Solar tracking system using periodic scan patterns with a shielding tube
US8878113B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 29, 2012 |
| Grant date | Nov 4, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 29, 2033 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01J2001/4266
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A solar tracking system and method that use a shielding tube that admits solar radiation and has an absorptive inner surface for absorbing the solar radiation that is incident on it. The system has a photodetector for generating a signal related to an intensity of solar radiation at a distal end of the shielding tube and a scan unit for periodically executing a certain scan pattern in an elevation angle El and in an azimuth angle Az of the shielding tube. A processing unit in communication with the photodetector determines an on-sun orientation of the shielding tube based on a convolution of the signal obtained while executing the scan pattern with a trained convolution kernel. The on-sun orientation thus found can be used to update the orientation of one or more solar surfaces, e.g., reflective or photovoltaic surfaces.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.