Stoves and furnaces – Solar heat collector for pond or pool – On pool water surface
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-05
2001-04-24
Yeung, James C. (Department: 3743)
Stoves and furnaces
Solar heat collector for pond or pool
On pool water surface
C126S568000, C126S600000, C126S690000, C126S696000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06220241
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to radiant energy collecting apparatus of the type in which the radiant energy concentrators and/or collectors are supported to float on a body of liquid and which may be moved on the body of liquid to track movement of the sun.
BACKGROUND ART
In my U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,309,893 and 5,592,932, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. I disclose radiant energy collecting apparatus for collecting and concentrating radiant solar energy from the sun. In that apparatus, the solar energy concentrators comprise a plurality of strip mirrors which are arranged along a parabolic curve to define a composite parabolic trough. The mirrors are supported on a buoyant body which may be rotated to follow the sun during the course of the day so as to ensure efficient energy concentration. The buoyant body also support solar energy collectors for collecting the solar energy concentrated by the solar energy concentrators.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims provide a method and means for buoyantly supporting solar energy collecting apparatus on a body of fluid which will be reliable and efficient in use. The present invention in a preferred aspect aims to provide an arrangement which enables the buoyancy of the buoyant support means to be maintained or enhanced if a loss of buoyancy occurs. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description.
The present invention thus provides in one aspect radiant energy collecting apparatus including solar energy collecting means, platform means for supporting said solar energy collecting means on a body of liquid, compartment means on the underside said platform means for containing air and providing buoyant lift to said platform means, said compartment means being open on their lowermost side.
The compartment means suitably comprises a plurality of individual compartments. Preferably, the compartments are arranged at spaced locations on the underside of the platform means.
In one form, the compartments may comprise compartments formed integrally with the platform means. In another form, the compartments may comprise separate hollow bodies attached to the underside of the platform means. In yet a further form, the compartments may be fabricated and attached to the underside of the platform means. The compartments may also comprise any combination of the above arrangements.
When integrally formed with the platform means, the compartments may be defined by a plurality of downwardly extending ribs or flanges on the underside of the platform means, the ribs or flanges defining the sides of the compartments with the base thereof being defined by the undersurface of the platform means. The ribs or flanges may be of many different configurations to form the compartments. For example, the compartments may be of circular, square, hexagonal or of any other cross sectional shape. In one form, the ribs or flanges may comprise a first series of substantially parallel ribs or flanges extending across the platform means and a second series of intersecting ribs or flanges extending substantially at right angles to the first series of ribs or flanges.
Whilst preferably formed integrally with the platform means, the ribs or flanges may also be attached to the underside of the platform means and for this purpose may be of an interlocking construction. Suitable sealing may be used where required to make the compartments air tight, particularly at the junction of the intersecting ribs or flanges and their attachment to the platform means.
The use of ribs or flanges on the underside of the platform means also increases the stiffness and strength of the platform means permitting it to be constructed of a lighter weight material or of less thickness.
When the compartments are separate hollow bodies, they may be in the form of hollow rectangular or square bodies of for example bucket-like form which are inverted and attached or held to the underside of the platform means.
If desired the buoyant platform means may comprise a combination of integrally formed compartments and separate bodies. Some of the bodies may be located within the integrally formed compartments which may have a similar configuration internally to the external configuration of the hollow bodies.
The platform means in one form may include in one form on its upper surface, a series of mounts for reflectors such as mirrors which define solar concentrating means. The reflector mounts may be in the form of surfaces which are angled at increasing angle to the horizontal so that reflectors mounted thereon form a composite parabolic trough to concentrate solar energy on a target arranged at or adjacent a focus line or lines of the parabolic trough. The reflectors are suitably in the form of thin elongate strip mirrors of glass or other reflective material such as a polished metal.
The reflector mounts on the platform means may be formed such that a pair of platform means may be arranged adjacent but opposite to each other in end-to-end relationship to form the composite parabolic trough. Thus the reflector mounts in this configuration have an increasing angle to the horizontal outwardly of the centre of the trough. A series of opposite such platform means may be arranged in this configuration and connected to or by a suitable frame. Typically eight such platform means may be provided in an array of two columns by four rows. The frame which in use is supported by the floating platform means suitable may serve as a support for a target or solar energy receiver of any form. The frame may include frame members around the periphery of respective platform means. Preferably the platform means include grooves in their periphery and connection members on the frame members extend into said grooves and are supported on shoulders therein.
In a further form, the upper surface of the platform means may provide a mount for photovoltaic cells. For this purpose, the platform means may include on its upper surface a plurality of surfaces angled at the mean declination of the sun which varies according to the latitude of operation. Typically, the surfaces may be angled at 20°-70° to the horizontal. Alternatively, the cells may be mounted on a separate member such as a planar member mounted at a set or adjustable angle to the platform means.
The platform means in one configuration is formed of a plastics material with both the compartments and reflector or cell mounts or surfaces formed integrally on opposite sides of the platform means. The platform means however may be formed of other materials such as metal for example aluminium. In yet an alternative form, the platform means may be fabricated for example of glass reinforced plastics or moulded from glass reinforced plastics or any other moldable material such as concrete. The concrete may comprise a light-weight concrete incorporating for example a lightweight material such as foam plastic beads.
To ensure that the platform means retains it buoyancy, means may be provided to supply air to the compartments. In one form the air supply means may comprise an air supply hose or duct located beneath the compartments. Air supplied through the hose thus will form bubbles of air in the liquid which bubbles will rise upwardly to supply air to the compartments and displace liquid therefrom. Suitably the hose or duct is provided with a series of openings at longitudinally spaced positions to permit escape of air therethrough. Excessive air will simply pass to the outer extremities of the buoyant platform means or will spill from one compartment to the next. The platform means are suitably arranged in an interconnected array for rotation around a vertical axis with the parabolic troughs (or photovoltaic cell mounts) aligned with or parallel to each other. The array as a whole may be rotated on the body of liquid about the vertical axis to follow the sun.
Most preferably, the hose or duct is arranged to extend diametrically relative to the axis of rotation of the platform means or array o
Wood Phillips VanSanten Clark & Mortimer
Yeung James C.
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