RELATED APPLICATION

Benefit is claimed to India Provisional Application No. /CHE/2010, entitled "COMPACT SOLAR POWERED LIGHTING UNIT HAVING AN INTELLIGENT SOLAR PANEL PROTECTION UNIT" filed by G. B. S. Bindra et. Al on March 26, 2010, which is herein incorporated in its entirety by reference for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of solar lighting system, and more particularly relates to compact solar lighting unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Solar power, the generation of electrical energy from sunlight, has become one of the most popular forms of green technologies. In recent years, solar installations have begun to expand into residential areas, with governments offering incentive programs to make green energy a more economically viable option. Solar power is a predictably intermittent energy source, meaning that while solar power is not available at all times.

Various types of solar lamps are made available and used to lighten streets, houses, traffic signals. However, the solar panels used in these lamps are susceptible to damage from various factors such as rain, snow, fog, wind, and so on. In some parts of the country, hail storms can do great damage due to the impact of ice particles, which can achieve considerable velocity. When damaged, solar panels produce less power, which can cost the owner to fix and replace.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a compact solar lighting unit with a solar panel protection unit. In one aspect, a compact solar lighting unit includes a solar panel having one or more solar cells operable for generating electrical energy from an energy of sunlight, and an energy storage unit electrically coupled to the at least one solar panel for storing the electrical energy generated by the at least one solar panel. The lighting unit also includes a lamp for providing light source using the electrical energy stored in the energy storage unit. Further, the lighting unit includes a solar panel protection unit comprising a solar panel protection sheet for covering the at least one solar panel through deploying the solar panel protection sheet.

The solar panel protection unit includes one or more sensors for sensing one or more environment conditions that can damage the at least one solar panel. The solar panel protection unit further includes a processor coupled to the one or more sensors for receiving signals from the one or more sensors when at least one of the one or more environment conditions is sensed, a motor operatively coupled to the processor, and a spool operatively coupled to the motor and carrying the solar panel protection sheet, where the processor actuates the motor based on the sensed signals to cause the solar panel protection sheet to cover or uncover the at least one solar panel via operation of the spool.

Additionally, the solar panel protection unit includes a memory coupled to the processor and configured to temporarily store instructions, that when executed by the processor, cause the processor to deploy or retract the solar panel protection sheet by actuating the motor based on the sensed signals.

Other features of the embodiments will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a compact solar lighting unit with a solar panel protection unit, according to one embodiment.

Figure 2 illustrates a block diagram of various components of the solar panel protection unit, according to one embodiment.

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides compact solar lighting unit. In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.

Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a compact solar lighting unit 100 with a solar panel protection unit 108, according to one embodiment. The compact solar lighting unit 100 includes a solar panel 102, an energy storage unit 104, a lamp 106, and a solar panel protection unit 108.

The solar panel 102 includes solar cells operable for generating electrical energy from energy of sunlight when exposed to sunlight. The energy storage unit 104 may be a rechargeable battery electrically coupled to the solar panel 102 for storing the electrical energy generated by the solar panel 102. The lamp 106 may be a light emitting diode (LED) lamp connected to the energy storage unit 104 for providing a light source when desired using the electrical energy stored in the energy storage unit 104. The solar panel protection unit 108 is a device that protects the solar panel 102 from damage due to environmental conditions such as rainfall, snowfall, hail, fog, darkness, wind, moisture and so on by covering the solar panel using a solar
panel protection sheet 110. The various components of the solar panel protection unit 108 are illustrated in Figure 2.

With reference to Figure 2, the solar panel protection unit 108 includes various sensors 202A-N (e.g., rainfall sensor, wind sensor, light sensor, snowfall sensor, moisture sensor, and so on), a processor 204A-N, a memory 206, a motor 208, and a spool 210 from storing the solar panel protection sheet 110.

In one embodiment, sensors 202A-N senses environment conditions that can damage the solar panel 102. The processor 204 coupled to the sensors 202A-N receives signals from the sensors 202A-N when an environment condition that can cause damage to the solar panel 102 is sensed. Accordingly, the processor 204 actuates the motor 208 based on the sensed signals. Actuation of the motor 208 results in rotation of the spool 210 such that the solar panel protection sheet 110 is deployed to cover the solar panel 102. Alternatively, when the solar panel 102 has to be exposed to sunlight, the processor 204 may actuate the motor 208 in a reverse direction such that the solar panel protection sheet 110 is retarded into the spool 210 to uncover the solar panel 102. For example, during night time, the light sensor gives input to the processor 204 and with the motor 208, the processor 204 rolls out the solar panel protection sheet 110 so that the solar panel is protected and not exposed to external sources. During day time, a light sensor may detect that there is enough light available so that the solar panel can exposed to sunlight.

The operation of the processor 204 may be based on machine-readable instructions to actuate the motor 208 based on the sensed signals. For example, the memory 206 coupled to the processor 204 is configured to store the instructions, that when executed by the processor 204, cause the processor 204 to deploy or retract the solar panel protection sheet 110 by actuating the motor 208 based on the sensed signals.

The solar panel protection unit 102 may also deploy or retard the solar panel protection sheet 110 based on percentage of stored electrical energy remaining in the energy storage unit 104. Accordingly, the solar panel protection unit 108 includes a charge sensing unit 212 coupled to the energy storage unit 104 for sensing percentage of the stored electrical energy remaining in the energy storage unit 104. So, when the percentage of the stored electrical energy remaining in the energy storage unit 104 falls below a threshold value, the processor 204 to retracts the solar panel protection sheet 110 by actuating the motor 208 to expose the solar panel 102 to sunlight for generating electrical energy.

Also, the solar panel protection unit 108 can analyse the usage of electrical energy from the energy storage unit 104 by the lamp 106 using the processor 204 and decide the duration for which the solar panel 102 can be exposed to sunlight to recharge the energy storage unit 104. The compact solar lighting unit 100 is easy to carry and install and life of the solar panel 102 increases as it is protected from sources that the could damage the solar panel 102.

The present embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments. Furthermore, the various devices, modules, selectors, estimators, and the like described herein may be enabled and operated using hardware circuitry, for example, complementary metal oxide semiconductor based logic circuitry, firmware, software and/or any combination of hardware, firmware, and/or software embodied in a machine readable medium. For example, the various electrical structure and methods may be embodied using transistors, logic gates, and electrical circuits, such as application specific integrated circuit.

We Claim:

1. A compact solar lighting unit comprising:

at least one solar panel comprising one or more solar cells operable for generating electrical energy from an energy of sunlight;

an energy storage unit electrically coupled to the at least one solar panel for storing the electrical energy generated by the at least one solar panel;

a lamp for providing light source using the electrical energy stored in the energy storage unit; and

a solar panel protection unit comprising a solar panel protection sheet for covering the at least one solar panel through deploying the solar panel protection sheet.

2. The lighting unit of claim 1, wherein, the solar panel protection unit further comprises:

one or more sensors for sensing one or more environment conditions that can damage the at least one solar panel;

a processor coupled to the one or more sensors for receiving signals from the one or more sensors when at least one of the one or more environment conditions is sensed;

a motor operatively coupled to the processor; and

a spool operatively coupled to the motor and carrying the solar panel protection sheet, wherein the processor actuates the motor based on the sensed signals to cause the solar panel protection sheet to cover or uncover the at least one solar panel via operation of the spool.

3. The lighting unit of claim 2, wherein the solar panel protection unit further comprises:

a memory coupled to the processor and configured to temporarily store instructions, that when executed by the processor, cause the processor to deploy or retract the solar panel protection sheet by actuating the motor based on the sensed signals.

4. The lighting unit of claim 3, wherein the solar panel protection unit further comprises:

a charge sensing unit coupled to the energy storage unit for sensing percentage of the stored electrical energy remaining in the energy storage unit.

5. The lighting unit of claim 4, wherein the processor actuates the motor to retracting the solar panel protection sheet covering the at least one solar panel into the spool to expose the solar panel to the energy of sunlight when the percentage of the stored electrical energy remaining in the energy storage unit falls below a threshold value.

6. The lighting unit of claim 2, wherein the environment conditions are selected from the group consisting of moisture, wind, rainfall, snowfall, fog, darkness, and hail.

7. The lighting unit of claim 3, wherein the one or more sensors are selected from the group consisting of light sensor, snow sensor, hail sensor, wind sensor, rain sensor, and moisture sensor.

8. The lighting unit of claim 3, wherein the lamp comprises a light emitting diode (LED) lamp.