JP3149026U - Microcomputer-controlled solar tracking device - Google Patents

Abstract

By using a microcomputer controller 16 using a one-chip microcomputer 18 as a direction information to control a predetermined voltage output while protecting the sensor from harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun, manual and fixed solar utilization devices Providing solar-powered equipment with automatic tracking. A protection cylinder that reflects sunlight by a stepped cylinder and protects the light receiving element from harmful ultraviolet rays, a light receiving element holding cylinder in which four light receiving elements are arranged downward, and a light shielding that blocks unnecessary light to each light receiving element. By controlling the voltage obtained by the solar position sensor 12 comprising a cylinder and a pedestal with a reflector for reflecting sunlight to the light receiving element by a microcomputer control device 16 using a one-chip microcomputer, a solar-use equipment cradle 25 The conventional manual and fixed solar-powered equipment attached to the top / bottom / left / right motors 20a, 20b is automatically changed to the vertical / left / right rotational movement by the telescopic support shaft 22 and the spur geared disk 27. A tracking mechanism is used. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention is a technique for converting to a solar tracking system that does not require much modification to conventional manual and fixed solar photovoltaic power generation panels and solar cookers.

  Sunlight and heat have been used for a long time, and are already known as solar cooking devices such as water heaters, handy small solar panels, solar cookers, etc. There are many developed. The use of the sun, which is infinite and free of environmental problems, has contributed to a very effective CO2 countermeasure, but a device for automatically tracking the sun has been developed in recent years, but it is very large. The sunlight tracking device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-5606 is equipped with a sensor that applies a shadow of a rod-shaped shaft to a plurality of light receiving elements and outputs a voltage difference, and the control device uses an electronic logic circuit. The voltage difference obtained from the sensor is used as the output of the motor drive as a sunlight tracking signal.

  The problem of the present invention is that in the sensor using the shadow of the rod-shaped shaft described in the background art above, first, since the light receiving element is always exposed to the sun, harmful ultraviolet rays are properly received and the light receiving element is deteriorated. Secondly, in the case of a small light receiving element, when the light receiving element is shaded, there is an extreme difference in the amount of light received between the sunlit surface and the shaded surface. Some problems cannot be solved such as it is difficult to reduce or reduce the size of the light receiving element because it cannot be captured as a linear change, and thirdly, when the sun is next to the light, the light does not reach the light receiving element and does not operate. . Furthermore, since the position signal of the sun obtained from the sensor is controlled by an electronic logic circuit, the economic burden due to the replacement of parts when improving the function and the possibility of excessive labor can not be overlooked as a problem. By using a solar tracking device equipped with a sensor and control unit that solves these problems, small devices using solar and solar heat that have been manually tracking the sun up to now will be automatically solar-tracked. It can be used as much as possible.

  In order to solve the first to third problems, a sensor having the following structure has been devised. The invention according to [Claim 1] is a protective cylinder made of an opaque material that reflects sunlight by a stepped cylinder in order from the uppermost part close to the sun to the lower part far from the sun, and protects the light receiving element. A phototransistor as a device for detecting and outputting the position of the sun on the same circumference, two for the top and bottom, two for the left and right, and four at a position 90 degrees apart, respectively. A solar position sensor consisting of a pedestal with a light shielding cylinder that blocks unnecessary light to the element, and a pedestal with a slightly larger reflector that reflects the light beam that passed right next to the protection cylinder and the light receiving element holding cylinder to the light receiving element at the bottom. Solve this problem.

  In order to solve the above problem of controlling the operation by the electronic logic circuit, a control unit having the following structure has been devised. The idea of [Claim 2] is to obtain an inexpensive and high-performance solar light tracking device using the widely spread one-chip microcomputer technology and to solve the drawbacks. A function to convert a pair of top and bottom analog voltage values from the sun position sensor into a digital voltage value, a function to output a motor drive signal using the digitally converted voltage difference between the top and bottom and left and right as a pulse width modulation signal, automatic operation, manual Software built-in one-chip microcomputer with the function of processing the switch signal for switching operation and the function of processing the signal of the limit switch of upper, lower, left and right may be a commercially available inexpensive one, and other electronic parts are also special ones This problem is solved by not using.

  The present invention according to [Claim 3] obtains the motor drive signal obtained from the above-mentioned [0004] and [0005], and directly faces the cradle for mounting the device using sunlight and solar heat to the sun. The mechanism is driven by a motor, and the cradle has two cradle holding plates on the back side, and is supported by a single movable shaft that can be rotated vertically through the cradle holding plate. The disc with a spur gear mounted on the rotating pedestal that has a motor that drives the rotating motion in the vertical direction and a mechanism that decelerates the rotating motion of the motor and converts it into the rotating motion in the vertical direction, and the spur gear mounted below the rotating pedestal is rotated in the horizontal direction. It is a base of a simple assembly system that rotates by the force received from the worm gear mechanism that decelerates the rotational movement of the motor and the motor to rotate in the left-right direction, and freely directs the entire cradle in the direction of the sun. Concerning the rotation, the range of operation is limited by a limit switch that restricts the vertical and horizontal movements, and the equipment that protects the equipment uses a solar-powered device such as a small photovoltaic power generation panel or solar cooker that does not have a solar tracking mechanism. To solve the problem of solar tracking of solar cooking equipment.

  The sun position sensor not only protects the sensor from harmful ultraviolet rays of sunlight, but also has a characteristic of good sensitivity because it captures the change in light that occurs when the sun moves as a change in voltage almost linearly. ing. In addition, it is possible to capture light in the downward direction as well as right next to it, so the sunlight capture range is wide. If the phototransistor is changed to a small one, a very small solar position sensor can be realized. Next, the control unit using the latest one-chip microcomputer has a convenient configuration in which all components are mounted on a printed circuit board, and functions can be easily added and changed by changing software. Furthermore, the motor drive mechanism is driven by an inexpensive commercially available planetary gear motor, and a sufficient driving force can be secured if it is a relatively light device such as a solar heating cooking device such as a small photovoltaic panel or a solar cooker. If you can obtain the mechanical parts produced by this invention, you can use the infinite energy of the sun with your knowledge of the high degree of processing on Sundays. According to the experiment, 3 liters of 20 ° C. water increased to 95 ° C. in 60 minutes by a 1 m diameter parabolic solar cooker. However, if it did not track the sunlight, it would be out of the sunlight and it was at the temperature level. Solar tracking is a promising technology in the era of CO2 environmental problems.

  Describe the points to be noted when implementing the present invention. First, although it is a sensor part, it is necessary to make the protection cylinder in the uppermost part using the material which reflects sunlight, and to make a predetermined cylindrical step difference. Without this, sunlight may diffusely reflect and enter the light receiving element, and a predetermined output may not be obtained. Due to this step, sunlight is reflected in a direction to return to the original. This is an important point of the idea. Then, the four phototransistors attached to the printed circuit board are inserted into the light receiving element holding cylinder so as not to be damaged and attached. Next, a pipe for connecting all the components to the reflector base is pierced and passed through a signal cable in advance, and the pipe is passed through a light shielding cylinder, and a light receiving element holding cylinder is inserted at the tip. The tip of the cable is soldered to a phototransistor that outputs the upper, lower, left, and right signals. A protective cylinder is placed on it and fixed from the bottom of the pedestal using screw screws. A solar control device such as a small photovoltaic panel or a solar cooker is attached to the microcomputer-controlled solar tracking device cradle. This requires a large Sunday process, but not many tools. What is important is that if it is too heavy, the structure will be unreasonable, and the total weight must be about 8 kg. Next, it is necessary to make sure that the center of the sensor and the center of the solar equipment are aligned in parallel. Since the cradle is flat, it may need some ingenuity. If this does not match, it will not operate directly against the sun, so the conversion efficiency of solar equipment will not increase. Also, don't forget to keep the center of gravity near the center of the device. Next, the sensor signal extraction line and the limit switch signal extraction line are connected to the control board. If a small photovoltaic panel is used as the power source, it can be supplied from here, but if not, an adapter that converts AC 100 volts of commercial power into an operating voltage is required. Since the power supply is a DC voltage of 12 volts, it must be matched. When ready, fix the entire microcomputer-controlled solar tracking device facing east. When the power supply is connected, it will automatically go to the east and start tracking the sun. At this time, the relative voltage sensed by the sensor is displayed on the display device and the operation can be confirmed. The rest is automatically controlled and always tracks the sun. When it moves to the top, bottom, left and right ends, it stops with a limit switch to protect the mechanism. When it is desired to stop the operation halfway or to switch to manual operation, it can be controlled by pressing a button on the operation panel. The button has three mode buttons and one execution button. After the operation is determined by the mode button, the button can be controlled by pressing the execution button. A total of seven types of control are possible: up, down, left, right, home position, motor stop, motor start.

  An embodiment of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire device viewed from the left front. From the bottom, the base 33 that supports the present invention, the limit switch operating bar 21e that restricts the left-right rotation operation, the left limit switch 21d, and the right limit switch 21c are on the back side. The spur gear-equipped disc 27 rotates the left and right rotating pedestal 26 to the left and right through the worm gear 28 by the rotation of the left and right rotating motor 20b, and the left and right rotating pedestal 26 has a microcomputer control that controls the overall control of the invention in [claim 2]. There is a device 16. When the left and right voltage difference due to the movement of the sun position occurs in the sun position sensor 12 devised in [Claim 1], the one-chip microcomputer 18 in the microcomputer control device 16 follows the software procedure and the left and right analog-to-digital converter 18b. In order to supply a pulse width modulation signal proportional to the voltage difference converted into a digital signal by the motor and to follow the sun moving direction to the left and right rotation motor 20b via the motor driver IC 17b, the left and right rotation motor 20b passes through the worm gear 28. Thus, the left / right rotation base 26 is rotated. The operation continues until the left and right voltage difference disappears from the solar position sensor 12 and stops when the left and right voltage difference disappears, and the left and right limit switch 21cd that restricts the left and right rotation operation of the pedestal causes an excessive movement to rotate the mechanism. Protected against damage. As shown in FIG. 15, the left / right rotating base 26 rides on a spur gear-equipped disc 27 via a thrust bearing 31 from the base, and the base left / right rotating shaft 29 passes through the center. It is fixed by a rotating shaft fixing bolt 32 and is rotated by the rotating shaft retaining bolt 30 so as not to come off because the upper portion rotates. Here, the purpose of supplying the pulse width modulation signal to the up / down / left / right rotation motor 20ab will be briefly described. Originally, DC motors are made to rotate at a continuous voltage, so changing the rotation speed is the easiest way to change the rotation speed, but in the case of a microcomputer, changing the voltage is not easy, By applying a voltage whose pulse width is changed to the motor, a pseudo voltage change is created, and as a result, the rotation is changed.

  Next, when a vertical voltage difference due to movement of the solar position occurs in the solar position sensor 12, the one-chip microcomputer 18 in the microcomputer control device 16 is converted into a digital signal by the vertical analog-digital converter 18a according to the software procedure. The vertical rotation motor 20a rotates the movable support shaft 22b in order to supply the pulse width modulation signal proportional to the voltage difference and following the moving direction of the sun to the vertical rotation motor 20a via the motor driver IC 17a. The operation continues until there is no upper / lower voltage difference from the solar position sensor 12 and stops when the upper / lower voltage difference disappears. Since the movable support shaft 22b is threaded with 10M as shown in FIGS. 12, 13 and 14, the movable support shaft 22b moves into and out of the fixed support shaft 22a by rotating. The solar-use device cradle 25 connected to the fixed support shaft 22a by a free joint is supported by a cradle vertical rotation shaft 23 that penetrates the cradle holding plate 25a. Therefore, since the telescopic support shaft 22 expands and contracts, the cradle rotates as if it is pulled or pushed and swings its head up and down. Further, the upper and lower limit switches 21ab that limit the vertical rotation operation of the cradle are protected from damage to the rotation mechanism due to excessive movement.

  The 19 operation panel can be operated to perform various operations by switching to manual operation when automatic tracking is to be interrupted. The button has three mode buttons and one execution button. After the operation is determined by the mode button, the button can be controlled by pressing the execution button. A total of seven types of control are possible: up, down, left, right, home position, motor stop, motor start.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the solar position sensor as viewed from above, and includes a sensor protection cylinder 1, a light receiving element holding cylinder 2, a light shielding cylinder 3, a reflector 4, and a pedestal 5. As shown in FIG. 4, the sensor protection cylinder 1 and the light receiving element holding cylinder 2 are smaller than the reflection board 4, so that the reflection board is visible from the sun side. However, the four phototransistors 8a-d, which are the light receiving elements 8a-d, are not easily affected by sunlight inserted into each other because the cross-section of the light-shielding tube 3 is as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. . Here, the implementation state of the solar position sensor 12 in a state of being attached to the solar device cradle 25 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, since the sunlight 13a enters from directly above the solar position sensor 12, it is reflected like 13b by the reflector 4 inclined inward, and the phototransistors 8a-d, which are all four light receiving elements, operate. The same voltage that is slightly higher than the threshold voltage is output. The shaded area in FIG. 7 is a state in which light is incident on the reflector 4 of the solar position sensor 12 as viewed from the sun side. Since equal voltages are generated in the four light receiving elements, the motor output of the one-chip microcomputer 18 is balanced, so that the movable mechanism stops. The operation threshold mentioned here is the lowest voltage in the range of the light amount in which the output voltage linearly changes in the characteristics of the phototransistor. In this case, the best threshold voltage can be adjusted by a variable resistor on the printed circuit board 17. Next, FIG. 8 shows a state in which light is incident on the reflector 4 with the sun tilted. Since the light reflected by the reflector 4 does not reach the light receiving element phototransistor 8d, the output voltage becomes lower than the threshold value and a difference occurs between the left and right voltages. Although it does not actually tilt so far, it has a characteristic of high sensitivity because a difference occurs in voltage in proportion to the tilt.

  FIG. 9 is an overview of the microcomputer control device 16. This is a simple configuration with a cooling fan 16a for cooling the inside and an indicating device window 16b for looking into the display device 17e. If a material made of metal and having good heat conductivity is not selected, or if the cooling fan 16a is omitted, the internal temperature becomes high in the midsummer, and the one-chip microcomputer 18 may be damaged. FIG. 10 is a component layout diagram of the printed circuit board 17. The communication connector is not numbered because it is not related to the present invention, but is attached because it is necessary when writing a program to the one-chip microcomputer 18. In addition, a variable resistor that adjusts the sensitivity of the solar position sensor 12, that is, the operating threshold value of the phototransistor 8a-d, is well known and saved. The two motor driver ICs 17a-b amplify the motor drive signal output from the one-chip microcomputer 18. The motor pulse width modulation signal variable switch 17c-d is for correcting variations in characteristics of the vertical and left and right motors. Reference numeral 17e denotes a display device that can always display the voltage of the sensor and check the operation status. 17f is a device for stabilizing the solar position sensor 12, the operation panel 19, the limit switches 21a-d, and the power supplied to the entire printed circuit board 17. 17g is a sensor input terminal, and 17h is a limit switch input terminal.

  The greatest feature of the present invention described in [Claim 2] is that a control device incorporating the one-chip microcomputer 18 is devised. This one-chip microcomputer 18 is also called a one-chip microcomputer, and as shown in FIG. 11, an analog-digital converter 18a-b, a human output device 18c-g, a ROM, a RAM, and a central processing unit (CPU) are integrated. The biggest feature is that it is made in Japan with extremely high performance. Here, FIG. 11 will be described in detail. The solar position analog voltage signal that has entered the sensor input terminal 17g from the phototransistor 8a-d of the solar position sensor 12 passes through the printed wiring and enters the analog-digital converter 18a-b of the one-chip microcomputer 18, and the digital voltage signal value. Is sent to a central processing unit (CPU). Here, it is determined whether or not there is a difference between the upper and lower pair and the left and right pair of digital voltage signals. If there is, a voltage having a pulse width proportional to the difference is obtained from the motor pulse width obtained from the pulse width modulation signal input unit 18g. In accordance with the setting of the modulation signal variable switch 17c-d, the signal is sent to the up / down / left / right motor signal output unit 18e. The motor driver ICs 17a-b up / down / left / right are connected to the motor, and the motor rotates in a direction to correct the deviation of the sun position and stops when there is no difference between the digital voltage signals. At this time, if a signal arrives from the limit switch 21a-d to the limit switch input device 18f, the direction motor stops at the moment when the signal arrives to protect the drive mechanism. This series of movements is sent to the display device 17e and can be monitored. In addition, when the automatic tracking is to be interrupted, the operation panel 19 can be used to perform various operations by switching to manual operation. The button has three mode buttons and one execution button. After the operation is determined by the mode buttons 19b-c, the button can be controlled by pressing the execution button 19a. A total of seven types of control are possible: up, down, left, right, home position, motor stop, motor start. When 19b is pressed, the numerical value 1 is input, when 19c is pressed, the numerical value 2 is input, and when 19d is pressed, the numerical value 4 is input to the operation panel input device 18c. It will be. The central processing unit (CPU) judges this and controls the motor.

  Since the present invention can be easily made into an automatic tracking type solar device if it is a small device that uses sunlight and heat, the conversion efficiency of devices that have been bad because it does not face the sun so far is dramatic. To improve. Moreover, since it does not use special parts, it can be easily manufactured, and it is a useful technique in today's environment where CO2 environmental problems are being screamed.

It is the perspective view which looked at the whole picture of the present invention from the left front. [Biller 1] of the present invention is a perspective view of a solar position sensor. It is A sectional drawing of a solar position sensor. It is B sectional drawing of a solar position sensor. It is C sectional drawing of a solar position sensor. It is explanatory drawing when the solar light beam injects into the solar position sensor from the front and diagonal. This is the state of the reflector when the sensor is not facing the sun. This is the state of the reflector when the sun is off. It is an overview of a microcomputer control device. It is an arrangement plan of electronic parts on a printed circuit board. It is a connection diagram of various electronic components to the internal configuration of the microcomputer and the microcomputer. It is the side view explaining expansion-contraction support shaft 22a-b when the sun exists diagonally upward. It is the side view explaining the expansion-contraction support shaft 22a-b when the sun is above. It is a detailed explanatory view of the telescopic support shaft 22. It is a detailed explanatory view of a pedestal left-right rotation shaft 29.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sun position sensor protection cylinder 2 Sun position sensor light receiving element holding cylinder 3 Sun position sensor light shielding cylinder 4 Sun position sensor reflector 5 Sun position sensor base 6 Cross section of solar position sensor protection cylinder 7 Cross section of solar position sensor light receiving element holding cylinder 8 Cross section of solar position sensor phototransistor 8a Phototransistor on solar position sensor 8b Phototransistor below solar position sensor 8c Solar position sensor right phototransistor 8d Solar position sensor left phototransistor 9 Cross section 10 of solar position sensor shading tube Cross section 11 Cross section of solar position sensor pedestal 12 Perspective view of solar position sensor main body 13a Direction of solar rays 13b when the sensor faces the front 13b Direction of solar rays reflected on the reflector 14a Direction of the solar rays 14b when it deviates from the sensor Direction of sunlight rays deviated from the reflector 15 Inner inclination 16 of the reflector 16 Microcomputer controller 16a Microcomputer controller cooling fan 16b Microcomputer controller instruction device window 17 Printed circuit board 17a Upper and lower motor driver ICs on the printed circuit board
17b Left and right motor driver IC on printed circuit board
17c Vertical motor pulse width modulation signal variable switch 17d on printed circuit board 17d Left and right motor pulse width modulation signal variable switch 17e Display device 17f on printed circuit board DC power stabilization device 17g on printed circuit board Sensor input on printed circuit board Terminal 17h Limit switch input terminal 18 on printed circuit board One-chip microcomputer 18a One-chip microcomputer sensor vertical output analog-digital converter 18b One-chip microcomputer sensor left-right output analog-digital converter 18c One-chip microcomputer operation panel signal Input device 18d One-chip microcomputer display device controller 18e One-chip microcomputer upper / lower / left / right motor signal output device 18f One-chip microcomputer In-computer limit switch input device 18g Up / down / left / right motor pulse width modulation signal input device 19 in one-chip microcomputer 19 Operation panel 19a Operation panel execution button 19b Operation panel mode 1 button 19c Operation panel mode 2 button 19d Operation panel mode 3 button 20a Vertical rotation Motor 20b Left / right rotation motor 21a Upper limit switch 21b Lower limit switch 21c Right limit switch 21d Left limit switch 21e Limit switch operating bar 22 Telescopic support shaft 22a Fixed support shaft 22b Movable support shaft 22c Base mounting bolt (small)
22d 10M nut 22e 10M bolt 22f Turntable mounting bolt (large)
23 Receiving base vertical rotating shaft 24 Worm gear bearing 25 Solar equipment receiving base 25a Receiving base holding plate 26 Left and right rotating pedestal 27 Spur geared disk 28 Worm gear 29 Pedestal left and right rotating shaft 30 Rotating shaft drop prevention bolt 31 Thrust bearing 32 Rotating shaft fixing bolt 33 base

Claims (3)

  The present invention is a device for tracking a cradle mounted with a manual solar cooking device such as a conventional manual and fixed small photovoltaic power generation panel, solar cooker, etc. so as to always face the sun. The solar position sensor part that detects the direction of the sun that is attached to the sun and takes it out as a voltage change is made of an opaque material, and the sun is stepped by a stepped cylinder in order from the top near the sun to the bottom far from the sun. A protective cylinder that reflects light and protects the light receiving element, and two phototransistors for detecting and outputting the sun position on the same circumference as the light receiving element, two for the left and right, and two for the left and right, respectively, at 90 degrees apart Four light-receiving element holding cylinders arranged downward, a light-blocking cylinder that blocks unnecessary light to each light-receiving element, and an inner part that reflects the light beam that passes right next to the protective cylinder and the light-receiving element holding cylinder to the light receiving element Solar light tracking device having the features of the solar position sensor consisting of with inclined reflecting plate pedestal.   A control unit that outputs a voltage change from the solar position sensor according to claim 1 as a motor drive signal, wherein a function of converting a pair of upper and lower analog voltage values from the solar position sensor into a digital voltage value, digital A function that outputs the motor drive signal using the converted voltage difference between the upper, lower, left, and right as a pulse width modulation signal, a function that processes a switch signal that switches between automatic operation and manual operation, and a function that processes the signal of the operation limit limit switch A solar tracking device characterized by a circuit having a built-in one-chip microcomputer with built-in software.   A motor drive signal obtained from claim 1 and claim 2 and a mechanism for driving a cradle to which a device using sunlight and solar heat is attached so as to face the sun. There are two pedestal holding plates, and a motor and a motor that are supported by a single pedestal vertical rotation shaft that allows vertical rotational movement that penetrates the pedestal holding plate horizontally and that drive the vertical rotational motion. A disc with a spur gear mounted on the left and right rotating pedestal, which has a mechanism that decelerates the rotating motion of the motor and converts it into a vertical rotating motion, and a spur gear-equipped disc mounted below the left and right rotating pedestal drives the rotational motion of the motor and the motor. It consists of a base that can be easily assembled to rotate freely by the force received from the worm gear mechanism that decelerates and converts to a rotational motion in the left-right direction, so that the entire cradle can be freely oriented in the direction of the sun. A solar tracking device with a feature that has a mechanism to limit the operation range by a limit switch that restricts the operation of the up / down / left / right rotation mechanism to protect the equipment.

Images