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US20080127964A1 - Sun tracker - Google Patents

Sun tracker Download PDF

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Publication number
US20080127964A1
US20080127964A1 US11/986,482 US98648208A US2008127964A1 US 20080127964 A1 US20080127964 A1 US 20080127964A1 US 98648208 A US98648208 A US 98648208A US 2008127964 A1 US2008127964 A1 US 2008127964A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
energy transfer
solar
solar energy
transfer unit
spherical structure
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US11/986,482
Inventor
Jiahua Han
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to US11/986,482 priority Critical patent/US20080127964A1/en
Publication of US20080127964A1 publication Critical patent/US20080127964A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02S—GENERATION OF ELECTRIC POWER BY CONVERSION OF INFRARED RADIATION, VISIBLE LIGHT OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT, e.g. USING PHOTOVOLTAIC [PV] MODULES
    • H02S20/00—Supporting structures for PV modules
    • H02S20/30—Supporting structures being movable or adjustable, e.g. for angle adjustment
    • H02S20/32—Supporting structures being movable or adjustable, e.g. for angle adjustment specially adapted for solar tracking
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24S—SOLAR HEAT COLLECTORS; SOLAR HEAT SYSTEMS
    • F24S50/00—Arrangements for controlling solar heat collectors
    • F24S50/20—Arrangements for controlling solar heat collectors for tracking
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/40—Solar thermal energy, e.g. solar towers
    • Y02E10/47—Mountings or tracking
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy

Definitions

  • This invention is a device which is able to tell the direction of the sun, it is simple and also could be of high precision; by using this device, the positions of some the solar energy devices driven by hydraulic systems or a electromechanical systems could be modified to work toward the sun direction, this way, the utilization of the sun energy can be increased to a higher level.
  • sun-tracker which is able to determine the optimal direction for a solar energy device to work toward, some solar energy transfer unit is fixed on a basic spherical structure and each of them towards a certain direction, the direction of all said solar energy transfer units around said basic spherical structure represent almost all the directions in a 3-D space, except a small surface area will be used to fix the sun tracker; If sun tracker is fixed, then the working direction of each solar energy transfer unit is certain and by comparing the output from each solar energy transfer unit, the optimal direction for other solar energy devices located at the same area can be determined; said sun tracker comprising,

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Sustainable Development (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Sustainable Energy (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Photovoltaic Devices (AREA)

Abstract

The basic idea of this invention is to use many small solar energy transfer units like solar cells, each of them is of the same size and installed on the surface of a spherical structure and toward a certain direction in a 3-D space, the position of each unit is saved in a database, by using a comparison unit to compare the output of these solar energy transfer units, the optimized sun direction can be determined; a compass maybe used to install the said sun tracker in a fixed place.

Description

    CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
  • This patent filing claims the benefit of earlier filed provisional applications: Application No. 60/861,212, filing date Nov. 27, 2006, Conformation No. 3829, filing receipt *OC000000021502638*, Title, Sun tracker.
    • STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
  • Not applicable.
    • REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING
  • Not applicable.
    • COMPACT DISC APPENDIX
  • Not applicable.
    • BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  • Solar energy becomes more and more efficient, with its low pollution and the unlimited renewable energy resources; it has a bright future for the future. In order to make good use of the solar energy, a simple and high precise sun tracker is necessary. Most of the existing sun tracker is either less precise or more complicated; the invention of this sun tracker is to propose another kind of simple sun tracker with high precision.
    • BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
  • This invention is a device which is able to tell the direction of the sun, it is simple and also could be of high precision; by using this device, the positions of some the solar energy devices driven by hydraulic systems or a electromechanical systems could be modified to work toward the sun direction, this way, the utilization of the sun energy can be increased to a higher level.
    • BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
  • Not applicable.
    • DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
  • Solar energy has a broad application as a main source of low pollution and renewable energy resources. sun-tracker which is able to determine the optimal direction for a solar energy device to work toward, some solar energy transfer unit is fixed on a basic spherical structure and each of them towards a certain direction, the direction of all said solar energy transfer units around said basic spherical structure represent almost all the directions in a 3-D space, except a small surface area will be used to fix the sun tracker; If sun tracker is fixed, then the working direction of each solar energy transfer unit is certain and by comparing the output from each solar energy transfer unit, the optimal direction for other solar energy devices located at the same area can be determined; said sun tracker comprising,

Claims (4)

1. what is claimed is a sun-tracker which is able to determine the optimal direction for a solar energy device to work toward, some solar energy transfer unit is fixed on a basic spherical structure and each of them towards a certain direction, the direction of all said solar energy transfer units around said basic spherical structure represent almost all the directions in a 3-D space, except a small surface area will be used to fix the sun tracker; if sun tracker is fixed, then the working direction of each solar energy transfer unit is certain and by comparing the output from each solar energy transfer unit, the optimal direction for other solar energy devices located at the same location can be determined.
2. said sun tracker comprising a basic spherical structure, said basic spherical structure could be a spherical or a spherical based polyhedron structure, optionally the polyhedron are a regular polyhedron.
3. said sun tracker comprising polygon solar-energy transfer unit, said polygon solar-energy transfer units are attached to said basic spherical structure or the surface of said polyhedron structure; optionally each of the said polygons are regular polygons; all of said polygon solar-energy transfer units are of the same working area, the same photo to electricity, photo to thermo or photo to other kind of energy transfer efficiency; each of said polygon solar-energy transfer units is fixed on said basic spherical structure surface toward a certain direction, optionally each said polygon solar-energy transfer unit is tangential to said basic spherical structure surface at the attach point or attach surface of said polygon solar-energy transfer unit to said basic spherical structure.
4. said solar-energy transfer unit is able to transfer the solar energy it received to certain output signals like electrical voltage, electrical current, temperature, pressure, stress, strain etc; said solar-energy transfer unit could be but not limited to photovoltaic cell etc; optionally electrical resistances or other elements are used to help obtain said output signals from said solar energy transfer units; optionally a database could be built to store the information such as number, relative location and working direction of each solar energy transfer units; a compare circuit is used to calculate out the one with the maximum output and the one with the minimum output, optionally a small controller with some or all of these functionalities are included, like comparison functions, memory functions ets.
US11/986,482 2006-11-27 2008-01-03 Sun tracker Abandoned US20080127964A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US11/986,482 US20080127964A1 (en) 2006-11-27 2008-01-03 Sun tracker

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US86121206P 2006-11-27 2006-11-27
US11/986,482 US20080127964A1 (en) 2006-11-27 2008-01-03 Sun tracker

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20080127964A1 true US20080127964A1 (en) 2008-06-05

Family

ID=39474322

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US11/986,482 Abandoned US20080127964A1 (en) 2006-11-27 2008-01-03 Sun tracker

Country Status (1)

Country Link
US (1) US20080127964A1 (en)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20090044418A1 (en) * 2007-08-17 2009-02-19 Chengjun Julian Chen Automatic Solar Compass
US20100154780A1 (en) * 2008-12-23 2010-06-24 Linke Edward J Grid Support System for a Tracker-Mounted Solar Panel Array for Rooftop Applications
US20120109381A1 (en) * 2010-11-01 2012-05-03 Ubitek Co., Ltd. Web control system for solar tracking

Citations (27)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3268185A (en) * 1962-04-02 1966-08-23 Bendix Corp Light sensing device
US3478219A (en) * 1968-01-17 1969-11-11 Bendix Corp Optical prism with multiple photocells
US4126123A (en) * 1977-02-24 1978-11-21 Hall Frederick F Solar energy collector including a weightless balloon with sun tracking means
US4225781A (en) * 1979-02-26 1980-09-30 The United States Of America As Represented By The United States Department Of Energy Solar tracking apparatus
US4297572A (en) * 1979-08-14 1981-10-27 Acurex Corporation Tracking solar energy collector assembly
US4325788A (en) * 1978-03-16 1982-04-20 Snyder Wesley L Distillation apparatus with solar tracker
US4361758A (en) * 1980-09-02 1982-11-30 Dow Corning Corporation Sun position sensor for two axis tracking
US4442348A (en) * 1978-03-16 1984-04-10 Snyder Wesley L Solar tracking apparatus for a gimbaled body
US4459970A (en) * 1981-12-14 1984-07-17 Douglas Clee Solar steam generating and distribution system
US4477145A (en) * 1982-07-05 1984-10-16 Kei Mori Sunlight collecting and concentrating apparatus
US4491727A (en) * 1981-07-01 1985-01-01 Ramot University Authority For Applied Research Solar radiation sensor and system including same for measuring solar radiation distribution
US4594470A (en) * 1983-08-26 1986-06-10 Headrick Richard T Solar generator mounting structure
US4825063A (en) * 1987-03-26 1989-04-25 Messerschmitt-BoGmbH Radiation position detection using time-indicative variable-length fiber array
US4914284A (en) * 1987-10-29 1990-04-03 Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm Gmbh Optical wide angle sensor head
US5483060A (en) * 1992-08-19 1996-01-09 Nippondenso Co., Ltd. Optical position sensor and isolation sensor using this position sensor
US5587580A (en) * 1994-10-25 1996-12-24 Csem Centre Suisse D'electronique Et De Microtechnique Sa Optoelectronic sensor for measuring the intensity and the direction of incidence of a light beam
US6127621A (en) * 1999-04-02 2000-10-03 The Aerospace Corporation Power sphere
US6378634B1 (en) * 2000-11-28 2002-04-30 Xerox Corporation Tracking device
US6396167B1 (en) * 1999-03-30 2002-05-28 The Aerospace Corporation Power distribution system
US6417500B1 (en) * 1997-09-10 2002-07-09 John Graham Wood Solar radiation sensor
US6490801B1 (en) * 1999-11-19 2002-12-10 Centre For Research In Earth And Space Technology Sun sensors using multi-pinhole overlays
US20060131476A1 (en) * 2003-05-22 2006-06-22 Preh Gmbh Solar sensor having microspheres on the inside face of the protective cap
US7115850B2 (en) * 2003-08-29 2006-10-03 Hella Kgaa Hueck & Co. Sensor device with three-dimensional switch carrier having differently oriented infrared photodetectors
US20070272826A1 (en) * 2006-05-25 2007-11-29 Atomic Energy Council-Institute Of Nuclear Energy Research Solar tracker stand
US20080203274A1 (en) * 2005-07-06 2008-08-28 Martin Jeitner Solar sensor
US20090078249A1 (en) * 2007-05-24 2009-03-26 Tricia Liu Device for concentrating optical radiation
US20090159778A1 (en) * 2007-12-24 2009-06-25 Chia Hao Yeh Solar energy absorption plate with angle adjusting assembly

Patent Citations (27)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3268185A (en) * 1962-04-02 1966-08-23 Bendix Corp Light sensing device
US3478219A (en) * 1968-01-17 1969-11-11 Bendix Corp Optical prism with multiple photocells
US4126123A (en) * 1977-02-24 1978-11-21 Hall Frederick F Solar energy collector including a weightless balloon with sun tracking means
US4325788A (en) * 1978-03-16 1982-04-20 Snyder Wesley L Distillation apparatus with solar tracker
US4442348A (en) * 1978-03-16 1984-04-10 Snyder Wesley L Solar tracking apparatus for a gimbaled body
US4225781A (en) * 1979-02-26 1980-09-30 The United States Of America As Represented By The United States Department Of Energy Solar tracking apparatus
US4297572A (en) * 1979-08-14 1981-10-27 Acurex Corporation Tracking solar energy collector assembly
US4361758A (en) * 1980-09-02 1982-11-30 Dow Corning Corporation Sun position sensor for two axis tracking
US4491727A (en) * 1981-07-01 1985-01-01 Ramot University Authority For Applied Research Solar radiation sensor and system including same for measuring solar radiation distribution
US4459970A (en) * 1981-12-14 1984-07-17 Douglas Clee Solar steam generating and distribution system
US4477145A (en) * 1982-07-05 1984-10-16 Kei Mori Sunlight collecting and concentrating apparatus
US4594470A (en) * 1983-08-26 1986-06-10 Headrick Richard T Solar generator mounting structure
US4825063A (en) * 1987-03-26 1989-04-25 Messerschmitt-BoGmbH Radiation position detection using time-indicative variable-length fiber array
US4914284A (en) * 1987-10-29 1990-04-03 Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm Gmbh Optical wide angle sensor head
US5483060A (en) * 1992-08-19 1996-01-09 Nippondenso Co., Ltd. Optical position sensor and isolation sensor using this position sensor
US5587580A (en) * 1994-10-25 1996-12-24 Csem Centre Suisse D'electronique Et De Microtechnique Sa Optoelectronic sensor for measuring the intensity and the direction of incidence of a light beam
US6417500B1 (en) * 1997-09-10 2002-07-09 John Graham Wood Solar radiation sensor
US6396167B1 (en) * 1999-03-30 2002-05-28 The Aerospace Corporation Power distribution system
US6127621A (en) * 1999-04-02 2000-10-03 The Aerospace Corporation Power sphere
US6490801B1 (en) * 1999-11-19 2002-12-10 Centre For Research In Earth And Space Technology Sun sensors using multi-pinhole overlays
US6378634B1 (en) * 2000-11-28 2002-04-30 Xerox Corporation Tracking device
US20060131476A1 (en) * 2003-05-22 2006-06-22 Preh Gmbh Solar sensor having microspheres on the inside face of the protective cap
US7115850B2 (en) * 2003-08-29 2006-10-03 Hella Kgaa Hueck & Co. Sensor device with three-dimensional switch carrier having differently oriented infrared photodetectors
US20080203274A1 (en) * 2005-07-06 2008-08-28 Martin Jeitner Solar sensor
US20070272826A1 (en) * 2006-05-25 2007-11-29 Atomic Energy Council-Institute Of Nuclear Energy Research Solar tracker stand
US20090078249A1 (en) * 2007-05-24 2009-03-26 Tricia Liu Device for concentrating optical radiation
US20090159778A1 (en) * 2007-12-24 2009-06-25 Chia Hao Yeh Solar energy absorption plate with angle adjusting assembly

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20090044418A1 (en) * 2007-08-17 2009-02-19 Chengjun Julian Chen Automatic Solar Compass
US7698825B2 (en) 2007-08-17 2010-04-20 The Trustees Of Columbia University In The City Of New York Automatic solar compass
US20100154780A1 (en) * 2008-12-23 2010-06-24 Linke Edward J Grid Support System for a Tracker-Mounted Solar Panel Array for Rooftop Applications
US8188414B2 (en) 2008-12-23 2012-05-29 Opel, Inc. Grid support system for a tracker-mounted solar panel array for rooftop applications
US20120109381A1 (en) * 2010-11-01 2012-05-03 Ubitek Co., Ltd. Web control system for solar tracking

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STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION