed so that they do not constitute an obstacle. That is to say at a slight inclination which can go up to horizontal and close to the surface of the ground in particular. They must be resized as a result of their installation angle, which will no longer be optimized for better performance.

 This is why the invention will have panels (2) oversized with respect to their optimum angle of performance and located at ground level, as well as a box (1) containing the elements which may constitute obstacles in particular the system of 'buried power supply with any accumulators which do not constitute an obstacle for air navigation and can therefore be installed near the beacon light (s) (3).

 Thanks to the significant lowering of costs that this system will entail, it will be possible to equip aerodromes not provided with lighting. The invention is particularly useful in the case of small aerodromes. This will therefore improve safety for air navigation.

 Of course, the interest of such a device is further increased for isolated sites not supplied by an electrical distribution network and very sunny. It should be noted that these two conditions are often verified simultaneously.

 In the drawing the tag (3) is shown associated with the box (1) but it is understood that it can also be fixed to the ground independently.

 Similarly, it is preferable to have as many solar panels and power supply units as there are beacons, but we can also consider the case where a single panel makes it possible for example to supply two or more beacons, particularly for thresholds or ends whose tags are very close to each other.

Claims (4)

Claims  1) Solar power supply device for lighting beacons located in particular on the edges of traffic lanes or on the edges or ends of runways, characterized in that the solar panels (2) are slightly inclined or horizontal and placed close to the soil surface.  2) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the parts which may constitute obstacles, in particular accumulators, are placed in a box ente rré (1).  3) Device according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that it is remote controlled.  4) Device according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that it is automatically twilight control.