Batteries: thermoelectric and photoelectric – Photoelectric – Panel or array
Patent
1997-03-17
1998-03-17
Dority, Carroll B.
Batteries: thermoelectric and photoelectric
Photoelectric
Panel or array
126653, 126657, 126699, F16K 336
Patent
active
057275858
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention concerns a device for obtaining thermal and/or electric energy from sunlight with at least one solar collector exhibiting an elongated absorber that features along its entire length and circumferentially enclosing--at least sectionally--an energy concentrator that focuses the sunlight optically upon the absorber.
Solar collectors with optical energy concentration are known. The conventional versions rest either on the principle of a Fresnel lens (see, e.g., the publications U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,186, U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,812 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,759), a converging lens, or a diverging lens. Collectors built on the principle of the Fresnel or the converging lens achieve, however, a concentration factor of max. 1:1.3 to 1:1.5. This concentration factor can only be enhanced by mechanically causing the collector to follow the movement of the sun, as it is also outlined in the publications mentioned above. However, this is extremely elaborate from a construction point of view. In addition, the disadvantage of the Fresnel-lens systems lies in the fact that all individual roughly triangular-shaped step lenses must be calculated and shaped differently in order to achieve the desired point or line focus. Although diverging lenses achieve a slightly higher concentration factor of approximately 1:1.9, this collector type has the great disadvantage of a very difficult and costly production. Its lenses, built up in axial tube direction, show a smallest thickness of approximately 3 mm but a largest thickness of 10 mm. This causes material tension during manufacturing by extrusion because of various degrees of cooling of the transparent material. These material tensions can only be controlled with difficulty and lead to an above average high production cost.
The present invention is based on the task to create a device of this category in an especially economic manner that will achieve a higher concentration factor and thus improved efficiency.
According to the invention this is achieved by the fact that the energy concentrator shows, at least in a circumferential area, a prism structure consisting of a transparent material exposed to sunlight according to the daily course of the sun; these prisms with a multiplicity of axially and parallel to the absorber arranged prisms are placed side by side on the periphery where all prisms have an isosceles and identical cross-section with their tips pointing to the absorber. It is especially advantageous if the prisms have convex outer surfaces on the sides exposed to the sunlight. Thus, "convex-prismatic" lenses are practically formed.
The prism structure according to the invention can be extremely easily and inexpensively manufactured by either using transparent originally and essentially plane film and foil material showing the prisms on one side and a plane surface on the other. This material, then, only needs to be formed into a tubular or at least partially tubular (e.g. half tube) shape. The special very simple geometry of the prisms according to the invention has the added advantage that an energy concentrator can be manufactured as a plastic extrusion part, which would be very economical.
The invention allows optimal utilization of the sunlight along the course of the sun over more than 160.degree., i.e., it is almost entirely concentrated onto the absorber. This can be advantageously achieved without the solar collector having to follow the course of the sun mechanically; the invention represents much more an optical single-axis following of the course of the sun onto the absorber. Surprisingly, it has been shown that even without mechanical following a significant concentration factor of more than 1:2.5 can be achieved. In this regard, the invention is based on the recognition that with the well-known Fresnel-lens system--because of the inherent point or line focusing which must be exactly calculated--the focusing without mechanical following would very quickly "walk completely away" from the range of the absorber because of the movement of the sun
REFERENCES:
patent: 4892593 (1990-01-01), Lew
patent: 5577492 (1996-11-01), Parkyn et al.
Bauer Heinrich
Daume Jochen
Grimm Arnold
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