JP2006005306A - Solar power system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve power generation efficiency and reduce the electric power required for tracking by utilizing, as a means for tracking the sun, a driving means other than the electric power acquired by solar energy power generation as well. <P>SOLUTION: The solar energy power generation system comprises a floating body 30 that floats on water surface while supporting a soar cell module 10, a direction recognizing device 40 for recognizing the direction of sun and that of the light receiving surface of he solar cell module 10, a rudder member 32 which receives water current to rotate the floating body 30 on the water surface, and a control unit 60 that controls rotation of the floating body 30 so that the light receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 faces the sun by controlling the rudder member 32 based on recognizing result of the direction recognizing device 40. The rudder member 32 is so provided for free rotation that it turns aside the water current except when controlled by the control unit 60. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a photovoltaic power generation system, and more particularly to a photovoltaic power generation system that tracks sunlight while floating on water.

  Since fossil fuels are expected to be depleted in the near future, interest in natural energy has increased in recent years, and among these, solar cells that convert sunlight light energy into electrical energy are becoming increasingly popular.

  A solar battery generally refers to a photoelectric conversion element called a solar battery cell, and a plurality of the photoelectric conversion elements connected together and sealed in glass or resin is called a solar battery module. And a device (inverter) that converts a plurality of solar cell modules from DC to AC so that they can be used as a household power source by connecting them in series or in parallel so that output current and output voltage can be obtained. Those equipped with batteries and storage batteries are generally called solar power generation systems.

  Conventional solar power generation systems are mainly classified into residential use and industrial use. For residential use, a solar cell module is fixed on the roof of each home via a support structure (base), and an inverter for converting the obtained power into an AC power source is provided. In general, the surplus power generated is a system for selling power to an electric power company. On the other hand, for industrial use, the scale of installation and the form of the support structure are generally larger than for residential use, and are equipped with storage batteries, and are often installed in places where power supply from electric power companies cannot be received. Thus, installation methods and power generation methods for installing a solar power generation system on land have been almost established.

  On the other hand, there are almost no installation examples of the photovoltaic power generation system on the water, and it can be said that the optimal installation method and power generation method have not been established. In the future, the installation of photovoltaic power generation will not only extend to land but also to water, and installation in an environment different from land and optimization of the power generation method are urgently needed.

Improving power generation efficiency is an important issue for power generation on land as well as on the water. As one of the methods for improving the power generation efficiency, a power generation device or system that tracks sunlight has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). This is a method of tilting and rotating the support structure to which the solar cell module is attached so that the light-receiving surface of the solar cell always faces in the direction of the sun, the position of which changes every moment.
JP 61-133673 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-40610

  However, the solar cell system and the solar light tracking device of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above are all covered by only the electric power obtained by solar power generation as a means for rotation and inclination for tracking the sun. Therefore, there was a problem that it was not efficient. In other words, the electric power obtained by photovoltaic power generation is used for a purpose different from the original purpose, and depending on what kind of member is used for the means for rotation and tilting, If the power required to track the sun is greater than the power obtained by tracking, the effect is rather adverse.

  The present invention was devised to solve such problems, and its purpose is to improve power generation efficiency by using driving means other than electric power obtained by solar power generation as means for tracking the sun. And providing a photovoltaic power generation system that reduces the power required for tracking.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention uses a water flow as a driving means for tracking the sun. That is, the photovoltaic power generation system of the present invention includes a floating body that floats on the water surface while supporting the solar cell, direction recognition means that recognizes the direction of the sun and the direction of the light receiving surface of the solar cell, and a water flow. Rotating means for rotating the floating body on the water surface by receiving the floating body, and controlling the rotating means based on the recognition result of the direction recognizing means, so that the light receiving surface of the solar cell faces the sun. And a control means for controlling the rotation of the motor. Further, the present invention further includes water flow detection means for detecting the direction and speed of the water flow, and the control means controls the rotation means by adding the detection result of the water flow detection means.

  Thus, in the present invention, the power generation efficiency can be improved by causing the light-receiving surface of the solar cell to always follow the sun. In addition, the use of electric power obtained by photovoltaic power generation as a driving source for rotating the rotating means is minimized, and the utilization efficiency of electric power obtained by photovoltaic power generation is improved mainly by utilizing the power of water flow. be able to.

  In this case, the rotating means is a plate-shaped rudder member, and this rudder member is provided so as to be freely rotatable so as to receive a water flow except when controlled by the control means. That is, when the direction of the sun and the direction of the light receiving surface of the solar cell are in the same direction, the underwater rudder member receives the force of the water flow by free rotation. On the other hand, when the direction of the sun is different from the direction of the light receiving surface of the solar cell, the rudder member is rotationally controlled so as to receive the force of the water flow. As a result, the floating body rotates about the vertical direction with respect to the water surface as a rotation axis, and tracks the sun. Thus, in the present invention, of the power obtained by solar power generation, the power used to track the sun is only the power supplied to the drive source that rotates the rudder member to catch the water flow, Compared with the above prior art, power consumption is also small. Therefore, it is possible to improve the power generation efficiency accordingly.

  Here, a stepping motor is used as a drive source for rotating the rotating means in the present invention, but it is not limited to a stepping motor. Moreover, in this invention, the storage battery which accumulate | stores the electric power generated with the solar cell is provided, and supply of the electric power to the drive source of the said rotation means is set as the structure using the electric power of this storage battery.

  Further, as the direction recognizing means for recognizing the direction of the sun, in the present invention, the direction of the sun is calculated based on the measuring means for measuring the current time, the date data prepared in advance, and the current time by the measuring means. The calculation means obtained by the above is used. The direction recognizing means is not limited to the method obtained by such calculation, but it is also possible to actually detect the direction of the sun, but in that case, control of the sensor for detecting the direction of the sun, For example, a calculation method is suitable as a method that does not consume power because power is required for control for obtaining the peak of the amount of received light by shaking the sensor in the left-right direction, for example. Moreover, as a means to recognize the direction of the light-receiving surface of a solar cell module, it can be set as the structure which recognizes a direction by GPS (Global Positioning System).

  According to the solar power generation system of the present invention, power generation efficiency can be improved by causing the light receiving surface of the solar cell to always follow the sun. In addition, the use of electric power obtained by photovoltaic power generation as a driving source for rotating the rotating means is minimized, and the utilization efficiency of electric power obtained by photovoltaic power generation is improved mainly by utilizing the power of water flow. be able to.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing Embodiment 1 of the photovoltaic power generation system of the present invention.

  The photovoltaic power generation system according to Embodiment 1 can be broadly divided into a solar cell module 10, a gantry 20 that supports and fixes the solar cell module 10, and a floating body 30 that floats on the water surface to which the gantry 20 is attached. It is configured.

  The solar cell module 10 is formed by connecting a plurality of photovoltaic cells 10a, which are photoelectric conversion elements, and encapsulating them in glass, resin, or the like. A total of 32 pieces are arranged side by side in the vertical direction.

  The stand 20 for supporting and fixing the solar cell module 10 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape for mounting and supporting and fixing the solar cell module 10 and a frame base 21 assembled in a rectangular parallelepiped shape placed on the floating body 30. The assembled mounting frame 22 includes a pair of left and right connecting rods 23 and 23 that connect the rear end portion of the mounting frame 22 and the rear end portion of the frame base 21. The mounting frame 22 is connected to the mounting frame 22. For example, the flanges 23 and 23 are inclined at 45 degrees. By mounting and fixing the solar cell module 10 on the mounting frame 22, the light-receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 is held at an angle of 45 degrees so that it substantially faces the sun.

  Moreover, the direction recognition device 40 for recognizing whether or not the direction of the sun and the direction of the light receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 coincide with each other, and the electric power generated by the solar cell module 10 are accumulated on the upper surface of the floating body 30. A storage battery 50 and a control device 60 that controls the rotation of a rudder member 32 to be described later using the power of the storage battery 50 as a power source are provided.

  On the other hand, the floating body 30 is formed in a disk shape that is not easily resisted by water flow, and, for example, a cylindrical rotating shaft 31 hanging downward is free from the floating body 30 at the center of the lower surface located in water. It is provided so as to be rotatable. The rotating shaft 31 is provided with the above-described rudder member 32 for rotating the floating body 30 on the water surface by receiving the water flow so as to extend in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the rotating shaft 31. Yes. On the other hand, the rotary shaft 31 is provided so as to be able to be linked to a stepping motor which is a driving source (not shown), and when linked to the stepping motor, the rotation of the stepping motor by the control device 60 is controlled clockwise. And counterclockwise rotation control. That is, the rudder member 32 provided on the rotary shaft 31 can be controlled to rotate in water. A water flow sensor 33 that detects the direction and speed of the water flow is provided at the lower end of the rotating shaft 31.

  In the first embodiment, the direction recognition device 40 includes a measurement unit that measures the current time and a calculation unit that calculates the direction of the sun. The calculation unit is based on date data and measurement unit that are prepared in advance. The direction of the sun is obtained by calculation based on the current time. The direction recognition device 40 also recognizes the direction (direction) in which the light receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 is currently facing. As a method of recognizing the direction of the light receiving surface of the solar cell module 10, for example, a method of recognizing the direction by GPS (Global Positioning System) can be employed. The direction recognizing device 40 is not limited to the method for obtaining the direction of the sun by such a calculation, but it is also possible to actually detect the direction of the sun using various sensors.

  The control device 60 controls the rotation of the rotating shaft 31, that is, the angle of the rudder member 32 with respect to the water flow direction, based on the recognition result by the direction recognition device 40, so that the light receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 always faces the sun. The rotation of the floating body 30 on the water surface is controlled. At this time, the control device 60 controls the rotation angle and the rotation speed of the rudder member 32 in consideration of the detection result of the water flow sensor 33.

  Hereinafter, a control operation for controlling the rotation of the floating body 30 so that the light receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 is always directed in the direction of the moving sun by the control of the rudder member 32 by the control device 60 will be described.

  First, the direction of the sun and the direction in which the light receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 faces are obtained by calculation by the direction recognition device 40. As a result of the calculation, when the two directions coincide with each other, the control device 60 keeps the rotary shaft 31 freely rotatable without causing the stepping motor to link to the rotary shaft 31. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 2, the rudder member 32 fixed to the rotating shaft 31 receives the force of the water flow (that is, the rudder member 32 freely rotates along the direction of the water flow), and the solar cell module 10. Will continue to face the same direction as the sun 70.

  On the other hand, when the direction of the sun 70 and the direction of the light receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 do not coincide with each other as a result of the calculation, the control device 60 determines whether the floating body 30 is in which direction based on the angle difference based on the calculation result. It calculates whether the sun 70 can be tracked if it rotates, and further gives direction and angle rotation instructions to the rotating shaft 31 by taking into account information on the direction and speed of the water flow from the water flow sensor 33. As a result, the rudder member 32 fixed to the rotating shaft 31 rotates in the indicated direction by the indicated angle, whereby the rudder member 32 receives the force of the water flow, and the floating body 30 tracks the sun 70. Will rotate in the direction.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the direction of the light receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 is shifted counterclockwise (L) by an angle θ as shown in FIG. The control device 60 rotates the rudder member 32a that has been freely rotated so as to receive the water flow by an angle θ in the same counterclockwise direction (L) (rotates to a position indicated by reference numeral 32b in FIG. 3). As a result, the rudder member 32b receives the force of the water flow, and the floating body 30 rotates clockwise (R) by the angle θ, so that the direction of the sun 70 and the direction of the light receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 coincide. . When the directions coincide with each other, the rudder member 32b is rotated to the position indicated by reference numeral 32a in FIG. 3, so that the force of the water flow is again received, and the floating body 30 stops rotating in that direction. become. Further, the control device 60 releases the linkage between the stepping motor and the rotating shaft 31 in this state. Thereby, since the rotating shaft 31 becomes freely rotatable again, the rudder member 32 acts so as to receive the force of the water flow thereafter. That is, no rotational force is transmitted to the floating body 30.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4, when the direction of the light receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 is shifted counterclockwise (L) from the direction of the sun 70 by the angle θ, the water flow sensor 33 indicates that there is no water flow. When it has detected, the control apparatus 60 rotates the floating body 30 using the rudder member 32a like oar. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the rudder member 32a is rotated from the initial position A1 in the counterclockwise direction (L) at positions A2, A3, A4, A5,. Thereby, the floating body 30 rotates slowly in the clockwise direction (R) by the resistance between the rudder member 32a and water. Then, the direction recognition device 40 decelerates the rotational speed of the rudder member 32a just before the direction of the light receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 coincides with the direction of the sun 70, and rotates the rudder member 32a when the directions coincide. Stop. Thereby, the direction of the sun 70 and the direction of the light-receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 will correspond. Thereafter, the control device 60 releases the linkage between the stepping motor and the rotating shaft 31. Thereby, since the rotating shaft 31 becomes freely rotatable again, the rudder member 32 acts so as to receive the force even if a water flow is subsequently generated. That is, no rotational force is transmitted to the floating body 30.

  The control device 60 performs such control, that is, calculation of coincidence and mismatch of angles and rotation control of the rudder member 32 for tracking the sun for a predetermined time (specifically, several tens of seconds). ~ Every few minutes). Thereby, it can control so that the light-receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 always faces the sun.

  In addition, after the sun sets, the rudder member 32 is controlled so that the light receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 faces the direction in which the sun rises the next morning.

  In addition, the above-described determination of the coincidence / non-coincidence of the angle is made by giving a certain threshold (for example, a width of ± 5 degrees) to the threshold used as a reference for comparison, and comparing this threshold with the calculated angle. It should be done by.

  According to the photovoltaic power generation system of the first embodiment, the floating body 30 is rotated so that the light receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 faces east in the morning when the sun is east, south in the day, and west in the evening. Can be made. Thereby, since the light-receiving surface of the solar cell module 10 can always be kept substantially perpendicular to sunlight, it is possible to improve power generation efficiency.

  In FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, only one solar cell module 10 is installed on the gantry 20, but it is natural that a plurality of solar cell modules 10 can be installed.

  Also, aluminum can be used as the material of the gantry 20, and polystyrene resin can be used as the material of the floating body 30, but not limited to these materials, various materials such as wood and metal can be used. It can be used. Further, the shape of the rudder member 32 that receives the force of the water flow is not particularly limited, and may be any shape as long as it can receive and receive the force of the water flow.

[Embodiment 2]
FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing Embodiment 2 of the photovoltaic power generation system of the present invention.

  In the photovoltaic power generation system of the second embodiment, a plurality of mounts 20 and solar cell modules 10 (4 × 4 = 16 in this example) are installed on the floating body 30. In this case, the light receiving surfaces of the solar cell modules 10, 10,... Are all attached in the same direction. Further, in the second embodiment, the collar 82 is fixed to the lower end portion of the rotating shaft 31 via the rope 81. Thereby, the floating body 30 is prevented from flowing out of a predetermined range by the water flow. Since the other configuration is the same as the configuration of the photovoltaic power generation system of Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1, the same reference numerals are given to the same members here, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

It is a schematic perspective view which shows Embodiment 1 of the solar energy power generation system of this invention. It is explanatory drawing when the light-receiving surface of a solar cell module faces the same direction as the sun. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of rotation control of the rudder member in case the light-receiving surface of a solar cell module has faced the direction different from the sun, and there exists a water flow. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of rotation control of the steering member in case the light-receiving surface of a solar cell module has faced the direction different from the sun, and there is no water flow. It is a schematic perspective view which shows Embodiment 2 of the solar energy power generation system of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Solar cell module 10 Solar cell 20 Mounting stand 30 Floating body 31 Rotating shaft 32 Rudder member 33 Water flow sensor 40 Direction recognition apparatus 50 Storage battery 60 Control apparatus

Claims (6)

A floating body floating on the surface of the water with the solar cell supported,
Direction recognition means for recognizing the direction of the sun and the direction of the light receiving surface of the solar cell;
Rotating means for rotating the floating body on the water surface by receiving the water flow;
Control means for controlling the rotation of the floating body so that the light receiving surface of the solar cell faces the sun by controlling the rotation means based on the recognition result of the direction recognition means. Solar power system.   The water flow detection means for detecting the direction and speed of the water flow is further provided, and the control means controls the rotation means in addition to the detection result of the water flow detection means. Solar power system.   The rotating device is a rudder member, and the rudder member is provided so as to be freely rotatable so as to receive a water flow except when controlled by the control device. The described solar power generation system.   The solar power generation system according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit that rotates the rotating unit is a stepping motor.   The direction recognizing means for recognizing the direction of the sun includes a measuring means for measuring the current time, and a calculating means for calculating the sun direction by calculation based on date data prepared in advance and the current time by the measuring means. The photovoltaic power generation system according to claim 1, wherein   2. The solar power generation system according to claim 1, further comprising a storage battery that stores electric power generated by the solar battery, wherein the rotating unit rotates using the electric power of the storage battery.

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