Movable building crown
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing building structures face challenges in creating movable parts, particularly rotating roofs or crowns, due to issues like structure and stability problems, motorization and control difficulties, insulation and sealing issues, and security concerns, especially when trying to follow the sun's path for optimal solar panel orientation.
Innovation Solution
The design divides a building into a fixed lower part and a mobile upper part, where the rotating part can rotate around a circular support or central axis, using various methods such as wheels, magnetic levitation, or liquid support, with motorization and control systems to manage the rotation and ensure insulation and sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a building is divided into fixed lower part and mobile upper part with rotating crown, then solar energy production efficiency is improved by tracking the sun's path, but structure and stability problems occur
Solution Approach 1:
The building is divided into a fixed lower part and a mobile upper part with a rotating crown, allowing the solar-tracking function to be isolated to a specific segment. This segmentation enables the mobile portion to rotate and follow the sun while the fixed lower part maintains structural stability and supports the overall building load.
Solution Approach 2:
The crown is designed to be mobile rather than fixed, enabling it to rotate dynamically to track the sun's movement throughout the day. This dynamic capability improves solar energy capture efficiency while the rotation mechanism is engineered to maintain structural integrity during movement.
2Productivity
If a rotating crown mechanism is implemented, then solar panel orientation is optimized to follow the sun's path, but motorization and control difficulties arise
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating crown mechanism is designed to perform multiple functions: it supports solar panels, provides structural closure for the building, and enables sun-tracking movement. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized components, thereby simplifying the overall motorization and control system while maintaining optimization capability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a rotating crown mechanism is implemented, then architectural and functional possibilities are expanded, but insulation and sealing issues occur
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating crown incorporates flexible sealing elements and insulating materials that can accommodate the rotational movement while maintaining thermal insulation and weather sealing. These flexible components allow the crown to rotate freely to track the sun while preventing heat loss and keeping the building interior sealed from external elements.
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
This solution allows for efficient solar energy production by tracking the sun's path, while also providing innovative architectural and functional possibilities for buildings, including greenhouses, by simplifying the design and addressing structural and operational challenges.
Implementation Method 1
The rotating part can rotate around a circular support or central axis, using various methods such as wheels, magnetic levitation, or liquid support
Implementation Method 2
The rotating part can rotate around a circular support or central axis, using various methods such as wheels, magnetic levitation, or liquid support
Data Source
AI summary
A solar panel system comprises a base, the base attached to a building at a geographic location; a rotating crown having a rotating mechanism, the base supporting the crown; a solar panel device attached to the crown, the solar panel device having an exposed surface, the shapes of the base, crown and solar panel device positioning the exposed surface in a sloped orientation relative to a horizontal plane at the geographic location, the rotating mechanism rotating the solar panel device, the base and crown shapes positioning the rotating mechanism to rotate about an axis perpendicular to the horizontal plane and to maintain a consistent slope relative to the horizontal plane as the exposed surface rotates; and a control system controlling rotation from a first azimuthal direction to a second azimuthal direction that faces the exposed surface towards the Sun more normally than the first azimuthal direction.