JP2006324487A - Solar power generator and light condenser - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a solar power generator capable of efficiently receiving sunlight even if the azimuth and the elevation of the sun change, and capable of reducing the cost of the whole equipment. <P>SOLUTION: The solar power generator 1 has a photoelectric conversion device for generating an electric power by receiving the sunlight on the light-receptive surface thereof. A plurality of nearly conical and internally hollow translucent condensing projections 11 are arranged in high density on the light-receptive surface or on the side of the light-receptive surface. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a solar power generation device that converts light energy into electrical energy, and a light collector used in the solar power generation device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a solar power generation device in which a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements such as solar cells formed of a semiconductor are provided in a solar battery panel, and the light energy of sunlight is converted into electric energy by the photoelectric conversion elements.
The amount of power output by such a solar power generation device is proportional to the light receiving area of sunlight. For this reason, if the light receiving area of sunlight is enlarged, high output power can be obtained.

  However, if the light receiving area is enlarged by increasing the size or size of the photoelectric conversion element, the cost increases in proportion to the area to be enlarged. For this reason, the solar power generation device has a problem in that the price increases significantly when an attempt is made to configure a high-power solar power generation device.

  On the other hand, a solar cell module in which solar cells are connected in series with each other on the back surface has been proposed as a method for expanding the light receiving area of a single photoelectric conversion element (see Patent Document 1).

  This solar cell module receives no sunlight from the glass plate provided on the solar cell over the entire surface of the solar cell by not providing an electrode on the surface of the solar cell to be arranged. It can be done. Thereby, it is aimed at efficiently receiving sunlight.

  However, because the glass plate is flat, it is impossible to receive sunlight exceeding the plane area occupied by the solar cell module, and the influence of the sun's orientation and altitude is unavoidable. In the time zone in which the incident angle of sunlight on the cell is low, there remains a problem that the electric output obtained is also small.

JP 2005-11869 A

  In view of this, the present invention has a configuration in which a plurality of light-transmissive condensing projections are provided on the light-receiving surface or the light-receiving surface side, so that sunlight can be efficiently received even if the azimuth or altitude of the sun changes, It aims at providing the solar power generation device which can aim at cost reduction.

The present invention is a solar power generation apparatus having a photoelectric conversion element that generates sunlight by receiving sunlight on a light receiving surface, and has a substantially conical shape, a substantially truncated cone shape, and a substantially pyramid shape on the light receiving surface or the light receiving surface side. A plurality of translucent condensing projections formed in a substantially pyramid-shaped or hemispherical shape and hollow inside are densely arranged.
Moreover, this invention can be set as the condensing body comprised by the translucent member in the solid | 3D shape where a cross section becomes small sequentially toward a front-end | tip from a base part.

  According to the present invention, sunlight can be received efficiently even if the azimuth and altitude of the sun change, and as a result, the cost of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The drawing shows a solar power generation device and its concentrator. First, the configuration of the solar power generation device will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a solar power generation device 1, which includes a plate-shaped main body portion 20 having a thickness in the vertical direction and a plurality of collectors provided on the upper surface of the main body portion 20. It is comprised with the condensing protrusion 11 as a light body. Although the solar power generation device 1 is provided horizontally on the rooftop of the building or the like, it may be arranged southward with a certain elevation angle (for example, 30 °) instead of the horizontal arrangement.

The plurality of light condensing protrusions 11 are formed in a conical shape as an example of a three-dimensional shape whose cross section is gradually reduced from the base toward the tip, and the light condensing protrusions 11 formed in the same size are in the same plane. They are densely arranged in a grid in the vertical and horizontal alignment on the top (that is, the upper surface of the main body 20).
The light condensing protrusion 11 is formed in a hollow conical shape with an open bottom surface, and the side wall portion of the light condensing protrusion 11 is formed with a constant thickness. The condensing projection 11 is made of translucent glass, preferably translucent heat-resistant glass (so-called Pyrex (registered trademark) glass or the like). The condensing projection 11 is made of plastic or other material instead of glass. You may comprise by this translucent member.
The bottom surface of the light condensing projection 11 is in close contact with the upper surface of the main body portion 20, whereby a hollow portion is provided inside each light condensing projection 11, and a gas such as air is sealed in the hollow portion.

  The main body 20 is a conventional solar cell panel. For example, a front cover made of translucent glass, a filler made of translucent resin, a substrate made of silicon, and a plate-like back cover are arranged in this order. In the filler, a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements are embedded vertically and horizontally substantially parallel to the substrate, and the photoelectric conversion elements are connected to each other by aluminum wires.

  With the above configuration, the condensing projection 11 can condense the sunlight received on the outer surface thereof onto the bottom surface and efficiently receive the collected sunlight on the photoelectric conversion element in the main body 20.

Next, the effect | action which the condensing protrusion 11 of the solar power generation device 1 condenses sunlight is demonstrated.
In the case of the conventional structure, since the upper surface of the solar cell panel is a flat surface, only sunlight having the planar area can be collected. In this embodiment, the upper surface of the main body portion 20 corresponding to the solar cell panel. Since a plurality of three-dimensional light condensing protrusions 11 are provided, sunlight corresponding to the height area of the light condensing protrusions 11 can be condensed in addition to the planar area of the main body portion 20. In addition, by forming the condensing protrusion 11 high, the said height area can be expanded further and the condensing effect can be improved further.

  Further, the conical condensing projection 11 can always face the sun regardless of the change in position, even if the position of the sun as viewed from the zenith direction changes from east to south through west. As a result, sunlight can always be received with the same width.

Further, the sunlight incident on the light condensing protrusion 11 is reflected by the inner surface of the light condensing protrusion 11 and travels downward, and is received by the photoelectric conversion element located below the light condensing protrusion 11.
In this case, since the condensing protrusion 11 has a conical shape, the angle formed by the reflected light reflected from the inner surface of the condensing protrusion 11 and the upper surface of the main body 20 approximates a right angle with respect to the incident angle. It becomes an angle. As a result, regardless of the height of the sun, the angle formed between the light receiving surface of the photoelectric conversion element and the reflected light is more perpendicular to the angle formed between the light receiving surface of the photoelectric conversion element and sunlight. It will approach. As a result, the power generation efficiency of the photoelectric conversion element can be improved.

  Moreover, after sunlight once enters the light condensing projection 11, the transmitted light that has passed through the surface opposite to the incident surface enters another light condensing projection 11. Thereby, the transmitted light once transmitted through the light condensing protrusion 11 is reflected by the inner surface of another light condensing protrusion 11 and travels downward, and is received by the photoelectric conversion element. As a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the amount of light received by the photoelectric conversion element due to the sunlight passing through the light condensing protrusion 11 and not being condensed.

Furthermore, when sunlight is three-dimensionally reflected by the light condensing protrusion 11, the light condensing protrusion 11 also condenses the reflected light.
That is, since the condensing projection 11 has an inner hollow conical shape, when a part of sunlight is reflected to the outside by the outer surface of the condensing projection 11, the reflected light is transmitted to other areas around the condensing projection 11. Light incident on the condensing protrusion 11 and three-dimensionally condensed, and the light incident on the other condensing protrusion 11 is reflected inward by the inner surface of the other condensing protrusion 11 and travels downward. Light is received by the conversion element.

As described above, the solar power generation device 1 of the above embodiment is a solar power generation device 1 having a photoelectric conversion element that receives sunlight on a light receiving surface and generates electric power, and the light receiving surface or the light receiving surface side is transparent. A plurality of light condensing projections 11 are provided.
According to this configuration, since the amount of received sunlight can be increased by the plurality of condensing projections 11, sunlight can be efficiently received even if the azimuth and altitude of the sun change. The cost of the entire apparatus can be reduced.
Further, since the condensing projection 11 is formed in a conical shape, the incident angle of sunlight incident on the outer surface of the condensing projection 11 can be made closer to a right angle. Can be expanded.
Furthermore, since the condensing protrusion 11 is formed in the hollow interior, it is possible to achieve both reduction in weight of the condensing protrusion 11 and reduction in material cost required for the protrusion shape.
In addition, since the light condensing projections 11 are densely arranged on the light receiving surface, the amount of sunlight received can be further increased by the many light concentrating projections 11 arranged densely.

  Moreover, since the light collector (see the light condensing protrusion 11) of the above embodiment is configured in a three-dimensional shape in which the transverse cross section sequentially decreases from the base toward the tip by the translucent member, While the amount of sunlight received can be increased, the incident angle at which the sunlight incident on the outer surface of the sunlight enters the photoelectric conversion element can be made closer to a right angle, so that a light collector suitable for the photovoltaic power generation apparatus 1 is secured. be able to.

  In addition, the gas sealed in the hollow portion can absorb light energy having a wavelength that does not contribute to the power generation of the photoelectric conversion element, thereby suppressing the temperature increase of the photoelectric conversion element or the temperature increase of the photovoltaic power generation device 1. Thus, it is possible to prevent a decrease in power generation efficiency due to such a temperature rise.

In addition, the shape of the above-mentioned condensing protrusion 11 may round the front-end | tip part, and may comprise a substantially truncated cone shape, a triangular to polygonal pyramid shape, a truncated pyramid shape, or a hemispherical shape.
Thus, even if the condensing protrusion 11 is formed in the various shapes described above, the condensing protrusion 11 can sufficiently condense sunlight. Moreover, when the vertex part of the condensing protrusion 11 is comprised in a non-sharp shape, damage to a vertex part can be decreased.

Further, the vicinity of the bottom surface of the light collecting projections 11 having various shapes described above is connected between the adjacent light collecting projections 11 so that there is no gap between the light collecting projections 11 on the upper surface of the main body portion 20. Also good.
If comprised in this way, the condensing protrusion 11 will be able to condense sunlight in the whole upper part of the main-body part 20 without a clearance gap, Therefore, condensing efficiency can be improved further.

  Further, the concentrating projections 11 having the same size of a hexagonal thrust shape or a hexagonal thrust trapezoid shape may be arranged in a honeycomb shape with no gap with respect to the light receiving surface. If comprised in this way, with respect to the structure where the condensing protrusions 11 are arranged in a grid, the sunlight passing between the condensing protrusions 11 can be reduced, and the area irradiated with sunlight is increased. be able to. Furthermore, the arrangement structure of the above-mentioned condensing protrusions 11 may be a staggered pattern.

  In addition, instead of gas, liquid may be stored in the hollow portion. In this case, the refractive index of sunlight increases, and the ratio of light reflected inward by the inner surface of the condensing projection 11 increases. Thereby, it can suppress as much as possible that sunlight injects from the side surface of the condensing protrusion 11, and permeate | transmits the opposite side surface as it is, and comes out outside.

  Further, although the hollow portion is formed in an airtight manner between the light condensing projection 11 and the upper surface of the main body portion 20, a ventilation hole may be provided to improve the air permeability. In this case, the gas in the hollow portion is allowed to pass. The cooling effect can be enhanced by entering and exiting from the pores, and the temperature rise of the photoelectric conversion element can be further suppressed.

  Further, the condensing projection 11 may be formed in a solid cross section instead of a configuration in which the inside is hollow. Further, the light condensing projection 11 may be formed in an elongated needle shape, or may be formed of a fiber-like translucent member made of a soft material. Even in such a configuration, sunlight received on the outer surface of the light condensing projection 11 can be collected on the bottom surface and received by the photoelectric conversion element.

  Furthermore, you may provide the solar power generation device 1 combining the condensing protrusion 11 of a different shape or different size. Even in this case, the condensing rate can be increased by the three-dimensional condensing projection 11.

Moreover, the solar power generation device 1 includes a second reflecting plate provided substantially horizontally at the bottom, a main body 20 vertically provided at one end thereof, the other end of the second reflecting plate, and an upper end of the main body 20. And a first reflector that is inclined so as to be connected to each other, and may be configured in a substantially triangular shape when viewed from the side, and a plurality of condensing projections 11 may be densely arranged on the upper surface of the first reflector. At this time, the first reflector may be composed of Pyrex (registered trademark) glass that transmits sunlight received from above, and the second reflector may be configured of a cold mirror that reflects light received from above. Good.
When configured in this manner, the sunlight collected by the light condensing projection 11 as the first stage is reflected and condensed a plurality of times between the first reflector and the second reflector as the second stage, This condensed light can be received by the photoelectric conversion element in the main body 20. Thereby, it can condense in two steps and can further improve a condensing efficiency.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment. For example, a condensing unit in which a plurality of condensing projections 11 are integrated into a single unit is formed, and a condensing body is formed by the condensing unit. May be.

The perspective view which shows the Example of a solar power generation device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Solar power generation device 11 ... Condenser

Claims (2)

A photovoltaic power generation device having a photoelectric conversion element that generates sunlight by receiving sunlight on a light receiving surface,
Photovoltaic power generation in which a plurality of light-transmitting light-condensing projections formed in a hollow shape in a substantially conical shape, a substantially truncated cone shape, a substantially truncated pyramid shape, a substantially truncated pyramid shape, or a hemispherical shape on the light receiving surface or the light receiving surface side apparatus. A condensing body configured in a three-dimensional shape with a gradually decreasing cross-section from the base to the tip by a translucent member.

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