JPS6240874B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a power supply device that converts sunlight into electrical energy using a photoelectric conversion element, as a power source for an artificial satellite flying in outer space.

The above power supply device is often used because sunlight energy obtained in outer space is the only natural energy that can be used by artificial satellites. There is also a concept for a solar power generation satellite that focuses on the constancy of sunlight in outer space. This is an attempt to convert sunlight into electricity in space and transmit it to Earth using microwaves, and it is necessary to use the above power supply device here as well.

First, a conventional power supply device will be briefly explained.
Figure 1 shows the configuration of a conventional device of this type.
In the figure, 1 is sunlight, 2 is a solar cell array in which photoelectric conversion elements that convert sunlight 1 into electricity are arranged,
3 is a solar cell panel that supports this solar cell array 2; 4 is a wire that transmits the electric power generated in the solar cell array 2; 5 is a wire that is used when the solar cell panel 3 rotates following the direction of the sun. 4
A slip ring 7 has a sliding structure so that power is connected to the power controller 6 even when the power controller is rotating. Reference numeral 7 is a bus line that supplies power adjusted by the power controller to the user unit 8.

In such a configuration, when sunlight 1 is input to the solar cell array 2, photoelectric conversion is performed here to generate electric power. On the other hand, the solar cell panel 3 is constantly rotated and directed in a direction in which sunlight 1 is perpendicularly incident.

Now, the above power is wire 4 and slip ring 5
is led to the power controller 6 through the. Then, the power controller 6 stabilizes the voltage and distributes the power, and the required power is supplied to the unit 8.

In this way, the conventional power supply device has a configuration in which the solar cell array 2 is directly exposed to space, receives sunlight 1, converts it into electricity to obtain electric power, and transmits this electric power to the inside of the artificial satellite through wires. The required power can be stably supplied.

However, in such a conventional power supply device, since the solar cell array 2 is exposed to outer space, the photoelectric conversion ability deteriorates due to collisions with cosmic rays, thereby limiting the lifespan.

Furthermore, since the power generated by the solar cell array 2 is electrically transmitted through the wires 4, there is resistance loss in the wires 4, resulting in poor efficiency when transmitting large amounts of power.

Furthermore, when trying to replace the wiring inside an artificial satellite with fiber cables to improve electromagnetic interference and transmission characteristics, fiber cables must also be used for power transmission, but power is transmitted using the wire 4 mentioned above. It would be inconvenient to do so. Furthermore, the temperature of the solar cell array changes significantly (approximately -100° C. to +100° C.), causing problems such as a decrease in output at high temperatures and destruction due to mechanical stress.

This invention improves the problems of conventional power supply devices, enables high-efficiency power transmission, eliminates electromagnetic interference by transmitting power using fiber cables, and improves efficiency by controlling the temperature of photoelectric conversion elements. This invention provides a power supply device that protects the photoelectric conversion element from radiation and extends its lifespan, and will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

2 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the invention, FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a condensing panel, and FIG.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a light condensing element, FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a slip ring, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing photoelectric conversion characteristics of a photoelectric conversion element array. In the figure, 1, 4, 6, 7,
8 is the same as in FIG. 5 is a slip ring for transmitting the sunlight 1; 9 is a condensing element array in which condensing elements 15 for concentrating the sunlight 1 are arranged in a condensing panel 10; and 11 is connected to the condensing element array 9. , a fiber cable that transmits the sunlight 1 collected by the condensing element array 9; 12 is a photoelectric conversion device that photoelectrically converts the sunlight 1 transmitted through the fiber cable 11 to extract electric power;
13 is a heat transfer mechanism (such as a heat pipe) that is attached to the photoelectric conversion device 12 and transmits the heat generated from the photoconversion device 12, and 14 is a heat dissipation mechanism (such as a heat pipe) that dissipates the heat transferred by the heat transfer mechanism 13. 15 is a condensing element that condenses the sunlight 1, 16 is a holding mechanism that arranges and holds a plurality of condensing elements 15, and 17 is a component constituting the condensing element 15. , 18 is this lens 1, which is made of a band-shaped plate made of a thin fiberglass plate coated with a metal film and molded into a rectangular spiral shape.
A fiber array 19 is placed near the focal point of the lens 17 and receives the sunlight 1 focused by a lens 17, and a fiber array 19 holds the lens 17 and the fiber array.
A substrate made of FRP, 20 is a fiber array ring connected to the fiber cable 11, 21 is a space formed in a portion where this fiber array ring 20 faces, and 22 is attached to the light condensing panel 10 and rotates together with it. A rotor, 23 a stator that accommodates and fixes the fiber cable 11 and the fiber array ring 20, 24 a bearing that is fitted between the rotor 22 and the stator 23 to smooth rotation, and 25 the above-mentioned A lens 26 is attached to the connecting portion between the fiber cable 11 and the photoelectric conversion device 12 and sets the sunlight transmitted from the fiber cable 11 to a predetermined beam width, and a lens 26 reflects the sunlight 1 diffused by the lens 25. A reflecting mirror attached to the inner surface of the hollow container 27 to
Reference numeral 8 denotes a photoelectric conversion element array (for example, a gallium arsenide photoelectric conversion element array) attached to the inner surface of the hollow container 27. In FIG. 7, V is the generated voltage,
I is the generated current, CI is the output characteristic of the conventional solar cell array 2 (hereinafter referred to as the VI characteristic), C2 is the VI characteristic of the photoelectric conversion element array 29, and P1 is the operation of the solar cell array 2. Point P2 is the operating point of the photoelectric conversion element array, V ₀ is the open circuit voltage, and I ₀ is the short circuit current.

Next, the operation of this invention will be explained. When sunlight 1 enters the condensing element array 9, it enters the lens 17 while being subjected to multiple reflections, and the fiber array 18
This concentrated sunlight 1 focuses on the aperture surface of the fiber cable 11 held on the substrate 19.
transmitted through.

In FIG. 3, a large number of condensing elements 15 are attached to a holding mechanism 16 and arranged in a planar manner to constitute a condensing element array 9, so that all the sunlight 1 incident on this surface is condensed. It can be collected and transmitted on the fiber cable 11.

The light condensing element 15 is resistant to heat and mechanical shock, and is essentially free from radiation deterioration.

Now, the sunlight 1 transmitted through the fiber cable 11 reaches the slip ring 5 and the rotor 22
is guided to the fiber array ring 20 housed in the fiber array ring 20. This is a ring-shaped arrangement of fibers, which are the constituent elements of a fiber cable, and is arranged with a space 21 in between a similar fiber array ring 20 housed in an opposing stator 23.

When the rotor 22 rotates with the rotation of the condensing panel 10, the fiber array ring 20 also rotates as the rotor 22 rotates.
However, sunlight 1 can be transmitted to the fiber array ring 20 in the stator 23 via the space 21 .

Here, the reason why the fiber cable 11 is converted to the fiber array ring 20 is to improve transmission efficiency, and to prevent polarization coupling loss and scattering loss due to rotation of the fiber cable 11.

Now, the sunlight 1 that has passed through the slip ring 5 is
Photoelectric conversion device 12 through fiber cable 11
guided by.

The sunlight 1 is emitted from the end face of the fiber cable 11 and is diffused by a lens 25 with a predetermined beam width. The sunlight then enters the reflecting mirror 26, where the reflecting mirror 26 reflects the incident sunlight 1 so as to diffuse it throughout the interior of the hollow container 27. This reflected sunlight 1 enters a photoelectric conversion element array 28 pasted inside the hollow container 27, where it is photoelectrically converted to obtain electric power. This power is input by wire 4 to power controller 6 . The following operations are the same as in FIG.

Next, heat is generated in the photoelectric conversion device 12, and the heat is collected by attaching the heat transfer mechanism 13 to the photoelectric conversion device, and this heat is transferred to the heat dissipation mechanism 14.
The temperature of the photoelectric conversion device 12 is kept constant by dissipating the heat from the heat dissipation mechanism 14.

Next, the sunlight 1 input to the photoelectric conversion device 12 has high energy, and has an intensity several tens to hundreds of times higher than that of the sunlight 1 that enters the conventional solar cell array 2.

When sunlight that has accumulated energy in this way is incident on a conventional photoelectric conversion element made of silicon (Si), its temperature increases and its efficiency decreases, increasing in proportion to the intensity of the incident sunlight. It's not a thing. However, if a recently developed photoelectric conversion element made of gallium arsenide (GaAs) is used, the output increases in proportion to the tens of times more sunlight incident.

Figure 7 shows this situation. Conventionally, it was operated at _one point P on the V-I characteristic C1, but now it can be operated at _two points P on _C2 , and the power is tens of times higher than before. can be taken out. This means that in order to obtain the same amount of power, only a few tenths of the area of the light concentrating panel 10 is required as compared to the conventional solar cell array 2. You can get twice as much power.

What makes this possible is the photoelectric conversion device 1
2 to be kept constant by the action of the heat transfer mechanism 13 and the heat radiation mechanism 14 (the highest efficiency is obtained around 20°C), and to transmit power in the form of light using the fiber cable 11 to prevent loss. It is.

Furthermore, since the hollow container 27 of the photoelectric conversion device 12 shields cosmic rays, the photoelectric conversion element array 28 is prevented from being degraded by cosmic rays, and the conversion efficiency is maintained unchanged over a long period of time.

With this configuration, the photoelectric conversion element is not exposed to space like in the past, preventing cosmic ray deterioration, extending the life of the photoelectric conversion element, and transmitting concentrated sunlight using a fiber cable. Because of the transmission, energy loss can be prevented, and the temperature of the photoelectric conversion element can be optimally controlled, resulting in the advantage of being able to obtain a large amount of power with a compact configuration and providing a long-life power supply device.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 8 to 11. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a light controller, FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a unit, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a relationship diagram between wavelength and output. In the figure, 1, 5, 9, 10, 11
is the same as in FIG. 2, 8 is a unit that is equipped with a photoelectric conversion element array 28, a lens 30, and a diffraction reflection plate 35 as a photoelectric conversion mechanism, and 29 is a unit that is transmitted from the above-mentioned condensing element array 9 via the fiber cable 11. a light control mechanism for distributing the coming sunlight 1, adjusting the intensity, and further processing the surplus sunlight 1;
0 is a lens that converts the sunlight 1 sent out from the fiber cable 11 into parallel light beams, 31 is a half mirror that distributes the sunlight 1, and 32 is a lens that converts the intensity of the sunlight 1 distributed by the half mirror 31. A power adjuster with a half mirror attached to a rotation mechanism for adjustment, 33 is the power adjuster 31 mentioned above.
A concave reflecting mirror 34 collects the sunlight 1 reflected by the concave reflecting mirror 33, receives the sunlight 1 focused by the concave reflecting mirror 33, converts it into heat and electricity, and processes the surplus sunlight 1. Optical shunt, 35 is a diffraction reflection plate made of a ceramic plate with Echeiette grating having selective reflection characteristics and metal coating, 36 is a DC/DC converter 37 that produces the internal power supply for unit 8.
This is the board that holds the.

In Figure 11, W is the wavelength of light, P is sunlight 1
intensity, E is the output of the photoelectric conversion element array 28, C
3 is the intensity of sunlight 1, E is the photoelectric conversion element array 2
8 output, C3 is the spectrum of sunlight 1, C4
is the output characteristic of the photoelectric conversion element array 28.

Next, the operation of another embodiment of the present invention will be explained.
The process until the sunlight 1 is introduced into the light control mechanism 29 through the fiber cable 11 is the same as the description of the previous embodiment. In the light control mechanism 29, the sunlight 1 guided through the fiber cable 11 is transferred to the lens 30.
Convert to parallel rays by . and unit 8
Half mirror 3 to distribute the sunlight 1 to
1, the sunlight 1 is distributed at a predetermined ratio. This distributed sunlight 1 travels straight and reaches the power regulator 32. Here, in order to keep the intensity of the sunlight 1 distributed to each unit 8 constant, the power regulator 32 is rotated to reflect excess sunlight 1. This reflected sunlight 1 is collected by a concave reflecting mirror 33 and enters a light shunt 34. The optical shunt 34 can effectively use the excess sunlight 1 by converting it into heat or electric power, dissipating it into outer space, or accumulating it.

On the other hand, sunlight 1 to which the power regulator 32 is applied
The light further travels straight, is focused by the lens 30, and enters the fiber 11, which is the user's unit 8.
transmitted to.

The sunlight 1 input to the unit 8 is converted into parallel light by the lens 30 and enters the diffraction reflection plate 35. Since this diffraction reflector plate 35 is inclined with respect to the direction in which the sunlight 1 travels, the sunlight 1 incident thereon is reflected and changes its path so that it enters the photoelectric conversion element array 28 perpendicularly.

At this time, the diffraction reflection plate has the effect of selectively reflecting light of a specific wavelength among the various wavelengths of light contained in the sunlight 1, and selectively reflects light in the vicinity of the wavelength that gives the maximum value of C4. Wavelengths in the infrared region are not reflected but absorbed. Therefore C
By allowing only the active component of the intensity of sunlight 1 shown by 3 to enter the photoelectric conversion element array 28, and by absorbing the infrared region and taking it out as heat, it is possible to suppress the heat generation of the photoelectric conversion element array 28. .

Now, the power obtained by the photoelectric conversion element 28 is transmitted to the DC/DC converter 37 through the wire 4. Here, the voltage is adjusted and stabilized to a predetermined value, and power is then supplied to electronic circuits and the like.

With this configuration, power can be supplied using the fiber cable 11, and even if the optical control mechanism 29 and the unit 8 are separated by a long distance, good power can be supplied with little loss and without electromagnetic interference. can do. Moreover, since the conventional power transmission method using the wire 4 can be completely replaced with the fiber cable 11, there is an advantage that a power supply device having a simple structure and light weight can be provided.

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a power supply device that generates a large amount of electric power, has a long life, has a simple structure, and is small and lightweight.

In one embodiment, the photoelectric conversion device 12 has a spherical shape, but it is also possible to use a rectangular parallelepiped, triangular pyramid, conical shape, etc.
There is also a modification in which the heat transfer mechanism 13 is branched to the unit 8 and the temperature of the unit is controlled.

In addition, although each component is shown separately in the embodiment, it is possible to combine several components into one and provide the unique functions of each component. Various modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 shows the configuration of a conventional power supply device, Figure 2 shows the configuration of a conventional power supply device.
The figure is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a condensing panel, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a condensing element, FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a slip ring, and FIG. 6 7 is a block diagram of the photoelectric conversion device, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the photoelectric conversion characteristics of the photoelectric conversion element array, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the photoelectric conversion characteristics of the photoelectric conversion element array.
The figure is a block diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of the light control mechanism, FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of the unit, and FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the wavelength of sunlight in the photoelectric conversion element array. It is a relationship diagram of output. In the figure, 1 is sunlight, 2 is a solar cell array, 3 is a solar cell panel, 4 is a wire, 5 is a slip ring, 6 is a power controller, 7 is a bus line, 8 is a unit, and 9 is a condensing element array , 10 is a light collecting panel,
11 is a fiber cable, 12 is a photoelectric conversion device,
13 is a heat transfer mechanism, 14 is a heat radiation mechanism, 15 is a condensing element, 16 is a holding mechanism, 17 is a lens, 18 is a fiber array, 19 is a substrate, 20 is a fiber array ring, 21 is a space, 22 is a rotor, 23 is a stator, 24 is a bearing, 25 is a lens, 26 is a reflector, 27 is a hollow container, 28 is a photoelectric conversion element array, 29 is a light controller mechanism, 30 is a lens, 31 is a half mirror, 32 is a power adjustment 33 is a concave reflector, 34 is a light shunt, 35 is a diffraction reflector,
36 is a board, and 37 is a DC/DC converter.
In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A power supply device that converts sunlight into electric power by making sunlight enter a photoelectric conversion element, comprising: a lens that focuses the sunlight; and a lens that collects the sunlight that is focused by the lens. A light collecting panel having a light collecting element configured with a fiber array for receiving light, a fiber cable connected to the light collecting panel and transmitting the sunlight collected by the light collecting element, and this fiber cable. A hollow container connected to a cable, a lens attached near a connection between the hollow container and the fiber cable to diffuse the sunlight, and a lens attached inside the hollow container to diffuse the sunlight diffused by the lens. a reflecting mirror that reflects and projects the sunlight into the interior of the hollow container; a photoelectric conversion element array that is attached to the inner surface of the hollow container that receives the sunlight reflected by the reflecting mirror and performs photoelectric conversion; a wire that outputs power obtained from the photoelectric conversion element array to the outside of the hollow container; a heat transfer mechanism that is attached to the hollow container and that collects and transfers heat generated in the photoelectric conversion element array;
A power supply device comprising: a heat dissipation mechanism connected to the heat transfer mechanism and dissipating the heat. 2. A power supply device that converts sunlight into electric power by inputting sunlight into a photoelectric conversion element, which includes a lens that focuses the sunlight, and a fiber array that receives the sunlight focused by the lens. a light-concentrating panel in which the configured light-concentrating elements are arranged; a fiber cable connected to the light-concentrating panel and transmitting the sunlight collected by the light-concentrating element; A light control mechanism that distributes and adjusts the intensity of light; a fiber cable that connects the light control mechanism and the unit; and a fiber cable that is attached to the connection between the fiber cable and the unit and adjusts the sunlight into parallel light beams. a lens, and the lens is installed obliquely with respect to the traveling direction of the sunlight emitted from the lens,
It includes a diffractive reflector that selectively reflects the sunlight, and a photoelectric conversion element array that is installed perpendicular to the traveling direction of the sunlight reflected by the diffractive reflector and that receives and photoelectrically converts the sunlight. , a power supply device characterized in that power is obtained from this photoelectric conversion element array.