WO2010116007A1

WO2010116007A1 - Set of self-adjusting solar trackers suitable for being directed by a single motor

Info

Publication number: WO2010116007A1
Application number: PCT/ES2009/000604
Authority: WO
Inventors: Antonio Pasalodos Cabrero
Original assignee: Antonio Pasalodos Cabrero
Priority date: 2009-04-07
Filing date: 2009-12-31
Publication date: 2010-10-14

Abstract

The invention relates to a set of solar trackers arranged parallel to one another, connected by pulling ropes to a single channel which has, at one of the ends thereof, a motor with an electronic circuit for programming the tasks to be performed. Each solar tracker has a mast secured by foundations sheathed in a jacket supported by top and bottom bearings to enable the rotation thereof. The jacket is anchored to the centre of the beam structure which carries the panel of solar cells or heat concentrators. A concrete circular stabiliser provides a supporting and stabilising base for the structure, using a set of pulleys for said purpose. A telescopic arm is attached at one end by welding to the jacket of the mast and, at the other end, to a vertical plate with wheels inserted in a circular double rail. The solar tracker is provided with a ratchet system to ensure vertical tilting of the beam structure, enabling the structure to adapt to the path of the sun.

Description

SET OF SELF-ADJUSTABLE SOLAR FOLLOWERS DIRECTED BY A SINGLE MOTOR

The present invention relates to a series of devices and methods for monitoring solar rays for maximum use of their energy, having been designed to provide numerous benefits with respect to other solar trackers that are known in the state of the art.

The solar trackers are capable of orienting the solar panels so that they remain perpendicular to the sun's rays, following the sun from the east in the dawn to the west in the setting. They are presented in several ways although the common objective of them is to favor the energy capture by the solar panels.

In recent times the panels and solar trackers have received a great boost, especially due to the importance of obtaining energy from sources that respect the environment and to take advantage of natural resources more effectively.

Within the manufacturing sector of both solar panels and followers there is a wide variety of different devices differentiated according to their characteristics. Some solar trackers require at least two motors for their operation, which makes the product more expensive and maintenance, thus significantly reducing the benefits obtained. There are others that are very complicated to install or that require the continuous presence of specialized personnel for proper operation. Attempts have been made to find new ways to manufacture more effective devices, but without great results.

Thus, with the present invention it is intended to provide a solar tracker that, both for its unique and advantageous characteristics, and for its novel and useful operation, resolves the inconveniences found in the devices that are known in the state of the art. It has been intended to create a solar tracker that provides greater security in the fixation, simplicity in assembly, cost savings, greater efficiency and other additional benefits that we will see later. The patent object of this invention has its field of application in the auxiliary industry of solar energy, specifically in the manufacture of solar trackers.

The state of the art provides several solar collection systems and devices, although none with the novelties proposed by the present invention or with the advantages it provides.

Followers consisting of two motors that move each follower are widely known, one moves horizontal or azimuthal tracking and the other motor moves solar height tracking. The movement of the solar height is static or adaptable by hand, so it does not have an exact tracking of the solar height, since said height varies every day up or down according to the time of year. They consist of a single anchor that fixes it to the roof of buildings or homes.

In document ES 2 2139 184 an applicable solar tracker is presented to orient a catchment surface with respect to the sun, which contains solar panels, either photovoltaic solar panels for generating electricity or thermal solar panels for heating water or other fluids, essentially characterized in that it consists of an assembly whose collection surface is constituted by a structure based on support beams that house the solar panels and in turn are linked to perpendicular beams between which there is a single beam that is supported by means of support and scale by action of a tilting mechanism tilting the catchment surface and therefore the panels with respect to the sun, the support means being located on a single rotating base mounted with the help of rolling means on a tower with respect to which it rotates by action of an orientation mechanism, tower that includes control equipment which control the operation of the tilting mechanism and orientation mechanism, which act at all times on the collection surface, oriented perpendicularly to the sun in order to capture the maximum solar energy at Io throughout the day by virtue of the latitude in which the tracker is installed, the date and time of day.

Document ES 1 063 708 provides a two-axis solar tracker, characterized in that it consists of: a) a base piece, anchored to the ground and constituted as a support for the assembly, which defines a raceway provided with guides on which they are supported and they move twist conductors associated with a lower structure, this set of driving means for varying the north-south turn with at least one traction that relates said raceway and said lower structure, a horizontal axis, mounted on said structure lower with two points of support and rotation, for an upper structure carrying the sensors, this set of driving means for varying the azimuthal rotation with at least one traction that relates said upper structure and said lower structure; position sensing means capable of capturing the ambient luminosity and, by means of a PCB board equipped with an electronic circuit controller, transmitting the appropriate orders to the motor means, to vary the north-south and azimuthal turns, adapting the follower at each moment to the optimum angle of maximum brightness capture.

Also in document ES 1 064 946 we find a solar tracker that being constituted from a vertical tower with an azimuthal rotation bearing and a bearing structure of a plurality of photovoltaic solar panels, is characterized in that it comprises three arms mounted on the rotation bearing azimuthal, at whose ends are removable plates or ribs articulated in a vertical plane, spaced apart from each other, through which pairs of support beams for the corresponding solar panels are perpendicularly passed, said beams being mounted with an inclination angle of approximately 20 ° with respect to the axis of the ribs, allowing the angle of tracking of the sun and elevation to oscillate between 25 ° and 80 ° with respect to the horizontal plane, having provided that the panels are distributed forming separate alignments, with the inclination of 20 ° provided by the provision of the beams themselves support, with the particularity that the ends of the three arms are connected to each other by means of a prestressed cable or bar.

Both the documents mentioned above and other models that we can find in the state of the art have drawbacks such as weak fixation because they have only one anchor. They allow a single movement, be it the azimuthal or the one of solar height, and in the few cases in which both movements are achieved, the device needs two motors to move a single solar tracker. By these characteristics the cost of these devices increases considerably. Even so, the devices that support the movement of solar height are static or manual, which forces the user to periodically act on the device to correct the trajectory.

However, it is not known a solar tracker system based on a set of methods, materials and elements that have such novel characteristics and that provide such significant benefits compared to the state of the current technique, providing a series of advances in the elements already known with its corresponding advantages.

In particular:

• The platform has great strength in the fixation for its four anchors with chains.

• It has a great resistance to the forces of nature due to the concrete stabilizer.

• With a single engine it manages to move up to ten solar trackers.

• Automates both horizontal and vertical movement without the need for specialized personnel.

• Azimuthal movement is carried out thanks to a guide rail that adapts the solar tracker according to the time of day

• The solar height, through a ratchet system, also adapts day by day to the real height of the sun, rising half a year and lowering the other medium.

• Its simplicity saves breakdowns and therefore reduces costs. • Thanks to an anemometer, the motor places all the solar trackers in a suitable position to avoid being rammed by the force of the wind.

Thus, the invention is constituted from the following elements: A series of solar trackers placed parallel to each other, connected by traction cables to a single channel that presents at one of its ends an engine with electronic circuit for programming the tasks to be carried out, each solar tracker being constituted by a mast secured by foundations wrapped in its three fourth upper parts by a sleeve supported by lower and upper bearings for its rotation. The shirt is anchored at its upper end by means of a ball joint to the center of the beam structure on which the solar panel or thermal concentrator panel rests. A circular stabilizer of concrete covered with sheet metal provided with a central hole through which the lower end of the jacket enters and anchored below the lower end of the mast serves as a base of support and stabilization of the structure, for which a game is used of pulleys located on the stabilizer through which they pass two by two a chain fixed at its ends to the structure. A telescopic arm is fixed at one end by welding to the mast sleeve and at the other end to a vertical plate provided with two holes, one upper and one lower, which house two axles of two concave metal wheels located in the same vertical plane with their respective bearings, leaving in the center a space in which a double circular rail fits, being locked between the two wheels. The double circular rail draws three quarters of inclined circumference and is supported by pillars of different height. A ratchet constituted by an endless screw under the drum joins the telescopic arm and a beam of the structure on which the solar panels rest, conferring vertical tilting to it in such a way that at the passage of the solar noon and, at night, the Carraca locates the verticality of the platform at the solar height incident on the date in question, since the beginning of winter it raises the platform as the sun rises, and from the beginning of summer, the Ia falls inclination of the platform as the sun goes down, forcing the day-to-day platform to remain completely vertical to the angle of incidence of the sun's rays or solar height.

The operation of the system is developed in the following way: the solar tracker is at sunrise resting in an east-northeast position, at the appointed time and when the sun has already advanced between 7 and 10 °, said solar tracker, driven by the motor , it starts and turns guided by the double rail to the west those same degrees. Every day, at a set time, the engine stops the follower and checks that it is in contact with a predetermined point. Once he reaches sunset he waits one hour in summer and four hours in winter, then, the follower turns on his obverse returning to the starting point to the east, and thus starting the same cycle the next day. At the same time that the follower turns from east to west throughout the day, the platform rises a little every day from the beginning of winter and falls from the beginning of summer to adapt to the height of the sun.

For a better understanding of what is described herein, drawings are attached in which, by way of example, a practical case of non-limiting realization of solar trackers is represented.

Figure 1: Perspective of the solar tracker.

Figure 2: Top view of the set of followers attached to the channel

In the figure the numbered elements correspond to the following:

1) Solar tracker

2) Traction cables

3) Channel

4) Motor with electronic circuit

5) Mast

6) Foundation

7) Shirt

8) Beam structure

9) Circular stabilizer

10) Pulleys

11) Chains 12) Telescopic arm

13) Vertical plate

14) Wheels

15) Double rail

16) Pillars

17) Ratchet

18) Endless screw

19) Drum

20) Solar panels

The preferred embodiment given by way of non-limiting example is constituted from a series of solar trackers (1) placed parallel to each other, connected by traction cables (2) to a single channel (3) that has one from its ends an engine with electronic circuit (4) for the programming of the tasks to be performed, each solar tracker being constituted by a mast (5) secured by foundation (6) sheathed in its three quarters by jacket (7) held by lower and upper bearings for rotation. The jacket is anchored by its upper end by means of a ball joint to the center of the beam structure (8) on which the solar panel panel or thermal concentrators rests. A circular concrete stabilizer (9) covered with sheet metal provided with a central hole through which the lower end of the jacket enters and anchored below the lower end of the mast serves as a base of support and stabilization of the structure, for which it is worth of a set of pulleys (10) located on the stabilizer through which a chain (11) fixed at its ends passes to the structure two by two. A telescopic arm (12) is fixed at one end by welding to the mast sleeve and at the other end to a vertical plate (13) provided with two holes, one upper and one lower, in which two axes of two metal wheels (14) with a concave footprint located in the same vertical plane with their respective bearings, leaving in the center a space in which a double circular rail (15) fits, being locked between the two wheels. The double circular rail draws three quarters of inclined circumference and is supported by pillars (16) of different height. A ratchet (17) constituted by an endless screw (18) under a drum (19) joins the telescopic arm and a beam of the structure on which the solar panels (20) rest, conferring vertical tilting to it in such a way that at the passage of the solar noon and, at night, the ratchet places the verticality of the platform at the solar height incident on the date in question, since the beginning of winter it raises the platform as the sun rises, and from the beginning of the summer, the inclination of the platform decreases as the sun goes down, forcing the platform day to day to remain completely vertical to the angle of incidence of the solar rays or solar height.

Claims

1.- SET OF SELF-ADJUSTABLE SOLAR FOLLOWERS DIRECTED BY A SINGLE MOTOR, consisting of a series of solar trackers placed parallel to each other, each of which is secured by foundation from which a mast starts, characterized in that said followers are joined by means of traction cables to a single channel that presents at one of its ends an engine with electronic circuit for programming the tasks to be performed.

2.- ASSEMBLY OF SELF-ADJUSTABLE SOLAR FOLLOWERS DIRECTED BY A SINGLE MOTOR, according to claim 1, characterized in that the masts are sheathed in its three-fourth upper parts by a sleeve supported by lower and upper bearings for rotation.

3.- SET OF SELF-ADJUSTABLE SOLAR FOLLOWERS DIRECTED BY A SINGLE MOTOR, according to claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the jacket is anchored by its upper end by means of a ball joint to the center of the beam structure on which the solar panel panel rests. or thermal concentrators.

4.- ASSEMBLY OF SELF-ADJUSTABLE SOLAR FOLLOWERS DIRECTED BY A SINGLE MOTOR, according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a circular stabilizer of concrete covered with sheet provided with a central hole through which the lower end of the jacket enters and anchored below to the end The lower part of the mast serves as a base for the support and stabilization of the structure, for which it uses a set of pulleys located on the stabilizer through which a chain fixed at its ends passes to the structure.

5.- SET OF SELF-ADJUSTABLE SOLAR FOLLOWERS DIRECTED BY A SINGLE MOTOR, according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a telescopic arm is fixed at one end by welding to the mast sleeve and at the other end to a vertical plate provided with two holes, one upper and one lower, in those that house two axles of two concave metal wheels located in the same vertical plane with their respective bearings.

6.- ASSEMBLY OF SELF-ADJUSTABLE SOLAR FOLLOWERS DIRECTED BY A SINGLE MOTOR, according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the wheels leave in the center a space in which a double circular rail fits, being locked between the two wheels.

7.- SET OF SELF-ADJUSTABLE SOLAR FOLLOWERS DIRECTED BY A SINGLE MOTOR, according to claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the double circular rail draws three quarters of inclined circumference and is supported by pillars of different height.

8.- SET OF SELF-ADJUSTABLE SOLAR FOLLOWERS DIRECTED BY A SINGLE MOTOR, according to claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a ratchet constituted by an endless screw under drum joins the telescopic arm and a beam of the structure on which the solar panels rest , conferring vertical tilting to it in such a way that at the passage of the solar noon and, at night return, the ratchet locates the verticality of the platform at the solar height incident on the date in question, since the beginning of winter it raises the platform as the sun rises, and from the beginning of the summer, the inclination of the platform falls as the sun goes down, forcing the day-to-day platform to remain completely vertical at the angle of incidence of the sun's rays or solar height.