Patent ID: 8878113
Filing Date: 2014-11-04
Classification: G01J

Abstract:
1. A solar tracking system comprising: a) a shielding tube for admitting solar radiation, said shielding tube having an absorptive inner surface for absorbing said solar radiation incident on said inner surface; b) a photodetector for generating a signal related to an intensity of said solar radiation at a distal end of said shielding tube; c) a scan unit for periodically executing a predetermined scan pattern in an elevation angle El and in an azimuth angle Az of said shielding tube; d) a processing unit in communication with said photodetector for determining an on-sun orientation of said shielding tube based on a convolution of said signal obtained during said predetermined scan pattern with a trained convolution kernel; wherein said on-sun orientation is deployed for updating the orientation of at least one solar surface.