The sun moves at about 15° per hour along its path across the sky, causing a rather fast projection to the horizon, depends on the observer's latitude and the time of year. As a result, fixed shading structures (such as umbrellas or pergolas) typically fail to provide a consistent shade during the entire day.
In one aspect, the present invention provides an embodiment that calculates sun azimuth and elevation coordinates to automatically adjust the position of a motorized canopy to provide a consistent and fixed shade on a desired location. This eliminates the need to manually displace umbrella or to move furniture in order to stay in shade during the day.
In other embodiments, even if it is left unattended, the sun-tracking canopy of the present invention provides an autonomous shade over the entire year, protecting outdoor furniture against harmful UV radiation, rain, and snow.
The embodiments of the present invention also provide a low-cost and elegant solution to many applications, including personal use (such as backyard setting, picnic and camping setting) or several commercial use (such as hotels, resorts, outdoor pool settings, restaurants and coffee shops with outdoor tables, and beach setting).
In other embodiments, the present invention relates to the use of a canopy attached to motorized platforms controlled by a microcontroller or processor (e.g., Raspberry Pi or Arduino) to provide a non-moving and static shade for consistent sun protection over specified area.
In other embodiments, the microcontroller or processor uses the captured image from a camera to identify the location of the shade and position the canopy in real time for more accurate shade control without the need for computing the sun coordinates.
In other aspects, the embodiments of the present invention also use a motorized canopy to automatically manage multiple designated areas for various conditions.
In other embodiments, the present invention provides automatic protection to areas during rain or snow using a rain sensor.
In other aspects, the sensor may be illuminated at night using attached light-weight LEDs which may be located under the canopy.
In other aspects, the present invention provides on-demand protection to any outdoor area by remote communication with a microcontroller or processor.
In other aspects, the present invention provides a sun tracking canopy structure, comprising: a canopy that is positioned by 3 or more cables attached to motorized platforms; a that calculates solar elevation and azimuth based on the latitude and longitude coordinates of the site to compute the canopy location and gives commands to the motorized platforms to maintain a fixed shade location on the designated areas.
In other embodiments, the present invention provides a sun tracking canopy structure wherein the number of motorized platforms depends on the number of corners of the canopy.
In other embodiments, the present invention provides a sun tracking canopy structure wherein the motorized platforms are mounted on dedicated poles or attached to a building structure or combination of both.
In other embodiments, the present invention provides a sun tracking canopy structure wherein the canopy is attached to the platforms by cables that are attached to self-limiting springs that are mounted to the canopy to dampen out weather effects and/or positioning errors.
In other embodiments, the present invention provides a sun tracking canopy structure wherein a rain sensor is connected to the microcontroller or processor to detect rain falls.
In other embodiments, the present invention provides a sun tracking canopy structure wherein the motorized platforms are placed at different elevations to provide enough slope to prevent standing water on the surface of a canopy.
In other embodiments, the present invention provides a sun tracking canopy structure wherein the microcontroller or processor reads the rain sensor and if rain is detected, it immediately moves the canopy over the designated area to protect it from the rain or snow.
In other embodiments, the present invention provides a sun tracking canopy structure wherein the canopy provides lighting on any desired area during the night, using light-weight LEDs attached under the canopy.
In other embodiments, the present invention provides a sun tracking canopy structure, wherein the is accessed remotely, for example by a phone app over Wi-Fi, to control the canopy location and/or set multiple designated areas for desired shades at any time on demand.
In other embodiments, the present invention provides a sun tracking canopy structure wherein a GPS chip is connected to the microcontroller or processor, to provide local time and the latitude and longitude of the location directly to the microcontroller or processor.
In other embodiments, the present invention provides a sun tracking canopy structure wherein the low-voltage power supply for the LEDs is delivered through the holding cables attached to the canopy.
In other embodiments, the present invention provides a sun tracking canopy structure wherein the microcontroller or processor uses an image captured from a camera to identify the location of the shade and position the canopy in real time for more accurate shade control without the need for computing the sun coordinates.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numerals may describe substantially similar components throughout the several views. Like numerals having different letter suffixes may represent different instances of substantially similar components. The drawings illustrate generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, a detailed description of certain embodiments discussed in the present document.
Detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed method, structure, or system. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting, but rather to provide an understandable description of the invention.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in accompanying drawings. The numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations, and the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported are precisely as possible. Any numerical value, however, inherently contains certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.
The following embodiments are described for illustration purpose only with reference to the Figures. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the following description is exemplary in nature, and that various modifications to the parameters set forth herein could be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as examples only. The various embodiments are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as some embodiments can be combined one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments.
A block diagram of the invented sun-tracking canopy is illustrated in
The motorized canopy is manipulated by a microcontroller or processor 151 in order to maintain a fixed shade area 141 on a designated area. A rain sensor 161 is used to automatically position the canopy on a specified area during rain or snow falls.
After positioning the canopy on a desired location, the microcontroller or processor continues adjusting the canopy's position in real time, by computing the sun azimuth and elevation coordinates in a regular basis, for example once every 10 minutes. Several resources are readily available to calculate the sun coordinates as a function of the latitude and longitude of the site, day of year, and time that can be used in the presented invention. For example, solar position calculations is available at the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratories (ESRL), located at the David Skaggs Research Center in Boulder, Colo. (https://www.esrl.noaa.gov). The detail calculations can be found at https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/grad/solcalc/solareqns.PDF.
The microcontroller or processor uses the change in sun coordinates, to compute the change in canopy's position. Appropriate commands are sent to the motorized platform to move the canopy to adjust its position.
As shown in
The canopy is attached to the platforms by steel cables that are attached to self-limiting springs 171A-171D, as shown in
As shown in
Excess cable 765 is dropped through opening 750 in the platform plate 755 into a container 760 such as a PVC pipe where it self-winds. The cable spool is driven by a worm drive motor 770. The worm drive motor may be further designed to maintain tension on the cable without being powered. The platform is covered by a weatherproof cover 790.
The maximum length of the cables is calculated using the locations of the motorized platforms and the size of the canopy under extreme locations, for example as shown in
For the same setting, as illustrated in
As a practical example, for an observer located in Albuquerque, N. Mex., USA (latitude=35°,5′,0″ and longitude=106°,39′,0″), at 2:00 PM local time on May 1, 2020, the sun azimuth and elevation are computed as 216.26° and 66.61°, respectively.
After 15 minutes, at 2:15 PM, the sun azimuth and elevation will change to 223.61° and 64.64°, respectively. As a result, during the 15 minutes, the shade of a canopy placed 10′ above ground moves 0.48″ toward South and 8.28″ toward East.
Therefore, the motorized platforms of this invention move the canopy 0.48″ toward North and 8.28″ toward West to maintain the shade at the same location it was at 2:00 PM.
In other embodiments, a GPS chip can also be used to provide local time and the latitude and longitude of the location directly to the microcontroller or processor, eliminating the need for the user to provide any information during installation.
The presented invention provides valuable opportunities to move the motorized canopy over multiple designated areas stored in the microcontroller or processor or on demand. As shown in
For example, the microcontroller or processor can use a rain sensor to immediately and automatically move the motorized canopy over designated area 1. In addition, as shown in
Worm drive motor 770 is used to hold the cable at a set location without keeping power on the motor. However, when the canopy whipped around in high wind conditions, worm drive motor 770 would fail. To remedy this situation, brake assembly 1300 is provided. Assembly 1300 consist of brake rotor 1310, brake disc 1320, tension idler bearing 1330, linear actuator 1340 and brake cable 1350. Also provided are control electronics 1360 which operates the assembly. Control electronics 1360 is configured to apply the brake to keep the cable spool stationary when the canopy is not being adjusted.
It was also found the cable going down into container 760 may not be heavy enough to keep tension on cable spool 730. Not having enough tension on the cable spool causes the cable to slip and the cable tangles up in the spool. A solution to this is to control the tension on the cable as it is played in or out. To do this, as shown in
As shown in
Also shown in
The front set of U bearings allows the cable to play out if necessary, at nearly 90-degree angles from the pole. When the poles are set in place each one is aligned to the canopy starting location. The second set ensures the cable is aligned to the spool no matter the position of the cable on the front set of U bearings.
In a preferred use, cable is wrapped three times around the cable spool. Two wraps and the cable will slip on the spool under tension. Four wraps and the cable will not slip over on the spool shoulder to allow the incoming cable to wind properly. As shown in
A double stranded corner may be comprised of cables 1611, 1615 and corner 1610. Cables 1611-1615 are used to position canopy 1605 when the canopy is in Zone 1.
As shown in
In other embodiments, the microcontroller or processor uses the captured image from a camera to identify the location of the shade. With this information, the canopy may be positioned by the processor to shade a predetermined area.
In use, based on the embodiments described above, a processor calculates a first solar elevation and azimuth based on the latitude and longitude coordinates of the structure at a first period of time. Then, later in time, or at predetermined intervals, the processor calculates a second solar elevation and azimuth based on the latitude and longitude coordinates of the structure at a second period of time. The second solar elevation and azimuth is different than the first calculated solar elevation and azimuth as a result of the movement of the sun.
The processor uses the first calculated solar elevation and azimuth and the second calculated solar elevation and azimuth to position the canopy in a location to shade the same predetermined area. This allows, for example, a table to remain in a shaded area throughout a given time period.
As also described above, positioning of the canopy is performed by having the processor work in conjunction with each motorized platform, to change a cable length, which may be the distance between the motorized platform and the canopy. During the course of positioning the canopy overtime, the length of each cable attached to the canopy will change.
While the foregoing written description enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The disclosure should therefore not be limited by the above-described embodiments, methods, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the disclosure.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/023,455, filed on May 12, 2020, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63023455 | May 2020 | US |