Patent ID: 8863349

Claim:
A steering and cleaning mechanism for reflector arrays, comprising: at least one fixed rail disposed adjacent a plurality of reflectors arranged in an array, each of the reflectors having a reflective surface; at least one sweeping rail disposed on the at least one fixed rail and slidably movable thereon; at least one positioning and cleaning carriage mounted to the sweeping rail, the carriage being slidably movable along the sweeping rail, the carriage having a positioning module and a cleaning module mounted thereon, said at least one positioning and cleaning carriage including a central processor for selective activation of said positioning module and said cleaning module, a sensor array for sensing at least the relative position between said at least one positioning and cleaning carriage and at least one selected reflector, and at least one tilt motor for facilitating reorientation of the at least one selected reflector; a base for mounting each said reflector; and a ball and socket joint disposed between said reflector and the base, said ball and socket joint facilitating orienting movement of each said reflector, wherein the at least one positioning and cleaning carriage is positioned above the at least one selected reflector by the combined movement of the sweeping rail along the at least one fixed rail and the movement of the carriage along the sweeping rail, and selective activation of the positioning module and the cleaning module, respectively, orients the modules respective to the at least one selected reflector and cleans the reflective surface thereof.