JPH063142A - Solar cell power source apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve generating efficiency significantly by realizing an automatically tracking mechanism free of power burden as small apparatus. CONSTITUTION:Condenser lenses 31 and 32 mounted on an azimuth tracking mechanism 3 are so arranged to open by shifting optical axes 311 and 321 so as to generate a difference in collection of heat when the sun does not turn in the direction of facing a solar panel 1 directly. When the solar cell panel 11 does not turn in the direction of facing the sun directly, a difference is generated in the solar heat hitting bimetals 33 and 34 from the condenser lenses 31 and 32, which causes a difference in the deformation of the bimetals and a couple of force is generated in a rotary gear 37 to develop a rotating force in an azimuth direction. Thus, the azimuth of the solar cell panel 1 interlocking the rotary gear 37 is altered to let the panel turn in the direction facing the sun directly. An elevation detection tracking mechanism is made in the same structure and the elevation of the solar cell panel 1 is altered so as to let the panel turn in the direction of facing the sun directly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a solar cell power supply device having a mechanism for automatically tracking the sun without the burden of electric power,
It is particularly suitable for a relatively small-scale solar cell power supply device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are various possible methods for generating electricity using sunlight energy, which is a bounty of nature, but at present, solar cells are widely used. As for the scale of the power source using solar cells, a large number of solar cell panels are arranged in a vast area to generate a large amount of power, and a relatively small amount of power that can be attached to a steel tower as a power source for monitoring transmission lines is generated. , And even a wide range of power supplies for wristwatches that generate extremely small amounts of power.

In order to use the solar cell most efficiently, it is necessary to keep the surface of the solar cell panel facing the direction of the sun constantly. However, since the sun moves with time, there is a mechanism for tracking it. You will need it. The large-scale solar cell power generation described above is already provided with such an automatic tracking mechanism, but these use a motor or the like as a driving force, and therefore a power burden for that is required.

On the other hand, with respect to a relatively small-scale solar cell power source, since the generated power itself is small, if a drive system requiring a power source such as a motor as described above is adopted, a large power load is imposed, and the solar cell will not bend. Can not effectively utilize the power generation. Therefore, in a small-scale solar cell power supply, fix the solar cell panel in the direction that is most efficient on average (that is, south for azimuth and angle corresponding to the latitude of the installation location for elevation). It is currently being used.

[0005]

By the way, particularly in the case of a small-scale solar cell power source, the size of the solar cell panel is often restricted, and it is required to maximize the power generation capacity of the solar cell. . However, as described above, the conventional small-scale solar cell power source cannot realize the automatic tracking mechanism because of the power burden of the drive system, and thus cannot meet the above-mentioned request.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel solar cell power source capable of solving the above-mentioned deficiencies of the prior art and greatly improving the power generation efficiency by enabling automatic tracking without requiring a power burden. To provide a device.

[0007]

The solar cell power supply device of the present invention is a solar cell power supply device using a solar cell panel for automatically tracking the movement of the sun, and the solar cell panel is provided on each of the left and right sides in the azimuth direction. Of the two light collectors whose optical axes are offset from each other by a predetermined angle with respect to the direction orthogonal to the light receiving surface, and two solar light that is deformed by the solar heat collected by these two light collectors. An azimuth tracking mechanism equipped with a bimetal drive mechanism that has a bimetal and generates a rotational force in the azimuth direction in the solar cell panel that causes the azimuth angle of the solar cell panel to face the sun due to the difference in solar heat received by both bimetals. , Two light concentrators which are respectively provided above and below the elevation angle direction and whose optical axes are displaced in a direction deviated by a predetermined angle with respect to a direction orthogonal to the light receiving surface direction of the solar cell panel, and a collection of these two. In the light section A bimetal drive mechanism that has two bimetals that are deformed by the solar heat that is emitted and that generates a rotational force in the elevation angle direction that causes the elevation angle of the solar cell panel to face the sun due to the difference in the solar heat received by both bimetals. And an elevation angle tracking mechanism.

Further, the solar cell power supply device of the present invention is a solar cell power supply device using a solar cell panel for automatically tracking the movement of the sun. It has two light concentrators whose optical axes are offset from each other by a predetermined angle with respect to the orthogonal direction, and two bimetals that are deformed by solar heat condensed by these two light concentrators. Due to the difference in solar heat received by both bimetals, a bimetal drive mechanism is provided that has a bimetal drive mechanism that causes the solar cell panel to generate rotational force in the azimuth direction that directs the azimuth angle of the solar cell panel to the sun. .

Further, the solar cell power supply device of the present invention is a solar cell power supply device using a solar cell panel for automatically tracking the movement of the sun. It has two light concentrators whose optical axes are offset from each other by a predetermined angle with respect to the orthogonal direction, and two bimetals that are deformed by solar heat condensed by these two light concentrators. An elevation angle tracking mechanism including a bimetal drive mechanism that causes the solar cell panel to generate a rotational force in an elevation angle direction that directs the elevation angle of the solar cell panel to the sun due to the difference in solar heat received by both bimetals.

The solar cell power supply device to which the present invention is applied is suitable for a relatively small scale, but the scale is not particularly limited.

[0011]

In the azimuth tracking mechanism, the two light collecting parts have their optical axes displaced from each other. Therefore, if the solar cell panel does not face the direction facing the sun, the two light collecting parts will hit each bimetal. A difference occurs in the heat received by the sun. Then, a difference occurs in the amount of deformation of the bimetal, and a couple is generated.The couple produces a rotational force in the azimuth direction on the solar cell panel, which causes the azimuth angle of the solar panel to face the sun. Changed to face. In particular, in order to generate an appropriate couple for generating the rotational force in the azimuth direction, the bimetals are preferably arranged in opposite directions.

Similarly, in the elevation angle detecting and tracking mechanism, the two light collecting parts have their optical axes displaced from each other. Therefore, if the solar cell panel does not face the direction facing the sun, the two light collecting parts will be separated from each bimetal. Differences occur in the heat received by the sun. Then, a difference occurs in the amount of deformation of the bimetal, a couple is generated, and the couple produces a rotational force in the elevation angle direction on the solar cell panel,
This alters the elevation of the solar panel to face the sun.

In this case, the deforming force of the two bimetals acts on the solar cell panel when the solar heat received by them is unbalanced, so that in a phenomenon such as environmental change or disturbance, an equal amount of heat is generated. Is applied to two bimetals at the same time, the heat balance is not disturbed, and the deformation of the bimetal at that time works in the direction in which the couples are offset, so that no rotational force is generated.

The bimetal drive mechanism having such a bimetal does not require an external power source, unlike a drive mechanism such as a motor which requires an external power source, and therefore consumes the power generated from the solar cell panel. Nor.

In a solar battery power supply device having only an azimuth tracking mechanism, the elevation angle of the solar battery panel is fixed at an angle corresponding to the latitude of the installation location, but the azimuth direction of the solar battery panel is It changes automatically following the movement of the sun. On the other hand, in a solar battery power supply device that has only an elevation tracking mechanism, the azimuth angle of the solar battery panel is fixed to the south, but the elevation angle direction of the solar battery panel follows the movement of the sun. It is changed automatically. In particular, in a solar battery power supply device equipped with both an azimuth tracking mechanism and an elevation tracking mechanism, the orientation of the solar cell panel is automatically changed in accordance with the movement of the sun. Since it has a diurnal function, it can generate power most efficiently.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the solar cell power supply device having tropism of the present invention will be specifically described below. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a solar cell power supply device having tropism of the present invention. The solar cell panel 1 includes an azimuth angle tracking mechanism 3 and an elevation angle tracking mechanism 4, which are configured to automatically change their orientations as they constantly face the sun.

The azimuth tracking mechanism 3 rotates the solar cell panel 1 in the azimuth direction with respect to the fixing member 2 supporting the solar cell panel 1. The schematic structure is the solar cell panel 1.
To the left and right of the azimuth direction with respect to the direction of the light receiving surface of
Due to the difference in solar heat, the two light collecting parts 31 and 32 whose optical axes are displaced in a direction shifted by a predetermined angle and the sunlight collected by these two light collecting parts 31 and 32 are received. The bimetal drive mechanism is configured to generate a rotational force in the azimuth direction on the rotation support member 21 and change the azimuth angle of the solar cell panel 1 supported by the rotation support member 21 toward the sun.

The elevation angle tracking mechanism 4 rotates the solar cell panel 1 in the elevation direction with respect to the rotation support member 21 that supports the solar cell panel 1 rotatably in the azimuth direction. The general mechanism is that two light collecting portions 41 and 42 are arranged in a direction shifted upward and downward in the elevation direction with respect to the direction of the light receiving surface of the solar cell panel 1, and these two light collecting portions. By receiving the sunlight collected by, the rotating force in the elevation direction is generated on the rotation support member 22 due to the difference in the solar heat (hidden on the back surface and invisible, see reference numeral 22 in FIG. 4) and supported by this. It is composed of a bimetal drive mechanism that changes the elevation angle of the solar cell panel 1 facing the sun.

FIG. 4 is a schematic rear view of a solar cell power supply device having the azimuth tracking mechanism 3 and the elevation tracking mechanism 4. Although the azimuth tracking mechanism 3 and the elevation tracking mechanism 4 are exaggeratedly drawn, they are actually smaller. Since the azimuth tracking mechanism 3 and the elevation tracking mechanism 4 have the same configuration, the azimuth tracking mechanism 3 will be taken as an example and specifically described below.

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram showing an azimuth angle tracking mechanism of a solar cell power supply device having a tropism of the present embodiment. The azimuth tracking mechanism 3 is integrally attached to the fixed member 2,
A housing case 42 containing a bimetal drive mechanism 41,
It is mainly composed of two condensing sections 31 and 32 for guiding light into the housing case 42.

The bimetal drive mechanism 41 includes a housing case 42.
The housing case 42, which is incorporated into the inside, is integrally attached to an upper portion of the columnar fixing member 21 which serves as a mount of the solar cell power supply device. A columnar rotation support member 21 that supports the solar cell panel 1 is loosely attached to the fixing member 2 from above so as to penetrate the housing case 4, and is rotatable with respect to the fixing member 2. A rotary gear 37 is fixed to a portion of the rotation support member 21 inside the housing case 41, and two fan-shaped gears 35 and 36 serving as drive gears are attached to the rotary gear 37.
Are mated from the left and right sides. When the sector gears 35, 36 rotate in the same direction about their shafts 38, 39, a couple of forces that move in mutually opposite directions are generated at the meshing portion, as indicated by the arrow, and the couple causes the rotary gear 37 to move. It is designed to rotate in one direction. Therefore, if the fan gear 35,
When 36 tries to rotate in the opposite direction with the same rotational force, the rotational forces are balanced and the rotary gear 37 does not rotate.

Engagement holes 43 and 44 are formed on the respective fan gears 35 and 36, and one end is engaged with these engagement holes and the other end is fixed to the shafts 33 and 39, respectively. Bimetals 33 and 34 are attached. The bimetals 33 and 34 are also shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4a), it is attached so that the direction of thermal deformation in a bow shape coincides with the rotation direction of the fan gears 35, 36. Moreover, in order to effectively rotate the solar cell panel 1 by using the bimetals 33 and 34, the bimetals 33 and 34 are not deformed in the same direction but in the opposite directions on the fan gears 35 and 36 facing each other. Install in the direction.

The two condensers 31 and 32 mounted on the surface of the storage case 42 are condenser lenses for taking in solar heat energy, and each condenser lens has an axis 11 orthogonal to the light receiving surface 1a of the solar cell panel 1. Are installed on the surface of the housing case 42 at the left and right (upper and lower in the figure) positions in the azimuth direction so that the optical axes 311 and 321 are inclined by angles of + θ and −θ, respectively, with respect to the line parallel to. As can be seen from the sign of ± attached to θ, the two optical axes 311 and 321 are set to open toward the sun. The value of the angle θ can be arbitrarily determined according to the azimuth tracking mechanism.

Now, the operation of the above configuration will be described. In FIG. 1, the solar heat energy collected by the light collectors 31, 32 is guided to the bimetals 33, 34 mounted on the sector gears 35, 36. If the sun is not facing the solar panel 1, the bimetal 3
The solar thermal energy received by 3, 34 becomes unbalanced, and a difference occurs in the deformation force of the bimetals 33, 34. The difference between the deformation forces is applied to the rotary gear 37 by the sector gears 35 and 36, and is transmitted as a rotary force based on the couple. Since the rotating gear 37 is fixed to the rotation supporting member 21, the solar cell panel 1 relatively turns to the sun. With this mechanism, the solar cell panel 1 is reoriented in azimuth so as to constantly face the sun.

Here, even if the amount of heat applied to the left and right bimetals shifts due to factors other than the operation of the sun due to environmental changes and disturbances, the same amount of heat is applied at the same time, and the rotational force is increased. Is regulated, so it does not hinder tracking.

Although not shown, the elevation angle tracking mechanism 4
The same mechanism is realized for. That is, the elevation angle tracking mechanism 4 can be realized by replacing each component of the azimuth angle tracking mechanism 3 with each component of the elevation angle tracking mechanism 4 in a side view of FIG. By this mechanism, the solar cell panel 1 is reoriented in the elevation angle so as to constantly face the sun. Therefore, according to the solar battery power supply device of this embodiment equipped with both the mechanisms 3 and 4, the solar battery panel has the sun activating function of angular displacement following the operation of the sun, so that the power generation efficiency is maximized. It becomes possible to raise it to.

In particular, the solar cell power supply device according to this embodiment is installed in a steel tower section where it is difficult to secure power from the distribution line,
If applied to a solar cell panel used as a relatively small-scale power source for a transmission line maintenance monitoring system, it has a large merit because it can always exhibit maximum power even though it is small. It should be noted that there is a problem of strong wind as the installation environment of the steel tower, but this problem can be solved by particularly selecting a bimetal that exhibits a deforming force that can resist the strong wind. Further, it is desirable to downsize the azimuth angle tracking mechanism and the elevation angle tracking mechanism, which are exaggerated in FIG. 4, by downsizing the fan-shaped gear and the rotary gear mechanism, and to reduce the size of the entire panel support system that is the mount of the solar cell panel. . At this time, if necessary, an optical fiber may be used to guide the sunlight to the bimetal. Further, it goes without saying that the gear mechanism is not limited to that shown in the drawings and the device is not limited to a relatively small one.

Of course, it is possible to apply only one of the azimuth tracking mechanism and the elevation tracking mechanism. Further, in the above embodiment, the elevation angle tracking mechanism is arranged above and the azimuth angle tracking mechanism is arranged below, but the top and bottom may be reversed.

[0029]

According to the solar cell power supply device according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, since the drive mechanism for tracking the sunlight is realized by the bimetal, the azimuth can be achieved even though the structure is simple without power load. Tracking can be performed in the angular direction, the elevation direction, or both of them, which enables extremely efficient solar cell power generation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an azimuth tracking mechanism according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a mounting state of a bimetal according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a solar cell power supply device having sunshine in accordance with the present invention as seen from an oblique front surface.

FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of a solar cell power supply device having sun propulsion according to the present invention as seen from diagonally behind.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Solar Cell Panel 2 Fixed Member 3 Azimuth Tracking Mechanism 4 Elevation Tracking Mechanism 21 Rotation Support Member 31, 32 Condenser Part (Condenser Lens) 33, 34 Bimetal 35, 36 Fan Gear (Drive Gear) 37 Rotation Gear 311, 321 Optical axis of sunlight concentrator

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A solar cell power supply device using a solar cell panel for automatically tracking the movement of the sun, wherein the solar cell power supply apparatus is provided on each of the left and right sides of the azimuth direction and has a predetermined angle with respect to a direction orthogonal to the light receiving surface of the solar cell panel. Due to the difference in the solar heat received by both bimetals, which has two light concentrators whose optical axes are displaced in the direction that is shifted by two and two bimetals that are deformed by the solar heat collected by these two light concentrators, An azimuth angle tracking mechanism having a bimetal drive mechanism for generating a rotational force in the azimuth direction that directs the azimuth angle of the solar cell panel to the sun, and a solar cell panel provided above and below the elevation angle direction, respectively. 2 light-collecting parts whose optical axes are offset from each other by a predetermined angle with respect to the direction orthogonal to the light-receiving surface direction, and 2 which are deformed by the solar heat collected by these 2 light-collecting parts The bimeta Due to the difference in solar heat received by both bimetals, a bimetal drive mechanism that causes the solar panel to generate a rotational force in the elevation direction that directs the elevation angle of the solar cell panel to the sun, and an elevation angle tracking mechanism that has a Characteristic solar cell power supply device. 2. A solar cell power supply device using a solar cell panel for automatically tracking the movement of the sun, wherein the solar cell power supply apparatus is provided on the left and right sides of the azimuth angle direction and has a predetermined angle with respect to a direction orthogonal to the light receiving surface of the solar cell panel. Due to the difference in the solar heat received by both bimetals, which has two light concentrators whose optical axes are displaced in the direction that is shifted by two and two bimetals that are deformed by the solar heat collected by these two light concentrators, A solar cell power supply device comprising an azimuth angle tracking mechanism including a bimetal drive mechanism for generating, in the solar cell panel, a rotational force in an azimuth direction for directing the azimuth angle of the solar cell panel to the sun. 3. A solar cell power supply device using a solar cell panel for automatically tracking the movement of the sun, wherein the solar cell power supply apparatus is provided above and below the elevation angle direction and has a predetermined angle with respect to a direction orthogonal to the light receiving surface direction of the solar cell panel. Due to the difference in the solar heat received by both bimetals, which has two light concentrators whose optical axes are displaced in the direction that is shifted by two and two bimetals that are deformed by the solar heat collected by these two light concentrators, A solar cell power supply device comprising an elevation angle tracking mechanism including a bimetal drive mechanism that generates a rotational force in an elevation angle direction that causes the elevation angle of the solar cell panel to face the sun.