Automatic System for Adjusting the Parabolic Surface of a Flat Mirror Solar Concentrator

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for the automatic adjustment of the height of the support elements of a structure of a solar concentrator, in order to achieve the approximation of a parabolic surface for mounting triangular mirrors. These adjustments are made by an automatic arm with a control unit based on computer vision, wherein the system displays the adjustment embodiment with a magnetic or pneumatic head that uses a control unit whose operation is based on stereo vision images with signals from one or more digital cameras.

1 . An automatic system to adjust the parabolic surface of flat mirror solar concentrator, characterized because said solar concentrator comprises a central tube arranged over the vertical axis from the center of a support structure of the solar concentrator; said tube allows a 360° rotation of an automatic arm, which is supported perpendicularly to the axis of the central tube on the upper part of said central tube; also, the automatic arm has a coupled engine for height adjustment, a gears box and a gear for height adjustment, wherein these elements provide a vertical displacement up and down; in its upper part, the automatic arm has at least one guide arranged perpendicularly to the central tube; on said guide a carriage slides radially to the solar concentrator; said carriage supports at least one digital camera and at least one telescopic tube, wherein said telescopic tube is fixed and arranged in parallel to the central axis on the carriage and includes an engine for telescopic adjustment, a coupling gear, and a rotation gear; these elements allow the rotation of the telescopic tube about its axis; finally, at the distal extreme of said telescopic tube there is an end-effector for adjusting the height of the support elements of the solar concentrator. 
     
     
         2 . The automatic system of  claim 1 , characterized because can use 2, 3 or 6 parallel telescopic tubes, supported by the automatic arm making use of the symmetry of the support structure. 
     
     
         3 . The automatic system of  claim 1 , characterized because the control unit can use the signals from one or more digital cameras using computer vision defined algorithms to identify the height of the support element based on their size in the image or on the stereovision principles. 
     
     
         4 . The automatic system of  claim 1 , characterized because the end-effector can be an electromagnetic head. 
     
     
         5 . The automatic system of  claim 1 , characterized because the end-effector can be a pneumatic head for which an air bleed tube is added.