JP2011211025A - In-vehicle photovoltaic power generator - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle solar power generation device capable of increasing the sum of power consumption lost by a driving body for adjusting the angle of a solar panel and the amount of power generation increased by adjusting the angle of the solar panel. To do.
The angle of the solar panel is changed from the first panel angle, which is the current angle of the solar panel, based on the current date and the direction of the sun at the current position of the on-vehicle solar power generation device. The second power, which is the power that increases as a result of moving to the second panel angle, which is the angle of the solar panel 10 at which the power is maximum, is calculated, and when the second power is greater than or equal to the first power, the solar panel The 10 angle becomes the second angle.
[Selection] Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted solar power generation device including a mechanism for adjusting the angle of a solar panel.

  As a conventional solar power generation device that follows the angle of sunlight, there is a difference between the voltage of the solar panel that has multiple solar panels and outputs the maximum voltage, and the solar panel that outputs the voltage next to this solar panel. Some are rotated to be smaller than the set value.

  Thus, the loss of electric power due to frequent rotation driving is reduced by rotating the light receiving surface so that the power generation amounts of the plurality of solar panels are equal.

  For example, Patent Document 1 is known as a prior art document relating to the invention of this application.

JP 2005-158908 A

  In recent years, vehicles equipped with solar panels have been put into practical use in order to assist vehicle power. When a conventional solar power generation device is applied as a solar power generation device for a vehicle, the following problems occur.

  The conventional solar power generation device rotates the light receiving surface so that the power generation amounts of a plurality of solar panels are equal. This is based on the premise that a conventional solar power generation apparatus is installed at a fixed position, and is sufficiently effective if the angles of a plurality of solar panels are followed at a relatively low speed.

  On the other hand, when a solar power generation device is mounted on a vehicle, the use situation is greatly different. The vehicle frequently changes direction while driving. The vehicle travels in various environments such as urban areas and depopulated areas. As the surrounding environment changes, the sunshine conditions change frequently.

  When a conventional solar power generation device is mounted on a vehicle, the angle of the solar panel is adjusted following the frequently changing sunshine conditions. If this is done, the power consumed by the driving body such as a motor that adjusts the angle of the solar panel will increase, and the power consumption of this driving body will exceed the amount of power generation improvement due to the adjustment of the angle of the solar panel. The problem that it ends up occurs.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem. Even when the sunshine conditions change frequently, the power consumption lost by the driving body that adjusts the angle of the solar panel and the angle adjustment of the solar panel more than before are adjusted. It aims at providing the vehicle-mounted solar power generation device which can increase the sum total with the electric power generation amount which increases by this.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a second panel at a solar panel angle at which the power generation amount is maximum based on the direction of the sun at the current position from the first panel angle that is the current angle of the solar panel. The first power, which is the power consumption of the motor required to move the solar panel angle to the angle, is calculated and increased by moving the solar panel angle from the first panel angle to the second panel angle. The second power that is the power is calculated, and when the second power is equal to or higher than the first power, the motor is controlled so that the angle of the solar panel becomes the second angle.

  The in-vehicle solar power generation device of the present invention calculates the second power that is increased by moving the angle of the solar panel from the first panel angle to the second panel angle, and the second power is When the electric power is equal to or higher than the first electric power, the angle of the solar panel is set to be the second angle. Thereby, the sum total of the power consumption lost by the drive body which adjusts the angle of a solar panel and the electric power generation amount which increases by the angle adjustment of a solar panel can be increased.

The figure explaining the installation to the vehicle of the vehicle-mounted solar power generation device and peripheral device in one embodiment of this invention. Block diagram of the device Flow chart of in-vehicle solar power generation device in one embodiment of the present invention Flow diagram of the device Flow diagram of the device The figure explaining the angle adjustment method of the solar panel of the device The figure explaining the angle adjustment method of the solar panel of the device

  Hereinafter, a vehicle-mounted solar power generation device and its peripheral devices according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating installation of a vehicle-mounted solar power generation device and peripheral devices in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of these devices.

  First, the positional relationship used when describing the vehicle-mounted solar power generation device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The axis in FIG. 1 is an axis whose forward direction is a direction in which a vehicle on which the vehicle-mounted solar power generation device 1 is mounted moves forward. This X axis is referred to as the front-rear direction. Further, the positive direction of the X axis is referred to as a forward direction, and the negative direction of the X axis is referred to as a backward direction.

  The Y axis in FIG. 1 is an axis whose forward direction is the right direction when the vehicle is viewed from the front. This Y axis is referred to as the left-right direction. Also, the positive direction of the Y axis is called the right direction, and the negative direction of the Y axis is called the left direction.

  Further, the Z axis in FIG. 1 is an axis that is perpendicular to the X axis and that has a positive direction when viewed from the front of the vehicle. This Z axis is referred to as the vertical direction. Further, the positive direction of the Z axis is referred to as the upward direction, and the negative direction of the Z axis is referred to as the downward direction. A plane perpendicular to the Z axis is called horizontal.

  The in-vehicle solar power generation device 1 receives sunlight and generates electric power, and includes a solar panel 10, a motor 11, and a control unit 12. Hereinafter, each configuration will be described in detail.

  The solar panel 10 is mounted on the roof of the vehicle substantially horizontally with a surface that receives sunlight (hereinafter referred to as “light receiving surface”) facing upward.

  The solar panel 10 is formed by bonding semiconductor materials made of, for example, polycrystalline silicon (or single crystal silicon) into a thin plate shape, and generates electric power upon receiving sunlight.

  The motor 11 is a device serving as a power source that generates a driving force for adjusting the angle of the solar panel 10, and is controlled by the control unit 12.

  The solar panel 10 is mounted substantially horizontally on the roof of the vehicle. The panel angle of the solar panel 10 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, in the XY axis plane by rotating the solar panel 10 around the Z axis and moving the two columns up and down. On the other hand, the adjustment is performed by combining the two operations, that is, the tilting operation for giving a predetermined angle. The motor 11 is mainly used for performing this rotation operation.

  The direction change of the vehicle occurs more frequently than the time change of the position of the sun. Therefore, the adjustment of the panel angle of the solar panel 10 in the present embodiment is mainly due to the rotation operation. However, both the tilting operation and the rotating operation are required while the vehicle is stopped. Hereinafter, the angle of the solar panel 10 with respect to the absolute direction is referred to as “panel angle”.

  The motor 11 can also output the current angle of the solar panel 10 to the control unit 12 at the request of the control unit 12.

  The control unit 12 controls the motor 11 to adjust the panel angle of the solar panel 10 so that the power generation amount is as large as possible. The control unit 12 controls the motor 11 by transmitting a signal for angle control (hereinafter referred to as “angle control signal”) to the motor 11.

  The control unit 12 determines whether or not to adjust the panel angle from the route information to the destination set by the vehicle navigation device 3 and the map information (hereinafter, “panel angle adjustment determination based on the route”). Called).

  Moreover, the control part 12 performs the panel angle adjustment determination based on electric power after the panel angle adjustment determination based on a path | route. The panel angle adjustment determination based on this electric power is based on the current panel angle of the solar panel 10 (hereinafter referred to as “panel angle A”), and the power generation amount is maximum based on the current date and time and the direction of the sun at the current position of the vehicle. When adjusting the angle to the angle of the solar panel 10 (hereinafter referred to as “panel angle B”), the power required for the motor 11 to move from the panel angle A to the panel angle B and the panel angle B were adjusted. This is a comparison with the increase in the amount of electricity generated.

  Here, the date and time includes not only the date but also the hour and minute. This is because the direction of the sun changes greatly with time even on the same day.

  The panel angle A corresponds to the first panel angle, and the panel angle B corresponds to the second panel angle.

  The panel angle adjustment determination based on the route and the panel angle adjustment determination based on the power will be described in detail later.

The control unit 12 includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores a CPU and a program for controlling the CPU, and a RAM (Random) that temporarily stores data.
(Access Memory). The CPU reads and executes a program stored in the ROM.

  The power storage device 2 stores power output from the solar panel 10 and includes a charge controller 21 and a storage battery 22.

  The electric power output from the solar panel 10 is stored in the storage battery 22 via the charge controller 21. The charge controller 21 includes a charging circuit for efficiently charging the power output from the solar panel 10 to the storage battery 22. For example, the charging circuit performs constant current charging when the storage battery 22 is empty, and performs constant voltage charging when the voltage of the storage battery 22 is high to some extent.

  The storage battery 22 stores the electric power generated by the solar panel 10. As the storage battery 22, for example, a lead storage battery, a nickel metal hydride battery, a lithium ion battery, or a high-capacity capacitor can be used.

  The navigation device 3 is a device that superimposes a marker indicating the current position of the vehicle on a map around the current position of the vehicle and displays it on a liquid crystal display (not shown). The current position of the vehicle is acquired from the GPS receiver 31 and the map information is acquired from the storage unit 33.

  In addition, it has a function of calculating a route from a current position of the vehicle to a destination input by a user using an input device (not shown) and displaying the route on a liquid crystal display.

  The GPS receiver 31 receives radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites and demodulates the received signals to measure the absolute position of the receiver. The absolute position measured by the GPS receiver 31 is output to the control unit 12.

  The control unit 12 can obtain the current position of the vehicle and the absolute direction that is the direction in which the vehicle is traveling from the output of the GPS receiver 31.

  The gyro 32 is a gyro sensor that calculates and outputs a yaw rate that is an angular velocity of rotation about the vertical direction of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as “yaw rate value”). It is possible to calculate a relative azimuth change amount in the traveling direction of the own vehicle from the yaw rate value. By combining with the GPS receiver 31 or a geomagnetic sensor (not shown), the absolute direction of the vehicle can be calculated. The control unit 12 can determine the direction in which the vehicle is traveling from the output of the gyro 32.

  The storage unit 33 stores various map data necessary for route guidance, traffic information guidance, and map display. The storage unit 33 is a non-volatile storage element such as a hard disk or a flash memory.

  The storage unit 33 further stores the date and the sun direction at the current position. The control unit 12 can acquire the current date and the sun direction at the current position of the vehicle by reading out the information from the storage unit 33.

  About the vehicle-mounted solar power generation device 1 comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement is demonstrated using FIGS.

  First, the entire processing flow will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the in-vehicle solar power generation device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  When the control unit 12 starts processing (start), it first performs panel angle adjustment determination (S1) based on the route. After this determination, panel angle adjustment determination based on power is performed (S2).

  The panel angle is adjusted at S2. For this reason, when it is determined by the panel angle adjustment determination based on the route of S1 that the adjustment of the panel angle is unnecessary, the process is not advanced to S2, and the panel angle is not adjusted.

  After executing S2, the control unit 12 returns the process to S1 again. Hereinafter, detailed operations of S1 and S2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Next, the processing flow of S1 in FIG. 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a detailed processing flow of S1 of FIG.

  First, the control unit 12 acquires an ideal angle difference N (S10). The ideal angle difference N refers to the difference in angle between the panel angle A, which is the current panel angle, and the panel angle B, which is the angle of the solar panel 10 that generates the maximum amount of power based on the sun direction.

  After S10, the control unit 12 determines whether or not the ideal angle difference N acquired in S10 is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle θ (S11). The predetermined angle θ serves as a threshold for shifting to a process for determining whether or not to move the panel angle.

  If the ideal angle difference N deviates by more than the predetermined angle θ (YES in S11), the power generation efficiency is greatly reduced, and the process proceeds to S12.

  On the other hand, when the ideal angle difference N is smaller than the predetermined angle θ (NO in S11), it is not necessary to move the panel angle because a sufficient power generation amount can be expected even with the current panel angle. Therefore, the control part 12 returns a process to S10 again, when S11 is NO.

  When S11 is YES, the control unit 12 acquires a route from the navigation device 3 to the destination of the vehicle (S12).

  After S12, the control unit 12 calculates an ideal angle difference N for an arbitrary point on the route when the host vehicle travels on the route to the destination, and the ideal angle difference N for the arbitrary point. It is determined whether or not the minimum value is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle θ.

  When the minimum value of the ideal angle difference N for any point on each path is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle θ (YES in S13), the current panel angle is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle θ at any point on the path (the panel angle is Therefore, the control unit 12 advances the process to the process for adjusting the angle (S2 which is panel angle adjustment determination based on power).

  On the other hand, when the minimum value of the ideal angle difference N for any point on each route is smaller than the predetermined angle θ (NO in S13), it may not be necessary to adjust the panel angle that causes the motor 11 to consume power. is there. This is because there is a point that becomes smaller than the predetermined angle θ while the vehicle is traveling on the route to the destination.

Therefore, if NO in S13, the control unit 12 once exceeds the predetermined angle θ with respect to the ideal angle difference N for any point on each route, and then the predetermined angle θ again.
The time until the following (regression time S) is calculated. Subsequently, the control unit 12 determines whether or not the regression time S is equal to or longer than the predetermined time T (S14).

  The predetermined time T is obtained by dividing the distance of the route by the standard speed. The standard speed is a speed determined for each type of road (for example, a highway or a general road), and is a statistical average speed when traveling on a road of the type of the road.

  When calculating the time required to return to the predetermined angle θ or less, the control unit 12 can calculate the time by taking traffic information received by a VICS (registered trademark) receiver (not shown) or required time information into consideration. By doing so, it is possible to calculate the time in consideration of the actual degree of congestion.

  When S14 is YES, since the ideal angle difference N becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined angle θ, it takes a considerable time (predetermined time T or more) to become smaller than the predetermined angle θ. It is predicted that the efficiency of the system will decrease. Therefore, the control unit 12 advances the process to “panel angle adjustment determination based on electric power” (S2).

  On the other hand, when S14 is NO, the ideal angle difference N becomes equal to or larger than the predetermined angle θ and then becomes smaller than the predetermined angle θ in a relatively short time (a time shorter than the predetermined time T). There is no need to make adjustments. Therefore, when S14 is NO, the control unit 12 returns the process to S10.

  Finally, the processing flow of S2 in FIG. 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a detailed processing flow of S1 of FIG.

  First, the control part 12 acquires the panel angle A which is the panel angle of the present solar panel 10 from the motor 11 (S20).

  After S20, the control unit 12 obtains the current date and time and the direction of the sun at the current position of the vehicle from the storage unit 33, and is the angle of the solar panel 10 at which the power generation amount is maximum based on this sun direction. The panel angle B is calculated (S21). The panel angle B is an angle of the solar panel 10 for making the light receiving surface of the solar panel 10 perpendicular to the current sunlight incident angle.

  After S21, the control unit 12 obtains the power generation amount PA of the solar panel 10 at the panel angle A (S22).

  After S22, the control unit 12 obtains the power generation amount PB of the solar panel 10 at the panel angle B (S23).

  Next to S23, the control unit 12 calculates the power consumption WBA of the motor 11 necessary for moving the solar panel 10 from the panel angle A to the panel angle B. This power consumption WBA is calculated based on the difference between the panel angle A and the panel angle B (S24).

  Next to S24, the control unit 12 determines the increase in power generation amount of the solar panel 10 (power generation amount PB-power generation amount PA) when the panel angle of the solar panel 10 is changed from the panel angle A to the panel angle B. calculate. Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the increase in power generation amount is greater than or equal to the power consumption WBA of the motor 11 (S25).

If the increase in the amount of power generation is smaller than the power consumption WBA of the motor 11 (NO in S25), when the panel angle of the solar panel 10 is moved to the panel angle B, the panel angle B will be larger than the increase in the power generation amount of the solar panel 10. Since the power consumption WBA of the motor 11 necessary for the movement becomes larger, the panel angle of the solar panel 10 remains the panel angle A (the end in FIG. 5).

  On the other hand, when the increase in the amount of power generation is equal to or greater than the power consumption WBA of the motor 11 (YES in S25), the solar panel 10 is moved more than the power consumption WBA of the motor 11 by moving the panel angle of the solar panel 10 to the panel angle B. Since the increase in the amount of electric power due to the movement to the panel angle B can be expected rather than the increase in the amount of power generation, the control unit 12 moves the solar panel 10 from the panel angle A to the panel angle B (S26).

  It is desirable that the control unit 12 moves the solar panel 10 to the panel angle B immediately before the ideal angle difference N on the route exceeds the predetermined angle θ for the first time in the route acquired in S12 of FIG.

  A specific example of the processing of S1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the ideal angle difference N gradually increases from 0 degree to 90 degrees in the section from the point 1 to the point 2. At point 1, the ideal angle difference N is 45 degrees, and from point 2, the ideal angle difference N is 90 degrees. From point 2 to point 3, the ideal angle difference N remains 90 degrees. After point 3, the ideal angle difference N is 90 degrees or less, and at point 4, the ideal angle difference N is 45 degrees.

  FIG. 6 is an example when the control unit 12 determines YES in S14 of FIG. The description will be made assuming that the predetermined angle θ is 90 degrees.

  At point 1 in FIG. 6, the ideal angle difference N is 45 degrees, and the panel angle of the solar panel 10 is not adjusted because the predetermined angle θ is small.

  Subsequently, when the point 2 is reached, the ideal angle difference N is 90 degrees from this point, and the predetermined angle θ is 90 degrees or more. Therefore, the panel angle of the solar panel 10 is adjusted at this point. Since the panel angle is adjusted, the ideal angle difference N is set to 0 degree.

  This is because the time (time from point 2 to point 3) until the ideal angle difference N returns to the predetermined angle θ or less (point 3) is equal to or longer than the predetermined time T (YES in S14).

  Thereafter, the panel angle of the solar panel 10 is not adjusted during the period from point 2 to point 3. This is because the point 2 has already been adjusted to the optimum angle. At this time, the ideal angle difference N is 0 degree.

  Thereafter, when passing through the point 3, the ideal angle difference N becomes 0 degree or more, and at the point 4, it becomes 45 degrees. However, since the ideal angle difference N is smaller than the predetermined angle θ, the panel angle of the solar panel 10 is not adjusted.

  FIG. 7 is an example when the control unit 12 determines NO in S14 of FIG. The description will be made assuming that the predetermined angle θ is 90 degrees. The difference between FIG. 7 and FIG. 6 is that the time taken from point 2 to point 3 is longer than the predetermined time T in FIG. In FIG. 7, since it is determined as NO in S <b> 14, the control unit 12 does not adjust the panel angle of the solar panel 10 even at the point 2 unlike FIG. 6.

As described above, the in-vehicle solar power generation device according to one embodiment of the present invention calculates the second power that is increased by moving the angle of the solar panel 10 from the panel angle A to the panel angle B. When the second power is greater than or equal to the first power, the angle of the solar panel is set to the second angle. By doing in this way, there exists an effect that the sum total of the power consumption lost by the motor 11 and the electric power generation amount which increases by angle adjustment of the solar panel 10 can be increased.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the solar panel 10 and the motor 11 are configured by only one set has been described. However, the solar panel 10 and the motor 11 may be mounted as a single module and a plurality of modules may be mounted. it can.

  Since the control shown in the embodiment of the present invention can be controlled more precisely by adjusting the angle of the solar panel 10 for each module, the total value of the power consumption of the motor 11 and the power generation amount of the solar panel 10 is calculated. Can be increased.

  In addition, instead of the process of S14 in FIG. 4, the control unit 12 calculates the ratio of the total estimated travel time in the route where the ideal angle difference N is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle θ to the expected travel time of all routes. When the ratio is equal to or less than a predetermined ratio (for example, 20%), the panel angle may not be adjusted. When the ratio that the ideal angle difference N is equal to or larger than the predetermined angle θ is small, the power consumption of the solar panel 10 may exceed the increase in power generation amount when the angle of the motor 11 is controlled. Therefore, useless angle control of the motor 11 can be prevented by doing the above.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can increase the total of the power consumption lost by the driving body and the amount of power generation increased by adjusting the angle of the solar panel, and is useful as a solar power generation apparatus mounted on a moving body such as a vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Solar power generation device for vehicle mounting 10 Solar panel 11 Motor 12 Control part 2 Power storage device 21 Charge controller 22 Storage battery 3 Navigation apparatus 31 GPS receiver 32 Gyro 33 Storage part

Claims (4)

A solar panel that is mounted on a vehicle and generates electricity by receiving sunlight;
A motor for adjusting the incident angle of sunlight of the solar panel;
The first panel angle that is the current angle of the solar panel is acquired, and the amount of power generation is maximized based on the current date and direction of the sun at the current position of the in-vehicle solar power generation device. A control unit that calculates a second panel angle that is an angle, and the control unit is configured to control the motor required to move the solar panel angle from the first panel angle to the second panel angle. Calculating a first power that is power consumption, calculating a second power that is increased by moving the angle of the solar panel from the first panel angle to the second panel angle, and When the second power is greater than or equal to the first power, the motor is controlled so that the angle of the solar panel becomes the second panel angle, and the angle of the solar panel is Vehicle photovoltaic device characterized by moving the panel angle. The control unit sets the difference between the first panel angle and the second panel angle at the current position as an ideal angle difference N. When the ideal angle difference N is smaller than a predetermined angle θ, the control unit moves the angle of the solar panel. The in-vehicle solar power generation device according to claim 1, wherein the on-vehicle solar power generation device is not provided. The control unit further acquires a route along which the vehicle on which the vehicle-mounted solar power generation device is mounted travels, and ideally determines a difference between the first panel angle and the second panel angle at an arbitrary point on the route. When the angle difference N is set and the minimum value of the ideal angle difference N is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle θ, and the second power is equal to or greater than the first power, the solar panel angle is equal to the second panel angle. The on-vehicle solar power generation device according to claim 1, wherein the motor is controlled so that The control unit further acquires a route along which the vehicle on which the vehicle-mounted solar power generation device is mounted travels, and ideally determines a difference between the first panel angle and the second panel angle at an arbitrary point on the route. An angle difference N is set, and the angle of the solar panel is not moved when the time from when the ideal angle difference N becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined angle θ to when the ideal angle difference N becomes equal to or less than the predetermined angle θ is shorter than a predetermined time T. The on-vehicle solar power generation device according to claim 1.