U.S. patent application number 13/899611 was filed with the patent office on 2013-12-19 for solar energy collection system.
This patent application is currently assigned to HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD., HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to XIAO-LIAN HE, TEN-CHEN HO.
Application Number | 20130333688 13/899611 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49754763 |
Filed Date | 2013-12-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130333688 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
HO; TEN-CHEN ; et
al. |
December 19, 2013 |
SOLAR ENERGY COLLECTION SYSTEM
Abstract
A solar energy collection system includes a solar energy
collection device, a plurality of photoreceptors, a driving device,
and a controller. The photoreceptors are arranged on different
positions of the solar energy collection device. When one of the
plurality of photoreceptors senses a beam of sunlight, the one of
the plurality of photoreceptors outputs an electrical signal, the
controller determines an included angle between the sunlight and
the solar energy collection device according to the electrical
signal and the position of the one of the plurality of
photoreceptors. The controller controls the driving device to tilt
the solar energy collection device to be always perpendicular to
the beam of sunlight.
Inventors: |
HO; TEN-CHEN; (New Taipei,
TW) ; HE; XIAO-LIAN; (Shenzhen, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) CO., LTD. |
New Taipei
Shenzhen |
|
TW
CN |
|
|
Assignee: |
HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO.,
LTD.
New Taipei
TW
HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) CO., LTD.
Shenzhen
CN
|
Family ID: |
49754763 |
Appl. No.: |
13/899611 |
Filed: |
May 22, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
126/578 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y02E 10/47 20130101;
F24S 50/20 20180501 |
Class at
Publication: |
126/578 |
International
Class: |
F24J 2/38 20060101
F24J002/38 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 15, 2012 |
CN |
2012101978898 |
Claims
1. A solar energy collection system, comprising: a solar energy
collection device; a plurality of photoreceptors arranged on
different positions of the solar energy collection device; a
driving device; and a controller electronically connected to the
plurality of photoreceptors and the drive device; wherein when one
of the plurality of photoreceptors senses a beam of sunlight, the
one of the plurality of photoreceptors outputs an electrical signal
and the controller determines an included angle between the beam of
sunlight and the solar energy collection device according to the
electrical signal and the position of the one of the plurality of
photoreceptors; the controller tilts the driving device according
to the included angle, to drive the solar energy collection device
to be perpendicular to the beam of sunlight.
2. The solar energy collection system as claimed in claim 1,
further comprising a sunlight collection box, wherein the sunlight
collection box is horizontally positioned on the solar energy
collection device.
3. The solar energy collection system as claimed in claim 2,
wherein the sunlight collection box is a hollow cylinder comprising
a top wall, and a hole is defined on a center of the top wall.
4. The solar energy collection system as claimed in claim 3,
wherein a diameter of the hole is defined to allow a predetermined
width of the beam of sunlight to pass.
5. The solar energy collection system as claimed in claim 3,
wherein the plurality of photoreceptors are received in the
sunlight collection box, and are arranged on the solar energy
collection device in a form of concentric circles.
6. The solar energy collection system as claimed in claim 5,
wherein the plurality of photoreceptors are configured at different
included angles between the beam of sunlight and the solar energy
collection device.
7. The solar energy collection system as claimed in claim 6,
wherein the photoreceptor opposite to the hole has an included
angle between the beam of sunlight and the solar energy collection
device of 90 degrees.
8. The solar energy collection system as claimed in claim 1,
wherein the driving device includes a first driving member, the
first driving member drives the solar energy collection device to
tilt in an east-west or west-east direction.
9. The solar energy collection system as claimed in claim 8,
wherein the driving device further includes a second driving
member, the second driving member drives the solar energy
collection device to tilt in a north-south or south-north
direction.
10. The solar energy collection system as claimed in claim 1,
wherein the photoreceptor is a photoresistor or a charge coupled
device (CCD).
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical field
[0002] The disclosure generally relates to solar energy collection
systems, and particularly relates to a solar energy collection
system that tracks sunlight.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Solar panels, solar water tank, solar cookers, and other
solar energy collection devices are widely used. However, most of
the solar energy collection devices do not track sunlight, thus it
is inefficient.
[0005] Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better
understood with reference to the following drawings. The components
in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis
instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of
the present embodiments.
[0007] FIG. 1 is schematic view of a solar energy collection
system, according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a plurality of photoreceptors
of the solar energy collection system of FIG. 1.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the solar energy collection
system of FIG. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0010] FIGS. 4a-4c are a schematic view of the solar energy
collection system of FIG. 1 tracking sunlight.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 show a solar energy collection system 100
according to an exemplary embodiment. The solar energy collection
system 100 includes a solar energy collection device 10, a sunlight
collection box 20, a plurality of photoreceptors 30, a controller
40, and a driving device 50.
[0012] The solar energy collection device 10 collects solar energy
in the form of light. The solar energy collection device 10 can be
a solar panel, a solar water tank, or a solar cooker. In one
embodiment, the solar energy collection device 10 is a solar
panel.
[0013] The sunlight collection box 20 is horizontally positioned on
the solar energy collection device 10 and is parallel to a top
surface of the solar energy collection device 10. In one
embodiment, the sunlight collection box 20 is a hollow cylinder
including a top wall 21. A hole 22 is defined on a center of the
top wall 21, and a diameter of the hole 22 is defined to allow a
predetermined width of a beam of sunlight to pass. Thus, the beam
of the sunlight can enter into the sunlight collection box 20 via
the hole 22.
[0014] In FIGS. 1-2, the plurality of photoreceptors 30 are
received in the sunlight collection box 20, and are arranged on the
solar energy collection device 10 in a form of concentric circles.
The photoreceptor 30 outputs an electrical signal when the
photoreceptor 30 senses the beam of the sunlight. In one
embodiment, the photoreceptor 30 can be a photoresistor or a charge
coupled device (CCD), for example.
[0015] In addition, the plurality of photoreceptors 30 arranged on
different positions of the solar energy collection device 10 are
configured at different included angles between the beam of
sunlight and the solar energy collection device 10. In one
embodiment, the photoreceptor 30 opposite to the hole 22 has an
included angle between the beam of sunlight and the solar energy
collection device 10 of 90 degrees, and other photoreceptors 30 may
have an included angle between the beam of sunlight and the solar
energy collection device 10 of 5 degrees, or 10 degrees, . . . , or
85 degrees. In other words, the greater the number of
photoreceptors 30, the smaller differences in the included angles
of different receptors 30.
[0016] In FIG. 3, the controller 40 is electronically connected to
the plurality of photoreceptors 30, and determines the included
angles between the beam of sunlight and the solar energy collection
device 10 according to the electrical signal output from the
photoreceptors 30 and their respective positions inside the
sunlight collection box 20. For example, when the photoreceptor 30
having an included angle between the beam of sunlight and the solar
energy collection device 10 of 25 degrees outputs the electrical
signal, the controller 40 determines that the included angle is 25
degrees.
[0017] The controller 40 is also electronically connected to the
driving device 50, and controls the driving device 50. In one
embodiment, the driving device 50 includes a first driving member
52 and a second driving member 54. The first driving member 52
drives the solar energy collection device 10 to tilt in an
east-west or west-east direction, to orient the solar energy
collection device 10 to be perpendicular to the beam of sunlight.
The second driving member 54 drives the solar energy collection
device 10 to tilt in a north-south or south-north direction, to
allow the solar energy collection device 10 to track sunlight in
different seasons of the year. Since the elevation of the sun
changes slowly during the seasons, the controller 40 may rely on a
mechanical clock to control the second driving member 54.
[0018] In FIGS. 4a-4c, in use, when the solar energy collection
device 10 is in a horizontal position, a beam of sunlight enters
into the sunlight collection box 20 via the hole 22. If the
included angle between the sunlight and the solar energy collection
device 10 is 25 degrees, the photoreceptor 30 which has the
included angle of 25 degrees is activated, and the electrical
signal is output. The controller 40 determines the particular
receptor 30 which issued the electrical signal, and controls the
first driving member 52 to drive the solar energy collection device
10 to tilt 25 degrees from the horizontal, to orient, or re-orient.
Thus, the solar energy collection device 10 can be perpendicular to
the sunlight to collect more solar energy.
[0019] When the sun shifts a certain angle (e.g., 10 degrees), the
included angle between the beam of sunlight which is captured and
the solar energy collection device 10 is then 80 degrees. Then, the
photoreceptor 30 which has an included angle of 80 degrees between
the captured beam of sunlight and the solar energy collection
device 10 is activated, and outputs the electrical signal. The
controller 40 determines the particular photoreceptor 30 which
issued the signal and thus that the included angle is now 80
degrees, and controls the first driving member 52 to drive the
solar energy collection device 10 to tilt a further 10 degrees from
the horizontal, as the beam of sunlight is now an overall 35
degrees from the horizontal. Thus, the solar energy collection
device 10 can always be perpendicular to the sun.
[0020] In other exemplary embodiments, in the dark (such as at
night), the controller 40 controls the first driving member 52 to
drive the solar energy collection device 10 to the horizontal
position.
[0021] In summary, the photoreceptor 30 outputs the electrical
signal when the photoreceptor 30 senses the beam of sunlight. The
controller 40 determines the position of the photoreceptor 30 which
issued the electrical signal and thus the included angle between
the beam of sunlight and the solar energy collection device 10, and
accordingly controls the driving device 50 to tilt the solar energy
collection device 10 as required, for orienting the solar energy
collection device 10 to be always perpendicular to the sun all the
time to collect more solar energy. The ability of the solar energy
collection system 100 to track sunlight renders it very efficient
in operation.
[0022] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous
characteristics and advantages of the exemplary disclosure have
been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details
of the structure and functions of the exemplary disclosure, the
disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail,
especially in the matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts
within the principles of the exemplary disclosure to the full
extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which
the appended claims are expressed.
* * * * *