Solar azimuth continuous tracking device and method based on electronic compass

Abstract

The invention discloses a solar azimuth continuous tracking device and method based on an electronic compass, the solar azimuth continuous tracking device comprises a solar panel, a controller and a motor, the input end of the controller is connected with the electronic compass and a GPS, and the output end of the controller is connected with the motor; the controller obtains the electronic perpetual calendar, calculates the position of the sun corresponding to each specific time, and drives the solar panel to change the direction along with the movement of the sun illumination through the motor. According to the solar azimuth continuous tracking device and method based on the electronic compass, the sun position corresponding to each specific time is calculated through the controller, and then the whole device is controlled to be adjusted to a proper position angle, so that the panel of the solar panel can vertically face the sunlight direction; therefore, the direction of the solar panel is changed along with the movement of sunlight, the optimal irradiation angle of sunlight is kept, and the absorptivity of sunlight energy is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a device and method for continuously tracking the sun's position, and in particular to a device and method for continuously tracking the sun's position based on an electronic compass. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of solar energy technology, solar photovoltaics are gradually being used more and more widely in life, and various solar power supply devices are constantly appearing on the market. Taking monitoring equipment as an example, for outdoor scenes, there are many areas where electricity is inconvenient, but solar energy is relatively easy to obtain, and it can be used as a source of electricity to achieve the normal operation of the monitoring function.

[0003] Solar power supply equipment usually consists of a device body and a solar panel. The device body performs functions such as monitoring, and the solar panel converts the received solar energy into electrical energy for the power supply of the device body. The solar panels of existing equipment usually have a fixed angle, while the angle of sunlight changes all the time. To effectively ensure that the solar panel can face the sun and let the sunlight shine vertically on the solar panel, the light absorption rate can be increased and the power generation efficiency can be optimal.

[0004] An existing technical solution is to increase the light receiving range by increasing the area of ​​solar panels, but its disadvantage is that it increases the volume of equipment and the cost of equipment.

[0005] Another existing technical solution is to use a photosensitive sensor to detect the angle relationship between the current state of the device and the sunlight, so as to adjust the position angle of the device. Its disadvantage is that it is limited by weather conditions, unstable in cloudy or overcast weather, and prone to malfunction. In addition, because the photosensitive sensor is exposed to the outside, it is easily contaminated by dust, rain and other dirt, which affects its photosensitivity. Summary of the invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a device and method for continuously tracking the sun's position based on an electronic compass, which enables the solar panel to change direction following the movement of sunlight, maintain the optimal irradiation angle of sunlight, and improve the absorption rate of sunlight energy.

[0007] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned technical problems is to provide a solar azimuth continuous tracking device based on an electronic compass, including a solar panel, a controller and a motor, wherein the input end of the controller is connected to the electronic compass and the GPS, and the output end of the controller is connected to the motor; the controller obtains an electronic perpetual calendar, calculates the sun's position corresponding to each specific time, and drives the solar panel through a motor to change direction by following the movement of sunlight.

[0008] Furthermore, the controller is a single chip microcomputer.

[0009] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention also provides a method for continuously tracking the sun's position based on an electronic compass. The above-mentioned continuous tracking device for the sun's position based on an electronic compass is adopted, and the tracking method includes the following steps: S1) the controller reads the current date and time based on the time module, and calculates the spatial position of the sun corresponding to the current date and time according to the electronic perpetual calendar; S2) the tracking signal is calculated based on the local longitude and latitude parameters obtained by GPS and the azimuth information of the electronic compass; S3) the controller sends a driving signal to the motor, and the driving motor drives the solar panel to rotate so that the solar panel faces vertically to the direction of sunlight.

[0010] Furthermore, the step S1 calculates the solar declination and time difference of the day, and the step S2 calculates the solar azimuth and altitude in real time as a tracking signal based on the accurate azimuth information detected by the electronic compass and the local longitude and latitude, solar declination, and time difference.

[0011] Furthermore, the controller pre-stores an electronic perpetual calendar, the solar declination and time difference are periodic functions of the date, with a period of one year, and the step S1 obtains the solar declination and time difference of the day by looking up a table.

[0012] Furthermore, step S2 also includes judging the sun's altitude. When the sun's altitude is greater than zero, it is judged to be daytime, and when the sun's altitude is less than or equal to zero, it is judged to be nighttime. No sun tracking is performed at night.

[0013] Furthermore, it also includes detecting in real time whether the actual position of the motor matches the logical position after the controller sends a driving signal to the motor. If the actual position of the motor does not match the logical position, the motor encoder determines the position error based on the number of lost steps and compensates the error of the lost-step motor by steps.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: the electronic compass-based solar position continuous tracking device and method provided by the present invention calculates the solar position corresponding to each specific time through a controller, and then controls the entire device to adjust to a suitable position angle, so that the panel of the solar panel can face vertically in the direction of sunlight; thereby, the solar panel changes direction following the movement of sunlight, maintains the optimal irradiation angle of sunlight, and improves the absorption rate of sunlight energy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of the structure of the solar azimuth continuous tracking device based on the electronic compass of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 It is a working schematic diagram of the three-dimensional electronic compass of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 3 The present invention is a flow chart of the motor step-out compensation of the solar azimuth continuous tracking device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0019] Figure 1 The figure is a block diagram of the structure of the solar azimuth continuous tracking device based on the electronic compass of the present invention.

[0020] See also Figure 1 The electronic compass-based solar position continuous tracking device provided by the present invention includes a solar panel, a controller and a motor. The input end of the controller is connected to the electronic compass and the GPS (Global Positioning System), and the output end of the controller is connected to the motor. The controller obtains an electronic perpetual calendar, calculates the solar position corresponding to each specific time, and drives the solar panel through the motor to change direction by following the movement of sunlight.

[0021] The present invention provides a sun azimuth continuous tracking device based on an electronic compass. The controller is a single chip microcomputer. The input port and output port of the single chip microcomputer are electrically connected to the electronic compass and the motor respectively. The electronic compass can achieve accurate orientation. The working diagram of the three-dimensional electronic compass is as follows: Figure 2 As shown. The present invention implements a tracking method based on the law of the earth's orbit around the sun, which enables the functional structure to achieve real-time tracking of the sun's position. The principle is that the controller reads the current date and time based on a time module (such as an electronic perpetual calendar), and the corresponding spatial position of the sun can be calculated based on the current date and time. Then, based on local geographical parameters such as longitude and latitude (for example, obtained through GPS), combined with the azimuth detection function of the electronic compass, a tracking signal is calculated, and then the controller sends a drive signal to the motor, driving the motor to drive the solar panel to rotate, thereby achieving the purpose of tracking the sun. The controller periodically reads the current time from the time module to achieve continuous tracking of the sun.

[0022] The electronic compass-based continuous sun azimuth tracking method provided by the present invention adopts the above-mentioned electronic compass-based continuous sun azimuth tracking device, and the tracking method comprises the following steps:

[0023] S1) The controller reads the current date and time based on the time module, and calculates the solar space position corresponding to the current date and time according to the electronic perpetual calendar; after the system is initialized, the time module will start to count continuously;

[0024] S2) calculating the tracking signal based on the local latitude and longitude parameters obtained by GPS and the azimuth information of the electronic compass;

[0025] S3) The controller sends a driving signal to the motor, which drives the solar panel to rotate so that the solar panel faces vertically towards the direction of sunlight.

[0026] As a preferred implementation, step S1 calculates the solar declination (angle of the sun's direct point) and time difference (difference between true solar time and mean solar time) of the day, and step S2 calculates the solar azimuth and altitude in real time as a tracking signal based on the accurate azimuth information detected by the electronic compass and the local longitude and latitude, solar declination, and time difference.

[0027] As a preferred embodiment, the controller pre-stores an electronic perpetual calendar, the solar declination and time difference are periodic functions of the date, with a period of one year, and the step S1 obtains the solar declination and time difference of the day by looking up a table.

[0028] As a preferred implementation, step S2 also includes judging the sun's altitude. When the sun's altitude is greater than zero, it is judged to be daytime, and when the sun's altitude is less than or equal to zero, it is judged to be nighttime. No sun tracking is performed at night.

[0029] When strong winds or human intervention cause the solar panel to rotate abnormally, the motor loses step, and the microcontroller does not send a drive signal of the corresponding number of steps to the motor, resulting in a mismatch between the actual position of the motor and the logical position. As a preferred embodiment, the present invention also includes closed-loop control of the sun's azimuth and altitude tracked by the device to eliminate errors. The specific process is as follows Figure 3 As shown, after the controller sends a driving signal to the motor, it detects in real time whether the actual position of the motor matches the logical position. If the actual position of the motor does not match the logical position, the motor encoder determines the position error according to the number of lost steps and performs step compensation for the error of the lost-step motor.

[0030] In summary, the present invention provides a device and method for continuously tracking the sun's position based on an electronic compass. The single-chip microcomputer calculates the sun's position based on the current time, date and geographical location and then sends a signal to drive the motor to drive the solar panel to rotate. At the same time, the error caused by the motor losing step can be compensated, thereby realizing a method for continuously tracking the sun. The specific advantages are as follows:

[0031] 1. The solar tracking device in the present invention is composed of a single-chip microcomputer, an electronic compass and a motor. Compared with the existing tracking technology that senses sunlight through photosensitive elements, it is not limited by the influence of weather conditions; and because the photosensitive elements are exposed to the outside, they are easily contaminated by dirt such as dust and rain, which affects their photosensitivity.

[0032] 2. The tracking method of the present invention is based on the accurate orientation detected by the electronic compass. The single-chip microcomputer accurately calculates all the factors necessary to determine the position of the sun: time difference, solar declination, longitude and latitude. At the same time, it can compensate for the error caused by the motor losing step. Compared with the existing passive tracking technology without electronic compass and compensation, the tracking error is smaller.

[0033] 3. The tracking method of the present invention can also determine the time of sunrise and sunset every day, and has the ability to distinguish day and night, so that tracking can be started at sunrise and stopped at sunset, thus achieving long-term fully automatic operation.

[0034] Although the present invention has been disclosed as above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art may make some modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be based on the definition of the claims.

Claims

1. A solar azimuth continuous tracking device based on an electronic compass, characterized in that: It includes a solar panel, a controller and a motor. The input end of the controller is connected to an electronic compass and a GPS, and the output end of the controller is connected to the motor. The controller obtains an electronic perpetual calendar, calculates the sun's position corresponding to each specific time, and drives the solar panel through the motor to change direction by following the movement of sunlight.

2. The solar azimuth continuous tracking device based on an electronic compass as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The controller is a single chip microcomputer.

3. A method for continuously tracking the sun's position based on an electronic compass, characterized in that: Using the solar azimuth continuous tracking device based on an electronic compass as claimed in claim 1, the tracking method comprises the following steps: S1) The controller reads the current date and time based on the time module, and calculates the solar spatial position corresponding to the current date and time according to the electronic perpetual calendar; S2) calculating the tracking signal based on the local latitude and longitude parameters obtained by GPS and the azimuth information of the electronic compass; S3) The controller sends a driving signal to the motor, which drives the solar panel to rotate so that the solar panel faces vertically towards the direction of sunlight.

4. The method for continuously tracking the sun's position based on an electronic compass as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that: The step S1 calculates the solar declination and time difference of the day, and the step S2 calculates the solar azimuth and altitude in real time as a tracking signal based on the accurate azimuth information detected by the electronic compass and the local longitude and latitude, solar declination and time difference.

5. The method for continuously tracking the sun's position based on an electronic compass as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that: The controller pre-stores an electronic perpetual calendar, and the solar declination and time difference are periodic functions of the date, with a period of one year. Step S1 obtains the solar declination and time difference of the day by looking up a table.

6. The method for continuously tracking the sun's position based on an electronic compass as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that: The step S2 also includes judging the sun's altitude. When the sun's altitude is greater than zero, it is judged to be daytime, and when the sun's altitude is less than or equal to zero, it is judged to be nighttime. No sun tracking is performed at night.

7. The method for continuously tracking the sun's position based on an electronic compass as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that: It also includes real-time detection of whether the actual position of the motor matches the logical position after the controller sends a driving signal to the motor. If the actual position of the motor does not match the logical position, the motor encoder determines the position error based on the number of lost steps and performs step compensation for the error of the lost-step motor.

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