Solar-powered blinds

Abstract

Improves the power generation efficiency of the blinds as a whole. [Solution] The solar-powered blinds are blinds in which first perovskite solar cells 6 and second perovskite solar cells 7, as examples of solar cells, are installed on a plurality of slats 5, and all of the slats 5 are so-called vertical blinds that extend vertically. The first perovskite solar cells 6 are installed on one side of each slat 5, and the second perovskite solar cells 7 are installed on the other side of each slat 5.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to solar-powered blinds. [Background technology]

[0002] Perovskite solar cells can be formed into a thin film, and can be installed on building materials that are not suitable for conventional solar cell installation, such as exterior walls and windows. However, installing perovskite solar cells on exterior walls requires the prior construction of scaffolding, resulting in high installation costs, and installing them on windows poses the problem of constantly blocking the view from inside the room. To solve these problems, research and development is underway to install perovskite solar cells in indoor fixtures such as curtains and blinds. As an example of blinds equipped with solar cells, Patent Document 1 discloses a blind curtain with solar cell modules installed on the upper surface of multiple slats. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-136928 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the blind curtain described in Patent Document 1, solar cell modules are installed only on the upper surface of the slats facing the sun, so electricity cannot be generated from light other than direct sunlight, which is sunlight that directly reaches the upper surface of the slats, and there is a risk that the power generation efficiency of the blind as a whole will be insufficient.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to improve the power generation efficiency of the blinds as a whole. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, the solar-powered blind of the present invention is a solar-powered blind in which solar cells are installed on multiple slats, and the blind is a vertical blind in which all of the slats extend in the vertical direction, and the solar cells are installed on both sides of the slats. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to this invention, because the solar-powered blinds are vertical blinds, one side of each slat can always be positioned directly facing sunlight in a plan view in order to maximize the amount of power generated by direct sunlight. Furthermore, because solar cells are installed on both sides of each slat, the solar-powered blinds can generate power not only using the solar cells installed on one side of each slat but also the solar cells installed on the other side in order to maximize the amount of power generated by direct sunlight. Furthermore, the solar cells not installed on the side directly receiving sunlight can also generate power from light other than direct sunlight, such as reflected light from the side of each slat that directly receives sunlight and light from indoor lighting devices. As a result, the solar-powered blinds according to this invention have higher overall power generation efficiency than vertical blinds that do not have solar cells installed on both sides of each slat. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] (A) A diagram showing an example of installation of a solar-powered blind according to an embodiment of the present invention, (B) an explanatory diagram of the entire solar-powered blind when the window is closed, and (C) an explanatory diagram of the entire solar-powered blind when the window is open. [Figure 2] Diagram showing an example of adjusting the slat angle by time during the day DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The following describes in detail the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding parts in the drawings are designated by the same reference numerals. To facilitate understanding of the configuration of the present invention, the window side will be referred to as the "front," the room side as the "rear," the upper side as the "upper," the lower side as the "lower," the left side as the "left," and the right side as the "right."

[0010] (Regarding the solar-powered blind 1 according to the embodiment) As shown in Figure 1(A), solar-powered blind 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is supported on an indoor wall surface 3 above a south-facing window 2 of a building such as a building or a house, and is equipped with a solar cell (described later) so that it can generate electricity using sunlight. As shown in Figures 1(B) and 1(C), solar-powered blind 1 is a so-called vertical blind, and includes a head rail 4 fixed to wall surface 3 and a plurality of slats (vanes, louvers) 5 whose upper ends are supported by head rail 4 and extend downward to cover window 2 from the indoor side.

[0011] Each slat 5 is a sheet-like member made of opaque plastic, wood, cloth, or other such raw material. As shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 1(B) and FIG. 1(C), one side supports a first perovskite solar cell 6, an example of a film-like solar cell, and the other side supports a second perovskite solar cell 7, an example of a film-like solar cell. Therefore, the solar-powered blind 1 according to this embodiment uses the perovskite solar cells 6 and 7 as solar cells, so that it can generate electricity not only from sunlight during the day but also from illumination light from indoor lighting devices at night. Each perovskite solar cell 6 and 7 generates electricity by receiving light such as sunlight or illumination light, and the electricity can be stored in a storage battery unit (not shown) or supplied to electrical appliances (not shown) installed in the room via a power conditioner (solar inverter) (not shown), for example.

[0012] As shown by the dashed lines in Figure 1(B) and Figure 1(C), the head rail 4 houses an automatic opening / closing angle adjuster 8 which opens and closes the solar-powered blind 1 by adjusting the expansion and contraction of the spacing between the slats 5, and adjusts the angle of the slats 5 relative to the window 2. Therefore, the automatic opening / closing angle adjuster 8 automatically operates the solar-powered blind 1, allowing the opening and closing of the solar-powered blind 1 and the adjustment of the angle of the slats 5 to be performed electrically.

[0013] In this embodiment, the automatic opening / closing angle adjusting device 8 is capable of using artificial intelligence (AI) to open and close the solar-powered blinds 1 and adjust the angle of the slats 5. For example, the automatic opening / closing angle adjusting device 8 is capable of adjusting the angle of the slats 5 based on current sun position information output by inputting current date and time information into artificial intelligence generated by machine learning using learning information including previously acquired information on the sun's position from the window 2 at all times throughout the year.

[0014] Specifically, as shown in Figure 2, the automatic opening / closing angle adjusting device 8 can adjust the angle of the slats 5 to a planar orthogonal angle in which sunlight is perpendicular to one surface or the other surface of each slat 5 in a so-called planar view when the solar-powered blind 1 is viewed from above to below. In other words, the automatic opening / closing angle adjusting device 8 can control the slats 5 to follow the change over time in the position of the sun in the width direction of the window 2, which has been identified by artificial intelligence, while maintaining the state of the planar orthogonal angle.

[0015] Since the solar-powered blinds 1 are vertical blinds attached to the interior side of the south-facing window 2, if the slats 5 are moved while maintaining the orthogonal angle in a plan view, the side of the slats 5 facing the window 2 will be reversed at noon. For example, as shown in Figure 2, at 8:00, 10:00, and 12:00, one side of the slats 5 faces the sunlight in a plan view, whereas at 14:00 and 16:00, which are later than 12:00, the other side of the slats 5 faces the sunlight in a plan view.

[0016] As explained above, the solar-cell blind 1 according to this embodiment is a vertical blind in which perovskite solar cells 6, 7, as an example of solar cells, are installed on a plurality of slats 5, and all of the slats 5 extend vertically. A first perovskite solar cell 6 is installed on one surface of each slat 5, and a second perovskite solar cell 7 is installed on the other surface of each slat 5.

[0017] In this way, the solar-powered blind 1 according to this embodiment can always have one side of each slat 5 facing sunlight in a plan view, with the aim of maximizing the amount of power generated by direct sunlight. It can also generate power using not only the first perovskite solar cell 6 installed on one side of each slat, but also the second perovskite solar cell 7 installed on the other side. Each perovskite solar cell 6, 7 can also generate power from light other than direct sunlight, such as reflected light from the surface of each slat 5 onto which sunlight directly reaches, or illumination light from indoor lighting devices. As a result, the solar-powered blind 1 according to this embodiment has improved power generation efficiency as a whole compared to a vertical blind in which solar cells are not installed on both sides of each slat.

[0018] In particular, according to the solar-powered blind 1 of this embodiment, the automatic opening / closing angle adjustment device 8 can identify the position of the sun in the width direction of the window 2, and adjusts the angle of each slat 5 relative to the window to a planar orthogonal angle in which sunlight is perpendicular to one of the two surfaces of each slat 5 in a planar view.

[0019] In this way, the solar-powered blind 1 according to this embodiment can automatically maximize the amount of power generated by direct sunlight. Consider the case where the solar-powered blind 1 is attached to the interior side of a south-facing window 2, as in this embodiment. In this case, for example, from noon to sunrise, the first perovskite solar cell 6 is installed on one side of each slat 5, and therefore can generate power even if sunlight does not reach it directly, using light such as reflected light from the other side of each slat 5 or illuminating light. Furthermore, in this case, for example, from sunrise to noon, the second perovskite solar cell 7 is installed on the other side of each slat 5, and therefore can generate power even if sunlight does not reach it directly, using light such as reflected light from one side of each slat 5 or illuminating light. As a result, the solar-powered blind 1 according to this embodiment has improved overall power generation efficiency compared to a solar-powered blind that does not have an automatic opening / closing angle adjustment device that can identify the position of the sun in the width direction of the window.

[0020] (Example of change) In the above embodiment, perovskite solar cells 6 and 7 are given as examples of solar cells, but the type of solar cell is not limited to this as long as it can be installed on both sides of each slat 5, and it can be replaced with a thin solar cell such as a thin-film silicon solar cell or an organic semiconductor solar cell.

[0021] In the above embodiment, the automatic opening / closing angle adjusting device 8 uses artificial intelligence to identify the position of the sun in the width direction of the window 2, but this is not limiting and the position of the sun in the width direction of the window 2 may be identified without using artificial intelligence. For example, the automatic opening / closing angle adjusting device 8 may identify the position by calculating the position of the sun in the width direction of the window 2 based on latitude and longitude information of the position where the solar-powered blind 1 is installed, directional information in the direction perpendicular to the window 2, and current date and time information.

[0022] As in the above embodiment, it is preferable that the angle of each slat relative to the window 2 is automatically adjusted to a perpendicular angle in a plan view by the automatic opening / closing angle adjusting device 8, but it may also be adjusted manually by the user of the solar-powered blind 1 to a perpendicular angle in a plan view. In this way, the solar-powered blind 1 can omit the automatic opening / closing angle adjusting device 8.

[0023] Furthermore, the configuration of the solar-powered blind 1 according to the above embodiment is merely an example, and can be changed or modified as desired as long as it can solve the problem that the present invention is trying to solve.

[0024] The present invention is susceptible to various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. In other words, the scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the utility model registration claims, not the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the utility model registration claims and the meaning of equivalent devices are deemed to be within the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 1...solar-cell blinds, 2...window, 3...wall, 4...headrail, 5...slat, 6...first perovskite solar cell, 7...second perovskite solar cell, 8...automatic opening / closing angle adjustment device.

Claims

1. A solar-powered blind as a blind in which solar cells are installed on a plurality of slats, The blinds are vertical blinds in which all of the slats extend in the vertical direction, The solar cells are installed on both sides of the slats. Solar-powered blinds.

2. an automatic opening / closing angle adjusting device capable of controlling the angle of the slat relative to the window; Including, the automatic opening / closing angle adjustment device is capable of identifying the position of the sun in the width direction of the window, The angle is adjusted to a planar orthogonal angle in which sunlight is perpendicular to one of the two surfaces of the slat in a planar view by control from the automatic opening / closing angle adjustment device. The solar-cell-equipped blind according to claim 1.

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