Two-Axis Solar Tracker Rail Mount for Low Wind Loading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional solar tracking systems are vulnerable to wind forces and require complex installation, often necessitating a cemented post and heavy-duty gear systems, which limits their deployment in various weather conditions and soil types.
Innovation Solution
A motion-controlled tracking mount with a wide base and low-profile design, utilizing two perpendicular linear actuators to control azimuth and elevation, allowing the system to lay flat in adverse weather and reduce anchoring requirements, with a geometric design that supports structural stability and efficient moment loading.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a single pole driven into the ground with heavy-duty gears is used, then the tracking system can handle large moments and loads, but the system becomes vulnerable to wind forces and requires complex installation with cemented posts
Solution Approach 1:
The tracking system is divided into two independent linear actuators that control azimuth and elevation separately, replacing the single heavy-duty rotary drive unit. This segmentation allows each actuator to be optimized for its specific motion axis, reducing overall system vulnerability while maintaining load handling capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a vertical pole-mounted configuration to a horizontal rail-based Cartesian coordinate system. By mounting rails on a horizontal surface rather than a vertical pole, the system eliminates the tall structure that creates high wind moments, fundamentally changing the dimensional approach to mounting.
2Length of moving object
If a tall structure is used to mount the tracking device, then sufficient ground clearance is achieved when tracking the sun at low elevations, but the system becomes more vulnerable to wind forces
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves ground clearance not by increasing vertical height but by extending horizontal rail length. The Cartesian coordinate system allows the tracking device to reach low elevation angles through horizontal translation along the rails rather than by mounting high on a vertical pole, thus avoiding wind exposure while maintaining operational clearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The low-profile mounting structure is dynamically adjusted through the linear actuators to achieve the necessary tracking clearance only when needed, rather than permanently maintaining a tall static structure that would always be exposed to wind forces.
3Strength
If heavy-duty gears and counter balances are used, then the drive units can handle very large moments and loads, but the equipment becomes heavier and more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex rotary gear mechanisms with simpler linear translation systems. Linear actuators directly produce the required motion without needing multi-stage gear reductions or counterbalance mechanisms, eliminating the heavy-duty gear systems while maintaining the ability to handle large moments through the rail support structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and removes the heavy-duty gear systems and counterbalance components from the tracking mechanism, retaining only the essential linear translation and rotation functions that can be achieved with simpler, lighter components.
4Adaptability or versatility
If an auger is used to install the pole, then the pole can be installed in various soils, but the installation requires considerable civil engineering work
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the installation dimension from vertical pole embedding to horizontal rail placement on the surface. Instead of augering deep into the ground to resist wind moments, the rails are mounted horizontally on a stable surface, dramatically simplifying installation while maintaining adaptability through the choice of mounting surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses lighter, less permanent mounting structures that can be installed and relocated more easily than heavy cemented poles, accepting that the mounting infrastructure can be simpler and less permanent while still achieving the tracking function.
Data Source
AI summary
A motion controlled tracking mount is provided that includes a lateral rail perpendicular to a longitudinal rail, a first translation element slides on the lateral rail and a second translation element slides on the longitudinal rail and slides onto the lateral rail, a first rotatable connector attached to the first translation element and a second rotatable connector attached to the second translation element that rotate about axes perpendicular to the lateral and longitudinal rails, an apparatus mount with a distal region pivotably connected to the second rotatable connector, where the pivotable connection axis is parallel to a lateral dimension of the mount, and a linkage with a proximal end pivotable connected to the first rotatable connector and a distal end is pivotably connected to a proximal region of the mount, where an axis of the pivotable connection at the distal end is parallel to the lateral dimension of the mount.