Sun Following Sensor Unit And A Sun Following Apparatus Having The Same Therewith

Abstract

The present invention relates to a sun tracking sensor unit and a sun tracking apparatus having the same. There is provided a sun tracking apparatus, which comprises a sun tracking sensor unit 10 comprising an upright barrier 12 for partitioning a sensor case into four specific areas of east, west, south and north, CDS elements CDS(E), CDS(W), CDS(S), and CDS(N) respectively disposed in the four areas partitioned by the upright barrier 12 , and the sensor case 11 functioning as a body for supporting the upright barrier and the CDS elements; a solar panel combination 20 including a solar panel 22 having a plurality of solar cells attached thereon and a solar support body 24 coupled to a rear thereof; a housing 30 functioning as a body for supporting the sun tracking sensor unit 10 and the solar panel combination 20 ; and an east-west driving motor 40 and a south-north driving motor 50 , coupled to the housing to adjust an angle of the solar panel by rotating the solar support body respectively in east-west and south-north directions. Accordingly, its tracking accuracy is high due to the lower limit of trackable illumination intensity, and its whole structure is simple, thereby having a low manufacturing and maintenance cost.

1 . A sun tracking sensor unit ( 10 ), comprising: an upright barrier ( 12 ) for partitioning a sensor case into four specific areas of east, west, south and north;
 CDS elements (CDS(E), CDS(W), CDS(S), CDS(N)) respectively disposed in the four areas partitioned by the upright barrier ( 12 ); and the sensor case ( 11 ) functioning as a body for supporting the upright barrier and the CDS elements.   
   
   
       2 . The sun tracking sensor unit ( 10 ) as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the upright barrier ( 12 ) comprises a barrier for east-west partitioning and a barrier for south-north partitioning, and the barriers are respectively disposed in the separate sensor cases ( 11 ). 
   
   
       3 . The sun tracking sensor unit ( 10 ) as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the upright barrier ( 12 ) is formed in an X shape for east-west-south-north partitioning and disposed in the single sensor case ( 11 ). 
   
   
       4 . The sun tracking sensor unit ( 10 ) as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein a top of the sensor case ( 11 ) is covered by a cover ( 13 ) made of a transparent or translucent plate. 
   
   
       5 . The sun tracking sensor unit ( 10 ) as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein a top of the sensor case ( 11 ) is covered by a cover ( 13 ) made of a transparent or translucent plate. 
   
   
       6 . The sun tracking sensor unit ( 10 ) as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein the cover ( 13 ) is made of a glass material whose color is changed depending on brightness of light. 
   
   
       7 . The sun tracking sensor unit ( 10 ) as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the cover ( 13 ) is made of a glass material whose color is changed depending on brightness of light. 
   
   
       8 . A sun tracking apparatus ( 100 ), comprising: a sun tracking sensor unit ( 10 ) comprising an upright barrier ( 12 ) for partitioning a sensor case into four specific areas of east, west, south and north, CDS elements (CDS(E), CDS(W), CDS(S), CDS(N)) respectively disposed in the four areas partitioned by the upright barrier ( 12 ), and the sensor case ( 11 ) functioning as a body for supporting the upright barrier and the CDS elements; a solar panel combination ( 20 ) including a solar panel ( 22 ) having a plurality of solar cells attached thereon and a solar support body ( 24 ) coupled to a rear thereof; a housing ( 30 ) functioning as a body for supporting the sun tracking sensor unit ( 10 ) and the solar panel combination ( 20 ); and an east-west driving motor ( 40 ) and a south-north driving motor ( 50 ), coupled to the housing to adjust an angle of the solar panel by rotating the solar support body respectively in east-west and south-north directions. 
   
   
       9 . The sun tracking apparatus ( 100 ) as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein a storage battery ( 60 ) and a control box ( 70 ) are coupled to a support body ( 31 ) of the housing ( 30 ). 
   
   
       10 . The sun tracking apparatus ( 100 ) as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the housing ( 30 ) comprises a support body ( 31 ) defining a lower end thereof and fixed to a ground or platform, and a connection body ( 32 ) defining an upper end thereof and connecting the solar support body ( 24 ) to the support body ( 31 ). 
   
   
       11 . The sun tracking apparatus ( 100 ) as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the support body ( 31 ) comprises a lower support body ( 31 - 1 ) formed by respectively welding horizontal plates to both upper and lower end of a quadrangular steel tube and an upper support body ( 31 - 2 ) having two bent plates coupled to an upper end of the lower support body ( 31 - 1 ); and the connection body ( 32 ) comprises an upper connection body ( 31 - 1 ) of a U-shaped bent plate, and a lower connection body ( 32 - 2 ) formed in a vertical plate shape welded to a lower end of the upper connection body ( 31 - 2 ). 
   
   
       12 . The sun tracking apparatus ( 100 ) as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the solar support body ( 24 ) is a U-shaped bent plate; a lower end thereof is inserted into a U-shaped internal space of the upper connection body ( 32 - 1 ); and the upper connection body ( 32 - 1 ) and the solar support body ( 24 ) are coupled to each other through a rotation shaft of the east-west driving motor ( 40 ), which makes a relative rotary motion possible. 
   
   
       13 . The sun tracking apparatus ( 100 ) as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein the solar support body ( 24 ) is a U-shaped bent plate; a lower end thereof is inserted into a U-shaped internal space of the upper connection body ( 32 - 1 ); and the upper connection body ( 32 - 1 ) and the solar support body ( 24 ) are coupled to each other through a rotation shaft of the east-west driving motor ( 40 ), which makes a relative rotary motion possible. 
   
   
       14 . The sun tracking apparatus ( 100 ) as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the two bent plates constituting the upper support body ( 31 - 2 ) are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval to define a vertical gap; a vertical plate-shaped lower end of the connection body ( 32 ) is inserted into the gap; and the upper support body ( 32 - 1 ) and the lower end of the connection body ( 32 ) are coupled to each other through a rotation shaft of the south-north driving motor ( 50 ), which makes a relative rotary motion possible. 
   
   
       15 . The sun tracking apparatus ( 100 ) as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the two bent plates constituting the upper support body ( 31 - 2 ) are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval to define a vertical gap; a vertical plate-shaped lower end of the connection body ( 32 ) is inserted into the gap; and the upper support body ( 32 - 1 ) and the lower end of the connection body ( 32 ) are coupled to each other through a rotation shaft of the south-north driving motor ( 50 ), which makes a relative rotary motion possible. 
   
   
       16 . The sun tracking apparatus ( 100 ) as claimed in  claim 8 , comprising a circuit for controlling an angle of the solar panel, the circuit comprising two bridge circuits, each bridge circuit having two CDS elements (CDS(E) and CDS(W), CDS(S) and CDS(N)) corresponding to each other, which are separately disposed to the east and west or the south and north among the four CDS elements (CDS(E), CDS(W), CDS(S), CDS(N)). 
   
   
       17 . The sun tracking apparatus ( 100 ) as claimed in  claim 16 , wherein the two CDS elements (CDS(E) and CDS(W), CDS(S) and CDS(N)) corresponding to each other are disposed at the same position on different branch lines (ΓJ and φ, i.e., at a side of a current inlet terminal (point a) on the bridge circuit; a branch line (r) that allows middle points on the two branch lines (ΓJ and φ to be connected to each other is divided into two sub-branch lines; and diodes (D 1 , D 2 ) are then disposed on the sub-branch lines, respectively.