KR20090125351A - Window controlling illumination using suspended particle devices glass and solar cell - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A window to control illumination using a solar battery and a transparency variable glass is provided to control light entered through the window and illumination of home or an office by producing electricity with light. CONSTITUTION: A window to control illumination using a solar battery and a transparency variable glass comprises polarized particles, a transparency variable glass, and control units(140). The polarized particles are arranged according to existence of an electric field. The transparency variable glass controls the quantity of the light through an illumination control window(100) according to the arrangement of polarized particles. The control unit sends voltage to the transparency variable glass according to illumination control order of users.

Description

Window Controlling illumination Using Suspended Particle Devices Glass and Solar Cell}

The present invention relates to a window for controlling illuminance by using a permeable variable glass and a solar cell.

Many windows are installed in homes and offices. Most of these windows are combined with clear glass. Such transparent glass windows have the advantage of receiving and receiving from the outside, while additionally equipped with equipment such as curtains or blinds because they can easily see the interior from the outside.

Shades such as curtains or blinds can be raised or lowered manually at the front of the window to adjust the light level, room temperature, light flow or provide privacy. Known roll-up shades are relatively inexpensive and easy to install. If the shade is damaged, the new shade can be easily replaced.

However, when using such curtains or blinds, when light is received from the outside, the user can control the illumination of the home or office by directly adjusting the curtains or blinds. As such, in order to control illuminance using a conventional curtain or blind, there is an inconvenience that a user needs to adjust the curtain or blind directly.

Therefore, the present invention is to solve the problems according to the prior art, by using the light incident to the window to produce electricity, by applying a voltage obtained from the produced electricity to the transmissive variable glass, the incident through the window The purpose of the present invention is to provide a window for controlling the light to be controlled and thereby controlling the illuminance of the home or office.

The illumination control window according to an aspect of the present invention includes light polarization particles arranged according to the presence or absence of an electric field, and the amount of light passing through the illumination control window is controlled according to the arrangement of the light polarization particles. And a control unit configured to receive an illumination control command from a user and to control a voltage according to the input command to be applied to the transmissive variable glass.

The transmissive variable glass is formed between a pair of glass, a pair of glass, and is formed between a pair of transparent conductive layers and a pair of transparent conductive layers to which a voltage is applied from the control unit, and an emulsion including the light polarized particles. It characterized in that it comprises an emulsion (emulsion) layer filled with a transition.

The emulsion including the light polarizing particles of the emulsion layer may exist in a microdroplet state in the polymer resin, and the emulsion layer may be formed by being applied to and bonded to the transparent conductive layer.

On the other hand, the transmissive variable glass may be characterized in that it further comprises a solar cell for converting the incident light into electricity. In this case, the solar cell may be configured in the form of a film. In addition, the film-type solar cell is preferably located between the outer glass and the outer transparent conductive layer.

In the illumination control window provided with a solar cell, the controller applies the electricity converted by the solar cell to the transparent conductive layer.

In addition, the illumination control window according to the present invention may further include a storage battery for storing the electrical energy converted by the solar cell. When the controller does not receive power from the solar cell, the controller applies a voltage to the transparent conductive layer using the electrical energy stored in the storage battery.

On the other hand, the illumination control window according to the present invention may further include a cooling module that absorbs the surrounding heat by using the electrical energy converted by the solar cell. In this case, the cooling module may be configured of a Peltier device, and the Peltier device may be formed to be displayed on one side of a window support frame supporting the illumination control window.

Meanwhile, an illuminance sensor for detecting an interface or external illuminance for receiving a voltage applied to the transmissive variable glass and a command for whether the cooling module is activated or not and transmitting the detected illuminance value to the controller may be further provided. Can be. In this case, the controller may control the voltage applied to the transparent conductive layer or control whether the cooling module is activated according to the illuminance value measured by the illuminance sensor.

As described above, according to the window for controlling illuminance using the permeable variable glass and the solar cell according to the present invention, the permeable variable glass having the solar cell is controlled according to the amount of voltage applied to the variable glass. do.

In addition, the surplus energy produced by the solar cell is stored as a storage battery installed in the window, it can be connected to the Peltier element, etc. by using the storage battery can perform heating or heating of the home or office.

Hereinafter, a window for controlling illuminance by using a transmissive variable glass and a solar cell according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view showing the external shape of the illumination control window according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the illuminance control window 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a window frame 110, a variable glass 120, a window support 130, a control unit 140, and a heating / cooling module 150. And the like.

The window frame 110 and the window support 130 correspond to the components that are combined with the variable glass 120 to fix the variable glass 120. Of course, the shape of the window frame 110 and the window support 130 is present in a variety of ways, there is a variety of ways that the window frame 110 and the window support 130 is coupled to the variable glass 120.

The illumination control window 100 has a control unit 140 and a capacitor 141, it is preferable to position them in one side or the window support 130 of the window frame 110. Particularly, the side surface of the window frame 110 is formed in a protrusion shape, and the control unit 140 is positioned in a part of the recessed area by placing the control unit 140 for illuminance control and the capacitor 141 for storing the generated power. ) And the capacitor 141 can be configured to be invisible to the user.

The air conditioning module 150 is controlled by the controller 140 and is responsible for heating and cooling the interior of the illumination control window 100. At this time, the air conditioning module 150 may receive power from the capacitor 141 to perform a cooling and heating function. The air conditioning module 150 may be configured to be located inside the window support 130 that is the lower end of the illumination control window 100. In particular, for better cooling and heating efficiency, the air conditioning module 150 is more preferably coupled to the window support 130 to be exposed on the surface of the window support 130.

2 is a block diagram showing the functional block configuration of the illumination control window according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the illumination control window 100 according to the present invention includes a variable glass 120, a controller 140, an air conditioning module 150, a storage battery 141, an illumination sensor 143, and a user interface 142. ) And the like.

Here, the configuration of the variable glass 120 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 3. However, FIG. 2 illustrates only the transmissive variable glass 180 and the solar cell 170 among the components of the variable glass 120 to describe the function of the illumination control window 100.

The thin film type solar cell 170 is connected to the controller 140 for controlling the illumination and temperature inside the room. In addition, the solar cell 170 is connected to the capacitor 141 to store the surplus energy in the capacitor 141. The solar cell 170 is connected to a thermoelectric generator, it is possible to produce more efficient electrical energy.

The controller 140 controls the light transmittance of the transmissive variable glass 180 or activates the cooling module 150 by using the electrical energy produced by the solar cell 170 or the electrical energy stored in the capacitor 141. Do this.

The controller 140 adjusts the voltage applied to the transmissive variable glass 180 according to a user's illumination control command input through a predetermined interface.

First, when receiving a command to block the light from the user, the control unit 140 does not apply a voltage to the transmissive variable glass 180, the light of the rod-shaped particles (rod-shaped particles) (97) Make the array irregular.

On the contrary, when a command for transmitting light is received from the user, the controller 140 applies a predetermined voltage to the transmissive variable glass 180. By arranging the arrangement of the light polarizing particles 197 in a predetermined direction, the light may be controlled to pass through the transmissive variable glass 180.

In addition, the controller 140 operates the cooling module 150 to cool the air around the cooling module 150. In this case, the cooling module 150 is more preferably configured as a Peltier Device. The Peltier device refers to a device in which heat is absorbed at a junction when two different semiconductors are connected to each other to apply current. Of course, it can also be configured to dissipate heat around through the opposite operation of the Peltier device.

The air conditioning module 150, which is a Peltier device, absorbs ambient heat by using electric power supplied from the solar cell 170 or the capacitor 141, and thus, the room or office inside the illumination control window 100. It is possible to obtain a cooling effect of lowering the temperature.

The air conditioning module 150 of the Peltier device does not use a refrigerant. In addition, since a compressor is not used, a compressor is not required, and thus the air conditioning module 150 may be configured with only a small device. Therefore, the heating and cooling module 150 of the element type may be installed on one side of the window support 130 or the window frame 110. However, for more preferable cooling efficiency, the cooling module 150 is more preferably positioned to be displayed on the surface of the window support 130.

The illuminance sensor 143 detects illuminance of the room or office and transmits the detected illuminance value to the controller. The controller 140 may control the voltage applied to the transparent conductive layer according to the illuminance value transmitted from the illuminance sensor 143. Of course, the controller 140 may determine whether to activate the air conditioning module 150 according to the transmitted illuminance value.

On the other hand, the user interface 142 is a component for receiving a command for the voltage applied to the transmissive variable glass and the activation of the cooling module from the user. The user interface 142 may be configured as a keypad or a touch screen.

Hereinafter, a control method of an illuminance control window including the above components will be described.

The method of operating the illumination control window according to the present invention can be largely divided into a manual operation method and an automatic operation method.

Manual operation corresponds to a method in which the user directly determines the amount of light transmitted. The user is instructed whether to increase or decrease the amount of light transmitted using the user interface 142 such as a switch provided in the remote control or the illumination control window. In this case, the controller 140 receives a transmittance control command from the user and applies a voltage to the transmissive variable glass 180 according to the transmittance control command. The arrangement of the light polarizing particles is adjusted according to the applied voltage, thereby maintaining the illuminance as desired by the user.

Meanwhile, the automatic operation method may be divided into a timer method and a macro method.

The timer method is a method for solving the inconvenience of having to adjust the amount of transmission each time. The user inputs the time and the amount of illuminance required for the illumination control using the interface 142 provided in the remote control or the illumination control window. When the time designated by the user arrives, the controller 140 applies a voltage to the transmissive variable glass 180 to transmit the light as desired by the user.

By using the timer control method, it is possible to automatically control the amount of light transmission at the time of bedtime automatically and, on the contrary, to increase the amount of light transmission automatically during the wake-up time.

On the other hand, the macro method is a method of selecting and inputting a transmission amount of light frequently used by a person. The user can pre-populate the amount of light that is often used in the illumination control window. The user can retrieve the amount of light previously inputted and maintain the desired intensity easily and comfortably.

3 is a view showing a detailed structure of the variable glass of the illumination control window of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the variable glass 120 according to the present invention may include an outer glass 160, a solar cell 170, a transmissive variable glass 180, an inner glass 190, and the like.

Outer glass 160 and the inner glass 190 of the variable glass 120 according to the present invention protects the solar cell 170 and the transmissive variable glass 180 and the like.

The solar cell 170 may selectively produce electricity or heat from sunlight or the like incident from the outside. The solar cell 170 according to the present embodiment is preferably composed of a transparent solar cell on thin film plastic. The solar cell 170 in the form of a film may be configured to be coupled to the transmissive variable glass 180 and the outer glass 160.

That is, by applying the transparent thin film solar cell 170 according to the present invention to the window can be obtained energy saving effect of the home or high-rise building and at the same time can meet the aesthetics.

In particular, the solar cell 170 supplies power generated from sunlight to the air conditioning module 150 and the transmissive variable glass 180 of the illumination control window. The air conditioning module 150 adjusts the temperature of the home or office by using the supplied power. Transmissive variable glass 180 controls the illuminance of the home or office by adjusting the amount of light transmitted using the supplied power.

4 is a view showing a detailed configuration of the transmissive variable glass shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the transmissive variable glass 190 includes an upper film layer 191, an upper transparent conductive layer 192, an emulsion layer 193, a lower transparent conductive layer 195, and a lower film layer 196. Can be distinguished.

Here, the uppermost film layer 191 and the lowermost film layer 196 correspond to layers for protecting the transparent conductive layers 192 and 195 and the emulsion layer 193, and may be made of glass or the like as well as a thin film. .

Upper and lower transparent conducting layers 192 and 195 are formed between the upper film layer 191 and the lower film layer 196, which are responsible for applying a variable voltage to the emulsion layer 193. have. Electrodes are connected to the upper and lower transparent conductive layers 192 and 195, respectively, so that a variable voltage can be applied to the emulsion layer 193.

The emulsion layer 193 existing between the upper and lower transparent conductive layers 192 and 195 is filled with an emulsion. A plurality of functional particles 194 are disposed inside the emulsion. In addition, the light polarizing particles 197 are included in the functional particles. The light polarizing particles 197 take the form of rod-shaped particles.

The emulsion including the light polarizing particles may be present in a microdroplet state in the polymer resin, and the emulsion layer may be coated and bonded to the transparent conductive layer.

The transmissive variable glass 190 having such a configuration may block or transmit incident sunlight depending on whether a voltage applied to the upper and lower transparent conductive layers 192 and 195 is applied. In addition, it is possible to control the amount of light transmitted according to the intensity of the applied voltage, it is possible to control the illuminance of the home or office.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating an arrangement of optical polarizers depending on whether voltage is present at both ends of the transmissive variable glass of FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 5A, in the state where no voltage is applied to the upper and lower transparent conductive layers 192 and 195, the light polarizing particles 197 are irregularly arranged inside the functional particles 194. Due to this irregular arrangement, the transmissive variable glass 190 may not transmit incident light. As a result, the transmissive variable glass 190 to which no voltage is applied blocks the incident light.

5B illustrates a state in which voltage is applied to both ends of the transmissive variable glass 190, that is, the upper and lower transparent conductive layers 192 and 195. The polarized light particles 197 of the emulsion layer are arranged in the horizontal direction by the applied voltage, thereby increasing the transparency of the transmissive variable glass 190. As a result, light incident on the variable glass 190 may transmit.

In addition, the intensity of the voltage applied to the transmissive variable glass 190 is a ratio of the pieces arranged in the transverse direction of the light polarizing particles 197 of the emulsion layer 193 is determined. Focusing on these characteristics, the voltage applied to the upper and lower transparent conductive layers can be adjusted to adjust the amount of light passing through the variable glass or the transparency of the variable glass.

6 is a diagram illustrating a light intensity control method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The controller of the illumination control window waits for a user's command input from the user interface (S601). The control unit of the illuminance control window determines whether a command is input (S602), and if a command is not input from the user, the controller maintains the current state of the variable glass and waits for a command input from the user.

If a command is input from the user in step S602, the controller determines whether the input command is an automatic control command (S603). The automatic control command here corresponds to a command for instructing specific control at a specific time. For example, the command to increase the light transmittance of the illumination control window at 7:00 in the morning corresponds to the automatic control command of S603.

If the input command is not an automatic control command, the controller detects the amount of illuminance required by the user (S504). In addition, the control unit applies a voltage corresponding to the detected illuminance amount to the transmissive variable glass (S505). Accordingly, the light deflecting particles of the transmissive variable glass form an array according to the voltage, thereby maintaining the illuminance required by the user.

On the other hand, if the input command is an automatic control command, the controller detects not only the illuminance amount S507 requested by the user, but also the time to control the illuminance amount (S506). In FIG. 6, the control time is detected before the illuminance, but the order is irrelevant.

The controller of the illuminance control window waits for a time to perform the control operation. If another command is input from the user while waiting, the controller proceeds to S503 and performs the input command.

In addition, when the time when the control operation is to be performed without inputting another command arrives, the process proceeds to S505 to apply a voltage corresponding to the illuminance input by the user to the transmissive variable glass.

In FIG. 6, a method of controlling the amount of illuminance has been described. However, the control unit of the illumination control window according to the present invention may control the cooling module according to a user's command, which is almost the same as the method described with reference to FIG. 6.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to exemplary embodiments above, those skilled in the art may make various modifications within the scope of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention. Will understand. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims below and equivalents thereof.

1 is a view showing the external shape of the illumination control window according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing the functional blocks of the illumination control window according to another embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a view showing a detailed structure of a variable glass of the illumination control window of FIG.

4 is a view showing a detailed configuration of the transmissive variable glass shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating an arrangement state of a light polarizing material depending on whether voltage is present at both ends of the transmissive variable glass of FIG. 4.

6 is a view showing a roughness control method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: illuminance control window 110: window frame

120: variable glass 130; Window support

140: control unit 141: storage battery

142: user interface 143: illumination sensor

150: air conditioning module 160, 190: glass

170: solar cell 180: transmissive variable glass

Claims (16)

In the light control window, A transmissive variable glass including light polarizing particles arranged according to the presence or absence of an electric field, and the amount of light passing through the illumination control window according to the arrangement of the light polarizing particles is controlled; And a control unit configured to receive an illumination control command from a user and control a voltage according to the input command to be applied to the transmissive variable glass. The method of claim 1, The transmissive variable glass, A pair of glass; A pair of transparent conductive layers formed in the pair of glass and to which a voltage is applied from the control unit; And An illumination control window formed between the pair of transparent conductive layers and comprising an emulsion layer filled with an emulsion including the light polarizing particles. The method of claim 2, Emulsion comprising the light polarizing particles of the emulsion layer is an illumination control window, characterized in that present in the micro-droplet state in the polymer resin. The method of claim 3, The emulsion layer is an illumination control window, characterized in that the coating is bonded to the transparent conductive layer. The method of claim 2, The transmissive variable glass, An illumination control window further comprising a solar cell converting incident light into electricity. The method of claim 5, Illumination control window, characterized in that the solar cell is configured in the form of a film. The method of claim 6, The film type solar cell is an illumination control window, characterized in that located between the outer glass and the outer transparent conductive layer. The method of claim 5, The control unit illuminance control window, characterized in that for applying the electricity converted by the solar cell to the transparent conductive layer. The method of claim 5, The illuminance control window, And a storage battery for storing the electrical energy converted by the solar cell. The method of claim 9, When the control unit does not receive power from the solar cell, the illumination control window, characterized in that to apply a voltage to the transparent conductive layer using the electrical energy stored in the storage battery. The method of claim 5, Illumination control window further comprises a cooling module for absorbing the surrounding heat by using the electrical energy converted by the solar cell. The method of claim 11, The cooling module is an illumination control window, characterized in that composed of Peltier (Peltier) element. The method of claim 12, The Peltier element is an illumination control window, characterized in that formed on one side of the window support frame for supporting the illumination control window. The method of claim 12, An illumination control window further comprising an interface for receiving a command from the user on the voltage applied to the transmissive variable glass and the activation of the cooling module. The method of claim 12, And an illuminance sensor for detecting external illuminance and transferring the detected illuminance value to the control unit. The control unit illuminance control window, characterized in that for controlling the voltage applied to the transparent conductive layer in accordance with the transmitted illuminance value. The method of claim 15, The control unit illuminance control window, characterized in that for controlling the activation of the cooling module according to the transmitted illuminance value.

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