Locking device for a solar tracker

Abstract

A locking device for a solar tracker is disclosed, the locking device comprising at least one hydraulic cylinder on a solar tracker having a photovoltaic module on a shaft actuatable to rotate in order to orient the module towards the sun relative to a support column supporting the module, the cylinder has two separate chambers for containing oil. The utility model relates to a hydraulic cylinder for a motor vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, comprising a cylinder having a plurality of chambers, between which a piston is arranged, to which a respective rod is connected, which extends through the chambers and protrudes from the end of the cylinder, and which chambers communicate with one another by means of conduits between which a solenoid valve is arranged, which controls the passage of oil between the chambers when the piston is moved. According to the utility model, the device is designed to be arranged on the solar tracker, so that one end of the rod is connected to the rotating shaft, the other end of the rod can move freely, and the cylinder is fixed to the column.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to a solar tracker formed by panels of photovoltaic modules, which are mounted on an axis actuated by a rotary actuator to orient the panels to follow the movement of the sun, thereby proposing a locking device to keep the panels stationary against the action of wind or other events when the actuation of the rotary axis is deactivated. Background Art

[0002] Solar trackers generally comprise panels including photovoltaic modules to capture solar energy and convert it into electricity, said panels being coupled to an axis having a rotary actuation device, either by means of a rotary module or a linear actuator, to orient the panels to follow the movement of the sun so as to always achieve maximum efficiency in capturing solar energy.

[0003] In this assembly, the actuation system of the rotating shaft is, for example, arranged in a central region of the length of the shaft and locking devices are incorporated in the end regions to ensure that the panels of the photovoltaic modules do not move against the action of wind or other events when the solar tracker is stopped.

[0004] In order to lock the solar tracker when it is stopped, there is a solution of a locking device formed by a hydraulic cylinder, which operates by accompanying the movement of the solar tracker panel when the directional actuation of the solar tracker panel is activated and, when the actuation stops, establishes a lock that prevents the movement of the axis of the panel, thus ensuring that the solar tracker panel does not move in a completely stationary position.

[0005] However, the locking devices conventionally used in solar trackers have a construction and assembly that makes them very complex and may require a complex functional arrangement, as in the case of a hydraulic cylinder having a single rod associated with a piston that moves between two oil chambers, wherein, due to the volume occupied by the rod extending in only one of the chambers, the volume of oil discharged from one of the chambers is different from the volume of oil entering the other chamber, because the difference in the volume that needs to be filled with oil in the two chambers must be compensated. Utility Model Content

[0006] According to the present invention, a locking device for a solar tracker is proposed, which is developed to have structural and functional features that effectively overcome the shortcomings of conventional locking devices currently used on solar trackers.

[0007] This targeting device of the utility model comprises at least one hydraulic cylinder, preferably one hydraulic cylinder at each end of the solar tracker. Each hydraulic cylinder combines two rods, so that one of the rods is attached to a rotating shaft at its end, preferably coupled to a lever, a rod or a similar element, which in turn is connected to the rotating shaft. At the same time, the body of the hydraulic cylinder is attached to the column of the supporting structure of the photovoltaic module, leaving the other rod of the hydraulic cylinder free.

[0008] In the construction of the hydraulic cylinder constituting the locking device, the two rods are longitudinally connected to each other by means of an intermediate piston, each rod being partially contained in an independent oil chamber, wherein the corresponding chambers of the two rods are connected by means of corresponding conduits, between which there is a solenoid valve which controls the passage of the oil in circulation between the chambers of the two rods through the conduits.

[0009] With this arrangement, the movement of the piston connected to the rod of the hydraulic cylinder is regulated by a solenoid valve, which is activated when the actuating device for the movement of the solar tracker is put into operation upon receiving a power supply, so that when the solenoid valve is activated, it allows oil to pass through the communication duct between the two chambers of the hydraulic cylinder, and when the actuating device for the movement of the solar tracker is stopped, the power supply to the solenoid valve is cut off and the solenoid valve closes the passage of oil between the chambers of the hydraulic cylinder.

[0010] Thus, when said actuating device is activated, the actuating device moves along with the solar tracker by the locking system of the proposed device, thereby acting as a locking means for locking said movement when the actuating device and the solenoid valve stop receiving current.

[0011] In this embodiment of the locking device, the hydraulic cylinder with two rods has the following advantages: if the two rods have the same diameter, the volumes containing the oil in the two chambers of the hydraulic cylinder are the same, so that the two chambers do not differ in terms of oil holding capacity. Therefore, there is no need to establish a compensation to make the capacity of the two chambers equal, which is necessary in the prior art, in which an additional oil tank is required to compensate for the content difference between the chambers. Also, the passage of the oil between the two chambers of the hydraulic cylinder can be precisely controlled by means of a single solenoid valve, which provides economic benefits as well as improved space in the components of the locking system of the solar tracker with respect to the prior art in which it is necessary to have two solenoid valves and the additional wiring caused thereby.

[0012] In summary, the target locking device of the present invention has very advantageous features for its intended applications, thereby obtaining its own vitality and priority characteristics relative to conventional devices currently used for the same applications. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 An exploded perspective view of components showing application of a locking device according to the present invention to a solar tracker.

[0014] Figure 2 is a perspective view of a hydraulic cylinder constituting a locking device according to the present utility model.

[0015] Figure 3 It is a cross-sectional view of a hydraulic cylinder of a target locking device of the utility model.

[0016] Figure 4 is a front view of a hydraulic cylinder attached to a solar tracker.

[0017] Figure 5 It is a flow chart of the operating process of the hydraulic cylinder. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The object of the utility model relates to a locking device, which is intended to keep a solar tracker stationary when its rotary actuator is deactivated, the locking device being arranged on a solar tracker, the solar tracker consisting of a panel of a photovoltaic module, the panel being coupled to a shaft (1), the shaft (1) having a rotary actuator due to the action of a rotary module or a linear actuator to orient the panel of the photovoltaic module towards the sun, and a support column (2) supporting the photovoltaic module.

[0019] According to the invention, the locking device for this purpose comprises at least one hydraulic cylinder (3), and preferably one at each end of the solar tracker, wherein in each hydraulic cylinder (3) two independent chambers (4 and 5) intended to contain oil are defined, between which a piston (6) is arranged that separates said chambers (4 and 5), so that the movement of said piston (6) along the hydraulic cylinder (3) causes the volume of said chambers (4 and 5) to vary, thereby increasing in one chamber and decreasing in the other.

[0020] Respective rods (7) and (8), preferably of the same diameter, are connected to the piston (6) and extend respectively through chambers (4) and (5), each of which protrudes from one end of the hydraulic cylinder (3), while the chambers (4 and 5) are connected to each other by means of respective conduits (9 and 11) which allow oil to pass between them, and a solenoid valve (10) which controls the oil circulation passage between the two chambers (4 and 5) is incorporated between said conduits (9 and 11).

[0021] In the case of this embodiment, the hydraulic cylinder (3) is arranged on the application component, wherein the solenoid valve (10) is electrically connected to the rotary actuator of the shaft (1) of the solar tracker in which the component is established, so that when the rotary actuator of the shaft (1) is activated by means of a power supply, the solenoid valve (10) also receives the power supply and is activated, whereby the solenoid valve (10) opens the oil circulation channel between the chambers (4 and 5) of the hydraulic cylinder (3), so that the hydraulic cylinder (3) operates by accompanying the rotational movement of the shaft (1) of the solar tracker, and when the rotary actuator of the shaft (1) is deactivated by interrupting its power supply, the solenoid valve (10) stops receiving the power supply and is deactivated, thereby closing the oil circulation channel between the chambers (4 and 5) of the hydraulic cylinder (3), and then the hydraulic cylinder (3) behaves as a lock between the shaft (1) of the solar tracker, thereby keeping the panel of the photovoltaic module in a completely stationary position against the effects of wind or other forces that may act when the solar tracker is stopped. The operation is Figure 5 It is shown in Figure 5 The flow chart of the actuation process of the hydraulic cylinder (3) is presented, wherein first it is checked whether it is activated, in which case it is deactivated and the rotary actuation means of the shaft (1) is moved. In the next step it is checked whether the desired angle of the solar panel has been reached. If the angle measurement is correct, the tracker is stopped and the locking of the hydraulic cylinder (3) is activated. In the final verification it is checked whether the shaft (1) will be newly actuated. If not, the locking is activated and if so, it will return to the beginning of the process.

[0022] To this end, the assembly of the hydraulic cylinder (3) on the applied solar tracker is established in the following way: the body of the hydraulic cylinder (3) is attached to the support column (2) supporting the photovoltaic module, and the rod (7) is attached at its end, thereby coupling to a lever, a rod or a similar element, which is in turn connected to the rotating shaft (1), leaving the other rod (8) unattached, so that in the operation of the hydraulic cylinder (3), when the piston (6) moves, the oil flow discharged from one of the chambers (4 or 5) corresponds exactly to the increased volume in the other, which makes it possible to control the oil flow circulation between the two chambers (4 and 5) with the help of a single solenoid valve (10) arranged in the circulation duct (9).

Claims

1. A locking device for a solar tracker, comprising at least one hydraulic cylinder (3), intended to be arranged on a solar tracker provided with a photovoltaic module, the photovoltaic module being coupled to a shaft (1) having a rotary actuator to orient the photovoltaic module towards the sun relative to a support column (2) supporting the photovoltaic module, characterized in that The hydraulic cylinder (3) has two independent chambers (4 and 5) intended to contain oil, between which there is a piston (6), to which respective rods (7 and 8) are connected, the rods extending through the chambers (4 and 5) respectively, each of the rods protruding from one end of the hydraulic cylinder (3), while the chambers (4 and 5) are connected to each other by means of respective conduits (9 and 11), between which there is a solenoid valve (10), which controls the passage of oil circulation between the chambers (4 and 5) when the piston (6) moves, wherein the locking device is configured to be arranged on the solar tracker so that the end of the rod (7) is connected to the rotating shaft (1) and the end of the other rod (8) is freely movable, and the hydraulic cylinder (3) is fixed to the column (2).

2. The locking device for a solar tracker according to claim 1, characterized in that: The solenoid valve (10) is electrically connected to the rotary actuator of the shaft (1) of the solar tracker so as to be activated and deactivated simultaneously with the rotary actuator.

3. The locking device for a solar tracker according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two rods (7 and 8) of the hydraulic cylinder (3) have the same diameter.

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