Cam Turntable Friction Structure for Wind-Resistant Sun Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sun-tracking devices for photovoltaic power generation, particularly those using bearing turntables, are vulnerable to wind overload and require costly manual maintenance due to wear-induced gaps between components, leading to reduced efficiency and shortened service life.
Innovation Solution
A cam turntable with a heart-shaped cam, electric driving and control motors, and a friction device that converts external impact loads into friction forces, automatically adjusting gaps between components to enhance durability and maintenance efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If bearing turntable is used to control azimuth motion, then sun-tracking capability is achieved, but the device becomes vulnerable to wind overload and requires costly manual maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The friction device converts harmful external impact loads (wind overload) into useful friction forces that press the friction plate against the cam surface. This transformation allows the system to use the harmful force to maintain contact between components, automatically compensating for wear-induced gaps without requiring manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam turntable system performs self-maintenance through the friction device that automatically adjusts gaps between components. As wear occurs, the friction force maintains continuous contact between the friction plate and cam, eliminating the need for manual adjustment by skilled workers and reducing maintenance costs.
2Adaptability or versatility
If bearing turntable is used to control azimuth motion, then sun-tracking capability is achieved, but manual maintenance cost increases due to wear-induced gaps
Solution Approach 1:
The friction device enables the system to self-adjust for wear-induced gaps automatically. The friction force between the friction plate and cam surface maintains continuous contact, eliminating the need for manual intervention to fix gaps, thereby significantly reducing maintenance costs and improving ease of repair.
Solution Approach 2:
The friction plate acts as an intermediary element between the cam and the external environment. It absorbs wear through friction contact, allowing the main bearing components to remain protected while the friction plate automatically compensates for dimensional changes over time.
3Reliability
If friction device is added to eliminate impact loads, then reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The friction device is integrated into the existing cam turntable structure, combining the azimuth driving function with the impact load elimination function in a single unified mechanism. The friction plate and cam work together as part of the same structural assembly, avoiding the need for separate complex protection systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The cam turntable effectively transfers impact loads into friction forces, prolongs device lifespan, reduces maintenance costs, and maximizes solar energy collection efficiency by automatically adjusting internal gaps, making it suitable for large-scale commercial deployment.
Implementation Method 1
a friction device touching the cam surface, in which, the driving worm is located between the cam and the driving screw, the driving worm and driving screw are separated by the sliding sleeve which is set on the power output axis and is parallel to the power output axis to fix the distance between the driving screw and the driving worm to avoid relative motion between them, and to better eliminate external incoming impact load
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a cam turntable (2), a sun-tracking device equipped with the cam turntable (2) and a control method for the device. The sun-tracking device comprises a support mechanism for mounting a photovoltaic assembly (1), and an azimuth driving device, which is a cam turntable (2), fixed on the support mechanism for adjusting the azimuth thereof. The sun-tracking device adjusts the azimuth of the support mechanism for mounting the photovoltaic assembly (1) by utilizing the cam turntable (2) as the azimuth driving device, so that harmful incoming impact loads on the sun-tracking device as a whole are transferred into friction forces which are then transferred and alleviated, therefore it is advantageous in avoiding damages to subsequent driving devices due to the excessively large impact loads, especially in protecting the precision of a control worm gear (2-12) from being affected, which in turn extends the service life of the sun-tracking device as a whole. The device has high safety, large load capacity, and the function of automatic gap adjustment.