RU2844363C1 - Solar collector orientation system - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: electricity.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to renewable energy sources and can be used in hot water supply systems from solar thermal collectors and in power supply systems from solar electric collectors. Manifold in gimbal suspension is controlled by stepped turns relative to its vertical and horizontal axes by step motors in response to clock mechanism signals. Before the beginning of automatic tracking, the collector is set in the direction of maximum solar radiation. After the sun leaves the field of view of the collector, the system returns the collector to its initial position.

EFFECT: high efficiency of solar radiation use by solar thermal collectors and solar electrical collectors.

1 cl, 1 dwg

Description

The invention relates to renewable energy technology and can be used in hot water supply systems from solar thermal collectors and in power supply systems from solar electric collectors.

It is known from advertising materials and Internet sites e-solarpower.ru, newpolus. ga, moredoma.ru, market.ya that thermal collectors and solar electric collectors are installed motionless with their normals at angles of maximum solar radiation relative to the plane of the horizon. During a sunny day, their productivity changes, reaching a maximum when the direction to the sun coincides with the direction of the normals and falling to a minimum when the sun is close to the horizon. In general, the coefficient of useful use of solar radiation is not high. This is the disadvantage of these systems.

Since the mentioned materials do not contain information about the existence of technical solutions aimed at eliminating this drawback, it is difficult to indicate a specific prototype of this invention.

The objective of this invention is to increase the solar radiation utilization factor of solar thermal collectors and solar electric collectors, i.e. their efficiency. (In the following presentation, for brevity, we will use the general name "collector"). The technical result of the invention will be a basic diagram of the collector tracking the daytime movement of the sun.

The specified problem is solved, and the technical result is achieved by the fact that the orientation system of the solar radiation receiver (collector) consists of a photodetector, an indicator, a clock mechanism, a command unit, a control pulse generation unit, reversible stepper motors and a gimbal suspension in which the solar radiation receiver is installed; the photodetector is placed on the radiation receiver with its sensitivity axis parallel to the normal to the plane of the receiver and is electrically connected to the indicator and the command unit; the clock mechanism is electrically connected to the command unit and the control pulse generation unit, electrically connected to the stepper motors.

Fig. 1 shows the diagram of the proposed orientation system. The system consists of a gimbal 1 with reversible stepper motors 2, 3 and a collector 4 mounted on its axes; a photodetector 5, an indicator 6, a clock mechanism 7, a control pulse generation unit 8, and a command unit 9. It is advisable to place devices 6, 7, 8, 9 in a single control panel 10, in which toggles 11, 12 for preliminary orientation of the collector, a toggle switch 13 for turning on the power supply of the system and a "Start" button 14 are installed. Toggles 11, 12 are three-position with a fixed neutral position. (Toggle switch 11, "up, down", toggle switch 12, "right, left").

Photodetector 5 is electrically connected to block 9, clock mechanism 7 is electrically connected to blocks 8, 9; block 8 is electrically connected to stepper motors 2, 3; toggle switches 11, 12 are electrically connected to block 8, button 14 is electrically connected to block 9.

In the initial position, the transverse axis of the collector is parallel to the horizontal axis of the suspension, the normal to the surface of the collector is perpendicular to the vertical axis of the suspension, and the sensitivity axis of the photodetector is parallel to the normal of the collector.

The operation of the proposed system is as follows (simple version). The user of the collector turns on the toggle switch 13 power supply of the system and, guided by the readings of the indicator 6, recording the signal of the photodetector 5, sequentially with the toggle switches 11, 12 supplies control pulses (forward or reverse polarity) to the unit 8, from where they, amplified in power, are fed to the corresponding inputs (forward or reverse stroke) of the stepper motors 2, 3. The motors rotate the collector 4 in azimuth and in height to the angular position of the collector normal, at which the readings of the indicator 6 will be maximum. After this, the user stops working with the toggle switches 11, 12 and presses the "Start" button, which supplies power to the clock mechanism 7. The system switches to the automatic mode of operation.

In a complex version of the operation, preliminary orientation must be performed automatically, which is dictated by specific conditions, for example, the presence of fields with a large number of collectors.

From the moment of receiving power, the clock mechanism 7 sends to the block 8 and in parallel to the command block 9 starting pulses with the periods of repetition T _y and T _y , which are stored in the block 9 and, being amplified in the block 8 by power, are sent from it, respectively, to the step motors of the horizontal and vertical axes of the gimbal suspension 1. The motors turn the collector 4, respectively, by the angles h _y and h _y , determined by the step value along the corresponding suspension axis. In a simple case, it is advisable to select such step values that will turn the collector by the angles of change of the angles of orientation of the sun during the periods of repetition of starting pulses from the clock mechanism. In this case, the collector normal will catch up with the moved sun by the end of the period, thus implementing continuous tracking of the sun even if it is covered by dense clouds. Consequently, at each given moment the collector will generate the maximum possible thermal or electrical power under the given conditions.

During the entire time of tracking of the collector by the sun, the signal of the photodetector 5 is sent to the command unit 9. When the signal as a result of the disappearance of the sun from the field of view of the photodetector 5 falls to a specified threshold value, the unit 9 removes power from the clock mechanism 7 and supplies a series of pulses with periods of repetition significantly shorter than the periods of the tracking pulses, but in the same quantity, through the unit 8 to the return windings of the stepper motors 2 and 3, which return the collector to its original position, after which the unit 9 removes power from the entire system.

The next time the system is turned on, the initial manual orientation must be repeated, since the position of the sun relative to the horizon plane will already be different.

Claims (1)

A solar collector orientation system consisting of a photodetector, an indicator, a clock mechanism, a command unit, a control pulse generation unit, reversible stepper motors, a control panel and a gimbal suspension, in which the solar radiation receiver is installed in the gimbal suspension, the photodetector is placed on the radiation receiver with its sensitivity axis parallel to the normal to the plane of the receiver and is electrically connected to the indicator and the command unit; the clock mechanism is electrically connected to the command unit and the control pulse generation unit, electrically connected to the stepper motors.