Wireless Solar Tracker Monitoring With Hierarchical Data Collection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Connecting thousands of solar trackers in commercial solar plants via wired communication is cumbersome, costly, and inefficient, as it requires extensive wiring and significant installation effort, while existing wireless solutions lack robustness and reliability to meet the latency and reliability requirements of solar tracking systems.

Innovation Solution

Implementing robust wireless communication methods, including data collection sweeping schemes for rectangular and circular grid topologies, random slotted, hierarchical, and repeater/collector schemes, to enable reliable and time-constrained data transfer between a control system and solar trackers, optimizing frequency reuse and transmission paths for efficient data collection and communication.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If wired communication is used to connect thousands of solar trackers to the central control station, then reliability and latency requirements are met, but installation cost and time increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecommunication reliabilityVSAvoidinstallation cost

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical wired communication system with a wireless communication system. Specifically, it uses wireless transceivers mounted on solar trackers to communicate with the central control station via wireless signals, eliminating the need for physical wiring infrastructure while maintaining communication functionality.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces wireless transceivers as intermediary devices between the solar trackers and the central control station. These transceivers enable indirect wireless communication, allowing data transmission without direct physical connections while meeting reliability and latency requirements through protocol optimization and error correction mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Stability of the object's composition

If wired communication is used to connect thousands of solar trackers to the central control station, then communication stability is ensured, but installation effort and complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecommunication stabilityVSAvoidinstallation complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent substitutes the complex mechanical wiring infrastructure with wireless communication equipment. Instead of installing kilometers of cables and connectors across the solar plant, wireless transceivers are mounted on existing tracker structures, dramatically simplifying installation while maintaining communication stability through robust wireless protocols.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The wireless transceiver system serves multiple functions: it provides bidirectional communication for both control commands from the central station and status reports from trackers, enables remote monitoring, and supports various communication modes (uplink, downlink, peer-to-peer) within a single unified infrastructure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Ease of manufacture

If wireless communication is implemented for solar trackers, then installation cost and time are reduced, but communication reliability and robustness deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinstallation efficiencyVSAvoidcommunication reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements error correction codes, redundancy mechanisms, and fallback communication protocols in advance to cushion against potential wireless communication failures. These pre-built safeguards ensure that even if individual wireless transmissions fail due to interference or environmental factors, the overall communication reliability is maintained.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms where the central control station receives acknowledgment signals from wireless transceivers to confirm successful message delivery. If acknowledgments are not received within expected timeframes, the system automatically retransmits critical commands, ensuring reliable communication despite the wireless medium's inherent vulnerabilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS9202370B2Method for robust wireless monitoring and tracking of solar trackers in commercial solar power plants

Publication Date: 2015.12.01 ROBERT BOSCH GMBH

AI summary

For each first tracker in a first subset there exists a respective second tracker in a second subset such that a distance between the first tracker and the second tracker is shorter than each distance between the second tracker and each of the other first trackers in the subset by more than a threshold distance. In a first time slot, data is wirelessly transmitted using a same first frequency from each of the first trackers in the subset of the first trackers to the respective second tracker in the subset of the second trackers. In a subsequent time slot, the data is wirelessly transmitted from each of the second trackers in the subset of the second trackers to a final destination data collector.