Solar panel cleaning robot for building-attached solar power generation system

Abstract

The present invention relates to a solar panel cleaning robot for a building-attached solar power generation system having a plurality of solar panel modules (20) spaced apart from each other between a plurality of frames (10) spaced apart from and in parallel with each other on a wall surface, wherein the solar panel modules (20), as represented by figure 2, are installed to adjust the angles thereof, around an axis (22) perpendicular to the pair of frames (10), in accordance with the position of the sun. The solar panel cleaning robot (30) comprises: a body (32); electrical wheels (34) which travel along rails (12) (represented by figure 2) formed in the frames (10) provided at either end of the body (32) and for installing the solar panel modules (20); a brush (36) rotatably disposed in the body (32) to clean the surfaces of the solar panel modules (20); and a driving unit (not shown) disposed in the body (32) to drive the brush (36) while controlling the movement of the electrical wheels (34).

Description

Solar panel cleaning robot for building-mounted solar power generation systems

[0001] The present invention relates to a solar panel cleaning robot for a building-mounted solar power generation system, and more particularly, to a solar panel cleaning robot for a building-mounted solar power generation system that can maintain excellent solar power generation efficiency by cleaning solar panels used in an urban solar power generation system installed on a building.

[0002] In line with policies to phase out fossil fuels to prevent global warming and to phase out nuclear power plants to reduce damage from radioactive leaks, policies to replace these with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power are gradually expanding.

[0003] Among these, solar power generation (photovoltaics, PV) is a method of generating electricity by converting sunlight into direct current using solar panels with multiple solar cells attached. Recently, solar power generation systems have been applied to buildings such as apartments.

[0004] There are BIPV and BAPV as methods of applying solar power generation systems to the above buildings, and among these, BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaic) means integrating solar power and the building, and refers to a solar power generation system that is designed, constructed, and installed at the same time as the building to perfectly harmonize with the building. However, when the lifespan of the building ends, the solar power generation system also becomes unusable, and since the solar power generation system functions as a part of the building, such as the roof and windows, it has the disadvantage of being inconvenient to replace or repair.

[0005] Meanwhile, BAPV (Building Applied Photovoltaics) refers to a photovoltaic system attached to a building that generates electricity without conflicting with the function of the building or damaging or weakening the original function of the building.

[0006] This type of BAPV is usually installed on the walls of buildings where solar power generation systems have already been constructed, and has the advantage of saving significant installation space as it does not require a separate site such as a building roof.

[0007] These BAPVs are typically installed in parallel on a building with frames spaced at a predetermined interval in the horizontal or vertical direction, and solar panels are installed between the frames. In order to prevent a decrease in lighting efficiency due to vertical installation, an angle adjustment means may be provided so that the angle of the solar panels can be adjusted according to the position of the sun.

[0008] Meanwhile, since the power generation efficiency of the solar panel decreases when dust or other foreign substances adhere to the surface, the solar panel needs to be cleaned periodically or whenever the power generation decreases. However, if the solar panel is installed vertically on the wall of a building, cleaning requires a worker to climb down a rope from the roof and clean while relying on the rope, or to use a high-altitude vehicle, etc., which not only poses a risk of safety accidents, but also has the problem of low work efficiency and high cleaning costs, leading to reluctance to clean, and thus, there was a problem of lowering the power generation efficiency.

[0009] The purpose of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems is to provide a solar panel cleaning robot for a building-mounted solar power generation system that is applied to solar panels assembled in a module form and fixed to a building wall in a ladder form to clean the solar panels, thereby preventing the occurrence of safety accidents due to cleaning, and maintaining excellent solar power generation efficiency by keeping the solar panels clean without requiring separate workers and time.

[0010] In addition, another purpose of the present invention is to provide a solar panel cleaning robot for a building-mounted solar power generation system, in which the angle of the brush provided in the cleaning robot for cleaning the solar panel is adjusted in accordance with the inclination of the solar panel, thereby improving the efficiency of cleaning the solar panel.

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized by a solar panel cleaning robot for a building-mounted solar power generation system, in which a plurality of solar panel modules are installed spaced apart from each other between a plurality of frames installed spaced apart in parallel on a wall, and the solar panel modules are installed so that their angles are adjusted around an axis according to the position of the sun, wherein the solar panel cleaning robot comprises: a body; electric wheels provided at both ends of the body and moving along rails formed on a frame for installing the solar panel modules; a brush provided to be rotatable on the body and for cleaning the surface of the solar panel; and a driving unit provided on the body and driving the brush and controlling the movement of the electric wheels.

[0012] In the above, the cleaning robot may be linked to the control unit of the solar power generation system to automatically operate when the solar panel is contaminated, or the cleaning robot may be operated by a wireless controller so that when the solar panel is contaminated, the control unit of the solar power generation system notifies the operator's terminal of the contamination, and the cleaning robot may be operated by a control signal of the wireless controller operated by the operator.

[0013] In addition, the brush is configured to be linked to the inclination of the solar panel, thereby enabling cleaning of the surface regardless of the inclination of the solar panel.

[0014] And, if the contamination level of the solar panel is not resolved even after the operation of the cleaning robot, that is, if the charging efficiency is not restored to a non-contaminated state or the difference is not greater than a preset difference value compared to before cleaning, the control unit of the solar power generation system transmits a brush replacement signal to the person in charge terminal.

[0015] In the above, whether the panel is contaminated or not is judged based on the weather and charging efficiency.

[0016] And the above electric wheel is driven by a DC / BLDC motor and is configured to move within a rail formed in the frame so as not to fall off even on an inclined surface.

[0017] The cleaning robot of the present invention configured as described above has the effect of preventing safety accidents caused by cleaning by cleaning solar panels fixedly installed on a building wall, and maintaining solar power generation efficiency by keeping solar panels clean without requiring separate workers and time.

[0018] In addition, the angle of the brush equipped on the cleaning robot is adjusted in conjunction with the inclination of the solar panel, thereby improving the efficiency of cleaning the solar panel.

[0019] In addition, it automatically determines the cleaning period and brush replacement in conjunction with solar charging efficiency, etc., making maintenance and replacement easy, and has the effect of continuously maintaining excellent solar charging efficiency.

[0020] Figure 1 is a drawing showing a solar power generation system according to the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 is a drawing showing a solar panel module according to the present invention.

[0022] Figure 3 is a drawing showing a cleaning robot according to the present invention.

[0023] Figure 4 is a drawing showing the combined structure of the frame of the solar power generation system and the cleaning robot according to the present invention.

[0024] Figure 5 is a drawing showing an example of brush angle adjustment of a cleaning robot according to the present invention.

[0025] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

[0026] The solar panel cleaning robot for a building-mounted solar power generation system according to the present invention is a solar panel cleaning robot for a building-mounted solar power generation system, in which a plurality of solar panel modules (20) are installed spaced apart from each other between a plurality of frames (10) spaced apart from each other in a parallel manner on a wall surface as shown in FIG. 1, and the solar panel modules (20) are installed so that their angles are adjusted around an axis (22) provided vertically to a pair of frames (10) according to the position of the sun as shown in FIG. 2, and the solar panel cleaning robot (30) comprises, as shown in FIG. 3, a body (32), an electric wheel (34) provided at both ends of the body (32) and moving along a rail (12) (shown in FIG. 2) formed on the frame (10) for installing the solar panel module (20), a brush (36) provided to be rotatable on the body (32) for cleaning the surface of the solar panel module (20), and a brush (36) provided on the body (32) to drive the brush (36) and at the same time, It is configured to include a driving unit (not shown) that controls the movement of the electric wheel (34).

[0027] In the above configuration, the frame (10) constituting the solar power generation system is formed to a predetermined length as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the ends are configured to be assembled to each other so that they can be assembled to a desired length and used.

[0028] And the electric wheel (34) of the above cleaning robot is driven by a DC / BLDC motor and is configured to move within a rail (12) formed in a frame (10) as shown in Fig. 4 to prevent it from coming off.

[0029] And the above brush (36) is configured to be linked to the inclination of the solar panel module (20) so that it can clean the surface of the solar panel module (20) whether it is flat or inclined.

[0030] The structure for adjusting the inclination of the brush (36) in this way is an option that can be implemented in various ways by those skilled in the art, and in the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5, a guide hole (38c) of a predetermined length is formed in an arc shape in a bracket (38b) through which a rotational shaft (38a) for rotating the brush (36) passes, so that the rotational shaft (22) is configured to rise / fall along the guide hole (38c).

[0031] In the drawing, the unexplained symbol P represents a wall, 38d represents a belt (chain) connected to a rotation shaft (38a), 38e represents a driving motor, 38f represents a gear that transmits the power of the driving motor and is connected to the rotation shaft (22) and the belt (38d), and 38g represents a spring that allows the rotation shaft (38) to descend to its original position after being raised.

[0032] Let us examine an embodiment of the present invention configured as described above.

[0033] First, the electric wheel (34) of the cleaning robot (30) is positioned on the rail (12) formed on the frame (10) of the solar power generation system installed on the wall so that the brush (36) can clean the surface of the solar panel module (20) while the cleaning robot (30) is installed on the solar power generation system.

[0034] In the above, the driving unit of the cleaning robot is linked to the control unit of the solar power generation system so that it automatically operates when the solar panel is contaminated, or the cleaning robot is operated by a wireless controller so that when the solar panel is contaminated, the control unit of the solar power generation system notifies the person in charge of the contamination to the terminal in charge of the contamination, and the cleaning robot is operated by a control signal of the wireless controller operated by the person in charge.

[0035] At this time, the presence or absence of solar panel contamination is determined based on weather and charging efficiency. If the charging efficiency decreases on a clear day, it is determined to be contaminated.

[0036] In this way, when the solar panel is contaminated and breaks, the control unit of the solar power generation system can output a control signal to the driving unit of the cleaning robot so that the cleaning robot can be automatically operated. Alternatively, the control unit of the solar power generation system can transmit a contamination signal to a terminal of a person in charge so that the person in charge can operate the cleaning robot using a wireless controller.

[0037] When a control command to clean is transmitted to the driving unit of the cleaning robot in this way, the driving unit rotates the electric wheel and also rotates the brush so that the cleaning robot moves along the frame (10) and cleans the surface of the solar panel.

[0038] At this time, when the solar panel is tilted, the brush adjusts its position in accordance with the surface inclination of the solar panel, so cleaning is possible regardless of the current angle of the solar panel.

[0039] And after cleaning is complete, the brush returns to its original position by a spring.

[0040] Meanwhile, if the contamination level of the solar panel is not resolved even after the operation of the cleaning robot, that is, if the charging efficiency of the solar power generation system is not recovered to a preset difference value even after considering the weather, the control unit of the solar power generation system transmits a brush replacement signal to the person in charge terminal so that the brush can be replaced.

[0041] At this time, the control unit of the solar power generation system transmits a brush replacement signal to the driving unit of the cleaning robot, and at this time, the cleaning robot flashes its own warning light so that the user can confirm that it is time to replace the brush.

[0042] The power source for the above-mentioned cleaning robot can be the generated power of a solar power generation system, or the cleaning robot can be equipped with a separate solar power generation system and use the generated power from that system.

[0043] Therefore, according to the present invention, the solar panels of a solar power generation system installed on a wall can be easily cleaned by a cleaning robot without the worker having to clean them directly.

Claims

1. In a solar panel cleaning robot of a building-mounted solar power generation system, a plurality of solar panel modules (20) are installed spaced apart from each other between a plurality of frames (10) installed spaced apart from each other on a wall, and the angle of the solar panel modules (20) is adjusted around an axis (22) provided vertically to a pair of frames (10) according to the position of the sun, as shown in FIG.

2. The above solar panel cleaning robot (30) Body (32); An electric wheel (34) that moves along a rail (12) (shown in FIG. 2) formed on a frame (10) for installing the solar panel module (20) and provided at both ends of the body (32); A brush (36) that is rotatable and provided on the above body (32) to clean the surface of the solar panel module (20); A driving unit (not shown) provided in the above body (32) that drives the brush (36) and controls the movement of the electric wheel (34); A solar panel cleaning robot for a building-mounted solar power generation system, characterized by comprising:

2. A solar panel cleaning robot for a building-attached solar power generation system, characterized in that in paragraph 1, the electric wheel (34) is driven by a DC / BLDC motor and configured to move within a rail (12) formed in a frame (10).

3. A solar panel cleaning robot for a building-mounted solar power generation system, characterized in that in paragraph 1, the brush (36) is configured to be linked to the inclination of the solar panel module (20).

4. In the third paragraph, the structure for adjusting the inclination of the brush (36) is A solar panel cleaning robot for a building-attached solar power generation system, characterized in that a guide hole (38c) of a predetermined length is formed in an arc shape in a bracket (38b) through which a rotation shaft (38a) that rotates the brush (36) passes, so that the rotation shaft (22) ascends / descends along the guide hole (38c), and a spring (38g) is used to restore the rotation shaft.

5. A solar panel cleaning robot for a building-mounted solar power generation system, characterized in that in paragraph 1, the driving unit of the cleaning robot is linked to the control unit of the solar power generation system so that it automatically drives when the solar panel is contaminated, or the cleaning robot is driven by a wireless controller so that when the solar panel is contaminated, the control unit of the solar power generation system notifies the terminal of the person in charge of the contamination, and the cleaning robot is driven by a control signal of the wireless controller operated by the person in charge.

6. A solar panel cleaning robot for a building-mounted solar power generation system, characterized in that, in paragraph 5, the presence or absence of solar panel contamination is determined based on weather and charging efficiency.

7. A solar panel cleaning robot for a building-mounted solar power generation system, characterized in that in the first paragraph, if the charging efficiency of the solar power generation system is not recovered to a preset difference value even after the operation of the cleaning robot, taking the weather into consideration, the control unit of the solar power generation system transmits a brush replacement signal to a person in charge terminal to replace the brush.

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