U.S. patent application number 13/163656 was filed with the patent office on 2012-07-05 for solar energy collecting device.
Invention is credited to Chia-Yen Lin.
Application Number | 20120167872 13/163656 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45081772 |
Filed Date | 2012-07-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120167872 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lin; Chia-Yen |
July 5, 2012 |
Solar Energy Collecting Device
Abstract
A solar energy collecting device includes a spherical
concentrator, a track, a sliding element, and at least one solar
panel. The track is curved and has a center overlapping with that
of the spherical concentrator. The sliding element is disposed on
the track, and is controlled to move along the track according to
the motion of the Sun during the course of a day. The solar panel
is mounted on the sliding element to move along with the sliding
element. The solar panel faces the spherical concentrator. Thus,
the sunlight can be focused on the solar panel by the spherical
concentrator throughout the day.
Inventors: |
Lin; Chia-Yen; (Dongguan
City, CN) |
Family ID: |
45081772 |
Appl. No.: |
13/163656 |
Filed: |
June 17, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
126/600 ;
126/699 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y02E 10/47 20130101;
F24S 50/20 20180501; F24S 23/30 20180501; F24S 2030/145
20180501 |
Class at
Publication: |
126/600 ;
126/699 |
International
Class: |
F24J 2/08 20060101
F24J002/08; F24J 2/38 20060101 F24J002/38 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 29, 2010 |
TW |
099225408 |
Claims
1. A solar energy collecting device, comprising: a spherical
concentrator; a track being curved and concentric with the
spherical concentrator; a sliding element disposed on the track and
driven to move along the track in accordance with a motion of the
Sun; and at least one solar panel mounted on the sliding element
and facing the spherical concentrator; wherein the solar panel is
moved along with the sliding element such that the spherical
concentrator focuses the light onto the solar panel.
2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spherical
concentrator is a solid sphere made of glass.
3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spherical
concentrator is a solid sphere made of polyurethane.
4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spherical
concentrator is a hollow sphere having an exterior shell and an
interior space filled with a liquid.
5. The device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the exterior shell of
the hollow sphere is made of transparent polyurethane.
6. The device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the exterior shell of
the hollow sphere is made of transparent glass.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a solar energy
collecting device that includes a solar panel moving according to
the motion of the Sun.
[0003] 2. The Prior Arts
[0004] Conventional solar thermal collectors or photovoltaic
modules use a solar panel to collect the energy from the Sun and
use the solar energy to generate electricity. Because the Earth
spins on its axis, the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
Furthermore, the Earth's axis is tilted to its orbital plane by an
angle of 23.5 degrees and orbiting around the Sun. Therefore, the
angles of incidence between the incoming sunlight and the normal of
the solar panel vary with time and seasons. In order to minimize
the angle of incidence and maximize the energy conversion
efficiency, a tracker is provided to detect the angles of incoming
sunlight and an actuator device is provided to rotate the solar
panel making the solar panel perpendicular to the ray of light. In
order to collect as much energy as possible, the size of the solar
panel is usually very large. However, due to the bulky solar panel,
it needs an actuator device that can drive a heavy load, which
increases the cost of the whole system.
[0005] In order to reduce the size of the solar panel, some solar
energy collecting devices are provided with concentrators
(reflectors or lenses). Referring to FIG. 1, a solar energy
collecting device has a concave reflective mirror A to reflect and
focus the sunlight onto a solar panel B. Because the light from a
large-sized reflective mirror A is concentrated onto the
small-sized solar panel B, the manufacture cost of the solar panel
is reduced. However, the reflective mirror A is large and needs to
be rotated for facing the Sun directly. As a result, the solar
energy collecting device still needs an actuator device that can
drive the heavy load of the mirror. Therefore, the solar energy
collecting device is still expensive and consumes a lot of
power.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a
solar energy collecting device, which solves the aforementioned
problems of conventional designs that the cost of reflectors,
lenses and actuator devices are high.
[0007] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a
solar energy collecting device having a small-size solar panel
which can be self adjusted according to the Earth's spinning about
its own axis, thereby keeping the solar panel to be perpendicular
to the ray of the Sun. Thus, the solar energy collecting device can
receive optimal light irradiation as the angles of the incoming
sunlight changes and does not need an expensive actuator device for
driving heavy lenses or mirrors.
[0008] In order to accomplish the objectives mentioned above, a
solar energy collecting device according to the present invention
comprises a spherical concentrator, a track, a sliding element and
at least one solar panel. The track is curved and concentric with
the spherical concentrator. The sliding element is disposed on the
track, and is controlled to move along the track according to the
motion of the Sun during the course of a day. The solar panel is
disposed on the sliding element and faces the spherical
concentrator, such that the light is focused on the solar panel by
the spherical concentrator.
[0009] The track can be mounted on another track or device to
adjust the orientation of the track according to the angles of the
incoming sunlight due to the season variation. Thus, it ensures
that the sunlight is constantly focused on the track after
traveling through the spherical concentrator.
[0010] According to an embodiment, the spherical concentrator is a
solid sphere made of a material that can focus sunlight, such as
glass and polyurethane.
[0011] According to another embodiment, the spherical concentrator
is a hollow sphere made of glass or polyurethane and the interior
of the spherical concentrator is filled with a liquid.
[0012] Because the concentrator is spherical, the focal point
always falls on a line connecting the Sun and the center of the
spherical concentrator, regardless of the motion of the Sun. The
focal length depends on the diameter of the spherical concentrator,
so the focal length is a constant. Therefore, as the Sun moves
across the sky during the course of the day, the focal point would
move along a circular path. The track is overlapped with the
circular path. As a result, the solar energy collecting device
according to the present invention only needs to control the
small-sized solar panel to move along the circular path according
to the motion of the Sun and the sunlight would be focused on the
solar panel. Compared with conventional design, the present
invention does not need to drive a heavy concentrator (lens or
reflector), numerous concentrators or racks holding the
concentrator and therefore the actuator device is greatly
simplified.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in
the art by reading the following detailed description of preferred
embodiments thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in
which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional solar
energy collecting device having a reflective mirror;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a solar energy collecting
device according to a first embodiment of the present
invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the solar energy
collecting device of FIG. 2, wherein a solar panel mounted on a
sliding element is moved along a track according to the motion of
the Sun;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a solar energy collecting
device according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0018] FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the solar energy
collecting device of FIG. 4, wherein a solar panel mounted on a
sliding element is moved along a track according to the motion of
the Sun.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] Referring to FIG. 2, a solar energy collecting device
according to a first embodiment of the present invention comprises
a spherical concentrator 1, a track 2, a sliding element 3 and at
least one solar panel 4. According to the first embodiment, the
spherical concentrator 1 is a solid sphere made of a transparent
material, such as glass, polyurethane (PU) and acrylic. The larger
the diameter of the spherical concentrator 1 is, the larger area is
provided to collect solar energy. Therefore, the diameter of the
spherical concentrator 1 is selected according to the desired solar
collecting area of the spherical concentrator 1. The track 2 is
curved and has a center overlapping with that of the spherical
concentrator 1. In other words, the track 2 is a part of a circle
which has a predetermined radius and is concentric with the
spherical concentrator 1. According to another embodiment, the
track 2 may also include a plurality of straight segments forming
the part of the circle. The solar panel 4 is fixed on the sliding
element 3. The sliding element 3 is a carrier element provided with
a driving device, such as a motor. The sliding element 3 may
include wheels allowing the sliding element 3 to move along the
track 2. The sliding element 3 is pre-programmed to move according
to the motion of the Sun through the day. According to another
embodiment, a conventional solar tracking device may be used to
track the motion of the Sun in the sky and send signals to control
movements of the sliding element 3, such that the light is focused
by the spherical concentrator 1 on the surface of the solar panel 4
mounted on the sliding device 3.
[0020] When the Earth revolves around the Sun, the axis of the
Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees from the perpendicular to the
Earth-Sun plane. Because the axial tilt of the Earth, the angle of
sunlight reaching any given point on the surface of the Earth
varies over the course of the year (the northern hemisphere is
exposed to direct sunlight in summer, and the southern hemisphere
is exposed to direct sunlight in winter). In order to collect
direct sunlight irradiation throughout the year, the track 2 can be
mounted on another track or device (not shown in the drawings).
Therefore, the orientation of the track 2 can be adjusted
responding to the solar direction due to the season variation,
which ensures the spherical concentrator 1 always concentrates the
incoming light onto the solar panel 4.
[0021] The spherical concentrator 1 of the solar energy collecting
device according to the first embodiment of the present invention
is rather bulky and heavy, so the spherical concentrator 1 is held
stationary. As sunlight emitted from the Sun 5 travels through the
spherical concentrator 1, it is refracted and focused to converge
on the solar panel 4. Referring to FIG. 3, when the Sun moves, the
sliding element 3 is driven to move along the track 2 at a suitable
speed to allow the converged light to always fall on the solar
panel 4.
[0022] Referring to FIG. 4, a solar energy collecting device
according to a second embodiment of the present invention comprises
a hollow spherical concentrator 1A, a track 2, a sliding element 3
and at least one solar panel 4. The spherical concentrator 1A is a
hollow sphere having an exterior shell and an interior space. The
exterior shell of the spherical concentrator 1A is made of glass,
polyurethane (PU), acrylic or similar transparent materials. The
interior space of the hollow spherical concentrator 1A is filled
with liquid 11, such as water. The liquid 11 may be another
material having good transmittance of light. The diameter of the
spherical concentrator 1 is selected according to the desired solar
energy collecting area of the spherical concentrator 1. The track 2
is curved and has a center overlapping with that of the spherical
concentrator 1. In other words, the track 2 is a part of a circle
which has a predetermined radius and is concentric with the
spherical concentrator 1A. According to another embodiment, the
track 2 may also include a plurality of straight segments forming
the part of the circle. The solar panel 4 is fixed on the sliding
element 3. The same as the first embodiment, the sliding element 3
is a carrier element provided with a driving device. The sliding
element 3 may include wheels allowing the sliding element 3 to move
along the track 2. The sliding element 3 is programmed to move
according to the motion of the Sun through the day. Alternatively,
a conventional solar tracking device may be used to track the
motion of the Sun in the sky and control movements of the sliding
element 3, such that the incoming light is focused by the spherical
concentrator 1A on the surface of the solar panel 4 disposed on the
sliding device 3.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 5, as sunlight emitted from the Sun 5
travels through the spherical concentrator 1A and the liquid 11
according to the second embodiment of the present invention, it is
refracted and focused to converge on the solar panel 4. When the
Sun moves across the sky, the sliding element 3 is driven to move
along the track 2 at a suitable speed to allow the converged light
to always fall on the solar panel 4.
[0024] Although the present invention has been described with
reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to
those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and
changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present
invention which is intended to be defined by the appended
claims.
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