Patent Publication Number: US-2023143610-A1

Title: Rotating Building Assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM. 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The disclosure relates to building devices and more particularly pertains to a new building device for continually positioning solar panels at an optimum angle for maximum efficiency. The device includes a foundation housing, a drive unit integrated into the foundation housing and a structure that is mounted to the foundation housing. The drive unit rotates the foundation housing and the foundation housing rotates the structure. In this way solar panels on a roof of the structure can be continually positioned at the optimum angle for maximum efficiency. 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. 
     The prior art relates to building devices including a disk shaped building that is positioned on a rotatable foundation thereby facilitating the disk shaped building to be rotated. The prior art discloses a variety of prefabricated buildings that can be quickly erected or collapsed. The prior art discloses a prefabricated structure that has a conical shape. The prior art discloses a rotatable structure that comprises a plurality of stacked disks that are independently rotatable with respect to each other. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a foundation housing that has a lower section and an upper section. A drive unit is positioned in the foundation housing to rotate the foundation housing. A structure is provided which has hub and a plurality of wings each extending away from the hub. The hub is mounted to the foundation housing such that the structure rotates with the foundation housing when the drive unit is turned on. A plurality of solar panels is each coupled to a roof of a respective one of the hub and the wings. Each of the solar panels is in communication with the drive unit and the drive unit analyzes the angle of the solar panels with respect to the sun. Furthermore, the drive unit rotates the foundation housing a calculated degree of rotation to facilitate the solar panels to operate at maximum efficiency. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
     The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
       FIG.  1    is a schematic view of a rotating building assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
       FIG.  2    is a schematic view of an alternative embodiment of the disclosure. 
       FIG.  3    is a top perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
       FIG.  4    is a front cut-away view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
       FIG.  5    is a cross sectional view taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG.  4    of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
       FIG.  6    is a cross sectional view taken along line  5 - 5  of an embodiment of the disclosure showing a drive unit having been rotated 180.0 degrees. 
       FIG.  7    is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the disclosure. 
       FIG.  8    is a schematic view of a drive unit of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS.  1  through  8    thereof, a new building device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS.  1  through  8   , the rotating building assembly  10  generally comprises a foundation housing  12  that has a lower section  14  and an upper section  16 . The upper section  16  has a bottom wall  18  and an outer wall  20  extending away from the bottom wall  18 , and the outer wall  20  is continuously arcuate about a center point of the bottom wall  18  such that the upper section  16  has a cylindrical shape. The foundation housing  12  may be sank into the ground in a manner that facilitates the foundation housing  12  to be rotated. Conversely, the foundation housing  12  may be positioned above ground in a manner that facilitates the foundation housing  12  to be rotated. 
     The outer wall  20  has an inwardly facing surface  22  and a distal edge  24  with respect to the bottom wall  18 . The inwardly facing surface  22  has a plurality of guide teeth  26  extending away from the inwardly facing surface  22 , and the guide teeth  26  extend between the bottom wall  18  and the distal edge  24  of the outer wall  20 . Furthermore, the guide teeth  26  are evenly spaced apart from each other and are distributed around a full circumference of the inwardly facing surface  22 . The lower section  14  has a basal wall  28  and an exterior wall  30  extending away from the basal wall  28 . The exterior wall  30  is integrated into the bottom wall  18  of the upper section  16  and the basal wall  28  is oriented coplanar with the bottom wall  18 . The basal wall  28  has a diameter that is less than the diameter of the bottom wall  18 . 
     A drive unit  32  is positioned in the foundation housing  12  and the drive unit  32  rotates the foundation housing  12  in a first direction or a second direction when the drive unit  32  is turned on. The drive unit  32  has a vertical axis of rotation and the drive unit  32  has a conduit  34  which is integrated into the drive unit  32 . Utility lines  36  are extended through the conduit  34  thereby facilitating the drive unit  32  to rotate around the utility lines  36  when the drive unit  32  is turned on. The utility lines  36  may include electrical lines, water lines and sewer lines, and each of the utility lines  36  is comprised of a flexible material. 
     The drive unit  32  comprises a motor  38  that is positioned within the lower section  14  of the foundation housing  12 , and the motor  38  rotates in a first direction or a second direction. The motor  38  may comprise an electric motor or the like and the motor  38  may be electrically coupled to a municipal electrical grid or other source of electrical power. The motor  38  has an output shaft  40  and the output shaft  40  extends through the bottom wall  18  of the upper section  16  of the foundation housing  12  such that a distal end of the output shaft  40  is positioned within the upper section  16 . Furthermore, the motor  38  is mechanically discrete from the lower section  14  such that the motor  38  can freely rotate in the lower section  14 . 
     The drive unit  32  includes a drive gear  42  which is positioned in the upper section  16  of the foundation housing  12 . The drive gear  42  has an inside surface  44  and an outside surface  46 , and the outside surface  46  has a plurality of drive teeth  48  extending away from the outside surface  46 . The plurality of drive teeth  48  are evenly spaced apart from each other and are distributed around a full circumference of the outside surface  46 . The drive gear  42  is in communication with the output shaft  40  of the motor  38  such that the motor  38  rotates the drive gear  42  when the motor  38  is turned on. Moreover, the drive gear  42  is oriented in the foundation housing  12  such that the drive gear  42  defines a concentric circle with respect to the outer wall  20  of the upper section  16  having the drive teeth  48  facing the guide teeth  26 . The inside surface  44  defines a closed ring which defines the conduit  34  through which the utility lines  36  are extended. Additionally, the drive gear  42  rotates about an axis extending through the basal wall  28  of the lower section  14  and the bottom wall  18  of the upper section  16 . 
     The drive unit  32  includes a plurality of planetary gears  50  which each has an outer surface  52 , and the outer surface  52  of each of the planetary gears  50  has a plurality of planetary teeth  54  extending away from the outer surface  52 . Each of the planetary gears  50  is positioned between the outer wall  20  of the upper section  16  of the foundation housing  12  and the drive gear  42 , and each of the planetary teeth  54  engages the drive teeth  48  and the guide teeth  26 . The drive gear  42  rotates each of the planetary gears  50  when the motor  38  is turned on and each of the planetary gears  50  rotates the outer wall  20  of the upper section  16  when the motor  38  is turned on thereby facilitating the foundation housing  12  to be rotated. The drive unit  32  includes a drive control circuit  56  that is integrated into the foundation housing  12  and the drive control circuit  56  is electrically coupled to the motor  38 . 
     The foundation housing  12  includes rotation sensors  58  that are distributed around the outer wall  20  of the upper section  16  of the foundation housing  12 . Each of the rotation sensors  58  is electrically coupled to the drive control circuit  56  and the rotation sensors  58  sense a degree of rotation of the outer wall  20  of the upper section  16 . Moreover, the drive control circuit  56  analyzes rotation data from the rotation sensors  58 . In this way the drive control circuit  56  can turn off the motor  38  when the drive control circuit  56  determines the outer wall  20  has been rotated around 180.0 degrees of a circle. Additionally, the drive control circuit  56  controls the degree of rotation when the motor  38  is rotating in either the first direction or the second direction. Each of the rotation sensors  58  may be an electronic sensor that senses a corresponding magnet, for example, or other type of electronic sensor that can determine how far the foundation housing  12  has been rotated. 
     A structure  60  is included which has hub  62  and a plurality of wings  64  each extending away from the hub  62 . The hub  62  and each of the wings  64  define respective rooms of an occupancy for housing  12  people. Moreover, the hub  62  may define a utility room into which each of the utility lines  36  extends for connecting the entire structure  60  to the utility lines  36 . The hub  62  is mounted to the foundation housing  12  such that the structure  60  rotates with the foundation housing  12  when the drive unit  32  is turned on. Additionally, the hub  62  and each of the wings  64  has a roof  66 , and the roof  66  may be a pitched roof that is commonly employed on houses. The hub  62  and each of the wings  64  may have internal and external structural features that are common to house construction, including but not being limited to, interior doors, windows, siding, flooring and wall treatments. As is most clearly shown in  FIG.  4   , the hub  62  may have a floor  68  which is positioned on top of the foundation housing  12  and the distal edge  24  of the outer wall  20  of the foundation housing  12  may engage a floor  70  of each of the wings  64 . 
     A plurality of solar panels  72  is provided and each of the solar panels  72  is coupled to the roof  66  of a respective one of the hub  62  and the wings  64  such that each of the solar panels  72  is exposed to sunlight. Each of the solar panels  72  is in communication with the drive unit  32 . In this way the drive unit  32  can analyze the angle of the solar panels  72  with respect to the sun. The drive unit  32  rotates the foundation housing  12  a calculated degree of rotation to facilitate the solar panels  72  to operate at maximum efficiency. Each of the solar panels  72  is electrically coupled to the drive control circuit  56  and the drive control circuit  56  analyzes an output of the solar panels  72 . The drive control circuit  56  calculates the angle of rotation to rotate the foundation housing  12  for positioning the solar panels  72  at a predetermined position to facilitate maximum efficiency. 
     In an alternative embodiment  73  as is most clearly shown in  FIGS.  2  and  7   , the structure  60  includes a pair of hubs  74  and a pair of sets of lobes  76 , and each of the sets of lobes  76  extends away from a respective one of the hubs  74 . Each of the hubs  74  is positioned on a respective one of a pair of the foundation units  75  such that each of the hubs  74  is rotated by a respective one of a pair of the drive units  78 . The structure  60  includes a hallway  80  extending between each of the hubs  74  to facilitate people to walk between the hubs  74 . Each of the hubs  74  has a rotational section  82  that is free of wings  64  and the hallway  80  intersects the rotational section  82  on each of the hubs  74 . In this way the hubs  74  can freely rotate on the hallway  80  without having the wings  64  strike the hallway  80 . 
     In use, the drive control circuit  56  analyzes the output of each of the solar panels  72  during daylight hours. Additionally, the drive control circuit  56  actuates the drive unit  32  to rotate the foundation housing  12  in either the first direction or the second direction. In this way the solar panels  72  are positioned to operate at maximum efficiency during each hour of sunlight. Thus, the structure  60  can rely as little as possible on municipal electrical service to supply electrical power to the structure  60 . Additionally, the drive unit  32  has a rotational speed that is sufficiently slow to inhibit fixtures in the structure  60 , such as furniture or wall hangings, from being disturbed when the structure  60  is rotated. In this way the rotation of the structure  60  has a minimal impact on the day to day activities of the occupants of the structure  60 . 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.