JP2585943B2 - Sun tracking device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical system for collecting solar energy.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, technologies utilizing solar energy include solar power generation by a solar cell, a solar water heater for home use, and a primary mirror, generally an optical system combining a parabolic mirror or a secondary mirror. There is power generation by driving a steam tabby or Stirling engine using it as a heat source. In any of the techniques, since the position of the sun changes with time, tracking the sun is important for improving energy use efficiency. Also, when this optical system is not used, it is essential to keep the mirror surface clean and maintain the engine.

The optical system of a Stirling engine utilizing solar energy is described in the following document.

[0004] K. Shishido and M. Sugiura, "Prototype of Optical System and Storage Frame for Medium-sized Solar Stirling Engine (Part 1)", Research Report, Tohoku Gakuin University, No. 23
Book No.1 1988

[0005]

In a system in which an engine (for example, a Stirling engine) is driven by solar heat to generate power, an optical system relatively easily tracks the sun,
And technology for storage of optical system have not been established.

[0006] Further, whether the optical system used for the optical system is only a primary mirror (generally a parabolic mirror) or a Cassegrain-type optical system combined with a sub-mirror, a storage system is conventionally provided. It is extremely rare that the optical system itself is installed outdoors in the field, especially when not in use, since the mirror surface remains upward, which poses a problem in protecting the mirror surface from dust fall. Have left.

On the other hand, even when the optical system is stored,
It is supported by left and right support bases that can move back and forth in the hangar, and when used it moves by hand to the front of the hangar,
Further, the angle of elevation is changed so as to open the mirror surface to the position of the sun, and the hangar itself is rotated about the rotation axis at the rear center thereof with respect to the azimuth.

In addition, when not in use, the optical system is manually moved to the rear of the hangar to further protect the mirror surface from dust, and is turned downward by human power.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for controlling the azimuth and elevation of a primary mirror that tracks the sun.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which protects a primary mirror when not in use and facilitates engine maintenance.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide a building for housing a primary mirror for tracking the sun, a building rotating means provided under the floor of the building and having a gear rotated by a motor, and A building support means having a fixed circumferential gear, an arcuate wire guide having a groove suspended between a floor and a ceiling of the building, one supporting the upper part of the primary mirror and the other supporting the upper part of the primary mirror; A main mirror upper supporting means slidably fitted to a wire guide, a main mirror lower supporting means for pivotally supporting a lower part of the main mirror on a floor of the building, and a part fixed to the main mirror upper supporting means. Re
A first wire which rotates by being guided prior Symbol wire guide, and a second wire for suspending the main mirror upper supporting means,
Traveling on the ceiling of the building in the same direction as the wire guide ,
Second pulley group for suspending the first pulley and rocking said first pulley is a governor weight equal to the load applied to the front Symbol primary mirror upper supporting means coupled freely member for fixing the second wire A primary mirror supporting means having: a primary mirror protecting means disposed between the primary mirror and the primary mirror lower supporting means for rotating the primary mirror downward; and one end portion at the time of sun tracking of the primary mirror. This is achieved by providing engine support means comprising a member mounted so that the engine is located at the focal point of the primary mirror and the other end pivotally supported on the floor of the building.

[0012]

According to the above construction, the building rotates by rotating the gear of the building rotating means that engages with the circumferential gear fixed to the foundation, and the azimuth of the primary mirror that tracks the sun is changed. Can be determined.

When the wire is rotated, the primary mirror upper supporting means fixed to the wire is rotated along the wire guide because the lower part of the primary mirror is pivotally supported on the building floor by the primary mirror lower supporting means. The primary mirror rotates with the rotation of the mirror upper support means, and the elevation angle of the primary mirror that tracks the sun can be determined. Since the weight of the primary mirror is balanced with the weight of the weight by the pulley device, an arbitrary elevation angle can be maintained without falling.

When the primary mirror is not used, the engine can be separated from the primary mirror by rotating the engine support means, and the primary mirror can be rotated downward by the primary mirror protection means to protect the primary mirror from dust.

Maintaining the engine on the floor by rotating only the engine support means while holding the primary mirror at a predetermined elevation angle facilitates engine maintenance.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration of this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an apparatus configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, 1 is a parabolic mirror which is a primary mirror which collects sunlight at its focal point, 2 is a sub mirror which is located at the focal point of the primary mirror 1 and reflects the collected sunlight, and 3 is a sub mirror. A Stirling engine that drives a generator (not shown) by sunlight incident from a mirror. These elements constitute a solar energy power generation device.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a device mount having a circumferential gear fixed to a foundation, 5 denotes a housing for storing the primary mirror 1 and the sub-mirror 2 and the Stirling engine 3, and 6 denotes a gear which engages with a gear of the device mount 4. And a hangar rotating device driven by a motor (not shown). These components constitute an azimuth control device.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a first element for changing the angle of the primary mirror 1 by rotation .
Wires, 77 the second wire for suspending the main mirror 1, 8 wire guide groove for guiding the wire is disposed between the floor and ceiling of the hangar 5 formed, 9 a wire guide 8 to hangar 5 The elevation angle control guide plate 10 is fixed so that the main mirror 1 can be rotatably supported on the floor of the hangar 5 so as to be rotatable.
1 is fitted to the wire guide 8 and rotatably supporting the upper portion of the main mirror 1 second
1 upper mirror supporting bracket fixed to a part of the wire 7
2 runs on the ceiling of the hangar 5 in the direction of the wire guide 8 ;
A swinging member 40 having one end pivotally supported and a pulley 13 for fixing the second wire 77 near the swinging member 40;
The other end pulley apparatus and pulley group 15 for suspending is provided by the governor weight 14 is equal to the load on the primary mirror upper support bracket 11 a, 16 a rail pulley apparatus 12 is traveling, 17 at both ends and FIG wire guide 8 A pulley that guides the first wire 7 on the floor of the hangar 5 not shown, and these elements constitute an elevation control device.

A primary mirror reversing gear 18 disposed between the lower part of the primary mirror 1 and the primary mirror lower support bracket 10 and rotating the primary mirror 1 in an axial direction perpendicular to the elevation angle constitutes a primary mirror protection device.

Reference numeral 19 denotes an engine support on which the Stirling engine 3 is mounted at the tip, 20 is a gear that engages with the engine support 19, 21 is an engine that engages with the gear 20 and 1
9 is a geared motor for rotating the engine 9, and these elements constitute an engine maintenance device.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the hangar according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, reference numeral 30 denotes a movable roof which opens and closes in a horizontal direction, 31 denotes a double door for carrying in and out a large-sized device, and 32 denotes an entrance through which people enter and exit.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

When the azimuth of the optical system is changed to track the sun, the gear of the hangar rotating device 6 installed below the hangar 5 in which the optical system is installed is rotated to engage the gear. Since the circumferential gear to be fitted is fixed to the foundation, the hangar 5 rotates around the center of the device gantry 4.

When the elevation angle of the optical system is changed, when the first wire 7 is rotated, the lower part 10 of the main mirror supporting the lower part of the main mirror 1 is pivoted on the floor of the housing 5. Because it is supported
The main mirror upper support bracket 11 supporting the upper part of the main mirror 1 fixed to the first wire 7 rotates along the wire guide 8, and the elevation angle of the main mirror 1 changes. On the other hand, primary mirror upper support bracket 1
The weight of the optical system according to the first embodiment is the second wire 77, the pulley 1
3. Weight 1 on which pulley group 15 is suspended via swing member 40
4 , the elevation angle does not change with the weight of the optical system. The pulley device 12 travels and follows the rail 16 as the main mirror upper support 11 rotates. The rotation of the first wire 7 for changing the elevation angle can be either a manual operation or an operation by a device that automatically tracks the sun.

When the optical system is not used, the primary mirror 1 is turned upside down by the primary mirror turning gear 18 so that the primary mirror 1 can be protected from dust falling.

At the time of tracking the sun, the stirling engine
The engine support base 3 is located near the secondary mirror 2 of the optical system.
When the angle of 19 is determined and the Stirling engine 3 is maintained, the geared motor 21 that engages with the engine support 19 is rotated to separate the Stirling engine 3 from the optical system, and as shown in FIG. Hangar 5
Rather than location of the floor.

Further, when the optical system is used, the movable roof 30 at the top of the hangar 5 is moved rearward to be opened, and when not used, it is moved forward and closed. The door 31 is opened when loading and unloading large equipment such as the primary mirror 1, and the doorway 32 is used for daily access.

As described above, according to this embodiment, 1) the azimuth and elevation can be controlled by an inexpensive and simple device when tracking the sun. 2) When not in use, the mirror surface of the primary mirror can be protected from falling dust.

3) Engine maintenance can be easily performed.

4) The entire device can be stored when not in use.

[0035]

According to the present invention, the azimuth and elevation of the optical system can be controlled with a simple and inexpensive device.

In addition, when not in use, the mirror surface of the primary mirror is protected from falling dust, so that maintenance and management of the engine can be facilitated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an apparatus configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a hangar according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 primary mirror 2 secondary mirror 3 Stirling engine 4 device mount 5 hangar 6 hangar rotating device 7 first wire 8 wire guide 9 elevation angle control guide plate 10 primary mirror lower support bracket 11 primary mirror upper support bracket 12 pulley device 13 pulley 14 Weight 15 Pulley group 16 Rail 17 Pulley 18 Primary mirror turning gear 19 Engine support stand 20 Gear 21 Geared motor 30 Movable roof 31 Door 32 Doorway 40 Swing member 77 Second wire

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-59-119145 (JP, A) JP-A-54-114840 (JP, A)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A building that houses a primary mirror that tracks the sun, a building rotating means that is provided under the floor of the building and whose gear rotates by a motor, and a circumferential gear that is engaged with the gear and fixed to a foundation. An arc-shaped wire guide suspended between a floor and a ceiling of the building and having a groove, one of which supports the upper part of the primary mirror and the other is slidably fitted to the wire guide. a primary mirror upper supporting means for coupling and the primary mirror lower support means for supporting the lower portion of the primary mirror on the floor of the building, is fixed partially to the primary mirror upper support means is guided before Symbol wire guide A first wire that rotates through the first mirror, a second wire that suspends the primary mirror upper support means, and travels in the same direction as the wire guide on the ceiling of the building ;
Second pulley group for suspending the first pulley and rocking said first pulley is a governor weight equal to the load applied to the front Symbol primary mirror upper supporting means coupled freely member for fixing the second wire 1. A sun tracking device comprising: a primary mirror supporting means having: 2. A building that houses a primary mirror that tracks the sun, a building rotating means provided under the floor of the building, and a gear rotates by a motor, and a circumferential gear engaged with the gear and fixed to a foundation. An arc-shaped wire guide suspended between a floor and a ceiling of the building and having a groove, one of which supports the upper part of the primary mirror and the other is slidably fitted to the wire guide. a primary mirror upper supporting means for coupling and the primary mirror lower support means for supporting the lower portion of the primary mirror on the floor of the building, is fixed partially to the primary mirror upper support means is guided before Symbol wire guide A first wire that rotates through the first mirror, a second wire that suspends the primary mirror upper support means, and travels in the same direction as the wire guide on the ceiling of the building ;
Second pulley group for suspending the first pulley and rocking said first pulley is a governor weight equal to the load applied to the front Symbol primary mirror upper supporting means coupled freely member for fixing the second wire DOO solar tracking device comprising a Omokyo支 lifting means, that and a primary mirror protection means for rotating downward the primary mirror is positioned between said primary mirror and the primary mirror lower support means having a. 3. A building for housing a primary mirror for tracking the sun, a building rotating means provided under the floor of the building and having a gear rotated by a motor, and a circumferential gear engaged with the gear and fixed to a foundation. An arc-shaped wire guide suspended between a floor and a ceiling of the building and having a groove, one of which supports the upper part of the primary mirror and the other is slidably fitted to the wire guide. a primary mirror upper supporting means for coupling and the primary mirror lower support means for supporting the lower portion of the primary mirror on the floor of the building, is fixed partially to the primary mirror upper support means is guided before Symbol wire guide A first wire that rotates through the first mirror, a second wire that suspends the primary mirror upper support means, and travels in the same direction as the wire guide on the ceiling of the building ;
Second pulley group for suspending the first pulley and rocking said first pulley is a governor weight equal to the load applied to the front Symbol primary mirror upper supporting means coupled freely member for fixing the second wire A primary mirror supporting means having: a primary mirror protecting means disposed between the primary mirror and the primary mirror lower supporting means, for rotating the primary mirror downward; and A sun tracking device, comprising: an engine support means comprising a member mounted so that the engine is located at the focal point of the primary mirror and the other end pivotally supported on the floor of the building.