A solar adjustment apparatus and a method of electronically operating the same for buildings and vehicles.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and do not necessarily constitute prior art.
As our society advanced and our economy improved, the indoor living requires more than just sheltering from severe weather but more on customizing the interior comfort and convenience.
Taking indoor lighting as an example, it is usually one of the important factors that affect the indoor environment and atmosphere. Solar intensity is different at different time of the day with different angles. Excessive sun light is discomfort, especially in certain part of the rooms when direct exposure to the sun during the day. Privacy is another issue if the house openings are not covered. Therefore, most buildings or vehicles will mount shades such as curtains, to avoid from directly seeing on the doors and windows. Since sun is moving constantly, the angle of light path to each point of space is changing as well. In addition to unpredictable weather, the requirement of different degrees of shading has evolved during the time. First, the single layer and lateral slide-type operating curtain is invented. Later, double-layered curtains with different light transmitting fabrics which provide more choices of adjusting light into rooms are also created.
The movement of sun on the meridian is almost vertical to earth surface. The angle of light is changing during the day and each day is different. For interior light adjustment, it is difficult to adjusted according to the angle of sun light entering the room because movement of lateral curtain is horizontal adjusted. Traditionally, multi-curtain system with vertical movement will cause various issues such as components of curtains bump into each other, string tangles and curtain twisted. This will not only reduce durability and life span of curtains but also cause maintenance and operation issues.
Designing a solar adjustment apparatus and operating method to resolve above mentioned issues is the main subjects for the inventor of the present disclosure.
One of the purposes of the present disclosure is to provide a solar adjustment apparatus that can solve the technical problems of difficult to follow relative position of the sun and the earth to make accurate adjustments for light, and can avoid the problems such as components of multiple curtains easily collide with each other, entangle with each other, or deform and twist. Therefore, the curtains can be accurately controlled, and the lifespan and durability can be improved, to achieve the purpose of easy to operate and maintain for users.
The solar adjustment apparatus of the present disclosure includes a control circuit, two optical encoders, two driving modules, and a power circuit. The control circuit is arranged in an upper rail, and the upper rail is fixed on an upper side of a door or window of a building or vehicle. Both optical encoders and two driving modules are arranged in the upper rail and coupled to the control circuit. These two driving modules pivot two spools at the same speed. One of the two driving modules controls a height of a middle rail in vertical direction of the door or window by one of the two optical encoders and one of the two spools. The other one of the two driving modules controls a height of a lower rail in vertical direction of the door or window by the other one of the two optical encoders and the other one of the two spools. The power circuit is coupled to the control circuit and provides electricity to the two driving modules and the two optical encoders.
Each of the two optical encoders is a photo interrupter, the photo interrupter includes a light shielding disc pivoted with one of the two spools, the light shielding disc includes 32 inner perforations with equal intervals in a circle, the two driving modules are arranged in parallel on one side of the control circuit, and the two driving modules are arranged on different planes perpendicular to the ground.
Further, each of the two driving modules includes a Hall sensor, a brushless DC motor, and a deceleration box, the Hall sensor is coupled to the control circuit and the brushless DC motor, the brushless DC motor is pivotally coupled to the deceleration box and one of the two optical encoders.
Further, a shielding curtain is arranged between the upper rail and the middle rail, and one of the two driving modules controls the middle rail to control a shielding area formed by the shielding curtain on the door or window.
Further, a shielding curtain is arranged between the middle rail and the lower rail, and one of the two driving modules controls the lower rail to control a shielding area formed by the shielding curtain on the door and window.
Further, a first shielding curtain is arranged between the upper rail and the middle rail, a second shielding curtain is arranged between the middle rail and the lower rail, one of the two driving modules controls the middle rail to control a shielding area formed by the first shielding curtain on the door and window, the other one of the two driving modules controls the lower rail to control a shielding area formed by the second shielding curtain on the door and window.
Further, the upper rail is fixed on the upper side of the door or window by a plurality of locking members, the two spools are arranged in parallel in a spool box, and the two spools are arranged on different planes perpendicular to the ground.
Further, the two spools are arranged in parallel in the spool box, and the two spools are arranged on same plane parallel to the ground, the two driving modules are on the same plane parallel to the ground.
Further, the power circuit includes a mains module or a renewable energy module, the renewable energy module includes a solar cell and a secondary battery, the secondary battery receives an electrical energy through the solar cell, and outputs the electrical energy to the control circuit, and the two driving modules.
Further, the light shielding disc further includes 16 outer perforations with unequal intervals in another circle, and the 16 outer perforations surrounding outside of the 32 inner perforations.
Further, the solar adjustment apparatus includes a remote controller and a wireless port is coupled to the control circuit, the remote controller inputs a control command to the control circuit through the wireless port, the control circuit controls at least one of the two driving modules according to the control command.
Further, the solar adjustment apparatus further includes a physical control key set, a wired port, and a buzzer, the physical control key set is coupled to the control circuit, the physical control key set including a pairing key and a plurality of control keys, after the pairing key outputs a pairing command to the control circuit, the control circuit performs a wireless spectrum pairing process with the remote controller according to the pairing command within a specific time, the plurality of control keys outputs a plurality of the control commands, the wired port being a hardware port compatible with RS-485 communication protocol and Modbus standard packets, and the wired port inputs an external command to the control circuit.
The other one of the purposes of the present disclosure is to provide an operating method of a solar adjustment apparatus that can solve the technical problems of difficult to follow relative position of the sun and the earth to make accurate adjustments for light, and can avoid the problems such as components of multiple curtains easily collide with each other, entangle with each other, or deform and twist. Therefore, the curtains can be accurately controlled, and the life and durability can be improved, to achieve the purpose of easy to operate and maintain for users.
In order to achieve the other one of the purposes, an upper rail of the solar adjustment apparatus of the present disclosure is fixed on an upper side of a door or window of a building or vehicle, a middle rail and a lower rail are sequentially arranged below the upper rail and moving in vertical direction, the operating method includes steps of: When a control circuit of the solar adjustment apparatus receives an initial position setting command, a first driving module and a second driving module got into an initial position setting state, during the initial position setting state, the first driving module moves the middle rail to a first initial position according to a short press command or a long press command, the first initial position with a first initial height away from the ground, and the second driving module moves the lower rail to a second initial position according to the short press command or the long press command, the second initial position with a second initial height away from the ground. After confirming the end of the initial position setting state, when the control circuit receives a lower rail lowest limit command, the second driving module got into a lower rail lowest limit setting state, during the lower rail lowest limit setting state, the second driving module moves the lower rail to a lowest limit position of the lower rail according to the short press command or the long press command, and the lowest limit position of the lower rail with a first minimum height from the ground. After confirming the end of the initial position setting state, when the control circuit receives a middle rail lowest limit command, the first driving module got into a middle rail lowest limit setting state, during the middle rail lowest limit setting state, the first driving module moves the middle rail to a lowest limit position of the middle rail according to the short press command or the long press command, and the lowest limit position of the middle rail with a second minimum height from the ground. After confirming the end of the initial position setting state, when the control circuit receives a middle rail highest limit command, the first driving module got into a middle rail highest limit setting state, during the middle rail highest limit setting state, the first driving module moves the middle rail to a highest limit position of the middle rail according to the short press command or the long press command, and the highest limit position of the middle rail with a first maximum height from the ground. After confirming the end of the initial position setting state, when the control circuit receives a lower rail highest limit command, the second driving module got into a lower rail highest limit setting state, during the lower rail highest limit setting state, the second driving module moves the lower rail to a highest limit position of the lower rail according to the short press command or the long press command, and the highest limit position of the lower rail with a second maximum height from the ground. A speed of the middle rail moved by the first driving module is equal to a speed of the lower rail moved by the second driving module, the middle rail moves between the highest limit position of the middle rail and the lowest limit position of the middle rail, the lower rail moves between the highest limit position of the lower rail and the lowest limit position of the lower rail.
Further, the middle rail or the lower rail stops after only one inch shifting according to the short press command, or the middle rail or the lower rail performs a one-way continuous action according to the long press command until the control circuit receives a stop command.
Further, a first shielding curtain is arranged between the upper rail and the middle rail, the first driving module controls the middle rail through a first spool of a spool box and a first lifting string wound on the first spool, the first lifting string is movable through the first shielding curtain, and connected to the middle rail.
Further, a second shielding curtain is arranged between the middle rail and the lower rail, the second driving module controls the lower rail through a second spool of the spool box and a second lifting string wound on the second spool, the second lifting string is movably inserted in the first shielding curtain and the second shielding curtain, and connected to the lower rail.
Further, the solar adjustment apparatus further includes a remote controller and a wireless port coupled to the control circuit, the remote controller inputs the initial position setting command, the lower rail lowest limit command, the middle rail lowest limit command, the middle rail highest limit command, and the lower rail highest limit command to the control circuit through the wireless port.
Further, after confirming the end of the lower rail lowest limit setting state and the end of the middle rail lowest limit setting state, the lower rail and the middle rail got into a first state, a second state, a third state, a fourth state, a fifth state, a sixth state, a seventh state or an eighth state. The first state is that the middle rail goes down and the lower rail goes down in order. The second state is that the middle rail goes up and the lower rail goes up in order. The third state is that the middle rail goes down and the lower rail goes up in order. The fourth state is that the middle rail goes up and the lower rail goes down in order. The fifth state is that the middle rail goes down and the lower rail goes down simultaneously. The sixth state is that the middle rail goes up and the lower rail goes up simultaneously. The seventh state is that the middle rail goes down and the lower rail goes up simultaneously. The eighth state is that the middle rail goes up and the lower rail goes down simultaneously.
Further, the first driving module controls the middle rail by a first optical encoder and one of spools, the second driving module controls the lower rail by a second optical encoder and another one of the spools.
Further, the operating method of the solar adjustment apparatus further includes step of: When the control circuit receives a restore initial setting command, the first driving module moves the middle rail to the first initial position, the second driving module moves the lower rail to the second initial position.
Further, the operating method of the solar adjustment apparatus further includes step of: When the control circuit receives a pairing command, the control circuit performs a wireless spectrum pairing process with a remote controller according to the pairing command within a specific time.
Further, the operating method of the solar adjustment apparatus further includes step of: When the control circuit receives an additional remote controller command, the control circuit performs the wireless spectrum pairing process with another remote controller according to the adding remote controller command within the specific time.
Further, the operating method of the solar adjustment apparatus further includes step of: When the control circuit receives a clear pairing command, the control circuit clears all previous set data of the wireless spectrum pairing process.
Further, the operating method of the solar adjustment apparatus further includes step of: When the control circuit receives a favorite position setting command to move the middle rail or the lower rail to a specific height, the first driving module or the second driving module got into a favorite position setting state, during the favorite position setting state, if the control circuit determines that the specific height different from previous setting, the control circuit completes to configure a favorite position of the middle rail or the lower rail with the specific height, and ended the favorite position setting state, or if the control circuit determines that the specific height as same as the previous setting, the control circuit clears the previous setting, and end the favorite position setting state.
Further, the operating method of the solar adjustment apparatus further includes step of: If the middle rail or the lower rail close to the favorite position, when the control circuit receives a favorite position execution command, the control circuit moves the middle rail or the lower rail to the favorite position. If the middle rail or the lower rail already in the favorite position, and there are a plurality of the favorite locations, when the control circuit receives the favorite position execution command, the control circuit moves the middle rail or the lower rail to another one of the pluralities of the favorite locations. If the middle rail or the lower rail already in the favorite position, and there is only one the favorite location, when the control circuit receives the favorite position execution command, the control circuit stops the middle rail or the lower rail.
When using the solar adjustment apparatus of the present disclosure, the middle rail or the lower rail can be preset with an initial position, a highest limit position and a lowest limit position, so that the middle rail and the lower rail are electrically controlled by the first driving module and the second driving module within a safe range. The first driving module and the second driving module can precisely control the middle rail and the lower rail to reach a precise position under the control of the first optical encoder and the second optical encoder. Further, because of the speed of the middle rail moved by the first driving module is equal to the speed of the lower rail moved by the second driving module, it can avoid the collision between the middle rail and the lower rail when they move in the same or opposite direction, and simultaneously or sequentially.
For this reason, solar adjustment apparatus that can solve the technical problems of difficult to follow relative position of the sun and the earth to make accurate adjustments for light, and can avoid the problems such as components of multiple curtains easily collide with each other, entangle with each other, or deform and twist. Therefore, the curtains can be accurately controlled, and the life and durability can be improved, to achieve the purpose of easy to operate and maintain for users.
In order to further understand the techniques, means, and effects of the present disclosure for achieving the intended purpose. Please refer to the following detailed description and drawings of the present disclosure. The drawings are provided for reference and description only, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.
The embodiment of the present disclosure is described by way of specific examples, and those skilled in the art can readily appreciate the other advantages and functions of the present disclosure. The present disclosure may be embodied or applied in various other specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
It should be understood that the structures, the proportions, the sizes, the number of components, and the like in the drawings are only used to cope with the contents disclosed in the specification for understanding and reading by those skilled in the art, and it is not intended to limit the conditions that can be implemented in the present disclosure, and thus is not technically significant. Any modification of the structure, the change of the proportional relationship, or the adjustment of the size, should be within the scope of the technical contents disclosed by the present disclosure without affecting the effects and the achievable effects of the present disclosure.
The technical content and detailed description of the present disclosure will be described below in conjunction with the drawings.
Please refer to
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The second driving module 30 is coupled to the control circuit 121, and controls a shielding area formed by the second shielding curtain 200 in a building or vehicle through a second optical encoder 400. The first driving module 20 and the second driving module 30 are arranged in parallel on one side of the control circuit 121, the first driving module 20 and the second driving module 30 are on different planes perpendicular to the ground. In the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the second driving module 30 includes a Hall sensor 31 (configured in the second driving module 30), a BLDC motor 32, a deceleration box 33, and a second rotating shaft 34. The Hall sensor 31 is coupled to the control circuit 121. The BLDC motor 32 is coupled to the deceleration box 33 and the second optical encoder 400 through the second rotating shaft 34 pivotable. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a speed of a middle rail 50 moved by the first driving module 20 is equal to a speed of a lower rail 60 moved by the second driving module 30. Therefore, the middle rail 50 and the lower rail 60 can ensure that no collision between the middle rail 50 and the lower rail 60 when they move in the same or opposite direction, and simultaneously or sequentially.
The power circuit 122 is coupled to the control circuit 121, and provides electrical energy to the first driving module 20 and the second driving module 30. Further, the control circuit 121 controls the electrical energy outputted by the power circuit 122 to the BLDC motors 22, 32 according to the information of the Hall sensors 21, 31. In the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the power circuit 122 may use a mains module or a renewable energy module. If the power circuit 122 uses a renewable energy module, it may include a solar cell 80 and a secondary battery 90 (as shown in
In the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the control circuit 121, the first driving module 20, the second driving module 30, and the power circuit 122 are all accommodated in an upper rail 70. The upper rail 70 can be fixed on an upper side of the door or window of the building or vehicle by a plurality of locking members 500, as shown in
In the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the solar adjustment apparatus further includes a remote controller 600, a wireless port 123 coupled to the control circuit 121, a physical control key set 124, a wired port 125, and a buzzer 126. The remote controller 600 inputs a control command (not shown) to the control circuit 121 through the wireless port 123, so that the control circuit 121 controls at least one of the first driving module 20 and the second driving module 30 according to the control command. The wireless port 123 is compatible with RF, Wi-Fi 2.4G, Wi-Fi 5G, NFC, Bluetooth, Zigbee, IR and other communication protocols. The physical control key set 124 may include a pairing key (not shown in the figure) and a plurality of control keys (not shown in the figure). After the pairing key outputs a pairing command to the control circuit 121, the control circuit 121 may perform a wireless spectrum pairing process with the remote controller 600 according to the pairing command within a specific time. The plurality of control keys output a plurality of control commands to the control circuit 121 to control at least one of the first driving module 20 and the second driving module 30 according to the control commands. The wired port 125 may be a hardware port compatible with RS-485 communication protocol. The RS485 of the present disclosure is compatible with Modbus standard packets, and is used to input an external command to the control circuit 121. The buzzer 126 can be used for the control circuit 121 to broadcast a sound when receiving any command.
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The first optical encoder 300 is arranged on one side of the first driving module 20 and is adjacent to the deceleration box 23. The second optical encoder 400 is arranged on one side of the second driving module 30 and adjacent to the deceleration box 33. The first optical encoder 300 and the second optical encoder 400 are on the same plane perpendicular to the ground.
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The third embodiment of the present disclosure is substantially the same as the first embodiment described above, except that the first driving module 20 and the second driving module 30 are on the same plane parallel to the ground, the first spool 41 and the second spool 42 are on the same plane parallel to the ground, and the two spool boxes 40 both are arranged on same side of the circuit module 1. Further, the first driving module 20 and the second driving module 30 are sandwiched in a second housing 2 to form the driving assembly, and only a first rotating shaft 24 and a second rotating shaft 34 are pivotably protrude beyond the second housing 2.
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In the operation method of the present disclosure, after confirming the end of the lower rail lowest limit setting state and the end of the middle rail lowest limit setting state, the lower rail 60 and the middle rail 50 can sequentially move in the same or opposite direction. The lower rail 60 and the middle rail 50 can sequentially move in same direction goes up or down. The lower rail 60 and the middle rail 50 can simultaneously move in the same or opposite direction. Further, the upper rail 70 can be fixed on the upper side of the door or window of a building or vehicle by a plurality of locking members 500 (as shown in
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When using the solar adjustment device according to the present disclosure, because of the first shielding curtain 100 and the second shielding curtain 200 are arranged parallel to each other, the thickness of the first shielding curtain 100 and the second shielding curtain 200 will not increase cause by the first shielding curtain 100 and the second shielding curtain 200 overlap each other. Further, the first shielding curtain 100 has the plurality of the first air chambers 101 foldable, the second shielding curtain 200 has the plurality of the second air chambers 201 foldable. Therefore, the shielding areas of the first shielding curtain 100 and the second shielding curtain 200 respectively on buildings or vehicles can be changed by extending and collapsing their foldable air chambers. The air chamber can save the material consumption of the first shielding curtain 100 and the second shielding curtain 200, and reduce the weight of the overall apparatus. In addition, the air chambers also have a good heat insulation effect when it is extended (air is not a good conduction medium for heat energy), which can save the cost of indoor air conditioning. In addition, when using the solar adjustment apparatus of the present disclosure, the middle rail 50 or the lower rail 60 can be preset with the initial position, the highest limit position, and the lowest limit position. So that the middle rail 50 and the lower rail 60 are electrically controlled by the first driving module 20 and the second driving module 30 within a safe range. The first driving module 20 and the second driving module 30 can precisely control the middle rail 50 and the lower rail 60 to reach a precise position by the control of the first optical encoder 300 and the second optical encoder 400. Further, because of the speed of the middle rail 50 moved by the first driving module 20 is equal to the speed of the lower rail 60 moved by the second driving module 30, it can avoid the collision between the middle rail 50 and the lower rail 60 when they move in the same or opposite direction, and simultaneously or sequentially. It can avoid problems such as twisting or distortion of curtains. Further, the control circuit 121 can determine the relative position and distance of the middle rail 50 and the lower rail 60 according to the inner perforations A and the outer perforations B on the light shielding discs 301, 401. For example, the control circuit 121 can control the relative distance between the middle rail 50 and the lower rail 60 to be equal to or less than the circumferential distance corresponding to the three inner perforations A or the three outer perforations B. This is only an exemplary description, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The control circuit 121 can further control the first driving module 20 or the second driving module 30 to decelerate or stop, so that the relative distance between the middle rail 50 and the lower rail 60 can be accurately controlled by the control circuit 121, the first optical encoder 300, and the second optical encoder 400. For this reason, it can avoid the collision between the middle rail 50 and the lower rail 60 when they move in the same or opposite direction, and simultaneously or sequentially.
For this reason, solar adjustment apparatus that can solve the technical problems of difficult to follow relative position of the sun and the earth to make accurate adjustments for light, and can avoid the problems such as components of multiple curtains easily collide with each other, entangle with each other, or deform and twist. Therefore, the curtains can be accurately controlled, and the life and durability can be improved, to achieve the purpose of easy to operate and maintain for users.
The above is only a detailed description and drawings of the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, but the features of the present disclosure are not limited thereto, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. All the scope of the present disclosure shall be subject to the scope of the following claims. The embodiments of the spirit of the present disclosure and its similar variations are intended to be included in the scope of the present disclosure. Any variation or modification that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art in the field of the present disclosure can be covered by the following claims.
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