This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No.202210284192.8, filed on Mar. 22, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to the technical field of angle measurement, and in particular, to a zenith angle measuring device.
Zenith refers to a celestial point directly above the observer’s head, which is one of two points where a plumb line extends infinitely and intersects a celestial sphere. Remote sensing monitoring is a technique that uses sensors to collect data about objects or areas from a distance, such as by satellites or drones. It has important applications in various aspects such as agriculture and forestry. The solar zenith angle is an angle between an incident direction of sunlight and a zenith direction, and affects how much sunlight reaches an object or area and how it reflects back to the sensor. Changes in the solar zenith angle may cause deviations in remote sensing monitoring indicators. Therefore, measuring and correcting the solar zenith angle is essential for the accurate remote sensing monitoring. The current methods for obtaining solar zenith angle is mostly rely on GPS information and astrological knowledge, but these methods do not account for atmospheric interference that can alter solar zenith angle values from their theoretical ones. Some alternative technologies use optical sensors in combination with single chip microcomputers to measure zenith angle in situ, but this approach is costly and requires more equipment..
In view of this, the objective of the present disclosure aims to overcome the problems of the prior art, and it provides a device that can measure zenith angle easily, accurately, and cheaply.
The device for measuring zenith angle according to the present disclosure has four main components: (1) Light receiving member: This component This component including solar panels, a support frame, and a first counterweight member. Where the support frame is of a regular pyramid structure, a corresponding position of each inclined plane of the support frame is covered with the same solar panel, and the first counterweight member is connected to the support frame. (2) Light intensity processing circuits: These circuits electrically connected to the solar panels and configured to determine a rotating angle of the support frame based on intensity of light received by each solar panel. (3) Direction adjusting member: This component connected to the light intensity processing circuits electrically. It adjust angles of the support frame in vertical direction and horizontal direction, where the angle of the support frame in the vertical direction is equal to zenith angle. (4) Stability maintaining base, This component including a bracket, a first fixing member, and a second fixing member, where the first fixing member is rotatably connected to the bracket, the second fixing member is rotatably connected to the first fixing member, and the direction adjusting member is rotatably connected to the second fixing member.
Further, the direction adjusting member includes a shaft rod and a second counterweight member, where the first motor is fixed to one end of the shaft rod, and a power output shaft of the first motor is fixedly connected to the support frame and the first counterweight member; the shaft rod is fixedly connected to a turntable, and the turntable is rotatably connected to the second fixing member; and second counterweight member is fixedly connected to the second fixing member, and a second motor is fixed to the second counterweight member, and a power output shaft of the second motor is fixedly connected to the other end of the shaft rod.
Further, in any of the foregoing solutions, first shafts are connected to two opposite positions of the bracket respectively, and the two first shafts are arranged coaxially; second shafts connect to opposite positions of the first fixing member, and the two second shafts are arranged coaxially; and the first shafts and the second shafts are perpendicular to each other.
Further, in any of the foregoing solutions, the bracket includes a fixing ring and at least three legs, the first fixing member and the second fixing member are of ring structures and are concentric with the fixing ring. The legs connect evenly around the fixing ring. The second counterweight member fits inside the space formed by the fixing ring and the legs. Two first shafts are coaxial with a diameter of the fixing ring and are connected to the fixing ring respectively; and two second shafts are coaxial with a diameter of the first fixing member and are connected to the first fixing member respectively.
Further, in any of the foregoing solutions, the first motor and the second motor are electrically connected to the solar panels, respectively.
Further, in any of the foregoing solutions, diodes are arranged between the solar panels and the first motor, and between the solar panels and the second motor, respectively.
Further, in any of the foregoing solutions, a 90° protractor is fixed to the shaft rod, a pointer is fixed to the support frame, and the pointer indicates the zenith angle on the protractor.
Further, in any of the foregoing solutions, the support frame has a regular square pyramid structure with four same solar panels on each slanted side, where the difference in the intensity of light received by one group of solar panels arranged on the opposite inclined planes determines the rotating angle of the support frame in the vertical direction; and the difference in the intensity of light received by the other group of solar panels arranged on the opposite inclined planes determines the rotating angle of the support frame in the horizontal direction.
Based on the foregoing measuring device of zenith angle provided by the present disclosure: The solar panels assembled on the regular pyramid support frame receive sunlight, a deflection angle of the support frame is determined based on the difference in the intensity of light received by the solar panels on the inclined planes; The light intensity processing circuits cooperate with the direction adjusting member to adjust the support frame in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, so that the support frame always faces the sun. And the stability maintaining base maintains the direction adjusting member upright. This allows for an accurate measurement zenith angle.
The foregoing and other objectives, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Reference numerals: β - zenith angle;α - complement angle of the zenith angle; 1 -light receiving member; 11 - solar panel; 12 - support frame; 13 - first counterweight member; 2 - light intensity processing circuit; 3 - direction adjusting member; 31 - shaft rod; 32 - second counterweight member; 33 - first motor; 34 - turntable; 35 - second motor; 4 - stability maintaining base; 41 - bracket; 411 - fixing ring; 412 - leg; 42 - first fixing member; 43 - second fixing member; 44 - first shaft; 45 - second shaft; 5 - protractor; and 6 - pointer.
The present disclosure is described below based on embodiments, but the present disclosure is not only limited to these embodiments. In the following detailed description of the present disclosure, some specific details are described in detail. The present disclosure may be fully understood by those skilled in the art without the description of these detailed parts. Some well-known methods, processes, flows, elements and circuits are not described in detail to avoid confusing the substance of the present disclosure.
In addition, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the drawings provided herein are for illustrative purposes, and the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.
Unless expressly required in the context, the terms “include”, “comprise”, and other similar words should be construed as inclusive rather than exclusive or exhaustive, that is, the meaning of “including, but not limited to”.
In the description of the present disclosure, the terms “first”, “second”, and the like are merely used for descriptive purposes, but cannot be understand as indicating or implying relative importance. Moreover, in the description of the present disclosure, unless otherwise stated, “a plurality of” means two or more.
Unless otherwise specified and limited, the terms “mounted”, “connected”, “connection”, “fixed”, and the like should be understood broadly. For example, the “connection” may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integrated connection, may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection, may be a direct connection or an indirect connection by means of an intermediate medium, or may be an internal connection of two elements or an interaction between two elements. The specific meanings of the terms in the present disclosure may be understood according to specific situations by those of ordinary skill in the art.
In related technologies, when observing a celestial body through an astronomical telescope, it is necessary to locate the celestial body according to its equatorial coordinates or hour angle coordinates, so as to obtain zenith angle of the celestial body. The sun is used as an example of the celestial body.
Embodiments of the present disclosure aim to solve the problems existing in related technologies above by providing a zenith angle measuring device that has a simple structure with a wide application range without needing conversion between horizontal direction coordinate data/angle data or a vertical direction coordinate data/angle data while obtaining more accurate angle data.
In this embodiment, the light receiving member 1 may be a combination of the solar panels 11 and the support frame 12. The support frame 12 may be of a regular square pyramid structure with four identical isosceles triangular plates and a square plate or may be of a regular square pyramid frame structure. The same solar panel 11 is arranged at the corresponding position of each inclined plane of support frame 12 of the regular square pyramid. The solar panel 11 arranged on each inclined plane of the support frame 12 may be single solar panel or an array composed of two or more solar panels, which is not specifically defined in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the same solar panel 11 is arranged at the corresponding position of each inclined plane of the support frame 12, so that the corresponding position of each inclined plane can be illuminated by sunlight at the same probability, and errors in angular deflection of the support frame 12 caused by the arrangement of the support frame 12 or the solar panels 11 are avoided.
The support frame 12 is of a regular square pyramid structure, and the same solar panels 11 are arranged on the inclined planes, so that the solar panels 11 may receive the sunlight simultaneously from upper, lower, front, and rear sides. The solar panels 11 on the four inclined planes are divided into two groups: a first group comprising the solar panels 11 arranged on the opposite inclined planes; and a second group comprising the solar panels 11 arranged on the other two opposite inclined planes that are perpendicular to the first group. The difference in the intensity of light received by the first group of solar panels 11 determines the rotating angle of the support frame 12 in the vertical direction; and the difference in the intensity of light received by the second group of solar panels 11 determines the rotating angle of the support frame 12 in the horizontal direction. The light intensity processing circuits 2 convert the difference in the intensity of light received by the same group of solar panels 11 on two inclined planes into electrical signals, which controlling the direction adjusting member 3 to adjust the rotating angles of the support frame 12 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.
The angle of the support frame 12 is adjusted through the direction adjusting member 3 based on the intensity difference of the same group of solar panels 11, so that the irradiation intensity of the sunlight received by the solar panel 11 on each inclined plane is the same, and an effect that a tip of the support frame 12 faces the sun is achieved, thereby determining a solar zenith angle according to the angle of deflection of the support frame 12 in the vertical direction.
The determination of the solar zenith angle depends on the vertical direction or the horizontal direction. In this embodiment, the effect of gravity of the support frame 12 and the solar panels 11 is considered, and the first counterweight member 13 is provided to balance the gravity of the support frame 12 and the solar panels 11, so that the mass of the first counterweight member 13 is equal to that of the support frame 12 and the solar panels 11 and the distances between centers of gravity and a power output shaft of a first motor 33 are the equal which can effectively avoid deflection of the entire zenith angle measuring device due to changes in the centers of gravity when the angles of the support frame 12 and the solar panels 11 change in the vertical direction, and ensure stability of the zenith angle measuring device in this embodiment during use and accuracy of measurement of the solar zenith angle.
Further, a shape of the first counterweight member 13 in this embodiment may be a pyramid structure that is the same or similar to the support frame 12, a spherical or hemispherical structure, or another structure that can balance the gravity of the support frame 12 and the solar panels 11. Further, when a connecting rod between the support frame 12 and the first counterweight member 13 rotates to the vertical direction, the first counterweight member 13 should also be not in contact with a shaft rod 31 to prevent the shaft rod 31 from affecting the measurement of the zenith angle. Specifically, As shown in
As shown in
In a specific operation process, the bracket 41 of this embodiment is placed at a preset position. The levelness of the position is not required excessively. The position may be in a plane parallel to the horizontal plane or at an angle within a set angle range from the horizontal plane. The position may be in a plane or be a position at a height difference. This embodiment does not define the position herein. When the bracket 41 is placed at a plane parallel to the horizontal plane, the first fixing member 42 and the second fixing member 43 may be on the same plane; when the bracket 41 is placed at an uneven position or at an angle with the horizontal plane, the plane where the first fixing member 42 and the second fixing member 43 are located produces an angle deviation to maintain the light receiving member 1, the light intensity processing circuits 2, and the direction adjusting member 3 vertical, so that the solar zenith angle measured by the support frame 12 is accurate; and no manual operations are required to adjust directions of the light receiving member 1 and the direction adjusting member 3, so the structure is simple and adjustment costs of solar zenith angle measurement are reduced.
In some embodiments,
The first motor 33 is arranged at one end of the shaft rod 31 and electrically connected to the light intensity processing circuits 2. After receiving the electrical signals from the light intensity processing circuits 2, the first motor 33 controls the rotating angles of the support frame 12 and the first counterweight member 13 in the vertical direction. In this process, light intensity difference signals may be generated by the solar panels 11 on the upper and lower inclined planes of the support frame 12 due to different illumination. The second motor 35 is arranged inside the second counterweight member 32 and maintains relatively stationary with respect to the second fixing member 43. After receiving the electrical signals from the light intensity processing circuits 2, the second motor 35 may control the rotation of shaft rod 31 in the horizontal plane, so as to drive the light intensity of the solar panels 11 on the front and rear sides of the support frame 12 to tend to be the equal, and eliminate the light intensity difference between the solar panels 11 on the front and rear sides of the support frame 12. There is no light intensity difference between the solar panels 11 on the upper and lower inclined planes of the support frame 12 and the solar panels 11 on the front and rear inclined planes of the support frame 12. The solar zenith angle obtained in this status is stable and accurate.
In some embodiments, as shown in
The pointer 6 may be detachably connected to the support frame 12 and the first counterweight member 13. Specifically, the pointer 6 may be detachably connected to one of the support frame 12 and the first counterweight member 13. If the support frame 12 and the first counterweight member 13 are integrally formed, the pointer 6 may also be integrally formed with the two. The pointer 6 may alternatively be integrally formed with the support frame 12 or the first counterweight member 13. The integral connection between the pointer 6 and the support frame 12 or the first counterweight member 13, or between the pointer 6 and the support frame 12 and the first counterweight member 13, is located at the power output shaft of the first motor 33 to ensure that the rotating angle of the pointer 6 is the same as that of the support frame 12, thereby measuring an accurate solar zenith angle.
In a specific example, the support frame 12 and the first counterweight member 13 may be connected by a connecting rod, and a middle part of the connecting rod may be sleeved on the power output shaft of the first motor 33. A hole is formed at the tail end of pointer 6, and the hole connects the tail end of the pointer 6 to the connecting rod by the power output shaft of the first motor. Further, the line connecting the tip of the support frame 12 and the tail end of the pointer 6 is perpendicular to a center line of the pointer 6. In this case, the deflection angle of the pointer 6 in the vertical direction is the solar zenith angle β.
In some embodiments, the first motor 33 and the second motor 35 are electrically connected to the solar panels 11, respectively. Electrical energy generated by the solar panels 11 may be supplied to the first motor 33 and the second motor 35, so that the whole zenith angle measuring device of this embodiment does not require an external power supply, and energy consumption is reduced. In some embodiments, diodes (not shown) are arranged between the solar panels 11 and the first motor 33, and between the solar panels 11 and the second motor 35 respectively to maintain circuit stability, avoid damage of excessive current to the solar panels, the first motor 33, and the second motor 35, ensure overall structural safety, and isolate each solar panel 11 from each other.
Further, with continued reference to
In an example, the first shafts 44 may be fixedly connected to the bracket 41, and the first fixing member 42 may be rotatably connected to the first shafts 44. In another example, the first shafts 44 may be fixedly connected to the first fixing member 42, hemispherical grooves are provided at opposite positions of the bracket 41, and the first fixing member 42 is rotatably connected to the bracket 41 through the first shafts 44. The first fixing member 42 and the bracket 41 may also be rotatably connected by other means, which is not limited in this embodiment. Specific implementations of the above rotatable connection are also applicable to the first fixing member 42 and the second fixing member 43, which is not repeated in this embodiment, but does not affect the understanding of those skilled in the art.
Specifically,
In this embodiment, the bracket 41 may be of a hollow round table structure, or a combined structure of the legs 412 and the fixing ring 411. In this embodiment, the at least three legs 412 are provided to support the zenith angle measuring device of this embodiment, provide an accommodating space for the second counterweight member 35, and provide an activity space for rotation of the first fixing member 42 and the second fixing member 43. In addition, the at least three legs 412 may be suitable for various placement positions, have a wider scope of application than a closed ring structure and a circular plate structure, are easier to fix, and facilitate an operation.
The above description is only the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and various modifications and changes may be made in the present disclosure for those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, and the like made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure should fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202210284192.8 | Mar 2022 | CN | national |